Hello everyone! As I am writing this I am sitting in Batter Up with Judy, Patty, Steve, Mike and Aimee running a spring Battle Road. The Spring Battle Road help signal the end of the Pokemon year as we then wait for Nationals, and Worlds to pass. Then we start for next year in August with the next Pre Release. This has been a year of transition for us. We saw Disposable Heroes and Rising Phoenix Game close. Gigures Gym and Veteran's Games stepped up to fill the void. At The Game Castle we saw Jeremy J give the League Leadership role to Patty L. Go Patty!
We have seen our community become more competitive than ever. This is a double edged sword. We do want to encourage our players to truly battle to do thier best. Giving your best is what all of us should try to do in everything we do. When the day is over you want to be able to think that you did your best. Each of you should be competiting with yourself to be the best that you can be not competiting with each other to be the number 1 player. There are times when we see this competitiveness become a bad thing. It is important to treat your opponets with the respect that they deserve. Losing is a part of life. Watching someone lose will often tell you more about the person than watching them win. Losing in a very usporting way or complaining that your opponet got "lucky" is very disrespectful of your opponet and only makes you appear to be a poor loser.
Judy and I will not be going to US Nationals this year. We want you to know that we are watching and rooting for you from home. We encourage you to do your best. We know that you will represent both your self but also New England Pokemon well. We do hope to see all of you at TJ's on Sunday 6/13/2010 for our last battleroad of the season. It will be one big party!!
Hello everyone!! It is amazing how fast time flys! It is almost June already. Lots has happened since I last wrote you. It is great to see the Celtics having such a great run in the playoffs! I am learning to love many of the new technologies that we currently are using. Facebook has been extreemly helpful for me to keep in touch with many friends and family. Frankly it has been adicting! I don't find myself tweeting very much. We have had termendous amount of technoligical growth for both our events and our store.
I hope you are sitting down when you read this. We actually just updated our credit card machine at TJ's. No more barely readable reciepts. We finally did roll out that new register system. I am still not sure how the entire system works. Dave will be showing me the rest of it soon. Our ONLINE STORE is finally up as well. We have many items on it for sale. We are also now done hand writing credit card slips as we just got a wireless credit card machine. Isn't technology wonderful!
We did also rewire the tj internet system, so you will have to hask us for the password as the wireless is now password protected. We are planning on rolling out an X-Box set up that will have 4 machines and be hooked up to the internet. We have moved our online business into the old back room downstairs. Things are truly looking up. It has been an extreemly busy time for us to make all these changes. We appreciate your patience as we have done so.
I look forward to seeing you soon at my favorite store
Tom
April 22, 2010 - These are special times recognize this and enjoy them
Hello everyone! These are truly special times we are enjoying right now. This is the second coming of the Magic the Gathering movement. Back in the day 13 years ago, Magic was the new kid on the block. Revised was the big set. Yes there were earlier sets the problem was that those sets sold out within a day or two of being released. Back then people were fanatical about magic.
I would buy a set of unlimited and float the word that we had the set within 2 hours we would have sold off the power nine. Within a day the dual lands would be gone. It was an amazing time. Then slowly over time Wizards developed the ability to meet the demand for their product. We then enjoyed a solid time of growth. Tournaments were chaotic. There were not enough quality judges. It took time to put into place the systems that have produced the judges that we now enjoy. Wizards went through many stages of developement during the gap from then until now. There were periods of things that didn't seem to work or worked too well, (infinity decks which required little skill come to mind). There were periods where it seemed as though Wizards had lost touch with what its community needed. There were some sets that out and out failed (see Kamigawa block). While I enjoyed Kamigawa block many players did not and slowly they left the game. These days were the dark days of magic.
Whether you realize it or not I am telling you that since M10 Wizrards has been making ALL the right calls. Zendikar Block was awesome. I like the Rise of the Eldrazi decision to make a big set in April to give the community something to sink its teeth into. The new little sets like from the vaults exiled, the new dual decks. the new tournaments such as the WPN Championships are all NEW ideas that are worthy. Wizards is now back! They are now innovative again.
They have been sending out their Research and Developement guys to visit local stores to see what the community really wants. This is brilliant. We have not seen Wizards take this effort to really understand their community. The sets are also very interesting. They have cards that fit into legacy decks, extended decks, edh, draft really well and yes help form a really great standard enviroment. Wizards seems to be on top of their game right now. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
A few weeks ago I was contacted by one of my distributors who sells magic cards. They wanted me to work with them to teach many of their accounts about running magic organized play. We came up with the idea of my puting together a workshop for those accounts to participate in. I have spent the past few weeks working on that workshop. This work has opened my eyes to many things that we need to work on.
For starters FNM booster drafts need to be fun. We will have no backdrafting. We will have no unwanted draft analysis during or after the draft. If someone wants to really know they will ask. We will tolerate any unsportsman like conduct. We will have lots of fun playing our favorite game. This is a fun night out not world peace. I have taken the time to explain this to a few of our competitive players. One of them is no longer welcome to play at TJ's I am really serious about making TJ's into the most fun place to play on the planet.
The days of playing two rounds of fnm so two people can draw for basically all the prizes in round three are now gone. We are implementing the following prize structure immediately. We cannot change how dci reporter pods players. We can and have flattened the prize distribution so that players will need to play round three. Prize support for all pods will drop lower than top 2. In a typical 8 person pod there will be prizes to the top 4 players. This will in fact help to curb the competitiveness. What we are looking for is for people to have fun not practice for the Pro Tour. We already have events that do that they are called PTQ's. I do hope to see you at a Friday Night Magic event soon.
Starting this week our Friday Night Magic will have a different focus. We are all done catering to the "TOO COMPETITIVE", I WANT TO WIN crowd. Friday Night Magic WILL still be booster draft however we could add a standard event as WELL provided we had enough players to run the standard event. Friday Night Magic for booster drafts will ALWAYS be 3 rounds of swiss. I want everyone to know EXACTLY what to expect. Below is the way the prizes will work and how the pods are for up to 24 players.
see you soon
Tom
We will feature the following prizes:
6 player pod: 4 packs for 1st place, 3 packs for 2nd place, 2 packs for 3rd place
7 player pod: 4 packs for 1st place, 3 packs for 2nd place, 2 packs for 3rd & 4th place
8 player pod: 5 packs 1st place, 3 packs 2nd place, 2 packs 3rd & 4th place
9 player pod: 6 packs 1st place, 3 packs 2nd place, 2 packs 3rd & 4th place
10 player pod: 6 packs 1st place, 3 packs 2nd place, 2 packs 3rd /4th & 5th place
11 player pod: 6 packs 1st place, 4 packs 2nd place, 2 packs 3rd /4th & 5th place
Pods with 12 players become 2 draft pods of 6 players each
Pods with 13 players become 2 draft pods, one with 6 and one with 7 players each
Pods with 14 players become 2 draft pods one with 8 and one with 6
Pods with 15 players become 2 draft pods one with 8 and one with 7
Pods with 16 players become 2 draft pods of 8
Pods with 17 players become 2 draft pods, one with 9, one with 8
Pods with 18 players become 2 draft pods one with10 and one with 8
Pods with 19 players become 2 draft pods one with10 and one wtih 9
Pods with 20 players become 2 draft pods of 10
Pods with 21 players become 2 draft pods: one with 11 and one with 10
Pods with 22 players become 3 draft pods: 2 wtih 8 and one with 6
Pods with 23 players become 3 draft pods: 2 with 8 and one with 7
Pods with 24 players become 3 pods of 8
The progression is natural and follows this same pattern.
January 2, 2010 - Happy New Year! A different perspective
Hello everyone! It is the most wonderful time of the year. I love the holidays! This past week has been something with the snow. It looks so beautiful outside. We are winding down an amazing year. I do hope and pray that 2010 is a better year for everyone than 2009 was. One of the things that I love about this time of year is that people take the time to slow down spend time with family and realize what is important in their lives.
This past Sunday I was watching 60 minutes and it hit me just how hard this year has been for many Americans as a small town in Ohio was out over 10,000 jobs. Then on Sunday my next door neighbor told me how he had just been laid off after many years on the job. I do hope that everyone has a better 2010. I hope that our economy will get healthy. One of the best things that all of us can do is to support those local businesses. We appreciate your support. This past year has been not a banner year, but one of hope. Our Magic tournaments and Pokemon tournaments did fairly well. Our retail store held its own in this horrible economy. Our online business is struggling to break free from ebay. Things are progressing slowly. I thank you for your help and support in these hard times.
I wanted to also thank many local businesses who I frequent that have been very helpful to Judy and myself. I can't gurantee thier performance but can tell you that these folks have treated us right over the years. Please give them a try if you find you need what they offer.
Sincerely
Tom, and Judy Shea
Plains Auto (car repairs)- 508-473-8700, Ask for Steve or Earl
Milford Tire ( 508-473-1600) Ask for Irma
Milford Animal Hospital (508-473-45434, Dr Heller
Milford Podiatry: (508-478-6700) Dr Novis
Sunrise Prosthetics and Orthotics: 508-753-4738, Karen Lynch
Goodman Eye, (508-381-5600) Dr Glen Goodman
Joesph and Thomas Opticians: (508-478-3838)
Russo Insurance: 508-533-3000, ask for Chris
All Purpose Plumbing and Heating: 508-844-7789, ask for Brian
Please tell these folks that Tom from Tj's sent you! All of these people have been very good to Judy and myself. Imagine even a plumber on the list!
See you soon at my favorite store!
December 1, 2009 - Reflecting on this time of year 2009 and MY gift to you!
Hello everyone! This is an exciting time of year. Christmas is my favorite holiday. For many it is Thanks Giving. We have just completed a difficult time of year as Sept, Oct, and November all bring their challenges. Judy has been teaching 2 night classes on top of her regular job as a high school teacher and is taking an online class to boot. I have been judging both Tuesday and Friday Night magic at TJ's while scheduling many events including the Pokemon City Schedule, and upcoming Pre Release, States and working on an exciting Pokemon Regional program. We have been busy. Probably too busy. Things will slow down as we have a few weekends off coming later in Dec to enjoy the holiday season.
Tonight I visited Dean who owns a new game store in Warwick RI called Veterans Games. It is very refreshing to meet with someone who is so enthusiastic about the things his store is doing. Sometimes store owners get caught in a rut. Many times they are frustrated. It is the hard times that I miss my good friend Dick Roach who owned Hudmar Ltd which was located in Marlboro, MA. Dick and I used to talk on the phone each morning. The conversation for both of us was theraputic. We oftened discussed the local sports teams. I am going to miss getting to call him tommorrow morning to discuss the Pats loss tonight to the Saints.
Speaking of the Saints how about that Drew Brees guy? He carved up the Pats secondary tonight. Five touchdown passes was certainly hard to watch. The Pats defense needs more pass rush. It will come in time. The tricky thing is that Tom Brady won't be around forever. The window to win more championships will start to close in a few years. We need to win now and with the defense we currently have can't do so now. They are still my team. It is starting to look more and more that we will be waiting till next year so our defense can grow more and we can add additional pieces to that defense.
Judy and I are very thankful to know all of you. We have so many nice friends that we get to see and enjoy on a regular basis. Hopefully most of you will stoop by TJls to say hello so we can wish you a happy holiday! This upcoming year we have many great things planned. For the Magic Crowd we are bringing back CASUAL MAGIC on 12/26/2009! Pokemon is going to get another draft day and hopefully an awesome regional experience please cross your fingers on that one as I am having difficuly finding the right venue for that to happen. Yu-GH-IO is going to get tournaments at TJ's this upcoming year. Comically we are working on some things that I can' t divelge yet. Happy hollidays to everyone!
Today while waiting for a shipment of product for this week's Pro Tour Qualifer for Magic I saw an interview of the new men's basketball Coach from Memphis. Jelan Kendrick. This guy is amazing. He speaks with such enthusiasm with a true positive can do attitude that I am pulling for him to succeed. No matter the question asked of him he ONLY had positive things to say. He was just happy to be named head coach. He didn't talk at all about entitlement or paying his dues nothing like that at all. Here is a link for you to read more about this amazing guy. http://www.gotigersgo.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/111409aaa.html
Lastly how can I blog today and not mention last nights Patriots Game. Many people are second guessing our coach Bill Belechick. Today I can honestly tell you that Bill Belechick on his worst day knows more football than I would period. He made a judgement call that didn't work out so well. I hope Bill stays as our coach for the next 30 years. He has been nothing short of amazing. It wasn't too long ago that the Pats were the laughing stock of the league. We used to be worse than the Buffalo Bills. I cheer for my Pats win lose or draw. Thank god for Bill Belechick.
Well not exactly another day another blog. It seems like the past 12 weeks have flown by. It is amazing how busy we are trying to keep everything going. Like everyone else the bad economy has us in a funk. We are working our way out of it thanks to your help.
We just finished the Pokemon Arceus Pre Release season. Over the past 3 months we have seen our friends from Johnston RI, Disposable Heroes get closed down by the building inspector. To date they are not sure what they have to do to get reopened. Rising Phoenix Games also just recently closed their doors as well due to Lia's health issues. In a few weeks we will all be giving Thanks on Thanksgiving. I will be giving thanks for having many good friends and a year of relative good health. Lia finially has a good specialist helping her with her situation. Hopefully she too will get to enjoy a year of good health.
As much as things change they seem to stay the same. We have been hustling to keep TJ's on the edge of what it is that our customers are looking for. We have cleaned up our store appearance by moving our ebay station downstiars. We have both moved and expanded our supply area. We are currently increasing our back issue area. We have moved our pokemon area as well. Right now we are working with Diamond Comics trying to get both the new register system and the new online store rolled out soon.
We also have planned a Black Friday Sale. Just like the big boys. Stupid prices on a limited amount of merchandise. From 9 to noon on Black Friday we will have some stupid cheap prices store wide for your shopping pleasure. I encourage you to take advantage.
I look forward to seeing you soon at MY favorite store
Hello everyone!! We are entering the dog days of summer. Those hot days in August. There is much to do. Supreme Victors Pre Releases for Pokemon start this upcoming Saturday! We will be in Watervliet, NY home of the Chimentos. Johnny Blaze and the gang are all big AC/DC fans I hear. Supreme Victors just might have them all Thunderstruck as this set is really good or so I am told. We are also at the Relentless Dragon, which is in Amhurst, NH. IF you haven't visited the Dragon you really need to this is a really nice store run by very friendly people. Then on SUNDAY we are at my favorite store - TJ Collectibles! This should be a huge event. I want us to have a GIANT send off for all of our worlds competitors.
The following weekend we have lots of Pokemon pre releases. Friday night we are trying something different at Disposable Heroes by doing our first Friday night pre release. Saturday we are at Rising Phoenix Games(MA) and The Game Casle (NH) and on Sunday we are at The Grid(CT) and Batter UP(MA), These events should be well attended as everyone isn't going to world's.
The weekend of 8/21/2009 brings us Draft Days! Friday 8/21/2009 is draft day 1 for Magic! Then on 8/22/2009 we have a Magic Pro Tour qualifer for Austin which is why we are dong our first draft day at Rising Phoenix Games. Sunday 8/23/2009 we are running Draft day at TJ's for Pokemon AND MAGIC. Booster draft entry fees will be lowered $1.00 for each draft you participate in. EVERYONE loves drafting the game type doesn't matter.
Hello everyone! This has been a difficult week for Judy and I. A few days ago we had a sit down with a her brother Bill and her mom's doctor to discss her mom's situation as she was in the hospital. It was decided that hospice was the best route. We then spent a day deciding where she would spend her hospice time. We decided to have Rita at our home. After people meet Judy they tell me how she is the nicest person they have ever met. While that may be true Judy is the second nicest person I have ever met as Rita her mom was truly the nicest person I ever met.
Rita came from the generation where people thought of others FIRST. While she did get angry with the things that other people did, she almost never confronted them on their behavior. She would think of how hard it must have been for them to have to do what they did. Rita was born with only 1 hand. She hid this fact extreemly well. She never made excuses for the things that she could or couldn't do. She was a lady full of life. Sometimes she would get madder than a hornet. But unlike hornets rarely did she ever sting anyone.
Rita lived to be 92. Rita was susposed to be moved to our home today. At the end she didn' t want to be a bother. She passed on around 10:00 am this morning. She Judy is very much her daughter. When you understand Judy you would have understood Rita. When Rita first met me she didn't like me. She asked Judy if she was settling. Once Rita came to the conclusion that Judy was going to marry me she changed her tune and accepted me. I knew that she had accepted me one day when she asked me if I was thirsty. When I asked for a glass of water she told Judy to get me a glass of water. One of her favorite answers to life's problems was that Judy can do it. Which does work for most things.
After my foot operation Rita wanted to see me to make sure I was ok. Every so often she would ask me how I was doing. What is frustrating about our current health care system is that we couldn't bring Rita home to spend her last days. She never wanted to be a bother. There would be times when we were visiting her that she would tell us to go and do something nice. I will work on being more like Rita by not thinking about myself as much.
Every time we thought she was getting worse she would go to the hospital and pop right back up. This wasn't one of those times. I will miss her. Take time to tell the ones that are important in your life how important the really are to you.
Hello everyone! For the past 4 Grand Prix Boston's Rob Dougherty from Your Move Games and I partnered up to bring you 4 high quality events. At least we hoped they were high quality. This partnership seemed to work, really well. Each of us brought to the table things that the other didn't do so well. This partnership has ended. This past year Wizards awarded Rob the GP which is disapointing as in years past it was brought to Rob and I with options. The option we chose was to work together. This past year it was simply given to Rob and he had all the options. He chose to cut me out blaming the poor economy. All of us are hurting due to this economy not only Rob.
It is really disapoining to me that my only involvement in this year's GP is the trial we are running this weekend. I wish all of you luck at the event. This is an important event for our community. I have encouraged all of my judges to go and work this event. Grand Prixs are a time to celebrate the game of Magic. I encourage all of you to do so.
Summertime is a fun time! For those coming to TJ's this weekend we are very busy. We have the M10 LAUNCH PARTY!! Judge Judy will be here this weekend so I can play in both Friday Night Magic and the Launch Party which will all feature M10. This set looks awesome! A change of pace is always good.
Also on Saturday we are hosting a Pokemon Celebration for our national competitors. CAKE is good. Come on down and share your experience at Pokemon Nationals with the other Pokemon players from New England. We will be hosting league as well.
Like many of you Judy and I fall into bad habbits during the summer. We often find ourselves staying up late, sleeping late and accomplishing little during the summer. I challenge all of you to do something each day. Make each day a special day by getting something done. I am hopeful to get the garage cleaned out this summer. Saturday we have the launch party. Sunday I am mowing the lawn, and planting a few plants. Do things like that make summertime productive time. Time is one of the things that is truly limited. Once you waste a day you can't get it back.
Have some fun this weekend with your friends at TJ Collectibles
Tom
July 6, 2009 - A Word From Tom Shea #9: Pokemon Nationals
Hello everyone! I just spent the past few days recovering from our trip to St. Louis for the Pokemon National Championships. We had quite a week; Judy and I flew out last Wednesday. Thursday was the P.T.O. conference. Friday was the professor cup followed by the first ever Judge Seminar where Kim, aka “Bulbasnore,” Richard, aka “Big Daddy Snorlax” and yours truly presented the beginning of the Pokemon Judge Training Program.
I once went golfing with a friend of mine who kept telling me that the results of my poorly hitting the ball didn’t matter as I was now in play. That is how I felt about this first ever workshop. How many or how few people attended didn’t matter as we are now in play. There will be many other workshops in the future that will be much more heavily attended. My purpose this past weekend was to work with judges and share my experiences. Sharing experiences helps shape perspective. As a system Pokemon will grow stronger with judges doing so. We are only as strong as our weakest link.
As a group the New England plus community did a fantastic job representing itself. For starters we need to properly designate what our community. When I say New England + I am including our friends from WatervlietNY, which is the league run by John Chimento. Those folks are a big part of our community. As a group our staff members worked hard and did a great job. Our players did an awesome job showing the tremendous spirit of the game that exists in our area. When our players lost and were eliminated they showed tremendous class accepting defeat while showing true sportsmanship. We made us proud.
One important thing that all of you should realize is this. While I am in an official capacity at any event I am not permitted to show any bias towards any player in the event. I am not allowed to “root” or cheer on any player in the event. Deep down you all know that I was pulling for you. The hard thing comes whenever I am forced to become in a ruling that involves any of you. You understand that I MUST arbitrate the rules fairly no matter who is involved. I would assess my own mom a game loss if she earned it you all know that. I watched several of you in the final cuts. All of you played in a manner that you should be proud of. You all were warriors.
We had 6 juniors make day 2. Danny T, and Noah L made top 4. It was awesome to see that. The possibilities of an all New England top 2 were exciting indeed. The fact that you two made top 4 and earned trips to worlds is awesome. The other really cool thing was that Aaron C earned an invite to worlds as well BECAUSE Noah is already qualified and the invite passed down. Way to go guys! Henry C, Duncan H, Aaron C, and Collin G all played with determination.
We had 5 seniors make day 2 as well. Aylam R, Nathaniel L, Thomas A, Kevin C, and Michael B. Both Aylam and Nathaniel L made top 4 as well. We were having such a fun day with the possibility of both senior and junior divisions having New England players in the finals. Nathaniel finished 4th and Aylam won it all. Thomas finished day one undefeated. Kevin C, Michael B and Thomas all played well in the top cuts. They just didn’t draw well enough to win.
The single most impressive thing that I constantly see in our New England plus Pokemon community is how all of our players pull for one another. Even when they were eliminated from the tournament they stayed and cheered for one another. This is what makes us proud of all of the players in our community is how you pull together at Nationals and Worlds. During the rest of the year you battle each other so hard. Each league believes that it has the best players. All of you beat the tar out of one another the rest of the year in preparation for Nats and Worlds.
This preparation last year led to Gino L winning Nats and Dylan L becoming World Champ. This year we had even more players making the top cut. Our masters had a hard round of last cuts during day one. None of them survived to make day 2. That didn’t keep the masters away. There were many of them rooting on our juniors and seniors. The fact that all of our more experienced players play and teach our less experienced players how to play their decks properly is part of what helps our players be so competitive. Our judges who work so hard at knowing the rules help as well. The only downer for us was that one of our players was dq’ed for marked cards. We had never thought that coloring ones borders could lead to such a penalty. You have my apologies for this happening. This is something that I had never seen. You have my word that we will work even harder this upcoming year to help ensure that you are properly prepared for these bigger tournaments.
Judy and I want all of you to come to TJ’s on Saturday July 18th, from 5 to 8 for a celebration!
Come to share your stories from Nats, play in league, and have some CAKE.
See you there
Tom
May 30, 2009 - A Word From Tom Shea #8: Two in one Week!
Hello Everyone! Today is Saturday, I find myself in Johnston, RI home of Disposable Heroes for a Pokemon Battleroad, Today we had 41 players. Actually that is an amazing number considering the time of year and the not so amazing prize structure for Battle Roads. Our crew takes every tournament as an experience not to be missed. Gotta love it. Last night we had 18 at TJ's for FNM. Things are looking up.
In July we are switching up our Pokemon league leaders. Steve A has done a really nice job running our league. The problem is that Steve judges a ton of events for us. It is impossible for him to be at 2 places at once. With that in mind we have recruited the best league leader I have ever seen - Brian Jessing. Brian will be taking the TJ league over July 11th. From that date on our league WILL always run on Saturdays from 5 to 8. We are making Pokemon League a Priority. EVER Saturday from 5 to 8 TJ Pokemon league will run reguardless of our tournament schedule. Count on it.
We are on FACEBOOK too. Nice site. Join facebook, send me a friend request, then do me a big favor and JOIN MY MOB! Seriously I have found facebook to be much more than I orginally thought. Much more what? Everything. I have reconnected with both friends and family that I have not heard of in years. It has allowed me to see what my friends are doing. It has allowed me to better communicate with people what is going on at TJ's and things in my life. Social networking is the wave of the future. So if you are not on facebook you should join the fun.
have a great weekend,
Tom Shea
May 27, 2009 - A Word From Tom Shea #7: Seems like old times
Hello everyone!! Believe it or not I actually game from time to time. My game of choice is Magic the Gathering. This is not to say that the other games that we are involved in are not great. I just really enjoy Magic. Last night we had 16 players including myself for Tuesday night booster draft. That is unheard of! I appreciate evenyone coming out to play. We ran 2 pods of 8. Took our time and finished the night around 10:30.
Well some of us finished the night that early. A smaller group of us stayed and drafted again. We didn't finish our 3 on 3 team draft until 1:30 am. This night brought back memories from the early 2000's when we would draft 4 or 5 times on a Saturday and finish about the same time. Then we would take C Fish home and do the Bickford's run to Sharon before looping back to Foxboro, then to Millis and finally home by 4:00 am. Those were the days when we would play all night with Huey, the DeSimone brothers, C Fish, Lynch, Mark White and the gang. Those were the good old days.
This past Monday Judy and I visited my good friend Dick R whom I have had been fortunate to know for the past 18 years. Dick is in a home with stage 4 cancer. This amazing man has shown nothing but courage and class handling his situation. This past week he shared with me that he isn't sure how this is going to end. When I find myself with a problem that seems insurmountable I ask myself "what would Dick do"? Many times those problems don't seem so large anymore. Like many other things Dick has taught me he now is showing me how to bow out with dignity and class. Every few days I plan on going down to visit this dear friend of mine. For how much longer I get this opportunity is unknown.
There are a lot of unknowns out there. Today I spent some time on the phone speaking with a long lost cousin of mine. Actually he wasn't lost, neither was I for that matter. The real problem is that we had lost touch with each other. Neither of us really knew why either which is the strange thing. While it takes two people to share a friendship. it ONLY takes one to reach out and re kindle one as well. It is really awesome that Chris found me on facebook and took the time to reach out. Now it is important that I keep up my end by staying in contact with him. Time flys by so fast. It really is important that each of us takes the time that we have and live it to the fullest.
My uncle Charlie was my cousins dad. Uncle Charlie was one of my favorite uncles. He took the time to try and help my sister during a difficult time. He gave her a job working for his book keeping company. He was a kind man who died at the young age of 46. This past April 18th, I turned 46. Now I am living years that my uncle Charlie didn't get the opportunity to live. Like many of us he got all caught up in his busy life. He didn't take care of himself which led to his early departure.
All of us have things to overcome. Many of us don't really have time to do many of the things that we love doing. When I opened TJ Collectibles, Judy and I lived in Marlboro down the street from my friend Dick's store. I would stop by each day and visit with Dick before I went to Milford to open up. TJ's opened on April 1, 1992. That's right April fools day. Dick took great delight in reminding me of this fact. He also shared some true wisdom with me that went over my head until a few years ago. He congradulated me that today (my first day being open) was the only day that I would be CAUGHT UP with my work. Enjoy it he told me, Then he told me to always remember that the work can always wait for another day but my family and friends won't always be there for some of those days. Enjoy the moment. Take the time to enjoy playing whatever it is that you play with whomever you enjoy playing with.
See you soon
Tom Shea
May 22, 2009 - A word from Tom Shea #6: The Spirit of the Game
Hello everyone! This blog is Pokemon specific that is why I didn't check the Magic box as well. This past pre release season we witnessed some disturbing behaviour from several of our players. Some players set up 1 pokemon decks that were not very competitive. I am not sure whether or not they belived that these decks were just goofy or why they were playing them .
Pre Releases are meant to be a party where we come together and battle with the new cards. We promote pre releases as great places for newer players to come and try tournaments. The idea is to ACTUALLY BATTLE. When players don't battle they are letting down the rest of the player community that actually came to play not just get the new cards. We run these tournaments to help players have fun and play. They want to play FULL matches.
When you don't try to battle at these events you are depriving your fellow players the opportunity to have THEIR FUN. Imagine going to a BUFFET for a meal. The resturant brings our the appetizer and nothing else. You sit down get your appetizer and are waiting for more of your meal and then you are told sorry you win. No more food for your. Imagine how cheated you would feel. That is the way many of your opponets feel who get paired against you feel when they don't get to play a full match. Pre Releases are about having fun on both sides of the table. Don't show poor spirit of the game by trying to deprive your fellow players the true chance to battle you!
See you soon
Tom Shea
April 21, 2009 - A Word From Tom Shea #5: My Birthday week # 46!
A few years ago, my Uncle Joe told me that it was okay that he was growing old because the alternative was simply unacceptable! I have learned to adopt the same philosophy. So, another year another birthday. This past year has certainly been a turblent one;
we have seen the tremendous growth of Pokemon, the creation of Dungeons & Dragons, changes to the Magic Pre-Release system and the crumbling economy. Thank god we were already heading online by pushing eBay and starting to work on this web site. It is almost as if we are slightly ahead of the train that is trying to run us over, like a bad Indiana Jones scene. Well you know what they say, if it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger.
Today Judy and I took the afternoon to go to the Cheescake Factory for dinner which was an interesting experience. We ordered the lentil soup which was very good. Our meals came out quickly, so fast that we had yet to finish the soup. Our waiter being totally efficient wanted to take it from us along with our bread. I had to quickly tell him to get us more bread and grabbed the soup dish so that he couldn't take it away. Judy's meal was great, mine wasn't cooked properly. Our waiter didn't come back over to check that our food was good for 7 or 8 minutes. I finally got his attention to tell him this plus we didn't have napkins and the waiter didn't bring over the ice water I asked for or the chesse for to put on our meals. Then the manager came over and I calmy explained to him that our waiter was a nice enthusastic young fellow who simply WASN'T LISTENING TO WHAT WE WERE ASKING HIM FOR; he simply was moving. This is very unattentive service. The kicker is that this young guy is about to graduate college from Johnson and Wales with a degree in marketing. Rule #1 in a service business is to listen to the customer so you can help fill their needs.
This past weekend we ran the Pokemon Regional Tournament at TJ's. This looks like it will be the final Regional Championship at TJ's as the event needs more space that TJ's has to give. We did draw 174 players which is under our capacity. However, the biggest difference between Pokemon and other CCG's is that families attend large events like regionals. Many parents don't play so they need some space as well. We also had some spacial issues this past tournament with players wanting to watch matches and judges needing some space to walk the aisles. Rest assured I heard you this past weekend and will move the event for next year. My search for the venue starts now. Overall I was pleased with how Regionals ran. It was good to see that several of you were not pleased with our end time for the masters was around 10:00 pm. While I wasn't displeased with the end time it wasn't totally optimal.
After dinner Judy and I went over to LUPOS which is a dlub in Providence, RI. Judy and I both attended Bryant College many years ago. Bryant is located in North Smithfield, RI so both of us spent some time going to Lupos in our younger days. The club closed and then moved since then. The group we went to see was The All American Rejects. I like those guys! There were 3 other bands on the card to boot. Such a deal! Now for those of you that like to complain about hte price of Pizza, you need to go to Lupos. A bottle of water and a cup of Diet Coke cost me $7.50! Overall it was a nice night. The Rejects are ready for Prime TIme. Now Dave and many of you would have liked the undercard as the band that was just before the Rejects was a band called Shiny Toy Guns which is a band associated with some Magna videos. Overall I had a good night. If you want to feel young you should hang out with some young people.
Pokemon Regionals always brings fourth interesting rulings. A few years ago it was sleeves that were scratched. This year the big call revolved around cards that were bent from shuffling. When a card becomes distinguishable in a deck it must be dealt with. When players fail to point this out even if they are not trying to take advantage of the situation, it creates a situation that shows the possibility of someone being able to gain an advantage. This is something that tournament officials can't allow to exhist. It always makes our job of running a fair tournament when players come to us and show us that there is something wrong with one of their cards rather than we finding it during a deck check. All players should get into the habbit of six-piling their deck after each of their matches. While six-piling you should be ensuring that your sleeves are in acceptable shape, that you have 60 cards and that your cards are not bent so that they become marked. Players are responsible for following the rules. When you present a deck to your opponet you are saying that your deck is legal. When you have bent cards in your deck you are not doing that. I also wanted to thank all of those who sang happy birthday for me during this event. It was a positive day overall.
I like my blogs to have a message. The message for this one is to really listen to what people are trying to tell you. This seems to be a skill that many don't have. Everyone seems in such a hurry these days. A good friend of mine once taught me the importance of slowing down to go faster. The point of that lesson is to take the time to really listen to what you have been told and THEN to act on it. Rest assured Pokemon Community, I have heard everything you have told me this past year. In many situations you seem to like what we are doing to address many of your concerns. Next year we go to a bigger venue so that regionals can grow to a 200 to 400 person event! That is the present I want for my birthday next year, a regionals with more than 200 Pokemon players.
As always, yours in gaming.
Tom
April 14, 2009 - A Word From Tom Shea #4: Some Things Never Change
Hello everyone! Today is Tuesday April 14th, a couple days removed from this past weeks Pro Tour Qualifier. This past Saturday trigger a flash back for me. The winner of this PTQ was Mike Bregoli. Back in 1999 to 2002 Mike used to play at TJ's all the time and was a member of Team TJ's, which back in the day, was like the Oakland Raiders of the 1970's. Full of misfits and characters who used to break all the rules and yet win. I was the Al Davis of the Magic world -- just win baby.
Mike was the quite one, the Fred Blinitkof of our group. He was the most normal guy: he didn't talk trash, didn't use the mind games and/or cheat like the others. Mike was good the old fashioned way, he just worked at it. This past weekend Mike told me that he had actually play tested this season. Who knew that one would actually have to prepare to play competitively? Mike now owns his own game store which is located in Westfield, MA. It is called Lost Harbor Games. If you are in the area you should check it out.
This Saturday also featured the return of Brian DeSimone in competitive play. Brian hasn't played competitively in 4 to 5 years, but managed to quailified for the Pro Tour at age 14. Brian was very skilled at making his opponets feel very uncomfortable. The Jedi Mind Tricks that were so common place back in the day now get Brian into trouble. This past weekend although he did fairly well, I could tell that Brian wasn't at his best. He is still figuring out how the game plays today. If he is able to find the time for it his game will return. Brian was always sharp enough that he didn't need to use the mind tricks to win only he didn't know that.
When one looks at the comparison of these two players you can see that short cuts only prolong the time for one to fullfil their potential. Mike will be on the Pro Tour once again while Brian is sitting at home. No doubt in my mind that Brian has the ability to not only play on the Pro Tour, but also the ability to COMPETE on the Pro Tour. I can't say that for everyone but I can say if for Brian. I will keep you up to date on any developments.
Every PTQ we have someone who loses their deck. Someone who gets penalized for breaking the rules so much so that the judges need to comptemplate disqualification. Now we have an alarming trend of judges - former judges trying to rules lawyer their opponets into game/match loses. This behavior is bad enough when any player does it, never mind a judge. Judges, Tournament Organizers and Store owners need to remember that you are who you are no matter if you are working the event or not. All members of the Magic community have an obligation to follow the rules. Those most directly involved need to be held to a higher standard.
Yours in gaming,
Tom Shea
April 11, 2009 - A Word From Tom Shea #3: On The Road Again
Hello everyone! I am writing this from the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Club. No, we are not in a hanger in the middle of CT. We are in a nice gym with 177 Magic Players. All of these competitors are trying to qualify for the Pro Tour that will be held in Hawaii! Every one of us that plays Magic shares the dream. It is enjoyable for me to see so many familiar faces; so many friends who all share that dream. This makes us all the same and yet all of us are so different. Some will have a great day. While others will do that without winning and still more will be miserable UNLESS they win. Life is too short. Savor every day.
Coming up next week is the Pokemon Regionals. This is one of my favorite events that we run all year. It is being run at my favorite store: TJ Collectibles. This will be a full house! It would be good for parents tp plan on not being seated downstairs. I believe that the play area will be full with players. Pokemon is on such a roll. It seems to me that this might just be the last year that TJ's is able to host Pokemon in store, as Pokemon is outgrowing our capacity. This is a good problem to have. It is my hope that Pokemon will grow to be a 400 to 500 person events.
The more events we run for different games the more everything seems the same. The game itself doesn't matter. Good habits help make good players. Remember to keep proper track of the game state; keep in mind what your win condition is; keep asking yourself what is REALLY important in the current game; make sure that you properly shuffle your cards; and make sure that you count out your deck at the end of the round to ensure that you haven't dropped any cards on the floor during your match. These are all good habits that will help you play better no matter which game you play!
Having a good time playing is the most important thing. Gaming needs to be fun. Sure winning makes playing any game more fun. How one wins and loses tells a ton about them. Be a good winner AND good loser; sportsmanship is important. Don't ruin some one else' s good day by being a poor sport. The golden rule applies. Treat others as you would want to be treated.
Have a great day.
Tom Shea
March 31, 2009 - A Word From Tom Shea: Taking Stock
Hello Everyone! I hope that you had a happy Thanksgiving and are enjoying this holiday season. This is the time of year to count your blessings. I call it taking stock. So each of us should look at our life and think about the good things that we have. Think about family and friends. Think about the positive things that are happening. Each of us goes through some hard times. Without hard times the good times just don't seem so good. Ones character is forged during bad times. We become battle tested and experienced. When faced with adversity we adapt, overcome and become better for it.
This morning Judy and I went off tovisit my family. I felt dated and old when mentioning different musical acts that I enjoy listening to. Seems like The Cars, Huey Lewis and the News, John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band and Bruce Springstein are no longer very popular.Just because something becomes old doesn't mean it becomes bad. Things are not always as they look. Newer doesn't mean better.
This past year has been a struggle for me. Many changes have taken place. I thank you for your help and support getting through them. I eagerly await 2009! Many of us will look upon 2008 as a hard year. For me I went through my health issues, through a bad economy, and changes to the Wizards of the Coast Organized Play system. It just hasn't been easy. It hasn't killed me so it must have made me stronger!
This year has also been one that has been full of blessings. A few weeks ago Chris set up a face book account for both me and TJ's. It seems as though we need to be online to truly keep in touch with everyone we know. I have been amazed by how many people I know that are online on face book. It hasn't taken very long for me to hit 200 friends.All of you are appreciated. We have been blessed by the support of our Pokemon, Magic and TJ Customers this past year.
For many companies this year will mark the end of the line. I am very positive that the future for both TJ's and myself is very bright. It is BECAUSE of all of you. It seems that many of you like what we do. Our Ebay business has been climbing. Our web site is filling out nicely.We are making the online move much easier than I thought it would be.
Our Pokemon community has been exploding! Our City Championship attendances have been very impressive indeed. In Cherry Valley (home of Rising Phoenix Games, and the league that Mike and Aimee run) we got an amazing 76 players. Up 30 from the Fall Battle Road. Nice job gang. Not to be outdone we drew 71 in Tewksburry(home of Batter Up and the league that Patty L runs). Hadley drew an amazing 56 players which is great for a store that we just started working with this past spring. Their league is starting to grow as well.
Watervliet NY is the home of Science and Hobbies which is the store that hosts the league run by Johnny Blaze and Dawn Marie. On a day with snow we still drew 33. Nice job. I would be good to see a few more of our community take the trip out to Watervliet as Science and Hobbies is a really cool store. I want one of those hellacopters!
The NEO store team tryouts have started. Please go to a TJ Network store so you can play for FREE in the Open. The Open promises to be an awesome event. Draft, play, Draft, play, then sleep Saturday night, come back and draft some more on Sunday.Seems like a great weekend. Oh and I didn't mention the top 8 cut. Top notch Prize Support coupled with quality judging gives you an event NOT TO BE MISSED!
2009 promises to be a HUGE year for all of us. The Red Sox are young and talented. They are poised to make a big splash in free agency this year. The Patriots are playing great despite losing half the team due to injury.Next year we get Tom Brady back and will improve as our younger players on defense have gained valuable experience. 2009 might also be a year when the Celtics win the championship again and go back to back. They haven't been this good since the middle 80's when Larry, Robert and Kevin were walking through those doors.
I look forward to seeing all of you walking through my doors. Each of you is more alike than you realize. Comic fans, Gamers and Collectors alike love their hobbies. I am a fortunate man as I get to see you enjoy your hobbies as you grow up into fine adults. Many of you have already accomplished a great deal. Others of you haven't even begun to scratch the surface of your potential . I am the luck sac that gets to watch it all happen.
Hello everyone! From time to time the past seems to merge with the present for me. I have started to play again by drafting on Wednesday nights at TJ's. We have also been team drafting on some Saturdays. It has really been fun for me. Back in the day TJ's was full of extremely competitive magic players. I used to play all the time. These drafts have brought back many memories from "back in the day" for me.
Back in the day (1999 to 2004) Team TJ's used to be "feared". Yes ladies and gentlemen watch yourself as Team TJ's was in the house and god only knows what those A**Holes are capable of! The team used to consist of Bill Jensen (aka Baby Huey), Brian D, Chris F, Jono, Mike B, Mark W, Brian L, Matt S, Kush P, Will M, John L, Jeff G and many others sorry if I didn' t mention you. We were brash, tough, trash talking and in some cases very shady. We were the Oakland Raiders of the Magic world. The misfits who didn't do things "the right way", but come tourney day our motto was "JUST WIN BABY"!
Win we did. Team TJ's had 16 players that qualified for the Magic Pro Tour, several Magic Pro Tour Top 8s, a few GP Wins, A JSS National Champ and yes even a Pro Tour winner! One would think that all of this success would have helped TJ Collectibles. That couldn't be further from the truth. Only now years after this time period can I set the record straight.I was one of those people that was very naive.It was wonderful to have such great magic players at my store. Sure my guys played hard. Sure my guys may have been high strung. But they were good guys!
That is what I truly believed. In many ways my guys were nice guys. In many ways there weren't . They took liberties. We didn't do things the right way. We did not show good sportsmanship. We never congratulated an opponent for a great match especially if we lost. We would say you were lucky. Nothing but a luck sac. We played mind games. Some of our players did cheat. I can't prove this but I do believe it. Odds confirm this to be true. Some of my players NEVER got mana flooded or mana screwed how is this possible? I always thought the best about my guys. I didn't want to believe what others were saying.
I was new to the high level magic scene. It was great traveling to the Pro Tour and getting a behind the scenes look. I was great getting to not only meet but also play with many of the all time greats. Jon Finkle, Randy Buehler, all the Your Move Games guys and many others. This was all possible because I was Oldman TJ the guy who was behind the team. The guy providing cards for my players, the guy providing rides, the guy providing a place to play, and the guy who used to stick up for my players when others said nasty things about my players. When thename calling started I defended these guys. When they got caught up in the middle of the drama that often surrounded them I defended them.I was the Al Davis of the Magic world. The maverick that many liked to despise, all because of my loyalty to my players.I used to make excuses for them.
Misplaced loyalty is a big mistake. At theend of the day I was the adult. I should have set the standard instead of allowing my players to set the standard of what was acceptable behavior. My store suffered because of my players. They were not fun to be around. The magic scene at TJ's wasn't fun. It was hard core. The same players whom I defended eventually moved on. Where was their loyalty?
Many Team TJ players didn't do so well on the Pro Tour. They didn't because they took those shortcuts. They were not battle tested and ready for the competition level of the Pro Tour. Part of the fun of accomplishing something is the journey itself. Part of the fun is doing something great with a group of your friends. I once told Bill Jensen to really enjoy his time with the other players. It isn't very often you can be one of the BEST in the world doing Something. Those times should be savored . When you really don't belong with the best of the best it becomes apparent very quickly.
This seemed to be a hard fact for many including myself to accept. When you play at a high level at PTQ's and a much lower level on the Pro Tour it opens up tons of questions. Many of the team really embarrassed themselves by the way that they acted. In the end nobody really wanted to wear the Team TJ shirt for the right reasons. During the time when the team started to disintegrate my path crossed into tournament organizing.Because of my experience with my own Team TJ guys coupled with my management training especially from McDonalds I found tournament organizing easier than many have. The task of working with the highly competitive playersand teenagers in general was easier for me than it was for many others.
I was prepared for these guys. My message was very simple in the beginning. Do you know who I used to play with week in and week out? Do you really want to test me? Then more importantly I got involved in the training of myjudges. Over the years we have gotten it moreright than wrong. We work hard to ensure that the event runs Fast, Fun and Fair(the TJ way). Today we have a new generation of player that doesn't necessarily know my history.
So now all of you are my players. I am fortunate enough to have received a second chance, in essence I got a do over.When you tap a City of Brass you need to take your damage. When cards are worded that certain effects happen when your opponent does something, that effect NEEDS to happen. You NEED to bring this to your opponents attention. You need to step up and be the bigger person. This means that sometimes you aregoing to lose a match to a player that isn't as skilled as you are. It is ok, in life sometimes you are unlucky. Sometimes you just lose to someone that you really shouldn't. When you do lose that match you NEED to congratulate youropponent. Something along the lines of nice match. Your opponent has feelings too. You ruin THEIR moment when you complain about a bad draw.
You are part of something that is bigger than yourself. You need to think about others not just yourself. When you do anything that is shady, against the rules and do in fact cheat. What do you really WIN? Are you a better person for it? Are you a better player than the person you "beat"(cheated)? When you show poor sportsmanship you simply embarrass yourself. You don't make your opponent look any better or worse. Think about it.
The payoff for doing the right thing doesn't always come right away. Sometimes it doesn't seem to come at all. There are no short cuts to success. Hard work, consistency, and dedication are part of what is required to be successful. Talent certainly helps. There are lots of talented people who are not successful. Sometimes those people don't want to pay the price. Don't go down that road. Don't take the shortcut. Stay the course. Savor the journey. Your time to shine will come.
Trust me when I tell you that nobody is more competitive than I am. Losing is hard for me to swallow. I used to be the worst sport when I lost. Now I am ready to enjoy the journey. I may never qualify for the Pro Tour yet I will play in Pro Tour Qualifiers.If you don't play you can't win. Some games like Golf can't be won only played. We don't keep score simply by how many wins you get. What matters the most is playing with friends, andhaving a good time. Don' let others make you feel bad. Be the bigger person.
You would be surprised howplayers respond to me at tournaments. I will ask how are you doing? The answer received will be 2-1 Tom Shea. Not things are going nicely thank you for asking. Sometimes we are too focused winning. We define ourselves based on our record. Sometimes we allow our competitiveness to take over everything. When you allow this to happen you lose control of who you truly are. You find yourself doing things that you normally wouldn't. Thus you would have crossed over to the DARK SIDE!
When you press so hard, that you can taste victory. When you want it too bad, are you REALLY having fun? Fun after all is why we start playing these games to begin with. Hanging out with your friends playing games is a great way to spend time. That is along as you are not a totally competitive jerk who "cheats to win". Even if the score pad says that you won that game trust me in the long run you really lost. Sometimes you lose your friends. Sometimes you lose the respect of others. Sometimes you lose your values. Many times you lose the essence of who you are. Is that really winning? Think about it.
Chris and I had a great conversation the other day about blogs. It seems that many web sites get a ton of activity through peoples blogs. My real problem with my past articles is that I try to put too much into them. So with that in mind the new plan is to just sit down, stare at the computer screen and type my thoughts until we get something to put up. Hopefully you will enjoy it. My last article was confusing for some as it appears that under the current rule set the example I posted doesn't work. I will give that one a do over.
The concept of a do over is something new and exciting. Unfortunately it seems that you don't get the chance to do too many do overs. Or do you if you realize that you screwed up and own the mistake? Owning ones failures is something that we don't see all too often these days. I am not sure why either. God knows we make mistakes all the time at TJ's. A few weeks ago I sent Judy to run NH States with a laptop that didn't have the printer drivers on them. OOOOPPSS! There were drivers on that laptop, I simply sent the wrong printer.
Now I could be a real jerk and ask her why she didn't test the printer BEFORE entering in the 105 players. After all I did send a back up laptop. Fact is that I made the mistake. I need to own it. Which I did for at least a week. Thank god MA states came the next week. If nothing else time helps mistakes move to the end of the line as you get the opportunity to make entirely new ones.Hopefully they are not the same ones. Doing the same thing that doesn't work over and over again and EXPECTING a different result is the true definition of STUPIDITY
When my niece Christina was 5 or 6years old I taught her one of my favorite words -- MORON.I explained to her that the guy wearing no coat when it was 2 degrees above zero was a MORON and couldn't be trusted to do the right thing. I didn't realize that a comedian Bill Engvall would come out with the same concept a year later - Here's your sign! True enough Bill's message wasn't as nasty as mine but very similar. The idea is that you simply can't trust stupid people to do the right thing.It constantly amazes me when I drop Judy off in the morning that many young people are wearing pajamas to school. Well they call them sweats but come on people where is your fashion sense. All this and NO COAT! No wonder the clothing manufacturers are having a hard time.These are the walkers too!
I was reminiscing with a childhood friend last night about how things used to be. In many ways I would not trade how things are today for how things used to be. Back in the day we had 8 channels. If the president was on you were watching him, hockey or pbs which had god knows what on it. The options were limited.I remember guys like Merlin Perkins who would sit on the side lines for Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom while poor Jim did all the crazy stuff that gave that show ratings. Back in the day it was ok for the older guy to have a side kick. Today poor Jim got hosed as he got downsized and doesn't get to have a side kick. Jim still gets stuck wrestling those alligators or whatever beast is featured in this week's show.Communities were smaller and tighter.
When I was a kid if you were in the neighborhood causing trouble the neighbors called your mom. When mom got the call she would be rather upset and then there would be consequences. Neighbors were viewed as friends who were looking out for you. When one of your neighbors yelled at you , you listened. You didn't talk back or make any hand gestures.Every generation tries to help the next one achieve more and have more. I remember as a kid listening to my grandmother telling me when I was a little girl we didn't have indoor plumbing or tv. Now I find myself telling young people when I was a kid we didn't have the internet or texting. We actually spoke to one another. Amazing how far we have come yet how much we have lost. Technology doesn'tteach us how to play fair or properly treat one another.
Technology often teaches us to take shortcuts. Every video game has cheat sheets. When you beat Mario Brothers 15 but used the cheat sheet 84000 times what did you really achieve? Then the game manufactures make the games even more convoluted as they know people are going to use the cheat sheet. I was speaking with one of our pokemon players a few weeks ago who is a college professor. He was telling me about his schools honor code. I am glad that such codes still exist.Honor is a concept that we need to not lose in these hard times.
This past weekend we ran the 5K for EPIC. I had a blast watching Rob and Darwin watch people playing their game to win HUGE prizes. I sat back most of the day and allowed the day to run itself. In time as people get used to the rules the tourney operations will tighten up.Every round went to time and most had extensions. We are all learning this exciting new game.Things are looking up for Dungeons & Dragons. The signs say that we have a winner here. I am excited about having such a viable game to offer the gaming community.
The Dungeons & Dragons pre releases were very discouraging as our attendance numbers were horrible. The 5 K drew 99 people. The next step is to get the Grand Tourneys to succeed. These events have nice prize support with the winner qualifying for the World Championships and a Nintendo DS system which if the winner doesn't want I will be willing to buy back at what we paid for it. We had a scheduling snafu so we will be altering the schedule some. Please watch tjcollect.com for more information.
Lastly I wanted toshare positive thoughts with all of you reading this. Things are going to get better. Many of you are going through hard times. I know TJ's is our sales are down. The magic pre releases are not the big money maker for me that they once were. Things are really tough all over. The key is to keep a POSITIVE ATTITUDE. The hard times make us savor the good times and not take them for granted. That is the key. So keep your chin up and be Happy! If you are not smiling please follow this link to the video
DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY! I
f that doesn't work Call me I will make you happy.
