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I'm Volunteering at the National Videogame Museum in Frisco, TX!


On 04/01/2016 at 04:52 AM by Cary Woodham

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Hey folks, I wanted to share with you all some big news.  There is a video game museum opening tomorrow, April 2, in Frisco, TX, and I’m volunteering there to help out!  I hope that if you are ever visiting North Texas around the Dallas and Fort Worth areas, that you can come and visit!  You might even see ME!

Anyway, last November I had to quit my full-time job because the person who I got a ride with every day was let go and I had no other way to get to work.  I’ve been blind in my left eye since birth so I can’t drive a car since I’m technically legally blind.  I’ve known there was going to be a video game museum near where I live opening up shortly, so as soon as I was out of work, I emailed the folks in charge of the museum and asked about future employment opportunities.  Well I didn’t hear back from them for a while, but about a month ago they sent out an email to anyone who expressed interest in helping out that they were taking volunteers.  So I want to one of the volunteer meetings and was on the list!

I’ve already been to the museum a couple of times. This past weekend they had a soft opening and invited city officials, Gearbox employees, and I think they handed out tickets at a pinball convention held a couple of weeks ago.  At the soft opening, they put me in charge of the console wall!  It’s a place where you can play some old console games from the Sega Master System, NES, SNES, TG-16, PS2, and many more!  I don’t know if they’ll put me in that same area for opening weekend, but if you come, you might see me there again!  Just look for anyone who is wearing a special red shirt that says “STAFF” on it!  The museum isn’t some rinky-dink operation either!  It’s as good as something you’d see at E3 or even Disney World!  There’s a lot of really cool stuff!  I’m actually going to write an article about it for GamerDad.com and post a lot of pictures then.  I’ve even got a special meeting set up to talk with the founders and tour the museum early next week.  So HOPEFULLY by the end of next week, you’ll be able to see the article (or articles) I write about it at GamerDad.com, too!

Now I know what you may be thinking.  “Gee, Cary, every year on April 1st, you post a fake announcement about you working for some game company, or even something similar like being a curator at a Namco Museum. And it’s never true.”  Well that’s where I’m fooling you this year!  This announcement is…actually…TRUE!  TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE!   So I’m sorry if I disappointed you if you were hoping for a silly fake news article from me this year!  If you want some silly fake stuff, just know that I just bought a summer villa on Easter Island, and I just married a female professional powerlifter and part-time harpsicord player.  You can believe those things, too, if you want.

I know most of the time on my blog here; I am mostly silly or at least cheerful and whimsical.  But I want to be kind of serious for a second.  It’s been kind of rough for me since I quit my last job, and nothing has seemed to go right for me since then.  I know a lot of times we have things in our lives that don’t go right for us, but whenever it lasts for several months, it can wear down on you after a while.  I even think I’ve dealt with a small bit of depression, and there have been a couple of times I even felt like crying for no apparent reason.  So getting this volunteer gig at a video game museum is something that has finally gone right for me.  Best of all, one of the founders of the museum lives in the same town I do, and later on he said they may even have employment opportunities after the museum has been open for a while and they know what kinds of help they need.  So things might go really well for me in the future if certain things go the way I want them to. 

I know this doesn’t mean anything, but at the soft opening, one of the other volunteers said I should be working there.  He said that even though he’s only talked with me for ten minutes, he could tell that I really belong at that museum.  That really meant a lot to me that he said that.  So I would like to ask a favor from all of you.  First, would you please pray that the video game museum does well and is successful and will stay in Frisco, TX for a long time?  Second, I would also please like for you all to pray for me.  Please pray that I can do everything to the best of my ability while volunteering, and that someday maybe they would have job opportunities open up and consider me for employment, and I could work out transportation to get there and back.  It would be so wonderful if that could happen.  I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket, and I’m still looking for other jobs, too.  But I would love to spend as much time as I can at that museum if at all possible. 

But anyway, if you live near the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I hope to see you out at the museum soon!  And if you live far away, I hope that someday you can take a vacation to Texas and maybe visit the museum then!  In the meantime, don’t forget to check out my upcoming article at GamerDad.com later next week (if all goes according to plan).  And I hope you all have a happy April Fools’ Day and hopefully I fooled some of you with this blog by actually telling the truth this year!  Later!  --Cary


 

Comments

Casey Curran Staff Writer

04/01/2016 at 09:17 AM

Good luck man. I'm rooting for you 

Cary Woodham

04/01/2016 at 01:10 PM

Thanks!

Homelessrook

04/01/2016 at 09:33 AM

Cary, this is awesome, good luck and have fun, like you could stop yourself from that, lol.

Cary Woodham

04/01/2016 at 01:10 PM

It is fun!  But tomorrow on opening day is going to be SOOO busy!

SanAndreas

04/01/2016 at 11:40 AM

Congrats on the fun gig! I really hope you enjoy it. If I were in Oklahoma instead of Maryland right now I'd definitely drop by.

Cary Woodham

04/01/2016 at 01:11 PM

Thanks.  Yeah, too bad you don't still live nearby.  It is a lot of fun.  I feel like I belong there.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

04/01/2016 at 01:19 PM

so happy for u man!  I'm sure this will turn into a real jopb cause you were made for it!

Cary Woodham

04/01/2016 at 07:22 PM

I really hope it turns into a job opportunity.  I bet I can do a good job there.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

04/01/2016 at 07:23 PM

I know you could, Cary!

Cary Woodham

04/01/2016 at 07:24 PM

Thanks!

mothman

04/01/2016 at 01:46 PM

Who are you and what have you done with Cary's April Fool's Day blog. LOL Seriously I hope this kicks something off for you.

 

Cary Woodham

04/01/2016 at 07:23 PM

I had an idea for a regular April Fools' Day blog, but I figured this was a little more pertinent.  Maybe next year...

Super Step Contributing Writer

04/01/2016 at 04:50 PM

I was relieved and happy for you when this turned out to be serious. That's awesome! I will definitely visit that museum next time I'm near DFW. 

Cary Woodham

04/01/2016 at 07:23 PM

Let me know when you plan to visit.  I'll try to be there then!  I can be your tour guide. :)

Captain N

04/02/2016 at 12:20 AM

That's amazing, congrats Cary, who better than someone from the Namco Museum huh? Yeah, I know that feeling really, really well. But hope things look up for you too. I'll pray for you that the museum is successful and for you to land that role there. I mean you have an entire history of covering and playing games, it's like that role was meant for you.  If I'm ever in Texas I'll definietly drop by.

As for April Fools pranks, I'm getting married  with Rosalina ;)

Cary Woodham

04/02/2016 at 07:48 AM

Thanks.

Hey speaking of marrying Rosalina, that reminded me of what happened to my Mii character in Tomadatchi Life on the 3DS.  I scanned a Mii version of Princess Zelda into the game, and Mii Cary and Mii Princess Zelda ended up getting married!  They even had a baby.  I named him Zelda Jr.  Only in a video game would I be able to marry Princess Zelda. :)

And speaking of Tomadatchi Life, have you downloaded Miitomo yet?

KnightDriver

04/02/2016 at 04:20 PM

http://www.nvmusa.org/ Neat! What a perfect job for you if it becomes a job. I'd like to get down there but it's half way across the country from where I am. But, it's still possible.

Cary Woodham

04/02/2016 at 10:13 PM

What a busy opening day!  I think they totally cleared out the gift shop!  I got to meet David Crane (creator of Pitfall), and Gary Kitchen!

KnightDriver

04/04/2016 at 01:47 AM

Awe cool Cary! I was thinking about Gearbox and how you might get to meet Randy Pitchford at the museum. 

Cary Woodham

04/04/2016 at 03:32 PM

Gearbox had a large part in helping out with the museum.  In fact, one of the exhibits is a replica of Randy Pitchford's office.  I believe that was his name anyway.

KnightDriver

04/05/2016 at 01:30 AM

Interesting. I'd really love to take a trip down there. I've never been to the Dallas area before, or Texas for that matter. 

Cary Woodham

04/05/2016 at 06:54 PM

Well if you ever come down to Texas and want to go to the museum, let me know!

Joaquim Mira Media Manager

04/05/2016 at 09:04 PM

Is this it?

Cary Woodham

04/05/2016 at 10:09 PM

That's it all right.  I didn't even have to watch the video.  I recognized that display right away.

By the way, good job on the music in PixlCross.  Those darn bouncy tunes are going to get stuck in my head!

KnightDriver

04/06/2016 at 02:08 AM

Whoa! Sweet! That place looks awesome!

Cary Woodham

04/06/2016 at 03:06 AM

It is awesome!  Be on the lookout for my GamerDad articles on the museum at the end of the week.  I'm working on them right now.

KnightDriver

04/07/2016 at 04:46 PM

Cool! I can't wait.

Cary Woodham

04/07/2016 at 08:23 PM

The articles are up now!  Check 'em out!

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