During the week for a weekend skirmish
- Trawl some unusual websites to see if I fancy anything new or shiny to play with
- Check that the dungeon is clean
- Completely unpack bottom drawer so there's nothing left and no grime/dirt/scum
- Decide on costume (depends on what the victim fancies doing as well)
- Re-trawl through aforementioned websites to view anything I want for new costume
- Spend most of my spare time browsing forums and drooling over ideas for the weekend
Weekend Arrives (Sunday Skirmish)
- Oh damn...
...you know what I've done? Got confused by the mention of rituals! All that above is for a normal weekend
No, for a skirmish I adjust my meds regimen to try to make sure I get enough pain free rest the day before so that, even if I don't sleep much the night before (which often happens), I'll be in reasonable condition the morning of the skirmish. I like to make sure my loadout is fit for purpose a few days in advance, so I can sort any problems out in good time, or change my plan. I've often got some gun fettling to do - some new bits I want to try out, or something which broke and needs looking at, but these days I've just about got enough guns that I dont need to stress out about that so much as I used to. Day before I charge my batteries. My bergen gets packed a bit at a time on the day before. Always buy 2L water, mint humbugs, & caramel digestives, plus make 2 cheese and leaves butties.
Night before I eat a slow release carbs heavy meal late in the eve, because I find it difficult to eat 1st thing. I book a cab for the morning and put everything which I can't pack in my bag, because I'll want it handy, on my bedside table so I can stick it all in my pockets without having to think much when I wake up. Then I tape my ankles with 50mm fabric plaster and a stirrup of 50mm Micropore tape and put on a thin pair of M&S socks to keep the tape from getting caught or peeled - this is to make 100% certain that I will not get blisters on the backs of my ankles, b/c I'm very prone to them there (very prominent Achilles' Tendons) and don't wear my boots often enough these days for my feet to toughen back up like they used to be.
05:30 - Alarm goes off; I swear; make a fag and smoke it greedily. Put something on the telly quietly - the radio, or a YT playlist, sometimes Big Bang Theory
05:33 - Take morning meds; get out of bed; put kettle on; piss; shower cap on; shower; sometimes my shave needs going over; Dax Wax my hair so it's easier to keep out of my eyepro/mask during the day; see to teeth.
05:45 - Make brew; make and smoke 2nd fag while I get dressed in my loadout.
05:50 -
I put a thick pair of socks on over the thin ones for comfort inside my boots and, when all is well, slow down (I have a tendency to stress out when I'm getting prepped for pretty much anything, so I take a moment to centre my thoughts on the day and smile in anticipation).
05:55 - Have another fag and put my boots on.
06:00 - I should have everything sorted by this point, but often I haven't: there'll be something which I need to pack, or repack, or my hair will have needed washing and drying, or maybe I'll have discovered that my hydro=bladder still has water in it from yonks ago and has been channelling the primordial soup - no bother though because...
06:10 - Cab arrives to take me to Stefs.
06:30 - Arrive @Stefs
06:35 - Set off for Skirmish; stop on the way for a brew; arrive @Skirmish disgustingly early, but it gives me time to organise my shite at a comfortable pace and also leave loading my midcaps until that morning...
Obviously if I'm going somewhere else, it'll be different. Sometimes I've had to get up earlier, sometimes there's no point going to bed; when the bus used to run early enough to get me to Skirmish in time on a Sat am, I could get up @07:20... oh how little I appreciated those 2hrs :lol: