GenCon: Day Final

Posted on Sunday, August 07, 2016 by Phillip Thomas | 0 comments

Well that's it folks, GenCon 2016 has officially come to a close.

Sunday tends to be a more low key day, so I didn't do a whole lot, caught a few more songs from Dan the Bard (awesome man), made a few final purchases (100 bucks for 5 games, not too shabby), and did some final wanderings before saying good bye to the wonderful (and horrible) mecca of Board Games.

As my second year attending GenCon comes to a close, I wonder what the next year will bring and what new things will come, but these thoughts and what not, are for another day.

Until next time, keep your stick on the ice.

-Phil

Pain is an illusion of the senses, despair an illusion of the mind

GenCon - Day 3

Posted on Sunday, August 07, 2016 by Phillip Thomas | 0 comments

Day 3 of GenCon has come to a close, and with it, the majority of activities are coming to an end.

Naturally there is still one final day of GenCon (today/tomorrow, depending on where you are) and while it will still be somewhat busy, it isn't nearly the powerhouse that the other days of the week are. The dealer hall closes early, some dealers leave (maybe?), many dealers are out of stock and most promotional items are long gone.

Sunday, as the last day of GenCon, is in many ways a much more relaxed day for someone like myself. Ill spend the day wrapping up anything I wanted to finished and wandering the Dealer hall in hopes of finding one last deal, but neither of these things will be done in haste. For me the Con is "over" and this is just the epilogue, where stress is neither needed nor welcome.

Now that my thoughts on the final day are aired, lets review today.

I spent the greater majority of the day with my delightful girlfriend, and a reasonable degree of it with my dear friend Christopher, other friends entered and left as the day went on.

I elected to not go to any seminars or concerts today and instead simply wandered the dealer hall in between lunch and dinner (and a bit before but we got there rather late so not much). I found a few games that seemed interesting, and found that the Zombicide promos were all gone :( The night wrapped up with dinner at the Ram (good, but a bit over hyped imo) and then hung out back at the hotel room and played a few games.

All in all it was a fine, if less productive day, and whatever tomorrow may bring, I will be both happy and sad to see GenCon 2016 draw to a close.

-Phil
 
Pain is an illusion of the senses, despair an illusion of the mind

GenCon: Day 2, Oh the Humanity!

Posted on Saturday, August 06, 2016 by Phillip Thomas | 0 comments

So as you can see I bring you this installment of my GenCon adventures just a tad late, but I assure you that it is with good reason.

So yesterday we had a bit of a lie in and got to the ICC around 10am. After wandering the Dealer hall for a bit we went and took in another TheAngeryGM seminar, followed by a Dan the Bard concert, both were superb!

We moved back to the Dealer hall and did a bit more browsing and coupon redeeming before heading out and getting lunch at Pie Five, a pizza place that I highly recommend. We then returned to the hall and continued browsing, demoing, and couponing until the hall closed at 6.

We sat for a bit before regrouping and heading out for the big finish to the evening: The Concert Against Humanity. Just like last year it was an absolute blast and lasted way to long haha, but I will definitely be going again next year.

Finally we headed back to the hotel and wrapped up the evening with some drinking and hanging out,

Onward to day 3!

-Phil

Pain is an illusion of the senses, despair an illusion of the mind

Test Post Please Ignore

Posted on Friday, August 05, 2016 by Phillip Thomas | 0 comments

Test Post Please Ignore

-Phil

Pain is an illusion of the senses, despair an illusion of the mind

GenCon: Day 1

Posted on Thursday, August 04, 2016 by Phillip Thomas | 0 comments

So day 1 of GenCon has come to a close, and on the whole it was a really good day. There were some rough patches, but when attending an event with thousands and thousands of people, you really have to expect as such.

Since this was the first proper day of the con, I thought I would give a bit more of a report on what I did today.

The morning went somewhat less smoothly then I'd have preferred as I managed to secrete my wallet at the bottom of my suitcase and then had to go back up for my badge (slipped my mind after the wallet panic). Once that was all settled we headed down to the Convention to begin our day. Naturally do to my delays (probably) we got to our preferred parking garage, LITERALLY, as they put out the full sign, however we got decent enough parking a few blocks away and the walk was good for us haha.

Once in the hall we picked up some generic tickets and then parted ways as the two bums went in early thanks to their trade day badges (grr). Once the doors opened officially we wandered around the dealer hall for a bit before going and listening to the delightfully angry "TheAngryGM" as he gave a simple and basic guide on running your first sessions as a GM while dressed up as Sailor Jupiter (Charity reward for the people who donated lol).

We then went and did a few more booths before splitting up again. At this point Chris and myself went and enjoyed some fine cuisine from Scotty's and picked up the blue D6 (the necronomicon grilled mac'n'cheese and pulled pork sandwich was great).

We then wandered the hall getting swag and procuring a few games before meeting up with several groups of friends and formed a mighty blob (thirteen people!).

The rest of the night was general hang outs and fun times, so with that I will end the post and hit the sack as Day 2 of GenCon waits for no one!

-Phil

Pain is an illusion of the senses, despair an illusion of the mind

GenCon - Day 0 Redux

Posted on Thursday, August 04, 2016 by Phillip Thomas | 0 comments

So despite not being one of the lucky few with a Trade Day badge, I still had a pretty darn good day.

Went to the Farmers Market with Eva & kin and got a variety of tasty Honey treats and then ate at the food court which was reasonably interesting. Then wandered and hung out with friends who had just got in until the 13th annual Stink began. Ended up eating Bangers & Mash at the Irish pub and then wrapped the day up with a swim and then hanging out with Eva and some close friends.

Not the most exiting day but a good one none the less.

I'd love to chat more but I'm afraid I am ready to pass out.

Peace!

-Phil

Pain is an illusion of the senses, despair an illusion of the mind

GenCon - Day 0

Posted on Wednesday, August 03, 2016 by Phillip Thomas | 0 comments

People that get to go to Trade Day suck!

That is all.

-Phil

Pain is an illusion of the senses, despair an illusion of the mind

GenCon: Day "-1"

Posted on Wednesday, August 03, 2016 by Phillip Thomas | 1 comments

Greetings and salutations my friends from the far off land of Illinois, I write this post to you from the far flung future of one hour ahead!

That's right folks, I am once again in delightful Indianapolis for the once a year event that is GenCon. As it is rather late and I've only slept a few hours today, I am not going to type much, but I just wanted to share a few thoughts before I turn in.

A few years ago I never would have fathomed that I would be in a position to go to GenCon, and yet this is now my second time attending this national Nerd and Geek past time. While I'm by now means rich, it is nice that my position in life has increased to a point where I can actually do fun things of the moderately expensive variety. furthermore I continue to count my blessings that I have such good friends to share these experiences with, as I've found over the years, that going to such events alone is often rather lacking.

Well folks, at this point I am going to go ahead and turn in, stay nerdy, and keep your stick on the ice!

-Phil

Pain is an illusion of the senses, despair an illusion of the mind