This has been a long time coming. This post has been drafted in my head everyday that I remember that I was trying to support a community of gamers with a tiny blog somewhere on the internet.
Being on the road as much as I have been has not been hard but it's not been easy. My relationship with my wife, my family, and my friends have adjusted well. Folks know when I'm in town and they try and help me take advantage of being home for a week before I leave again for the road. The time that I get to play games with those people I care about are one offs. No Campaigns, no weekly game with my mates, no regular work on my minis or terrain.
I also can't blame work and ignore the positives from all this travel. Where my hobbies have been a boon. Being able to play Magic the Gathering and Infinity across Canada is an opportunity that I would not have had if not for my job situation. I've played other board and card games with strangers and the familiar. I've met tons of other gamers across Canada and the shops they spend their money and time at. I've been very lucky but I've not felt lucky. It's hard to get excited for the next set from Wizards of the Coast or the next new surprise from Corvus Beli when I can't share that with those I love the most. I love my family and friends and I'm not afraid of the word but that same feeling has made certain aspects of my hobbies feel disconnected.
It got worse when I finally had the chance to be home for 6 days before heading off to Rumble on Route 66. Ontos and Burns were coming down with me and I was excited to rest, work on some minis, and head out but this time for fun. Instead my back blew out on me. I was unable to walk straight or stand for longer than 15 minutes the Saturday morning before Rumble. I was told to take a week off and see a chiropractor who helped a lot but I was still in pain. I got some drugs and I even thought about not going because I may not be able to suffer through the long trip from Ottawa to Albuquerque via Montreal and Denver. I was a mess, no new painted minis. Physically unable to stand let along bend over a table for hours on end. I was burnt out and broken.
Pro tip: Don't break your back - ever. You may fail your niggling injury role eventually in a critical moment. Older edition sorry I'm dating myself, instead it just makes it easier to get hurt in the game now. I'm way behind on my Blood Bowl...
Lucky for me my wife is awesome and she pushed me to rest, ignore everything else and go anyways. I accepted my fate and prepped a list with all my painted minis. They were adjustments from my GENCON lists and I was pretty happy with the results. I was going to Rumble with a fully painted army. As Rumble loomed closer and my back started showing signs of being more kind to me folks started to reach out. Dan and Joy invited me to their place for a BBQ, but my flight was coming in too late so I couldn't go. As Rumble got closer I started feeling more and more connected with folks with my community.
Rumble was fantastic - I'll have another post about it later this week showing off everything that happened. It also recharged my hobby batteries in every aspect. When I got home all I wanted to do was paint and get ready for GENCON, Capital Conflict, and setting up the new gaming space in my new house come May. I came home happy. I needed a vacation but I also needed to feel connected to my hobby and the community around it.
Folks I've been away. So has everyone else. After christmas quite both Ontos, Molotov, and Forgotten Virtue have been on the road at one time of another before March. We've all had a hard time making time for everything let alone our hobbies and even submitting the to the blog.
The winter is over it's not time to get back to it with the promise of a new spring.
- Sorry for being away so long
Dozer
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