A Window, A Light...

Long day is, as they say, long.

I'm not going to do a full run through, suffice to say that you had to be there - otherwise it'll be a laundry list of lines I stood in which you don't want to hear and I don't want to bother with. I think it's reasonable to say that I had an excellent time, and it was well worth going. Upon returning, I'm pleased to consider Monday, which is the auspicious day. The number four is the magic number that turns the three day weekend into something akin to a vacation. I receive no dock in pay for this event scenario; all of the pieces for this one event.

PAX is large, and it is far and away the best convention I have ever seen. When I say large, I mean to imply that it is not merely big but actually epic in scope. I think that Archon is big, and it has every right to be proud of the crowd it pulls in - especially considering its area, but PAX is substantially larger and I can safely say that fewer unattended fires are lit there. Whether this is a good or bad thing clearly is a matter of perspective.

It isn't of much used to compare the two events in any way other then that geeks attend both of them in meaningful quantities, which makes them superficially similar entities. PAX is a very professional endeavor and Archon is always propped up on the scene just enough to start the match to the keg's wick. In that way, staff at an Archon event always seem to me to be the type of person to volunteer to hold the keg steady. It's done out of a sense of devotion to the event itself, but it's not the kind of thing one wants to do so much as feels compelled.

Obviously, I only attended Sunday. It's the kind of event that seems like you want to be at for every available day if you're in to that kind of thing. My gaming status was put on pause years ago at the point where I owned a PS2, a GameCube, a PC, and a laptop. This is a sad situation these days, but those are the breaks. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind how far gaming has advanced graphically, if not functionally. If there's any doubt over the latter, though, let me say that those hot new things are very hot indeed. Looking at those games, I felt intimidated. Clearly the people engaged in these things were greater people then I, who have just now been getting to neglected games from years ago. It would be too much to catch up; I would need to start over. I don't feel bad, though. It's just something for the future, if I choose to go that route.

Did I say it was worth the time? It was. How nice to not be dissapointed!
If you have any questions, I don't mind getting into specifics. I don't know if you're the type that requires them.

There's no easy way to say this, and believe me, I've wracked my brain, so I'll just lay it out on the table like so : I'll be at PAX, but only on Sunday.


Too much build up, or just right? I can never tell.

I'll be at PAX this Sunday, presumably until it closes, but maybe a little later. I do need to come back and feed guinea pigs, and if you have ever met them, you'd understand, but other then that, it's a convention day. There are a few things that are unusual about my decision to attend - the fact that I really only attend one convention on average a year and that conventions usually exhaust me, but also that when I go, I usually go all out. I didn't really realize the nature of the convention until it was too late; I'd heard things, you understand, but even though I am coming only into contact with it in its most diluted form, I assume the institution will lay it on me in a heavy way. I will probably need Monday to recoup. 

Let's put it this way - I like people a lot, but I'm not good at it. If you are a certain type, you will understand what I mean immediately and if not, it may never parse correctly, but that is the clearest way to put it.

You can expect me to be in good spirits then and on prior days. Friday and Saturday, I have nothing on my plate. I will probably be doing Magic things, if Magic things are not put on hiatus because everyone is at PAX (which is possible). If you are in town for PAX and would like to do something (which I realize is frighteningly unlikely given the circumstances), you may message me on this journal and I will endeavor to schedule something. For me, it will not be difficult. I am terrible at travelling anywhere, but I am good at scheduling.

I posted a review of Gibson's Pattern Recognition on my Xanga which I linked to my Facebook, so I have two out of three covered. I was terribly dissapointed in it and will probably be writing more to improve my review skills (such as reviewing in text may be considered a skill). If you would like to see it her, inform me, and I will meet your needs - but don't say I haven't warned you.

Terribly, I still need to engage in this activity referred to as work. You are likely familiar with the basic concept, so I won't elaborate any further. I will simply go and do.