Austin/Central TX White Elephant Planning Pt. II December 1, 2008 10:29 PM   Subscribe

Austin/Central TX White Elephant Planning Pt. II [pt. 1] We got excited, started the planning, made a few course corrections, figured some things out...and then things dropped off while we still had things to work out. I hope this is okay &, if it isn't, please forgive me and let me know (gently) and I'll never do it again.

Here's what we know:

Most everyone was available, per the grid, on 12/12 - that's next Friday.

I proposed start time of 7pm, exchange game at 8pm.

So...does 7pm on 12/12 work for y'all?

Also: does Fiddler's Hearth work for everyone, or is there an even better place to have this?

When this post is the last item on the page, I'll lock it into the sidebar.
posted by batmonkey to MetaFilter Gatherings at 10:29 PM (30 comments total)

Yes.
posted by Pants! at 4:24 AM on December 2, 2008


Coolness.
posted by ormondsacker at 8:04 AM on December 2, 2008


I missed the original announcement and, sadly, I'm pretty sure we're out of town that weekend. :(

If there's a second post-holiday exchange, though, I'd love to join in.
posted by immlass at 8:39 AM on December 2, 2008


Argh, sorry, did not mean to emote. I fail.
posted by immlass at 8:40 AM on December 2, 2008


I haven't been to Fiddler's Hearth yet, but seeing as it's only a couple minute walk from our place and the Yelpers seem to like it, I'm down with that choice. Everything else sounds great too! Now I just need to find a cheap gift...
posted by malthas at 11:02 AM on December 2, 2008


I'm in!
posted by fontophilic at 12:13 PM on December 2, 2008


I've been meaning to check out that place. Seems like a good opportunity.
posted by adamrice at 12:17 PM on December 2, 2008


Excellent! Maybe I could trade my neurotic 21 lb white cat for... Oh. That's not what you mean by "white elephant," is it? I've got finals the day before and after, so I'm not sure whether I'll make it, but maybe. Cat, no.
posted by woodway at 1:07 PM on December 2, 2008


Because I missed the actual meet up, I don't want to miss this! Just have to check in at work to make sure I'm not working that night.
posted by self at 3:33 PM on December 2, 2008


Item: in the interest of encouraging your attendance, it's called out in the first planning post that there is no requirement to do the exchange part. Being an amused observer is just fine and you'll get no unhappy looks. Only smiles.

Also, White Elephant is about funny/weird stuff, so you can give stuff that's wildly inappropriate in any other setting (box of rocks, some strange craft project from a thrift store, old dentures, a bag of Vienna sausages with crackers and spray cheese...I've seen all of these at White Elephant gatherings in the past), just in case you get inspired or see something notably unsettling at your local Savers.

woodway: I'd love to do a second run in January, so let's keep track of the folks who were interested in that, too. If you do find any way to be present on the 12th, it would be lovely to see you again.

I should probably lock this down tomorrow, since MeTa isn't moving as fast as it was before the election, just as a warning.

I think the next run needs to be tilted a bit more northward in location, so that's something to think about.
posted by batmonkey at 6:52 PM on December 2, 2008


Fiddler's Hearth? I'm there. Does anyone want to split an order of scotch eggs with me??
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 11:28 AM on December 3, 2008


Does anyone want to split an order of scotch eggs with me??

Yo. Scotch eggs are like nature's own caviar.

posted by ormondsacker at 12:12 PM on December 3, 2008 [1 favorite]


Hey, I don't have any plans that evening. I'll try to make it!
posted by bluishorange at 2:08 PM on December 3, 2008


Damn! I'm moving into a new house that day. I'll catch the Jan meetup?
posted by fnord at 7:35 PM on December 3, 2008


Dang, can't make it...I've got plans that night.
posted by pokeedog at 9:50 PM on December 4, 2008


Should be able to make it...hooray!!!
posted by bjgeiger at 10:55 AM on December 6, 2008


I'll see what I can do.
posted by spamguy at 8:30 AM on December 10, 2008


Unfortunately I'm gonna have to pass on this. D'oh.
posted by spamguy at 7:43 AM on December 12, 2008


Fun was had by all. Also, no lie:

These differences in emissions factors mean that distance isn't always the key factor in determining which wine has the lowest footprint for a given location. If you live in San Francisco, you can get your wine from the many California vineyards; but if you live in New York, it may be more environmentally friendly to buy wine sent by container ship from Bordeaux to a port in New Jersey than to buy American with a wine from Napa Valley, which would be trucked across the country.
posted by Pants! at 12:33 AM on December 13, 2008


Your reputation has been redeemed!

I had fun, everyone. I've got a busy weekend ahead, but I'll try to get the photos up soon.
posted by bluishorange at 10:20 AM on December 13, 2008


That really was a good time. Thanks so much to everyone who made it, and I hope we'll see those who weren't able to come this time relatively soon.

My only regrets are not getting a pic of each gift and forgetting to get a snap of the Bedlam Bards. We were right - they do have a MySpace profile. Their version of "Ballad of Jayne" was rollicking.

The 7-minute lull, or "Harvard Pause", is documented but not specifically confirmed as far as I've found.

I can't remember what else I was going to look up, and now I feel a nameless lost research anxiety.

Pants!, I'm glad that, at least, wasn't a lie.
posted by batmonkey at 10:28 AM on December 13, 2008


I will get my pics up Monday since I worked yesterday and am currently at work now. It was fun to meet up with some real people behind the names.
posted by bjgeiger at 8:02 AM on December 14, 2008



posted by Pants! at 12:08 PM on December 15, 2008


After telling other people about the meet-up and how delightful the whole thing was, I've been told I'm a horrible person for calling Pants! a liar, even in jest.

So, Pants!, my apologies.

Also: hurrah, interrobang!

bjgeiger: I'm still crazily impressed you somehow knew fishing lures would find a happy home at the meet-up and a little envious of your superior star viewing locale.

fontophilic: I planted the bulbs and now they're resting in their cool, dark place until they've seen fit to bloom. What an excellent gift - I've always wanted to try bulbs, and now I can not only do that, they're in a cute pot that matches our decor.
posted by batmonkey at 3:43 PM on December 16, 2008


Hey, it was great to see/meet everyone! I put my photos up today. Thanks!
posted by bluishorange at 7:36 PM on December 16, 2008


I am just pensing like crazy in that photo. Sorry about the late show. Had fun, learned that big cats are not of genus Felis, possibly helped geeky troubadors feel a little better about themselves for one night (or just looked like a complete dork, but nothing new there). There is a whole story to go with those buttons, about how Obama swiped the Native American vote out from under First Dude Half-Yupik and Senator Two-time Head of the Indian Affairs Bureau, but the band was in full swing by that point, and the political subtleties wouldn't have conveyed well.

Also, malthas and fontophilic, you should totally get tickets to the Master Pancake Christmas show, if you haven't yet.
posted by ormondsacker at 8:32 PM on December 16, 2008


It didn't occur to me to be offended.
posted by Pants! at 10:13 AM on December 18, 2008


Thank goodness.
posted by batmonkey at 10:57 AM on December 18, 2008


Batmonkey: I'm glad you like the paperwhites. I've never done them myself, but it seemed like a nice gift. And it was cool bumping into yer' BF (husband?) at the HEB. We were contemplating the mysterious "Meal Deal" of which I am very suspicious...

bluishorange: loved that photo of the frog!

ormondsacker: We're looking forward to it.
posted by fontophilic at 12:08 AM on December 19, 2008


Fantastic pictures.
posted by Pants! at 8:46 AM on December 19, 2008


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