Wait For It...

Okay... Mental crunch-time is kicking in and as the trip to GenCon approaches, I am being to compelled to cancel my portion of it by my own nature of not being able to let go. I've made trips before in the past and let others run the store, but those trips were pretty much of a business nature, and not as long of a time duration as the upcoming GenCon trip.

No, the GenCon trip is (mostly) for pleasure, and that evokes feelings of guilt within me that I find hard to quash. I understand that this is my hang-up, and that there are friends and family encouraging me to make said trip due to how I've been acting lately. To those folks I say "thank you". You see what I desperately need more clearly than I do at times. I'm just stubborn and don't listen well.

Beyond that, work proceeds apace on the sorting project. At this point, while I am hoping it gets by the time I leave for the convention, I'm not counting on it. Who knows... I could be surprised...

-- GopherDave

Tipping Points...

It's already been a somewhat busy day at the store and the day isn't even half over. It'll be a good day once it's done, but I have to survive it first.

Thinking about the impending convention has got me realizing just how much I need this "vacation". I need to get in some solid role-playing. I am only in one game that meets consistently, and that game just had a system upheaval due to playtest concerns of the GM/Author of the setting. I liked my previous character in the setting, and had some emotional investment in him. Now I have a new character (which I do like) but since he is new, there is less care on my end whether he lives or dies yet. He is still in the "numbers on a page"-stage for me. Eventually, he may make it into a place where I care about his "death", but it may not be for a bit, yet.

As for running games, I am not running a thing and my mind is starting to feel it. I am working on things for the local convention in January, but I need something going soon, or I am going to lose it big time. It's like there is a part of myself that I have lost touch with and I'm not certain how to get back.

It's an ugly feeling, and I do not like it in the slightest...

-- GopherDave

Impending... Something...

Okay, I leave for GenCon in less than a week and am *SUPREMELY* behind on a couple of projects. I have no doubt they will get (mostly) done before I leave, it'll just be easier on my mind if I know they are accomplished.

Now, here's the kicker... If these things are not done before I go, it's not the end of the world. In a lot of respects, the issues are very much first world business problems. I just have a touch of CDO and would really rest easier if things were put to bed.

As for the convention itself, I'm looking forward to it to some degree, though my "business owner's" mindset is making it very difficult to completely let go. I should not worry. I have perfectly competent folks manning the store while I am away. I'm just... me... which is to say I am a passive-aggressive control freak. Despite all of that, I know that I need this break more than I will admit to myself. So, I plan to have a great time...

In terms of gaming goodness, I plan to play a few games, hit up the Wyrd booth to check out the new Malifaux plastics, go to OtherWorld Designs and pick up some gaming-related garb, and just generally see what is new and exciting in terms of gaming. While tempted, I will probably not pick up a great deal of stuff. Loquacious and I own a game store after all, and can get much of anything we want that will be at GenCon for much cheaper (read: wholesale) if we are just patient about it. There is are a couple of items thought that, if they are there, I will be sorely tempted to pick up immediately. The main one is this...

I have loved this game ever since I played the original. I still consider it the best CCG ever created, and I wish I still had my batch of cards for it. Come to think about it, if I run into a dealer selling off bulk deals of the old cards, I will probably pick some up...

Hmmmmm....

-- GopherDave

Working The Chain Again...

Okay... Today at the store was weird. It wasn't overly busy, but I felt absolutely exhausted as I left around 7PM this evening. Something about Tuesday shipment days make it very draining for me. The good news is that we actually got a sizable restock of Dragon Shields in. For those who don't know, Dragon Shields are probably the most expensive brand of card sleeve on the market. They are also the best quality sleeves for CCG players, hands down. The company that makes them cannot keep up with demand most of the time. We are frequently out of stock of them as they sell quickly when we do manage to get a quantity in.

In other store-related news, the MtG card rearranging/reorganization proceeds slowly. I pretty much stated to the employees that I wanted to have this done by the time I leave for GenCon. Looking at the calendar, I realize I leave for GenCon in one week. In regard to this project, it's go time if it is to be done by the deadline I imposed.

That is on top of all the other stuff I have been trying to get done by then. I have my own project that I am INCREDIBLY behind on. On top of that, I promised a friend that I would help him run his GenCon events as I know the game system better than he does, which means I need to re-read said game system to refresh my own memory.

It is times like this where I wish there were about four of me, but I know the world couldn't handle that... Plus Loquacious would probably kill at least three of them in an effort to save her own sanity... =P

-- GopherDave