Location Does Matter

Great weekend, though bright and hot. We spent the two days at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at its new location, the USC campus in Los Angeles, California.

I admit I have been burned out attending the event for some time now. I know a lot of it had to do with our online bookstore which we closed last year. Before then, we attended the fair primarily to improve our stock. That meant trudging with piles of hardcovers in sometimes 90+ Farenheit heat to stand in line as we waited our turn to get the books signed before bolting to the next location. More than once did we only have an hour or two the entire weekend to see the fair for pleasure.

Three factors made this year's fair to be different. One that we closed our book business and thus removing the imputus to, well, get those damned books signed. The second reason is then we had few books to get signed. Lastly, the fair was in a new location.

Never underestimate the difference a new location can change a once familiar venue. Suddently I really had to focus on my surroundings just to make sure we didn't get lost. The land, the paths, the buildings, heck, even the bathrooms, were all different. My enthusiasm was back as I took in the new sights, smells, even tastes. (The food venue on the USC campus is drastically different than the more poor UCLA.) I thoroughly enjoyed myself, a sharp contrast to last year's fair.

I don't expect the euphoria to be the same next year. But I gained a new perspective this weekend and hope to follow through until next year's showing.

Ushering the New Year with a Drive

While the Spouse was rounding the hospital, I drove down to San Diego to check out Mysterious Galaxy and Game Empire, two of my favorite locals down there. Unfortunately, the former was closed. After a freezing meal at the local Starbucks (due to eating outside), I browsed around GE, finally making selections from the used bins as usual. I just couldn't justify the WhFRP Adventurer's Kit if I hadn't even broke open the main game, could I? An extensive chat with the overly-enthusiastic staff reminded me just how much I am a geek. And that's a good thing.

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Carpe Diem (seize the day)

New Blog, New Year

After hemming and hawing for several hours, I decided to enter the New Year with a new blog.

So, what's with the name, "State of the Coffee"? A couple of months ago, I was inspired to start video clips on, you guess it, coffee. Specifically, I would record my impression on every cup of coffee I drank per day and post them on videos sites like Youtube. The spouse, hearing my idea, suggested the name.

Fortunately, common sense won out. I don't have the equipment, and I drink too much coffee on a daily basis to make it practical. The name stuck, though.

So what's the purpose of this blog as opposed to the others. Back to basics, baby. I originally started blogging to jot down my thoughts for prosperity's sake. Now I feel it's even more important. Apparently, my memory, reaching 40 years, is doing some spring cleaning. I'm increasingly having difficulty remembering stuff, both trivial and important. Spouse reassured me, though, it's not dementia. Apparently folks who think they may have it paradoxically don't; i.e., folks who do suffer dementia deny the fact. Got it?