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Planning a Eve Meetup

For reasons that I am not fully sure of I keep diving off the deep end when it comes to doing Eve things. This qualifies for both real life and the game. Such is the situation that I find myself in trying to plan the local meetups.

Epi cheerfully scraped this responsibility onto me last year and I've kept at it for some reason. It was much easier when he was helping but I'm trying to do it myself and I've come to the understanding that it sucks. I've always had respect for those who plan big meetups but that respect is growing into a type of awe at their godlike powers of getting things together.

One of the biggest problems is knowing how many people will go. Our meetups have been growing and people have been travelling further to come to them. That leaves a question of where will we shove everyone? At some point people have suggested tickets and RSVP and such. I shudder at that and frankly, I don't know if I want to go down that route. At the moment a headcount is a strange impossibility. I cannot fathom trying to organize beyond that.

So, I'll try to keep it neat. However, having a place that can squeeze in some 20-50 people at the drop of a hat is not as easy as one would think. Thanks to my love of my house, I only go out to have dinner. That leaves me somewhat lost as to where you go to 'hang out' with open seating. Mix in the fact that people want to drink and drinking interesting and complex alcoholic beverages are in vogue. Now you have an introverted non-drinking event planner.

None of this actually makes sense.

That didn't stop me. Last time we went to the Dogfish Ale House in Falls Church. We are going to do that again. I've spent the last few weeks looking at places and visiting a few. None really were much different from the others. So, today I decided to try contacting the place we went last time to see if we could use their back room.

My talk with the manager first made me feel like an idiot. He was polite but I was somewhat incoherent as I tried to babble out my needs. He told me that people always plan for groups of like 30 and only 12 show up. How people have to get their kids or have family things happen. I decided not to explain to him that I had a bunch of video game lovers travelling from hours away to come hang out together. Quickly, I realized that he might not understand how normal this is for me so I just let him talk.

He said it was okay for us to overwhelm the bar. We did so last time and while we felt a bit guilty, it didn't stop us. So, I've had a few tables reserved for us for about 15 people and then hes happy to let us over whelm the bar. With the improved weather we can also spend more time outside. I decided to just go for it. Maybe we will only have fifteen people. Who knows.

But ugh. RSVP would be lovely but I've learned not to expect that to happen.

Anyway, there is a forum thread up. I just built the event on Eve Meet but I have no idea if I did it properly. I did move the meetup back an hour to start at five. This gives us a nice sold chunk of chatting time before we have to head home for the night.

This really isn't an easy task to plan these things, nor is it fun. It is very much not my kind of thing. I'm glad people have enjoyed themselves so far. I'm just not the gathering/hostess type of person. If this goes well I'll reevaluate. I'm locked in until I give away all the stuff I brought back from Iceland. One way or another I'm even more amazed at those who put togehter events and get people to actually RSVP and such.


  1. Sugar... do you not remember at the end of the last one, when I came and gave you the managers business card after HE asked me what was going on? I told him ALL about EVE and the players and the meetups and HE said to give you his card and just let him know and he would gladly work with you on any future events.

    I don't really get the whole 'introverted non-drinking event planner' thing as I am not introverted and I can mos def drink like a fish... (I however abhor supervising and organizing like the plague... go figger) but I did try to pave-the-way as twere last time and the guy I talked to (nope I 'member not his name) was very solicitous of us meeting there in the future.

    I would, if I were you, (1) see if I could dig up the card I gave you last time if possible and if not, call and ask who was managing the night of the last meetup and see if you can talk to him... and remind him about the 50 EVE gamers who were drinking his beer and filling his cash register... don't worry about explaining to him that you have "...a bunch of video game lovers travelling from hours away to come hang out together." the manager I talked to seriously thought it was very cool.

    1. Geek money, best money!

    2. I did talk to the manager. I didn't have a set number and he didn't want to give the room up when I couldn't promise diners but more a cocktail party. He felt the bar was fine.

      So yeah, I broke out of my comfort zone and called. I fucking hate making phone calls with a passion but I did. And I felt like an idiot. But he felt the bar was fine for what we were doing. I explained that I wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing a better or smoother transition.

      And no I didn't feel like explaining about Eve. I tried and I failed. If its not good enough, sorry.

    3. Hey.... wow you really do kinda react to me a bit... I meant NO offense and was not being critical at all. I have only the greatest respect and admiration for you... I am sorry I come across in a way that obviously rubs you wrong. I mean it, I really am sorry.

    4. 'Tone' is very hard across the internet at times.

  2. The planner is extremely responsive. I'm pretty sure he has a hundred weddings/events to coordinate at any given time, but still manages to respond to me within a few hours. During event planning I could tell what's on my mind to him straight and he won't get offended.

  3. Hey Sugar, this is Epi - sorry if you felt that I put the responsibility on you - not sure that is entirely fair. I helped spread the word for 2 meetups and after speaking with you advertised your presence which undoubtedly boosted the numbers. But that was it, I never claimed to be a regional organizer and hence had nothing to "scrape onto you", certainly not cheerfully, I am sorry that you feel that way.

    1. I'm bitching from frustration. I thought you wanted me tontske them and I feel you do a better job. I'm frustrated and feel that I'm letting everyone down because I don't feel like I'm doing this right and it seems you do.

      But then its easy to feel that something seems effortless for someone else.

    2. And I wrote you a longer form explanation but to repeat the basics. I saw these as your project since you coordinated the first ones that I knew of and got control of the local channel. I have felt that I've taken over someone elses project and I'm doing a poor job at it.

  4. You're not locked into anything. It seems like you helped someone, and then got the whole thing dropped onto your plate. Now that it's running, let someone else carry it forward.

    As far as the stuff from Iceland goes, I'll mail you my FedEx account number, and we'll just solve that whole "overstocked with swag issue" the easy way. They'll be happy to show up at your door to box and pack your stuff.. you won't even need bubble wrap or packing peanuts!

    1. I assumed responsibility when I shouldn't have and I've been running under a misunderstanding.

      And no, I'll give the stuff away. :P


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