...and you miss out on all the fun!
If you read my blog, chances are that you also read at least one of the other blogs (Jason Miller, Frater Rufus Opus, ConjureMan Ali, de Heer Balthazar, et al)that have been part of a very interesting discussion regarding energy work in magic, and that then morphed into dialogue about cultural appropriation.
Of course, I was away on vacation for the end of January and early February, and upon my return I promptly got a downright diabolical respiratory virus that has had me laid out flat for the past week. I was so busy monitoring my fever, and drinking Chinese Medicine cough syrup like water, while trying to keep my lungs from imploding from coughing, that I came into the whole sha-bang far too late to have anything of interest to chime in. Heck, I can still barely wrangle coherant thoughts well enough to even write this meager update. Suffice it to say that I find myself agreeing whole-heartedly with the energy work perspectives professed by Jason Miller, and agreeing with ConjureMan Ali's assessment of the cultural appropriation matter.
On a completely mundane note, vacation was a blast. We visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando and had a purely fantastic time! I am a huge child at heart, and growing up in Orlando like I did I have an almost unhealthy love for Disney and Universal theme parks. I basically grew up with Disney as my playground, hearing behind the scenes stories of when my mother worked there as a teenager. When I was teen I also worked there briefly (I was Pluto for EPCOT Center character breakfasts), and now have my own backstage stories to relate. So, Disney feels like home away from home, and I start to get itchy inside if it's been more than 3 or 4 years since I've walked down Main Street at the Magic Kingdom. It had been about 5 or 6 years since our last visit, so it was long overdue, and many new attractions were there for the experiencing. My husband never visited growing up, so he enjoys getting the "insider's tour" of the place whenever we go. Park maps?? We don't need no stinking park maps!
But being a huge Harry Potter fan and not having been to the Wizarding World yet was just killing me, so we took advantage of my husband's annual training conference in Orlando to have a little time away. The Hogwarts Castle was just amazing - it really was like walking into the movies. The ride was great (I screamed out loud at least 3 times - mostly because the dementors are FAR more freaky in "real life" then they even are on the big screen), and the food and drink was good, but just walking through the castle was just really amazing. The detail was just mind-blowing and that alone was worth the whole day. All the Hogwarts employees kept welcoming us "muggles", and unfortunately I was not able to convince them that I was NOT a muggle no matter how many times I said it. ;) Of course I got a Gryffindor house sweater and quidditch scarf as keepsakes, so I can look eternally nerdy back here at home.
Anyway, as you can probably tell, this blog entry has no real conjure content. I'm still sick and barely conscious, but I felt badly for leaving my blog and readers alone for so long, and feeling kinda left behind on all the latest hub-bub. I hope to be better by next week and be able to get some new material up for you all.
