A recommendation...

September 2014 Chicago Gathering! by Neshomeh on 2014-09-01 16:01:00 UTC Reply

Yep, we're planning one! For those who missed the memo, Irish Samurai is going to be in the country for work the second week of September (unless that's changed since this thread), and so Phobos and I are planning to host a Gathering for Saturday the 13th with possible activities on Sunday the 14th, too.

The tentative itinerary:

Saturday

~9:30 am - Meet up at the Museum of Science and Industry, in front of the Pioneer Zephyr train in the entrance lobby. (I've thought about it since the last thread, and this simply makes the most sense to me.) I'll most likely be wearing this shirt, which says "Neshomeh" on the back. Also, I'll have a very tall person with long hair and a beard with me.

9:30 am-4:00 pm - Buy tickets, explore the museum! Standard admission is $18, but the current special exhibit is Treasures of the Walt Disney Archive, which is really cool, so we may want to get Explorer 1 passes for $27, which includes standard admission plus one extra thing. (Check out this page for more info about admission.) We don't have to stay the whole time, but there's lots to see. Chances are we'll want to. Plan to pack a lunch or pay through the nose at the museum's cafeteria. At least you're supporting the museum, right?

~5:00-7:00 - Anyone who wants/is able to come is invited to dinner with Phobos and me. We have a couple places near our apartment where we can get Chicago-style pizza, which we figure is a must for out-of-state visitors. It's about an hour's worth of travel by bus and train from the museum to our neighborhood. If you're driving, we can talk directions and parking on the day.

~7:00-10:00 - After dinner, come play some games with us! We have lots of good ones. Feel free to bring your own, but bear in mind you may have to lug it around with you all day.

Sunday

10:30 am-12:00 - I'll be singing with my Unitarian Universalist church choir. If anyone is actually interested in attending, you're welcome to. Let me know and I'll e-mail you the details.

1:00-whenever - Lincoln Park Zoo? I suggest this because it's free, so we can wander in, hang out as long as we feel like it, and wander out without worrying about whether we got an appropriate amount of fun for our money. ^_~ We can also hit up the Lincoln Park Conservatory (cool plants!) or the Farm-in-the-Zoo or the Nature Boardwalk, which are all right there, if we want to.

After that - Dunno! I figure we can punt from there. Explore downtown Chicago? Play more games? The city is our bivalve mollusc.

So here's what we need to know:

1. Can you make it? Just to the museum? More? Let us know!

2. Does that plan sound good? If not, what sounds better? We don't have a whole lot of time to make our minds up, but I wouldn't want to stop anyone joining in because of a bad plan.

3. Approximately where will you be coming from on Saturday, and how will you be traveling (car or public transit)? This may or may not affect times and such.

4. Thinking of bringing games? Let us know which just in case we already have it and can save you the hassle.

5. Comments? Questions? Concerns?

I'm really looking forward to this! {= D

~Neshomeh

Wish I could go by Antigone68104 on 2014-09-02 21:41:00 UTC Reply

After spending two days in Kansas City over Labor Day, even if I could take the time off work I've put a good-sized dent in the vacation budget.

How often are Gatherings held?
I got the no-go. by Iximaz on 2014-09-01 22:40:00 UTC Reply

My brother has an out of state tennis tournament that weekend and my dad will be off on a business trip. So I will be unable to go. Also, apparently the idea of meeting people you met online doesn't go over well with my parents.

A full report will be expected, though! *glances at hS and the lack of report from the London Gathering* :P

I guess this means it's time to start saving money for the next Gathering!

A recommendation... by VixenMage on 2014-09-02 05:21:00 UTC Reply

If your parents object to the meeting of Internet Strangers, you might consider showing them the reports of previous Gatherings - putting faces and "Look, they're reasonable-looking people!" ideas around helps sometimes. Some younger PPCers have also had their parents show up to the beginning of the Gathering, to establish identity themselves.

~~Or you could wait until you're over 18 and fly across the country without their consent to start relationshiping at said Internet Strangers like I did.~~

Well, like I also said, tennis tournament. by Iximaz on 2014-09-02 15:56:00 UTC Reply

So I wouldn't be able to go, regardless of how the parental units feel about Internet Strangers.

Nevertheless, I shall save my monies until I am able to attend one, whether it be next year (when I'll be out of their jurisdiction) or ten years from now. :)

Until then, everybody else go and have fun!

Alas. by Neshomeh on 2014-09-02 23:11:00 UTC Reply

Maybe we'll try for another one next summer or so, with more planning ahead of time.

And yeah, just to reiterate, parents are always welcome, even encouraged to come along. Cedar Copse and I both had parents along at my first Gathering, and Cedar's parents were nice enough to take us all out to dinner. ^_^

~Neshomeh
I shall save as well! by Darkotas on 2014-09-02 19:54:00 UTC Reply

I figured we wouldn't be able to go, but now you've got time to plan, at least. Plus it's something more to look forward to!

That's good advice (nm) by Phobos on 2014-09-02 15:14:00 UTC Reply

Oh, :P to you. by Huinesoron on 2014-09-01 23:29:00 UTC Reply

Like I said at the time, at least one of these reports took two years to come out. It'll get done in due time. Probably.

hS

Yup, I'm still coming :) by the Irish Samurai on 2014-09-01 22:06:00 UTC Reply

To answer your questions:

1) Yes, I can make it (just in case you'd forgotten from reading the subject line), and for more than just the museum. In fact, I'll be getting to Chicago Thursday evening, and my flight out is Sunday evening. Although I'm not sure how much time that'll actually give me on the Sunday, what with having to be at the airport a few hours before the flight leaves.

2) The current plan sounds good to me, and the Disney exhibit could be very interesting - I'd be up for that so long as everyone else was.

3) Good question, where will I be coming from? Umm... a hotel somewhere? I'll probably be staying near the airport (O'Hare International, in case that needs disambiguating), unless you can suggest somewhere more sensible. I'll be relying on public transport the whole time I'm out there. I'm assuming that there'll be good transport links between the airport and touristy places like the museum.

4) Yes, the game that I was thinking of bringing is Legendary: Villains. It's a cooperative card based game where players take on the role of various bad guys from the Marvel universe, and try to beat the good guys. It's quite a different style of game from most.

5)
Comments? I'm looking forward to it too.
Questions? None that I can think of.
Concerns? Nope. Unless you count the fact that I've just discovered that I can spell 'museum' without the aid of spellcheck.

Yay! by Neshomeh on 2014-09-02 22:28:00 UTC Reply

We don't have Legendary: Villains, and that sounds fun. {= )

I don't have much experience with Chicago hotels, so I couldn't tell you what's nice, or has good prices, or anything helpful like that. I'd suggest trying to get closer to the city than O'Hare, though. If you can find something close to the northern branch of the CTA Blue Line, that's probably your best bet for convenience. Anything convenient to any of the lines is good, though, since they all meet in the Loop. North of the Loop is generally better than south or west as far as safety and such.

The tradeoff you're looking at is that closer to the city means it'll be quicker to get around while you're here, but closer to the airport probably means it'll be easier to check out and be on your way home. A lot of places make you check out by 10 or 11 in the morning, though, so that could be a hassle.

We might be able to do stuff Friday evening, if it looks like Sunday won't work out. Let us know what your flight and hotel stuff looks like closer to the time, I guess? Since it looks like it's just going to be the three of us, we can be flexible. If you'll have a phone you can use for non-work stuff, we might want to exchange numbers at some point.

Someday, Chicago will have a Gathering of more than three people. We're the Crossroads of America, for cryin' out loud. This should be a thing that happens. {X D

~Neshomeh

Re: Yay! by the Irish Samurai on 2014-09-04 14:14:00 UTC Reply

Well, according to this, the CTA Blue runs from O'Hare, so staying around there should still be convenient for me to get around. It just means that I'll be doing longer journeys at the beginning/end of the days - but at least I'll have nice short journeys between the airport and hotel, which is when I'll have all my big heavy bags. So I think it'll be a fair trade-off.

Yeah, I'd be up for doing something Friday evening, if that's cool with you guys. My flight back on Sunday is about 6 o'clock, and I think I'm supposed to be at the airport 3 hours in advance. So Sunday morning is fine for me, but I won't have much free time Sunday afternoon (didn't plan ahead well enough when I was discussing flight times, if I get sent out again I'll have to remember to ask for a late evening flight).

I'm pretty sure that my mobile will work over there, if not I'll have my laptop with me and internet in the hotel, so Board/e-mail/chat should all be viable means of communication.

Additional notes. by Neshomeh on 2014-09-01 16:41:00 UTC Reply

Because I forgot to mention:

1. We have a cat. He's very friendly (and will probably spend the first hour or so hiding in the closet anyway), but just in case anyone has allergies or a deathly fear of cats, now you know.

2. Chicago is expensive. $10 or more per person for a decent meal out is not unusual. Bear this in mind when planning your visit.

~Neshomeh