Balto the Meet: May 28 to June 5, 2013

[ChannelDelibird]

If you don't make the title of this a 'The Wire' joke, I'll have you brutally killed.

[ChannelDelibird]

I'm going to try to come to this if I can and there's room. Will crunch some numbers and ask work and let you know more concretely in the next couple of days, hopefully.

[ChannelDelibird]

Fact.

[ChannelDelibird]

I'm going to try to come to this if I can and there's room. Will crunch some numbers and ask work and let you know more concretely in the next couple of days, hopefully.

Please do! And then carpool back down to see our new house in Raleigh!!!

holy moly if the euroscummers could just have their return flights go out of raleigh

that would be pretty okeydokey

There is a direct Raleigh-Heathrow flight for not much of a price increase. Tell me more.

[ChannelDelibird]

WORK SAYS YES! Just got to book flights and decide whether I'm coming back via Raleigh but put me down as a Yes.

[ChannelDelibird]

TICKETS BOOKED. SHIT YEAH. 'MURICA.

Mind you, this meet is already ruined by the fact that we can't say "Oman comin'".

[ChannelDelibird]

Will be bringing a role deck with the cards listed here.

[ChannelDelibird]

[ChannelDelibird]

There is plenty enough of me to go around (although I keep meaning to work on that).

[ChannelDelibird]

It's not the easiest shuffle in the world, I'll give you that.

[ChannelDelibird]

SS31

[ChannelDelibird]

=(

I don't know if I'm missing a story here (and I don't particularly want to be filled in) but it's a real shame if any disagreements here are stopping you from coming. Hard to say this without sounding guilt-trippy (which really isn't my intent, I promise - no pressure, do what is best for you!) but the chance to meet you was one of the reasons why I was so keen to come to this. Hugs.

[ChannelDelibird]

Unrelated note, someone please bring a camera. Scummer of Love had no pictures for the memories and I'm sad about that

I'm on the case.

[ChannelDelibird]

/in

Hooray!

[ChannelDelibird]

We considered this at the UK meet before more or less unanimously agreeing that the idea would be better than the execution. I think I'd like to be able to switch off from games, though I wouldn't mind trying something if there was a way to make it work over a 24-hour period or one overnight game or whatever. Just not something for the whole meet.

[ChannelDelibird]

Oh in case it's not clear the meet is going until the 5th, not through to the 6th. Oliver has to leave on the 5th and I'm ok with staying of course through the rest of the day while people wait for flights/boats out of Bmore but I'd like it if there was noone staying over that night. I gotta be in Chicago on the 8th so I'd like a little bit of leeway in case something goes terribly wrong

Does this mean that the "6/5/2013" column on the google doc is superfluous?

[ChannelDelibird]

[ChannelDelibird]

I have to say that I will be a little disappointed if Reck and Brock do not come.

Trust me, we want to be there. I don't want to make a habit out of baiting CDB into flying to the US, then bailing on him at the last second.

Why I oughtta...!

Hope you can get everything sorted. Best of luck. I'll buy you a drink if you can make it, so that's one less thing for which to budget right there.

[ChannelDelibird]

Love karaoke, though much prefer the group karaoke rooms to karaoke bars, you get more turns and can get a lot sillier with group songs. Anything like that nearby?

vote: this

[ChannelDelibird]

By the way, on the Sunday of this meet, the Rains of Castemere episode of Game of Thrones will be airing...aka the Red Wedding episode. I don't know what we have to do to watch it, but we need to get a group together to watch it, because there's probably not another group of people in the world I'd rather watch this episode with!

yesyesyes

[ChannelDelibird]

Totally up for BSG. If there's room in my suitcase I'll try to bring Dominion + Intrigue expansion but there may only be room for the base set/neither. If not, it'll just be mafia cards.

[ChannelDelibird]

Diplomacy's awesome and from what I can tell GOT sounds like it has slightly more rules but should still be very interesting. I'd definitely play.

Also OMG SOOOOOON AAAAAAHHH etc

[ChannelDelibird]

I got this

[ChannelDelibird]

HOLY SHIT THIS IS SOON

OMG OMG OMG

[ChannelDelibird]

strawberry passion tea

cdb loves that shit

Sounds like a fucking My Little Pony.

(I don't drink tea so no wishlist at all on that front)

[ChannelDelibird]

Absolutely on board with that.

[ChannelDelibird]

I am ignorant in dollar-fu. Anyone got any idea how much 'murican money I should be looking to have with me?

[ChannelDelibird]

Even for, let's say, ordering drinks at a bar? You'd use a credit card for that too? Seems awfully inconvenient.

[ChannelDelibird]

It's easy to use a credit card at bars, you open a tab

Y'all are weird.

[ChannelDelibird]

Cards make it so you're not having to whip cash out every time you go to the bar for a drink.

See, I find just paying as you go a lot more convenient than having it totted up and needing to come back to it at the end. Means I can get up and go at a moment's notice etc.

While we're on the subject of CDB Learns About American Money, when using a credit card are you more likely to use a chip-and-pin machine (what I'm used to) or signature & ID?

[ChannelDelibird]

You can do chip and pin with credit cards too.

[ChannelDelibird]

If I have time, I'll test-pack today and see how many of Dominion, Intrigue expansion and BSG I can fit in my suitcase. Well, I already know it won't be all of them. Probably only one. Any preferences? Intrigue can work standalone so if chamber is maybe coming and maybe bringing base set it might make more sense to bring that instead of the base set. But I could bring BSG instead. Possibly.

[ChannelDelibird]

Fair enough. I might lean towards BSG over it, as well.

[ChannelDelibird]

My flight gets in at 7.55pm on Tuesday. EEEEK NEARLY THERE!

I won't be able to fit a sleeping bag or anything of that ilk in my suitcase, unfortunately.

[ChannelDelibird]

CDB, my flight also gets in at 7.55pm on Tuesday. Spooky!

*X-Files theme*

Are you flying in from Heathrow in the end then?

[ChannelDelibird]

So I finished packing and now I'm just sort of sitting here waiting until it's time to go. Don't think I've forgotten anything...

[ChannelDelibird]

I have some pens but not enough for everyone (maybe four or five?).

I'm at the meet! Hooray! We are currently in the bit-slow-and-tired-and-catching-up-on-internet-things phase of the morning that is clearly standard practice at meets at this stage.

Last night we played quite a lot of mafia, mostly open setups because I had not written out a list of all the cards in the Greater Idea deck yet and there were some people (even non-scummer RL people!) who had had the temerity not to read and memorise the relevant wiki page. But now I have corrected this! So expect some zany stuff soon.

Plans for today are no plans as the Europeans deal with leftover jet lag (nothing too bad so far for me; I certainly was expecting to sleep much later) so we're just gonna sit around and play a bunch of mafia. Shocker! The acoustics of the apartment mean that the inevitable massive 20-player games over the weekend are going to be hard as hell to understand (as if they weren't already) but WOOO HUGE GAMES!

[ChannelDelibird]

An example for the people with whom I was just in the car:

[ChannelDelibird]

COMMUNISTS COME BACK! ;_;

There may or may not be karaoke tonight!

[ChannelDelibird]

Finally hitting a groove of ultimate scumhunting carnage on the last night of the meet. Some of that even with a sheet over my head.

[ChannelDelibird]

I will submit some role ideas when I get back home (and will probably save the gushing I-love-you post for then too but SPOILER: I love you all).

[ChannelDelibird]

Patrick and I, the last ones out the door at two consecutive meets, are sitting at the airport waiting for pizza to drown our post-meet sorrows.

[ChannelDelibird]

Moping. Lots and lots of moping.

Back home after a comfortable trip (a belated goodbye to Patrick after we got separated before you headed off to your connecting flight!) and

what the hell where are all you guys

.

Firstly, so many thanks to Matt and Trollie. You guys were such heroes. Your enthusiasm and hospitality was boundless and I really appreciate all the effort, the thankless driving trips and the way you juggled a large and often rowdy group of people. It was a really brilliant meet. Special mention too to all our chefs over the week - we ate very well indeed.

It was such a blast reuniting with familiar faces from last summer as well as meeting a bunch of new ones, some more time coming than others but all welcome. Aside from the obvious exception, you're all exceptionally lovely people. I can't wait to see literally all of you at next year's UK meet (I just verbally committed you right there so it would be rude to back out now. Gotcha) or hopefully somewhere Stateside again in 2014.

I'll upload some photos this afternoon!

[ChannelDelibird]

If any of the attendees would like the password to the Photobucket album for this, PM me.

BaltoMeet: THE CAST

Left to right, vaguely in order
Back: Patrick, ChannelDelibird, AngryPidgeon, Grimmjow, Iecerint, Chamber, TheTrollie, xRECKONERx, Faraday, MattP, Minineko
Front: Ether, ActionDan, Amrun, Gammagooey, quadz08, Glork, Nuwen, singersigner, Fate, Mina, BBmolla, Cogito Ergo Sum, DrippingGoofball

Photo taken by THE INTERVENTIONARY AVATAR OF DESTINY, AKA a nice lady on the street who did not steal my camera

[ChannelDelibird]

This is where the magic (and, occasionally, the Magic) happened.


THE COUCH


Decisive BBmolla drives fear through the hearts of scum.


The European Couch Union being compromised by natives.


Iecerint in disbelief.


CES is sceptical.


Yes, that is the Pokemon theme tune playing on Ether's computer. What of it?


I see no need to elaborate on this.

[ChannelDelibird]

"But ho!" I hear you cry. "Where were our erstwhile hosts while those previous pictures were being taken?"

WARNING: NIGHTMARE FUEL AHEAD

Spoiler:

Also, this dude in the foreground is Maestro and unfortunately he wasn't there for the group photo. Hello, Maestro! You too are missed.

[ChannelDelibird]

Different people approach having their photo taken differently and that is OK.


Pokeymans.


DGB and Iecerint locked in deep thought.


Spot who noticed the camera.


There were bloody loads of us.

[ChannelDelibird]

CES claims Masons with Patrick.


THE FARADAY SEES. THE FARADAY ALWAYS SEES.


"May I take your order?"


Our magnificent hosts.


Hi, Ether!

[ChannelDelibird]

You can just about pretend that BBmolla is taking an artsy silhouette photo rather than the flash fucking up.


Aquarium turtle! They were friendly folk.


These two just stayed stock-still like this for ages. An odd pair.


Emerald dove!


CDB gets dinner.


Patrick and CES consider the nature of being. Probably.

[ChannelDelibird]

After the aquarium part 1!


After the aquarium part OMG WTF IS THAT


It was a lovely day out!


Proof that there are nice parts of Baltimore.


This was Trollie's solution to there not being many photos of the cameraman. Good work there, dude.

[ChannelDelibird]

And then we all went home. =(

[ChannelDelibird]

Im still really amused by that time CDB asked me his read on him and I said "PoE scum" and I could tell he wanted really bad to say "But you always misread me" but then kinda realized that didn't make sense in this context.

TOWNREAD BETTER

[ChannelDelibird]

HEY I WAS RIGHT THAT TIME.

And then I got lynched and flipped town mason >.>

[ChannelDelibird]

I remember when we were going to play an invitational.

[ChannelDelibird]

<3 Just teasing ya.