My Day at the NOVA open

I showed up to the event at around 10:30 AM. I am not sure as I left my Blackberry in the car so did not look at it when I got inside. Round 1 was almost over when I got there. Straight away I went to see my friends who were participating in the event. Both were playing in the Fantasy event. One was playing Skaven and the other Lizards.



After saying my “hello’s” I wandered around the event taking pictures. There were a (censored) load of cool Armies for both Fantasy and 40K. Several stood out,





While I was wandering around I saw two fellows wearing 11th Company T-shirts. I decided to go over introduce myself. It turns out I was in the presence of Neil and the gang :). I hung out with them for the rest of the break between rounds 1 and 2. They are a pretty cool bunch and I hope to one day get a chance to hang in their neck of the woods.




Shortly before Round 2 I almost literally walked into Jay from The Gamers’ Lounge. He is a truly BIG dude; both in size and general coolness. I talked with him for a few minutes but Round 2 was about to start and gamer etiquette demands that you don’t disturb a gamer while he is playing a game so when the round was underway I wandered off…

Jays Howling Griffins!

While Round 2 was going on I checked how my friends were doing and managed to run into several other friends most of which were working for the event. Most of them were employees or former employees of GW. Many were judging armies or taking scores. While talking to one of them I heard a voice I recognized. I turned and did not see anyone I knew. Then I saw the name tag. It was Bill from the Gamers Lounge. We had a short conversation but he had to get back to work so off I went again…

I was getting tired at this point so I looked for a quiet place to sit down. While on this quest I met
Casie from the inner circle Gaming club. We spent about a half hour talking about the club and what they wish to accomplish in the next few years. All the while Casie was painting some really Cool Valks (6 or 7 of them.) I plan to look them up and learn more.



After the second round was over lunch break was called. I spoke with my friends and found that both had lost 2 in a row and would be playing at the last two tables :(
It is my hope that the last two games were the most enjoyable since the pressure was off. :)




I was invited to have lunch with Neil, Kelly, and Pat over at the “food Court” (Actually 4 or 5 fast food restaurants clustered in a parking lot near the Expo center) We went to separate places and met up at Pat’s Van to eat and talk Hobby. Good Times.

Afterwards Round three got underway and I was off again for more picture taking madness. While wandering around I met up with Bill again and managed to get a picture.



About an hour later I was getting pretty tired. I am not as young as I think I am and my body lets me know every once in a while. I was hanging around the Fantasy tables giving moral support to my friends when my wife called to ask me how things were going. This was the fist time she called all day and I was glad to hear her voice. I told her it was a blast but I was getting worn out. She suggested that I meet up with her for dinner then a movie. We had a great time Saturday night; Dinner at Outback and a chance to see “the Expendables.” All in all Saturday was a memorable occasion.

Later

RGH