Fay, you, me, Kristen, Plei, ND, Laura, IIRC, have chimed in with thoughts about the 2009 F2F so far.

I also suggested Seattle, and am more than happy to organize (it is very close to what I do for living, so).

Personally, I'm not wild about the idea of a resort F2F.

Obviously, I don't mind doing some work on this, and perhaps Fay, too.

? Dude, if people voted for Bangkok as the destination of choice, I'll definitely be Point Girl. Startled (and absofuckinglutely THRILLED), but Point Girl.

Outwith that, though, I'm not sure what I can offer in terms of logistics assitance. But as a wannabe-attendee, I'll be chiming in to vote for the F2F to happen at a time when I stand a chance in hell of getting there - preferably once my Summer holiday has started. I really can't, in conscience, participate if it falls during term time.

(Er...I realise that the F2F isn't actually All About Me. But for me, the date is far and away the main priority, and [other than money, but I'll start saving now] it's the only deciding factor in whether or not I can participate.)

fwiw, I'd prefer a city to a resort/camp/whatever (....although the prospect of Camp Buffista is suddenly cracking me the hell up), but it's the date that's my priority.

I expect Kristen and ND would if either of them had a minute of free time.

I know that for me I'll do whatever I can to attend, but I just don't have it in me to lend any aid this year. 2008 has kicked my ass and I have my two largest projects of the year running and those take me into the beginning of January. I'm looking forward to seeing my Buffistas, but I need to just be in attendance, not in planning. It's also a bit of an emotional spot for me right now as it was while I was setting up the sound system for prom this year that I got the initial call that my Dad had gone into the hospital for what turned out to be his terminal cancer diagnosis. I lost him about 3 weeks later.

I expect Kristen and ND would if either of them had a minute of free time.

I know that for me I'll do whatever I can to attend, but I just don't have it in me to lend any aid this year. 2008 has kicked my ass and I have my two largest projects of the year running and those take me into the beginning of January. I'm looking forward to seeing my Buffistas, but I need to just be in attendance, not in planning. It's also a bit of an emotional spot for me right now as it was while I was setting up the sound system for prom this year that I got the initial call that my Dad had gone into the hospital for what turned out to be his terminal cancer diagnosis. I lost him about 3 weeks later.

Personally, I'm not wild about the idea of a resort F2F.

With the price of travel these days, I really think we should stick to urban centers that are easy to fly into so people can comparison shop for airfares. My main reasons for not attending the past 2 F2Fs have been financial, and I would hate to impose any more of a burden on people's wallets than we absolutely have to.

Seattle would ROCK.

I know that for me I'll do whatever I can to attend, but I just don't have it in me to lend any aid this year.

Dude. You and Kristin get a pass on having to do ANYTHING other than the necessities for your own lives. Jesus.

Outwith that, though, I'm not sure what I can offer in terms of logistics assitance.

Gosh, Fay. You're a Brit living in Thailand; you mean to say you AREN'T familiar with all major west-coast American cities? Lame excuse.

(I kid; I hope that was obvious.)

Not that we have any locals that I know of who could spearhead an effort, but Tucson offers a cool and funky city plus some National Park/Monument/State Park wilderness areas and campgrounds that are really super and less than an hour away (depending on where you are, less than 15 minutes). Plus I'd love an excuse to visit again. Note that it gets a whole lot less expensive in the summer... for obvious reasons, but still.

I'm down for the PNW and I'd love to do something more remote/campish but I also understand the financial considerations.

My main reasons for not attending the past 2 F2Fs have been financial, and I would hate to impose any more of a burden on people's wallets than we absolutely have to.

Yes, this.

As I've said before, I love the idea of having a Buffista gathering in a more woodsy setting, but not for the main F2F. Aside from transportation issues, there are accessibility concerns. Also, and this is a big one for me, as much as we all love each other, we need a way to get away, too. The nice thing about meeting in urban centers of some sort is that we can branch off in different groups to go see the local sights or spend some time wandering off on our own.

I expect Kristen and ND would if either of them had a minute of free time.

Really nsm this year, as Drew said. Sorry.

Side note--Theo, I have family in and am very familiar with Tucson, so if we ever are interested in a F2F there, I could probably coordinate some other time. But after this year...yeah, I think maybe I'll let someone else do that.

I love that juliana, planner extraordinaire, has volunteered for Seattle. Go Seattle, choose Seattle! Seattle in July with Fay! With the candlestick...wait, no, forget that last part. Summer in Seattle has my vote. We need to figure this out pretty much now, though, if we're going to do Seattle. I remember how fast hotels sell out in the summer up there.