Meeting the Major

Now, I’m not a photographer. Not in the slightest, but when I heard Major Nelson was coming to my local EBGames at such short notice, I offered to cover it for Kotaku AU as it would be difficult to get another freelancer out there. At the time, I had a crappy Nokia phone, so I borrowed my mother’s Nikon Digital camera. I needn’t have bothered as half the photos ended up blurry. A combo of user inexperience and aging hardware.
It was the first event that I was behind the scenes on and I was incredibly nervous. I explained who I was to the staff and they gave me permission to take photos and write about it. It was this even that made me realise that I would need business cards. Poor Nelson saw me buzzing about but had no idea who I was, probably because everything was thrown together last minute as Nelson was on his way to Melbourne Airport!
I gave David all the terrible pictures and wrote about the person who had won the Xbox Series S. I was still hanging around thanking the staff for putting up with me after Major Nelson had left when a young schoolboy came in with his mum. They had just missed Nelson by about five minutes. Understandably he was disappointed, but the staff gave him a cupcake and let him participate in the lucky dip. If I remember correctly, he got a lanyard, which is great when you’re at an expo and less so for everyday use. He seemed disappointed by his prize, so I offered him the Minecraft bucket hat I had won. I wasn’t going to wear it and if it made him feel a bit better, why not? He did seem happier when he left. It’s a small footnote in the event, but something that really made an impact on me.