Editor's Note: This post has been repurposed from my professional blog which you can find at scottpytlik.com.

Man what a crazy weekend. No matter how much I prepare for the insanity of covering a video game trade show, it always surprises me how completely exhausted I am by the end of it.

PAX East rolled into Boston for the first time, and while there wasn't any major news to speak of, there were a ton of interesting panels and locally made games to talk about. Most of the panels I went to had to do with video game journalism, PR, or some combination of the two. If you're interested in reading my thoughts on the panels I sat in on, click here to read my article up on GamePro.com.

If you ever go to a video game convention, there's a few things you should be aware of. First, Halloween attire is totally acceptable and in fact encouraged, and while it's by no means mandatory, some attendees like to dress up as their favorite video game character. It's called cosplay and lord knows there was plenty of it to go around in Boston this past weekend.

This guy is wearing the famous Fallout series' Brotherhood of Steel armor. He's just one of dozens and dozens of people dressed up as their favorite video game characters. You can see more of them in this gallery.

Second, you should always bring TONS of hand sanitizer! Somewhere deep in the bowls of the Hynes Convention Center lurked a unique strain of the swine flu, which was quickly dubbed the PAX East Nerd Flu or H1Nerd1. The Twitterverse was lighting up with complaints from folks who had allegedly caught the bug. Personally, I feel bad for the people who were forced to sit next to them on the plane ride back to California, or wherever they came from.

Between all the industry parties I went to (which started on Thursday), all the professional networking I did, all the games I played, and all the friends I made, PAX East was one of the most enjoyable events I've been to yet. I even snagged a ticket for my girlfriend so she could see my nerdy side job up close and personal on Sunday. (Big thanks to Michael Trainor if you're reading this)

So what's coming up for me? Well, I feel like I'm buried in Web site redesign work at the Gloucester Times, but besides that, I have a Skate 3 preview for GamePro that should be hitting the Webz soon, as well as a feature on the guy's behind the rosters in the most well-known sports video games. I'm also playing MLB 2K10 and MLB 10: The Show until my eyes bleed so I can write a comparison review that will hopefully go live on GamePro.com on Sunday, which is opening day of baseball.

Busy busy busy.

You can check out other videos I've uploaded on my YouTube channel