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The Sheraton hotel (I was wondering if that was what you were thinking of xnera) is next to the Arlington Heights Race track. There is actually quite a bit of greenspace around there.
We probably should check the race track schedule and make sure there are no major stakes races then? Also it is within walking distance of the metra though the metra is on the opposite side of the race track. It is that borderline distance where a shuttle would be nice but not necessary.
For rivka, can you take public transportation on the sabbath? If not the best solution might be to put you on before sabbath and send you to your cousins and then retrieve you afterwards.
xnera if we do have it at the Sheraton I'm willing to help out with supplies etc since you know I live right there.
quote:And there are always discount packages, I've never paid a rack rate yet
Ooh - ask if they have a 'Rack rate
Personally, if I'm spending money to go to Chicago, I'd rather spend the time seeing as much of Chicago as I can, rather than as much of a hotel conference room in a Chicago suburb that I can. But that's just me.
I would love a day at the Art Institute and the Field Museum (yay Field Museum!) and another morning or afternoon spent downtown. (One must eat at Gino's and scribble on the walls when one is in Chicago)
..but this said, I tend to be the type of person who spends every minute of a vacation walking around exploring new places, and this can wear people out. And of course I want to spend time with as many Jatraqueros as possible.
My proposal: Plan outings during the days, and then plan fun social Jatraquero things during the nights. One of these things should totally be a white elephant exchange
And another favor - can we pretty please have a t-shirt design contest? Let's name this thing fast so I can make a cool t-shirt design.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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Aren't elephants grey or pink? Where did you find a white one, and how doy you get it on the plane?
Posts: 4569 | Registered: Dec 2003
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quote:One of these things should totally be a white elephant exchange
Yes!
white elephant exchange thousand ideas in an hour karaoke (we have to. You should have heard the harmonies during "Yellow Submarine")
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Considering how many people work, I'm thinking it's going to be on the weekend + a day or two before/after.
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Ooh - and if there's Karaoke, I'm becoming Shakira. Just thought I'd give everyone fair warning.
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I agree with Annie's idea about doing stuff in Chicago during the day and getting all the 'rackers together at night. I definitely want to see the city, go up in the Sears Tower, visit musems, etc. We should prolly split into groups who want to tour the city and groups who want to sit around and talk.
At the Portland get together there seemed a good dynamic of letting one Ralphie/Narnia type of personality be in each group to take care of decisions, maintaining conversations, etc. And we should have one person in each group who knows their way around the city as well. Jatraqueros who have already met can figure out who those people are.
So we need:
a definite date(as in calendar date ) for the weekend.
a guestlist
accomodations. One place or several?
events to be held at night, and the location(s) of said events.
groups of people to be doing things together during the day (wandering around a strange city is more fun with other people!).
some other thing(s) that I'm prolly forgetting.
It looks like some of these things have been talked about already, but they can't be decided without a definite date or guestlist. Once we get a core guestlist, we can make all the main decisions and other people who want to come can adapt or we can alter the plan slightly. Someone from Chicago should be the one in charge...
Posts: 1423 | Registered: Sep 2003
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I don't think JNSB is reading ALL of the above posts to the thread -- or he would know we pretty much have the date set, and that xnera offered to be coordinator....
posted
So this morning before work I did a quick SmartPages search for synagogues and Mormon churches (that's what you call them, right? Temples are for the special occasions, right?) and there's some of each in the area, about 15 minutes away by car. Also, Busse Woods forest preserve is just a couple exits down 53. I'd be up for a hike sometime. Oh, and Annie, there's also a Gino's East in the area (um, on Algonquin I think). And yeah, we definitely have to go for pizza. I will not let y'all come to Chicago without having some REAL pizza while you are here.
Of course, this is all assuming we end up at the Sheraton. It might be worth looking into the hotels downtown, especially if we are going to go to the museums and whatnot. Though last time I got prices for this sort of thing, it seemed like the downtown hotels were more expensive that the suburban ones.
Posts: 1805 | Registered: Jun 1999
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One cool thing to do is watch the sun set from the Hancock center. My friends who have been up both say the view is actually better from the hancock building than the sears tower.
They have a bar (smoking allowed) on the floor below the observatory. And it is cheaper to buy a non-alchoholic drink (though it will cost like $5) than pay for the observatory the story above.
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Ok, I hope the dates are secure and I hope something is happening, because we plan on being in Chicago from the 11th or 12th to the 15th, whether anything happens or not. Our tickets haven't been purchased yet, but the wheels are in motion.
quote:Farmgirl wrote: I don't think JNSB is reading ALL of the above posts to the thread -- or he would know we pretty much have the date set, and that xnera offered to be coordinator....
Actually, I did read all of the above posts and I knew that dates had been mentioned, but as Pop implied in the above post, we haven't set it in stone. FG herself said in the middle of page 5 that it was a tentative, but maybe she just meant that it was tentative that she was coming. Since we don't even know who's coming for sure, how can we get their opinions on dates and coordinator? Some people may have to wait til the weekend to find time to post.
As for xnera being coordinator, that's fine by me! I saw that AJ and others had also posted regarding the Chicago area as well so I didn't know if they were going to co-chair it or not. I guess I'll just wait the thread out 'til we have "stone" dates so that I can make travel and financial plans, and when it begins to gel I can email the coordinator(s).
I hope the dates are secure, too. I wanna meet the famous Papa Moose and family!
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There is no freakin' way I am going to plan this whole thing by myself. I'm willing to do the brunt of the work, but believe me, as time gets closer I will be shoving some responsibilities onto other people. You have been warned.
Oh, and hey, this is my 800th post. w00t. Maybe I *will* hit 1000 because this century ends.
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Karen, I'd be happy to help with more than a few of the calls. Drop me an E-mail and we'll coordinate duties.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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My parents have agreed that I can go IF I have a job by then and IF I can get time off of it. So basically, unless something goes horribly wrong, I'm able to go. Posts: 4655 | Registered: Jan 2002
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how 'bout ChiConGo? HatConRack? RathackCon (we could put it on T shirts and say there was a mixup at the printers')?
Ooh, 'nother T shirt idea! We could put Alvin from the cover of Crystal City in a Star Trek uniform and yelling, "Con! Cooooooooooon!" (sounds like Khan) with the Chicago skyline in the background. Posts: 1423 | Registered: Sep 2003
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If I do come, I will be bringing the new baby. My older 2 will stay home with Daddy...with Opa (my dad) filling in.
My list of demands: Non-smoking room, baby and I get a bed. That's it. I don't mind sharing a room, as long as the people sleeping there don't mind 3am feedings. On the other hand, I also would not be offended in the least if nobody wanted to bunk with a 3 month old baby.
I'll probably want to share driving responsiblities with somebody...it's a long way. I don't mind using my van (it has 7 seat belts)if enough people want a ride (I'd be driving from Tulsa, OK). Alternatively, I'd consider hitching a ride (Bob, did I see you volunteer?).
So...never having been to one of these things, just how much money will I need to tuck away for this? If BB (BoonBaby) and I go everywhere and do everything planned, how much will it all cost? Plan on, say, $100 a day? What think you wiser, more experienced Con-goers?
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August 12-15 or whatever works for me. My birthday's on the 9th, but it gives me plenty of time after my birthday to regroup.
quote:I agree with Annie's idea about doing stuff in Chicago during the day and getting all the 'rackers together at night. I definitely want to see the city, go up in the Sears Tower, visit musems, etc. We should prolly split into groups who want to tour the city and groups who want to sit around and talk.
At the Portland get together there seemed a good dynamic of letting one Ralphie/Narnia type of personality be in each group to take care of decisions, maintaining conversations, etc. And we should have one person in each group who knows their way around the city as well. Jatraqueros who have already met can figure out who those people are.
So we need: a definite date(as in calendar date ) for the weekend. a guestlist accomodations. One place or several? events to be held at night, and the location(s) of said events. groups of people to be doing things together during the day (wandering around a strange city is more fun with other people!). some other thing(s) that I'm prolly forgetting. It looks like some of these things have been talked about already, but they can't be decided without a definite date or guestlist. Once we get a core guestlist, we can make all the main decisions and other people who want to come can adapt or we can alter the plan slightly. Someone from Chicago should be the one in charge...
One of the things we could do:
I can teach people the basics of swing dancing, and then one of the nights we could go to an actual swing dance. They're a ton of fun to go to, whether you're dancing or simply watching, and they aren't very expensive.
Also, I'd be happy to share some of the planning duties as well, if needed.
And not having gone to that gathering, I'm not exactly sure what a Ralphie/Narnia personality is, but I've met tons of hatrackers at OSC's writer's class, Endercon, Shadow Puppets signing, Wenchcon, and other various hatrack gatherings, so chances are I'll know a good deal of people coming to this Con.
Posts: 1934 | Registered: Jun 2001
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Oh, and I could bring Apples to Apples, and Settlers of Catan (if I own it buy then, which I most definetely will).
Posts: 1934 | Registered: Jun 2001
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quote: Ooh, 'nother T shirt idea! We could put Alvin from the cover of Crystal City in a Star Trek uniform and yelling, "Con! Cooooooooooon!" (sounds like Khan) with the Chicago skyline in the background
JNSB -- you really cracked me up with that one!! (and I'm sorry if I offended you on the earlier post -- I was just kidding)
CalvinMaker -- I already know how to swing dance -- but I'll be happy to help you demonstrate!
quote: Also, Busse Woods forest preserve is just a couple exits down 53. I'd be up for a hike sometime
posted
Noah -- there's an excellent dance hall near me (the Willowbrook ballroom) that does swing every other Sunday, with free lessons. Huge dance floor, great music, plus it's family friendly, so you don't need to be 21 to go. Only bad thing is that it's rather far from the hotel I had in mind. Hmm--may need to look for a different hotel, then.
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Xnera, I will happily come early to help set up, shuttle people from airport to hotel, or do whatever other tasks you would like to assign.
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I never posted in this thread. A lot of the activity happened while I was busy being sick.
Just want to say I'm here in the Chicago area (by O'Hare) and I hope I'll be able to attend. My schedule is not always predictable or controllable, but I'm hoping to be there for part of it.
If others in the area who are doing planning, etc. want to throw a task or two my way, just ask.
Posts: 4344 | Registered: Mar 2003
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If you actually say "KamaCon" outloud, it is pretty catchy. Has a nice rhythm to it and rolls off the tongue. And it is something no one else would understand...
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I can think of two pronunciations: hah-trah-kohn and jah-trah-kohn (sorry, I don't know how to do formal phonemics). I think the first is correct, but I rather like the second. Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Where did you find a white one, and how doy you get it on the plane?
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I guess I'll just wait the thread out 'til we have "stone" dates so that I can make travel and financial plans, and when it begins to gel I can email the coordinator(s).![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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JNSB -- you really cracked me up with that one!!
