Thanks to my good friend Nick, one of the cool activities I got to take part in this holiday season was the PennyArcade auction in Bellevue, Washington! It was a bittersweet day as I found out earlier that my job was ending at the end of the month, but I was still gonna have fun that night and I did! I got out of work and went to Bellevue on the bus, then used a book store to change into my ultra-suave outfit (a blue strapless dress!) and nice shoes and all. People in the bookstore probably thought that was weird! LOL Nick picked me up at the bookstore and away we went to Meydenbauer Center!

The place was already packed and there was a line to get your seat and bidding number. We got snacks on the way down the line and when we got to the front, they didn't have my name or number! It took a bit, but they got me one, and it was actually the number of one of the Seattle storm troopers! They have also performed with Weird Al when he was in concert! Yay! Not that I was gonna bid or anything.lol We got to the tables much later, as they made us wait while looking at the silent auction. Many of the silent auction items were gaming supplies, autographed games, and memorabilia. Nick perused, and we took some photos outside the banquet room, then finally we were let in. It was very nice! We sat and the food was presented to us, while the auction got underway quickly.

The two hosts were very funny as they did jokes throughout the evening. It was quickly evident there was one guy who was gonna outbid the rest, as he kept going higher and higher for everything. (the auction items ranged from gaming baskets of goodies to mystery boxes to trips and TV's!) His bids usually went up to 5,000 on all items and towards the end he bid 20,000 on one item! We were all in shock at his bids, but later found out that the money was going to the children's hospital and he was taken care of in the children's hospital when he was sick. What a nice guy!

Well, that was the fun auction and I had a great time. Thank you, Nick!

Mariam

More photos from the event!