Life of Mack Random thoughts & anecdotes from indie RPG nerd Ryan Macklin

This has been a hell of a year, so far.

I’m thankful to my old bosses at the state for indulging my experiment of half-time state work. That let me move from a city I no longer wanted to be in and live in a place I love.

I’m thankful for the community & friends I have around here, for Endgame being a center for that, for Chris & Chris & their countless hours of conversation and ribbing. For Carl’s willingness to run games at the drop of a hat. For Brian’s, well, being Brian. For everyone that makes this local community a place to celebrate awesome.

I’m thankful for my friends around town, the ones that kept me visiting San Francisco & Oakland during the holidays, that frankly made me fall in love with this place. And I do love this place. On occasion I complain about the weather, as we all do, but I usually liken this place to living in paradise.

I’m thankful for my friends back in Sacramento. And I often miss them. Tuesday nights were something special, a night of scotch, cigars & game design.

I’m thankful for my colleagues in hobby gaming. Y’all kick ass. You know who you are. Of course, I should call out the folks in cell block EHP: Fred, Rob, Lenny, Chad, Amanda & Clark, Matt. And (also) Josh & Paul. I love collaborating with all you guys. (I love collaborating and working with other people too, don’t get me wrong, but that would be a long post.) And to all of you I get to meet at cons. I love seeing all you different gamers in all the different ways you love expressing your enthusiasm and creativity.

I’m thankful for my new friends around the country & world. Here I’m not going to call you out specifically, but there are a few of you that I’ve particularly lamented my inability to instantly teleport, as our e-company often feels like it’s not enough. So many of you I’d love to grab a drink with and talk in a quiet bar for hours. With a notepad on hand, naturally.

I’m thankful for my family, but that’s a private matter.

I’m thankful for your mother. She’s wicked, yo. That’s not a private matter. Search YouTube.

- Mack