MAGfest Final Notes

With MAGfest over, I need to make some personal notes for the next time we attend:

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.

MAGfest Atmosphere vs. PAX

I stepped into the vendor's hall this morning at around 10AM and left a little before midnight. It was a long day, but it didn't feel like it to me. I like this environment, and I like this kind of work. It's the kind of work I can simply get lost in.

It's different from PAX, still. Working a booth at PAX, it feels like there's a lot of pressure all the time. Here, not so much. I'm not really certain why, and I wish I could articulate it.

PAX South

I've been going to PAX every year since 2009. That's about five years of PAX, with me at every one except for the recent one in Australia. Probably won't be attending that one, I'm afraid.

Anyway, for all ten PAXes I've attended I've had to fly or drive across the country one way or the other. Finally, though, they've announced PAX South, a much closer event: in San Antonio, in fact.

And I've got mixed feelings about it.

Vacationing as an Introvert

I love MAGfest. It's rapidly become my favorite convention, just because it's still sitting at that perfect balance of being big enough to be profitable and small enough to be relatively low-stress.

So when I say I'm ready to go home, understand that it's got nothing to do with this wonderful event I'm attending.

I feel like I need a vacation from this vacation. Ever since I left Tucson back on December 23rd at 1:49PM I've been on the road, spending time with family, hanging out with friends, sick, taking care of errands to get ready for MAGfest, or actually working the booth at MAGfest. With the exception of being sick, all of those things are things I enjoy doing... for a while. I, however, am an introvert.

Introverts recharge by being alone and relaxing. They're capable of everything else, but they need that recharge time. As long as I'm on vacation, though, I'm not getting much rest. The only time I'm alone is when I'm on the road, which is exhausting in a completely different way.

I'm not at dangerous levels right now. My fuel reserves are pretty deep, and I'm catching up when I can. (Right now, for instance: in the hotel room, alone, typing up a blog post. Ahh, relaxation!) However, I can feel my tank hovering between half full and a quarter full.

I think I'll spend the rest of tonight in here. I'll enjoy MAGfest more tomorrow.