California Here I Am

After a month and a half absence, I make my return from a brand new location.

If (or I should say, "When") I drive across the country again, I refuse to pack the car to the gills. Despite scheduling our move a couple days before the wedding, we still had a bunch of stuff show up in those last days, which, while awesome, meant the car was incredibly cramped. We also skipped taking I-40 for most of the drive, deciding instead to see some of the South. After doing Texas in a day, then stopping in Santa Fe, we said screw it and skipped everything else we planned and just drove until we got here. The sense of relief when we pulled into San Diego was palpable.

We've got the apartment mostly set up. We have a small room in the back and we've each got some space for our various hobbies/projects and storage. While the number of tables I get to set up has dropped, I feel like the quality has gone up. Since I don't have to pack all my books on one book shelf, I get to set up some of my games, my amp, and a drawer of some models as well. I think it looks nice alongside a neat table.You'll also notice the very nice glass case on the right side of the frame. That's courtesy of one of my good buddies back home. It's a very nice "Detolf" model glass case from Ikea that was given to me (I should say us) as a wedding gift. While I am very excited that I have nice way to display some of my models, it turns out my wife absolutely loves it. According to her, it's not just a nice piece of furniture, but it gives me a chance to show some of my work while not having the models be "out" which apparently reduces her stress level about clutter.After going through all the stuff from the move, the results are mixed. Of the models that went through the move, I am happy to report that there is almost no damage to my collection. A few lances came off, some metal weapons were bent, but nothing was broken. The flip side of that, and it is a big flip the other way, is that my compressor is gone. I got it as a birthday gift the week before the wedding from a couple good friends. It was still new in the box, never got to use it, and now we can't find it anywhere. We've filed a claim, but it really steams me.

My first foray out to a local FLGS was up and down. I went wandering and sorta scouted things out. The store itself feels similar to the Local back home, except they have a very current stock. I saw a lot of the hotness from Board Game Geek lining the shelves (and floors in front of the shelves) along with their expansions. The Warhammer stock seems pretty decent and all the out of date stuff is in a discount bin. It's neat, clean and well organized and the staff is very friendly.

However, I have my doubts about the gaming scene at the store. I made the trip out yesterday afternoon to try and get a game in. There were roughly eight other guys there hanging out. Over the course of two hours, two of them started a game, while the rest fiddled with their minis, talked to each other about starting a game, or stared at the new Necron codex. I tried to engage different people in conversation. I asked several people if they wanted to get a game in and made myself available. At one point, I heard someone say, "That guy is looking for a game," and the response, "No, I think I'm OK." I left without a game, incredibly frustrated.

If someone is new to your area, is generally friendly and socially competent(or even if he's awkward), and is looking for a game, please make him feel welcome. I don't care if you mercilessly stomp him, at least make sure he has a game with one of the more friendly members of your group. I don't think that's too much too ask.