Tag: Travel

#oneaday Day 69: PAX Bostona

PAX East is happening tomorrow, and I’m not there. This makes me inordinately sad for a number of reasons. Firstly, PAX East last year was the last time I could legitimately say that I was 100% completely, totally and utterly happy. For those few days, I had left all my growing troubles behind in the UK and was able to immerse myself in the culture that I loved so much. I was able to be an unabashed nerd and surround myself with thousands of other people like myself.

Secondly, PAX East represented the last time I had the chance to see some of the people I consider to be my best friends in the world. It sounds sappy, I’m sure, but the relationships I’ve cultivated online over the last few years are some of the strongest friendships I’ve ever had—and in some cases, I’ve met these people once or twice… and in many cases, not at all.

Thirdly, PAX East last year pretty much marked the start of the career path that I’d very much like to follow full-time, given the opportunity: being part of the games press. At the time I was writing for Kombo.com and between meeting up with people and seeing cool panel discussions (some of which didn’t feature my brother) I was hunting down interesting stories and reporting on them. I’d been writing the news for a little while by then, but attending an event and spotting the new hotness was a lot of fun, and something I want to do more of in the future.

The best thing about PAX East, though, I’ve already touched on, and I blogged about at length last year. It’s a place to call home. A place where people who enjoy video games can come together and nerd out to their hearts’ content without fear of judgement, without feeling like they have to “hide” their hobby or play it down. No, this is a place where girls could dress as Bayonetta without (much) shame, where people could experience new aspects to their hobby, where people could meet some of their idols and where people could get together and meet each other.

In short, it was awesome. And that’s why right now I am very much wishing I was there in Boston, scoping out the nearest coffee shops and Dunkin’ Donuts to the convention centre, arguing about which places to go for food and playing “spot the influential industry figure”.

So to all of you over there in Boston right now, I hope you have the best time of your lives over the next few days. Because if you don’t have the best time of your lives, I could clearly have had your tickets and had the best time of my life instead. (Assuming I could have actually flown over to Boston, of course. Planes are expensive. But that’s beside the point.)

Yeah. I JELLY. Deal with it.

Have an awesome time, PAX East. Wish I was there.

#oneaday, Day 156: Could It Be…?

Today was, I hesitate to say it, a good day. Yes, I woke up a bit late and had trouble getting out of bed before 10AM, but things picked up a bit from there. First thing that happened was a certain website that I’d expressed an interest in freelancing for several months back emailed me back enquiring about my availability. I responded that I was very much available. As a result of a rather lengthy exchange, as it turns out, I’m taking a little trip tomorrow to go and cover something. Further details as events warrant. But that’s very exciting, and could potentially be something of a big break. Let’s hope so.

Then, a little later in the day, I received a lovely Facebook message from someone who shall remain nameless to spare her blushes. She said some nice things about some of the things I’ve written in the past and, as she said in her message, it’s always nice when someone compliments and appreciates your work.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a normal day without something rubbish happening, so I lost my passport and have a horrible feeling it might have accidentally got thrown out with the trash when I cleared out my car of teaching crap the other week. If you’re wondering why my passport was even in my car in the first place, it’s because schools are very strict on seeing official ID when supply teachers turn up. Quite right, too, otherwise any idiot with a beard could turn up and start shouting at children. Still, after some frantic and panicked research, it seems that for domestic flights photo ID in the form of a photocard driving licence is enough to prove you are who you say you are. So that should—hopefully—be all right. If it’s not, then, well, you know what tomorrow’s #oneaday is going to be about! And I will, of course, be applying for a new passport with due haste. Unless it randomly turns up somewhere as these things are wont to do.

I also updated to iOS4 last night. Because I’m still using a 3G, I don’t get a lot of the cool new features that secretly I don’t really care about, like multitasking and a background to my Home screen. I do, however, get folders, and that’s been a godsend. Whereas once I had six pages of apps that were once organised but as new ones were added and old ones deleted gradually got more and more disorganised, now I have one Home screen with everything on it. I tweeted it earlier. I can’t be bothered to go and find the picture again so if you’re that interested in other people’s iPhone Home screens, go rummage back through my Twitter feed for today.

So anyway. Tomorrow and Thursday should both be very interesting. More news as it happens. Or more likely, after it happens. Right now? I am very sleepy after trying to play doctor on someone else’s poor crippled iPhone. We failed in our efforts, sadly, so the fine people at the Apple Store WestQuay are getting a visit from them tomorrow.