Nobody Special: Slam Tilt

I’ve been making a lot of friends lately, and I’ve been lucky enough to find the best players I could find in my location. They have been very welcoming, and I am very grateful that my opinions are considered relevant when having conversations with those who are on a similar or higher level than me.

It isn’t up to me to determine, but I feel like I earned my current spot. I stumbled around learning things on my own for roughly 20 years. I worked my way up the ladder instead of jumping in with the pros. I now know I could have started at the top. Claiming I deserve something isn’t my style though. Proving I deserve something and then letting the world vet the proof is.

I’ve been struggling with a lot of anxiety lately. There’s a lot of reasons why, but here’s the only reason that matters for us right now. I’ve been allowed into a society that I am very thankful to be a part of, and I have been writing an anonymous blog about my adventures. This is not currently a huge problem, but I think at some point it could potentially become one. Unfortunately, it is going to be impossible to continue making this public out of my respect for the privacy of everyone.

I didn’t do this for recognition. I’m actually a pretty private person. If you came to talk to me in real life asking about “Nobody Special” I’d most likely be horribly embarrassed and probably say it wasn’t me. If I’m not doing it for positive recognition, then I most certainly am not doing it for negative recognition. Which is where I am at now. I don’t want to be the guy granted admission into a club I’ve sought out for years, only to have them discover I’m clandestinely writing about them. Good or bad, I’d just assume no one know at all.

I have received a lot of positive feedback. Actually, I’ve never had any negative feedback. Still, the fact that I might ruin this amazing thing I’ve found by writing about it is weighing on my conscience. I could have just stopped posting, but there’s a few people here I think deserved an explanation before I go. I am a writer, so I will continue writing, but the odds of my pinball adventures becoming public again are very slim.

When I started I chose “Nobody Special” because it’s a term I’ve used to describe the guy nobody knows who is a few machines over, popping specials, and playing all day for free. That used to be me. On one hand, it’s incredibly nice to now have people know my name and be happy to see me. On the other, I’m losing my anonymity.

If you ever find yourself in the same situation, really think hard about whether or not you want to make the jump. I felt like I needed to know where I stood against the best around. I found out, but I can’t go back now. As much fun as I’ve had, I wouldn’t mind going back to the pressure free life of covertly leaving OMD’s on machines for people to wonder about.

I found what I set out to find. Now that I’m here, it’s time to keep moving forward. I’ll be continuing to learn everything I can and playing against every great player I can find. If at the end of my journey I think anyone would like to read about my adventures, then I will consider publishing it.

For now though, this is goodbye. I love TPA and this site, and I’m very thankful I got the opportunity to connect with you guys. This isn’t the end of my stay here. I’ll still be lurking around reading your posts and blogs. If I have anything of importance to add, I will. If anyone has any questions or needs me for whatever reason, I won’t be hard to find.

Thank you to everyone who read, replied, and stopped by to chat. I apologize if anyone feels let down. It came down to this. I could write about pinball all day and never be a major player, or I could attempt to become a major player and not publically write about it. At the end of the day, I really just want to play.

If you want to know more about this world, then you’ll probably need to seek it out just like I did. I know that it might not be easy if you hail from certain locations, but I do wish you luck. I’m not intentionally being an elitist here. I just don’t want to run the risk of being ostracized for being the guy writing a pinball dirt sheet.

You can attempt to write about the Mafia after you leave it, but not during your stay. I hope this all makes sense. If not now, then maybe someday. If you’re ever in my area, and you figure out which nerd I am, then I’ll gladly buy you a few games to thank you for taking the time to read my stuff.

Now, if you’ll excuse me. There’s something I need to do.


*kicks coin door*
*drops mic*


OMD
 

Naildriver74

Active member
Aug 2, 2013
2,189
0
Sorry to here this I've enjoyed following. I'm sure you know what is best and good luck to the both of you.
 

Buzz1126

New member
Dec 27, 2013
258
0
I have to say I'm a little saddened by this. It would be cool to see a tournament on YouTube and see a player give a Carol Burnett-type tug on the ear to say "HEY FORUM GUYS! IT'S ME!!" Best of luck to you in both pinball and more personal ventures. Buzz
 

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