Bittersweet Candy Bowl Forums

Replacing the old thread.

BCBCon 2011 is a meetup of 17-25 Bittersweet Candy Bowl readers happening in Boston, taking place from Friday 1 July to Monday 4 July. We'll meet up Friday at lunch time, spend Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights sharing several hotel rooms amongst us all, and then split off and leave throughout the Monday. If you want to stay for the night of July 4, you can, but Vero and I will be leaving that day and you'll have to find your own arrangements for hotel stuff.

It is not a real "con", it is just a silly name for a bunch of people with a common interest meeting and doing stuff together. Anyone is invited, so long as they are not weird and creepy.

We have spots for at least another 6 people at the cheap rate we booked. If you read BCB and want to meet up with Veronica, myself and a bunch of other fans, please consider attending, it should be fun!

ACCOMODATION
We've booked four rooms for three nights each at the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill, which Spacemouse assures me is in a nice area and Tripadvisor suggests is in a great downtown location within easy walking distance of interesting places.


^^ Like this, but with two double beds.

You will pay us to stay at the hotel. Each room has two double beds, but we figure we can cram in up to another two on the floor, so booking a fifth room won't be necessary unless we go above 24 attendees. The total bill for the four rooms booked was $2,732. This will be shared per person attending, so an upper end of $158 (with 17 attendees) and a lower end of $112 (with 24 attendees). My estimate is that you'll pay us $135 for the three nights stay.

Now, as some people will be sleeping on the floor or in rooms with less than the others, you can negotiate amongst yourselves if you think it's unfair to just pay a uniform rate. Either way, each room must pony up $683, and if there's significant dispute as to any of this, we will just revert to the idea that everybody pays the same equally divided amount as anyone else.

Further to the hotel cost, I think you'll be best to bring along $100 for food, $50 in general spending money, and consider whatever transport is. So a minimum of about $300, if you're bussing in from a nearby place like NYC.

There is a list of transport costs in the old thread. I would prefer people post their actual costs as they book them, so as to provide a more accurate guide.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can I book my own accomodation?
Yes, but it's weird and you'll feel a bit like an outcast. This works best when we're all in the same hotel, waking up and leaving to do stuff as a group.
Can I bring a friend or partner?
Sure, why not?
Can I come with a parent who will share a room with me alone?
This is really strongly discouraged, it makes things weird and sucky. I know a lot of you are young, but try hard to avoid this. You'll end up something of a social outcast all because you weren't very persuasive.
I doubt I can afford it, what can I do?
Don't come. Past experience shows that even otherwise good people can end up being deadbeats in this kind of event, so please don't come if you cannot afford a $300+ trip by July. It sucks to spend thousands on hotel rooms and not receiving the hundreds owed by a certain proportion of people - it happened to my friend several times at similar meetups, and it's pretty shitty.

Exception: If we or someone else likes you, we might be able to be charitable. Beg here!
Isn't this a busy weekend?
Yes! Book your transport early.
Can I book plane/train/bus tickets now?
YES! In the past, I said that we had definite dates which we then changed because of Connecticon. But now we are committed, and the dates are set.

Book plane flights. Book buses. Spend money. Do it now, because rates are only gonna increase with time.

DEPOSITS
We have collected something like $1000 in deposits from most of the confirmed attendees, and would really appreciate it if you could chip in $100 (paypal it to aquatic_ruin@hotmail.com) if you'd like to be on the confirmed attendee list. We've had to pay the big hotel bill in advance, and feel that a monetary commitment to coming will be a lot more helpful in planning whether we need another room in the future.

Also, remember that $100 is not what you owe us. It's a deposit towards whatever you will owe us. You'll owe us up to $58 more, payable on the day we meet up (if you do not have the cash you owe us on the night of July 1st, you will have to go home, deposit be damned). Sorry to seem strict about this shit, but I've seen first hand how some people end up avoiding and skipping out on their fair share of group bookings in previous non-BCB meetups I've attended. Remember the point above about not attending if you can't spare $300+.

LATECOMERS
There's obviously going to be a few people who don't work things out until the very last minute. That's fine, and we will either fit you into our 4 rooms (first come first served) or help you book another. But there's a good risk that you won't be able to fit into the rooms available, and that the discount advance rate I was able to find will not be applicable to your late booking for a fifth room. Be prepared to pay more if you're too disorganised to commit early.

GUEST LIST
Confirmed attending
SuitCase (no need for deposit)
Taeshi (no need for deposit)
Titanium Dragon (no need for deposit, but has paid $14 cuz of book preorder shipping and skype junk)
Lily (Staying at her own place, no need for deposit)
Zhan (as above)
ToastyJester (paid $155)
Ace (Paid his own $150 flight change fee which we'll cover as his hotel charge)
Susan (paid $129, includes book preorder shipping)
Spacemouse (paid $100)
Pants (paid $100)
JHawkNH (paid $100)
MiwAuturu (paid $100)
Lvl 50 Fighter (paid $100)
Conradulations (Lvl 50 Fighter paid $100 for him)
Gameking218 (paid $100)
Rukral (paid $104, includes book preorder shipping)
ZoeStellan (paid $100)
TCN (paid $100)
Doubletails (paid $100)


Possible attendees
The people here may well end up at BCBCon, so we're assuming 1-4 of them will come.

(nameless) (Said he was confirmed, but has not paid deposit and has not posted here)
Cappuccino (needs to work out some family issues)
Dark (needs a ride)
AJ (may have commitments on July 4)
Sock (still indecisive)
Some other friend of Lvl 50 Fighter's
Hentai13 (from hereon down, seem to be absent from the internet since they expressed interest)
Lariat
Naravine
Regulith
Nikkoliah


Alright! So, please organise yourselves below. I think when it comes to June, we'll start more specific organisation stuff, though there's no reason you can't contribute to the Event Planning Thread right now.

This post has been edited by SuitCase: 04 June 2011 - 04:08 PM

I CLAIM THE COOL ROOM

As I stated right before this new thread got made, I should be taken completely off any confirmed/possible list as of now. There is just no way.
And, again, I am extremely, extremely sorry because I know this is a pretty douche-bag move and I am pretty embarrassed; it was unintended.

Sounds good. I won't be able to meet with you guys until around dinner time. My flight doesn't land until some time after 4pm.

Hey Lvl 50 Fighter, would you mind hauling a small item with you guys when you drive to Boston? It is a Full(size) inflatable bed that we could use. I don't want to have to check an extra bag on the plane just to bring this. It is about the size of a blanket folded up when it is deflated.

I'd like to room with the Mouse from Space and bro it up.

now i know which hotel to bomb

Posted on the front page with the hope we'll get some of the people who don't check places like this to sign up. I'm hoping we can get to 20 attendees, at least!

I don't need accomodation, but I may well come up to join you guys at least one of the three days! Which one(s) will depend on my work schedule and what's going on when. I live in Providence, so it's just an hour's drive to Boston. It'll be interesting to meet some other readers.

I used to be a Ranger on the Freedom Trail, so if anyone wants a walking tour of Boston during the con shoot me an email and perhaps we can schedule something. (No charge, of course.) Or if you guys organizing the event have any questions about getting around the city, stuff to do, or whatever I'll happily answer as best I can. Just shoot me an email.

Free advice up-front: the hotel you've picked is indeed in a great spot, on the north edge of Beacon Hill. The MA State House is a short walk (also Mass General Hospital if anyone gets hurt), but the really good news is that there's an MBTA station right across the street. The subway (best known as "The T") is your key to the city, folks. If you're smart, you will not be driving anywhere unless you're leaving the city proper; the roads are an absolute nightmare. The T is cheap and it goes anywhere you might wish to visit in Boston and Cambridge.

Also, fair warning to all attendees: downtown Boston is an absolute madhouse on Independence Day. It's fun as heck, but keep your wallet in your front pocket.

This post has been edited by archangelm127: 13 May 2011 - 10:23 AM

archangelm: i'm the native bostonian kinda planning the events. there's an event planning thread! you should go in and give some help.

I can't come unfortunatly...
If I can't come I guess I'll have to kill help you by recommending stuff... Have fun!

This post has been edited by CatTrooper: 13 May 2011 - 07:26 PM

It just so happens I'll be in Boston through July 3rd anyway. I may well track you down one day and join you for a while.

Expect a good chance that I'll forget to mention whether and if so, when, to expect me (probably the Museum of Science visit, if at all, actually. Be warned that some of my family might follow me). Just be prepared for some total stranger in a nerdy shirt to suddenly show up and claim to be me (hopefully he won't be lying).

This post has been edited by Borg Lord: 13 May 2011 - 10:18 PM

I might pull the same thing as archangelm. I'm a local, as well, so depending on whether I have a job by then or not, I may be able to sneak into the city.

If you guys need bulk snacks, I might be able to hit Costco on my way in. I just might need someone to meet me at Alewife Station to help carry stuff on the T. You seriously don't want to drive in Boston if you can help it. Beacon Hill is especially notorious for crazy drivers, and I got rid of my death wish years ago.

Also, just a note: July 4th gets VERY crowded, so you'll be paying a premium for parking. The fee at Alewife DOUBLES from $7 to $14, and lots inside the city inflate even more. On the plus side, the MBTA runs extra train service, but expect delays. Despite all the famous educational institutions, people will cheerfully ignore the advisories that "There's another train directly behind this one," even if you can actually see the train waiting in the tunnel. It's still the best way to get, around, though.

JHawkNH, on 10 May 2011 - 04:35 PM, said:

Yeah I can do that for you no problem.

Also I am a bit confused, now I read all the posts and what not, but am I going to be bringing another 100 or so dollars for the room again? So I'd paying you when we get there as well, I guess I just didn't completely understand the wording, so sue me i'm an moron.

Also, sorry I did not pay for Conradulations, I paid for my other friend, that guys gonna have to fend for his jobless self.

My other friend is Latino, I think you guys would like him. He does not have an account on the forums yet though.

Thanks Lvl 50.
And the part of bring more for the room. The first $100 was just a deposite. Each room is $683 split among how many people you have in your room.

If you have four people in the room it is 683/4 = $171
5 people is 683/5 = $137. and 6 people is $114 per person. We don't know how many are going to be in each room yet, so we will have to cover what is left once we get there.

I am a little dismayed that the front page news post didn't bring any of the silent majority in! Oh well. I wonder if 17 is the most we'll have, or if we can attract more people?

Anyway, I was working under the assumption we'd have about 5 people per room, but at this stage it may not happen and that means everyone would have to pay a bit more. Also, while what JHawKNH says is essentially right, I think if there's no big disparity in room sizes, we should just divide the total by the number of attendees, rather than doing it proportionately per room. It depends on what you guys think is fair or unfair.. I suspect nobody will really want to pay $20 more to have one less person in their room, so we may well end up just paying equal rates each.

I would enjoy paying the least amount possible..I don't mind sharing with a bunch of others. It'll help us get to know each other better.

Um...Is there still room? I'd like to join in. Visit with King and Susan. It'll just take me a bit to add enough money in my account to make it to the minimum fee. Business days and all that.

you sure you wont spend the whole time hitting up the ladies tcn

Snooths, stop participating in BCBcon topics because you've said over and over again you're not coming and this is a topic for people who do wanna come.

TCN, there's still room. We want at least 20 people and we are a bit under right now. But yeah we need the money in order to add you to the list or you can discuss what's going on with Souppy via email.

calling tcn on his womanizer skills was participating

By "participating" I mean discussing about being able to come to the con, how to come, if they're offering rides, things that are useful to the con itself.

Being accusatory to someone who is trying to come to the con is not proper participating. It's just shitposting. I'll delete any more after this.

Soooooo ima bring two friends along, and since I already paid 200 that would mean that between the three of us its about 150 more when we get there right? I just wanna make sure I have the proper funds stored etc, also I know its a lot to ask but is there anyway to lower it a bit for me I mean its not too difficult to pay but I'm no bank

Kaxbe backed out because for some reason his parents have an influence on his life, which kinda sucks. Out of the four people who said "definitely coming!" but were deliberating about a deposit, two have cancelled and one hasn't responded. And the front-page link and news posts doesn't seem to have attracted anyone. Kind of a shame, but I suppose anyone who's decisive enough to join before the last minute has already seen and responded to the topic.

TCN, you're welcome to come, but yeah, a deposit would be appreciated. Let me know how certain you are.

Lvl 50 Fighter, yeah, the two deposits you've paid are fine enough for me to not badger you for a third, but whatever you'd end up owing us would be the number of people you end up bringing times the per person rate. If TCN comes, and you bring your second friend, that's $152 x 3, less your $200 total deposit, so the three of you would owe us a further $256. As much as I'd like to give you a break, it's only fair if everyone pays an equal amount for their place.

Of course, this $152pp rate (currently a vaguely alarming $170, if TCN and Lvl 50 Fighter's second friend doesn't come, and there are no late confirmations from the "maybe" list) will go down if more people come along. We have our own friends we're trying to work out details with, if any of you have BCB-reading friends who are on the fence, see what you can do to convince them!

Kinda want.

I have been struggling with my strong inclination to traveling, but have been held off until now because:

1.- Boston is a crapton of miles away from home --namely the United States border with Mexico at the level of southmost texas--.
2.- I know no one that I can identify as an attendant to the BCBCon.
3.- There is no meeting point discussed.

I have heard a lot of nice things aabout Boston Massachussetts, and I wouldn't want to miss it due to a communication breakdown. I haven't had the courage to embark so blindly in this adventure. Not enough information.

Thanks for having me, guys! I promise, there'll be a deposit by the end of the week. within the hour. Sunday at the very latest for the full price.

Also, sorry to hear about Gabe not coming. Parents suck sometimes. Believe me, I know... >_>

This post has been edited by TurnerClassicNinja: 19 May 2011 - 05:07 AM

Don't sweat the $2 or whatever, TCN. I've noted it as $100. I added you to the list.

Doubletails, I wouldn't be too bothered if you don't know anyone. Events like these tend to make friendships pretty easy, you'll find someone to get along with.

As far as non-specificity goes, I'm not really sure what I can do. I was thinking that when leading up to the event, like two weeks prior, I'd collect everyone's emails and cell numbers and distribute very specific information about where to meet and who's coming when, and so on. This seems to work (remember I'm basing a lot of this organisation on my previous involvement\observation of meetups like it) but if you're really concerned we could decide a meeting point right away. I'd love for you to come.

...And I'm pretty sure I could enjoy myself. The reasoning behind saying "I know nobody" is basically in the exrteme scenario of finding myself alone in the city: I have absolutely no one to turn to. And not having a cell phone does not help my situation.

The idea of distributing e-mail sounds more reassuring. I don't intend to be terribly anal about organization, but the vagueness makes me a little uncomfortable.

I'm a little more inclined towards attending at this moment.

Well, there's always the hotel, too. Though I don't think we should meet there (for a few reasons) I doubt you'll be fully lost at any point. You can count on at least Veronica and I being at that particular Holiday Inn on those particular dates. We'd hate to waste the $2,700 we spent, after all.

I suppose a phone isn't _necessary_ but I think bringing one would be very sensible.

Alright as long as my calculating was right. Ugh I'm too in love with my bank account.

But your calculating wasn't right. For three people, it'll be (per-person cost) x 3, minus your $200 of deposits. This will mean you will owe another $250 approx.

Decided to go for it, I'll look forward to have a great time, then.

I removed nameless for now, as he hasn't responded.

With TCN and Doubletails, that means we have 17 properly confirmed attendees to split the payment between: so, $158 is the total per person, currently.

But I expect a few more to attend at the last minute, so let's see how that goes. I still think it's going to be around $135, because 3 more people in the hotel is not an unreasonable expectation.

How do you want us to pay the remainder Suitcase? By cash or check?

Either's fine.

Darn... I can't make it. You should definitely do this next year, except near Chicago so I can make it. That would be awesome.

Don't hold your breath, unless people wanna have it without Souppy and I. We have to fly from Australia. Way more money to spend on our side.

You should totally just do one in Australia sometime to make all the Americans sad

Incidentally, once we finalize the guest list, we should probably have everyone email someone their rooming preferences (who they would prefer to room with, who they would hate to room with, whether they'd be willing to sleep on the floor if it comes to that) so that we can try and set rooms up amicably before the thing and don't end up with an awkward stupid situation at the hotel.

i'd totally fly to australia

Nahh, I think we should sort it out when we're at the hotel because it would just become stupid high school politics for people to be all WAHH WAHH I DON'T WANNA ROOM WITH THIS PERSON BUT I WANNA ROOM WITH THIS PERSON, desires might change and it just makes it less annoying. Especially because i don't wanna be stuck in a situation where people are all "But I said in the email i wanted to do this!"

SuitCase, on 20 May 2011 - 02:51 AM, said:

Ack I was still calculating for two not three. Thanks for the save there.

SpaceMouse, on 25 May 2011 - 04:13 AM, said:

I would too, it'd be an awesome excuse.

Quote

Fair enough. I was actually making the suggestion mostly to avoid hurt feelings and putting people on the spot, but its true that I could see bitching with written requests too. *shrugs* I guess I'm just paranoid; it will probably work out just fine anyway.

This post has been edited by Titanium Dragon: 25 May 2011 - 09:53 AM

I'm still unsure as to whether I'll be able to come or not. I'll find out closer to mid-June if I'll be able to make it. If I do come, I would be driving out, so I probably wouldn't arrive until the mid-afternoon/evening hours of Friday. Unfortunately, there's no way around that. It's also possible that one of my friends will tag along for the trip.

Also, since I'm driving in, if anyone has any advice for parking, detours, etc., please let me know. I would greatly appreciate it.

Remember that your friend will have to make a deposit as well :U

So I'm really on the skin of my teeth money wise, cheapest flight I can get is $500 USD from Los Angels to Boston (I looked up train tickets and they're about the same), plus the $100 USD deposit to you guys, not to mention transport to an from the airport on my end, I end up having $3.00 USD left in my account, granted I could get about an extra$100 within that time, but I don't want to feel like a dead beat that only has like $50 bucks spending money : /

Soo I re-evauluated my current situation, and I'm not going to be attending this year. I'm extremely sorry for announcing my decision to go, without making the down payment first. I truly feel embarrassed for making an ass-hat out of myself. :U

This post has been edited by Dr Noyd: 29 May 2011 - 07:10 AM

it's probably for the best if people post WHEN they will be arriving. I'd like to know approximate times of flights so I can help people get to a central meeting point.
Speaking of, are we just going to meet at the hotel? I know some folks were coming over my place first (like Ace)

I think it would be best if we meet at the hotel, that way if someone so chooses we can go chill for a bit, I mean it's hard to get jet-lag if you're driving.

Lvl 50 Fighter, on 02 June 2011 - 04:15 PM, said:

drive? in boston? hahahahahaha

It's not best to meet at the hotel, because it will be obvious we are avoiding the extra-guest-per-room fees.

i have picked up 20 charliecards for everyone. they will let people save money on the subway.
when you get to boston, and you need to get from the airport, do not spend a lot of money on a charlieticket. wait until you can get the cards from me. you will save money for each ride.

informationally, the end of green line is currently under construction. this means we will have to take a bus from north station to science park for the museum of science.

I'll actually be arriving early in the morning (around 1am) on July 1st. Hooray~

So where would we all be meeting for serious?

This post has been edited by Kaxbe: 08 June 2011 - 12:17 AM