Episode 10 - November Was a Birch - 12-27-2013

It has been quite a while since annals had been added to the story of Gamers Link Chicago, and that is because it has been a tough few months.  I began two new jobs since the last installment, both of which involve being in front of my computer screen for a lot of my night.  So, not only am I extremely busy, I am also not particularly inclined to spend much extra time staring at a blinking cursor.

Episode 09 - A Chance Encounter at the Games Workshop - 10-26-2013

In last week's episode, Gamers Link Chicago was just getting off the ground, thanks to Eddie selling his car.  I remember much of what occurred afterwards, but this has been a long week for me, so I am having trouble recalling the proper chain of events.  With that said, I will delve into my deeper long term memories, and answer the question we get all the time: Where did Eddie and I meet?

Episode 8 - Sell, Sell, Sell! - 10-19-13

Welcome back!  As a refresher, we had just gotten to the hardest part of the story, when we were very close to never existing.  Investors had pulled out, and our attempts to fund raise, as ill-conceived as they may have been, failed miserably with notable exceptions.  Of course, here we are, standing strong, and this episode will tell you why.

Episode 07 - Whoa on the Woes - 10-2-2013

Well, there comes a point in every story where the heroes reach their nadir, and their plans unravel before their eyes.  Yup, that tells the whole story really, but GOONIES NEVER SAY DIE! What follows is a story that still plagues us here at GLC.  

Episode 06 - Link is Go - 9-24-13

Welcome back to the Link Adventures, where I chronicle the opening of my store, Gamers Link Chicago.  This episode ushers in Chapter 1, which is basically the beginning of the actual store.  Enjoy!

Episode 05 - The Ride Home - 9-2-2013

So, the next day after the night of awesome that was my drunken tourism time, we did some stuff, and then we left so we could get back early enough for the wifey to make it to work.  There was some drama or whatever, but I have bad hearing, so most of what is said by people never gets the chance to bug me.

Episode 04 - Drunken Tourism - 9-2-2013

This particular entry is my favorite part of my trip down to TN, and is possibly the most fun I’ve ever had drunk that didn’t involve me rubbing on lady parts.  Not only did I make up for all the lame trading that had been going on the whole trip, I managed to… well, I don’t want to ruin the best part!

Episode 03 - Fricking Pikmin - 8-25-13

Welcome back!  In episode three of 'The Link Adventure', we are going to get more into the actual store down in Gatlinburg, and the friendly mountain folk I met while down there. 

Before I went off on a tangent about my booze-fueled vacation, I began to talk about the lady that runs the store – Shelly.  She puts a woman’s touch on the store, and definitely knows how to run a store.  They have a lot of cool jewelry and fairy models and such, kind of like you might find in one of those head shops on Clark Street.  The actual gaming stuff is there, of course, with Munchkin and Games Workshop stuff as well.  They consign art from this super talented / cool guy down there named Ryan.  Check out his stuff at https://www.facebook.com/WonderFullArt .

Episode 02 - Initial Link - 8-23-2013

Welcome back, dear readers!  Last episode left off with my arrival in Knoxville, TN, so let's jump right into it!

So, I was picked up at the Knoxville station by my business partner Eddie, and we drove through Tennessee to get to Gatlinburg.  The scenery out East is pretty cool, and reminds me of the parts of Wisconsin with the timberline ridges.  Knoxville was very quaint, with a kind of uniformed comfort to the buildings.  As we approached Gatlinburg, we hit a nightmare of massive tourist attractions spread out on a single highway.  Smokey Mountain something or other, I dunno.  Apparently the traffic is usually atrocious, but fate has been on my side for a little bit here, so we actually had pretty clear sailing into the main part of town.

Episode 01: Liability - 8/20/13

This is a story about a series of events in my life that led to the opening of my game store, Gamers Link Chicago.  It all started when my buddy Eddie told me he was opening a game store in Tennessee with a recent windfall he received.  It was odd to me, considering that he lives up here in Chicago, and I was not really shy about being jealous.  I mean, working at a game store has always been a dream of mine, which I am sure is true for most of the nerdy persuasions.  Eddie has family down in Tennessee, and they are running the store down there.