Repotting Mandrakes

This is your friendly reminder to repot your Mandrakes before the winter thaw.

Who knows if you’ll need them by the end of Spring term.

 

New Year, New Adventure (aka Welcome to Parenthood)

Hello out there.  It’s 2016.  Wow.  When did that happen?  As you may have noticed, I haven’t written anything in over a year and a half *hangs head in shame*

What’s that?  You want to know where I’ve been?  Well, alright then.  A couple of weeks after my last post (on Easter 2014, to be exact), Hubby and I found out we were going to have a baby *omginsertallthefeelieshere*  My brain immediately went on “baby brain” mode, and has yet to come back to reality.  Seriously, thank goodness for post-it notes because without them, I wouldn’t be able to function, I cannot remember anything, Hubby seriously calls me Dory…hey, look, a fish!

…Where was I…

Right.  We had a baby.  Yay!  Prepare yourself for cute photos, starting….now.

This is Zack.  When he was born, one of his ears was very pointy, so I called him Spock.  Since the day of his birth, he has amazed us with every breath.  He just turned 1 a few weeks ago.  Where has the time gone?!?

We’ve had geeky fun with Zack, taking him to Emerald City Comic Con.  Everyone loved our Han, Leia and Wicket costumes!  Still figuring out what to do this year costume-wise.

I totally meant to write this post January of last year.  Know how I know?  Because I just found my notes in an old notebook!  So today, instead of regaling you with my adventures as a mommy to a one-year old, we’ll go back in time and hear my thoughts of being a first-time mommy to a newborn!  Ready?  Hold on to your bowties! *insert wibbly-wobbly noises here*

…and here we are!

January 2015:

Things they never told you about having a baby:

• Baby hiccups are the cutest and most terrifying noise you will ever hear.
• WHAT THE HECK IS ZACK STARING AT WHEN HE GAZES OVER MY SHOULDER AT 2AM?!?
• Babies are loud!  Not in the crying sense, but when they sleep!  Zack sounds like a velociraptor chasing a taunton.  Why a  taunton, you ask?  Because he plays both roles in this scenario, alternating between the rasps of the raptor and the bray of the taunton.  All of this happens in his slumber, mind you, while I lay awake terrified, listening, wondering who will win the hunt.
• SERIOUSLY, WHAT IS HE STARING AT?  GHOSTS FREAK ME OUT, AND HE DOES IT CONSTANTLY!
• Oddest thing of all, I got taller during this pregnancy.  I’ve been 5’2″ for years.  My mom came to visit a few times during the pregnancy (she’s slightly shorter than me), and the last few times, I was definitely looking down on her!  We measured me, and I’m suddenly 5’3.5″!  The air is much thinner up here!

*insert timey-wimey noises here* …back to January 2016!  How’d you all like that little glimpse into my sleep-deprived life?  Zack has grown so much since then!  He now walks, has 8 teeth with more on the way, and loves cuddling AND STILL STARING OVER MY SHOULDER INTO NOTHINGNESS.  Craziness!  He, along with Hubby and I, wish everyone a Happy 2016!

Emerald City Comic Con: A Recap

Phew! I think I (and by that, I mean my feet) have finally recovered from this year’s Emerald City Comic Con. Hubby and I had a blast, as usual. This was our third year attending ECCC, so we’ve become accustomed to the crowds and looooong lines of waiting. I also enjoyed debuting my Redshirt shoes (thanks everyone for voting on the design, btw!):

The R2-D2 shoes were very sleepy after the Con, though:

We had a blast meeting our favorite stars from Star Trek, Firefly and Buffy*, however, my favorite moment was meeting Bonnie Burton and Anne Wheaton (wife of Wil). Bonne is an author, journalist and geek craft extraordinaire. These lovely women have created #VandalEyes, which basically involves putting googlie eyes in the most awesome of places. They teamed up with Espionage Cosmetics to create some even more awesome VandalEyes nail wraps (which I’m kicking myself for not getting, but I opted for the Star Trek ones instead since they matched my Redshirt shoes–see above).

[Sidebar: As previously mentioned, I have created an Etsy shop for my super nerdy shoes and jewelry called Nerdly Goodness. Okay, now back to your regularly scheduled post.]

Anywho, I was super-excited to show off my R2-D2 shoes to Bonnie and Anne. They both loved them, and Bonne even took a picture that she then both Tweeted and Instagramed (can I use Instagram as a verb? Maybe it has two m’s…). I also got to chat with Bonnie a bit about crafting in general and she gave me some great tips about chain mailling (use gloves!). It’s so weird: I’ve become accustomed to “meeting”** celebrities at Cons and remembering that they’re normal people too and being able to have conversations with them, so it was odd for me to have such a giddy reaction to talking with Bonnie. I was on cloud 9 for the rest of the weekend, ask Hubby.

*Hubby was in heaven as Eliza Dushku loved his Smallville jacket

**meeting = A 5-second fly by while you smile and have your picture taken and have possible hand contact. Autographs are a 20-30 second interaction.

The Last of the Lost Missions

Hubby and I just (as in, in the last 20 minutes) finished watching the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Netflix.
***SPOILERS AHEAD (but you probably assumed that already)***

Yes, I know the final season came out *gasp* more than a week ago, but we were pacing ourselves by watching one story arc at a time, in between finishing season 6 of Deep Space Nine, which I had somehow never seen (that’s another story). Anywho, tonight was the night for the final four episodes of Clone Wars. I. Have. No. Words. (But I’ll try to come up with some anyway).

As I posted on Twitter, “The Sith’s about to hit the fan!” The entire season was wonderful, but Yoda’s arc truly was a gem to finish out the series. I had goosebumps the entire time, and got a positive shiver down my back when Qui-Gon first spoke. The lightsaber fight scenes were incredible. There is another Skywalker. *Squee* Did anyone else want the Priestess to give Yoda a Heart Container after he defeated Dark Yoda/Yoda-Gollum? It was very Legend of Zelda-meets-Lord of the Rings!

And I swear, R2 is the best secret-keeper in the galaxy! He’s been everywhere (Even to the Sith homeworld! And to Dagobah! Dagobah, I say!), seen everything, and never tells a soul! Lily and James Potter should’ve hired him as their Secret Keeper, then Harry Potter would have turned out much differently! Finally, I’m so glad I always look at the voice talent during the credits; I want to go back and watch Darth Bane all over again just to see if I can pick out that it really is Mark Hamill (who is an amazing voice talent in his own right).

While the Clovis arc wasn’t the strongest (mostly because I had to Google who Clovis was because it had been so long since I’d seen his episodes), I really liked seeing the dark jealous side of Anakin come to fruition as it has been emerging for the last season or two (the music definitely didn’t hurt too). This show really helped bridge the gap between Episodes II and III with Anakin’s turn to the Dark Side. The only thing I wish was hinted at was the *ahem* first inklings of Luke and Leia, since Padme’s already pregnant by the time Episode III starts.

So now I’m sitting here decompressing and processing the end of the series. I don’t think I’ve had this visceral of a reaction since the last episodes of Battlestar Galactica and Babylon 5, and those were more of the bawling sort. This was dry-eyed and contemplative. Unlike in BSG and B5, we, as viewers, know what’s going to happen to the majority of these characters in their futures (Ahsoka! Captain Rex! Where are you?), which makes the ending of Clone Wars more interesting. I have a sudden urge to both reread the Dawn of the Jedi comic series and watch Episode III at the same time. Then I will start Clone Wars all over again.

May the Force be with us all.

Playing the last note on the Ocarina

According to this lovely blog, I started Ocarina of Time sometime soon after July 24, 2012 (when I finished A Link to the Past).  Last week, after recuperating from The Tangled Challenge, I finally swung my last sword blow to the beast.  Here’s how it went down:

Me: (after beating Ganondorf in Ganon’s Castle and barely refraining from throwing the remote in the air) I did it!  I beat Ocarina of Time!

Hubby: No, you didn’t.

Me: Yes I did!  I killed Ganondorf!

Hubby: It’s not over.  Follow Zelda.

Me: (deflated) Oh no…

Now, I love Hubby with all of my heart, but sometimes he can be a bit too helpful.  Once I made it out of the castle and was faced with Ganon (I’m still confused as to what the difference is between Ganondorf and Ganon), he insisted that I use the Biggoron’s sword (which I insist on calling the Big Gorram Sword) to kill him.  Okay, can do!  I kept whacking at Ganon until Zelda told me to come get the Master Sword.  “No, sweetie, keep using the Biggoron’s sword, it’s more powerful,” Hubby insisted.  “But Zelda wants me to retrieve the Master Sword,” I reply between sword swings.  After several long minutes of watching me play and not really getting anywhere, Hubby googles the game, and admits that I was right and I do need to use the Master Sword to finish of Ganon for good.  I win, and collapse with sore fingers from clutching the sweaty controller.

With Ocarina finally under my belt, I put up an informal Facebook poll to determine if I should venture into Twilight Princess or Skyward Sword next.  The results were unanimously Twilight Princess.  However, Skyward Sword involves a floating island, like my NaNoWriMo novel, so I decided to go against public opinion and try it out first.  I’ve just got to the first temple, and I have to say that I am definitely enjoying it so far!  I’m definitely finding the controls easier since I am more familiar with the Wii than classic Nintendo.

This all being said, I’ve also been having with my chain mail.  I created a Triforce pendant as a prototype.  This will end up on my Etsy site NerdlyGoodness soon, but I want to try it again with smaller rings.  This version looks pretty sweet lying down, but it loses its shape a bit when worn as a necklace. 

Tangled Challenge: The Aftermath

I did it!  I completed my Tangled Challenge!  I ended up changing a few of the tasks to ones I could actually accomplish (sorry, I’ve never made candles before), and I didn’t do everything in the same order as the song (the downstairs neighbors wouldn’t have appreciated laundry and vacuuming at 7am).  My Pascal companion for the day was a dinosaur optical illusion I’ve named Rexy.  Hubby came home at night to take a couple pictures of me, but Rexy’s featured in the majority of the photos.

Yes, I actually did everything.  I didn’t just pose Rexy and take a picture and move on.  The task that took me the longest, aside from the chores, was actually the puzzle.  Rexy tried to help me out as much as he could, but he is a T-Rex and has tiny arms, so that made things a little challenging for him (and for me–it was really hard sewing a dress with tiny arms!).  Enjoy reliving my day!

My task list for the day.  7am, bright and early!

Lots of cleaning!

Marissa Meyer’s The Lunar Chronicle’s books are super-awesome futuristic retellings of fairy tales.  The latest book, Cress, came out last week and happens to feature Rapunzel!  Rexy’s enjoying reading it as much as I am.  He’s also helping me paint new shoes for NerdlyGoodness.

I figured Ocarina of Time’s bombchu bowling was close enough to darts, right?

Rexy was so proud of the bread he baked!  Though he did take a chomp out of the bread before I sat down to dinner…

Rexy thought he could help with the sewing, but his tiny army just wouldn’t cut it.  Also, he did not weigh enough to use the sewing machine peddle.  Sorry Rexy!

Finally me!  I had a lot of fun doing my Tangled challenge, but it honestly took all day long, from about 7am – 9pm (okay, Rexy and I may have had Tangled on in the background, and got distracted watching that in the middle of the afternoon).  I was happy to sit and get to reread my books 🙂

Etsy’s NerdlyGoodness

Last month I started up an Etsy site called NerdlyGoodness.  So far, I have exciting geektastic shoes, juggling balls and bell toys on there, and I’m working on the next pair of shoes now.  It all began last year when I made a pair of R2-D2 shoes, seen above, and wore them around town.  Everyone I met said I should sell them, so now I am 🙂 The juggling balls/bell toys came about over Christmas when I made a pair of Pokeball bell toys for my brother’s cats (aptly named Ash and Gary).

I have a third area of crafting I’m currently working on and will share soon (but I can’t tell you yet because I’m making something for my Mom, and she reads this blog 😉 ).

Check out NerdlyGoodness at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/NerdlyGoodness

Or on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/NerdlyGoodnessEtsy

That being said, it’s time for a vote: I’m working on a pair of black glitter flats that I’m modeling after Star Trek: The Next Generation’s uniforms.  Which design below do you like better?  Or should I do a combination of the two?  Enjoy my mad coloring skills!

 

A Tangled Challenge

Now that I’ve been at home for almost two months looking for new fun museum jobs (and volunteering at happy museums too!), I’ve started to go a little stir crazy.  Yes, I’m still writing my NaNoWriYearISwearIWillFinishIt novel, and working on some new exciting Etsy projects (more on that in an upcoming post), but I’m looking for a bit more to do.  

After going to see Frozen (amazing, btw!), Hubby and I have been blasting Disney music throughout the apartment.  As “When Will My Life Begin?” from Tangled came on, Hubby turned to me and pondered, “I wonder if you could actually do all of the things Rapunzel does in a day?  It would certainly keep you busy!”  Interesting concept.  Let’s take a look at everything Rapunzel accomplishes in a day:

“When Will My Life Begin?”

7 AM, the usual morning lineup:
Start on the chores and sweep ’til the floor’s all clean
Polish and wax, do laundry, and mop and shine up
Sweep again, and by then it’s like 7:15.

And so I’ll read a book
Or maybe two or three
I’ll add a few new paintings to my gallery
I’ll play guitar and knit
And cook and basically
Just wonder when will my life begin?

Then after lunch it’s puzzles and darts and baking
Paper mache, a bit of ballet and chess
Pottery and ventriloquy, candle making
Then I’ll stretch, maybe sketch, take a climb,
Sew a dress!

And I’ll reread the books
If I have time to spare
I’ll paint the walls some more,
I’m sure there’s room somewhere.
And then I’ll brush and brush,
and brush and brush my hair
Stuck in the same place I’ve always been.

And I’ll keep wonderin’ and wonderin’
And wonderin’ and wonderin’
When will my life begin?

And tomorrow night,
Lights will appear
Just like they do on my birthday each year.
What is it like
Out there where they glow?
Now that I’m older,
Mother might just
Let me go …

Whew!  That is a lot of stuff!  But you know what?  Why not!  I’ll have to reorganize a few things (downstairs neighbors probably won’t like the laundry going at 7am), and maybe substitute in a couple of things too, but this sounds like fun!  Ironically, tomorrow is my birthday, but as it’s already in the afternoon today, I’ll have to save my Rapunzel day for later this week.  Okay, I’m getting pumped for this.  I’ll post pictures and updates afterwards!

 

Challenge accepted!

Torchwood (or, the moment I realized I shared the stage with the real Captain Jack Harkness)

I’ve been continuing my quest to become as geeky as possible (I have a ways to go, but I’m enjoying my journey), and as such I’m finally watching Doctor Who and Torchwood. As I have never seen either one, I’m watching them chronologically with each other (i.e. stopping after “Blink” to watch season 1 of Torchwood, then picking up with “Utopia”, and so forth). I’m quite enjoying it so far. I’m up to Season 4 of Doctor Who, and David Tennant is my current favorite doctor. Still waiting to find my favorite companion. Rose is good, I wasn’t a big fan of Martha. I know future companions are other people’s favorites, so we’ll see! I’ve managed to stay rather spoiler-free of future events, aside from knowing when the Doctor regenerates.

minor spoilers ahead…

Back to Torchwood. I definitely enjoy the more adult concepts, and it’s a much darker show. As I wrap up Season 1, I am excited to see how the characters will develop, and if there’s more interaction with the Doctor Who characters. I had a super-OMG moment when I was watching the second to last episode of the season, “Captain Jack Harkness.” In the episode, we meet the real Captain Jack Harkness. As the character came on the screen, I knew I recognized him, but my little brain just couldn’t place him. When I looked it up, I gasped to see that it was Matt Rippy of The Reduced Shakespeare Company. Now, I adore the RSC, and make it a point to go to any of their shows whenever they’re in town. Basically, they take serious topics, like Shakespeare, American History or Sports, and condense them into a play full of hilarity as performed by three guys. Check them out at www.reducedshakespeare.com My favorite show of theirs is their first show, The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged). It’s all 47 of Shakespeare’s plays in 97 minutes, including the sonnets as well (actually, Act II is primarily Hamlet). We performed it in high school (with more than the required 3 actors), and I was hooked ever since. I’ve seen them perform in London, DC (several times), Virginia and Washington. During the Hamlet portion of the show, they break the Ophelia character down into her id, ego and superego using audience participation, which all culminates with one female audience member being pulled on stage to stand in a pool of red light and scream. This had been my dream to do for years (I’m a dork, I know), and in 2010 it finally came true. Hubby and I drove from DC down to Reston, Virginia to see the RSC perform, and I knew we had front row seats, so I was keeping my fingers crossed. I saw the actors eying me throughout the show, and I was ecstatic when one of them pulled me onstage to be Ophelia. Who pulled me onstage, you ask? None other than Matt Rippy. He was awesome (gorgeous blue eyes!) and kept asking me quietly if I was comfortable. I gave him a thumbs up and when my time came, I gave my scream my all. You could hear a pin drop in the theatre. Best. Night. Ever. It made the holiday letter that year. And now it has more meaning now that I know that he is the real Captain Jack Harkness. Swoon.

The Legend of Darmok and Jalad

Preface: I wrote this story a couple of years ago, but I’ve dragged it out to share with you fine folks. I wanted to tell some of the original myths that the sayings the Tamarians (from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Darmok”) use come from. I couldn’t fit all of the sayings in the story, so there may be a sequel at some point, but for now: enjoy!

The Legend of Darmok and Jalad

Part One: To Tanagra

Darmok of Kanza and Jalad of the Kituay decided to go to Tanagra one day, for it was said to be the most beautiful island on the planet of Shantil Three. They set out on their quest on a bright, though cold, sunny morning, the blue sun shining on their bald heads. They knew that it would take several weeks to get to Tanagra, trekking though forest, desert and over an ocean, but they weren’t in any particular hurry.

As they dawdled along, Jalad sang a happy trekking song. Suddenly, Darmok shushed him, hearing something in the distance. Darmok and Jalad moved quietly toward the source of the sound. Through the trees, they saw a giant in a clearing. The giant was cowering against a cliff, shielding his face from a coven of crows who were flying around, trying to peck at his eyes. In the rocks of the cliff sat hundreds of nests, some carrying eggs, others with shrieking baby birds. As they examined the situation more deeply, Darmok and Jalad noticed that the hem of the giant’s tunic was stuck in a crevice in the cliff, so the crows believed their nests were in danger. Jalad glanced at Darmok and, with a silent nod, unsheathed his dagger and moved across the clearing as Darmok strode around the other side of the clearing, his own dagger in hand. They swiftly simultaneously attacked the giant’s tunic, cutting the fabric away from the face of the cliff. The giant stumbled away, waving his hands around his head to rid himself of the last of the crows. At the edge of the clearing, he slowly lowered his weary arms and blinked his eyes in the bright sunlight. Suddenly, he cried out, “Sokath, my eyes uncovered!” Finally, the giant, Sokath, lumbered into the trees, smiling, and Darmok and Jalad continued on their way to Tanagra.

The two intrepid travelers next came to a walled city under siege. The city called Shaka was under attack by the warlord Uzani. He was a crafty warlord who was notorious for his skills at strategy. As Uzani’s army marched on Shaka, warriors with large catapults hurled boulders at the city walls and pounded on the gates with log rams. As the large doors started to splinter, the warriors of Shaka ran out to meet the army, leaving the women, children and elderly inside the walls of the city. The warriors of Shaka were alone against their enemy, when suddenly fresh hordes of Uzani’s soldiers ran from the trees, encircling the poor warriors. Shaka’s warriors were slaughtered by Uzani’s strategy, which he titled “fists open and closed.” One of the fallen warriors, Kiazi, as he was losing consciousness from loss of blood, could hear his children’s cries from the city, and knew that their faces were wet with tears. Before the sun had moved far in the sky, the city walls started to crumble and teeter. Finally, with a loud crash, the walls failed and tumbled down one after another. “Shaka!” Uzani’s warriors shouted, “And the walls fell.” Darmok and Jalad skirted around the edge of the doomed city of Shaka, not wanting to attract the notice of the plundering warriors.

After several weeks of traveling, Darmok and Jalad finally reached an ocean. They looked at each other, puzzled about how to cross it. Suddenly, they heard a loud rumble. They turned around in time to find the giant Sokath crashing through the forest, crows at his eyes again. He had his head buried in his hands, crying out, “Sokath, my eyes closed!” as he scattered snapped trees in his wake. Darmok and Jalad looked at each other and shrugged, then set to dragging the snapped tree trunks to the beach and tied them together with vines. As the season was turning warm, Jalad volunteered his cloak to become a small sail. They placed their raft, which they named Mirab, in the ocean and were relieved to see that it floated. After three days of drinking rainwater and eating marine life that they caught, they saw a glimpse of land in the distance. Their hopes high, the two intrepid travelers paddled hard to reach Tanagra before sundown, for Darmok and Jalad were on the ocean, Tanagra was on the ocean, and soon Darmok and Jalad would be at Tanagra.

Part Two: At Tanagra

Tanagra was a lush island, filled with large foliage and fronds, as well as tiny annoying biting insects. As Darmok and Jalad explored Tanagra, they came to realize that there were few, if any, large animals on the island. There were birds and rodents aplenty, but nothing larger than the mythical Klingon targ. They found a small waterfall to camp near at dusk and settled down for the night. In the middle of the night, Darmok woke with a start, hearing a strange noise. He looked around, noticing that the second moon was rising in the east. He rolled over and started; Jalad was not there! Darmok noticed that there were scuff marks around the area where Jalad had been sleeping. It looked like he had been dragged away, leaving a broken dagger behind. Darmok sheathed Jalad’s dagger alongside his own and followed the tracks along the slow-moving river to a cave. As the sky lightened in the east, Darmok steeled himself and entered the cave.

The cave was a dark, musty, murky place. The light from the rising sun only penetrated a little ways into the cave, but Darmok had excellent night vision. As he slowly walked through the caverns, Darmok, though frightened, tried to slow his breathing and quiet his heart in order to listen for any sounds of Jalad. After what felt like an eternity, he finally heard soft scuffing coming from the cavern to his left. There lay Jalad, an oozing wound on his head. Darmok fell to his knees and cradled Jalad’s head in his lap. “The Beast at Tanagra,” Jalad whispered, and Darmok understood. There was a monster on this island, and it had found its next prey. Darmok hoisted Jalad up and swung his arm over his shoulder, supporting his friend as they started to slowly hobble towards the exit. Their spirits rose as they saw sunlight streaming through the entrance of the cave. Darmok thought he heard a stirring behind him, but was unsure over the sounds of their stumbling. The two partners made it back to the waterfall without incident.

Darmok lay his companion gently down on his bedroll. Jalad was barely conscious, his eyelids fluttering. Darmok tried to stop the flow of blood gushing from Jalad’s head, but it was too much too fast. Suddenly, Jalad’s eyes flew open! “The Beast at Tanagra!” he cried out. Darmok instinctively ducked and rolled to one side. He felt the breeze as something just missed the back of his neck. He whirled and saw the Beast. It was monstrous: taller than Darmok by at least three heads and over twice as wide. Along with its six-inch knife-like claws on all four fingers on each hand and a maw-full of razor-sharp teeth, it also had spiked horns covering its head. Darmok noticed that some of the horns already had white blood on them. Jalad’s blood. The Beast lunged again and Darmok dove for the river. He plunged into the cold water and surfaced, gasping. The Beast was striding powerfully into the river after him. Darmok wanted to keep the Beast as far away from Jalad as he could. He felt around as he made his way to the far bank and came up with some small stones. Clutching his dagger in one hand, Darmok threw the stones with all of his strength, hitting the Beast in the chest, but the Beast did not seem to notice. As the Beast neared, it lunged for a third time. Darmok swung his dagger and struck the horns on the Beasts head. The Beast lurched, knocking Darmok’s dagger from his hand. Darmok grasped Jalad’s broken dagger with his last hopes. He plunged the shattered blade towards the Beast and embedded it deeply in the Beast’s eye. The Beast howled and clambered down the river, leaving Darmok to struggle back across the river to Jalad. He looked down into Jalad’s eyes, but saw that his friend was gone.

Part Three: After Tanagra

Knowing that the Beast was still alive on the island, wounded and angry, Darmok rushed to leave Tanagra. He refused to leave Jalad’s body there where the Beast could get to it, so he lay Jalad on his own cloak and dragged him to the coast. He placed Jalad on the raft Mirab and cast off. Darmok left Tanagra with sails unfurled, fleeing from the Beast and the horrors that occurred there. He buried Jalad at sea, keeping only his spirit talismans. Darmok fell asleep on Mirab and dreamed. He dreamed of a desert-like land, hot with scraggly trees. There was a Tamarian there, along with a bald man with oddly smooth pink skin. He heard the bald man speak of creatures called Gilgamesh and Enkidu at Uruk. Though Darmok did not know this metaphor, he found the bald man’s story soothing. It helped to ease his troubled mind and he dreamed more easily, for Darmok was alone on the ocean, floating through the night.