Over the years, there have been many nouns with which I have identified. But right now, there are exactly two that describe and identify the core of my self-image, and neither should come as a surprise to anyone who knows me. The first is father. The second is geek.
I love belonging to the widespread online community that congregates on discussion boards and blogs to ruminate over the latest happenings in Fringe or Doctor Who, debate the merits and shortcomings of the New 52, exchange Starcraft 2 strategies, speculate on whether 5th Edition D&D will suck, or just look at stills from Borderlands 2 and share a collective "eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
PAX is where I can go to be amongst those people. I can stand and enjoy MC Frontalot surrounded by ten thousand other nerds. I can sit and play a game of Dungeons and Dragons with a group of strangers who aren't completely lacking in social skills and who don't have terrible BO. I can sit at a panel and chat with developers about the direction of my favorite game franchises. It's a place where people can let loose and be juvenile and nerdy and not worry about being judged. Last year, I saw a group of ninjas "sneaking" down a crowded hallway, hugging the wall.
This weekend, I go to be with my people.
You can see some pictures I took at last year's PAX East here.