GenCon 2013, Days 0 and 1

I could probably Storify most of my tweets over the past couple days and call it good, but, well, writing things out helps to gel them in my head.





Wednesday, Day 0.
Why day 0? Because I didn't expect to do much GenConning, just travel. And, well, I was right.
I woke up and got packed, wagering that I could survive on half as many pairs of shorts as days, but needing 1 for 1 on shirts, socks, and underwear. I left out toiletries, figuring to pick those up in Indy. Like a good boy, I went to the airport RIDICULOUSLY early, showing up at like 1330 for a 1630 flight. I found a place with awful pizza they tried to pass off as "rustic", but who had free refills on drinks, and read for a while, then slipped off to talk on the phone and wait for my flight. We loaded in good order, and I wound up sitting behind The Doubleclicks, who did the wonderful "Nothing to Prove". They were quite nice.

Even after we got stuck on the plane for three extra hours because of storms in Houston. Oh, gods, did that suck. Shuttle America's (who ran this flight) crew treated us well, and most folks seemed ok with it... as I noted, we'd have been a lot more pissed at maintenance problems, but what can you do about storms? At one point, folks got off the plane to get food, but I did not, which was SUPREMELY stupid, since the smell of fried chicken very nearly led me to eat my seatmate. He survived, though I really hope he was right handed before, 'cause he certainly is now.

This schedule disturbance led to us getting into Indianapolis at 2300 local, about when the shuttle to my hotel stopped running. I had no power (INDIANAPOLIS AIRPORT: Put outlets outside. Seriously. We need power.), and was sending frantic text messages to my roommate to see if the shuttle was coming. Short version? It wasn't. I got a cab at "You're in deep shit, huh" prices, a ride to my hotel and, after going to the completely wrong room, wound up with a roommate who hadn't slept in 24+ hours, because he just flew in from Scotland. I decamped to the lobby to order Hot Box pizza, which was quite adequate and came with a reusable cup. Bonus! After WAY too long of a day, I eventually dropped off.

Thursday, Day 1
I woke up way too early, especially given that Indianapolis is an hour ahead of decent people time. I laid in bed for a bit, until it became clear that I wasn't going to drift off again, and got up, taking my first shower and heading down to breakfast. After breakfast, my roommate and I walked about 30 miles to CVS to pick up some necessities (toiletries, PB&J, pain killers), then another 30 miles to the hotel of some friends, only to walk 30 miles back to the convention center. I decided to head back to the hotel and shower again, before heading up to the Will Call line.

I have to say, the line went pretty fast, and I was soon wandering, lost, around the convention center. Convention staff were helpful but rare, and the maps didn't do much to orient me... partially because they don't say what's actually there, just what a room is called. Very annoying. I eventually made my way to the dealer's hall and wandered around, meeting Howard Tayler of Schlock Mercenary, Randy Milholland of Something Positive, and said hello again to Amy Ashbaugh, who I met back at 2009's Palladium Open House. I got a nice sketch of Woogie the Cat and a few small posters from Randy, a Partnership Collective challenge coin, and some pins from Amy. I also met with the Troll Lords and talked about what I'd like to see out of Castles and Crusades, including my homebrew multiclassing, and sat in on a demo of Kenzerco's Hackmaster. After that, I was tired and pretty well GenConned out for the time being, and so opted to head back and rest.

About 1900, I got out and about again, heading to the D&D event (my roommate had a ticket, but he also had a ticketed game, so he gave it to a friend, but they're a couple, so they gave it to me). They teased some great event called The Sundering happening to the Realms, and at least a couple of people in event referenced the old Baldur's Gate game, but by this point, I'm running on fumes, and the geek music is played too loud and aggressively for my taste, and there are too many people I don't know around me, being loud to be heard over the music, so I returned to the room to rest and recharge. I look forward to tomorrow, and am contemplating going to buy something for my poor, beblistered feet.