[dlv] Latest DLV 2009 updates ...

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This is the Diva Las Vegas 2009 announcement mailing list.
This list contains only announcements and high importance items.

If you no longer desire to receive this list, see list removal
instructions below.
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In this mailing:

Updates
Registration notes
Things to come
Se habla Espanol
Attention MSN and Hotmail users
Activity notes
Big Sister Program
Room sharing
Summary schedule
Administrivia
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Only 57 days Until DLV 2009!
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Updates:

We're now less than two months away from the big event!

MSN and Hotmail users, please see important notice below.

Welcome to those who just registered or joined the list. We're
looking forward to meeting you in person in May. If you have
any concerns, be sure to let us know.

We now have 156 validated attendees signed up, including 29 SOs.
It's still too early for an accurate headcount projection, but
the numbers appear to be converging in the 130-160 range for
total headcount this year.

One particular note, you will never see the entire group in one
place at one time during DLV. We will have two maximum-attendance
gatherings, one on Monday and one on Saturday, at which you can
meet as many of the others as is possible. In addition, the
dinner on Wednesday is expected to draw the majority of those
present as well.
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Registration notes:

General registration for DLV 2009 is now open.

You may register on line on the web at:

http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/register2009.html

Use this URL for all registrations, newcomers and returnees.

One very important note about registration is that when you
register, you should very shortly receive either a validation
e-mail or a confirmation e-mail, depending on circumstances.

E-mail is not a perfect medium, and in the event you should
receive nothing after you register, something is wrong and
we need to know about it. Should this happen, please send a
brief e-mail to dlv@geekbabe.com and let us know.

Should you have any difficulty sending e-mail to us here at
DLV, see the note regarding MSN and Hotmail below which
includes an alternate emergency e-mail address.
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Things to come:

The next big milestone for those of you who have registered
will be activity sign-up.

This is where you tell us which of the many planned optional
activities you will be doing. This will happen in about a
month, beginning on or about April 15th.

Please look over our schedule, and be thinking of which of
the activities you find of interest, in anticipation of
activity sign-up.

Although many of our activities are on a "no sign-up, just show
up" basis, a number of them will require things such as a
sign-up, an advance commitment to attend, a headcount, perhaps
even a prepayment.

On or about April 15, everybody holding a validated registration
will receive a special e-mail which contains a URL to your
personalized activity sign-up screen.

This will allow you to sign up for those optional activities
that you find of interest.

In most cases, you can change your mind at any time up to the
activity sign-up cut-off.

For those activities that have limited capacity, in most cases
it will be first-signed, first-served. In some cases it may be
first-paid, first served.

Further details on activity sign-up will be posted as the
activity sign-up date approaches.
. . .

Large Final Mailing:

Just prior to DLV, all validated attendees will receive what
we call the Large Final Mailing.

Yes, this year we will be passing out a hardcopy summary
schedule and DLV activity map, but this will only contain
a fraction of the information that you will need to make the
most of DLV.

The Large Final Mailing will include such things as:

. "Bare Minimum" section as a "quick-start" guide.
. Your personalized final confirmation and itinerary.
. Final detailed schedule of activities.
. Behavior, dress and restroom guidelines.
. List of volunteer drivers and people who need rides.
. Late notices.
. Check-in instructions.
. Contact phone numbers.
. Big Sister Emergency Hotline number.
. Diva Las Vegas Photo Guidelines.
. Discounts and promotions. (Some good ones this year!)
. Link to detailed activity maps.
. Info on informal off-schedule Pre-DLV happenings.
. . .

Arriving and checking in:

You can check in at any DLV activity which is marked "Check-in
available" on the final detailed schedule. Although most of
the checking-in will be done at the Monday activities, check-in
will be available each day at the daily lunch and at several
other designated activities.

Don't worry, if the first activity you want to do does not
have check-in available, you will still be able to participate
as long as your name appears on the DLV roster. You may just
have to wait to get your name badge and such.
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Se habla Espanol:

Bienvenidos! Si el espanol is su lenguage nativa y Ud. tiene
dificultad comprendiendo qualquier cosa sobre DLV, Ud. nos puede
mandar sus preguntas por correo electronico en espanol, y se los
mandaremos a uno de nuestros voluntarios que hablan espanol. - La
direccion electronica es: dlv@geekbabe.com - Muchas Gracias.
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Attention MSN and Hotmail users:

Again this year it has been reported that some e-mail to DLV
has erroneously been returned as undeliverable. This appears
to be isolated to users of msn.com and hotmail.com addresses.

Should you ever have difficulty sending e-mail to DLV at the
main address, please forward your returned message(es), with
all headers and "gobbledegook" intact to the following
alternate "emergency" e-mail address:

dlvemergency@yahoo.com

We have again been unable to duplicate this problem in
testing from a hotmail address, but we have received a
report of this again happening this year.

We apologize for any inconvenience.
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Activity notes:

There have been some questions raised regarding further
details of activities. Yes, the summary schedule in the
general mailings lacks details regarding such things as
where, how much, how do I sign up, and in some cases,
what is this activity all about.

Registered and validated attendees will receive very
complete details on all activities at various times between
now and DLV, such as at activity sign-up time and in the
Large Final Mailing.

Here are some notes on some of the items which appear on
our schedule which may not be obvious from the title:

"Lunch With Ginger" is our daily lunch. This year it will be
held at a different location each day. Locations will appear
in the Large Final Mailing.

"Lunch With Mary Beth" is when Ginger gets a break. :)

"Lunch Without Ginger" is a lower-cost alternative for one
day when Lunch With Ginger is at a higher-priced venue.

"Charles Bar" is not the name of the bar, but it's a mainstream
bar with a very popular bartender named Charles. Yes, the time
on the schedule is correct. Easy terms arranged for drinks! :)

"Night Of The Soiled Doves" is one of our more unique activities
and if you're curious about it, the best thing to do is to go
to the DLV web site and poke around a bit. It's very obvious if
you look for it.

"Local Dinner" is one of a few in-town alternate-track options
when the feature activity of the evening (Night Of The Soiled
Doves) is out of town.

"Do your own thing option" is just that. We're encouraging
individuals and groups who want to go off and do their own
thing apart from the DLV group to do it in those timeslots.
Why? Because we want everybody to be present at our Saturday
evening get-together!

"SBS Social" is an informal mixer co-sponsored by DLV and the
Southern Belle Society. Plenty of that Quality Social Time<tm>!
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Big Sister Program:

If you're new and a bit uneasy about attending and appearing in
public, here's how we can help.

It's natural to be nervous before heading to an event such as
Diva Las Vegas, particularly if you've never been out before or
if you're new and don't know any of the others yet.

Big Sisters are volunteer DLV veterans who are standing by to
help as needed, either prior to DLV, or during DLV.

Big Sisters are intended mainly for those who are new and don't
have much public exposure, or those who may be feeling a bit
uneasy about the upcoming trip, but Big Sisters are available
to anybody who wants one.

If you haven't been out in public at all, if you're new to public
exposure, your exposure has never been in the mainstream before,
or if there's any reason you feel uneasy or uncertain about the
upcoming trip, the Big Sisters are here to help, either before
DLV, during DLV, or both.

Before DLV, if you would like to correspond with somebody
one-to-one about concerns regarding DLV, just send a brief
note to bigsister@geekbabe.com and say that you would like
to get in touch with a Big Sister. Examples of concerns might
be questions that you don't feel comfortable asking on one of
the mailing lists, request for an honest fashion critique,
etc.

If you are uneasy and can't get the nerve to walk out of your
hotel room (this has happened), phone us, we'll have a Big
Sister meet you, assure you, and escort you if necessary.

If you're new and don't know any of the others at DLV, the Big
Sisters will gladly introduce you to the others and help you
get acquainted.

If you would like to be put in touch with a Big Sister, just
send a note to bigsister@geekbabe.com and we'll get you in
contact with one.

Also, if you have attended DLV in the past and would like to
volunteer to spend some time helping others, please say so and
volunteer to be a Big Sister. (Just reply to this mailing or
e-mail bigsister@geekbabe.com and state you would like to
volunteer to be a Big Sister.) The primary qualification is
the desire to help others.

You can also sign up to have a Big Sister, or volunteer to be a
Big Sister on the web as you register.

If you have any questions or concerns about any aspect of the
Big Sister program, Nora, our Big Sister Coordinator, invites
you to contact her directly at: cadnild@aol.com

Big thanks to Nora for coordinating our Big Sister Program!
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Room sharing:

This year, getting the most for the money is particularly
important for many of our attendees!

We're very aware that lodging will be the greatest expense for
most of you attending DLV. Sharing a room two ways cuts this
expense in half, in one third for three to a room, and 1/4 for
four in a room.

We have a Roommate Clearing House for DLV 2009. You can either
contact our Room Share Coordinator via e-mail at:

roommate@geekbabe.com

.. or sign up to participate in the Roommate Clearing House
when you register on the web.

When you sign up for roommate matching, we'll ask you a few
questions, such as if you smoke, if you (knowingly) snore,
things like that, in order to make better matches.

On the roommate screen there is also a large blank area into
which you can put any comments or concerns you may have. For
example, you could say something like "I don't care about
smoking or snoring, I just want the cheapest room!" if that's
what you want.

One important caveat! The Roommate Clearing House is a good
faith effort on all parts with no guarantees! Roommates assume
all risks. Please have a contingency plan. Your Room Share
Coordinator, as well as other DLV organizers and volunteers,
will not be responsible if a roommate fails to show, fails to
pay, fails to make reservations, does not get along with you,
or in any other way things don't work out.

Big thanks to Diane for coordinating the Roommate Clearing
House! :)
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Summary schedule:

Diva Las Vegas 2009 schedule
Tentative and subject to change
All times Pacific Daylight Time

Monday, May 11:
11:00am: Studio Lites Open House
1:00pm: Lunch With Ginger
2:30pm: Roundtable Discussion
6:00pm: Happy Hour
7:00pm: Dinner
8:00pm: Welcome Meet and Greet

Tuesday, May 12:
8:00am: Diva Las Vegas Invitational Golf
1:00pm: Lunch With Mary Beth
6:00pm: Happy Hour
7:00pm: Magic's A Drag show
7:00pm: Eating Out Night
7:00pm: Milanos option
7:00pm: Dicks Last Resort option
7:00pm: Joes Stone Crab option
7:00pm: Quiet evening at home option
9:00pm: Post-show dinner
9:00pm: Activity options
9:00pm: Night At The Movies
9:00pm: Pajama Party
9:00pm: Pub Crawl
9:00pm: Minus-5
9:30pm: Theater Night

Wednesday, May 13:
10:00am: Art Tour, morning session
1:00pm: Lunch With Ginger
2:00pm: Art Tour, afternoon session
6:00pm: Happy Hour
7:00pm: Dinner
9:30pm: Limousine Tour
9:30pm: Karaoke
9:30pm: Drinks at Encore

Thursday, May 14:
2:00am: Charles Bar
11:00am: Glamour Boutique Open House
1:00pm: Lunch With Ginger
5:00pm: Night Of The Soiled Doves
6:00pm: Local Happy Hour
7:00pm: Local dinner
7:00pm: Irish Pubbing

Friday, May 15:
9:00am: Boat Tour Breakfast
9:00am: Pistol/rifle shooting
12:00am: Lake Mead Boat Tour
1:00pm: Lunch With Ginger
1:00pm: Lunch Without Ginger
2:00pm: High Tea
6:00pm: Happy Hour
7:00pm: Dining options
7:00pm: Upscale option
7:00pm: Murder Mystery interactive option
7:00pm: Affordable option
7:00pm: Do your own thing option
9:00pm: Activity options
9:00pm: Socializing option
9:00pm: Gaming option
9:00pm: Cocktails and Tapas
9:00pm: Do your own thing option
11:00pm: Late-night options
11:00pm: Acoustic Jam Session
11:00pm: Dancing

Saturday, May 16:
1:00pm: SBS Social
6:00pm: Happy Hour
7:00pm: Dinner
8:00pm: Ending Bash
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Administrivia:

This is the Diva Las Vegas 2009 Announcement mailing list.

This list is limited to announcements and other high-importance
items.

Replies to this mailing will be forwarded to: dlv@geekbabe.com
Submissions/questions should be sent to: dlv@geekbabe.com
Abuse/complaints should be sent to: abuse@geekbabe.com

Questions/answers and discussion items are redirected to the DLV
Discussion Forum, which may be subscribed to separately or viewed
on the web. To subscribe to the DLV Discussion Forum, send a brief
message to dlvdisc@geekbabe.com and state that you wish to receive
the DLV Discussion Forum.

To view the DLV Discussion Forum on line, visit the URL:

http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/dlvdisc/
. . . . .

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dlv@geekbabe.com <--- NOTE: all lower case

Archives of this list appear on the web at:

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. . . . .

Diva Las Vegas 2009
May 11 - 16, 2009
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
. . . . .

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