Whoops, I Ate Too Much

Today I closed the booth down a little earlier than normal (9:30 instead of 11:30) in order to go have dinner with friends. I haven't really had much time to actually hang out with any of the various people I know at MAGfest since I've been attached to a busy booth the whole time, so it was nice to just sort of take off and enjoy some company.

We went to a restaurant we'd never been to before: Granite City Food and Brewery. Many MAGfest attendees may be familiar with Cadillac Ranch, the restaurant pretty close to the Gaylord. Granite City has much of the same fare, but it's so much better holy cow.

Resolutions Status Update

We're about a month into 2016, so let check in on what I've accomplished as far as resolutions go.

PAX East Survival tip: J.Pace and Son

One of the best rules about surviving a convention on a budget is to avoid eating the food at the convention center at all costs. The food is all way too expensive, unhealthy, and unsatisfying to bother with. I have, at times, been desperate enough to fall for the temptation, but I'm here to tell you it's not worth it.

In Seattle this isn't a problem at all: the restaurants in the Washington State Convention Center are all common restaurants with normal prices, like the two Subways and a crappy pizza place. More importantly, though, you're in downtown Seattle--you can easily want to a much better restaurant nearby with less of a crowd.

The Boston Convention and Expo Center, on the other hand, is in a sort of desert, with nothing apparently nearby except for an expensive hotel restaurant. What's a starving con-goer to do? The answer, of course, is J.Pace and Son.

Japan Trip X: The Maket and the Park

If you ever find yourself alone in a strange land, lacking any method of communication with anyone you know as well as any way to really communicate with the native people, the last thing you want to do is panic.

On the second day of our Japan trip, I found myself alone in an unfamiliar part of Japan, my entire party having disappeared. I'm not terribly predisposed to panicking about anything, but if I were that might have been the time. The great advice given by the cover of the Hichhiker's Guide to the Galaxy are kind of wasted on me, though.

Japan Trip Part VII: The Coffee Shop/Communicating Without Words

I'm never been so into Japan that I've wanted to move there. In fact, until a few months ago I was content with the idea of never even visiting the place. It simply wasn't a priority.

That said, having spent time there I couldn't help but take note of how well I would be able to survive there, assuming that employment was not an issue (a big assumption). Having spent some time without Lindsay there to interpret for me, I actually think I would be able to make due despite the language barrier.

Picky Eating

I'm well known as a picky eater. I'm not as bad as I used to be, but I still have a steady diet of only a few select, approved foods.

I'm not ashamed of the fact that I'm picky, but people love to try and pressure me to eat things I don't want to, calling me childish if I don't. However, I don't think childishness has anything to do with it.