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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Piratecat" data-source="post: 304863" data-attributes="member: 2">Wednesday: Head to the airport with KidCthulhu and Jobu. Make the mistake of talking about our annual airport "spot the gamer" game as we enter the check-in line ("He's a gamer, gamer, not a gamer, gamer, DEFINITELY a gamer, not a gamer...").  The fellow in front of us objects. "You'd never spot me as a gamer!" he claims. He's dressed in all black with a con T-shirt on, long hair pulled back in a ponytail, goatee.  Uh huh. The flight is superb. Midwest Express is my favorite airline ever - wide leather seats, foot room, and gourmet food. Ahhh.In Milwaukee, we check in and go get our judge badges at RPGA HQ. The line is non-existent and the process goes without a hitch. I'm amazed. We look at the cool banners around the arena, all with art from the iconics or other cool games on them (these were later auctioned off). We see some of our friends who play in the Chaosium Cthulhu Masters Tournament, including Anthony Ragan, the guy who wrote the setting my campaign is based in. Dinner with friends, hours of strategizing on how to improve a very combat-heavy adventure, and I get a basic tutorial on how to run Star Wars. I'm slightly nervous about the next day.My roommate claims that everyone else in the room snored that night. Well, two other people. Well, me.  I make disbelieving remonstrances when I'm sure he's right. Damn! And this guy never snores, so he's allowed to be self-righteous, darn it.Thursday:  6:30 am alarm, breakfast, and off to the arena! First game is Paranoia. The module is centered around Real-I-Tee TV shows, so the PCs are given lethal challenges and kill each other off. Tremendous fun. I prove once and for all that I am a geek because the final encounter was "Who wants to win a million credits?", a show where troubleshooters are strapped into the hot seat and asked unanswerable questions by the host Re-G-ISS-3, then lasered if they get it wrong. I haul out my laptop where I've done all the questions and answers up in Powerpoint, complete with spiffy effects and laser noises, and much laughter ensues.Lunch is a hotdog with Fiery James and Fiery Todd after I sneak into the dealer's room. I meet Claudio Pozas and grin from ear to ear; his stuff is even better pre-scan.  I also finally meet Sue Cook, and am delighted to hear that they were highly amused by Sialia's <a href="http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12553" target="_blank">Boynton illustration of "Orc and Pie."</a> James keeps trash-talking Monte about the upcoming ENnies. The aisles are crowded, people pushing by, then stopping in their tracks as they see something else incredibly cool. I see Warwick Davis and consider telling him that I loved him in Austin Powers, then remember that I'm not actually that much of a jerk. Warwick looks like he's having fun.I buy the new Giant Monster Battle book over at Mystic Eye Games. Ohhh, bliss.The afternoon is all about Call of Cthulhu, as I run a table of people playing avant garde artists in the late sixties, attending a very deadly party. Darned good players, much warbling insanity, and hallucinations of dead relatives; does it get better than that? As soon as the game is done, I bolt over to my hotel to make dinner reservations, then to the Midwest Express Center to meet everyone for dinner. Dinner is hilarious; Eric swearing, Kara laughing, Morrus goggling at the portions, Ranger Wickett trying to share a plate of food with his wonderful girlfriend on the oooother side of the table, and much laughter and incriminating photos all around. The conversation is full of double entendres, and turns out to be highly quotable if Eric's grandma didn't hang out here. Then to the Safe House! Not crowded yet, we explore and order. Eric has his watch stolen (and returned) by the best magician/pickpocket I've seen in ages. And then my contact lens pops out of my eye, rolls down my front, and ends up on the floor. My vision is abominable, something like 20/800, so the world immediately becomes harder to see.Before the inevitable eyestrain headache sets in we say bye to Mark, Al, Morrus, Eric & Kara, and head back to the hotel. KidCthulhu is leading me, thank God, because the world is a big 'ole blur.  I'm squinting with one eye and making the appropriate pirate noises as I walk past blurry people. In the lobby, I see a bunch of folks with two tired girls. The woman has a hat on over her red hair - I can make out that much.  We get on the elevator. The elevator rises. With one eye squinted shut, I try to see who the people are. As I do so, I see the woman squinting at me herself!  "Oh, crap!" I think. "She thinks i'm leering at her, or winking at her, or being some sort of jerk when it's just the contact lens! What am I going to say?" And NikChick from Green Ronin asks, ".....Piratecat?" Really, as embarrassed as I was, it was a tremendous relief. More later, if you folks find these interesting!</blockquote>

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