Saturday started off rainy. This was a problem as a lot of Irish Fest is outside and my other plans for earlier in the day involved being mostly outside as well. The rain didn't stop but had slowed by the time I headed for the Summerfest Grounds at about 3:30. When I arrived at 4, the rain had stopped, just in time for my arrival. As a result, I felt a little smug. As I was expecting the rain to stop (why? I don't know) I didn't dress for the weather, being in my normal thin overshirt and no jacket or anything.
I arranged to bump into Callie and her friends for a bit. We did our best to catch up with one another, drink a bit and be silly, all about normal. They'd been at the Fest since open and were therefore a little tired and wet already. They left around 5, promising to return later and hoping I'd since be around. As they left, the rain returned. This time, it wouldn't leave.
This was a problem as the rain influenced the beer within me to want to left me on a speedier basis than normal. While I hid in the Irish Entertainers test and watched a video about Irish rock bands, I kept having to dash into the rain in order to visit the bathroom. This quickly got annoying. I also nipped out for food once. In the midst of all this, Eric, Katy and Colin were on their way. The weather was slowing their progress and I'd get text messages detailing the reasons behind the slowdown. Just before 7 I got the 'arrived' text and headed out of my hidey-hole.
The problem here was that I was on the South end of the grounds and they were up at the Rock Stage on the North end. I walked the length of the grounds in the rain and started getting really wet. I found them (including Eric's sisters and one of the friends of said sisters) quickly enough and stood talking to them with my back to the lake, the direction that the wind and rain was coming from. It didn't take long before I was nicely soaked.
Finally, teeth chattering, I noted that, before this, my mother could at least say I had enough sense to get out of the rain. I needed to get out of the open, expressed this and started moving. We visited a nearby merchants tent where I seriously concerned buying any sweatshirt or sweater I saw. From there we headed to the large 'Tea Room' and used Colin's stroller to carve out a spot for us. After drying out slightly, we returned to the rain to get food. While I got shepherd's pies for myself and Eric, he went and got coffee. This was a brilliant idea. Between the two, I shook off the cold.
This also allowed us to bump into Eric's friend Mike, his wife Emily and their friend Kurt (Curt?). A spirited, moderately inebriated conversation sprang up from this meeting as we got caught up and chatted with each other.
Seven Nations were scheduled to start at 8 and we were keen to see them play. We tried heading back to the Rock stage but the rain persisted. We made it to the Sprecher Beer booth and refueled. The Celtic Roots tent was nearby and we ducked in there as the rain was too intense. Once there, our energetic conversation resumed. Eric's sisters ducked out to check on the concert and returned wet a few moments later to inform us that they'd cancelled the show due to the rain. We just kept talking.
By the time Colin had finished eating, it was a bit after 9. The rain was still falling and we took that as a sign. It was time to go home and we did.
It was miserable weather and should have been a rotten time. It wasn't. It was still fun. Even an unpleasant day at Irish Fest with your friends is still a surprisingly good time.
25 August 2007
23 August 2007
People who have had a chance to speak with me on any kind of regular basis probably know that I like silly voices and accents. I've been a mimic since I was little, parroting weird expressions as soon as I heard them. I managed to get this aspect of the process under control before I ever got beat up for it.
When I was younger, I thought I was quite brilliant at this sort of thing. As I grew older I decided that I was good at it but probably couldn't fool someone that actually had the accent I was mimicking. I figured my British accent would sound to British ears like most British people sound when they mimic Americans: off.
When I'm at Irish Fest, the Irish accent kicks in instinctively. Once it or any other voice gets a firm hold on my speech patterns, it's very hard to shake off and return to normal sounding speech. Add beer and this return to normal becomes nearly impossible. By ten o clock Friday night at Irish Fest, I don't think my speech made sense to anyone around me due to the thickness of the accent I was using and the speed at which I was speaking. It's very possible that Katy and Eric understood me but it's just as likely that they were humouring me. They know I'm not well in the head.
About this time we had to sit down and let young Colin feed. Out came the bottle and he patiently ate. On the other side of the table was another group of people that also had a young lad with them, only about two weeks younger (maybe older) than Colin. We had conversations that were separate, would mingle briefly and then spilt apart again. It was quite fun.
The whole time my accent is totally out of control. After a long burst of gibberish from me, the young lad next to me just started staring at me, a totally logical act under the circumstances. His dad smiled and noted "I think he likes your accent."
I smiled and shrugged my shoulders broadly. "And it's fake." I noted.
Everyone laughed and that's what was most important to me.
When I was younger, I thought I was quite brilliant at this sort of thing. As I grew older I decided that I was good at it but probably couldn't fool someone that actually had the accent I was mimicking. I figured my British accent would sound to British ears like most British people sound when they mimic Americans: off.
When I'm at Irish Fest, the Irish accent kicks in instinctively. Once it or any other voice gets a firm hold on my speech patterns, it's very hard to shake off and return to normal sounding speech. Add beer and this return to normal becomes nearly impossible. By ten o clock Friday night at Irish Fest, I don't think my speech made sense to anyone around me due to the thickness of the accent I was using and the speed at which I was speaking. It's very possible that Katy and Eric understood me but it's just as likely that they were humouring me. They know I'm not well in the head.
About this time we had to sit down and let young Colin feed. Out came the bottle and he patiently ate. On the other side of the table was another group of people that also had a young lad with them, only about two weeks younger (maybe older) than Colin. We had conversations that were separate, would mingle briefly and then spilt apart again. It was quite fun.
The whole time my accent is totally out of control. After a long burst of gibberish from me, the young lad next to me just started staring at me, a totally logical act under the circumstances. His dad smiled and noted "I think he likes your accent."
I smiled and shrugged my shoulders broadly. "And it's fake." I noted.
Everyone laughed and that's what was most important to me.
20 August 2007
Friday Night at Irish Fest
Friday night at Irish Fest was providing rather complicated. On the one hand, I was expecting to spend most of the night hanging out with Eric, Katy, their young lad Colin and whatever other members of Eric’s family that were near us at the time. On the other hand, my parents, one of my aunts and a couple of her adult grandchildren were going to there as well. As a result, I was trying to meet up with both groups. For about an hour, I was failing at both.
You see, Eric’s group was down at the South gate, working the door, whereas my family was up at the Rock Stage on the North side of the grounds to see the band that my second cousin’s boyfriend plays in. It’s at least a fifteen minute walk to go from one to the other. After gaining entry at the South gate and getting a status from Eric on when he expected to arrive, I headed up to the Rock stage looking for my family. Not finding them, I returned to the South gate to check for Eric and then back to the Rock stage. During this process, I noted at least a few nice looking young ladies and one red-headed young lady that was very nice looking indeed. As Eric and I are both fond of fiery hair, I mentally marked her, hoping that we’d see her again so I could point her out to Eric.
The band that my cousin’s boyfriend is in started playing at 6pm. About 6:15 as I stood at the Rock Stage looking for my parents and enjoying the music, my phone buzzed with a text message. Eric had arrived. I scurried to the South Gate, there was much rejoicing, more beer was purchased, I spoke to him of the red-haired young lady and then we collected Katy and the boy before heading back towards the Rock Stage.
Not far before the Rock Stage is a Sprecher Beer booth and we needed to pause there to refill. As we completed this transaction, my mother called wondering where I was. As she was still at the Rock Stage and it was loud in general, neither of us heard the other very well. I tried to communicate our location and that it was nearby but held little hope of finding them quickly. Thirty seconds later, my parents had found us.
We exchanged greetings, the baby was cooed over and then it was noted that the band was nearly done. We wandered over to the Rock Stage for the last song and a half, trying to talk. I looked for my aunt, as I know what she looks like and I didn’t know what my second cousins looked like. I didn’t see her. I was informed that she wasn’t feeling well and hadn’t come. My cousins had and, as the music ceased, my mom started leading me to them to say hello. As we walked down the aisle, I scanned the crowd, not clear as to where we were going. To my delight, I saw the attractive young red-haired lady, pleased that I would be able to point her out to Eric afterall.
Math flashed through my head, proving that the beer had yet to addle it. I added our general course to our reason for walking this way with the young lady I saw. Moments later I was being introduced to the red-haired young lady who, as it turns out, is my second cousin.
After we chatted for a minute or two, my father expressed that he had a headache coming on from all the noise and a lack of food. As they had this as a quest, we separated and I quickly located my friends at the back of the stage, sitting on bleachers as they rocked Colin in his stroller. From this position, I pointed out the red-haired young lady, using her slightly larger sister as a reference point. Despite our distance from them, they were easy to make out. Once he had spotted her, I followed with “That’s my second cousin.”
Eric immediately started laughing. Katy did an excellent slow burn turn towards me, look of distain on her face, and noted “Ewwwww.” I protested my innocence. “I didn’t know at the time!” Eric, for his part, continued laughing and rightfully so.
This very quickly became the Best Joke Ever.
Eric would make a comment to the effect of ‘maybe if you dressed her like a second cousin she’d be okay’. My punchline was similar in construction, like my text message to Eric on Saturday: ‘The attractive young lady at the restaurant just complimented me on my sideburns. Hope I’m not related to her.’
To be fair, ‘Hope I’m not related to her’ has got to be one of the creepiest ways to call a young lady attractive. After this weekend, it seems like a reasonable check to make.
You see, Eric’s group was down at the South gate, working the door, whereas my family was up at the Rock Stage on the North side of the grounds to see the band that my second cousin’s boyfriend plays in. It’s at least a fifteen minute walk to go from one to the other. After gaining entry at the South gate and getting a status from Eric on when he expected to arrive, I headed up to the Rock stage looking for my family. Not finding them, I returned to the South gate to check for Eric and then back to the Rock stage. During this process, I noted at least a few nice looking young ladies and one red-headed young lady that was very nice looking indeed. As Eric and I are both fond of fiery hair, I mentally marked her, hoping that we’d see her again so I could point her out to Eric.
The band that my cousin’s boyfriend is in started playing at 6pm. About 6:15 as I stood at the Rock Stage looking for my parents and enjoying the music, my phone buzzed with a text message. Eric had arrived. I scurried to the South Gate, there was much rejoicing, more beer was purchased, I spoke to him of the red-haired young lady and then we collected Katy and the boy before heading back towards the Rock Stage.
Not far before the Rock Stage is a Sprecher Beer booth and we needed to pause there to refill. As we completed this transaction, my mother called wondering where I was. As she was still at the Rock Stage and it was loud in general, neither of us heard the other very well. I tried to communicate our location and that it was nearby but held little hope of finding them quickly. Thirty seconds later, my parents had found us.
We exchanged greetings, the baby was cooed over and then it was noted that the band was nearly done. We wandered over to the Rock Stage for the last song and a half, trying to talk. I looked for my aunt, as I know what she looks like and I didn’t know what my second cousins looked like. I didn’t see her. I was informed that she wasn’t feeling well and hadn’t come. My cousins had and, as the music ceased, my mom started leading me to them to say hello. As we walked down the aisle, I scanned the crowd, not clear as to where we were going. To my delight, I saw the attractive young red-haired lady, pleased that I would be able to point her out to Eric afterall.
Math flashed through my head, proving that the beer had yet to addle it. I added our general course to our reason for walking this way with the young lady I saw. Moments later I was being introduced to the red-haired young lady who, as it turns out, is my second cousin.
After we chatted for a minute or two, my father expressed that he had a headache coming on from all the noise and a lack of food. As they had this as a quest, we separated and I quickly located my friends at the back of the stage, sitting on bleachers as they rocked Colin in his stroller. From this position, I pointed out the red-haired young lady, using her slightly larger sister as a reference point. Despite our distance from them, they were easy to make out. Once he had spotted her, I followed with “That’s my second cousin.”
Eric immediately started laughing. Katy did an excellent slow burn turn towards me, look of distain on her face, and noted “Ewwwww.” I protested my innocence. “I didn’t know at the time!” Eric, for his part, continued laughing and rightfully so.
This very quickly became the Best Joke Ever.
Eric would make a comment to the effect of ‘maybe if you dressed her like a second cousin she’d be okay’. My punchline was similar in construction, like my text message to Eric on Saturday: ‘The attractive young lady at the restaurant just complimented me on my sideburns. Hope I’m not related to her.’
To be fair, ‘Hope I’m not related to her’ has got to be one of the creepiest ways to call a young lady attractive. After this weekend, it seems like a reasonable check to make.
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