PAX 2008: Prep 3

Life. Life. Life. INT PAX. PAX. PAX. PAX.

PAX is all elbows.

(That's an interrupt programming joke that's light on details because I never programmed interrupts.)

Sacramento Area Pre-PAX Luncheon
Yesterday, I had lunch with some fellow PAX forum folk.

CaptainTapole was fun to talk to, is also playing TWEWY, also likes Final Fantasy 9 more than most people, has a cute frog backpack, and gave me a super rare button. How awesome is she?
Answer: So Awesome

VThornheart won the BioWare minion contest to be able to attend PAX. And he encouraged them to attend the dinner, which they are (and which I suck for not thanking him for in person). And he also organized the lunch (which I also suck for not thanking him for).

millislim is a focused personality, gamer, and cosplayer. If you're entering the PA game cosplay contest, "watch your freakin' back, Squeaky." She's bringin' it.

Just having lunch with these folks completely affirmed why PAX is so important to me. Talking to excited gamers is pretty much the best thing ever. That kind of enthusiasm is hard to find in humans after elementary school. And that kind of enthusiasm combined with strong intellect and complete goofiness... well, that's why I'm sunburned from standing out in a parking lot for an hour. I just couldn't tear myself away. It's also why I'm happy to shell out to go to PAX.


Packing
Imma chargin' my batteries for my camera. I feel a little silly about that. I barely used the thing last year, and didn't take any pics worth posting. I think everything else is packed.

3 homemade video game shirts
Nintendo DS
- Mario Kart
- Jam Sessons (with 1/8" -> RCA cable for audio out)
- The World Ends With You
124 Blaster Master themed button exchange buttons
boring stuff


The Air Security Shuffle
The main trick to packing is that since I'm flying and pack really light (one carry-on), I have to do some extra work to make things flow smoothly. Going through the security checkpoint means:
- put shoes in basket
- empty pockets into dish
- put bag of liquid stuff (toothpaste, shampoo, etc.) in basket
- put bag of tech stuff (camera, DS, etc.) in basket
- go through metal detector
- collect everything
- repack everything
And that's the optimal process. They may want to look through my electronics, or decide the umbrella in my backpack looks dangerous. Flying back from PAX last year, they took a money clip I'd been given by a friend for being best man at his wedding because it had a tiny utility knife in it. Flying to PAX, it was fine. :P


So why fly?
Flying is super quick, doesn't require stops for meals and rest, and is cheaper than any other form of travel I've looked at. The plane is $300, round trip. The train (which would take 20 hours each way and probably require me to buy insanely overpriced food) costs $350. Driving would take twelve hours each way, which I would have to split up, requiring an extra night in a hotel each way ($120). It would also require me to find and pay for parking in Seattle ($125), buy some food and gas ($200) and put over 1500 miles on my car ($459 if we assume .30 a mile). Unless I've overlooked some major difference, flying destroys.


New PAX Details
The schedule page already had the exhibit hall map and overall schedule. Now it also has the specific descriptions of the panels (what they're really about, who's running them). It's time to flip through and see if there were any boring sounding panels that will actually be interesting.

So far, most of them sound like the title said. There are a bunch of "break into the industry" panels. No thanks. There are a bunch of "issue" panels. Maybe if I didn't read so much about gaming already. I may hit up a movie or concert, but for the most part, I want to game and enjoy the company of gamers. Now I just need to finish prep, collapse, and rest so I can be lucid enough to enjoy it.