Seattle/Portland trip, part two
Nov. 15th, 2012 04:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amanda_loddenAmbercon was, as usual, full of awesome. Gaming bits are below; I know not everyone cares, so I'll hit the non-gaming parts first:
We landed at nearly-midnight, so by the time we got our baggage and hauled it out to the parking garage, it was about 12:30am. We noted that both the front tires were soft, with the driver's side being worse than the passenger side, but we felt that it would be fine as long as we didn't do anything stupid-- we'd stop at the first service station to throw air in them, and check periodically on the way home, and we'd be fine.
By the time I got out of the parking garage, I was riding on the rim on the driver's side. I pulled over and tried to figure out the best plan, and decided that it would be 1000 times easier if I got past the cashiers, as there was a large open area off to the side before the garage traffic merged with the normal traffic. Sure, it was painted with lots of yellow stripes and "No Parking", but there was no traffic flow through it-- it was pretty much designed as an emergency area. Then I sat on hold with AAA for 10 minutes (ugh!) before they took my information and found a tow service to come put the spare on. We sat for nearly an hour. The tow truck showed up, took off the flat tire while CJ emptied the luggage out of the back so that we could access the spare tire, and as he was rolling it back towards the back of the car he asked "Wait, what was wrong with this tire again?" because it had poofed back up. He put air into it, then tried to make it leak again-- jumping up and down on it, etc. Did I mention it was 1:30am and f'ing cold outside? I understand the desire to fix it if possible, but I kinda just wanted to go home. He put the tire back on, went around to the passenger side to put air in that tire, and I said "Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I swear that [the driver's side] tire wasn't as soft when you put it back on as it is right now." So he took it back off and swapped it for the spare, which meant taking the luggage out of the car again, because CJ had started to put it back in when he thought we weren't going to need the spare.
We pulled into the driveway at 2:46am, and I flopped into my bed at 2:49am.
The next morning, I awoke to leaves that were still on my lawn despite the lawn guy being called to come give us a quote well before I left (he had intended to do it when he did a final cut on our lawn, and then it was wet and rainy and he didn't come do a final cut), bits for repairing the baseboard still in the garage (the heating guy who dropped them off will be out "probably this weekend" ... or so I've been told for the last four weekends), my desktop computer suffering from Blue Screen of Deaths every 5 minutes, no space in the barn that I was planning on putting the bikes in to get them out of the garage so we can park in it for the winter, and a generator being installed in such a way that we will no longer be able to safely park in a place we frequently park.
The good news is that I took my frustration out on my to-do list, and the pantry drawers that I've been trying to get done for months are now fully finished and I have started to put things in them. So apparently if I want to get anything DONE, the solution is to get me good and PISSED OFF.
As promised, the gaming bits:
Despite not being jet-lagged, I still fell asleep in the first slot, so there's a new rule of "Don't Let Amanda Sit On The Bed" for next year. I'd also like to try checking into the hotel the day before the con, because there's not enough time between when the hotel's check-in time begins and when the opening ceremonies begin, so I still felt rushed and NotReady(tm).
The three games I ran went amazingly well. The 1920s mystery game was better than it had any right to be, largely because I got the hell out of the players' way and let them play. The Winnie-the-Pooh/Torchwood crossover also went well, though not exactly as intended-- CJ and I figured that his Doctor Pooh game and my Hundred Aker Torchwood game would run independently for about an hour before combining. My players asked for something that I knew for certain was in the possession of the Doctor Pooh crowd (CJ and I had talked about where certain items would be), and because players are smart and figured out that a Doctor Pooh game and a Hundred Aker Torchwood game running in the same time slot and next-door to each other were intended to combine, they decided to just go knock on the door of the BEARDIS. So we combined a little early. Like after about 15 minutes. It worked. The Hogwarts Summer Camp game also went smoothly, but ended early. I don't think anyone was displeased by the game, just tired and not wanting to goof around with side stories.
CJ's Weird West game remains a favorite, and I was pleased that the returning sisters did not run roughshod over the new players-- not because we didn't TRY, but because they kept up with us. Two thumbs up to them for hitting the ground running. Best part of the game? One of the new players leaning over to me and quietly saying "Y'all are a HOOT to game with" when CJ's attention was on the other side of the room.
The long game was fun, and I enjoy the setting, but the GMs are utterly terrible at ending on time, and that does not mesh well with a highly-scheduled trip. I ended up walking out in the middle of the final scene, because we had plans for dinner. I don't really know what to do about this for future games with them-- it's an ongoing campaign, and I enjoy it, but the whole "runs way past its scheduled end-time" thing may well be a stopper for me.
The last game was a Firefly/Doctor Who crossover, and I am sad that the GM plans to NOT run a sequel next year, because it was entertaining. The Firefly crew took a slightly more pragmatic view for dealing with a menace than the Doctor usually does, and just shot the bastard in the head. This meant that the game ended early, because the GM had figured on an hour or so of negotiating first. But honestly, absolutely no one is broken-hearted when the last game of a con ends a little early, because by that time everyone is So. Very. Tired.
I skipped the traditional "extra slot" of going to the soaking pool, because it was cold and rainy and I hate being in a warm pool with cold air on my head and shoulders. Instead, the force of nature that is Chloe pulled me into the beginning of a game of Monster Hearts (which I watched rather than played, because I realized early on that I would have to go to bed before it ended and I didn't want to pull a character out of the story midway through) with some amazingly cool people, most of whom were new to me. Monster Hearts is... interesting. CJ owns it, so I'm going to have to get him to run a session or two somewhere. Hopefully at a faster pace than the Paranoia game I've been trying to get him to run for a couple of years now.
We landed at nearly-midnight, so by the time we got our baggage and hauled it out to the parking garage, it was about 12:30am. We noted that both the front tires were soft, with the driver's side being worse than the passenger side, but we felt that it would be fine as long as we didn't do anything stupid-- we'd stop at the first service station to throw air in them, and check periodically on the way home, and we'd be fine.
By the time I got out of the parking garage, I was riding on the rim on the driver's side. I pulled over and tried to figure out the best plan, and decided that it would be 1000 times easier if I got past the cashiers, as there was a large open area off to the side before the garage traffic merged with the normal traffic. Sure, it was painted with lots of yellow stripes and "No Parking", but there was no traffic flow through it-- it was pretty much designed as an emergency area. Then I sat on hold with AAA for 10 minutes (ugh!) before they took my information and found a tow service to come put the spare on. We sat for nearly an hour. The tow truck showed up, took off the flat tire while CJ emptied the luggage out of the back so that we could access the spare tire, and as he was rolling it back towards the back of the car he asked "Wait, what was wrong with this tire again?" because it had poofed back up. He put air into it, then tried to make it leak again-- jumping up and down on it, etc. Did I mention it was 1:30am and f'ing cold outside? I understand the desire to fix it if possible, but I kinda just wanted to go home. He put the tire back on, went around to the passenger side to put air in that tire, and I said "Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I swear that [the driver's side] tire wasn't as soft when you put it back on as it is right now." So he took it back off and swapped it for the spare, which meant taking the luggage out of the car again, because CJ had started to put it back in when he thought we weren't going to need the spare.
We pulled into the driveway at 2:46am, and I flopped into my bed at 2:49am.
The next morning, I awoke to leaves that were still on my lawn despite the lawn guy being called to come give us a quote well before I left (he had intended to do it when he did a final cut on our lawn, and then it was wet and rainy and he didn't come do a final cut), bits for repairing the baseboard still in the garage (the heating guy who dropped them off will be out "probably this weekend" ... or so I've been told for the last four weekends), my desktop computer suffering from Blue Screen of Deaths every 5 minutes, no space in the barn that I was planning on putting the bikes in to get them out of the garage so we can park in it for the winter, and a generator being installed in such a way that we will no longer be able to safely park in a place we frequently park.
The good news is that I took my frustration out on my to-do list, and the pantry drawers that I've been trying to get done for months are now fully finished and I have started to put things in them. So apparently if I want to get anything DONE, the solution is to get me good and PISSED OFF.
As promised, the gaming bits:
Despite not being jet-lagged, I still fell asleep in the first slot, so there's a new rule of "Don't Let Amanda Sit On The Bed" for next year. I'd also like to try checking into the hotel the day before the con, because there's not enough time between when the hotel's check-in time begins and when the opening ceremonies begin, so I still felt rushed and NotReady(tm).
The three games I ran went amazingly well. The 1920s mystery game was better than it had any right to be, largely because I got the hell out of the players' way and let them play. The Winnie-the-Pooh/Torchwood crossover also went well, though not exactly as intended-- CJ and I figured that his Doctor Pooh game and my Hundred Aker Torchwood game would run independently for about an hour before combining. My players asked for something that I knew for certain was in the possession of the Doctor Pooh crowd (CJ and I had talked about where certain items would be), and because players are smart and figured out that a Doctor Pooh game and a Hundred Aker Torchwood game running in the same time slot and next-door to each other were intended to combine, they decided to just go knock on the door of the BEARDIS. So we combined a little early. Like after about 15 minutes. It worked. The Hogwarts Summer Camp game also went smoothly, but ended early. I don't think anyone was displeased by the game, just tired and not wanting to goof around with side stories.
CJ's Weird West game remains a favorite, and I was pleased that the returning sisters did not run roughshod over the new players-- not because we didn't TRY, but because they kept up with us. Two thumbs up to them for hitting the ground running. Best part of the game? One of the new players leaning over to me and quietly saying "Y'all are a HOOT to game with" when CJ's attention was on the other side of the room.
The long game was fun, and I enjoy the setting, but the GMs are utterly terrible at ending on time, and that does not mesh well with a highly-scheduled trip. I ended up walking out in the middle of the final scene, because we had plans for dinner. I don't really know what to do about this for future games with them-- it's an ongoing campaign, and I enjoy it, but the whole "runs way past its scheduled end-time" thing may well be a stopper for me.
The last game was a Firefly/Doctor Who crossover, and I am sad that the GM plans to NOT run a sequel next year, because it was entertaining. The Firefly crew took a slightly more pragmatic view for dealing with a menace than the Doctor usually does, and just shot the bastard in the head. This meant that the game ended early, because the GM had figured on an hour or so of negotiating first. But honestly, absolutely no one is broken-hearted when the last game of a con ends a little early, because by that time everyone is So. Very. Tired.
I skipped the traditional "extra slot" of going to the soaking pool, because it was cold and rainy and I hate being in a warm pool with cold air on my head and shoulders. Instead, the force of nature that is Chloe pulled me into the beginning of a game of Monster Hearts (which I watched rather than played, because I realized early on that I would have to go to bed before it ended and I didn't want to pull a character out of the story midway through) with some amazingly cool people, most of whom were new to me. Monster Hearts is... interesting. CJ owns it, so I'm going to have to get him to run a session or two somewhere. Hopefully at a faster pace than the Paranoia game I've been trying to get him to run for a couple of years now.
