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The earliest I can arrive at the Rally is Friday afternoon, Nov 5th. This is because of prior commitments with the "day job". Looking for advice from attendees of previous years. Will this be a major problem? Already I can see that I'm going to miss out on signing up for the One-to-One Mentor session, Thursday's Open Mics, Friday morning's classes, etc...

Other than not being able to sign up for a One-on-One Mentor is there anything else I'll miss Thursday-Friday that will affect the rest of my Rally weekend?

I see there are open mic sessions Friday and Saturday evenings also. How do you sign up for these?

Lastly, can I be signed up for a Mentor session by someone else on the Thursday afternoon? (I have a friend living in LA that I may be able to convince to stand in line on Thursday and sign me up for a Mentor session.)

Thanks in advance for the advice!

Colin

Waterman wrote:
I see there are open mic sessions Friday and Saturday evenings also. How do you sign up for these?

Hi Waterman, this year they're doing a new system for the open mics where you sign up at the door on a first come, first serve basis. So you're in luck for that one!

Bummer you can't get there sooner, but there will still be much to glean on your full day Saturday and Sunday.

I would call TAXI and find out about having someone else register for you. I doubt it will happen, though, you usually need to show some ID when you register for your badge.

That being said, the mentor sessions are a cool thing, but you'll get so much out of the classes and panels you will be able to attend that it won't be that big of a deal to miss out on the mentors this year.

You may want to register for a mentor lunch, there's usually one on Saturday.

Making it late is better than not at all, that's for sure!

Mazz

My first Rally I arrived late friday afternoon (due to some important meetings at work). It wasn't a big deal (still had a great time and made connections) but I'll never let it happen again.
See you soon!

Waterman wrote:Lastly, can I be signed up for a Mentor session by someone else on the Thursday afternoon? (I have a friend living in LA that I may be able to convince to stand in line on Thursday and sign me up for a Mentor session.)

Colin,

Mentor sessions are strictly first come first serve and are only given out after you have registered and gotten your badge (in fact they stick a sticker with your mentor appointment slot right on your badge); so no badge, no mentor appointment. I also believe the mentor appointments take place on Friday only so if you come in Friday late afternoon most if not all the mentor sessions would already have transpired anyway.
As mazz mentioned you could sign up for Saturday's Mentor Lunch, and there are also usually "drive by mentors" available throughout the weekend that you can wait in line for.

I think Jeff put it best...you will get plenty of benefits even though you're arriving late, but after your first Rally experience you'll very likely avoid coming in late in the future...

hazineju, mazz, jeff & matto - thanks for your replies. Great info and encouragement. I look forward to meeting you there!