Sunday, December 30: next party in San Jose is coming up fast!

[LindyHopper]

Short notice? Yes.
In the middle of all the holiday craziness? Yup.
Worth doing anyway? Absolutely!

Jeff (of PureTickling.com) and his lovely wife have graciously opened their home to us for a New Year's Eve Eve party. This will be an early-evening to around-midnight affair, starting at 5 pm at a restaurant in San Jose, and then proceeding to his place nearby at perhaps 6:30 pm.

Contact me at [email protected] if you're thinking of attending, and I'll send out location details, rules, etc. shortly after Christmas.

We hope to see you there! Between your Saturday plans, and your New Year's Eve plans, Sunday the 30th should be a party, too!

 

[SpiffyTickler]

I can't think of a better way to have ended the year. That was so much fun.

Thanks for hosting Jeff! And thanks for bringing your friends. 😀

 

[Redmage]

That was indeed most excellent. I was expecting a small turnout, but it was one of our bigger gatherings, and definitely one of the better ones. Kudos to Jeff and Lindy and all who turned out. 🙂

 

[Icycle]

Thank you so much to Lindy for organizing this, and to Jeff and his wife for so graciously inviting us into their home. This was indeed one of the best gatherings in recent memory!

Lots of fun was had by everyone, including me in my first time being tied down as a lee in a full scale tickling scene! Wow! Look for another thread on the Tickling forum for my thoughts on that!

 

[Phineas]

Recent memory? I'd go so far as to say it's one of the best gatherings I've attended during my time here. Lots of new faces, some great scenes... definitely the way to send 2007 packin'.

 

[baubaloo]

Hey, thanks to all of you for coming. My wife and I had a great time, and would love to host again, anytime. You guys did a great job making my friends feel comfortable at the gathering. And keeping the tickling in one room, and the socializing in the other made things very smooth. That's how I felt anyways...

I'm not going to say her name, but I think you'll know who I'm talking about had a great time getting tickled. She was in heaven the whole night and couldn't have been happier. I knew she would click right up with you guys.

My other friend that was there with her husband was very impressed. She wanted me to tell all of you thank you.

I still apologize about being late to dinner when I only live 3 minutes away. That's a long story in it's self, so I won't bore you. And I hope some of you got to park in the same zip code as my house. =) lol

No really, this was a lot of fun. You guys are a good group of people, and it's an honor to hang out with all of you. Lindyhopper is awesome for setting these things up, and I'm just happy to help out where I can.

Happy New Year to you all!

Jeff

 

[Phineas]

Hey Jeff!

You were a great host, so no worries. It's good to have seen you again. Speaking personally, I'm also glad all of the newcomers had such a great time. It's always a great feeling when we're able to welcome people into the fold.

And yes, Lindyhopper is all sorts of awesome. This is one of those facts that can't be repeated enough, so I'll say it a third time and risk the wrath of Jewish Cthulhu. Lindyhopper is awesome, and you can't go wrong with her at the hosting helm. Fear my alliteration. Happy post-holidays to you all!

 

[Bagelfather]

End of 2007

The gathering was well orchestrated and a lot of fun. I am glad that we kept the social room social, and the tickling room in its own private Idaho. That helped keep things on a much more social level with play being less of a focus. I know that I spoke with that cool couple a lot between things and enjoyed talking to them immensely. I think we helped to show people that gathering folks are the majority and not the people who are annoying and rude in chat rooms (those few in the chat room who make it difficult for all of us).

I hope that Nightshade can attend one at our host's place again in the near future. I know she would love to hang out with your cats all night if she decided to get away from the rest of the monkeys (cat owners understand what I mean).

If it weren't for having to help with a New Years Eve party and driving up to the cabin I would have gladly stayed later.

With multiple California groups in the works it should be a fun time for all who wish to make it happen in 2008.

 

[Icycle]

I'm not going to say her name, but I think you'll know who I'm talking about had a great time getting tickled. She was in heaven the whole night and couldn't have been happier. I knew she would click right up with you guys.

We all know exactly who you are talking about! I'm very glad to hear she had such a good time, even though it was already pretty obvious at the gathering that she was having a blast. She was very fun to hang out with, and I personally enjoyed both tickling her and being tickled by her! 🙂

My other friend that was there with her husband was very impressed. She wanted me to tell all of you thank you.

I'm glad to hear that. I didn't get to talk to them as much as I had hoped. Maybe we'll see them again some time?

The gathering was well orchestrated and a lot of fun.

And thanks again to Lindy and Jeff for all their work in orchestrating it!

I am glad that we kept the social room social, and the tickling room in its own private Idaho. That helped keep things on a much more social level with play being less of a focus.

I agree that it's always best when our space is big enough to easily accommodate both a social space and a play space simultanously. I'm not sure I would agree that there was less of a focus on play though, perhaps that play was not the sole focus. For those of us who hung it mostly in the play room, that certainly seemed like the focus of the event. I mean, how often do we get five different tickling scenes, including two first timers, followed by a 5 person all-against-all group tickle? The play portion of the party was definitely a blast!

 

[Phineas]

We all know exactly who you are talking about! I'm very glad to hear she had such a good time, even though it was already pretty obvious at the gathering that she was having a blast. She was very fun to hang out with, and I personally enjoyed both tickling her and being tickled by her! 🙂

Seconded (or is it thirded, at this point?). I guess this means we need to gang-tickle Lindy until she agrees to set up another gathering for January. After all, we haven't had one all year.

And I honestly can say that I don't think I've ever seen a first-comer take to the festivities with such rampant glee. You can tell she was in her element and loving every minute of it. It's awesome to be able to provide that kind of experience for people... I guess that's why we do what we do.

For those of us who hung it mostly in the play room, that certainly seemed like the focus of the event. I mean, how often do we get five different tickling scenes, including two first timers, followed by a 5 person all-against-all group tickle? The play portion of the party was definitely a blast!

Seriously... I don't normally not "come up for air" like that, but there was just so much going on, to both do and see, that I couldn't tear myself away.

 

[LindyHopper]

I'm so glad that everyone had such a great time!

I agree with all those who appreciated the division of space between socializing and tickling. We've had a lot of our parties in locations that didn't facilitate that kind of separation, and we're very grateful to Jeff and his wife for opening their home to us so we could have such a great setup. 🙂

I also want to thank Jeff for his intense recruiting efforts this time around. We all really value the opportunity to bring new people into this community, and we have Jeff to thank for the awesome new folks we met on Sunday.

We also appreciate all your kudos and thanks (especially you, Phineas! ). Hosting can feel kind of thankless sometimes, and it's wonderful for us hosts when guests recognize that great events don't just materialize out of thin air. Jeff and I must have sent twenty e-mails back and forth to get every detail right. And when these efforts pay off, the results can be truly amazing!


So for our next party, I'm figuring..... February 2, maybe? What do you guys think?

Another option could be Presidents' Day weekend, February 16/17. Non-locals might be more able to make the trip. OTOH, some of our local folks might be skipping town. Discuss. 😉


Hugs all around, and I'll see you soon!

 

[Phineas]

I also want to thank Jeff for his intense recruiting efforts this time around. We all really value the opportunity to bring new people into this community, and we have Jeff to thank for the awesome new folks we met on Sunday.

Hear, hear. Don't let the fact that everyone's singin' Hosannas to the 'hopper lead one to believe that Jeff is any less deservin', here, and if I didn't say it before, I'll say it now. Kudos are due, and we thank you for letting us turn your home - and bedspread - upside down. You were a gracious host.

So for our next party, I'm figuring..... February 2, maybe? What do you guys think?

Works for me.

Another option could be Presidents' Day weekend, February 16/17.

Also works for me.

Discuss. 😉

I just can't decide. Guess you'll just have to have two of them.

Okay, I'll stop posting to this thread now. Honest.

 

[Redmage]

Feb 2 MIGHT work better all-round, as the weekend of the 16th is also the weekend closest to Valentine's Day.

 

[SpiffyTickler]

Feb 2 would work fine for me too.

 

[starfires]

Ok, that was a good gathering. It was the best one I can remember at the moment. My memory might be flaky, though, so I'll try another way to quantify it: I would give up a month of playing Eve, including skill training, to experience that again. (For those of you who don't know Eve, or the severity of my habit, that is, like, a lot.)
Many thanks to baubaloo and Lindy for organizing this, and I hope we didn't severely overstay our welcome by playing into the wee hours of the morning.

Speaking of doing that again, I like the Feb 2nd option, if for no other reason then because it's closer than Feb 16th.

 

[LindyHopper]

Oh yes! Two things I forgot to say earlier:

1. We sooooo apologize to Jeff and his wife for staying so late! We normally don't go until 3 am like that, I swear, and under normal circumstances, I would have gladly dragged everyone out by their still-attached cuffs. 😛 But there were some important "firsts" going on late that night, and we're very grateful for you two for offering us the time and space to let them play out. Thank you.

2. We totally ought to do that free-for-all thing more often! I do enjoy taking the time to set up a scene, with proper bondage and everything, but the energy of a five-way tickle fight is totally different, and very cool. 🙂 Really, come to think of it, one of my favorite tickling scenes of all time involved no bondage at all, just being pinned down on the floor by one guy on each limb. Just in case anyone was curious.


Now... next party: since starfires (the prospective host) says he likes Feb. 2, then Feb. 2 it is. Save the date! (Do I need to start another thread, or would that be redundant? )

Anyhoo - it was wonderful seeing you all, and we must do that again sometime (slightly over 4 weeks) in the future. 😉

 

[Icycle]

1. We sooooo apologize to Jeff and his wife for staying so late! We normally don't go until 3 am like that, I swear, and under normal circumstances, I would have gladly dragged everyone out by their still-attached cuffs. 😛 But there were some important "firsts" going on late that night, and we're very grateful for you two for offering us the time and space to let them play out. Thank you.

As one of the beneficiaries of a couple of those firsts, I want want to sincerely thank Jeff for his understanding and graciousness in letting us play so late. I really appreciate it!

2. We totally ought to do that free-for-all thing more often! I do enjoy taking the time to set up a scene, with proper bondage and everything, but the energy of a five-way tickle fight is totally different, and very cool. 🙂

Yeah, that was a blast, and totally spontaneous! It was a completely different experience, since everyone was constantly shifting between holding other people down, and being held down yourself, between tickling and being tickled, and often both at the same time!

Really, come to think of it, one of my favorite tickling scenes of all time involved no bondage at all, just being pinned down on the floor by one guy on each limb. Just in case anyone was curious.

Not quite the same thing, since it was five-on-one instead of five-on-five, but yeah that was a fun scene too! As 'ler, normally a group scene results in a lot less feedback from the 'lee since you can't tell whose actions are making her squirm. But in that scene, since everyone was both holding a limb as well as tickling, you could tell a lot easier when it was your feather that caused her arm to struggle!

 

[Phineas]

Oh yes! Two things I forgot to say earlier:

2. We totally ought to do that free-for-all thing more often! I do enjoy taking the time to set up a scene, with proper bondage and everything, but the energy of a five-way tickle fight is totally different, and very cool. 🙂 Really, come to think of it, one of my favorite tickling scenes of all time involved no bondage at all, just being pinned down on the floor by one guy on each limb. Just in case anyone was curious.

Well, first of all... Hell yeah.

That scene has pretty much put a 'win' in my personal philosophy column in terms of my assertion that tickling isn't always about control, bondage, or BDSM. I've had discussions on this with people (you included, Lindy, if memory serves) in the past, where they just simply could not wrap their brains around the fact that tickling, for me, is not about exerting dominance over another person. Sure, bondage is a good, practical way to keep people from kicking you in the noodle or knocking over furniture, but nothing, and I do mean nothing beats two (or more) people intimately bonding through little more than a light touch and shared laughter. I was completely exhausted after that scene - but in an extremely good way. Note, also, that that is the first time anyone has tickled me at a gathering. That should tell you something right there...

 

[baubaloo]

We sooooo apologize to Jeff and his wife for staying so late! We normally don't go until 3 am like that, I swear, and under normal circumstances, I would have gladly dragged everyone out by their still-attached cuffs. 😛 But there were some important "firsts" going on late that night, and we're very grateful for you two for offering us the time and space to let them play out. Thank you.

Hey, no need to apologize...

I'm just glad you guys had fun, and stayed till 3 am!