PAX Unplugged

[I posted this on Facebook but I want to share it with the world. 💖.]

PAX Unplugged was this weekend, and it was one of the best weekends of my life. The first time I saw a “Welcome Home” banner at PAX Prime, I cried, because PAX truly felt like my home. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was home. So to have a PAX in my hometown was one of the most magical experiences I’ve ever had.

I can’t even name everyone, so I won’t try, but I will attempt to say some of the things I loved: being on three panels (and even moderating one of them!) filled with people who are superstars and my own personal heroes and heroines; going to amazing parties and hanging out with some of the greatest people; demoing and signing SO MANY of our own games; running a Lazer Ryderz tournament that was full of fun, laughter, and sick guitar shreds; playing games and eating meals with people I adore; crying when I heard people’s stories about how I inspired them and helped them get where they are today; watching some of my closest and best local friends interact with my con family; and, most of all, turning and seeing my husband, smiling at him, and being filled with joy at having taken this journey with him. My heart passed out so many times I should have just carried around smelling salts.

This industry has given us so much, and it makes me happy to know that I am able to give back to it. Being at PAX Unplugged and being able to see both the people who helped me get where I am, and the people who came to me for help, made me feel like I was in the center of a circle that never ends, full of humble, talented, incredibly beautiful people who are now a part of my life.

Thank you all for making me feel like a superstar. Thank you all for being my friends, my family, my life. I couldn’t do this - and I certainly wouldn’t want to do this - without you.

Welcome home.

Cleaning up!

I've been having an amazing time on this week off, though I feel like I should have taken off much longer! I have taken a lot of time to rest and relax, as well as to play as much Persona 5 as humanly possible. But on top of that, I've done some cleaning out, and right now I'm trying to find a new home for some action (and inaction!) figures! Here they are:

 Big Ass Silent Bob, signed by Kevin Smith:

 

 Some Inaction Figures, one signed by Kevin Smith:

Grifball figure, signed by Geoff:

 Star Wars Galactic Heroes figures, some signed:

I have no idea how to sell action figures! I've never sold them in my life. Does anyone know how much these dudes are worth? I have someone interested in the Dogma figs, and the Galactic Heroes Dengar and Boba Fett. From what I can tell on eBay, they're worth:

Galactic Heroes Dengar and Boba Fett, signed - eBay, between $20-40 unsigned

Dogma Jay - eBay, between $10-20

Dogma Silent Bob - eBay, between $20-30

Dogma Silent Bob, signed - none signed on eBay, but one other Dogma fig went for $70 signed

Dogma Bartleby - none on eBay, others went for ~$10

Dogma Golgagthan - eBay, between $10-20

I'm not sure what are fair prices to ask. Does anyone have any experience with this?

I'll write a proper update later! I also had my first experience with Buffalo Exchange, which went well! I sold some clothes and donated the rest at Philly Aids Thrift. I have lots more clothes to go through, and I also want to purge my books, video games, and board games, but that will take more time than I have left on this vacation. It's a slow process, and I'm trying to feel good about what I did do, rather than lament what I didn't!

But ok, I'm going to play some Persona 5 and then get down to business. Hope everyone's having a great Saturday!

You were right about Titanfall 2

Whoever told me to stick with Titanfall 2, you were right. I had analysis paralysis the other day trying to decide which game to play next, so I decided to go back to it, since I hadn't played it in months and really did want to finish. I got to the Effect and Cause chapter today, and wow. It was freaking amazing. I would play an entire game like that. I think I'm nearly done it now - hopefully I'll finish it tomorrow or Tuesday and go back into an indecision spiral.

Oh, and we went back to Supernatural, after not watching that for months. We were at the very end of season 10 - I think we have one more episode left now. And we did a freaking ton of work this weekend. I'm so exhausted but I also feel pretty great and productive. But also exhausted.

I hope you had a great weekend, my friends! *heart emoji*

I definitely understand technology

So, yesterday, my friend Gina sent me a $75 gift card to Modcloth as a congratulations on getting a new job. SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLARS! That is too much money. I slammed the reply button and sent her an all-caps reply:

(The link goes to this awesome thing, in case you were wondering.)

So great story, right? Except one second later I received an email from Modcloth saying they'd opened a ticket for my email. Because I sent that email to support at Modcloth and not Gina. And then forwarded that email to Gina and told her in all caps that I was literally dead from laughing.

Because I was.

The end.

I'm leaving Drexel!

Wow! It's been years since I've written in this thing. So much has happened! So much has happened in the last week. This has been an intense year so far. Last year was also super intense. Maybe I should just write about right now to start.

I finished graduate school! Well, I handed in my last two papers on Thursday, and I consider myself done. I don't think there's any way I could have failed those classes, but stranger things have happened. Anyway, barring any disasters, I am now an MS in Library Sciences. It's been a long road, and I can't believe it's over.

"So, Nicole," you might be thinking, "Are you going to go for your PhD now?"

Yo. Can I live?

I got a new job! I never thought I would leave Drexel. Ever. But here I am. A few weeks ago, I received an email from the Department Head of CCI, asking if I was interested in a research position at a company, and giving me a small description. I was interested, and sent her my resume. They contacted me that day, and I had a meeting with them a week later. A week after that, I went in for an assessment test. Wednesday of last week, I went back for a follow-up, and they offered me the job the next day... right after I submitted my last papers for grad school. In a few weeks, I'll be starting my new job as a Research Analyst.

I'm terrified. But also excited! But also terrified. But also excited. I've been at the same job for 15 years - 20 years if you include the years I went here as an undergraduate. But I'm super excited to move on to a new job and get out there and actually apply what I learned in graduate school.

That all happened last week. But there's lots and lots of other cool stuff going on, too!

We have another board game coming out! We were approached to make a game for IDW in their new Atari line of board games. We're making Centipede, of course. It's been a much different process than we're used to, but it's been a great experience. Here's my favorite image on the Internet, which I'm stealing from Mashable:

That is badass.

We went to PAX East and UnPub! Yes, we went to PAX East up in Boston, and then I had to finish up two term papers, and then we headed to UnPub down in Baltimore. It was totally worth it, but, real talk: I can't believe I survived it. I'm freaking tired.

OK. and that was all from recently as well. But there's been so much other stuff going on. The last time I wrote in here was October of 2014! I don't know if there's a good way to list all of this. Maybe with... a list?

• Anthony and I moved in together earlier that year, and our first game, RESISTOR_, got into the Indie MEGABOOTH at PAX Prime that year as well. It was also in the IMB at PAX East in 2015, and we launched our Kickstarter for it, and got picked up by a publisher, Level 99! 
• In 2016, our next game, Lazer Ryderz, got picked up by Greater Than Games. 
• For gaming, we went to a ton of events in 2015 - 21 - and then upped that in 2016, when we went to a whopping 28 events!! 
• Two of my estranged family members died - first my grandmother in February, and then my father in October. 
• I taught for the first time in my life, as an adjunct at Moore College of Art and Design. 

Oh hey, also, in August, Anthony and I got engaged! We plan to be married this year, but with everything that's been going on, it might get pushed to 2018.

Of course, there are tons of things I'm forgetting. I'm giving you the quick and dirty of the last two and a half years. I've made tons of friends, some of them best friends I want to see all the time but only get to see at events, and others local friends I can't spend enough time with. I've played a lot of board games and video games, read loads of books, and even got into writing more - I started a bullet journal and got back into writing poetry (oh noetry!). I can't even begin to get into it all. But hopefully, if I keep to this, I won't have to. It'll be more organic. I guess we'll see!

Also, Colleen wanted a mention, so she gets one:

That's all for now. Oh, and I'm still fascinated by Juggalos.

Like you had to ask.

Much turtle love!