Central-Convention 2008: Chicago?!

[Kaz]

I am influencing early because I've wanted this for a while now:

Host EC/WC/CC-08 in Chicago, Illinois. Or else.

We should go there because Chicago:
-hosts a wide variety of events on a weekly basis. If we can make the first week of July, we could catch the Taste of Chicago (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taste_of_Chicago)
-is home to me, and I have a decent amount of rooms to my disposal*
-has free boring museums, and cheap disgustingly amusing museums.
-holds great public art in Millennium Park.
-has a great subway system we can use to travel close to everywhere.**
-resides near O'hare Airport (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27hare_Airport), just reading the first section of the article should give you a nice secure feeling about traveling.
-contains the Beast (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah) and saves the world on a daily basis.
-has Navy Pier. Definitely worth a day if we feel like theme-parks.
-holds a short fireworks show every Wednesday and Saturday night of the summer. Yeah! Eat that Berkeley!

But in all seriousness, Chicago is a great city worth visiting twice, and I can't think of any reason to hate it.

* = The catch: By "my disposal", I mean that I beg my relatives to lend over their awesome real-estate powers to put roofs over everyones' heads. These are the real-estate capabilities as of right now:

Three condominiums near Millennium Park (seriously, it's like five blocks away (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&q=park+shore+condominium+association&near=Chicago,+IL&fb=1&cid=41886876,-87616204,18221001444449023444&li=lmd&z=14&t=m)).

Condo-1 is an office currently with a resident. This resident is borrowing the bedroom (queen-sized bed included) and bathroom right now, but doesn't really have any rights to them. She supposedly is moving out next year. I figure that if two people bring an air-mattress, and two people share the bed, that's four people in that condominium moving around furniture (no office workers care if it's in that room). The 4th person will have to get up early though (~8:00 AM) and avoid the workers and pick up their bed and store it into that room.

That's four people roomed with no charge. The condo has two functional toilets, one functional bath-shower, and one shower not prepared to used currently. This one also has a cable-connection and (WEP-keyed but ours) wireless access. Hooray.


Condo-2 is a living space with a resident that pops in every month or so for a few days. Hopefully we can avoid her (though chances slim near July 4th). Anyway, this one has two bedrooms with a queen-sized bed each. There's an air-mattress already packed to fit into the living room. And there's an L-shaped sofa that two could sleep on (it's extremely comfortable). I figure with creative arranging, we can fit two more air mattresses in this place. There's one fully functional bed-shower and one non-prepped shower. There are also two low-flow toilets that clog easily. Don't throw things into them. Last, there's a decent HDTV with digital cable for gaming. If two share the queen-sized beds, that's nine people. This condo has no pending changes upon it.

Condo-3 is a pent-house and bigger than the other condos. If I recall correctly, it's been recently purchased, furnished, and has four bedrooms. But this place belongs to my mom's worst family-friend (enemy?!). It's also becoming an office in... three days from now. I don't have the information I need to say much about this place, but I'd estimate 8 (+/- 4) people could stay here. It's the best furnished and the couches (I heard the bedrooms were turned into living rooms) are usually picked to be comfortable enough to sleep on.

More catches:
-We cannot be loud/destructive in these rooms. But there is a pool on the roof that we can go to at any hour and probably be loud as we want. Just don't jump off the edge. It's also windy, so worst case scenario, we're playing Apples to Apples inside a tent (or with paperweights).

-Seeing as how we're borrowing these rooms, do not break things >|! And clean up after yourself.

-Food is costly in Chicago. There's several solutions:
1) >( We won't eat out for every meal. We can probably just hit the highlights (pizza and whatnot) every other day.
2) There are kitchens (some smaller than others) and fridges (some full of delicious leftovers and frozen meals nobody will miss) with each condo.
** = 3) Groceries are also expensive, but perhaps we could make a preemptive shopping-list and buy a week's worth of food in one day. That way, on the arriving day, we can go grocery shopping in the suburbs (home-like cheapness) and get back the same day. I think there's enough fridge-space for everybody.

Dates:
July 1st - July 7th: This is really the most eventful week in Chicago. We have the Taste of Chicago, and that alone puts exotic food up for grabs and daily events that catch interest. If they don't, we have the city's static entertainment. Also, the 4th's fireworks attract huge crowds (although somewhat inferior to Vancouver's celebration.)

August 1st - August 7th: Classic dates make this easy for everybody to schedule for as they have before. These dates have the added advantage of the real residents of the free-rooms not being there (and complicating things hard). The ToC is over, but the city is still full of things to tour around and events do pop up every now and then.

I'd favor August personally because it's been done, but I'm open for suggestions and I'd like it if everybody could make rough estimates of what ranges are good for them.

In short:
We're looking at around (worst case scenario) 15 free rooms (commune style!!) if we go to Chicago. There's self-sufficient cooking available to save on food money as well. There's a pool and down-town is literally within comfortable walking distance. The city has no lack of attractions, static or eventful. Even if we have more than 15 people, I'm pretty sure we can find somewhere free (maybe far) to put them, or somewhat costful (and close) to put them. Either way, that's the cost of 4~ divided by 19.

There could be vehicle transportation, but we'll have to work to empty out the SUV (and hide bodies in the back).



Ask now if you have questions on the building's policies or benefits. Or food questions, or whatever.

[Kaz]

Reserved post.

I will have pictures and measurements of rooms at the end of Winter break, and "solid estimates" on how many we can fit in the building.

Travel:
If you are traveling in from outside of the US, you will need a passport. The receipt for a passport isn't sufficient enough by plane, train, or bus.

Flying:
International flights are going to O'Hare national airports. I recommend O'hare if you're flying American Airlines, Alaskan Airlines, or United Airlines. Southwest Airlines tends to be cheaper, and head to Midway. Midway itself isn't a far driving distance, and I wouldn't mind sending an escort for you (or driving there myself ;| ).

Do NOT fly standby. O'Hare is extremely busy at this time and you could be stuck there for a day or two.

Airport codes: ORD - O'hare, MDW - Midway Airport

O'Hare though, I know that it connects to the 'L (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_%27L%27) and you need only walk to another terminal to get to a train station, and then it's like a half-hour walk from there to the place we're staying. Taxis are plentiful though. I will craft a map in a bit.

[Kaz]

Reserving post for future plans.

[Kaz]

Drmoo, I hate your posts for interrupting me >(.

[Kaz]

Stop that.

Okay. Enough reserved posts.

[Tik]

I wish this had been the destination for this year. I've been to Chicago many times and it's a very nice city. Also, if it had been held here, I could have actually made it >:|.

I probably won't be in the US by the time this meeting occurs, but I think that if it's not going to be on the west coast planning should be especially early to allow people who will have to travel longer distances to save up and whatnot. Though if you choose Chicago for next year I will loathe you all.

[Excabus]

Possible free rooms? Good times? Pool on a roof? Chicago, a city I havent been to? A years worth of advance planning? Id be stupid to say I didnt want to go.

BRING ME TO YOUR CONDOS SIR KAZ.

[EvilMike]

I am happy to see someone from outside the west coast is taking the initiative in organizing one of these events, so that we can get one that is somewhere else. It's far to early to make any concrete plans of course, but it's good to get ideas out.

[Dermo]

FQuist I never said I wasn't going to go I just said I might not be going. I'm not sure yet.

[nakke]

Anything that's closer to Europe than the WC would be good to me, as travel would obviously cost less. I'll probably go anyway though, but Chicago sounds great. Super-early planning is awesome too.

Travel:
If you are traveling in from outside of the US, you will need a passport. The receipt for a passport isn't sufficient enough by plane, train, or bus.As far as I know almost everybody carries a passport in at least Europe, so that's not really that crucial information. Of course it's good to have that info, but since more than 5% of the people have a passport...

[Jerrythabest]

Let's just make this Central-Europe-Convention 2008, would be a lot easier.

[nakke]

Sure, feel free to organize one. To me it seemed quite clear that there wasn't enough interest at all to have a longer (at least a week) meeting here in Europe though.

And anyways, it's not like the people I want to meet in the US would all come to Europe, at least not in a few years, so I'd still "have to" go there if I want to see them. Which I do, obviously.

[FQuist]

Let's just make this Central-Europe-Convention 2008, would be a lot easier.
That would not be easier, as most of the people coming to the US conventions are from the US. Your suggestion is totally unrelated. (and would best be kept to another topic for european meetings)

[Blackfire]

I am personally all up for going to Chicago. I enjoyed going to Vancouver so i think this should be just as good

[NovaStar]

Chicago would be more or less the drama that occurred when I attempted to go to Vancouver. However, things are looking up at the moment. But all that aside Chicago's always sounded like a great place to go so why not?

[Spotty]

You've done some great planning Kaz, great work :). I think Chicago is a great idea, and I would be up for that. I agree with you that the usual August time period would be better.

[Vegito]

Well, I'm pretty sure I can come as long as I can travel with someone from the Netherlands. ;P I wouldn't like to fly there all alone and stuff D= haha. Nor would my parents.
Anyways, I am up for going there :-) I have never been in the USA before so I guess I don't mind any city.. <s> just make it EC so its easy to travel to</s> This all seems very nice though :) I hope you dont mind me making plans for going there > : (

[Dermo]

I'd love to go too except i don't see my parents allowing that to happen.

I'll talk to my mom sometime soon and let you all know what my plans are

[Olsen]

Hmm.

Seeing as by the time this trip will presumably take place I will be seventeen years old, I think I'm ready to actually go on a trip. Plus, I was (almost) already planning on visiting USA next year... So...

Yeah, I'd like to come. I wonder if my parents will allow though. I think so.

Oh, and, ++early planning. Socks.

[Blackfire]

I also prefer the normal August time. It gives me time to work so i can get the money and it gives my parents time to think about whether or not my grades are high enough to go

[Dermo]

I'll be 17 too but I doubt i'll be allowed to.

[Blackfire]

I'll be 16 but i don't see how it'll matter. Just strike up a deal with you parents.

Going to Chicago sounds great and all but we will need a general outlook on what we'll do. Not immediately obviously.

[nakke]

It's a bit different coming from Europe.
Anyways, I'll be 17 too, and I'm fairly sure I can convince my parents.

[Dermo]

Well i'll hopefully have my license by then so I could drive to Chicago. I'll just say i'm spending a weekend at a friend's or something >)

[Jerrythabest]

Don't lie about where you are! That's <strike>EVIL</strike> BAD!

[Black Ninja]

I give the Chicago idea my official seal of approval.

That said, I think that the usual time frame is the ideal time frame. Yay for early August.

[Dermo]

not early august! i'll still be in school! ;`(

[NovaStar]

It's looking like July is the best time for us, August... not so much.

[Dermo]

well school ends on june 27th but the snowdays may push us forward a while. anyway why do you want to work around my schedule allowing me to come? im just an ugly annoying braindead white boy.

[Black Ninja]

Most of us are ugly annoying braindead white boys. Except for Cobbi. She's a girl. ;D

Anyway, if it's in late June there is...less of a chance I can come. Take that for what it's worth. ;p

[Dermo]

If im still working @ walmart and i go, i have a discount card. 10% off on some items.

edit: i vote going in august

[Dermo]

I talked to my mom. No way im flying to Chicago alone. I would've loved to go. I may try to recruit somebody new to the community from my school and see if he'll come. But even then its probably still a no.

[Blackfire]

I most likely will be able to go. I just have to make sure i pass all of my classes and manage to keep my job before the next trip. No more repeats of last year.

August sounds like the best time for me since thats when i went last year and it will give me so more time to work so i can pay my way. Also early July will be a big no no since that'll be the week i come back from Santa Cruz to spend time with my family

[NovaStar]

Seems I have to get a job if I have to go.
And due to age restrictions that won't be until May.

Looks like I'll have to wait another year \o/

[Blackfire]

I have the same issue with the age restrictions which is why i work at school since i can work even as a freshman. Even though i'ma a sophmore now

[NovaStar]

Different school system, I'm afraid ;-;.

[Dermo]

I have a job and am making quite a bit of money. I'll have a car by then but 1,500 miles is a long way to drive. I wanna go so badly but its difficult to go anywhere since my parents are so paranoid and reclusive about me having ANY fun. It sucks so badly its not even funny

[Link]

I have a job and am making quite a bit of money. I'll have a car by then but 1,500 miles is a long way to drive. I wanna go so badly but its difficult to go anywhere since my parents are so paranoid and reclusive about me having ANY fun. It sucks so badly its not even funny

If you have your own money and your own car, what's stopping you? Tell your parents that you're going on a trip and there's nothing they can do about it ;-). 1500 miles is a lot though; after you factor in gas and overnight hotel stays, it will probably be cheaper to fly.

[FQuist]

A question for you: what is it that makes you want to "go so badly"? Let me rephrase: what are your expectations of the meeting? The people, the things you will do? That might help make it all more clear for you.

[Dermo]

i would be SO dead if i just took off to chicago. I'll have a car by summer. I want to go so I can murder all of the j2o admins and take over the community. Actually I would like to get active in community matters. I want to meet these people i've played with online. Online discussions is not a way to get to know somebody. Talking to them in reality is. It would also be a new, awesome experience for me to do something like go to Chicago.

[cooba]

The people you usually play online with don't really attend the US meetings.

[Dermo]

it would still be an interesting thing to meet these ppl

[Black Ninja]

<s>most of the people who will be there are annoying losers</s>

Whether or not you know the people well or not is irrelevant at JJ2 meetings. For example, prior to WC2006 and WC2007, I didn't know Bob too well, but have gotten to know him quite a bit better since then. Same with Kaz, who (as it turns out) rocks.

[Blackfire]

I agree, outside of Tachyon, Elliot, and Violet, i didn't know anybody really except those who would often nag at me in the chatroom. Now, i'm pretty comfortable with the people who went and I can't wait to see them again. That includes you BN, despite the fact you left us.

[Excabus]

Any updates Kaz? Im still interested ;D Id be willing to go regardless of rooming. Its only like 7-8 hours away from me and would like to meet people from the chats ;D

[Blackfire]

Regarding whether or not we will actually be able to stay in the free condos. When will we know that detail for sure?

[Kaz]

I will know for sure late December. If I'm still uncertain at that time (for family reasons), I'm scrubbing my Chicago idea (or scrambling like (-) to find another place to stay). Feel free to PM me, as campus blocks IRC and I forgot about this thread ;o.

[Blackfire]

well, i personally would like to still go to Chicago, whether or not we have free condos. Chicago sounds pretty cool and it'll probably be cheaper travel wise for me.

[Dermo]

Indeed but we should lean a little big more east since that's where quite a few jj2 players live it would be more convient. :D

[Bobby aka Dizzy]

There might be more JJ2 players as a whole in eastern North America but the conventions are dominated almost exclusively by people who live in the west.

[Black Ninja]

There might be more JJ2 players as a whole in eastern North America but the conventions are dominated almost exclusively by people who live in the west.
Exactly.

[Dermo]

Well somebody from the East should host one (not me)

[Blackfire]

hey i don't really care who dominates what territory just as long as we are able to have assurance of where we're going. Though i personally would like to be able to actually look around chicago since the last time i was there i only drove through to get somewhere else

[Dermo]

Delaware? So we don't have to pay taxes when we go to buy supplies? :D

Honestly/Seriously I don't know.

[Blackfire]

So it seems that Chicago is approved of at this point and time considering no one has really had any complaints or different ideas. At least that is what i am perceiving at this point.

[Kaz]

I am now in Chicago and within charming range within all relatives.

This is how things are shaping up:

Free rooms:
1st option) We have access to two living-office condos and a third living condo for free. These are close to the city, and the two offices have great views that'll make you forget about how cramped it is. Plus, there's a pool.
But:
-We're short on beds and quite a few people may end up sharing air matresses, or sheeted couches (they're really comfy).
-Food in the city is expensive.
-There are (on average) two toilets, one shower, one bath tub per condo. There's bathrooms downstairs, but shower tickets may need to be used.
-On weekdays, the residents of the upper office must evacuate before 9AM (preferably 8AM ;|), and leave no evidence!

2nd option) My mother has a two story house that's too big for the family. And none of the family lives in it either. We could probably lay out air-matresses all around, utilize the basement + 1st floor + 2nd floor, and buy non-perishable food for meals at sub-urb prices. It's her house, so there aren't as many rules. The walk to the train station is about 15 minutes, and week passes aren't horribly expensive. The pedestrians get the best out of Chicago's travel system.

3rd option) All of the above. If everybody brought their own sleeping tools, there's enough shelter for all interested. This comes with segmented groups though, and I'll hate each and every one of you as I switch between shelters to maintain order.

Date: I'm up for anything in the months June, July, August inclusive. The living condo is not available during July-4th week.
There are two main highlighted weeks that I can name off the top of my head.
July-4th
Fireworks.
Taste of Chicago (expensive, but exotic).
Taking the third living option without the first one so much.

August 1-3
Tradition.
If there's less than 18 people, we can all fit downtown.
Lollapalooza (You're paying for your own tickets >(.)

Other than that, any week is fine since CHICAGO is a great place; we'll have plenty to do. There are interesting museums, great restaurants, sightseeing, parks, Navy Pier, shopping malls, etc.

Things yet to be:
Definitive schedule of events (submit your ideals).
Headcount.
Maps to aid traveling to the living places.
Things yet to be list.

I am only in Chicago until the New Year, and then I'm back in school.
POST YOUR QUESTIONS NOW.

Current quesitons:
"If we had to estimate on how much it would cost there for groceries, possible other hotel room, games, attraction, and possible eating out... about how much do you estimate will be the cost?"

Great question! Give me a week to scour the city and it's attactions ;X.

"Are there hotel options nearby that we could mix in as well?"

Not without more segmentation. There's few (cheap) hotels around the condo-section of town. I will ask around though (and greet any attempts to find hotels).

What airport would we be flying into?
Chicago O'Hare (ORD) or
Chicago Midway (MDW) work equally well.
I know O'Hare better than Midway, but both of them have a train-station that <a href="http://www.transitchicago.com/news/whatsnew2.wu?action=displaynewspostingdetail&articleid=124384">links</a> them to Chicago down-town. At $2, it's money well spent to lug baggage to downtown.

[Monolith]

Are there hotel options nearby that we could mix in as well?

What airport would we be flying into? (Airport code?)

More questions later, probably...

[Black Ninja]

I kind of like the second option. All of us crazy kids occupying a house sounds fun. :P

[Alister]

I'm graduating in June, after which I plan to take a Grand World Tour. I'm hoping that this will include a North American JJ2 meeting. In order for this to get off the ground, though, I need to get it all sorted out well in advance.

So, my question is this: When are the dates of this meeting likely to be finalised?

Also, would more people come if it were held on the west cost? Although the free accomodation makes Chicago sound very appealing, I get the impression that west coast meetings are favoured more.

[VashTheStampede]

you know, chicago is not that far a drive from minneapolis..... anywhere i could stash my car for the week at a not to expensive price?

(btw, i have been known to drive to milwaukee or chicago for concerts taht don't come here, so this wouldn't be a problem for me, but usually i only go there for a day, so i have no idea on where to store my car.)

[EvilMike]

<img src="http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/9922/rackemwu1.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us"/>

[Blackfire]

For the housing, I personally like the second idea. If we could get a rough estimate on costs before school starts again that will be great.

Question: How likely is it that we will have a refrigerator that will be open to usage?

[Kaz]

you know, chicago is not that far a drive from minneapolis..... anywhere i could stash my car for the week at a not to expensive price?

We could stash it at the garage (and abuse it for food ;X).

The fridge is smaller than I thought. I may rent one, on my own monies, for a week to stock food.

On the topic of cost:

Tickets to and from:
If you book now with Southwestern Airlines, they're about $120 each way. So a little under $240 for those who are flying.

My share fair of holiday meals come out to a range of $13 - $35, ranging from a large appetizer and beverage, to a full fledged meal with dessert. The fancy places in mind, serve delicious bread with delicious butter, and generous portions. I usually end up taking half of my meal home and skipping desert.
Otherwise, a meal that is prepared at home base will cost anywhere from $2 (soda and noodles) to $8 (steak with salad).
And of course there's always Subway and Taco Bell ($6).

Assuming that we spend four nights eating out (I've got a few places in particular where we should go), three dinners at home base, all breakfasts at home base, and about six lunches at Subway:

$120 x2 Travel
$ 24 x4 Fancy dinners.
$ 6 x2 Home made dinner.
$ 6 x6 Lunches.
$ 3 x6 Breakfasts.
$ ?? x0 Rooming.
$ 48 x? Costly events.
$ 20 x1 7-day CTA pass.
________________
$470 Estimated per person.


Estimates are probably generous and overestimates. I'd like to state that I have no idea how much breakfast costs me on average. Travel fees do not apply to those who need to travel to multiple cities, and you can probably do better with Travelocity/Orbit deals. Many things to see in Chicago are free on certain days, and frugality will probably save a few twenties. "Costly Events" is just a rough estimate for that Navy Pier day and if we decide to see a theater production or two. I encourage you to do your own maths.

[Blackfire]

Thanks, these statistics are actually helpful.