NaNo 2010 Launch Party

Things I learned last year from Nano:

1. There is no such thing as too many power strips and extension cords
2. Candy is not a good reward for most immediately after Halloween.
3. We can fit a surprising number of people out in the main seating area.
   
4. The conference room gets WAY too hot in a short amount of time between packed bodies and running laptops
5. I need to think up better prizes
6. The train horn worked great as an attention getter.
   
7. I really need to try to get some work done at the write ins and not just orchestrate everyone else.
8. 5 minutes isn't long enough for a Word War
9. Trying to write down everyone's name is kinda silly when you could have a sign in sheet.
   

I took all these lessons from last year and put them into action this year. Surprisingly, it did very little to quell the knot of anxiety in my stomach. However once my Riker (Annie) and Data/Worf/Jordie (Boyfriend Jon) arrived and added their support, it slowly dissipated.

The turn out for the Kick off party was quite a bit less than I was expecting given the forum traffic. But as Boyfriend Jon pointed out, it's one thing to say "yeah I'll be there" on the forums and quite another to actually show up.

That's OK. I'm sure we'll see a surge come November. And as a plus side, we managed to convince three people to the point where they signed up there at the kick off party! YAY!