Hello from the Big Apple!

Hi all,

I'm already in the city where I've arrived yesterday.

It was beautiful yesterday, sunny and kind of warm; however, it's cloudy today and may rain later in the day, as Graham Stanly reported earlier today via Twitter.

Wednesday may be difficult for me to join you for dinner but will confirm that whenever I hear from another group I may dine with on Wed. However, I believe we are going to meet in person casually anywhere, anyhow, and anytime during the convention before Wednesday; so, we can agree and decide on a date and time to get together.

I'm really so excited about meeting all of you in person, especially those of you we've never met in person.

Cheers!

The Weather Forecast

For those of you who are still packing your bags, I just checked the forecast for the week for new York City. Spring has not arrived there yet! Wednesday will be sunny and cool (highs in the low 50s), dropping down to the mid 30s at night. Thursday will be sunny too with highs only in the upper 40s (that's pretty chilly!), with a chance of rain in the evening so bring your umbrella! Friday and Saturday will be cloudy with temps in the low to mid 50s, with a 40 percent chance of rain on Friday. It reminds me of Seattle!

Dinner Reservation

I just made a reservation for 10 at Pongsri Thai for Wed. Apr. 2 at 7:30. I think there are going to be more people, but there are just 7 of us signed up on the Yahoo Group database! I will be able to adjust the number up or down next week, but I hope the webheads will let me know if they are coming or not!

In the meantime, no one has stepped forward to make a reservation for Thursday night, even though I know that several people (including me) are planning to eat together--somewhere. The difficulty is that once we get to New York, it may not be easy to communicate. We are staying in different hotels, not everyone has a cell phone, and not everyone will have internet access. The only thing I can think of is to post notices somewhere at the EV.

People are starting to pack their bags... I know Rita is flying to Connecticut tomorrow, and I think Ronaldo is arriving in New York for some sightseeing this weekend. TESOL is just around the corner!

Webheads in New York - Community Walk map

CommunityWalk Map - Webheads in New York - TESOL 2008

Getting ready for TESOL

While EVOnline was happening, I couldn't focus on TESOL at all. Now, suddenly it's less than 2 weeks away! I realized I had to figure out how to get there. Nobody I know is driving up from DC. It's not far, but where do you park once you get there? Nobody wants to be burdened with a car in Manhattan. They just get broken into anyway! Years ago there were exactly 4 choices to get from DC to NY: fly "the shuttle," take the train (the "Metroliner", now called "Acela"), or take the bus: Greyhound or Trailways. Now, there are many more bus choices, although Trailways has vanished. There's the Vamoose Bus which leaves from downtown Bethesda (good), the Chinatown bus which is supposed to be very cheap, and today I found out about the Bolt Bus, a new company which supposedly offers fares for as low as $1. Well, not today for April 2 they don't, but I did find one $7 fare. I must make some decisions and book the tickets. I will go up Wednesday and come back Sunday. Already, the only Bolt Bus available for the return on Sunday is too late, so I will have to take a different bus to come back.

I printed out 2 different webheads logos from the wiki, in 2 different sizes, to stick in my badge. What a great idea! This will help us webheads to recognize each other more easily if we have not already met f2f.

I am trying to think how I can borrow a laptop to take up with me, so I will be able to post to the blog while I am there.