Post Convention Blues

I feel like we did quite well at TsunamiCon, especially for it being the first convention. Even though it was only three days, we made quite a few connections and we learned a great deal. I really think everyone had fun and a few people were seriously considering buying the table but it's not so easy to make that decision on the dime. We mostly wanted people to be able to see it. I suspect we will get more requests for custom orders before we sell the table. We already have one custom dice tray order that we should be able to get out this week.

We did sell "that" wand. Besides the table, I do believe it was the best conversation piece of the whole convention. I don't think anyone will forget us for that and John will still probably be teased about it for the next few decades, poor guy. At least until he makes the next "that thing".

You can see most of the photos and video we took at the con on our Facebook page. The rest should be up by this weekend. I probably have a good bit of editing to do on some of the video footage before it goes on youtube and/or vimeo.

As crazy and hectic as the convention was, there was a sense of sadness with leaving: a bit like the day when the train comes to Hogwarts at the end of the semester. You have to leave the magic behind and go back to the mundane world. Now I am trying to readjust to all the stuff I have to catch up on this week to be productive. Conventions are nice for letting you connect with people of similar interests and just geek out to your heart's content.

Look for our full website debut sometime in the next few weeks.

The First Convention

In a little less than a week, Flat Earth Hobbies will be heading to Wichita for our first convention. The table is almost finished, but it's another last minute situation. I have been so busy this semester between classes, the GA position, the Enactus officer position, and dealing with Flat Earth Hobbies, that I have not posted about any of the amazing things that have been going on this semester.

Because I am an insane person, I am going to attempt to do the NaNoWriMo thing. Most of my writing will probably be done after the con is finished, but I still think I can manage the 50K with as much as I have been able to do with planning and everything else. A few good word sprints will do me some good to getting back in the writing habit. Even if I do wind up working in corporate IT after graduation next year, I would rather not lose my writing. 

Anyway, I hope everyone had a good Halloween and/or is having a blessed Samhain and that your next week goes swimmingly. I will "see" you all after the con. 

After Spring Break

The Monday after spring break meant snow for Kansas. It started blowing in and sticking shortly after lunchtime. Most of the snow had melted after five p.m. that day, but there were still a few patches when I was walking to campus yesterday. Spring is always a bit of a loose term around here. At least the weather is being unseasonal in early spring instead of in May or June when we should be getting summer weather. I want the apartment pool to open on time this year, please and thank you.

My team for the 3D competition meets with the Dean of the business college on Thursday (tomorrow) to get raked over the coals to assist with improving the presentation. We present to the judges in a week. We've successfully met with two judges which has improved our pitch already but we need to try to meet with the third judge which might also happen tomorrow.

Most of my Tuesday was devoured by a meeting, finding more relevant data, and constructing the power point. I have to say, though, conventions are being somewhat ridiculous by not tracking their demographics every year. Gen Con, the original, seems to the be the only one out of all 400+ gaming conventions in the U.S. that knows exactly how many visitors they've had since inception and from where these convention-goers hail. I keep thinking there's a potential job position with that for tracking visitor data and putting it into meaningful visual forms for data analysis for organizers. Someone should hire me to do this, don't you think?

This morning, though, I need to make my coffee and finish up my required reading for the week. My goal is to get my exam for international marketing out of the way as well. I have a feeling that Thursday is going to be another time sink of a day especially with one, possibly two, meetings and more work on the presentation to follow. Don't plan on being an entrepreneur if you aren't prepared to work crazy-hard every day. That's the real lesson of this competition, I suppose. That's just it, though, I have never minded working hard so long as there was a purpose to it.

My goal is that by the time I have finished my master's degree next year, our little business is more than capable of standing on its own merit. Or, at the very least, I might have something worthwhile to make my resume standout to Wizards of the Coast or a few other companies I was considering.