Origins 2k10 recap

[grayhawkfh]

OK, so the family & I spent the better part of the last 7 days either planning for or attending Origins 2010. Here, for those who care, is the recap of those days.

Short version. Another Awesome Time was had by all.

Tuesday, 22 June: Took Tuesday off to pack and generally make sure we were ready to rock and roll. mousecat0 had to work, so I did laundry, packed clothing. Hit the bank to do some banking, then went to The Kielbasa Factory for some kielbasa for the get-togethers at night, finally ending up at Giant for ice for the cooler and a few other things. Got home and loaded the cooler. Got everyone showered as we were going out to dinner with my mother-in-law and an old friend of mousecat0's family. After dinner, we finished packing the car, I reprogrammed the thermostat to keep it warmer while we were gone, and prepped the coffee for the morning. By 2230 hrs, I was in bed.

Wednesday, 23 June: I was up around 0430. Checked weather and email. (notice I didn't say "traffic". This becomes important in about an hour.) Shut down computer, woke the family, and started taking last bags to the car. Put coffee in thermos, put family in car, made sure everything was off that was supposed to be off, and headed out by 0515.

Now, the first part of the journey was to take I-270 to I-70. Unfortunately, a perfect storm of events caused I-270 to be closed between exits 8 & 11. Fortunately, I know my way around up there, and was able to detour with minimal issue. The remainder of the journey was without issue. We stopped at the Zanesville, OH Olive Garden for their soup, salad and breadstick meal. It's a reasonably healthy meal before a 5 day con starts, and not a bank-breaker.

We arrived at the Greater Columbus Convention Center around 1330 hrs. We threw some money in the meter and went in to get our badges. The line for pre-reg pickups was the longest I think I have ever seen it, but moved at a decent pace. We got our badges, tickets, and generics, and headed over to the board games room to check in with the Steve Jackson Games MIB Zone. Said "Hi" to a few people, then headed back to the car to check in at the Hampton Inn & Suites Columbus-Downtown.

Now, here's a tip in case anyone from the Hampton Inn chain is reading: I love staying at the Hampton, whether at Origins or anytime/place else. The rooms are nice, and the breakfast is good. I will be staying there many more times in the future. However, if Housekeeping is running behind (for whatever reason), please be up front with me about it. Telling me that my room would be ready in 10 minutes 3 times in succession, then telling me it would be another 20 minutes, will only succeed in annoying the ever-loving hell out of me. Telling me up front that it will be 30-45 minutes will get you a lot farther with me, both for honesty and so that I can plan what to do with myself and the kids for that time.

Once in and unpacked, we headed back over to the GCCC to check things out some more and get some food before mousecat0 had her first Witch Hunter: Dark Providence game and I had to run my first two events of the con: Chez Cthulhu and Lord of the Fries. While on the way to the food court, we ran into pleasantlyevil and deceptiverose, neither of whom I had seen since their wedding last year. We chatted for a bit, then got food. The kids came with me and played in both of my games. Both games went off well, with several players in each. I had enough players for Chez Cthulhu, so I didn't play in that; I did play in LotF. During this, I saw several more old friends who I haven't seen in two years (ie Origins 2008). After the games, the kids & I went back up to the hotel room, where they watched Mythbusters (The exact quote when checking out the TV Guide channel was "OOO! Mythbusters! Quick turn that on!") and I went down to pleasantlyevil and deceptiverose's room to hang out with folks (like petronivs and nukekitty) for a while. After her game, mousecat0 joined us. We called it a night between 0000 & 0100.

Thursday, 24 June: F & I were the first ones up. We showered, got breakfast, and headed across the street. I had two games straight off: Chez Geek & Chez Cthulhu. In between, I ran over to the dealers room to pick up a copy of the Dresden Files RPG. Yes I got both books. And yes, chadu not only signed both, but got everyone else there who was involved to sign them. It was not long after this that I learned that my daughter was interested in this $300 corset (though it may have been actually a bodice). Yeah, there was no way in hell that was happening, especially since a: I knew she didn't have $300, b: I wasn't going to subsidize half of that, and c: I have issues with buying expensive clothing for people who haven't fully grown yet.

Well, eventually they went to the food court, and graciously brought back some food for me. We split up then, with B. going over to the Looney Labs Big Experiment to play Giant Icehouse & Volcano, then "Andy versus Everybody", mousecat0 going to her second Witch Hunter: Dark Providence event, and F going with me to learn how to play Classic BattleTech. Heck, I needed a refresher since it's been years since I played. After the tutorial, we got into the weekend long Classic BattleTech event "The Grinder", and had fun blowing up other mechs for a few hours.

Eventually, we finished our games and went over to the North Market for some dinner from Sarefino's and dessert from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. And both were excellent. While there, I worked out the terms with B for her to get the black leather bodice that she saw (at $150 instead of the $300 one); tl:dr version is I pay half and she works it off in extra chores and stuff.

After this wonderful dinner, mousecat0 & took a short nap, then spent the evening in the company of some awesome people, until we staggered back to the room for another good night's sleep.

Friday, 25 June: Once again, F & I were the first ones up and out. I only had one game to run this morning (Chez Geek), after which we all spent some time roaming around the dealer's hall. There were a few absences I noted, including Days of Wonder, Paizo Publishing, & Pokemon (though I later learned that the Pokemon National Championships were no longer at Origins). Also felt like fewer resellers and more game manufacturers. Picked up some stuff from , including a half-dozen or so Lost Worlds books I didn't have.

That afternoon, mousecat0 & F went off to play "Andy versus Everybody" (I might add that they both beat Andy in their games of Monty Python Fluxx), while B & I took part in a game of Mutants and Masterminds where we had to track down who was arming low level mooks with high tech weapons and why. B played "Siren" (an Aquaman equivalent, only more useful) and I played "Raven" (the daughter of the setting's "Batman" equivalent). I know I made at least 2 criminals pee their pants, and had several other role-playing moments which got the table going. Needless to say, we saved the day.

Amusing side note: the person playing Captain Thunder bore a striking resemblance to Tony Danza.

So, dinner that night was at BD's Mongolian Barbeque. This has become something of a tradition for the people I hang out with at Origins - and BD's was up to their usual standards. Only complaint I had was either they changed the fajita sauce or my memory of it is waaaaaaay off. Couldn't hardly eat what I had. Oh well. They apparently now have these "mini-desserts", which I love. It's enough to finish off a meal without gorging oneself, and the price is right as well. Overall, a good meal.

After dinner, the kids and I went back to the hotel while the rest of the group made their annual pilgrimage to The Garden, an adult emporium which also has a...fetish section in the back/downstairs. As I've never gone (I've either been with the kids or gaming), I have no real report to give. Everyone was tired when they got back.

Of course, just because I was at the hotel doesn't mean things were boring.

Oh hell no.

We stayed in a suite at the Hampton. The kids slept in the front room, while we slept in the King bed. The suite has a small kitchenette with microwave, fridge, sink. I had brought 3 bottles of Diet Coke with Lime as mixers for the bottle of coconut rum I had with me. When I puled one of them out on Friday night, it was all but completely frozen. Great. I put it on the counter to thaw (thinking I'd use it Saturday night) and went back to the bathroom. Just as I closed the door, I heard a large "BLAM". I thought to myself "I didn't fart", then asked the kids if everything was ok. The response I got?

"The diet coke just exploded!"

There was frozen diet coke everywhere. On the walls, the counter, the ceiling, the cabinets, the floor. Huge chunks in the living room. The bottle itself was truly something to behold as well: screw top split in half, a portion of the bottle hanging limply over backwards like a weeping willow, a split 2/3 of the way down the bottle. So, we spent the next 20-30 minutes cleaning up thawing diet coke. We wiped everything down. B did so much I told her she had just worked off some of the bodice.

Well, everyone got back from their field trip at about the same time we cleaned up. I went down to be sociable for a bit, but since everyone was beat, we all called it an early night.

Saturday, 26 June: Came down alone for breakfast; as the game I was running that AM was Deluxe Illuminati, I knew he'd be bored. Besides, after that, I was scheduled to play in the Nuclear War tournament. As usual, I had a huge amount of fun. As usual, I didn't win. mousecat0 & B. went to a "Beginners Miniatures Painting" seminar. This was more for B. That said, she loved it and has discovered yet another artistic talent/outlet. Over the course of the rest of the weekend, she spent several more hours at the "Paint & Take" miniature area in the Dealer's Hall. That afternoon, the ladies went off to the last Witch Hunter: Dark Providence game, while F & I cruised the dealer's hall, picked up copies of the Supernatural RPG and the Classic BattleTech: Total Warfare books. With the latter, they gave us a coupon for one mission in the VR BattleTech Pods. After verifying that there wasn't an age restriction, F. picked out a MadCat II and hopped in. He was destroyed more often than he destroyed (2 kills, 11 times killed), but he was by no means the worst player. More important, he had fun.

We ordered dinner from a local pizza joint on Saturday; everyone was a little tired and mousecat0 was really not feeling well. She was out cold by 2030 hrs, and pretty much slept through the night. I went down to pleasantlyevil and deceptiverose's room for one more night of silliness, and crawled into bed around 0130.

Sunday, 27 June: My first game wasn't until 1000 (Car Wars/Battle Cattle CG), so I slept in a little. F came with me again for breakfast, and then to play the game. While I was doing that, mousecat0 found a game for herself: San Francisco Cable Car. After that, I hit the dealers room, as I knew I wanted to pick up Thunderstone, but I also ended up getting The Adventurers. Picked up some Battletech Minis, spider slippers for F., a new Cthulhu Fish for my car, and another starter deck of Pokemon cards for F. I also had a custom badge made for when I do MIB work, and a second one with my call sign and name.

Took that back to the room, then came back across to do a little Christmas shopping with mousecat0. Once done, we passed the Rio Grande Games booth on the way out and picked up copies of TransAmerica and Power Grid: The New Power Plants Cards.

We then retired to the room, where we vegged out for a little while, then started packing up what we could. Once done, we played a game of The Adventurers, which everyone seemed to like. Round about midnight, we all called it a night.

Monday, 28 June: This is easy. We got up, we ate breakfast, we packed out, we drove home. We unpacked. We collapsed.

Overall Thoughts: Despite the colossal Clusterfuck that was pre-reg, everything on site went smoothly. I admit to being a little concerned about how well F. would handle the con. Fortunately, he proved those fears wrong. He loved the whole thing. They're saying official numbers were in the 10.5k range; I can buy that. Still, things felt empty at times.

Still, I go to Origins for three things: To play games, to teach games, and to have fun. I accomplished all three. And the rest of the family had fun as well. What's not to like.

OOO! I know, I know! Having to wait another year to do it again. ;-)