I'm afraid Gen Con is still a couple of years off for me.  At least until the real estate market improves.

Anyone in Florida want to rent a house?  : )

Sorry, I'm buying.

Gen Con is a few years off for me as well unless I win the lottery.

People at Cons frighten me.

Well, you know I'll be there, since I'm running a few games and, for some insane reason, volunteering to run some more.

I need professional help...

Yay for you!  I saw that you volunteered to run some Desolation games.

My goal this year is to not be hung over from drink or lack of sleep for my desolation game.

It took us about 6 months to sell ours when we moved.  :(  And we took a 40k loss from what we owed on it at the time.  So, I feel your pain!

How did you end up with a house all the way down in Florida?  And which city is it in?

They're so much fun to look at though.  :)  ...I agree that some can be a bit frightening though, but I haven't met one that bit in public yet.

I'm so jealous of you guys. The only con I can ever make it too is a local one that happens every October.

I can only go because it's close.  Indianapolis is about an hour and a half from me. 

I decided to share a room this year, last year the hotel bill alone, was insane.

I have, in about 30 years of gaming in one form or another, never been to a convention.

Probably not happening this year, either.

 
When is it this year? It usually falls on Sherry's birthday. I just don't feel right celebrating her birthday by taking her someplace where she's surrounded by a bunch of misfits with questionable hygiene.

Present company excepted, of course. I'm sure you are all sweet smelling.

Where as I, in about twenty years of gaming in one form or another, have helped organize and RUN conventions. 

(I got to go to lunch with Mark Lenard once!)

Vic - the geek.

I wish. It just isn't in the budget this year.

That's the one detail I haven't worked out: where the hell I'm staying.

I'm hoping to find some kind soul that will be willing to spare a corner of the floor, if worse comes to worse.

Since I don't know yet if my hubby will be joining me, I'm bunking with Matt (from Desolation) & his wife.  ...and JBone, who's in my game and also a real life friend. 

It'll be odd going from a solo room to chaos, but I tend to thrive in chaos.  So long as I can find a corner to curl up in to get some Zzzs.

Some people say that sleep is over-rated, but me w/o sleep...never a good thing.  I'm a whiney bit if I don't get 4-6 hours of sleep.

Linkage - http://www.gencon.com/2009/indy/default.aspx

Gen Con is August 13th - 16th this year, which is a Thursday - Sunday deal.  

PreRegistration - No money required, goes until June 27th.  It just saves you ten bucks on the four day badge so that it's $68, if you decide to purchase before the preReg deadline.

If you count science fiction conventions that don't have any gaming I've been going to conventions a little longer than I've been gaming and I've been gaming for around 25 years.

I've helped with security for two Doctor Who conventions and got to meet both Colin Baker and Peter Davison backstage and talk with them for awhile.

I've also tied for first place in a costume contest at one of the Doctor Who conventions. I was Leela, the person I tied with was Nyssa and in my opinion she had a much better costume and should have won alone.

I've only been to two cons, both of which were GenCon after they moved to Indianapolis.

I still feel very much like a fish out of water at them. 

I love looking at all of the costumes and such...although, seriously, very few girls can actually pull off the chain mail bikini with full effect. 

I do so love the exhibitor's hall and all those shiny dice!  ...and the art exhibit is usually my downfall.

SF cons I've gone to quite a few; my wife and I even dared to run child-care at Farpoint for four years running. The moment my daughters were old enough, I found myself attending Otakon as adult chaperone a few times; now that's the place to go if watching people in bizarre costumes is your thing. Gaming cons have been more on and off; the selection is rather poor in the Baltimore-DC area. I was finally able to make it to GenCon the last year they were at Milwaukee. After that, I've tried to make it each year; it's usually the only chance I get to play in anything other than the same system the local group plays again and again (and, no, it's not D&D).

It was an investment that went bad when the market tanked.  We'd love to sell it, but can't afford too with the current value so low.  It's in North Port.

Our current renters got downsized and have to leave.  Major bummer for them, minor one for us.

I've only been to a few cons.  For a little while I was a regular at Gen Con, but 4 kids makes that kind of tough.  Maybe in a few years.

...and it was my very first Con, when I met you and your lovely wife. 

I do believe that was two kids (girls) ago.  *grin*

Yep, both boys, although they were a lot smaller then.

I'm thinking about going to GenCon.  I bought a ticket last year, but had to bail at the last minute, so now I have credit in their system.  I'm trying to find someone here in Florida that might be interested in carpooling and maybe sharing a room.  Most seem to feel it's a long drive, and I'm too cheap to fly.

Luckily, I don't know any of those gamers with personal hygiene issues, but that's generally been my impression too.  Still, I've been to DragonCon and it was okay.  What I think would be fun is meeting people that I game online with and seeing old friends from a gaming club I used to belong to in the midwest.