What About My Airplane Ticket?

oh wait... I wasn't planning on going.

This is an excerpt of an e-mail I just got:

Hello Class of 1996!

I am sorry to say, but we will be cancelling our "make-up" reunion that was scheduled for Friday, November 23rd, 2007 at the Indian Springs Country Club.
The advertising of this year's "make up" reunion was not up to par...and for that, I apologize. I am certain to do a better job in future years.

If you are in touch with others from our class, please advise them that the reunion is cancelled.

A reunion with much more advanced notice will be planned in the future....I truly hope that this does not discourage you from future planned reunions because I'm sure once we get the date, a lot of notice, and most likely a less expensive ticket, we will be able to have a great event.

I admit, I giggled. But I'm not actually happy about it. I mean, I really would have like to attend - if they weren't expecting me to fly on the busiest travel weekend of the year and then pay more than I paid for my prom tickets. And I know that at least a little bit of work was put into the 10/11 year reunion.

Oh well... I guess there's nothing left to do but wait for the 15.

Seriously???

Yesterday, I got a comment on this post complaining about my high school reunion. The commenter said that Reunion Makers cancelled his/her reunion 3 days before the event and didn't refund the money. Random, eh?

Imagine my surprise when I came home tonight to an e-mail from Reunion Makers and THREE e-mails from classmates.com saying that new messages had been posted to the Reunion site. Here's what Reunion Makers had to say:

Due to lack of ticket sales, after nine (9) years of planning and hosting successful reunions nationwide, Reunion Makers, Inc. is closing down.

Unfortunately, we have to cancel your event. We know this is as heartbreaking for you as it is for us. Please accept our sincerest apologies.

Reunion Makers Staff

Well, I can't really say that I'm heart broken. Actually, I'm glad I didn't get the time off from work, buy non-refundable plane tickets, book a hotel, pay the $80/person for the reunion, and then have no reason to be in New Jersey on Thanksgiving weekend. I can only imagine the heart attack for our former class president. Here's what she had to say on the message board:

Ceise Buying Reunion Tickets

CHS CLASS OF 1996!!!

Unfortunately after several years of working on class reunions, it has come to my attention that Reunion Makers has recently gone out of business. Myself and others are taking action to see whether or not we will still be able to have our 10 year reunion as scheduled. Until then, I advise you to please STOP PURCHASING tickets through Reunion Makers online, via phone, or through the mail.

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY PURCHASED REUNION TICKETS THROUGH REUNION MAKERS

Please contact myself or Jxxxx xxxxx immediately (my e-mail address is listed on the CHS alumni website.) We will certainly keep everyone in the loop and will advise the entire class of the next steps...and again, I SINCERERLY apologize for the difficulty we are currently experiencing.

Thank you, in advance, for your patience, as we continue to work this out.

First, I'm going to be petty and point out the word "Ceise" in the subject line. Umm...no spell check on classmates.com? Second, I'm wondering how many people had actually bought tickets, and whether they'll get their money back. Third, if you write SINCERELY in all caps, does that really make is seem more sincere?

I can't wait to see how this plays out over the next month or so.

... and I'm so glad I didn't touch this reunion with a 10-foot pole!

By the way, the invitation is still open for anyone who wants to reunite in Orlando... not that anyone will take me up on it.

Let's Reunite in Orlando!

Have I whined recently about how disappointed I am over the plans made for my high school's 10-year reunion? Tough... I'm going to do it again! And this time I'm making a list of things about the reunion that annoy me:

• The reunion is on November 24, which is Thanksgiving weekend. Not only could I never get the time off from work (darn that 24/7/365 hospitality industry!), but the airfare that time of year is obscene. And if I got the time off, how could I ever justify not spending it with family?
• Tickets are $83/person. PROM tickets were $50/each, and I thought that was ridiculous, even for the "most special night" of our young lives. What does $166/couple get you? I'm so glad you asked! "Ticket price includes meal, nationwide alumni search, decorations, facility rental, staff, liability insurance, DJ, picture nametags, etc." Umm...our school has an alumni web board that has about 2/3 of our class registered. I would think that anyone who wanted to be found could be found! And unless those picture nametags are something other than the generic inkjet-printed ones that they use at conventions, they are hardly worth mention as part of the admission price!
• The "invitation," which was sent by a company called Reunion Makers (as opposed to an extremely busy alum on a nonexistant reunion committee), is nothing more than a green piece of standard 8 1/2" by 11" paper. I'm sure that was included in the $83 also. I still have my prom invitation in a box somewhere. This invitation will be in the trash before sunrise.
• The $83 doesn't even include beverages. A cash bar will be available throughout the event. Of course, considering some of the drunks in my high school, I guess this was a good decision.

Well, I guess that's enough whining... for now. I reserve the right to revisit this topic at least once a month for the rest of 2006. In the meantime, I invite any and all of my high school friends to reunite with me in Orlando... any time... there's lots to see and do... and I won't even charge you $83!