I'm rather tired, so this is going to be rather less coherent than it could be, but I wanted to post about my weekend before the glamor wears off!
Yesterday was the Madrone Baronial Banquet, which was really delicious and really fun. I helped serve the food, along with Dieter and Halla (of the Bunnies), which was tiring and a bit stressful but also cool, because it gave me an extra role to play. I got to pretend I was a serving wench, and that was fun. Dieter the Social Butterfly introduced me to various people, including Raphael, who is (I think) the head or at least the contact person of the Equestrian Guild. Upon introduction, Raphael laid on the charm and flattery (making me want to blush and run away) and then corralled me into going to equestrian practice the next day.
This morning Dieter and I went to hurling practice and from thence to equestrian practice. I got to ride two lovely horses, confirm that I still Have It even though I hadn't ridden for 10 months, and try two games. The games I tried consisted of hitting balls off of poles with a duct-tape mace (fairly easy) and of throwing a javelin into a bale of hay. Unfortunately I was unable to stop my mount from eating the bale of hay. Other than that, I think I rode fairly well, and I loved being back in the saddle. Although Dieter had only been on a horse once before in his life, he took a little turn around, and I was quite impressed. I mean, of course he didn't really have a clue about what to do, but when I told him how to hold the reins and what the proper posture is and such, he did it, and what's more, he didn't forget. He says he's used to trusting his instructors and doing things that seem really weird and counter-intuitive but work once you get used to them; I believe him but am still impressed.
After riding, Dieter and I cleaned off the horsiness and headed to an impromptu cooking party at CT's house. I have almost no idea what we had, because I slept through a good part of the cooking time. There were artichokes and shrimp and mushrooms-and-spinach-and-raisins-on-bread, and there was also something that was supposed to be fudge but ended up being sprinkles on vanilla ice cream, which was lovely too. After dinner we watched the musical 1776, of which I had not even heard before this evening, but which is relevant to the Current Situation in our country. And then home.
And spring quarter starts tomorrow, so I really must hit my bed. Unfortunately, before I can sleep, I will have to clear my bed of all the stuff on it, including the pile of snoring cat. Gaah.