Darkon hits Williamsburg

Afew days ago, my friend Ming, The fake Thai (but that’s another blog entry) im’d me a url followed by “So bad it hurts”. The url led to a movie trailer of Darkon, a documentary about LARP. (Yep I too had to look up that acronym) It was playing at galapagos in Williamsburg, a mere 10 minutes walk from my house, so after some quick viral im’ing…we decided to go (despite the fact that there were no advance ticket sales)

The appeal of Darkon to the hipster population is a little confusing to me. Williamsburg hipsters were lined up all the way to the street to pay 8 dollars to see a bunch of Maryland-ers dress up in medieval armor, hit each other with foam covered sticks and speak (shout) in flowery language taken straight out of the fantasy books that they wouldn’t be caught holding. Perhaps it really was the fact that Darkon is a Williamsburg production and everyone in the room knew someone who worked on the film. Maybe some people (like myself and my friends) were curious to see why a bunch of grown people would run around hitting each other in random fields. Or perhaps maybe some people were simply attracted to the costumes and make-up that were definitely one level above the norm of williamsburg-hipster wear.

After the watching the movie, its easy to laugh at those people, think about the money they spend on their gear, wonder about how they go about learning ‘elvish’…. But I also find myself identifying in the reasoning behind LARPs. The world IS boring and mundane. And there seems to be very little chance of ever being that ‘hero’ you used to dream about. The attraction of running on to a field and hitting people with sticks is very understandable. It sure as hell is probably more satisfying than sitting at your computer playing a MMORPG (yea, look that one up too!) ANd think…it’d just be like Halloween where you can act out all your fantasies (in public)….except its more than once a year!!

All those coins

If your house is anything like mine, there will be several bowls, jars, tins, piggy banks and various other containers heaped with coins. My collection is (was) a compilation of two people’s coins saved over the period of atleast 5 years. It didn’t occur to us to actually do anything with these coins until we had run out of space for the containers as well as actually run out of containers.

So…how does one get rid of coins? We always looked at those coin sorter machines with intense hand-rubbing…”Ohhh wouldn’t that be great” But upon actually trying one out at a friend’s house, I was convinced that it would actually be more of a source of fustration rather than relief. Also, you would have to spend precious nyc apartment space to park this rather dubious gadget which perhaps you may actually use a couple of times in its lifetime. (Instead of looking at containers of coins, you will now have to look at a machine!)

Another option we looked at are those coinstar machines. Very attractive options…take your coins, dump them in a machine and get a printed reciept which you can exchange for money (all for a slight fee ofcourse). I am all for paying small fee if it saves me some time. The problem is that the nearest coinstar machine is a 15 minute walk to the subway, a 15 minute ride on the subway and another 5 minute walk after that. Add to that equation the fact that I now have to lug 5 years worth of coins all that way. BUT you can check and find the nearest coinstar machine near your house at their site. The bonus is that you can donate your money to some great non-profits. Perhaps it will be a good option for you.

Ok, so we went out and bought rolls from the 99 cent store. Sat around rolling coins for a solid day. Those rolls sat in my house for about 3 more months till finally we decided enough was enough and took the rolls to the bank.

Probelm solved? Not quite…here’s what you need to know about taking rolls of coins to the bank.

1) You need to put an account number on EVERY roll!

2) Fill in a deposit slip with the total amount

3) You’re good to go…start getting inline for a teller.

Good luck getting rid of all your coins. I hope I’ve saved you some time. (or at the very least the embarrassment of having to write your account number on your rolls at the bank and taking up the entire counter space)

Bikram Yoga – day two of the return

Afer 2 1/2 weeks of doing absolutely no exercise and pretty much eating anything I wanted. I decided that it was time to get back on track. 2 days in a row of bikram yoga. So why Bikram yoga? I tried yoga afew times before but always felt that I struggled trying to see what the instructor was doing while simultaneously getting my limbs into unatural positions (well unatural for me that is) Its not easy trying to see anything when your head is between your legs, the teacher is moving at lightning speeds and everone else pretty much seem to be made of rubber.

Bikram is slow, repetitive (you do everything twice) and the teacher doesn’t really do anything but speak so there’s not alot to watch. Everytime you go, you know what to expect and thus can spend your time trying to get the positions right. Although after many months…I am still struggling.

 

Oh, did I mention the heat? “The recommended temperature is minimum 105F degrees and about 40% humidity.” according to Bikram’s site. It feels good to sweat like crazy. It feels good to be forced to drink a lot of water. I haven’t been doing it long enough to judge the benefits. But perhaps the ache in my back and abs is a sign that those muscles are getting a workout.

 

Here’s a diagram of the poses: (taken from http://www.bikram.com.au/bikram_yoga.htm) My new goal is to concentrate on one pose each time I go.

Having friends go to the same studio helps. If you can’t commit to yourself sometimes commiting to other people is easier

The Thai Water Ceremony (Wedding)

I got married on October 1st. I spent quite alot of time researching how I could possibly incorporate some traditional Thai or Buddhist elements into the actual wedding ceremony. We ended up wedging the Thai Water Ceremony smack into the middle of what would be a traditional wedding.

For those of you who may be considering doing the same, here is a description of what this is:

According to Thai tradition, the pouring of water is the most important part of the Thai wedding ceremony as it signifies the couple officially becoming husband and wife. Traditionally, this was all that was required to validate the marriage.

During the ceremony, the bride and groom kneel together, and a holy string is draped from one head to the other, forming a circle and connecting the couple. This symbolizes their spiritual union. They then ” Wai ” by clasping their palms together in the traditional prayer-like gesture while one by one, guests walk up and pour a conch shell full of sacred water over the couple’s hands while offering a blessing or marital advice. The water ceremony is usually performed by all guests older than the couple, with the grandparents and parents proceeding first, followed by relatives and friends of the family.

Things You’ll Need:

• The Mongkol (holy string): You’ll need to get these blessed by a monk. So find a temple near you or have relatives or friends send one from Thailand. Take note that you can only wear these ONCE! So no practicing with them
• A special table for kneeling so that your back won’t hurt! We went with just a regular table and chairs… and let me tell you, our back were hurting! (See if you can borrow this from a temple of the local counsulate)
• Two bowls (with flower arrangement) for the excess water to flow into
• The talcum powder to put on your foreheads. Add that to the list of things to get blessed.
• Holy (blessed) water. My mother smuggled this from Thailand despite the ‘no liquids’ on airplanes rule.
• The shell and bowls (parn) to refill the water. Borrow from the temple, counsulate or order them
• Garlands for the bride and groom