Okay, here's Step One in preparing for the Dallas-Area TCS Meetup! First, a few general thoughts to consider (other ideas are very welcome):
1. All TCS people and their significant others are more than welcome, of course, whether you're anywhere near Dallas or not. (There's a chance Miss Mew might be able to join us if we meet while she's down here from Canada in June -- but if the big meeting cannot coincide with her visit, those of us who can be available then will get together with her on our own!)
2. It's always difficult to coordinate a lot of lives -- so I'd like to assemble a calendar of possible dates that covers May 10 through July 27, just in case there is no time in June when a majority of us can make it. Assuming weekdays are out for nearly everyone, that gives us twelve Saturdays and twelve Sundays to choose from.
3. Although it would be wonderful if we could bring our kitties too, I don't know whether that's really the best idea. What do you think? I'm concerned that it would be terribly traumatic for the kitties to be in carriers for so long, with litterbox issues and such... and even with carriers, it would still be frighteningly easy to spread illness among them, if we weren't aware one of our kitties was getting sick.
4. So I'm thinking we pass around scrapbooks... and maybe someone who has a laptop could bring it along, and we could bring videos of our kitties to show on DVD! Whatcha think?
5. Another reason I'm not sure we should try to bring our kitties is that it would limit us to either someone's home or an outdoor location for the meeting. I'm not sure there's anyone here with a home large enough to invite perhaps a dozen people and 25 cats over for the day!
And outdoors, we would be at the mercy of the weather, which will probably be too hot for man or beast.
6. So my suggestion is that we reserve a room (or an area) at a restaurant from, say, 11:00 to 3:00pm, maybe? We can have some time to just sit and talk, and once everybody arrives, we can have lunch. With any luck, the restaurant may not even charge us for the room if we're eating there. EDIT: Lee of Persi & Alley fame has graciously invited us all to his new home in Farmers Branch! 'WAAAAYYY better!
7. Again, these are just suggestions -- if you have better ideas, please say so!
There's a place for that in the form below, or you can post here if you want to invite discussion.
Meanwhile... let's try to find a time and a place for this extravaganza! Here's a little form you can PM to me... EDIT: Or better yet, post your answers here in the thread -- that way this thread will keep bouncing to the top of the forum, and more people are likely to notice it and sign up!
__________________________________________________
Your TCS Name:
Your Real First Name:
Will You Be Bringing Your Significant Other (so I can determine the size of meeting space we need)?
Your Location, With Zip Code (if you'd rather not give a street address, please use a nearby intersection -- this is so I can make a rough map and find a meeting site that will be central to us all):
Dates You CANNOT Make a Meeting (between May 10 and July 27):
Kinds of Restaurants You Just Can't Stand (Thai, Sushi, McDonald's, etc.):
Things You'd Like To Do At The Meeting (play volleyball, sing show tunes, etc.):
Comments, Suggestions, & Angry Retorts:
____________________________________________________
Thanks! I hope we can find a good date and location for everybody!
Carol
1. All TCS people and their significant others are more than welcome, of course, whether you're anywhere near Dallas or not. (There's a chance Miss Mew might be able to join us if we meet while she's down here from Canada in June -- but if the big meeting cannot coincide with her visit, those of us who can be available then will get together with her on our own!)
2. It's always difficult to coordinate a lot of lives -- so I'd like to assemble a calendar of possible dates that covers May 10 through July 27, just in case there is no time in June when a majority of us can make it. Assuming weekdays are out for nearly everyone, that gives us twelve Saturdays and twelve Sundays to choose from.
3. Although it would be wonderful if we could bring our kitties too, I don't know whether that's really the best idea. What do you think? I'm concerned that it would be terribly traumatic for the kitties to be in carriers for so long, with litterbox issues and such... and even with carriers, it would still be frighteningly easy to spread illness among them, if we weren't aware one of our kitties was getting sick.
4. So I'm thinking we pass around scrapbooks... and maybe someone who has a laptop could bring it along, and we could bring videos of our kitties to show on DVD! Whatcha think?
5. Another reason I'm not sure we should try to bring our kitties is that it would limit us to either someone's home or an outdoor location for the meeting. I'm not sure there's anyone here with a home large enough to invite perhaps a dozen people and 25 cats over for the day!
6. So my suggestion is that we reserve a room (or an area) at a restaurant from, say, 11:00 to 3:00pm, maybe? We can have some time to just sit and talk, and once everybody arrives, we can have lunch. With any luck, the restaurant may not even charge us for the room if we're eating there. EDIT: Lee of Persi & Alley fame has graciously invited us all to his new home in Farmers Branch! 'WAAAAYYY better!
7. Again, these are just suggestions -- if you have better ideas, please say so!
Meanwhile... let's try to find a time and a place for this extravaganza! Here's a little form you can PM to me... EDIT: Or better yet, post your answers here in the thread -- that way this thread will keep bouncing to the top of the forum, and more people are likely to notice it and sign up!
__________________________________________________
Your TCS Name:
Your Real First Name:
Will You Be Bringing Your Significant Other (so I can determine the size of meeting space we need)?
Your Location, With Zip Code (if you'd rather not give a street address, please use a nearby intersection -- this is so I can make a rough map and find a meeting site that will be central to us all):
Dates You CANNOT Make a Meeting (between May 10 and July 27):
Kinds of Restaurants You Just Can't Stand (Thai, Sushi, McDonald's, etc.):
Things You'd Like To Do At The Meeting (play volleyball, sing show tunes, etc.):
Comments, Suggestions, & Angry Retorts:
____________________________________________________
Thanks! I hope we can find a good date and location for everybody!
Carol