Campfyre Stories

I am counting down the days until I go off the grid.  Once I leave on Wednesday, I am incommunicado for 5 full days and boy am I looking forward to that!  In the meantime, however, my schedule is packed while I try to finish up all the last minute stuff.  This weekend was a prime example.

Friday was the Harry Potter release party, clusterfuck that it was.  We arrived early, only to find that they weren’t handing out the designation bracelets based on when you got there to pick one up.  The entire thing was completely unorganized and it’s amazing that Spawn and I were able to get home before 1am.  But I don’t want to dwell on the negativity that the experience generated for me, so instead, some highlights.

The people dressing up, for the most part, were nothing spectacular.  Pretty much all things we had seen before at previous release parties, with one notable exception:  the guy walking around in a bowler hat, suit jacket, tie and hawaiian shorts.  He was the epitome of a wizard trying to emulate a muggle.  I pointed him out to Spawn who giggled and considered going up and asking him about his getup.  We decided that even if we did ask, he would tell us that he wasn’t a wizard at all…  that he was, in fact, really a muggle, just like the rest of us.  What more would you expect from a wizard trying to blend in?

I overheard a few boys outside at one point in the evening.  They were probably late-teens/early-twenties.  "You know, I kind of hate to say it, but I think that Harry Potter might be our generation’s Star Wars."  I thought that was an excellent point.  Even when Episode 1 came out, sure, kids went to see it, but the ones who dressed up and stood in line were the ones who embraced the original trilogy and wore costumes and bought the toys, games, books, etc.  Harry Potter and Star Wars may seem like a strange comparison, but it’s extremely apt.

I did manage to finish the book over the weekend and found that I was disappointed in the ending.  Or at least disappointed in the epilogue because it left so many questions or maybe even opened the door for ones I wouldn’t otherwise ask.  There were quite a few upsetting things in the book, but no real surprises, I felt.  I mean, the end of the series, so how much do you have to preserve, really?

(Please don’t post spoilers in the comments, I will delete them so that my readers aren’t spoiled by my blog.  That would just give me guilt.)

So Spawn and I stayed up reading until the sun came up Saturday morning.  After sleeping ridiculously late, I headed out to the farewell party for two of my friends who are moving to a different state.  It was a nice, mellow party and I had the chance to chat with some people I hadn’t seen in over a year, which was a nice thing.  It felt like a really good note for them to leave on.

Sunday was a day with my niece and trying to kick the house in shape before I leave.  Laundry and dishes and cleaning all the nooks and crannies…  but I still haven’t started packing yet.

So I have to pack and buy a sleeping bag…  figure out how to get all my paperwork in order to rent the car and wrap up everything at work.  I leave on Wednesday and no one can get in touch with me until I come home.  I can’t wait, but I wish I were closer to being ready for it…