So, recovered (somewhat and at least physically) from my first GenCon in 3 years. I think I am ready to try my Good, Bad, Mixed, review. Here Goes!
GOOD!I could go on about our ticket returns and how we filled out every slot and got ourselves an over 100% return rate. But to be honest, I don't really care (yea, I said it). Instead I'd like to talk about that thing I tend to sluff over every year...
Old Friends - You all walked into that room (JW 308 for those of you who can only live vicariously) like you'd been saving your last action for three years! The floodgates of welcome were set free and it was like the past three years had just disappeared. You all sat right down and resumed playing like you'd been practicing all this time. It was awe inspiring
New Folks - Lots of new folks showed up, including a family that bought out a whole table just to play!
Speaking of - Ken had not one, but two different newbies send me emails already! (one of whom bought up all the books so they can start running it for their home game!)
JW 308 - Far enough down the hall that only folks coming to see us ventured down and close enough we could just use the second bank of elevators to arrive right next to it!
REFRIGERATORS - Who woulda thunk it?!?! For those not there, for reasons we still aren't certain of, we had not one, but two different refrigerators IN THE ROOM!!! We could keep things cold, preserve stuff and generally abused the privilege the whole con!
PAs - I mean, they're always fun, but these were especially fun, I mean Fun fun. FUN Fun fun!!!
Episode 20 - Specifically the end, it worked out exactly like I hoped it would!!!
Marriage - We had not one, but two couples who let me know they will, sooner or later, get married! Love is a truly wonderful thing and it makes me super happy!!!
BADOverall, not too much to report. Most of the bad were more irritating than horrible (and that caused me, in most cases, to switch it from BAD to MIXED).
Gluten Free - I itched a lot, I mean a Lot lot. So finding stuff that was safe was a bit problematic (though it may have more to do with my not having a whole lot of familiarity with what I can/can't eat than anything else). But it itched, so I am irritated.
Rain - (but not for the reason you think). It kept promising a deluge all week long. Promises, promises, promises. We got a few sprinkles in the end but nothing that even put a dent in the heat.
Sunday - Well lets see... went to deliver my last lot of tickets only to find they closed the JW GM booth WAY early (and after I bought them coffee too, damnit!) so I had to trudge all the way over to the far side of the Convention Center. On the way back I stopped by the dealers hall to find the game I had been mulling over all con only to find it had sold out
. Later, Ken offered to drive us over to drop off stuff at the hotel before going to dinner and then back to my car. About half way to food I remembered I'd left my car keys back in the hotel so Ken had to drive me all the way back before again returning me to his house (after I'd done nearly the same thing in reverse on Tues). THEN it was Sunday so I had to say goodbye to friends who mean the world to me knowing I might not see some of them again for a year. And finally, when I finally did get back to the hotel I realized I forgot to tell Don we had already eaten and he had been waiting for us...
MIXEDFew mixed this year, but more intensively mixed than previous years.
Wristbands - I know this was a gigantic P.I.T.A. for most folks, but it was the first year they're doing this so I give them mostly a pass for somehow missing the fact that over 75,000 people would need to get the wristbands separate from getting their badges, tickets, etc. For Megan, Don, and I, well, we got in on Tues so we had to wait a total of maybe 10 seconds. But it solidified to me that, as long as they keep doing this, we have to come in early on Tues so we can get the wristbands then. That, in turn, makes me think others will see things the same way I do (which will exacerbate the problem, but that's for another day).
The Drive - More mixed bag than ever. I love driving out, I love hanging out with other gamers for hours talking about stupid stuff we get but no one else does. I still love the "orange drink" joke, and we even came up with a new one for this year ("It's not that funny." for those of you wondering what phrase will cause me to laugh out loud.) Heck, I even love that it's overall cheaper than flying. BUT damn am I getting old. This drive just takes it all out of me. I was exhausted when I got back and even today I am still trying to recover.