I took two long drives for a short stay trips this month, which is not a common thing for me. I'm always figuring the enjoyment time's gotta out shadow the travel time, but I've come around to the perspective that it's all in the worth of the experience. There's that saying, "Time is money!" but I don't think there's an expression which gives that a correlation to experience.
My mom lives about 6 hours away so its rare I ever make that trip unless it's with my whole family. But I took that trip and made a weekend of it, just time for me and her. And it was an insightful, fulfilling quiet time. There's a lot that can't be conveyed in a phone call or in writing and it's an important thing to remember in this time of convenient communication.
The trip on following week was quite the opposite. Namco Bandai was hosting the Soul Calibur V World Finals in Las Vegas, having several international players across the globe competing for a slick $10K and plenty of prizes. Only thing they needed was The Hype. Now, 'The Hype' isn't something I can clearly define, but it's something the Fighting Game Community is very skilled at bringing. They extended an invitation out to some fine folks here in socal, to bus out the the event for a one day trip and be returned in the evening. So it was a lot of road time for a day, but I had an awesome time with friends in the community and even just representing the community, cheering on for players I previously did not know too much about. Didn't know Soul Calibur got crazy international competitors? Well, you can check out grand finals here, and see me and folks bringing The Hype.
Filthie Rich, Markman, and France's Omega DR
By the way, Namco Bandai? Thank you for the incredibly awesome Hori Soul Calibur V Stick! My stick collection's kind of reaching some serious levels now. Ahem, total of 10.
Long drives, short stays? Not too bad.
