Alrighty, for starters, we have my "LARP" days. I WOULD have started out with my legendary 6-year-old Robin Hood Halloween costume, complete with original Nerf Bow 'n Arrow, but Alas, the photo is not in my possession. These LARP days are unlike most anybody's. We actually called our form of LARPing "Maaooyip"ing, which affectionately means "Making An Ass Out Of Yourself In Public." What I did with my group was dress up with whatever we had around the house (I was already a longtime Archer, so a Ranger was the natural progression) as D&D Character classes, and proceed to walk around our hometown, visiting stores, and harrassing "Shopkeeps" as we called them, for comedic entertainment. I wore Jeans and a T-Shirt, plus my vinyl rain cape from Pipe Band, as well as a Bow, Quiver, and Walking Stick. A piece of PVC with a duct tape handle was my sword, and I carried an irish drum with me that I occasionally would sit down and jam with on a streetcorner.
![Image](http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/8506/n64302379306079986998.jpg)
Shortly after, as our LARPing grew more, um, "intense", I bought a cloak on ebay, which is now my wife's. I started carrying around "kit" items with me, and I found Andy's site, because I really wanted more out of this than harrassing the public, comedic though it may be. My "LARP" gear quickly surpassed that of my peers in terms of realism (one of them was wearing Sweats and a Bathrobe, which was tucked into said sweats, carried a pair of bokken, and we called him a Swordsman), since realism wasn't what we were going for, but a few of them started trying to keep up, buying more legitimate swords and such online. I was out one day testing a new bedroll idea with one of them who had remained faithful to the goofball approach when we snapped this pic:
![Image](http://i39.tinypic.com/33ws5ds.jpg)
By the time the Renaissance Faire Rolled around that Summer, I had a decent kit, part of which I left behind, dumbing down the realism for the sake of fitting in with the guys. Instead of my kit clothing, I wore my "Ranger" t-shirt, jeans, and converse, along with my bracers, quiver, and sword. My bracers were commercially bought, and my quiver was (and still is) of my own custom design, built by the dude who mass-produces the bracers I was using.
![Image](http://i44.tinypic.com/2ngflo8.jpg)
Another chunk of time went by, and my buddy Dave and I went on our first tandem trek. This is last year, August of 2009 now. I was wearing my kit and loving it, but I was still a good ways behind where I wanted to be.
![Image](http://i28.tinypic.com/2h2qhz6.jpg)
And now, the Finale. Just under a year has elapsed between that last pic and this one. However, in a short period of time, thanks to acquiring a decent bulk of wool fabric, some time to finish the chain maille shirt I've spent nearly a year on, a bit of luck, and the generosity of a few forum members, my kit has become, more or less, exactly what I hoped for. I've replaced my mass-produced bracers with homespun ones, added a dagger and a wealth of WMA study to boot, plus an ongoing study of wilderness cooking and herbology. I have Falconry practice looming in my near future, as well as a new bow that I'm working on, and I've finally got what I need to finish customizing my leather jerkin. The layered look is loosely based on the Movie Trilogy's Ithilien Rangers, but it's rooted in the practicality of camouflage/silhouette breakage. It may not look like it, but I can still run in all that just fine. The color scheme is strictly based on Aragorn's description in the books, however, as he was said to be clad in Rusty browns and Greens when he left Rivendell with the Fellowship. I've spent well over a week total in the woods in kit, (though not all documented here due to my inability to keep track of my camera) and I feel perfectly at home as a Ranger of Arnor.
![Image](http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/9256/candid1.jpg)
Aaaaand an update:
![Image](http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/5556/dscn0313g.jpg)
Alrighty, now show us where you've come from! Dig out all those old photos, and let's see where YOU'VE been.