DBO/HBO Meetup at PAX: Saturday, 7:00 pm

by ncsuDuncan , Friday, August 23, 2013, 10:28 (4109 days ago)

A warm breeze, swift and sibilant, whispers the word in your ear. The ground beneath your feet answers in kind, thrumming with a long, steady note that resonates deep within your chest. Cool drops of rain create a staccato of overlapping rhythms on your outstretched palm, each impact announced with that same repeated syllable. Seattle is a beautiful city, and for one weekend every year all of her elements speak with a unified voice, one that knows only a single sound:

PAX

Like moths to a flame, Bungie.Org members are drawn to the Penny Arcade Expo for a weekend of gaming tourism and camaraderie. Those that make the journey to Seattle represent a mere fraction of our great community, but do not let that fool you - our company will be numerous and it will certainly be hungry. Most kitchen staff would mutiny at the sight of this mob descending unannounced on their restaurant, so advance arrangements have been made with a local eatery for a casual dinner meetup.

Your presence is requested.

When:
Saturday, August 31st.
7:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Where:
Lunchbox Laboratory
1253 Thomas St, Seattle, WA (Map)
(It's a 15-minute walk from PAX. Just 5 minutes by car.)

What:
Burgers, brews, and Bungie.Org fellowship!

We have the upstairs Rumpus Room reserved, which comes equipped with:
- A pool table, a shuffleboard table, and a handful of arcade machines. (Bring quarters!)
- A couple TVs. (If anyone local wants to bring a game console, let me know.)
- A full bar. (We'll have a dedicated bartender for the night.)
- Room for up to 55 to eat dinner.

While the conversation will no doubt turn bawdy and hilarious on its own, I imagine we'll still see a game of Cards Against Humanity Bungie.Org Against Humanity break out to keep things lively. I'll have a pile of DBO buttons to give away, and I wouldn't be surprised if a few community members bring goodies of their own to share.

Join us for dinner, come share a beer, or just show up to chat - anyone friendly to the Bungie.Org community is welcome!

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WALK WITH ME

Let's be honest - Downtown Seattle is safer than, say, the Cabal-controlled Exclusion Zone on the red planet Mars, but every Guardian knows that strength in numbers is a sound strategy any time you venture beyond the wall. If you'd like to join my fireteam and walk to Lunchbox Laboratory as a group, you'll be able to find me at the following locations on Saturday evening:

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm - (Unicorn Theater - Level 1, Grand Hyatt hotel) - I'll be attending the "Community Management: Herding Cats and Keeping it Clean" panel.
6:00 pm - 6:30 pm - (Hyatt lobby nearest the Unicorn Theater) - Look for me in the Hyatt lobby after the panel ends and we get kicked out of the theater.

At 6:30 we'll start walking towards Lunchbox Laboratory together. (Anyone that doesn't feel like making the trek on foot is still welcome to meet us beforehand to maximize cab sharing!)

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DINNER DETAILS

It takes an army to feed an army. Overwhelming the kitchen with a barrage of food orders from a group as large as ours is a surefire way to wear out our welcome. To allay this, I'm working with Lunchbox Laboratory to set up a buffet/banquet table for our party - complete with burgers, fries, and a variety of sides/appetizers. If you're coming to the meetup for dinner, please help me out in the following ways:

- Take a look at the Lunchbox Laboratory banquet menu at the bottom of this page; I'll be ordering a sensible balance of items from that list - mostly burgers and fries/tots, but a few salads and sides as well. If you see something on the menu that you especially want, drop me an email at ncsuDuncan@gmail.com and I'll make sure it's included in our order.

- While I clearly appear to be a charmingly handsome millionaire, the truth is that I'm just your typical charming, handsome guy with a reasonable income. (Humble, too!) I'm happy to provide a cash advance to Lunchbox Laboratory for this bountiful banquet, but I'd appreciate it if you folks remember to bring some cash that night to help defray the cost. Still, I'm not looking for a full reimbursement here - my travel expenses this year have actually given me some extra wiggle room thanks to a few generous hoteliers. ;)

If it's easier for you to do things online, you can send me a meal's worth of glimmering dollarbucks through PayPal. (Please keep in mind, this is entirely optional! Also, if you pay in advance and somehow miss the meetup, let me know via email and I'll happily return your hard-earned money.)

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If the above plans change in any way, I'll be sure to update this post and make loud noises on the usual social networking sites. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

See you there!

- ncsuDuncan

P.S. You can discuss the meetup in this unlocked thread.