Gaming and why I love it...

As I sit here tonight thinking about my upcoming Con next week and how far I have come as a games dealer, I ask myself, "Why do I do it?" Well, it certainly isn't for the money! But, the answer isn't as simple as any one thing. I think I do it out of love... love for the games I sell, the friends I have made and the places it has allowed me to see. As a games dealer I've had the chance to go to on average 10 Cons a year with the benefit of playing great new games with some truly interesting people. I've been to Cons in NC, WV, SC and IN, and no two are the same from the focus of the con to the arrangements presented to me as a dealer. But with every new Con I have a new set of challenges to overcome, usually my biggest hurtle is in preparing and getting out the door! I swear every Con while different from the last presents the same major issues. I have two small children and a wife, so getting out the door involves making numerous arrangements for all of them as well as finding the cash to fund each trip. But as I said, all of these worries and headaches melt away as soon as the last games go up on the shelves of our booth. I sit back from my chair and look out at all my fellow vendors and think, "Man! This is the life." I can't describe in words the feeling I get when I pull up a chair to a new game with my friends and we dive in together. Board Games, Mini games and Card games are so wonderful in the way they allow you to interact with each other in person. People at my day job assume I am a big video game guy when they find out that I "sell games", but I have to get on my soap box and tell them with passion how strongly I feel about the loss of human connection video games present. People laugh at me for being so passionate, but I am a social person and to many people that I've know that are PC/Console gamers have had their social skills sucked out of them by these games. So, that is why I spend my money and time going to Cons... because I believe in the games I sell! I love the way they make me use my brain and not just aimlessly mash buttons. That's why I do it, for the love of games!

Our first booth at ConCarolinas 2010!