It’s getting harder and harder to get out of bed not gonna lie…
Today’s reading indicates hesitation born out of a fear of things crumbling if I don’t draw lines in the sand.
Nothing specific comes to mind in reference to it, but it IS an evergreen sort of advice.
So here’s a funny detail: I’ve met with more people this year while not entering the event than last year when I did.
After dragging my ass out of bed super painfully and getting a light meal I started the long process to go to the TGS area.
For those just tuning in: Despite its name, Tokyo Game Show takes place in Chiba. For those not aware Chiba is Tokyo the way Kobe is Osaka, which is to say: barely and even then by using one very specific category.
All of which is to say that if you are in the ACTUAL Tokyo area, it’ll take an average of one hour to get there.
By the way, between Tokyo and Makuhari there’s Disneyland so the already-packed train will be extra packed.
Exactly one hour later I make it there. My plan was simple: meet up with the Mexicans from yesterday, then have dinner with a friend, and then go to a different meeting later.
Then something funny happened.
So I have a friend that’s a games reporter in China. I haven’t seen him since 2019. Pandemic happened and the three other TGS since the country opened were frantic in different ways.
So the Mexicans arrive, I greet them, turn around, and who do I see?
I approached him going “I know you!”, he goes “Lark?” And the greetings overflow.
And why was he there? He has a crow friend he feeds whenever he goes to TGS!
I chat with the Mexican homies for a bit while mosquitoes ate us, then waited and had yakiniku with a friend and from there we went to the other after event meetup.
I met some cool people, a few of them I was already doing business with but hadn’t seen in person funnily enough.
My one regret of the night… so there’s another Venezuelan developer I crossed paths with there, I’ve known him since my first TGS. I told him he should be socializing more with the others. What I meant was “don’t feel obligated to stick by me, go have fun with everyone else if you want” “don’t waste the opportunity to network because you feel an obligation being by me” but was taken as me pushing him away.
He took it in good humor and I clarified but you know how miscommunications feel in the mind even later.
…wait no, make that two regrets:
Not entering the event means I didn’t ride the big Garurumon on the Digimon booth.