Missed Opportunities

Photo by: @awfulwaffle73

Let's assume for a moment that you are the one reader of this blog not already sick of hearing me go on and on about Nerdapalooza.

Yes, I fully understand that I am proceeding under a false pretense here, but the truth is I have an awful lot of shit to share about last weekend's event and only a handful of places at which to do so. Bear with me.

Just like in 2008, my post-Nerdapalooza coverage will be broken up into a number of posts. There's this introductory piece, of course, as well as a forthcoming GeekDad post wherein I examine what this year's festival tells us about the future of the franchise. In addition to these I also envision a special superlatives post, in which I'll shout out some of the festivals most epic moments and players, and a final piece of critical analysis where I'll break the thing down from start to finish.

But before I get mesmerized by my own grand schemes, let me cut to the chase here.

I experienced a lot of exciting and amazing things at Nerdapalooza 2010, but the further I get away from the event the more things I notice that I neglected to do. Some of them were things that merely eluded me at the time, ideas that I didn't even have until well after the fact, while others were on the proverbial list but never quite materialized.

I have selected ten specific examples. Like you do.

1. Big Up @starlainjury
   I expected to meet a lot of folks at Nerdapalooza 2010, but ThaSauce mainstay and regular Shael Riley collaborator Injury wasn't one of them. ThaSauce's table was located directly beside the GeekDad booth, but we only spoke briefly on day two and I didn't fully realize who she was until shortly before Shael and I went on our hot dinner date. At any rate, if you're reading this, Starla, yours is one of the most intriguing voices in the VGM scene.
2. Stooge it Up with @datavortex
   Are Data's folks big Three Stooges fans? Been meaning to ask him that shit for years, and planed to do so in person at this year's event. We actually spent tons of time hanging out over the weekend, but for some reason I never remembered to bring it up.
3. I'm @DKaine / You Know Me
   David Kaine does nerdcore karaoke. Hell, he even performed "I'm On a Boat" during the open mic. This is a fascinating idea which I planned to discuss with him at length. And then I totally flaked and forgot.
4. Hatcore
   I packed a pair of epic hats to wear at the event: my Cthulhu tuque from GrapevineFires and the cunning hat @freakapotimus made me. Yet I never even took them out of my suitcase. #hatfail
5. Play Matchmaker
   B-Type loves the States and wants to stay. My solution was simple: get hitched. I tried half-heartedly to find him a paramour over the length of the festival, but eventually I just decided on Colon:P. I mean, they were together all the time anyway.
6. Bring the Chain
   Finding out the Scrub Club Records table was located directly behind GeekDad's was a treat. Receiving my own Scrub Club medallion from MadHatter was a genuine thrill. Sadly, I could never find an appropriate chain, and thus I had to settle for carrying it in my pocket all weekend.
7. Swappin'!
   I got to talk a bit with both GeekPeekPost's @thelotech (who actually interviewed me) and my sister-in-arms Game Music 4 All's @chibi_ma on Sunday, but failed to orchestrate the meetings of the minds I had originally planned. Bottom line, ladies, I think we need to replace next year's Podswap with a Blogswap. :)
8. Mistaken Identity
   On the subject of GM4A, my pal Genoboost was conspicuously absent this year. I totally should've pretended to be him. I'm sure B-Type would have backed me up.
9. All These Damn Stickers
   I'm convinced that this last batch of Hipster, please! bumper stickers is multiplying. I kept giving the things away by the handful, but I swear I somehow have more now than I did when I left.
10. Sleep
    Yeah. I… uh… pretty much didn't sleep the entire weekend. Apologies to anyone who attempted to talk to me only to find me wholly incoherent. I'm an old man, and don't do well without 7 or 8 hours worth of regular sleepy-time.