KoL St. Louis: Aftermath

It's been a long, liquor-soaked weekend at the Kingdom of Loathing get-together. As I headed to St. Louis, I realized that I had forgotten not only to get directions to the hotel, but I had forgotten the name of the hotel as well. The Clubhouse a bit of phone calling revealed and after a stop at 7-11 for some added directions and beer I made it.

I checked in and announced myself to all the Loathers gathered that I was "the Lego Cannon Museum guy". This made me a bit of a minor celebrity as none of the Asymmetric staff had yet arrived. Actually, the game community is so strong that everyone in attendance was a minor celebrity. From the radio DJs to people that smite newbies in chat for meat begzoring to artists in the forums, it seems that everyone knew everyone for doing something. Two or three beers later, Mr. Skullhead arrived and shook my hand. I was quite thrilled. He offered to take the Tiny Plastic Lego guys back to the Dev staff that couldn't attend, but wanted to wait until he was soberer. Of course, this never happened. Rumors abounded that Jick had also arrived but I went the entire weekend without seeing him. He may be a myth.

Let me clear up some misconceptions about the hot tub on Friday night. It's a fact that the hotel staff closed it for "maintenance" Saturday morning. I witnessed nothing but Loathers behaving themselves. Even in the presence of small children and strangers, I saw no nudity in the hot tub. It's true that many of the so-called "hot tub rules" were broken (appropriate swimwear required, no alcohol, no glass, pool closes at ten PM) but Loathers always maintain an air of decorum. Even when the police showed up, we all walked back to our rooms in a dignified manner. The most plausible explanation for the pool closure was a reaction from a player's hair dye that turned the water purple. Any other rumors one might hear are no doubt fascinating, but untrue.

If anything cool happened Saturday morning, then I missed it. I was nursing a hangover until about four in the afternoon. Then it was drinking time again. Saturday afternoon had an awards show (everyone got a trophy!), a burlesque show and then DDR and Karaoke Revolution were set up in the meeting room. Somewhere in there and Applebee's trip was arranged and we piled twelve people into my Suburban (after careful selection of a not-yet-drinking-age driver). We stormed the restaurant. The staff was helpful and patient, the food was adequate and the drinks were flowing. I picked up the check for my table and was treated to a round of shots by my new extended clanmates! Then back to the hotel but not before pressing one of the waitstaff to give us directions to the nearest Karaoke bar. Even though the hotel had a "bar", it was only open for two and a half hours a day and they were not equipped to serve complicated drinks, such as a Black Russian.

Not less than two dozen people piled into three cars and after a couple of wrong turns (my fault, I'm afraid, as the navigator) we made it to the Lackland Inn, an unassuming local tavern with three or four regulars who wondered where this army of oddly dressed people came from. The bartender was very friendly (although the draft beer selection was limited to macrobrews... I say ordering a Budweiser in St. Louis must be considered "drinking locally") and the woman running the singing equipment did an excellent job. I have to say that KOL players have excellent voices. Nearly everyone had a turn at the mike and everyone rocked. I myself explored what it would sound like if Elvis Costello sang "Angie" with the Rolling Stones. The flickr link in yesterday's posting is mostly pictures from Karaoke. We shut down the bar, winded our way home (again, sober drivers are the key) and spent the rest of the night getting to know each other.

I had to leave a little earlier on Sunday than I would have liked and didn't get a chance to say goodbye to everyone, but I know that I'll be at the next shindig too. I tried to explain to curious civilians how everybody knew each other and saying "we play the same game together online" didn't really cover it. It was more like a family reunion... if everyone in the family in question was supercool. I met some really really great people and I know next time I'm in /radio I'll have a lot of faces to put with usernames.

Nekosoft