ShireCon '06

[Scott of Hyperborea]

If no one minds, I'll take on my usual Convention Director role.

Most likely, Eoin and I will be arriving in the Bay Area within a day or two of June 20th, although we haven't made exact arrangements yet. We'll be staying in Fremont with Hypatia and Hypatia's Mom.

How intense do we want this to be? Should we have a multi-day thing with various activities like last time, or a day or so wandering around an area without much of a plan, or just all meet for lunch somewhere?

Does anyone have any brilliant plans for possible activities?

How many people think they will be attending?

[Bill3000]

It better be multi-day (Actually, I prefer it to be quite long), because I don't want to go all the way to California just to stop by for lunch.

[hypatias mom]

It looks like Wednesday, June 21, might be the best day to meet, with all the travel arrangements being made for out-of-towners to come, too. Unless anyone has a better idea or a better place, we were considering Fremont's Irvington or Mission districts. There are a couple of likely places I'm investigating, since Scott, Eoin, and Bill will be staying in Fremont at our house.

[Hypatia Agnesi]

No offence, mom, but I honestly wonder if we have the room for housing 3 people in addition to our family. We have a sleeper sofa (should fit 2) and a recliner (if someone wants to sleep on that), plus the wood floor.

My schedule currently looks like I will be coming home (with Mike) on Monday the 19th and leaving the afternoon of Friday the 23rd. That week, my summer vacation between Spring quarter and Summer session A, is bracketed with a convention and a renfaire, so I would seriously prefer to have the shirecon itself limited to one day, Wednesday the 21st. If people want to come over/go out and hang out in addition to that, cool. I'm concerned with having any time to relax, that's all, and mom has been talking about going sightseeing too.

[H4773r 3lfs0n]

im in south san jose so no need to put me up, myself and jubbles/Cap'n Knappy, will attend because im well aquainted with public transit and will drag his ass along with me.

so where and what? since ive got the when...

[hypatias mom]

Baron 3lfs0n--

We are hoping to have as many citizens of Shireroth attend the convention as possible. I am looking forward with great anticipation to meeting all of you. I have met about 10 Shiirerithians in the past, when they came to our house, before I joined.

We don't have any place for ShireCon '06 nailed down yet. I need to talk to people at two places about using their place for the day. One is a coffee shop near Mission San Jose (Mission Coffee). I don't know whether they would be open to a convention. The other is one of a couple of rooms at my church. The Fellowship Hall has a kitchen, and coffee and bathroom facilities, and lots of tables and chairs to use. We would be in no one's way, and could do what we wanted (within reason) there without disturbing anyone. btw, it needs to be without steps into the building (ie., wheelchair accessible).

If anyone else has a better suggestion, please post.

When we have a definite time and place, it will be posted prominently, and a map will be made available.

Baroness Carol

[H4773r 3lfs0n]

I have a somewhat evil and nifty possability.....

I am an employee at San Jose State Theatre department, and have keys to the building... if youd like, AND we have no alternatives, i can request to have an "event" in the building?

I'd have to know before the next two weeks are up as id have to ask my boss but considering hes as big a geek as me i dont think it'd be a difficulty.

[Ryan]

Bill? Going to California? By himself?

Someone tell me where I fell into this strange alternate dimension?!

[hypatias mom]

Baron 3lfs0n--

That sounds good, but do you have facilities to make coffee and store food for us to eat, or can we get pizza delivered, and is there adequate free parking at the theater?

Baroness Carol

[Hypatia Agnesi]

I kind of like the idea of Mission Coffee, but of course, if we're going to be staying for hours (which we probably will), one of the church rooms probably is a better idea. I'm just not sure what kind of warning they'd want to let us use a room, and if they'd want anything for it (probably not).

[hypatias mom]

Hypatia--

We will be attending the membership class this weekend and rejoining the church. I will talk to Pastor Michael then and ask him.

Your mom

[Nick Foghorn Leghorn]

ooooOOOOOOooo! Yo Mama!

[hypatias mom]

Well, fellow Shirerithians--

We finally have a place to hold our ShireCon. We will be meeting in the Fellowship Hall of our local church here in Fremont, California. To obtain directions, please IM me at Hypatias mom. I do not wish for our convention to be crashed by crazies.

[Scott of Hyperborea]

...am I the only one who sees any irony in that?

[hypatias mom]

Scott, I realize you have to have a certain mindset to be a micronationalist, but I would hope most of us know how to behave ourselves. I am concerned about strangers coming who might wish us harm. If people from other countries, whose character long-time micronationalists can vet, are interested in coming as observers, I would have no objections, and it might make for a more lively convention.

By the way, ShireCon 2006 will be held on Wednesday, June 21, from about 9:30 or 10:00 AM, until sometime late in the afternoon (or even into the evening). I hope that all citizens within driving distance of the San Francisco Bay Area, or who are willing to come a long way, can attend. If you have interested friends, please invite them to come as well.

[hypatias mom]

Scott--

If you're on right now, you need to know that Bill is trying to get a second day for ShireCon, which might entail an extra day here, either before or after your original dates. Talk to him and work it out, please.

Thanks.
C

[Kaiser Meskan II]

No, that's fine. I'm not going to bother peoples' plane plans. I just wished that we had just more than a day to talk with people, considering that some of us are going to be there for a week, but eh.

Scott, I realize you have to have a certain mindset to be a micronationalist, but I would hope most of us know how to behave ourselves.

*cough*

[Scott of Hyperborea]

What if, instead of a day of convention and a day of sightseeing, we had a day and a half of convention and a half day of sightseeing? Or even had other people come along with us to see the sights?

[hypatias mom]

How about one official day of ShireCon, then those who wish to go together can carpool to see some sights the next day, meeting in the Santa Cruz Mountains' redwoods and on the coast, stopping for lunch at a neat little restaurant on the coast to introduce the out-of-staters to some California treats, then back through the redwoods to Fremont or wherever?

[Gryphon Avocatio]

It is distinctly possible that I may be in San Diego at that time, though I can't say for certain.

If Eoin is in the Bay Area then I would like to see him on my own turf. As for going to Fremont, given work and stuff I don't know if that is possible (assuming I am around then), but if you are around San Jose or the surrounding suburbs, let me know. Most people here should know how to get a hold of me.

[Eriana Moon]

I may have to work and have asked for many days off recently but will see what I can do to attend...

[hypatias mom]

I hope to see you there, and to meet you at last. For directions, please IM me at hypatias mom, and I'll tell you how to get there. If you have any ideas you want to discuss, please bring them. It's only 2 weeks away.

I hope everyone will try to attend. We'd like a good turnout, and a good convention. See you there.

[hypatias mom]

Attention everyone:

Because of many people's work obligations, we were asked to try to move ShireCon from midweek to a weekend day. We were able to move our convention to next weekend, to Saturday, June 24. Sorry for the change in plans. We hope to see you there.

We hope to see Shirerithians, ex-Shirerithians, friends of Shireroth, and hopeful future Shirerithians there. We will be meeting in the Fellowship Hall of Irvington Presbyterian Church, Fremont, CA, at 11 AM Saturday morning, June 24. You are welcome to bring chips and dip, veggies, fruit, sodas, water, anything to share, and we can order in pizza for lunch as well.

Please IM me at Hypatias mom with any questions.

[hypatias mom]

Well, this week has come and gone in a flash! I am sorry not to have seen more of you at ShireCon on Saturday, but we did have a good time. Hypatia (Renee) and her boyfriend, Mike, came home on Sunday, June 18. Unfortunately, she lost a close, little friend, her 17-year-old cat, Panda, the day before, and has taken it hard, as have we all.

On Tuesday Bill (Kaiser Meskan II), Scott, and Eoin arrived by plane and stayed at our house for the week, making 7 people under one roof. Wednesday we went to the coast, and then to San Jose to meet Gryphon the Pure (Joseph). It was good to see him again after so long, as well as to meet two of his friends. Thursday Hypatia's dad and I took Scott, Eoin and Bill to see Yosemite. We saw the giant sequoias in Mariposa Grove (see Google), as well as Wawona. Friday we saw the view from Glacier Point, and Scott, Eoin, and a German friend of Eoin's hiked a couple of miles at high altitude. Then we went to Yosemite Valley to see all the natural and man-made beauty there. We got home to Fremont before dark to prepare for ShireCon the next morning.

We were grateful to be able to use my church's hall for ShireCon. Attending were Hypatia Agnesi (Renee), Hypatia's mom and dad, Hypatia's boyfriend, Mike, and Eoin, Scott, Bill. We talked, ate, and played games. The heat finally drove us back to our house, where things continued until the wee hours.

Sunday, Renee and Mike returned to Santa Barbara, where Renee's school session begins today. Hypatia's dad and I took Bill, Scott and Eoin to San Francisco, where we saw the sights and introduced Bill and Eoin to clam chowder and Eoin to Dungeness crab (delicious!). All the guys enjoyed the San Francisco sourdough bread. Then we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County to tour Muir Woods National Monument (a forest of uncut, old-growth redwood trees). After that we drove up to Sonoma (Rohnert Park) to see Jadie and Kenny (Zary), and were joined by Erik, so we had another mini-ShireCon there. Ideas to change, improve, and shake uip Shireroth were a big topic of discussion, both pro and con. Kenny is recovering from knee surgery and we hope he recuperates quickly and is at full strength soon.

This morning Eoin, Bill, and Scott took the BART train to the Oakland and San Francisco airports to depart for their homes, Bill back to Long Island, and Scott and Eoin to Irvine, CA. More touring is in the offing for Scott and Eoin before Eoin returns to Ireland on Friday.

It was great to see everyone, and to have made six new friends in RL, in addition to becoming friends online. I hope to get to meet more of you in the future.

[andelarion]

Sounds like you all had a good time :-)

[Braden Indianensis]

Oh, I wish I could have been there. Anyway, glad you guys had a good time.

[hypatias mom]

Thanks. Yes, we did have a great time. It's always a great time when you get to know in real life new people you have previously only spoken to online or in response to previous posts. Just let others know when you will be in their geographic area, and you, too, can hold your own mini-ShireCons, as well. That is another way we can strengthen Shireroth. It's too precious to allow to wither away. People, don't forget, we have a very special relationship with each other, and we want it to continue to grow and flourish.

Keep posting, and have a great summer.

[Braden Indianensis]

Thanks, Carol. Yes..for me, micronationalism, and Shireroth in particular, is becoming more than a hobby...it's fun, after I've had a hard day doing...whatever it is that I do... to come home and, walk upstairs, get on the Internet, head to Shireroth, and check the new posts. Of course, it can be frustrating when no one posts in twenty-four hours (not in situations like Shirecon, of course, or during finals week, when it is easily understood) but ultimately, it's very much worth the small time required.

[Kaiser Meskan II]

Pretty much how I feel, Baldwin, but that's obvious.

For those of you who want to see pictures and don't know of my own or Scott's livejournal, here is the link to some pictures of our trip to California and Yosemite: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39153165@N00/