Chicago Trip (1/5)

It was mentioned briefly (and I'm certain not maliciously) that my blog posts are rather 'lengthy'

I admit I tend to ramble on quite a lot, so I'm going to practice the art of succinct articles.

Buuut, our trip to Chicago and GearBlastUSA cannot possibly be summarised in such a way, so instead I've divided it up into five themes over five blogs, which should appeal in their own ways.

Food, experiences, people, play and GearBlastUSA, that is five blogs including this one!

I wanted to give an overview and a bit of background for the trip before I get into the details.

In the beginning there was a meek twentysomething guy, confused about what he really wanted, who found friends online.  One of those friends who emerged all that time ago was ScubaCCS.

The following decade would see this friendship grow (amongst others) but this friendship would result in more.  A sense of worth that gave me more perceived value in our community.  I'm talking of course about GearBlast.

ScubaCCS aka Rubcovr aka RocketPup has visited the UK several times now but the first such visit included a surprise trip to a Halloween Party (which we coined as Pervyween) which seemed to have an effect on the creator of GearBlast.  Rocket asked me to host a GearBlast in the U.K and in 2009 I did it.

That Legacy continues today with GearBlastEU and a return trip (and five year gap) to GearBlastUK in 2014.  This combination encouraged Rocket to host a standalone event in the U.S and so GearBlastUSA was born.

Meanwhile after years of chatting and encouragement to come and visit Rocket finally got the answer out of me I'd been promising for years.  I'd booked the flights and we'd be joining Rocket for GearBlastUSA.

I needed to go through all that because I wanted to highlight what a change in attitude this trip has proved in myself and shown in a tangible direction.

I'm an incredibly shy guy, but my online persona has given me the confidence to be more, to be who I truly feel I am.  GearBlast events have done this for me and it's the best feeling in the world to see it enabling others like me to push themselves further too.

As I write this, a lot of my new friends are preparing for IML and the respective GearBlast being held there.  I hope they all enjoy their time and don't easily forget us during this fun time.  Regardless of what things happen in the present, there will always be the events that have gone and the others to look forward to.

This point I'm trying to make in not too short a terms is that though the following blogs will contain thoughts and images some will aspire to, I am really just like most other guys, making their way though life with the support and feedback of friends.

Just because I am who I am right now, doesn't mean you can't have something of your own to be proud of.  Life is what you make of it and even though I say I'm lucky, I have had to force some issues beyond what fate would insist upon.  This may not make 100% sense but then if I explained I'd be rambling and long winded.

Next stop food!