Origins, The Sultana of Swag, and Yarn Pr0n!

*Warning!* This is a picture intensive post, loaded with pics of geeky people doing geeky things. If this might be too much for you and/or if you are just here for the yarn pr0n, then shield your eyes and skip to the bottom. If you are a geek like me and/or you are feeling brave, then read on! You have been warned! ;)

(Quick note, click on the thumbnails to see a larger version of the pic.)

Eric and I went to Origins again this year and as usual, had a great time! This year, both Eric and I decided to run some games. It went pretty well and I guarantee that I'll do it again next year too. Hell, they give you a free badge if you are a GM. Free badge = $65 that I don't have to shell out for.

Right out the gate, even though it was early Wednesday, there were plenty of people around:



As usual, we went right to the Dealer Hall first. Here are some shots of the area:



I didn't see as many people in costume this year as I did last year. *shrug* Oh well. Here are some of the interesting people we saw:



There were also these guys. I watched some of their fight and let me tell you, it was rough! A great fight to watch. Sometimes you see people get dressed up and kind of play fight... nope. These guys were actually doing shoulder throws, kicks, and of course swinging their foam weapons. They were all panting and sweating pretty hard by the time they were done:



Of course the miniatures and board game room was pretty busy. I was in there for a while running Apples to Apples when I saw a celebrity:



Yup... William Hung. I'll be honest... I was surprised. I heard through the grapevine at the con that he's always been an avid gamer and been to Origins a few times before. Most people left him alone. Some said hello. Some got autographs. Most did like I did and snapped a photo from a distance. :P

But anyhoo... the board games and miniatures room... behold:



Of course we ran some of our own games. Sadly, I didn't get any pics of Eric's tables while he was running games as he was running some at the same time as myself. But here are some of the folks I played with:

For the Shab-al-Hiri Roach:



For My Life With Master:



For SPANC:



Of course we got our own demo in (that's Eric in the middle in the red and white shirt):



People were literally in every possible location, playing games:



When we got home, it was time to tally all the swag (free stuff) we got.

Eric's is on the left, mine is on the right:



I rock. Eric called me the Swag Mistress but I prefer the Sultana of Swag myself. Swag Empress works well too. The Goodie Goddess, the Gimmie Guru and the Queen O' Freebies are close runner ups. :P (For the record... I actually got more than what was in the picture but I gave some of it away.) :D

So once we were -really- settled in, I started going through the mail. And to my surprise, my box of yarn from Knit Picks had arrived! I used just about every cent of that gift certificate. I'm pretty sure I have about $1.46 left on it. :P



I'm such a happy girl!

In response to comments:

Marlene said: Are you publishing an rss feed? I can't find it.

Um... *scratches chin* I have no idea. How would I find that out?

Ragan said: WOW!!! $75!!!! Cool!

Jennifer said: That is an incredible gift!

Marlene said: That is so effin cool! I still can't get over how cool that is! Get knitting!

Helen said: oh, what a lucky gal! no one deserves it more.

Thanks ladies! I sure as hell do feel special right now. I have been playing with all the yarn I got and well... just enjoying petting it all at the moment. :P

As soon as I'm done with this last cross stitch project, it's back to knitting! Hooyah!