Retitled - Jaleigh's Gen Con Diary…
…wherein she still records every single (no matter how trivial) detail of the activities of five friends over the course of the largest gaming convention in the country, but now she does it with a running time clock. Picture 24 minus Jack Bauer…and you're not even close. Wednesday, August 9th, 10:00 a.m.
Group coffee intake: 5 Early departure due to the evil Indy time change, so Jeff, Tim, Kris and I left the house in our borrowed minivan (the better to haul Games Workshop paraphernalia) and made a brief stop for breakfast at the diner and aroma café for four doses of chocolate caffeine before blazing out of town. 2:00 p.m. - Evil Eastern time
Arrived at the Omni Severin hotel for check-in and snazzy designer convention keys. Yes, of course I snagged the Year of Dragons key without blinking, what, are you crazy? ;) Unloaded our stuff in the room and waited for Todd, our fifth, to arrive from Colorado. 3:10 p.m.
45 minute plane delay for Todd, but we were stalwart, we would not hit the convention center until our group was complete. However, we had no trouble hitting the mall, so we decided to venture out for some fresh air. Surely, we thought, by the time we return, Todd's plane will have landed. 4:30 p.m.
Back in the hotel. No Todd. Time for some television. 4:31 p.m.
Absolutely nothing on TV, except for Fear Factor. How bad could that be? 4:45 p.m.
OMG WTF??? They're eating pig anus and nobody can look away…for the love of God, where are you, Todd?! 4:50 p.m.
Jeff's cell phone rings. Todd is in the building. Thirty seconds later he's in the room and we're all headed down to the convention center to claim our swag bags and (for most of us) little plastic badge holders and lanyards.
The registration lines were packed as usual, but we got our (fully loaded…we're talking dice, free card packs, deck holders, etc.) swag bags and program guides, and also picked up the popular, bright blue, I want to be Stephen Colbert's gamer friend.com buttons, part of Peter Adkison's quest to be, you guessed it, Stephen Colbert's gamer friend. Check out the petition, it's hilarious. Peter: "So, Stephen, you've been to Gen Con? I OWN Gen Con. How frickin' cool is that? Pretty frickin' cool. The buttons were a precious commodity--I only later found out why. We also picked up Welcome Home Gen Con lanyards from staff members in the hall, who greeted us warmly. Gotta love that. 6:00 p.m.
Brief stop at Marriott to scout True Dungeon, then it was time for dinner, as even the strawberry-flavored water in the lobby wasn't enough to satiate us. Led by Urban Ranger turned Civic Wayfinder Tim (geez, his title gets longer every year), we headed over to the Irish pub for smoked salmon and fish 'n chips. Most of the meal spent munching the seafood extravaganza and reading the Gen Con program book. Tim, to Jeff: "Your sister's on page 107.
Jeff: "How'd she get there so fast?"
Tim: "No, her name's on the page." Turns out Author's Avenue got a nice spread in the guide, but I contained most of my girly squealing at seeing my name in the Gen Con bible…most of it. 9:30 p.m. Group coffee intake - 9
Back to the room to prepare for Cthulu. Preparations included a trip to Starbucks for more stunningly sweet liquid caffeine…and pound cake. Never face the Great Old One without pound cake, I say. 2:00 a.m.
Investigators: 1, Rats and insane cultists: 0
San points lost: At least 4…it's a good thing we play this game infrequently, or I think we'd all be dead already. ;) Thursday, August 10th, 8:00 a.m.
Group coffee intake: 14
Up bright and early (bright being relative, once the horrific downpour set in) to guzzle more chocolate stimulants and be at the convention center at an unprecedented 10:00 a.m. on the dot. 10:10 a.m.
Let's just wait until the crowd dissipates a little before we go in. 10:20 a.m.
Any minute now, it'll clear. 10:31 a.m.
Oh, screw it. Off we went, down the bottleneck hallway and into the most crowded exhibit hall I'd ever seen on a Thursday. Usually I don't start the sexy dance of backpack dodging until at least Friday, but I was on full alert now. People don't realize that when you're 5' 1" those things get you in the eye. ;) Instead of an end to end circuit we opted to start in the middle and work our way out, first stopping by the PJCC booth to greet John and Ian. 11:00 a.m.
Let the record show: Jeff breaks down and buys something before fully exploring the exhibit hall. 12:00 p.m.
Half the exhibit hall left…starving…fading…need food. 12:10 p.m.
Burgers and waffle fries at Champs to galvanize us…mmm…more effective than a fully-stocked cleric 1:30 p.m.
Back at the convention, recharged, we decided to hit the auction store, which is always a…memorable experience. A word of advice if you're new to this aspect of the convention: if a man in a cowboy costume orders you to stand behind the silver line while waiting to make a purchase, do exactly as he says. Don't stand on the silver line, god no, because he'll make you move back. Just follow his instructions, because believe me, you don't want a scolding from the cowboy, it's really hard to endure it with a straight face. 2:30 p.m.
Survived the auction store with minimal blood. Back to the exhibit hall to shop and catch Steven Schend's signing at the Wizards booth, in the comfy, living-room style bookstore. I got my Blackstaff signature, as promised, and got to meet my editor. Hoped the whole time that the shyness that is my curse was not overly obvious. ;) I left, promising Steven his own Stephen Colbert button, and I still have it, in my bag, at this moment. Unfortunately I was never able to bring it and Steven together. ;) 4:00 p.m.
Wandered the hall with Jeff and hit the art show. Also Cloud Kingdom games, but no luck getting a riddlemaster ribbon. 6:00 p.m.
Back at the Omni. One elevator non-functional = not good. But made it back eventually and took a call from Eytan Bernstein, our True Dungeon fighter, confirming plans to meet at the Marriott that evening for our run. Then we settled in to look at our purchases and discuss dinner plans, eventually deciding on the Old Spaghetti Factory…or so we thought. 7:45 p.m.
Group coffee intake: 16
Attempts to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory: 1
We trooped around the corner, craving pasta, only to be told the wait was 45 minutes, leaving us with little time to prepare for True Dungeon, so we headed back to the mall to seek Italian at a restaurant which, I'm sad to say, I can't even remember the name of. The food, unfortunately, was just as memorable as the name, but we made it to the True Dungeon by 10:00, our party intact and armed with tokens, ready for battle…or so we thought. 12:00 a.m.
Again, no spoilers…we managed to get to the final room of the dungeon with the party intact and running on hardcore, despite the warnings of our trainer. Alas, we failed to solve the final puzzle, but will fight on another day. ;) 2:00 a.m.
Parted ways with Eytan and headed back to the Omni through the wall of humidity to collapse in anticipation of another early day. Friday, August 11th, 8:00 a.m.
Group coffee intake: 21
Pain…pain…need more sleep…need coffee…no, need direct injection of caffeine. 9:30 a.m.
Up, dressed, finally ready to go. Tim departs early for a miniature painting seminar, Jeff departs later for a world-building seminar, Todd and Kris for parts unknown, and me for coffee before heading to the exhibit hall for my first Young Dragons signing. 9:45 a.m.
Coffee in hand, plenty of time to get to the signing. 9:50 a.m.
Hmm…more rain. Much longer walk than I thought through the sky bridges but still, I'll make it by 10:00, no problem. 9:55 a.m.
Officially lost in a teeming sea of humanity swarming toward the exhibit hall. Forget the signing, I'm never making it out alive. 10:01 a.m.
Oh my fricking god I'm still not in the doors yet. 10:05 a.m.
Okay, I'm in. Now, must get all the way over to the corner. Follow the Eve platform, hug the walls like a spastic mouse. 10:08 a.m.
Success! Turning down Authors' Avenue…or Alley, if you're in stealth mode. 10:09 a.m.
Met Kameron, Erik, and James in quick succession and got in my seat (my name on a placard!) just in time for the masses of people swarming the booth for our signatures. 10:10 a.m.
Or maybe not. ;)
Actually the turnout was better than I expected, and having my first signing at the convention was one of those little Gen Con moments you get to keep with you all year, so you can take them out and cuddle them when you're having a crappy day. Spending time with the Young Dragons, signing AT Gen Con, and seeing my guys come up to the booth one by one to visit me and have their anthologies signed were a handful of the best moments at the convention. I also got to meet Eric Boyd, and Steven Schend stopped by to visit and introduce his lady. A whirlwind, to be sure, and it went by way too fast. My only regret is I couldn't spend more time at both ends of the table, and Harley didn't visit me until the end, I think he's afraid of me now…rightfully so, but still, crafty women need love too. *sniffle* ;) And I got books! Signed and everything, from the independent authors populating the Avenue/Alley…I didn't ask if they were in stealth mode. 11:30 a.m.
Took off after the signing with writer/editor/dynamic duo, Ed & Lara, for a quick al fresco food court lunch. Ed and I trooped over to the Hyatt afterwards for the Secrets of the Realms seminar, which was well attended, minus the guy sleeping/snoring in the back of the room. 1:00 p.m.
Jeff, Kris and Tim head off to their WWII Flames of War game, while at the same time I'm at the seminar, and Todd is exploring the anime area at the Westin and getting me a free bracelet. This is where the 24 clock image really comes in handy. Insert your own sound effects. ;) 2:00 p.m.
Parted company w/Ed and headed back to the room to unload my books (Jeff, Tim, Kris, in the middle of a HEATED debate in the game at just this instant) and then went back to the convention center to spy on the boys and the game in progress. I had just enough time to peek behind a pillar and get a progress report from Jeff and Tim before they had to get back to saving the world. So I returned to the exhibit hall just in time for free popcorn! Yes, I have to say, liberally salted junk food will always win out with me in the freebie category. It's how I'm put together. Drawn, perhaps, by the smell of butter, Todd located me wandering the hall, and we shopped together and discussed new and old anime. I should interject here, in honor of Todd and Cthulhu, that my favorite t-shirt of the convention was the Cthulhu: In the Brokeback Mountain of Madness shirt. Adored that one. ;) 4:30 p.m.
Bought a key chain at the art show, and visited Ed Greenwood, Steven Schend and Eric Boyd at the Avenue/Alley…I'm certain Ed was not in stealth mode. Got Swords of Eveningstar signed and decided (after I'd picked my jaw up off the floor that he remembered and could spell it with no badge-peeking) that Ed can pronounce my name any way he wants to. ;) Met up with Jeff, Kris, Tim, and Todd afterwards to recap the heated Flames of War battle, which ultimately ended in a draw and some killer dice rolling by Tim--yes, my boyfriend. Then I asked about said boyfriend's miniature painting seminar, and got snickers and grins from the guys. Jeff: "Tim's instructor was a model."
Kris: "She was hot."
Tim: ……..
Me, teeth gritted: "That's….wonderful." Note to self: Obviously, boyfriend has had enough painting instruction and needs attend no more seminars to improve himself. ;) 6:00 p.m.
Back to the Omni for a quick turnaround to make our 6:30 P.F. Changs reservations. This meal is the highlight of our convention dining experience, so we didn't want to risk being late. 6:15 p.m.
One elevator still broken…so we're waiting. 6:17 p.m.
Still no sign of it. Time for the stairs. Six flights, what could possibly go wrong? 6:19 p.m.
We're lost in the sub-basement. Shit. 6:20 p.m.
Made it back as far as the lower lobby, but the only way to get out of the basement is, you guessed it, via the single functioning elevator. 6:25 p.m.
Grace of God, the elevator shows up, and we leave a vapor trail through the mall to get to Changs. 6:31 p.m.
*gasping* Table for 5, please. 7:00 p.m.
Kung Pao scallops never tasted so good. 8:00 p.m.
Another temporary split up, with Jeff and Todd attending the Pagan Get Together (while not actually pagans, they are pagan-friendly, as designated in the program guide ;) and Kris, Tim and I returning to the room to retrieve Kris's badge and visit the miniature painting contest area. 9:30 p.m.
Took in the incredibly impressive miniatures, watched some events being played, and met up with Jeff and Todd for another trip to brave the auction store, this time with better results. Everyone stayed well behind the silver line this time. 12:00 a.m.
Back at the room to crash hard. After three sleep-deprived nights in a row, I vowed my eyes would remained sealed until at least 9:00 a.m. Saturday, August 12, 9:23 am.
Group coffee intake: 28
"Well, that's not good." --Todd Jeff and Todd departed early (I didn't note the time, because my eyes were still sealed) for the Killer Breakfast, Kris soon afterwards, and Tim and I managed to hit the convention center at around 10:30 for some shopping for him and picture-taking for me. It was during this time that I realized where all the Stephen Colbert buttons had disappeared to. They were attached to every available surface of clothing on a random gamer's body. The sound of him coming up behind me in the hallway was like a herd of elephants wearing tap shoes. Watch out Peter Adkison, I think you've got competition for most dedicated gamer friend. ;) 11:30 a.m. - Attempt to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory: 2
Put a call in to Jeff and Kris for an early lunch so I could make my 1:00 signing without a problem. Arrived at the Old Spaghetti Factory anticipating no wait, since they opened at 11:30 on the dot. 11:31 a.m.
At least on weekdays… 11:32 a.m.
Back to the Irish pub, which opened earlier than noon, for sandwiches on the patio. Enjoyed a lovely break in the humidity, too. 1:00 p.m.
Back to the convention center to split up again for signings and seminars. Young Dragons part 2 went smoothly, and I was even early for this one, so I got a chance to chat with Kameron--master of all things painful--Franklin before the signing began. There were far fewer butterflies in my stomach for this second signing, and I went to my seat, this time between James and Erik, with more confidence. The turnout was way down (yes, even lower than the first day ;) but Erik and I passed the time chatting, until I accidentally let slip that I thought Ghostwalkers were ninnies, and then he challenged me to an arm wrestling match, which I totally let him win. ;) Okay, so some of that might be exaggeration. Mostly we just talked about the convention. ;) Also got the chance to meet Richard Lee Byers, who is thoroughly sweet, and I don't mean in a chocolate sense, I mean in the, 'don't let the fact that he writes about deadly dragons and undead fool you,' sort of way. ;) 2:00 p.m.
The signing ended, but not before I managed to swipe the placard with my name on it (yes, I'm a geek, I'm so keeping it) and the Gen Con logo. Note to self: Next year, to increase turnout, pick up case of alcohol to give out as freebies, and one chain mail bikini. Will decide which of the guys (Kameron, Harley, Erik, Ed, or James) will be the booth babe later, perhaps by internet poll. 2:30 p.m.
Back to the dreaded auction to see the Games Workshop bidding, and later, Tim and I finish our circuit of the hall we'd started that morning, buying paint and brushes, so Tim can apply what he learned from the model, er, painting instructor. ;) I also finally got to say hi to Rick from Cloud Kingdom, who'd evaded me up until that point. Still no joy on the riddle. 6:00 p.m.
Attempt to eat at Old Spaghetti Factory: 3
Back to the room to plan a strategic supper that would get us to the Video Games Live concert on time at 8:00. After much (much) debate, we decided to be smart and call the Spaghetti Factory to check the wait time. 6:01 p.m.
30-45 minute wait. Perfect. So we pile downstairs on the now-functioning elevator, and hit the street with plenty of time. 6:10 pm.
Wait time at Old Spaghetti Factory: 1.5 hours. Hmm…. 6:15 pm.
Across the street at the Klondike, er, Smokey Bones, we got seats in the bar area under the air conditioning vent from hell, and decided barbeque, not Italian, was the order of the day. 7:42 p.m.
We stumbled out of Smokey Bones, frozen to the bones, with twenty minutes to hoof it to the Hilbert Circle Theater. We had just enough time to dodge Link, Mario and other costumed characters to find our seats and settle in before the conductor walked to the platform. The show was amazing, from the Indy Symphony Orchestra playing along with Pong, to the piano savant pounding out the theme to Super Mario Brothers at breakneck speed and soaking up every cheer from the crowd, to the grand finale montage of stirring music from Halo. A fantastic time and highly recommended if the show happens to come to your area. It's worth the price of admission just for the interactive Space Invaders. ;) 10:45 p.m. - Group coffee intake: 30, White Hot Chocolates: 2
Left the show and hit the chocolate café for some late night sweets, including some hot chocolate for Jeff and Tim that was made with white chocolate instead of the traditional cocoa. Jeff: "All coffee should come with a cherry." 11:30 p.m.
Back at the room, we worked off our sugar buzz watching one of Todd's LukeSki dvds until we were laughing so hard I couldn't see straight. As expected, as soon as the sugar wore off, we crashed hard at 1:30. Sunday, August 13, 8:00 a.m.
Group coffee intake: 35 Our last day, we began the big load up of souvenirs and luggage, and thank heaven both elevators were working or else we might still be waiting on the sixth floor with a load of luggage. But, we finished by 10:30 and were at the hall for last minute purchases and events. I finally got my Riddlemaster ribbon, and a Nymph ribbon for flavor. I would have chosen Princess, but the Nymph ribbon was pink. ;) 12:00 p.m. Attempts to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory: 4
This time, we were in the right place, at the right time, and this, yes, our fourth attempt to eat spaghetti, was successful. Pasta never tasted so good. 2:30 pm.
Ran into Harley (finally!) at the exhibit hall, and discussed the convention and how much had changed for both of us since last year. Let the record show: He promised me dinner next year, to make up for evading me all weekend. ;) 2:40 pm.
Met up with my guys at the Wizkids booth to say goodbye to Todd, who had to leave early for the airport. Hopefully, we'll meet up again before next year…lots of SAN points to lose, and all that. ;) 3:00 pm.
Stopped back by the PJCC booth to visit with John, Paul and Ian one last time, before heading out of the hall and back to the Omni. We loaded the minivan, grabbed coffee-- bringing our total intake to 32+ for the year--and headed for home. We'd closed out Gen Con for another year, and I'd replenished my supply of perfect convention moments, due almost entirely to the company I kept throughout the weekend. Gen Con, appropriate to this year's theme, is always like coming home to old friends and new ones. Whoever they are, and however well they know you, doesn't matter. They all make you feel a part of something huge and special, and that's a magical thing. --Onyx V.
August 15th, 2006
| 
