I’m back! I’m home from Seattle and recovered from the con crud. The light morning sniffles of the last two days of the trip blossomed into an unpleasant head cold Wednesday night. At least it wasn’t covid, if that’s how we measure things these days.

We got lucky with our rental and stayed just a block from the convention center. I’ve never been so close to any show other than Winter Fantasy, and we actually saved money over previous trips. It was cool and rainy all week, so I appreciated the short walk for that reason. But I was surprised to find that I actually like having a little bit of a longer walk in, just to be out and about and experiencing the city more. Even though we were right downtown, we didn’t go out much because of the rain and long days. We didn’t get off until seven at night, which was three hours later by Michigan time. Once we were done, we usually just got some food and settled in for the evening.

It sort of felt like a wasted opportunity, but the rain put a damper on things and Seattle is so expensive compared to the Midwest. Economists use different metrics to compare standards of living and inflation and so on, and by one of my personal favorites, the Local Economic Cocktail Comparative Standard (LECCS), Seattle is fifty percent more expensive than Ann Arbor. A mixed drink costs a punishing eighteen dollars before tip. Ouch! Can’t have many of those before you’ve spent everything you made that day.

Food is just as expensive, but there are some appealing options around. Strangely, there were less of them than six months ago. Three places I ate at in September had shut their doors in the interim. Honeyhole Sandwiches closed after a strange email scandal regarding working conditions followed by the disappearance of the owner (!). Ben & Esther’s Vegan Jewish Deli in Capitol Hill also closed, stating, “Rent and labor have been double what they are in our other shops, but we’re only seeing half the amount of business.” I mean, geez, I ate there as often as I could, but I guess it wasn’t enough. And the third restaurant was some bowl place whose name I couldn’t remember. Dough Zone also scaled back what was labeled vegan on their menu, leaving me wondering if something was previously unclear… So all that was a bummer. But we must eat to live, and so I persisted.

My traditional setup meals in Seattle are Dough Zone and Veggie Grill, both located conveniently close to the convention center, though Dough Zone is inconveniently mobbed at all hours once the the convention starts. I got a nice bento box from Bloom for lunch one day, and I had dinner with a friend one night at Rumba, which was quite good. The surprise highlight of the trip was Razzi’s Pizzeria. I don’t usually go out of my way to get vegan pizza because vegan cheese is nutritionally void, but the Thai pizza with veggie chicken and peanut sauce was great. Finally, I skipped the outrageously priced vegetarian restaurant in the airport in lieu of $3.50 for all the tater tots I would ever care to eat in one sitting and then some. Success! (Of a sort.)

So how was the show? Eh, it was ok. We were down in the basement rather than up by the artist alley where we were last year. It wasn’t that bad. The lighting was good enough and the vibe was less flea-market-ish than last time. Traffic was pokey the first two days and it seemed like a more casual crowd than the dedicated gamers of other shows. Saturday picked up a bit and Sunday was solid as well, perhaps thanks to the Critical Role events that day. The work days were long, but loading in and out went smoothly through the parking garage. I never know what to expect when we try something different like bringing our freight in ourselves rather than shipping it to the hall, and I appreciate when it goes off without unexpected problems or delays. We tore down the booth in record time, so that was a nice note to end things on.

I titled the last blogpost, “Sleepless in Seattle” and then forgot to talk about why. The time change between Michigan and the west coast is only three hours, but it really throws me sometimes. I end up waking at four in the morning and then trying to squeeze in a little more sleep. The one upside is that I can get into the gym before I have to go into work. I was very happy to get back home after the show to my dogs and my kids and my things and routines.

Minis! I painted up a couple of Skullforge’s shoretrooper “remnants.” I imagine these fellas were left behind by the collapse of the Empire and now eke out their existence as mercenaries wearing scavenged gear. My goal is to paint the entire squad in these colors for Stargrave. I’m really pleased with how they came out. I think the green looks good with the tan. I was tempted to try to hand paint a camouflage pattern on the one guy’s cape, but between his black pants and mismatched armor, it just seemed like it would be too busy. I think I made the right call. I’m tempted to add some shine to his white armor but I should probably leave it dingy. These guys are just gettin’ by as best they can.