NZ meetup

[Mastermind of Sin]

1) I'm not sure which one I could pick. The problem is being able to come in the middle of the semester. January/March would probably be the best for me, because the first 12 days or so of January I don't have classes, and I have a week-ish off in March generally. As for the year, 2010 is farther away, so I'm more likely to be able to save up the money by then.

2) 10%, because it depends entirely on the date.

3) The name is fine.

4) This is an awesome idea, but it's probably going to cause problems for anyone who might come from the US and is still in school, because we only have time off in OUR summer, which obviously wouldn't be a good time to be in NZ, necessarily.

[Mastermind of Sin]

Maybe it'd be cheaper to coordinate and buy tickets in bulk for people who live in the same area? For example, anyone from Illinois/Missouri could fly out of STL to start, and they'd all have the same flight plan. Buying the tickets en masse is bound to be cheaper, right?

[Mastermind of Sin]

I think it would make sense to try and get mass group tickets from Cali-NZ for everyone to save money on group rates (+ we'd all get to fly together-ish depending on individual schedules, which is cool), then the ppl not in cali just need to buy individual flights out to cali.

[Mastermind of Sin]

If it's before january I can't come...so I can't leave till the 2nd of the year....so if we are doing newyears bash I would end up being like 4 days late

That sucks...I really think New Year's in NZ would be about the best thing ever...I definitely think that's when this should start :/

Group ticketing really cheaper? And that seems like a hassel to get that much money all together. The really only plus size is that we wouldn't be alone, would all arrive at the same time and are more likely to sit together. Who would be willing to do all that? And would everyone be willing to fork over a grand plus to someone? And everyone would need thier money together and saved at the same time for it to work.

If there was no way to pay separately (which I think is possible), I would still be ok with it. Most likely if we all had to pay together we would use paypal, and there are ways to get your money back if the transaction never goes through. We'd just make sure everything was well-documented. Personally, I'd be willing to do it, and I think it would make the trip even more fun.

[Mastermind of Sin]

Kiwiesta is the best.

Under the split event system, I would like to attend part of Kiwiblat, all of Kiwiesta and Mafikiwi, and some of Tallypalooza

[Mastermind of Sin]

Clearly according to the poll it should be Talliestablat

[Mastermind of Sin]

1st choice: PMR (Palmerston North)
2nd choice: WLG (Wellington)
3rd choice: AKL (Auckland)

If it's significantly cheaper to fly only to Auckland, just get a ticket to there. Flying between AKL and PMR (my town) or AKL and WLG is cheap if you shop around, or we can come pick you up if there's a carload of folk needing picking up.

DATES

I am thinking of moving the date further into January for a few reasons, including availability of Sixtus lodge... Something like 5-12 January, with New Years optional. Is there anyone who is serious about coming who would be adversely affected by that? I realise I need to settle on firm dates very soon so people can start making arrangements to get here.

For the record, as far as I can tell, it's cheapest for Americans to fly in on a Tuesday/Wednesday and back on a Tuesday/Wednesday, which would be Jan 6-13. It depends on where you're flying from. For St. Louis, Missouri, the difference between 5-12 and 6-13 is about $700 (in favor of 6-13). However, for Chicago, 5-12 is cheaper by about $100 over 6-13. Ironically, though, 5-12 from Chicago and 6-13 from STL are the same price.

[Mastermind of Sin]

The only thing keeping me from being at 90% right now is whether or not I'll be able to afford it. If I can come up with the money, I'm there.

[Mastermind of Sin]

Still trying to figure out how I can afford this. Unfortunately, I haven't found a summer job yet, so I won't be getting income for sure until Fall, which is already really close to the meetup. In addition, I'd need to apply for a passport with enough time to receive it before I have to leave, and I don't want to start spending money for the trip before I'm sure I can afford the whole thing. Starting to look like I might not make it...