[MR] Newbie (fwd)

[David W. James]

>> Or you could do
>> what I do.  Go to the kitchen!  I just love to play with food.  And 
>> what a
>> lot of laughter can be found there.

	What Olwen said is basically what I was going to write and say.

	I've never had a problem getting hooked up with the local SCA when 
I've moved (assuming it was someplace were there *was* an SCA group...), 
probably because I start doing things.  Sometimes it's heraldry, 
sometimes it's fighting, sometimes it's something else.  But, if nothing 
else, it tends to get the attention of like-minded folks and give you 
something to talk about.  It could be juggling or it could be cooking or 
drawing or even discreet photography (please, no flash!).  Or, well, 
whatever.

	So, if you do go to another event, please take Olwen's advice; offer 
to help in the kitchen for a while; go to herald's point (if there is 
one) and chat and/or read books, look at pictures, borrow the markers 
and color in pictures.  Or go to the list field and offer to help the 
Mistress/Master of the Lists or the heralds announcing the bouts.  Or 
bring a (period!) musical instrument and find someplace to practice; 
bring sewing and work on that (I had one of Those Moments many years ago 
when, while sitting in a class on heraldry at an East Kingdom Symposium 
I looked around and recognized the person behind me doing needlepoint as 
our newest Duke...)

	Doing something makes it easier on other people.  It gives them a 
tag to hang on you, and, wether we like that or not, it is something 
that people seem to need.  Or at least work better once they have one.

	Good luck, and please, do try again.

David/Kwellend-Njal