<div dir="ltr">Hiya, Cynnabar,<div><br></div><div><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-95cf4e47-7fff-7dc3-04dc-1e01499fc672"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">After contemplating thoughts of new practice sites yesterday evening and my feelings on our local practice lately vs the regional practice in Jackson last month, I’ve come to a new conclusion:</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I think that business meetings should not happen at Baronial omnibus gatherings/fighter practice.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">What I *thought* having it all in one place would be like:  Oh, great, it’ll be like whenever people taught a music/A&S class besides fighter practice, and the entire Barony is there!  I love those days!</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">What including the business meeting at practices is actually like:</span></p><ul style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Business meetings feel rushed and annoying because they’re eating into socializing/fighting time</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Fighter practices get compressed and rushed and almost not worth it, for those of us who can’t stay up really late</span></p></li></ul><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">A general best case scenario, because we’re a great active Barony that does a lot, is that a business meeting lasts a half hour.  This is with rushing through everything and not having fuller discussions of any points.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">So, best case scenario, the meeting feels rushed, and ends at 7:30.  By the time everyone says hi to one another, trickles into fighting area, gets armored up, and ends vital community bonding time of “how are you doing?” updates, it’s 7:45 - 8 pm.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I’m not the only one who needs to leave practices by 9 pm to be able to get sleep themselves, or get their children to sleep.  That means armoring down by around 8:45 pm, to pack up and say goodbye and leave by 9 pm.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">45 minutes - 1 hour of compressed practice time means that:</span></p><ul style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Can’t do drills, sparring, AND melee work ever.  Basically ensures melee work will never happen at these practices, like they used to at rapier practices that actually had more time.</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Can’t do tournaments, because there’s no time for that and practicing anything.</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type:disc;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I can’t organize to have teachers or outsiders come visit our practices, because with variable meeting times, practice time doesn’t start at the same time AND there’s little time for a class and any practicing, AND the compressed time makes traveling further to our practices not worth it.  This really limits the capability of Cynnabar practices.</span></p></li></ul><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I’d say move practices to Sundays again to free up more time, but once summer event season starts in May, there’s still the argument that Sundays are needed for other life stuff when most Saturdays are taken by events or other summer happenings.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">You can’t tell me to “just skip the business meeting” because 1) I like being aware and giving input to my Barony, and 2) almost everyone else is still at the meeting, so practice can’t really start anyway.  What’s the best end result to this line of reasoning?  No fighters who need to leave by 9 pm (not an unreasonable time) can be at business meetings if they want to fight?  That feels exclusionary, even if it’s not the intent.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Having business meetings at practices means business meetings are rushed and don’t happen well, socializing is rushed and doesn’t happen well, and fighter practice is compressed to the point of almost not feeling worth it, and therefore doesn’t happen well.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The best answer to opening up Thursday evening fighter practice/Baronial omnibus gathering to actually feel connecting and uplifting and awesome again: get rid of the business meeting on that evening.  It was a nice concept, but it’s not working out well.  Then practices and socializing and everything can actually start between 6:30-7 pm and have a good long chunk of evening to do all the things without feeling rushed and cramped.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Thoughts?</span></p></span><br class="gmail-Apple-interchange-newline"></div><div>~Birke die Jaegerin</div></div>