PAX South 2018

Got back from our PAX vacation. I took an extra day off this year, so I didn't have to go work the next day. I think I will continue to do that in the future because it gave me an extra day to decompress.

We had a really great time.

We changed hotels this year. We normally stay at the Grand Hyatt, but we decided that it was just too expensive for what we got, so we switched to La Quinta. It was a great decision. The beds were a little smaller, but other than that it was great. There was even free breakfasts with waffles and sausage and stuff.

PAX itself was amazing as usual. We loved seeing the Penny Arcade crew again and hearing their stories. This year there was a double helping of D&D live games and they were both great. Chris Perkin's game was perhaps the best ever. And I got everyone's autograph in my Dungeon Master's Guide.

We only did one night of concerts because we were so tired by the end of the day, but the music was really cool.

I had a couple of complaints about the merch this year, but I will keep those criticisms for the PAX survey.

Post-PAX depression is a real thing and I get it every year. I'm not sure its the same for me as other people, but it is probably similar. Some of it is due to being surrounded by so many people with similar interest - people that understand you and get your jokes and references. Going back to the 'real world' after that is depressing.

For me specifically though, I go to PAX and see people who are doing what they love for a living. They describe it as doing what they always wanted to do and always knowing what that was. I do not have that. And when I get home it is even more obvious. I really want that.

This is the main reason for the PAX resolutions that I do each year. They are an attempt to get closer to that goal. I think in the past they were more vague, but this year is going to be a big leap. This year I am going to write a novella. I think getting that done will be a step in the direction I want to go.

The other goals, like going to the gym, are more along the lines of what I usually do. Speaking of the gym, we were supposed to start going this morning, but we had a snow storm and I was worried about traffic so we did not start that yet. Soon I promise!

So I told you all of that to tell you this: I'm going to start writing tonight. Like real writing - not the outline and note taking bullshit I usually write. There are 349 days left in the year and I want to write about 35,000 pages. So that's about 100 words a day. That sounds totally doable and I'm going to start tonight.