LIRGE 2024 (Patreon)

Pat and I were on Long Island last weekend for another Long Island Retro Gaming Expo. It’s my favorite of the yearly conventions and this year was no different. I can’t think of another convention that lets you experience almost the entirety of video game history in one spot. Have you been dying to play a Casio Loopy? It’s there. Do you want to hear a Sharp X68000 pumped through a Roland sound system? You can do that, too. You can even play Raiden IV  in an Astro City cab with actual fighter planes suspended overhead. It’s hard to convey just how truly unique the event is to folks who have never attended. 

The first day of the convention was my birthday. I tend to be out of town for most of my birthdays due to that weekend seemingly being popular for conventions. Both Game-On Expo and LIRGE have been that weekend depending on the year. The staff got me a cake, but not just any cake. They got me a Fudgie the Whale ice cream cake from Carvel! Listeners have likely heard Pat and I wax nostalgic about Carvel on the podcast and Fudgie was always my favorite. It was hot in the break room so we all devoured it quickly before it could melt. I was pretty close to getting teary eyed. It really made my day.

The day after my birthday I had to go to a local urgent care center to get some extreme pain in my big toe checked out. I had twisted it the night before and woke up to a foot about twice the size it should have been. Luckily nothing was broken and I was sent back to my hotel room to ice it down on and off for a few hours. Walking was difficult, but I really didn’t want to miss the show so I went back to the aerospace museum and hobbled around slowly, taking breaks when needed. Unfortunately, I missed the CUPodcast panel. I used to be nervous about panels but these days I love doing them so I wasn’t happy about not being there. Luckily our friend Frank Cifaldi volunteered to stand in for me and the show went on. People told me afterwards that it went really well.

I picked up a few small gifts for Vani and I only purchased two things for myself. I picked up a complete Japanese copy of Tamagotchi for the Game Boy. I also got a physical copy of Ruiner for the Switch. I missed a lot of the prior physical releases for the game so I was glad to pick one up with an art book. It’s a sharp looking game with the sort of cyberpunk style I enjoy.

Vani and I leave for Japan in a month and a half so the next few weeks are going to be unexciting. Saving money, working, and planning. The payoff is going to be huge and we can’t wait!

-Ian