PAX, Day 2!

Yesterday was Day 2 of PAX, and it was a lot of fun again!

I started off the day by heading to breakfast with some people I ran into in the lobby of the Hyatt. One great thing about PAX is that, in general, there's a sense of anonymous comradery. You don't have to know another person previously - or even know their name - to go sit and eat with them, or talk gaming. I don't remember their names, but I do remember that they were supporters of another Omeganaut (whose name eludes me at the moment... ack!). We snagged a quick bite at McDonalds and we were off to PAX!

Coming inside, I ran into Mentok (a PAX Forumer, and fellow Magical Mystery Tour goer!) who told me he was getting in line for the "Make a Strip" Panel. On the way over there, I noticed he was sitting with the same lady I ran into in day 1, before I had cookies... but this time I was armed and ready! I asked her some questions about what Child's Play means to her, and she gave some wonderful responses!

(Video here!)

We also ran into Lyanth, the coordinator of the Cosplay effort at PAX! She was dressed in a Zero Samus suit complete with an awesome wig!

They told me that they'd hold my spot (since the panel didn't begin until 1pm, and it was only barely 10am!), so I went off to do some more cookie selling, and to get some footage (as well as participate!) in the expo hall itself! I was also doing my best to get people to know about the BioWare booth and the showing of Dragon Age on Sunday!

(Video of expo hall here!)

I was given bags of cookies that had been unfortunately crumbled and more-or-less destroyed when they were shipped over (the cookies were gluten free, and non-glutenous cookies have a very difficult time retaining structure). Luckily, Annigaricus (the lady who made them) had a plan: she gave me a full box of Dixie cups, and suggested that I let them scoop the cookie crumbles and eat them from the cup.

I decided that they would henceforth be called "Cookie Shooters", and thus began the very mixed reactions to the concept of such a product:

(Some pretty hilarious videos here, when I can get them uploaded! =) )

After running through the Expo hall, I ran into ProXimity (another forumer) and a few others who were eager to play some magic... so we went across the street to the Annex where the tabletop gaming was taking place.

I got in a few good multiplayer games with them, though when I started playing I realized that my aforementioned deck wasn't in the state I thought it was in! I had forgotten, but I changed it at the last minute to a slightly less entertaining Ink-Treader variant... I still need to take the time to fix it back to where it was (I have the cards with me, but I have to go through and find the ones I added etc...), in case I get some games in on Day 3.

Before I knew it, it was almost 1pm... proXimity rushed off to do the (now infamous apparently!) Bad Horse Sniper gag on Felicia Day (which they did a few times over the course of the day, much to the amusement of all in attendance! Apparently she loved it as well! =) ), and I ran over to the panel!

I got a lot of footage of the panel, but I need to break it up a bit... I took it in one long stint, which YouTube isn't fond of... but I don't have time to edit it right now. I'll try to do so tonight or tomorrow morning before I head home!

The panel was excellent: it had a lot of extremely amusing Q&A, and the strip created was hilarious!

After this, I ran into a few Cookie Brigade people and got swept up in the cookie-selling wave once more. DJBreslin had made three gigantic (twice the size of my cookie-selling box) boxes of cookies, and he revealed that people waiting in line for the panels seem to really go for it. So we went and sold en masse... we took in a LOT of money for Child's Play today! I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say how much... but it will be a significant contribution to Child's Play, and I am grateful to BioWare for getting me to PAX to help in this effort!

I spent most of the afternoon selling cookies, and by the end of the afternoon the other cookie brigadiers and I had parsed down DJBreslin's boxes to just a few stray cookies and crumbles.

As the sun set, the rest of the Brigade found me and we went downstairs to try and actually count the money (as far as I know, this didn't happen in Day 1 but should have... hopefully we'll be able to do it today =) ). We raised so much!

A couple of people who passed us by asked us if it was safe to do that in a public place. We didn't even have to answer: other people standing around pointed out that anyone who tried to steal Child's Play money would likely be brutally beaten by a violent mob of angry gamers. =) The counting was also necessary before we went outside, where we might not have such protection: my cookie brigade box was FULL of loose money, which would've likely made me a ripe target for any sort of crime as I tried to walk back to the hotel to keep it safe. Counting allowed us to roll them tightly and stick them in an inconspicuous box (And opaque, unlike my cookie vendor box), which made transport significantly safer. =)

While there, I ran into JonXP (a forumer, good friend, and co-creator of the PAX Countdown Widget for Windows Vista), who wanted to get some drinks. I noted that I promised another forum-goer (Haikufrenzy) that I would play the Order of the Stick board game with him... and then realized that we could mix the two events!

We ended up in the lounge area of the Sheraton, which (I didn't realize until today) actually doubles as part of the attached restaurant! We got some drinks, played some Order of the Stick, and had a blast!

The Order of the Stick Board game, though entertaining, is also unfortunately long. Before I realized it, it was midnight: and we hadn't even come close to finishing yet. So I told them that I had to crash, and went back to my hotel to get some sleep for Day 3!

Stay tuned for coverage of the last day of PAX, and the uploading of today's videos!