MACE is Awesome*!

*and sucks at the same time, explanation to follow.

MACE is awesome, so much so that it took me 5 attempts not to spell awesome with a capital "A" in this sentence. Being my first con, I'm confident that I'm a little biased. Just a little. Roundup of things I did at MACE:

• Ran a bunch of Warmachine demos. YAY! I love running demos. It's especially fun when I am demoing for someone who knows only that the game exists, involves minis and dice, and is kinda-sorta steampunk. There were a handful of people who I demoed for who were excited about the game, and wanted to purchase an army of their own. *claps* I love when that happens. It seemed like I was on a permanent happy-high for two days of demos. OK, well, until I almost passed out at the wheel Friday, and until I realized Durok got sick Saturday. But, the rest of the weekend was GREAT!
• Met the famous PG_Devilsquid. He kept me laughing all weekend. And gave me a backrub. I vote the Gunbunnies keep him, no matter how far away he goes. I'll bribe him with cupcakes and cookies and pumpkin bread if I have to.
• Placed 5th in a WoWTCG tourney. Yeah. I'm a geek. I know I'm awesome at it (being a geek that is).
• Watched the Durok place first in a Warmachine/Hordes tourney. Woot! My man is an ass-kicker.
• Watched Durok place third in the WoWTCG tourney. Yeah, he played me and kicked my ass.
• Made an uh-oh: I left the big bag of Durok's Khador on the curb outside the apartment building. I'm special like that. It was safe, so he DIDN'T kill me. Thanks, friends and apartment complex people! You saved my ass!
• Other things, I think. Also, realized that the EconoLodge in High Point has crap mattresses. I'm still stiff from that thing. Luckily, Durok, even when sick, is the best pillow/blanket/bedwarmer ever. Such a snuggly Marine.

One thing that sucks about MACE: nerd germs. Not nerd-specific germs, but germs that come from nerds. As in, Durok got the flu and I got a head/chest cold. I was even wiping down dice, markers, focus counters, and laminated quick-reference sheets with disinfecting wipes. And using hand sanitizer like it's cool. We both called out sick from work yesterday. I slept probably 75% of the day, and he played WoW all day. I vote people use hand sanitizer and let people know they're sick if getting demos at cons. That way, demo-ers can take precautions to not get sick from the demo-ees.