Emergency Meeting Minutes, April 7, 2009

Emergency Meeting Minutes, April 7th, 7:30 p.m. Usual Spot

In attendance: Aggie, Woodsy, IO, Coyote

Absent: Conch Shell (occupied); the Chair (occupied); 4th Dwarf (down with the bubonic plague)

Aggie arrives first, on time. No one is there. She calls 4th Dwarf, but he is so ill, he cannot respond. Woodsy struts in. The IO saunters in, followed by Coyote, sporting a new jacket he is really proud of.

The conversation begins with sock monkeys. Woodsy discusses her plans to go on a date with the sock monkey workshop lady who is apparently delightful.

Aggie brings order to the meeting and directs the group to the agenda and issues of blogging. Aggie first makes it all about her and talks about the challenges of maintaining 3 blogs. The IO doesn’t seem to know about Aggie’s new crafting blog and asks “How is this different from Aggie’s blog?” Aggie takes offense to the question and gets all insecure and demands encouragement, because, after all, she is doing WAY more than some other team members. Things get negative, and then positive again when people acknowledge the strengths and qualities of team members. Aggie asks team members to offer one-word for each absent team member:

4th Dwarf: “bossy” (Coyote), “insouciant (the IO), “cutting edge” (Aggie, who realizing that that was two words, reduces it to “cutting”, "REDACTED" (Woodsy).

Conch Shell: “salty” (Coyote), “engaging” (IO), “(delightfully) complex” (Aggie), "REDACTED" (Woodsy).

The Chair: “masculine” (Woodsy), “meshy” (Aggie), “overstuffed” (Coyote), “indestructible” (IO).

Then, the conversation moves to the Fifth Muse, who some still view as the “absent” team member.

Woodsy: “unknown”
Aggie: “enigmatic”
IO: “Is she still reading us?”
Coyote: “fierce”

Aggie asks Coyote if he is flirting with the 5M with this “fierce” comment, to which he answers, “always”.

The real question on the agenda, though is “why so few Emergency meetings?” The IO complains that some ESI members have gone all domestic. Aggie responds badly to this. Others offer other one-word explanations: “busy” “full” “adrift” “fragmented”. A few complaints are made about the Usual Spot, but the group is ultimately unable to come to agreement on the reason so few meetings have been happening.

Woodsy and Aggie take a time out.

The question of the Emergency meetings gets abandoned and there is a creative burst of energy and blog ideas:
1) ESI Anniversary Celebrations which includes a banner change
2) Best of ESIs series
3) Research assignments
4) Viable plans for the economic disaster
5) Never released “backchannel emails”
6) ESI gala at the Usual Spot.
7) a garden party
8) a garden gnome party
9) stealing good ideas from other blogs
10) more “breaking news”

Finally, there is a motion to hang 4th Dwarf out to dry. Woodsy seconds. Then, a motion to bring Conch Shell and the Chair together at the Usual Spot for a private shaming session. Coyote seconds that emotion.