The farther away I get from the weekend, the sillier it seems to write up a full report…and yet, I do feel like I need to elaborate on a couple of things.

First, the singing.

Certain people (ahem…) have been bugging me to sing for quite a while. Last year, I sang just a bit with my good friend Jam. We sang together, it was late, and there weren’t very many people around. Yet, it was a step. A baby step, but a step nonetheless.

Last weekend, Rand had his guitar out in the hotel room. He recently learned some Flaming Lips songs and was playing some of them. While he was playing Fight Test, I was kind of quietly singing along while doing other things. He stopped and said, “do you want to sing the chorus?”

“Um, you mean in front of people?”

“Sure, why not,” he said.

So he started over, and we ran it a couple of times, mainly working on the timing. He told me I had to project more. So we did it a few more times, and I did my best to project more.

We ended up bringing it out Saturday night, and it went fine. I projected. I hit the right notes. I got the timing right. And ohmygod, I sang…while not entirely alone, I did sing the chorus all by my little lonesome, with people watching. The floor did not open and swallow me up or anything!

Several people have asked if/when I will sing again, and I think it’s safe to say that it will happen again. 😉

The other big excitement of the weekend, for me, was this:

(Photo by Debbie Ridpath Ohi)

At every filk convention, there is a Saturday night auction. People donate items, and the money goes toward bringing guests to other conventions…travel expenses and such. This year, I decided to donate a piece of calligraphy. The lyrics are from the song “Rich Fantasy Lives” by Rob Balder and Tom Smith, which was named “Best Filk Song” at the 2007 Pegasus Awards. Both Rob and Tom were at GAFilk, so I was able to have both of them sign the piece.

My piece was the last item auctioned off, and it ended up bringing in $300!

I do sell my calligraphy in my etsy shop. I’m happy to discuss commissions with anyone interested.

The rest of my photos can be found here. I’m off for now, but maybe I’ll get around to the rest of it someday!