There Will Be a GaryCon V Post!

I was planning on vlogging my way through GaryCon V, but the presence of hundreds of people at the Geneva Ridge Resort put a damper on the wi-fi. My video of the events of "Day Zero" would have taken over eight hours to upload back in Wisconsin. And my constant worrying about the video on Thursday led to me not preparing for a game on Friday until the 11th hour. So I decided to eschew any "journalism" and focus more on enjoying my vacation, which is really what my trip to GaryCon was about.

Anyway, without further ado, here is Day Zero.

GaryCon is Tomorrow!

And I do have some content to add about it! However, I committed to doing a vlog about traveling from my brother's apartment to Lake Geneva and all relevant subjects about it. The video has been recorded, but now I'm waiting for the Flip program to finish compiling all the small vids into one video to upload to YouTube. So as soon as that's done I'll append it to this post for all to see.

But just for a Cliff's Notes version, things are pretty awesome right now.

Two Days Till GaryCon!

Ugh, I hate travel days. I got slightly more sleep last night than I did the night before. Then it's five hours of sitting in a cramped plane or hauling heavy bags throughout the airports. By the time my mother and stepfather picked me up at O'Hare, I was just plain miserable. I needed lunch and a nap and not much else.

However, fate would dictate there be more to today. That's because today's my 39th birthday, and there was celebrating to be had. So after a two hour nap, we were off to a nice restaurant for a great meal and one of the best gin martinis I have ever had. The second half of the day more than made up for the first.

Now, it's back to bed to get ready for tomorrow. I'm (hopefully) meeting an old friend for lunch tomorrow before picking up Michael and heading to Lake Geneva. See you all there.

Three Days Till GaryCon!

I managed to get a total of two hours sleep last night.

Yeah.

So now here it's almost 9pm Eastern and I have to get every last minute thing packed and accounted for before I catch my flight tomorrow. Ideally, I'll be at the airport by around 8am. Which shouldn't be a problem since I live about fifteen minutes away from it.

I did manage to get the last of the paper minis I need printed. Mad props to Ze Bullete at Dungeons and Digressions for all the work he put into his paper minis.

Hopefully there won't be any delays sue to the weather. It's finally warming up here, but I understand it's still cold back home.

Tomorrow's blog will most likely be a vlog since I'll be traveling. I'll be bringing my Flip camera along with my webcam to take video during the con. Hopefully i will have plenty to share.

Later.

Four Days Till GaryCon!

Okay, looks like I found the solution to my minis problem. If you are looking for some high-quality fantasy paper minis, look no further than The Fantasy Trip. There are tons of well drawn figures there.

Tomorrow is going to be a weird day for me. Due to GaryCon and my birthday falling within the same week, I decided to head out to Chicago a day earlier. But this means that I have a one-day workweek this week. And with my job, I'm not getting a lot of projects dropped in my lap since I won't be around to finish any of them. It should make things interesting to say the least.

Five Days Till GaryCon!

First, I can't believe that I didn't think of this sooner. But the solution to yesterday's problem was realizing the a mat that could be rolled up could also be folded.

Second, it looks like I'll be checking my bags after all, since I will be bringing a few of my pained miniatures with me for my HackMaster game. I suppose it is possible to get them by the TSA without issue. But I am seriously debating whether or not it would be worth the hassle. I am trying to find some good paper minis to bring with me. I'm having some luck with the PCs, but I need ones of kobolds and dogs for my adventure. Alternately, I could use some sort of token or pawn as a stand-in. but I need to get them fast and cheap.

Other than that, I just need to make sure I have all my other stuff (i.e. everything not game or clothing related) packed and ready to go Tuesday morning.

Six Days Till GaryCon! Off the Grid?

It just occurred to me that I won't be able to take my game mat to GaryCon. It's too long to fit in my bags, and when rolled up it could easily get lost on the plane. I forgot that I got around this issue last year by having a set of disposable grids printed on poster paper. But I used them all up gaming last year.

While most games don't really require the use of minis and mats to work, my Friday morning game does since all it is is a big combat for about a dozen people at a time. So now I need to figure out how to get a grid laid down for one game without shelling out a lot of money.

Any ideas?

One Week Till GaryCon! Getting Closer.

The first of my bags are packed for my trip. Five days worth of clothes are in this blue bag. Since I will be staying at my mother's house on Tuesday and Sunday I have the luxury of doing laundry before heading home. Just one more bag and I'll be ready to get on the plane and head home to the Midwest.

8 Days Till GaryCon! Employment Opportunity!

Just read this on the Kenzer & Company Forums:

Interested in learning the nuts and bolts of running a hobby game company? We are currently looking for a part-time intern. We are looking for a reliable, responsible, detail-minded, organized individual who does not mind doing manual labor. This job will included but not be limited to: Warehouse duties: packing product, shipping orders, moving boxes, transporting orders to post office and UPS, etc. Convention duties: set-up, take-down, working the booths, running demos, etc. Proofreading and playtesting. Extensive knowledge of our products is a plus. This job would be a maximum of 10-20 hours per week. A reliable vehicle is required. Must live in a reasonable proximity to our office in Waukegan, IL. Please email Jennifer@kenzerco.com subject: INTERN, if interested.

As I have mentioned in the past, the Kenzer crew are a bunch of great people and I am a huge fan of their products. So if any of you that live in the northern Chicago suburbs, this may be an opportunity worth seeking out.

9 Days Till GaryCon! Now Is Not The Time To Panic.

Ever have a deadline for something that you are given notice months in advance, yet by the time that date is almost upon you you realize how much you have yet to get done?

Yeah, that's me finally getting all my buildings printed for my Aces & Eights Shootout.

And I still have a few other things I need to get squared away before next week.

Yipes!