Jigsaws and Dominoes

This past weekend was the start of my push to finish off the basic calendar dates for All Known Events and to lock in the dates of the various Official Visits so that the local officers can start finding a place to hold each of them.

I know that the last minute is beyond a shadow of a doubt the most productive time of any project because so many things wouldn't get done if it wasn't there and so many people save up for that last minute.  Lots of us work better when we are under pressure, so that is understandable.  And I am very glad to find out that people want to hold events and need dates for them.  I am excited about each and every plan.

But once the calendar has sort of been filled out, fitting in other events is an interesting mixture of jigsaw puzzles and dominoes.

It is a jigsaw puzzle because you are trying to get events to fit with one another.  If I go here, what is the travel time to there?  How long does that sort of event take?  Will the clothing needed for these two events be compatible or do we have to build in time to change clothes?  Will we be able to stay at one hotel for the weekend or have to change between Friday and Saturday?  Will this group be too tired from putting on this to do that the same weekend and how far should we travel to avoid that?  If we have breakfast here and lunch there, will there be traffic or will it work out?

And it is kind of like dominoes because when you move one thing, a whole bunch of other things have to move over too.  If you need to go here, then you will need to go there, so that has to move, but then that was going to go to this which now has to go to that, so that has to move too, and so on and so on.

So far today, I have added five events, necessitating the moving of twelve other things.  I hope to goodness that I have written it all out correctly and haven't got someone in two places and someone else in none!  Tonight when I go home and put all this on the big board, I hope it still looks right.

Hopefully the last few items will come in tonight or tomorrow and we will be able to lock most things down by Saturday.

This weekend I will be home, finishing this nice calendar and pushing into a bunch of forms and binders that need drafting and preparing.