Origins Gaming Convention 2016 - Day Zero

Dave and I left Toledo around 1:00 and arrived at Mike's house around 4:00, mainly due to construction delays and associated traffic.  Mike was pleased to see us.



We enjoyed a cocktail at Mike's house, then had dinner at The Barn, an excellent steak house in Columbus.  After that we went over to the convention to see if we could get our badges and tickets the night before the convention opens (Wednesday).  Sadly, being nobodies, we could not.  Personal to the Origin Management: Open the ticket booth early, so that those of us who don't relish standing in line for two hours while your all-volunteer staff tries to find our prepaid reservations on your poorly engineered software system can get our tickets, badges and ribbons with a minimum amount of time wasted.  All we're asking for is reasonable service, and we know that's an incredibly impossible thing for you to provide.

Vendors, dealers, and V.I.P.s were able to get their official passes, but not the great unwashed.

So it was off to the Grass Skirt tiki room to relax and get a little attitude adjustment session.  I ordered a Surly Colada, which was excellent.  Mike and Dave elected to get a Tikiphile Mai Tai; Mike's drink came in the tiki mug show below.

Shark Mug

Shark Mug

This is priceless.  You can only drink from the mug by using a straw, and the little shark fin does not lend itself to being a handle.  The mug is so truly tasteless Mike had to have it for his collection, so here it is.  The mai tai, by the way, is just average, but the mug?  Great stuff!

Tomorrow we intend to rise early, have breakfast, and get our convention passes and event tickets before the mad rush.  We'll see what happens.