NYC social gathering

[Shem the Penman]

We all know that New York City has everything ... except, maybe, a tickling community that actually knows each other. It's about time that changed.

As has been discussed in a certain other thread in General Discussion, we're in the process of organizing a social -- that is, nobody gets tied up (probably) -- gathering in New York City for December 13. I'm proposing 8:00 pm as a time, since that should be late enough not to interfere with anyone's work but not so late that folks who come in from LI or elsewhere will have to face getting home at an ungodly hour.

The site? The appropriately named Giggles (http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/7139797/ ). It's on 40th Street a few blocks south of Times Square, so it should be easy enough to find.

I cheerfully admit I don't know beans about organizing an event of this nature, so I'm trying to keep it fairly simple. Come in, have some drinks, and meet some of your fellow ticklephiles from the city. The lovely and talented Mrs. Shem and I will be there, and we hope to see you.

 

[milagros317]

I will be able to attend 8pm on December 13. Thanks for reviving the thread.

 

[WorkInProgress]

I'll be there, as far as I know now.

 

[tickle4fun]

count me in Shem

 

[arion30]

question

How exactly will we recognize each other?

 

[Shem the Penman]

I'd hoped to reserve a table so we could have a place to gather, but unfortunately it turns out they don't take reservations after 6:30. If anyone has ideas, I'd be glad to hear them. If nothing else, I can always wear my "SUBMIT" t-shirt and tuck a feather behind my ear.

 

[fttickler]

Gathering

Would love to meet you and the Mrs. ( It would be about time huh? ) I will let you know more after thursday since I do not have my sched from work yet


Adam

 

[NYCity]

I'm still not sure about the date yet. I'm a maybe.

 

[apologetick]

RE: NYC Tickle gathering

Shem: Thanks for referring me to the appropriate post and thread.
NYC WOMEN, any one planning to be there? If so perhaps we could meet before the actual gathering and go together? I am not fearful just cautious. If not, that is OK -- it is 8 days away. Please folks male, female if you are planning to attend please post. How will we know each other AND does the place GIGGLES(?) know we are a tickle gathering? Anonymity?

 

[Shem the Penman]

No, I haven't mentioned to them that I plan to have a tickling get-together there. As long as no one starts tying each other to the chairs, I don't see where it would make a difference to them.

 

[NYCity]

I would agree - some of us are more/less comfortable about this than others. With that in mind, there's no reason to broadcast it. As far as they need to know, it's a bunch of people having drinks/coffee/whatever.

 

[WorkInProgress]

A casual shindig

A bunch of people having drinks and coffee is exactly what I'm figuring on it being, anyway--nothing formal or daunting. When it comes to "tickling community," I'm sort of an outsider peaking in anyway.

As for how we'll recognize each other, I know I'm planning to look for a guy who looks like he's looking for people, and say, "Shem?" The fact that Shem's profile says he was "born a poor black kid" should narrow down the range of possible Shems somewhat. I'll be a 40-year-old white guy with a trench coat and backpack, a little awkward and raggedy looking but not on any extreme; maybe a little pudgy too, though I've slimmed down of late.

And I do agree, let's not tie each other down to any chairs.

 

[Shem the Penman]

Um, the "I was born a poor black kid" in my profile is a joke. Specifically, a line swiped from Steve Martin in The Jerk. If anyone needs a visual reference for me, check http://www.ticklingforum.com/showthread.php?threadid=3437 . I'm the one who's not a dummy.

 

[apologetick]

NYC gathering

OK, so now it has been established, clearly that this is a social gathering. Also, by some sort of trial and error folks will "know" or "find" each other.
Women in NYC, planning to attend? PLEASE POST!
Thanks.

 

[WorkInProgress]

Hmmmmm, okay, I didn't recognize the line, took it at face value... In any case, I'll certainly recognize you now, Shem.

 

[WorkInProgress]

Guess the time is still 8.

I'm expecting this to be really casual, informal, and free-floating, so I hope Apologetick will feel comfortable even though there aren't any more women's post replies. Again, I figure we'll just sip drinks and chat. I'm just slowly getting the hang of what a tickling community is all about, anyway, and not at all sure how heavily into it I'll be getting, but it will be nice to meet a few people who have this common enjoyment just to sit back and chat, not even necessarily just about tickling. (I, for one, have plenty to say about Off-Off-Broadway theatre if anyone wants to know.)

So, Shem et al, it's 8, right?

 

[Shem the Penman]

Yes, it is.

 

[Shem the Penman]

Things worked out slightly less well than planned (if "planned" is the proper word). Giggles turned out to be more crowded than expected. I -- in SUBMIT t-shirt, as promised -- and Nightfall -- wearing a feather in her hair -- did manage to find Milagros, WorkInProgress, and Sonny, but by 8:30 no one else had shown up, so we decamped to the less jammed Jack's Restaurant a little further along the street and spent an hour and a half there chatting. We did have a nice time, and it was great meeting some of the other folks on the forum who live around here. I hope we didn't miss anyone at Giggles; if we do this again, it'll definitely have to be at a less busy site.

 

[WorkInProgress]

And I nominate Jack's for that less busy site.

I have to admit I was secretly wondering if our waitress would mind getting tickled a little.

Seriously, nice meeting you--Shem, Nightfall, Milagros, Sonny. And, as I expected, we had a nice free-floating conversation that went from tickling to other things, back to tickling, back to other things, back to tickling, back to other things... a group of regular people with one little idiosyncracy bringing us together.

We talked a little about what gatherings are like. To add one thought that I never got around to mentioning, I'm in another "community," the community of nudists. (Actually, I'm in the naturist scene, that's the more casual, beach-oriented wing of nudism.) To me, the two most important elements at a gathering of any affinity group are having fun and respecting each other. I get the impression that that's what happens at the gatherings we were hearing about.

Anyway, thanks, Shem, for setting this up, and to those who are considering coming another time: I bear witness, these are regular people, people you can easily feel comfortable with just sitting back, sipping a drink, and conversinng.

Again, I recommend Jack's. It has the virtue, like Giggles, of being close to Penn Station, for those who find that helpful.

 

[milagros317]

Five of us was fewer than I hoped for, but the atmosphere was very friendly, and the conversation good.

Giggles was a bit too noisy (with very loud music), even if it hadn't been too crowded. So I agree with WorkInProgress that Jack's would be a better site for another.

Thanks to Shem and Nightfall for arranging it.

 

[NYCity]

Sorry I couldn't make it the other night. It sounds like you all had a good time getting to know each other. If there is a next time, hopefully I'll be able to make it.