I look around. There are a lot of people in this room.
I just might be the second most athletic person here.
This is not true of the whole convention center, of course. Some of these guys are clearly more fit than I. It just happens that this particular room doesn’t contain any of those macho, super-athletic card gamers. It doesn’t have any of those Warhammer 40000 guys, or even those quick kids from Anime.
This is straight up D&D.
It is an older crowd. A heavier than average crowd, too. I bask in a smug feeling of second-most superiority. Maybe if I could get Jeff to leave I’ll take that top slot.
Of course, my striking athleticism isn’t going to mean much here. Nobody cares what people look like, how fit they are. Even I find that my probably faster run speed and reduced risk of heart disease mean nothing in this setting.
This is GenCon.
This is a gathering of gamers, and in this place most of these people are my superiors.
I hope they don’t rub it in.
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I think my favorite event at GenCon this year was the Reaper speed painting contest.
I lost.
But I had a lot of fun.
I also managed to paint a pretty decent miniature. One of my favorites, really. I thought his colors came together nicely; his accents were finished just as the timer went off. The base could have been a little more creative, and there were some technical flaws. I also came to realize that there are several techniques that I’ve never really explored.
It gives me something to think about as I move forward with my painting.
In a separate event I learned how to use greenstuff.
I expect these two events together will really improve this little hobby of mine.
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Nearly four days I was away from home in the wide, wide world. This is the longest I’ve been away for, well, longer than I can remember. Following are some of my most important observations, to be recorded for all time:
- I missed my boys, but I’m not sure they really missed me. Coming home had much the same feeling as returning from work.
- Swearing is a fun, effective way to express emotion. Now that I am home returning to a swear-word free vocabulary is taking a little bit of concentration.
- It is a mystery to me how single parents ever get their lawns mowed.
- Presents are appreciated, but finding presents for the boys was surprisingly difficult considering that it was a convention focussed on games. Isaac got a giant inflatable d20 and Gabe got a My Little Cthulu stuffed toy.