Carpe Blogiem: GenCon 50 – Day 0

Whew. I’m in Indianapolis at GenCon 50. Finally. SO MUCH STRESS OVER STUPID THINGS THAT TURNED OUT NOT TO MATTER. But I’m here now and that is all that matters. Some notes from today:

Traveling Man
I got to Norfolk Airport about 1255 hours and I was through the TSA checkpoint by 1310 hours. Seriously. It was fast. But then I left my ID in my hat and got it lost on the conveyer because I’m an idjit. Didn’t notice it until I was already at my boarding area so I had to run back down. The TSA guy (Mark Jakosky) spent 25 minutes fishing it out for me. He is my hero. I ran back toward my gate then nd spent about 20 minutes waiting. I was boarded quickly and to my utter surprise and delight I had a row to myself and I was on the aisle. The seatbelt fit just fine (something I was SERIOUSLY worried about). It was awesome. 28 minutes from takeoff I landed in Dulles. Dulles is frakking huge and it needs to be the location of a a movie about the Zombie Apocalypse. Luckily, I stopped and asked for directions and a map and thus did not get lost. I used the automated walkways as respites for myself and then hit one of their trolleys. Also – that needs to be in a Apocalypse too – they are HUGE. High up, and defensible. You could totally live in one or use it as a mobile command center. Yes, people this is where my brain goes when I’m tired. While waiting for my plane to board I got recognized in the wild and talked some game theory with some folks. Was most cool. The plane I rode was tiny. And I was again afraid that the belt wouldn’t fasten – it did. About 58 minutes after takeoff and I was in Indianapolis. About an 1 hour later I’d got my baggage and was at my hotel thanks to some excellent shuttle service.

In-Country/Hotel
I checked in – there was some mix up at the counter and it sucked greatly but it got fixed. I had less than 30 minutes to clean up, put my stuff out, etc. before I had to rush off to the Diana Jones Awards. I basically tossed my stuff down, took a quick breather, and then rushed to get in my Uber.

Diana Jones Awards
My first time here. It was crazy. An utter madhouse. The food was mediocre, but the company was excellent. I talked to a few publishers, met Ken Hite, and hung around with +Paul Stefko for a bit. I probably should have stayed longer, but after I ate there, saw the award, and did some mingling I was ready to head back to the hotel. Hopefully I’ll get some work out of that.

I also managed to meet up with +Edmund Charlton and I bought some books off of him. Overall, a good start. Tomorrow I’ll probably go for a swim and then head over to the Con to meet up with +Douglas Cole and others. Thanks again to everyone who got me here and I promise – lots of pictures/video.

Twitter Stream Photos

Leaving on a jet plane going to Gen Con so I can roll some dice again…. pic.twitter.com/9mgcS9fSUB

— Christopher R. Rice (@Ravenpenny) August 16, 2017

I've landed at Dulles pic.twitter.com/0JnKIqasFu

— Christopher R. Rice (@Ravenpenny) August 16, 2017

Pretty clouds I've VA pic.twitter.com/e4FnYxINlY

— Christopher R. Rice (@Ravenpenny) August 16, 2017

Ok. I boarded the flight to Indy. Is a tiny plane. But comfy. See y'all on the ground pic.twitter.com/pl57aZzwX4

— Christopher R. Rice (@Ravenpenny) August 16, 2017

I shouldn't ride this. pic.twitter.com/r2v5Uc66p3

— Christopher R. Rice (@Ravenpenny) August 17, 2017

So this was some pictures from me boarding plane to Dulles on 8/16. AMAZING people on plane. pic.twitter.com/SHEpnelLOG

— Christopher R. Rice (@Ravenpenny) August 23, 2017

This is Cadillac Ranch in downtown Indy. Nice place, but the food is…not great. It's not BAD. But it's not great. pic.twitter.com/gxwdMDARW1

— Christopher R. Rice (@Ravenpenny) August 23, 2017

This was the steak burger I had. It was edible. That was about it. A picture of the backroom where the awards took place is the other pic. pic.twitter.com/RhrpfTAfmB

— Christopher R. Rice (@Ravenpenny) August 23, 2017