2016 Nerd Event

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

I posted this on the FB page, but I'm posting it here also in case some of our members don't frequent FB.

So, to my knowledge a few ideas have been floated for the 2016 Nerd event; a trip to LA, and a trip to England for Star Wars Celebration. And here's another!

What if we did a 2016 England trip for Rogue 1? It's being released on December 16th of 2016, so that would allow a good padding time for money saving.

[Peter McCoy]

I vote yes, since it's the only way myself, and likely Droo as well, will get to meet any of you guys face to face any time soon.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I'm obviously up for it :) As I think we talked about on Google Hangout recently, I can recommend some relatively cheap options for accommodation in London - if we wanted to operate out of there.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I'd love to but obviously traveling around Christmastime is iffy when it's Ty's busiest time of year for work and I can't miss the holidays with my kids. :(

[Kassandra Distorith]

Said it on Facebook but it bears repeating...I love this idea! :) I'm totally up for it, providing, of course, I'm gainfully employed and its monetarily feasible :)

[Michael Cline]

I'd honestly love to, but my life situation would need a dramatic change & improvement to make it possible. =(

[Captain Untouchable]

A nerd event in England? I dunno you guys... might be a bit far for me to travel. ;)

Goes without saying that I'm completely up for this. I know London pretty well, so if we want to base ourselves there and hit up all the museums and what-not, I should be able to play tour guide. If we're smart about it, we might be able to get tickets for Rogue One at the IMAX in Waterloo... or we could swing by Leicester Square (where all the UK premieres happen).

Still need to get back out to America at some point though, to offset the cravings for Waffle House and Taco Bell. (Also, hanging out with you guys would not be terrible, I guess. :p)

[Kaman]

I'm optimistic... so we'll see. A lot could change in over a year. :D

[Crusader]

England sounds great! Since Celebration is booked out for weekend tickets even before Episode 7 comes out a late nerd event would be great. Plus we Germans could come by car again and so we can have a boot/trunk full of stuff with us.

[Sadie K'Vesh]

Me? In England... in the cold.

Yeah sure! What could possibly go wrong? :D

[Marlon Kori]

So then, a tentative look at December of 2016?


I know a lot of success in previous Nerds (in terms of folks being able to stay about for a week or so) was due to the generous offerings of lodging from nerds. Is there a possibility that we may do something like we did in Germany, and shift lodging locations during the course of the trip to cut down on hotel costs? Transition rooms are fine, since I've no problem paying for a clowncar room. But it might be nice to not limit ourselves to just London. I'd love to see Jones, and Jones' mum (not to mention the cooking adventures to result from Charley and the Kind Mrs. Jones) :D

Just a thought.

[Callista]

I want to go so bad! However, I'm saving for Machu Picchu next year, so I doubt I'll be able to do both. :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I don't know if it'll top this year in Oregon, which is going to be so much fun. :)

[Sam]

Psht, Oregon. What's so great about Oregon?

[Lilaena De'Ville]

It has it's good points and it's bad points. :p

[Liam Quez]

England :O sounds like a good time I'm down.

[Tiberius Anar]

I vote yes, since it's the only way myself, and likely Droo as well, will get to meet any of you guys face to face any time soon.

The same goes for me. Actually, come to think of it I haven't seen you for a decade *hyperventilates* and we (a) live in the same country and (b) went to the same school.

The only difficulty I foresee is the inevitable messy collision of my secret nerdself and my public nerdself but we'll deal with that when we get to it.



Psht, Oregon. What's so great about Oregon?
I hear it's lovely. From informed sources no less.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

So then, a tentative look at December of 2016?


I know a lot of success in previous Nerds (in terms of folks being able to stay about for a week or so) was due to the generous offerings of lodging from nerds. Is there a possibility that we may do something like we did in Germany, and shift lodging locations during the course of the trip to cut down on hotel costs? Transition rooms are fine, since I've no problem paying for a clowncar room. But it might be nice to not limit ourselves to just London. I'd love to see Jones, and Jones' mum (not to mention the cooking adventures to result from Charley and the Kind Mrs. Jones) :D

Just a thought.

Totes wanna cook with Jenny's mum and have some sort of gin beverage

[Dasquian Belargic]

Charley asked me to give this a bump, and see what peoples thought are about UK Nerd.

I can offer my flat as a base of operations for some/all of the trip, but as Peter and Martina can confirm, it's very small! For those who have visited Charley and Christin's, the entire flat is about the size of their lounge and dining room combined.

If anyone else in the UK could act as another staging point, that would be excellent. I can't drive / don't have a car, so we would be relying on trains to get out and about from Newcastle... which is doable - but we can probably get to London cheaper from a city that's further south.

[Captain Untouchable]

I would love to offer up my place as a place to crash, but that's not gonna fly with my cranky neighbours. I'm hoping to move at some point next year, so that might change things a little.

There is the "rent somewhere for a week or so" option, which might not be too terrible once the cost is split up between a few of us. All depends on how many people are coming, how long for, and when, though. If we aim to have Rogue One towards the end of the trip, anywhere we have to pay for is probably gonna be a smidge cheaper (because it'll be pre-Christmas)... but that might get iffy depending on when people are able to secure holiday, etc.

[Dasquian Belargic]

My mum has offered to take a week off work and can lend her driving skills for some of that time. She will also have a bed at her house that two people could use.

[Jaden Luka]

My mum's retired, so she's offered vague and nebulous "if there's anything I can do to help" assistance (I think she just wants to meet Charley). Also, my dad's offered his services as a minibus driver, if we have need of one.

[Morgan Evanar]

I have no idea what financials are going to look like after buying a house. :X

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

A thought.

After seeing the new release dates for the next movies, would we maybe want to bump a UK visit to Episode 8? Depending on how long Rogue One is in theatres (or if there are dollar theatres that carry films long after they've come out), we might be able to squeeze two Star Wars movies into a single trip. Not to mention we'd be able to catch the next chapter in the saga together.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Anyone who wants to come see Ep 8 in Oregon is welcome to stay with us again. Ty is already thinking of things we can do when it's not winter. (I was going to say "when it's not raining" but it'll probably rain ;))

[Dasquian Belargic]

Okay so if we're not doing the UK this year, then.. any other ideas?

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

It was just a thought I'd had after seeing the release dates and how close Rogue One was going to be to Episode 8. It's not anything that is set in stone, as I was hoping for feedback on whether folks might like the idea or not.

[Black Talon]

Five months is probably a bit too long to expect Rogue One to still be in cinemas, so angling to see both on the same trip might not work out.

That said, from a financial perspective, flying to the UK in May is probably a lot cheaper than flying over in December... and if we wanna go do stuff like visit filming locations, or let Charley march Roman style along Hadrian's Wall, the weather might be slightly less cold and rainy in May. (Slightly ;)) Waiting longer is not so great (I miss you guys), but May might be the smarter of the two choices for the trans-Atlantic crowd.

We can still do a UK get-together for Rogue One as well if Peter, Peter, Martina, and Droo are up for it.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

That's why I was wondering if there was anything over there that's like the dollar theatres over here. Heck, there are some around us still showing Minions and Scorch Trials. I know it's a long shot, but if it's possible it might be fun.

[Vince]

I will save up for this. Even if my life and monetary situation needs a drastic improvement, I'm going to use this as a "fuck it, I'm doing it live!" motivation. It will also be the first Nerd event I go to, and the first time I'll be seeing you guys who're there.

[Saidra]

Gotta admit since I am currently unemployed and am sure vacation time will be a bit of an issue once I start up somewhere... May is sounding better in my chances of actually being able to attend.

[Dasquian Belargic]

So 8 is now December 2017. Not sure if this changes anything on this front.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

It certainly gives us a few more options in how we go about our plans, I think.

We can do something here in the states for 2016, or not do anything and let folks stockpile funds for a bit longer. Peeps like Sarah and Chris might benefit from that. Then, by the time we do 8, Rogue One would be out on video and we would be able to binge watch movies leading up to 8.

[Mara Tallen]

Unless I magically and suddenly get a job in the next few weeks (it could happen, but let's be honest, it likely won't) I'll be unable to do anything this year :( 2017 is a much better option for me personally.

[Crusader]

Except for celebration I have no plans so far for the second half of 2016 and I am cool with Royal nerd in 2017 although doctor Who has thaught me that you best avoid going to England around Christmas.

[Charley]

Plus, Germans have a much better chance of surviving Christmas with English than they do with Americans.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

So then, would an England Nerd be best in 2017 for most folks?

[Charley]

Sounds fine to me.

That leads me to part two: where do we want to meet for rogue one?

[Saidra]

While it couldn't be a full on nerd trip... Kris and I would be more than happy to offer a reprieve from Winter cold for a long weekend or so for a handful of nerds if anyone wanted.

[Pierce Tondry]

I would totally take you up on that, but I'm going on vacation in a week and I don't think I'm going to get the chance for another out-of-town trip until next year.