Ars Longa, Vita Brevis
"Eat, Drink & Be Merry, for tomorrow, we may have to go back to work!"
Are you a RENRAT?
Here's a simple test. Are you one of those people who:
- knows the difference between a "privy" & a "prithee"?
- considers life outside of Faire to be a "pastime"?
- wears parts or all of their Garb to school or work?
- can get over the flu easier than lose that silly Basic Faire Accent?
- still answers to their Faire name long after Thanksgiving?
- buys their children such thoughtful gifts as swords, cloaks, fairy wands, etc.?
- tirelessly searches the liquor stores & supermarkets for mead if you don't already make it yourself?
- experiences "bodice tan"?
- can't find their keys in the morning but can still tell anyone how many weeks till the next Faire?
- will put off their college loan payments to pay off a pair of leather moccasins?
shouts "Huzzah!" at sporting events? - expects a "Free Kiss" card to be accepted anywhere?
- misses "Covington Cross" and "When Things Were Rotten"?
- watches "Monty Python & the Holy Grail" with the sound off and doing all the voices yourself?
- plays far too much Jethro Tull on the weekends?
- feels comfortable in Elf ears, chainmail, raw wool or leathers?
- remembers when "Drench a Wench" really meant "French a Wench"?
- feels uncomfortable outside of a bodice?
- needs more blades, pentagram jewelry and pewter figurines of stoic orcs?
- sees nothing wrong with stripping down to change your clothes in a busy parking lot?
- only knows your best friend's Faire name?
- wears your belt in the middle of your stomach?
- doesn't automatically think of "The Mask" when someone mentions the "Green Man"?
- knows your weight in stone?
- knows more about your Faire Persona's family than your own?
- hears bells ringing and looks about for a Town Crier?
- spends your Monday complaining of Faire Burn-Out & how crazy it can get up there, what with the heat, the bees in your soda and lines for the Portosans, only to be watching the clock on Friday, impatiently waiting till you can pack up your bracers, bloomers, blades & what-have-you so you can do it all over again?
If any of these statements sounds even vaguely familiar to you, chances are you're a RENRAT. If this is the case, then the only thing left to do is pander to your particular proclivity and Join Up! Proudly show to the Mundanes that you are truly more than the average Tavern Slug or Faire Nerd, but a veteran of All Things Rennish, a connoisseur of crafts and a stalwart survivor of the daily grind. The Renrat motto says it all: "Ars Longa, Vita Brevis." (Art is Long, Life is Short) Or, basically, "Eat, Drink & Be Merry, for tomorrow, we may have to go back to work!"