Just a warning, this thing is long.

This year YK was different.  It wasn't just the location or all the walking. This year I was a "civilian".  There was no volunteering for YK for me.  I actually got to sit down and talk to people, lots and lots and lots of people.  More than just a hi/bye thing.  This made me happy.  Very happy.  

I arrived in Chicago on Wed. and pretty much immediately ran over to the Hyatt to meet shayera so we could eat.  We ran into tons of people just trying to catch a cab back to the Hilton.  Oh, the Hilton Chicago was very nice, with quite possibly the smallest closets of any hotel room in the US.  Check out my view:

BTW, Lollapalooza was right across the street and even up on the 15th floor, you can hear all the crappy bands screeching from 8am on.  Ugh.

But you don't care about my hotel, you want to see YK pictures.

Apologies in advance to dial-up users, there's a ton of photos here.

I gotta say, I'm sick and tired of all this BO bullshit.  In looking through my comments, I noticed that lately I've been posting mainly in YR-related diaries.  

Yeah.  I'm that excited.  I've never been to Chicago without an adult supervision.  I've never seen the sites of Chicago, instead being stuck with old relatives who want to say, "Don't you think she looks like Aunt Helen's baby?"  Nevermind that Aunt (pronounced "ain't") Helen's "baby" is 40 years older than me.  Or neighbors who say, "Hey, are you a Williams?  You got that Williams butt (or cheeks)."  So, I'm more than looking forward to hanging out with people who not only share my political views, but won't recognize my lineage via my ass.

Last year, I volunteered to help put together YK.  It was a lot of work and I'm still stunned we pulled it off.  I promptly left the YK organization (don't laugh) to spend time with my family.  Believe me, everyone in my household is grateful for that.

Got the pics below...  

Once again, the liveblog ended before I got a chance to post.  Use this diary as a roundup and chit-chat area on the debates we just witnessed.

There's a CNN/YouTube Democratic debate going on.  

We had great transcripts during these debates.  
Liveblog 1
Liveblog 2

I finally finished up some din-din and have enough energy to post this.  I scrolled down the list and saw that Melody Townsel is having a party the same day in Texas.  Now, we can't let the Texans have a bigger party than us.  Can we?  I.  Can't Hear. You!!!  

That's what I thought.  So here's the deal.  Let the Texans have their Bastille Day celebration.  Then us Angelenos will show them how to really throw down for Bastille Day!  

How about a summer BBQ my SoCal friends?  A little pre-Chicago warmup?  

I just know you're all atwitter as to what changes have occurred at my house.  Some things change while some things stay the same.  An even bigger bonus is that the racetrack is almost complete, but still raceable.  You'll most likely be roped into racing or recording the race, by my husband, but apparently that's fun for some people.  Who knew?

As usual, we'll provide meat and drinks, all you need to do is bring a side dish and/or dessert.  If enough people show, I may even make some gumbo.  (Side note to shayera: Even though we didn't get to eat the macaroons you made at the party, they were finished off that weekend by my husband and two friends who thought they were the most delicious macaroons they had ever had.)  

Since this is on the rec list I guess I should flush it out a bit.  I suck as the analysis part, so I'll leave that to others.

Links
C-Span3 with Links to View or Listen
Drational's Goodling Testimony Preview. Some great analysis by drational, as always.
Master Diary by Live Blog is Here.  Rec only the Master.

The day is here.  Almost.  Can you feel the excitement?  

The meetup is tomorrow at my place.  Email me (fabooj [at] mail [dot] com) to get directions.  

I'm ready for this, the first BBQ of the year at my new house.  And even though the hole is still in my wall, you'll be able to say you saw it when.  You'll also be pleased to know that other beautification projects I've done for you guys:

1.  My bathroom is painted and it's regal!

2.  I got plants in my back yard and most of them are in the ground.

3.  Patio furniture.  

4.  I finally have patio furniture.

5.  We have some patio furniture and it has cushions!

6.  I also have a pool.  It's not a big pool and you can't actually swim in it, but if you wanna foot dunk, we could probably hook you up.

7.  Did I mention the patio furniture?  There's an umbrella involved.  Seriously.

This will be a rather shortish diary.  I'm really tired trying to get my house all ready for you guys.  This is what I'm up against:

That's the hole left in my newly painted wall after the electrician moved my meter to the back of the house for $1000 more than estimated and it's still in the wrong place.  (You're welcome, I deleted all the f-bombs from that sentence).

Whatever...I think in about a year or two, I'll be able to discuss this without a lot of cussing.

I did some more planting and we'll even have curtains.  I know this because I bought them.  I'm not promising they'll be hung up by then, but you can see them in the packaging.  

You can check out my previous diary on this whole thing.

So, we haven't had a meetup in forever--a year since the last one I've been to.  So in my ego-manical world, that means there hasn't been a meetup in a year here in Los Angeles.  I mean, I went to San Francisco in December, just to attend that meetup.  Mentioning that puts the pre-emptive 'shhh' to anyone who's ready to complain I live too far.  

I got a new house, I've spent this whole weekend making (a small section of) my backyard look almost pleasant and if enough of you agree to show, I'll even patch the ridiculously large hole in my laundry room.  Ya'll know what that means.

That's right:  It's potluck time!

I need help people.  I need a vacation.  When I say 'I', I mean my family has to come along too (they insist on it really).  Our great plan was to leave for 6 months to Europe at the end of August.  Well, one of our clients just dumped a huge job on us, so we're stuck here at least until the end of the year.  

We need a vacation.  After all the work we've done last year and the work we'll be doing this year, we need to make it count.  Here's where you come in...we don't know where to go.  We do know that it must be someplace tropical.  We've been to Jamaica, so we don't necessarily want to go back. Though we did have fun

That's me and Mr. Fab before we spawned...we were so skinny...sigh

As most of you know, DemFest is this weekend in San Diego.  This is going to be a ridiculously short diary because basically it's a roll call.  

I'd also like to get some tips from those of you who've attended DemFest before.  Most of the info, I'd been trying to find out doesn't matter any more, since they're sold out of meal tix and it's too late to get day care.  

So we're leaving for SD tomorrow morning (we'll be hitting up Long Beach to shoot some pics for work, then onto OC to let the little girl visit Grandma), so we'll be in San Diego by 4pm at the latest.  Can I register then?

Hi ya'll, taking a quick break to post some of the pics I have taken the last 36 hours.  I'm trying to get some rest and get ready to set up for tonight, so this will be shorti-ish.

There'll be somewhat out of order, but you'll deal:

Me and Gen. Clark

Okay, I posted some stuff to my blog last night (ummm, really this morning) and finally got some pics.  Apologies for not having much convention info.  I run into people and that's cool.  

This morning, the alarm went off at 6am, I got up at 7:30 (oops!) and was down on the floor by 8:10.  I got signs up (to convention attendees, please check the photocopy schedule provided by the front desk to get an accurate read on where your panel is located).  We got some trashcans in some rooms, water in others.  Stop me if you have any questions or concerns and I'll try to help.

BCO gal and ETinKC

more...

I'm in Vegas.

For YearlyKos Convention 2006.

Yeah, I'm pretty stoked.  Scratch that...

I'm so flippin'  excited.  It still amazes me that this thing is happening.  It still amazes me that people still don't get that this event was put together by some of the most dedicated volunteers I've ever worked with in my life.

I have this blog to keep track of everything. I also bought a domain name, but I didn't have the time to fix it up, so that'll have to wait for a bit.  So here's a bit of a rundown.

Following up to my previous wonderful diaries (here, here and here), there were loads of questions that I'm not sure everyone saw.  I want to tackle them right here and now.  If you have a question related to the evening events, free time, how to get about and all things Vegas, I'll be able to answer them.  I will not be able to answer any questions about the agenda, your hotel room, or how to get rid of that rash.  

Anyway, follow me down below and your keep your hands to yourself:

So, there's this groovy convention happening in Las Vegas, and you're pretty stoked about being there.  Then, you have a quick thought:  "What am I going to do at night in Vegas?"  I know how you feel...that town is so dead.  Nothing to do.  So we're filling in the gaps.  

Every paid registrant is invited to attend the events to be held in the evenings of Thurs. June 8th and Saturday, June 10th.  A brief description is that each event is a cocktail reception that will be held in The Riviera at 8pm - midnight with doors opening at 7:30pm.

Details per night follows: (please keep in mind the line up is subject to change).

Let's just jump in here because it's May 2nd and you have 13 days left to book your room at The Riviera.  You probably still need to register and you'll need to book your flight, like last week, because you just know that airlines will pass that fuel cost on to you.  But you're fretting. You're either are still trying to get Friday  off or wondering if flying Friday night and leaving Sunday night is enough time.  Not only do you want to get all the YearlyKos goodness you can stand, but...it's Vegas, baby!  How can you go to Sin City and not catch a show, drop down to Hoover Dam or hit some of the hottest nightclubs in the western US?   It's a timing issues and this post will just add to your diliemma.

As previously noted, there are gajillion and one things to do in Las Vegas and you'll be wondering what do when, with who and how fast...all so you can go to the next thing.  Well we've got LasVegasShowToGo ready to help you with your ticket purchasing needs.  Here's a breakdown:

Due to an underwhelming response to the need of childcare, we will be unable to set up daycare onsite. This still leaves us parents with a few options. What is available for childcare in Las Vegas is still pretty impressive.  Here are some links to resources that will help you determine your childcare needs.

This diary is solely about child care options.  If you're bringing your children and want to send them on tours or your SO and/or friend wants to take them someplace, that will be covered in a different diary.  

So...