From: Annie (annie@geekbabe.com)
Date: Tue May 18 2004 - 08:00:21 CDT
In this mailing:
Org List
Looks good
Thanks
Followups
Bowling non-payment
Bowling payment
Administrivia
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Org List:
This is the DLV 2004 Organizational Mailing List (dlvorg@geekbabe.com)
Replies to this message will be forwarded to the DLVORG list and not
the DLV-Announce or DLV-Discuss list.
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Looks good:
Some very good numbers ...
Show-up rate was 94% for returnees and 77% for newcomers this year! This
is a significant improvement over 2002 and 2003, where it was close to
90%/50% both years.
I really think that the challenge-response validation at registration
time did a good job of weeding out those who would not have shown up.
As I think back, I noticed a far more positive climate all around this
year. I heard almost no bitching about anything.
. . . . .
I'm planning to send out the survey mailing this Wednesday. Thanks to all
who shook this down and made suggestions. I have added a few items, but I
avoided changing any verbiage significantly on existing questions, so we
can be consistent from year to year.
I added roommate matching. This is a good data point to get some
feedback on.
Frequency of public exposure. I didn't change the existing question so
we can track consistently year to year, but I did add this one.
As far as "what was your most/least favorite activity" we should be able
to get this from the enjoyment ratings. I looked at the past 2 years of
data and it was obvious which were the favorites.
Yes, the survey is getting long. I held off making a third category for
each activity -- rating the facility/venue -- as I had planned just due
to the length of it.
I don't know how Bally's got in there, perhaps a holdover from last year,
but I sure missed it. However, the way I understand it, the show was "V"
and not "O", but it did absorb some of the acts from "O" in the new "V"
format. :)
Aiko, am I correct on this? At least my ticket said "V" and not "O".
For those who plan on testing it again, I'll be clearing out the test
responses around the start of the business day on Wednesday. Please
don't take it for real until the mailing goes out to be sure.
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Thanks:
Jenni writes:
>I wanted to say that from my perspective, I could not have been more
>proud of our attendee's this year. I watched and participated with
>great joy in several of the events and truly enjoyed them with pride.
>I want to thank each of our coordinators for their selfless efforts
>making each of the happenings happen. I don't believe there was a hitch
>in any of them and all that participated seemed well rewarded.
>I wanted to thank Nora for all the work she did in co-cordinating the
>Big and Little Sister program with me. That was no small feat, however
>it was perfect for both her and I to do and we each enjoyed doing it.
>This would be a good time for me to thank all of the Big Sisters who
>gave of their time and talents in helping those who were new or in
>need of some feminine coaching to feel at home with joy and confidence.
>And finally, thank you Annie for the dedication you have. I have never
>met a woman with such a talent for finding such excellent coordinators
>and then superbly direct without interfering their events into such a
>masterful production. You were wonderful!
>Hugs and still smiling,
>Jenni
You're very welcome Jenni, and yes, flattery will get you everywhere. :)
I too noticed the overall comportment and deportment of our people, and
it was in almost all cases quite commendable. With rare exception,
everybody's dress was appropriate for the activities and for the person.
Even those few who were obviously "wagging the dog" a bit did so in
venues that were not mainstream public.
I noticed far less of the "hey, look at me" attitude that I and others
observed in 2002 and 2003.
Yes, there were a few snags, but they seem to be very minor.
I do want to again thank you and Nora for the Big Sister program. From
my perspective it seemed to work out quite well. Yes, I know that a
few were disappointed that their Little Sisters were cancellations or
no-shows, but that is to be expected, as those who request Big Sisters
tend to be the newest of the newbees.
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Followups:
Mindy writes:
>well this was a great great year..
Yes, it was ...
>no major problems that i heard of and diane and i had a wonderful time.
>i would like to thank those who pitched in and helped with the event
>diane and i set up.. without those people the things would not of come
>off near as well.. especially on thurs.. golf and pity party in one
>day.. it was a stretch but i think it all worked out fine.
>i am happy to report with all the events that we put together the money
>was on almost to the penny. i wish to thank all the girls who signed
>up for my events for following through on payments.
>also this year was great as far as the clean up following the events at
>my home.. the grandkids made more of a mess then all you girls put
>together.. folowing both events the clean up the next day was minimal.
>there were 2 small problems.. one the late seating for the tea.. donna
>from the tea room had a problem getting some of the regulars out of the
>way for us.. she plans to start clearing them out earlier next year and
>suggests we might schedule a little earlier next year.. we will bring
>this up for discussion later..
>we did run short of food at the end of the garden party.. seems the
>gals were a little hungrier this year then the last 2.. will plan for a
>little more food next year.. yes next year.. though it looks as if we
>will be in a new home for diva next year we do have a plan for holding
>the pity party and garden party as in the past just in a new location..
>especially the garden party seems to be one of the high points of diva
>each year.. of course the move will have no effect on the golf or the
>high tea..
>each of the events i attended were fun. mostly because it was a chance
>to meet new friends and catch up with old ones.
>i know there is some discussion of changing some of the bars we use and
>i have to say i am not a fan of the las vegas lounge and do not often
>go to flex or freezone so i am willing to go with the flow on those..
>however goodtimes has a long history with diva and i would hate to see
>it dropped from the diva schedu{le}
Thanks for the report, Mindy. If the major issues were a late seating
and being a bit short of goodies, I would say things went rather well.
I'm gonna miss the Garden Party at your house. I hope you hold off
moving until after DLV 2005. :) :)
And, I'm glad that you didn't take a bath this year. For the most part I
think we have that under control.
Now, about bars -- and actually, if the bar thing is our greatest
controversy this year I'll be tickled pink -- I'm hearing a calling for
more upscale and more mainstream bars, but I really can't see Flex and
Goodtimes going bibi from our lineup.
The LV Lounge is a skankhole, period. It was a mistake to put that one
on the schedule, and I'll take part of the blame for doing so. That
place was just nasty! Like totally 144 to the max, fer-shure, ya know.
Goodtimes, on the other hand, is a nice place. The only major complaint
I've heard over the years about it is that some claim it's smoky. Yes,
people tend to smoke in bars, the Pope is usually Catholic and bird
doodoo falls from the sky. I'm a nonsmoker and I've never found the
smoke level there to be objectionable. Sure, if you sit at a table with
4 smokers all evening, your clothes and hair are gonna smell like smoke
the next morning.
I don't see anything wrong with Goodtimes.
Flex -- yeah, I'm disappointed that they're cutting back on floor space
but I'm sure it was strictly a business decision -- make more $$$ from
package sales than they do from coins in a couple pool tables. Our
people seem to have a good time there. Sure, it's not the Bellagio, but
it's way above places like the LVL.
Spotlight and Freezone -- they're both very ok, but I'm not married to
either one of them.
But anyway, it will be up to those who want different bars to seek them
out, suggest them, and plan things at them -- in addition to and not in
place of our popular gatherings at Flex and Goodtimes. As long as we
keep getting good crowds at those two places I don't see any reason to
drop them. If it ain't broke ...
>final note.. sorry i didnt make the sat night at the san remo though i
>had planned on .. as most of you know i have been having some health
>problems and just ran out of energy sat late afternoon.. sorry to have
>missed all the goodbys but mindy laying on the floor would not of been
>a good finish to diva this year.. but i have recovered and feeling
>fine.. rested up enough to get back to work on schedule and so looking
>forward to next year..
Ya know, I was gonna check up on you and see how you were doing, but you
seemed to be so close to normal in apparent enthusiasm, that I quickly
forgot about anything going on. In any case, I hope you're continuing to
do well. :)
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Bowling non-payment:
>>I would like to hear some comments on one issue that has come up.
Anya writes:
>Dear Friends,
>I must admit I have a lot to say concerning this matter and forgive me
>if I seem to be long winded. I am very concerned about the negative
>direction this could go.
>I can't speak for others, but first of all I highly doubt that people
>missed the bowling intentionally or as a result of mailce. People do
>change their minds for whatever reason, or just plain forget, or are
>overtired, whatever. That doesn't minimize what happened, but it is a
>harsh reality when dealing with the staging of events where one is
>anticipating an income to cover an advance payment.
>I can't venture to guess who is right or wrong here. I don't think
>anyone can really do that. There are always two or more sides to the
>story. I wont go into how ideally one should arrange events here.
>We can talk about collecting money and being hard on people, and
>letting anger and bitterness take hold. I hope that DLV is not about
>that. DLV, to me at least, has been about being a community of people
>who seek refuge from a world that is often very bitter and unforgiving
>concerning transgender matters. For us to get angry about collecting of
>small mounts of money will only breed incredible amounts of ill will.
>It would put us on the same unfortunate level as our oppressors.
>Collecting the money will be a Pyhrric victory at best. Oh yes the
>money will arrive at its destination somehow. But is it really worth
>the armtwisting and hatefulness and guilt trips and threats and
>destroyed friendships. I would hope not.
>It is often said that you can attract files much better with honey than
>with vinegar. Now I believe we must all have a forgiving attitude. I
>would'nt say forgive and forget. I would say that by forgiving the
>debts, people in their own conscience would be willing to make amends
>in their own way. By forgiving people are less likely to forget,
>because the release that comes from forgiveness often makes people
>want to return the favor to the one that offered forgivness.
>Thankfulness and friendship come as a result. I believe that through
>forgiveness Michelle would be much more likely to get her money back
>than in a nasty argumentative hang it over their heads situation.
>I'm sure that some in our DLV community have had experiences with
>collection agencies. From what I have heard it is often a very negative
>and harrowing experience. It's tought to collect money that way
>because negativity feeds on itself. I would not want to see our DLV
>community be like that.
>A method needs to be presented. For those who are willing to give to
>this cause of making Michelle whole, myself included, please present a
>way for us voluntarily to offer our gifts. Now patience is required
>because we are dealing with people from all over the country who may
>not see Michelle until next DLV, or beyond that. And some may not want
>to reveal their real names as they would on checks or money orders. It
>may be next DLV that Michelle may receive some of this, though it
>would be nice to make amends sooner.
>Forgive and the blessings will flow. But twist arms for the money and
>you will drive many away.
>I truly love DLV with all my heart. It has a history of being a great
>bunch of people, not perfect of course, but a loving generous kind. I
>am concerned that at times we are not forgiving though. I am disturbed
>that there was a lot of talk about people behing their back concerning
>prevoius DLV's I'm not going into details here. Why must we be so prone
>to back biting. Is it our harsh ego within that surfaces regardless of
>how we are dressed?
>I am looking forward to the next DLV and I would like very much to be a
>part of it. To start the healing process I am willing be a part of the
>giving toward making Michelle. I'm not throwing out any dollar amounts
>or timelines here.
>But if you take the low road, I would not want to have any part of DLV,
>because I guess it would show that some aren't really concerned with
>the good loving values that friendship and acceptance and
>inclusiveness are based on.
>So now lets erase the debt and start giving our gifts. Let the healing
>begin. Sincerely, ANYA, here in Las Vegas.
I'm gonna speak very freely here, so please remember it's ok to agree
to disagree.
I was majorly annoyed in 2002 when 2 of our people put a lot of effort
and a lot of their own money into planning a pajama party. They rented a
suite, and when the sign-ups exceeded capacity, they added a second
suite at their own expense. If anybody doesn't remember the details,
about 1/3 of those who signed up for it didn't even show up at DLV, and
for those who were present, only a small fraction even bothered to try
to show up at the party. All the organizers heard was one big flush, the
sound of their money going right down the hopper.
No, it wasn't malicious. It was rude, inconsiderate, and selfish. The
bad part is that it cost a couple of our people some real money.
I do think we as a group improved quite a bit. In 2002 the combined
bath was equal to several dollars per attendee.
This year it looks like it was significantly less than a dollar per
attendee. Unfortunately most all of it hit one person right in the
pocketbook. :(
As far as I'm concerned, it will be primarily up to Michelle (NV) to
make the call whether to let this slide or to call out the dogs. It's
her money, and, IMAO, those who did sign up for bowling had plenty of
time to inform us or Michelle that they no longer wanted to do it.
But, overall this year, this was the only case I'm aware of where
somebody took a financial hit due to people not following through.
I noticed some other major attitude changes this year too. Very little
of this me-me-me drek and more of a sense of community. People who knew
they were not coming had the courtesy to cancel in most cases and in
most cases people took their reservations seriously.
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Bowling payment:
Densie writes:
>>I would like to hear comments on if we should indeed attempt to
>>collect, particularly from Michelle and any others who may have taken
>>a financial hit from no-shows or no-pays.
>How about just letting us know who owes it, and where to send the
>money? I can't remember if I signed up for bowling or not, but I was
>not there because I had car trouble. If I did, and Michelle had to pay
>for it, then naturally I would want to pay her back. I'm just not sure
>how to do it.
You were not the ones in question. You two were not on the sign-up list.
It will be up to Michelle to decide if she wants to take you up on your
offer.
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Administrivia:
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