Hi Everyone,
Before I jump into the rest of this note, I have an apology to make. I try to reply rapidly to email in general and especially to emails from you all. However, it's been a hell of a couple of months (in both the best and worst ways). As a result, I've been very remiss in getting back to people unless the topic was urgent. If you've sent me an email in the past month or two and haven't heard back from me -- I'm not ignoring you and I will write back. It's just been pretty hard staying on top of everything of late.
Also, before I go much further, I wanted your opinion about something. We're planning a sponsors' trip to Alcatraz in April. It'll be in the evening around 6:30 pm. I'm not sure whether it makes more sense to schedule it for a Thursday night or a Saturday night. Would you let me know what would be best for you (assuming that it's something you'd like to come along for)?
Building Update
I'm sure that you're all curious how the process with the building is going. Yesterday I did the final walk-through with the previous owner, Bruce, to confirm that he had moved all his stuff out and cleaned up. With the help of the folks at The Internet Archive, he got the whole job done on time. He and I chatted for a bit and then he handed off the keys. So, now it's all ours.
Last Friday, with the help of many volunteers, Melinda (our gardener) and I got all the ivy out of the backyard. In all, we took five truckloads of debris for disposal. The yard looks pretty bleak now but we see a blank canvas full of possibilities. We're working on the design right now and I'll give you more information as we have it.
The next step is to do some demolition of the collapsing drop ceiling and some of the partition walls (I'll be working on that this Saturday -- tomorrow -- see below if you'd like to come lend a hand or just supervise). I hope to have all that material out of the way by Monday because that's when I'll be meeting with our architect, Kevin J. Short <https://kjs-arch.com>, along with our likely choice of contractor for the seismic retrofit. Kevin will also be drafting the "as-built" plans shortly. Those plans, which show the building as it stands right now, will be the basis for both the retrofit and the other work that we'll do.
The first piece of interior work will be that soft-story seismic retrofit. It's a job that ties into the fundamental structure of the building and so we want to get it done first, before any other work takes place. After that, we'll get the bathroom upgraded to an ADA accessible state. That job will include plumbing, which is also a very early part of the work that we'll do. Once those two steps are complete, then we get into the electrical work, followed by the walls and ceilings. When that is done, then it's time to repair and refinish the floors. With all the surfaces complete, the last step will be building the shelves and getting the place ready to open. While all that is going on, Melinda will be working on the garden and I'll be taking care of all the little details.
At this point, there are too many variables to make even an educated guess at how long the process will take. I'm hoping for a May opening but, please, don't hold me to that.
I hope to have some pictures up at the sponsor's blog within a week or two. I'll send out a note when that is done (that same note will probably let you know that we're ready to accept on-line pre-orders for 2018 sponsorship renewals).
Work Day at Haight Street
As I mentioned, I'll be doing demolition work at Haight Street on Saturday, December the 2nd, from 11 am to 4 pm (and, perhaps later). It's going to be a fun but messy job (sheetrock, plaster, and dust). If you'd like to lend a hand and you haven't already expressed an interest, drop me a line by replying to this email and I'll get you all the details. (By the way, if you're interested in how buildings are put together and taken apart, you will find this day's work very educational.)
Sponsorship Renewals
Jeremy and I are getting the on-line pre-orders for 2018 sponsorships set up right now. We plan to have it ready to go by December 15th if not sooner. I'll be sending out a note letting you know that it's ready just as soon as it is, in fact, ready.
Pre-Order Anniversary Hoodies
We've already sold out of almost our entire first order of the nifty, embroidered, sponsor-only, anniversary hoodies (seriously, they look great http://borderlands-sponsors.blogspot.com/2017/12/20th-anniversary-hoodie.html). If you haven't gotten one yet (or if we ran out of your size) please reply to this email with the size that you would like (remember, they are a very tailored fit, so you might want to go up a size larger than usual). We'll be placing an order for the second run in the middle of this month so please do get in touch soon. Also, we're happy to ship them anywhere on the planet (one of the first orders went to NYC) so don't hold back just 'cause you're out of town. They are $55 each and shipping varies depending on distance. Also, if you're looking for a nice gift for your bookish friends, we have the standard silk-screened version for sale as well. Same price and, although not as cool as the embroidered ones, they still sport Michelle Rapp's lovely anniversary design.
Holiday Package Delivery
As a reminder, we're happy to accept packages at the shop for all sponsors. If you're concerned that delivery to your home might be a problem, please do take advantage of this. Just have it addressed
<your name>, Sponsor
c/o Borderlands Books
866 Valencia St.
SF CA 94110
and we'll give you a call or email as soon as it arrives. We do ask that, since we have an awful lot of packages arriving this month, you please make an effort to come by to pick it up as soon as possible.
Upcoming Sponsor Events
The Buzz-Cut version:
(1) Sunday, December 10th from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm - Dickens' Fair. We are gathering at the Cow Palace to celebrate the holidays in Victorian England. We need to hit a minimum of 20 attendees to make the group rate of $20.00, so invite all your friends. Pre-payment is required to get the reduced ticket price.
(2) Tuesday, December 26th at 7:00 pm - Sponsor Cocktails. Who doesn't love drinking at Churchill? We will definitely be out again this month at the same location and time to enjoy the company of fellow sponsors. Meet us at Churchill, 198 Church Street at Market Street.
(3) Tuesday, January 23rd at 7:00 pm - Sponsor Cocktails at Churchill again!
(4) Saturday, January 27th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Social, Borderlands Bookstore and Cafe.
(5) Saturday, February 10th at 4:00 pm - Tour and Tasting at Anchor Brewery. $25.00 per person, which includes tour and tasting. One guest only, space will be limited.
(6) Friday, March 16th at 7:00 pm - Roller Skating at Church of 8 Wheels
(7) April - Alcatraz Nighttime Tour. Details to come.
The Chewbacca version:
(1) Sunday, December 10th from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm -- Dickens' Fair at The Cow Palace. We are gathering at The Cow Palace on Sunday, December 10th at 1:00 pm to enjoy the sights and sounds of nineteenth-century London. Shuttle is available to and from the Glen Park BART station every 30 minutes to the Cow Palace. We will have a discounted rate of $20.00 per person and you're welcome to bring any many guests as you wish. You can call the store with a credit card number or drop by to pay in advance with credit card, cash or check before December 5th. Please invite your friends and family to come join us that day to make it Borderlands excursion to remember. Costumes are encouraged but not required. (See the Costume Guidelines for assistance: https://dickensfair.com/involved/vendors-performers/costumeguide)
(2) Tuesday, December 26th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Our next Monthly Sponsor Cocktail night will be at Churchill (198 Church Street at Market) <http://www.churchillsf.com/>; some combination of us will be there from at least 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm. No need to RSVP and any number of guests and friends are welcome. The bar is INCREDIBLY convenient to public transit -- the MUNI Metro Underground (via F, K, L, and M lines at Church Street,) and J and N lines stop less than a block away.
(3) Tuesday, January 23rd at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails at Churchill again!
(4) Saturday, January 27th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Social at Borderlands Books and Cafe. We're still running a bit behind after all the excitement over the last months, so the details of this first social of the year are still being arranged. But mark your calendar now!
(5) Saturday, February 10th at 4:00 pm - Tour and Tasting at Anchor Brewery. $25.00 per person. From their website <https://www.anchorbrewing.com/brewery/tours>: "You’ll get a brief history of our company and a walk through three floors of our brewery. And yes, there’s a tasting session immediately to follow. Together, the brewery tour and the beer tasting last for about 1.5 hours." There will only be 10 spaces in our group so you're welcome to bring only one guest. Prepayment will be required - please RSVP by replying to this note and we'll make payment arrangements with you. 1705 Mariposa St, San Francisco, CA 94107
(6) Friday, March 16th at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm - Roller Skating at Church of 8 Wheels. Housed in the 118-year-old former location of Sacred Heart Church (554 Fillmore Street at Fell Street in San Francisco) The Church of 8 Wheels welcomes anyone over the age of 18 to Friday night disco. Admission is $10.00 and skate rentals are an additional $5.00. Personal skates and roller blades are allowed and should weather dictate layering, there is a coat check at the door. http://www.churchof8wheels.com/. Please feel free to bring as many friends as you would like. We'll follow up with drinks at The Toronado (over 40 beers on tap - http://www.toronado.com), 547 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117.
(7) April -- Alcatraz Night Tour. The tour of Alcatraz Island at night is supposed to be much cooler than the usual daytime one. We'd love to have you join us for this event. Look for complete information in our next sponsor note.
Friday, December 1, 2017
20th Anniversary Hoodie
I tried to find a better model but the choices this afternoon were . . . limited. So you're stuck with me. To give an idea of sizing, I'm 6' 1" and weigh about 135 lbs (yes, I am, in fact one scrawny, bean-pole of a bookseller). The hoodie I'm wearing is a extra large (I normally wear a large). They really are cut for quite a trim fit.
Here's the rear, which is the best part (arguably of both the hoodie and yours truly).
And here's a closer view of Michelle Rapp's lovely design.
Really, I'm very happy to be modeling this hoodie. Really. I'm . . . happy. You will note that the logo on the front indicates that this is the sponsors' only version (as if the embroidery didn't give it away).
I have a long neck and most hoodies don't actually cover my head properly. They end up looking like the beanie version of a hood. Not so with this one. I can actually do the full-on, "dark, cowled figure" in this get up*. The hood here is actually pulled back a bit so you can see my "Welcome to Borderlands, please check your cash, soul and weapons at the door" smile.
Seriously though, they really are pretty darn nice hoodies and we're only going to do one more run of them, so email your order to sponsors@borderlands-books.com soon.
* Note: The "full-on, dark, cowled figure look"(tm) assumes appropriate shadows and stormy sky in the background. Why do they make bookstores so darn bright? It completely cramps my style.
Here's the rear, which is the best part (arguably of both the hoodie and yours truly).
And here's a closer view of Michelle Rapp's lovely design.
Really, I'm very happy to be modeling this hoodie. Really. I'm . . . happy. You will note that the logo on the front indicates that this is the sponsors' only version (as if the embroidery didn't give it away).
I have a long neck and most hoodies don't actually cover my head properly. They end up looking like the beanie version of a hood. Not so with this one. I can actually do the full-on, "dark, cowled figure" in this get up*. The hood here is actually pulled back a bit so you can see my "Welcome to Borderlands, please check your cash, soul and weapons at the door" smile.
Seriously though, they really are pretty darn nice hoodies and we're only going to do one more run of them, so email your order to sponsors@borderlands-books.com soon.
* Note: The "full-on, dark, cowled figure look"(tm) assumes appropriate shadows and stormy sky in the background. Why do they make bookstores so darn bright? It completely cramps my style.
Monday, November 13, 2017
Sponsor Letter, November 13th 2017
Hello Dear Sponsors,
First off, thank you for being patient with my recent silence (although, given how I have been flooding your mail boxes over the past month, you might have enjoyed the break). After the combination of going a month without a day off, being out of town at the World Fantasy Convention, and then catching up on everything that I had let slide over the last month (bookkeeping, for one) . . . well, let's just say I needed a little breather.
Before I dive into the current building news, let me catch you up on our upcoming events. Right now we've only a few scheduled -
Saturday, November, 18th, 10 am to 11 pm (yup, you read the time right) - Borderlands 20th Anniversary Party (and Sponsor Social) - All the details are at the end of this note but the short version is:
Noon to 6 pm - Author signings galore (including folks like Gail Carriger, Richard Kadrey, and Peter Beagle) plus staff recommended books at cost, cake, and DJ Steve Boyett.
6 pm to 7 pm - We'll be setting up for the social but you're welcome to hang out.
7pm to 11 pm - Sponsor Social! Indian food to die for, lotsa drinks, more DJ, silly stories from Alan, door prizes, much talk of Haight Street and world domination.
11 pm to ??? - If you're still standing (I don't need to be standing -- Jude's got a wheelbarrow for me), close-down drinks across the street at the Phoenix Pub.
Tuesday, November 28th at 7 pm - Sponsor Cocktails at Churchill
We're continuing our Monthly Sponsor Cocktail night at Churchill (198 Church Street at Market) <http://www.churchillsf.com/>; some combination of us will be there from at least 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm. No need to RSVP and any number of guests and friends are welcome. The bar is INCREDIBLY convenient to public transit -- the MUNI Metro Underground (via F, K, L, and M lines at Church Street,) and J and N lines stop less than a block away.
Sunday, December 10th, 2 pm to 6 pm - Dickens Fair
We're going to Dickens Fair as a group <https://dickensfair.com>. We've arranged group tickets for $20 per person and there's no limit to the number of people who can come so please feel free to bring friends, family, children, strangers you met at the bar last night, and so on. If you'd like to come, please drop us a line by replying to this email and include the number of people you will be bringing. We'll get back to you and make arrangements for pre-payment for the tickets. Look for car-pooling information in the next sponsor note.
In the next sponsor note I'll have the schedule of events for the first part of next year, details about sponsorship renewals, mail order information for anniversary hoodies and lots of other news. But for now, we still need to work out all those details.
Now, some news about our new building. First off, it's paid for and escrow will close on Tuesday. I've got a long piece explaining where we go from here in the store newsletter, which I'll be sending out shortly after (or, perhaps, before) this note. Something that I'm not mentioning in the newsletter is that we've got an official building historian and he's been damn busy over the past few weeks.
Zach Harper has been a sponsor since the very beginning (and part of the first 300 -- #260 to be precise). He got interested in finding out a bit about the history of 1377 Haight St. and did a bit of digging. And then he caught the city-history bug (something that afflicts Jude and I, BTW). He's still working on the previous occupants of the building but he's got an awful lot of the history nailed down already. You can see his work thus far at -https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K6LYhBN0A3cvqvldjvTbeUPopjlOxEubYENKp12hlrc/edit?usp=sharing . It's so cool what he's found -- from the original advertisement when the lot was sold at auction through the old Sanborn Fire Insurance maps and even bios of the owners and the architect. We are still very short on historic pictures of the place so, if you run across any, drop me a line and I'll pass them along to him.
In other building news, I'm going to be hanging around the place this Thursday, November the 16th, from 4 pm to 8 pm. If you'd like to come down, take a look at the space, say hi, and chat with me about layout and future plans -- I'd love to see you and show off our new House on the Borderland. The address is 1377 Haight St. and it's just east of Masonic Avenue.
I'm really looking forward to seeing you, either at the building, at the party, or at Dickens Fair. We really do have an awful lot to celebrate!
All Best,
Alan
Complete Anniversary Party Details
Borderlands 20th Anniversary Party, Saturday, November 18th, 10 am to 6 pm - We're celebrating two decades of bookselling with an all-day party. At noon, the store will open to the general public and the fun really starts. We'll have a rotating lineup of some of our favorite local authors signing their work in half-hour blocks. The schedule is:
12:00 pm: Dana Fredsti, Nick Mamatas, Megan E. O'Keefe, and Tim Pratt; 1:00 pm: Peter S. Beagle, Michael Blumlein, Becca Gomez Farrell, and Nancy Jane Moore; 2:00 pm: Richard Kadrey, Ellen Klages, and Pat Murphy; 3:00 pm: Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz; 4:30 pm: Cara Black and Kelli Stanley; 5:00 pm: Steve Boyett & Ken Mitchroney, Gail Carriger, and Katherine Kerr.
Also, as long as supplies last, we'll have our staff's selection of their all-time favorite books for sale at our cost as a "thank you" for 20 wonderful years of bookselling. Last but not least, we'll be unveiling our limited edition anniversary hoodie featuring a lovely design by Michelle Rapp. It's right on time for the chilly season and would make a great holiday present for the booklover in your life.
At four, the music starts, courtesy of DJ Steve Boyett of Groovelectric and Podrunner fame - http://www.groovelectric.com (since there's going to be music, we might just have to start our afternoon cocktails around then, too). Also at four there will be an extraordinary cake, thanks to the incomparable Madeleine Robins.
Then come 6 pm we'll be closing early to get ready for our last sponsor party of 2017. We hope you'll join us for an incredible day!
First off, thank you for being patient with my recent silence (although, given how I have been flooding your mail boxes over the past month, you might have enjoyed the break). After the combination of going a month without a day off, being out of town at the World Fantasy Convention, and then catching up on everything that I had let slide over the last month (bookkeeping, for one) . . . well, let's just say I needed a little breather.
Before I dive into the current building news, let me catch you up on our upcoming events. Right now we've only a few scheduled -
Saturday, November, 18th, 10 am to 11 pm (yup, you read the time right) - Borderlands 20th Anniversary Party (and Sponsor Social) - All the details are at the end of this note but the short version is:
Noon to 6 pm - Author signings galore (including folks like Gail Carriger, Richard Kadrey, and Peter Beagle) plus staff recommended books at cost, cake, and DJ Steve Boyett.
6 pm to 7 pm - We'll be setting up for the social but you're welcome to hang out.
7pm to 11 pm - Sponsor Social! Indian food to die for, lotsa drinks, more DJ, silly stories from Alan, door prizes, much talk of Haight Street and world domination.
11 pm to ??? - If you're still standing (I don't need to be standing -- Jude's got a wheelbarrow for me), close-down drinks across the street at the Phoenix Pub.
Tuesday, November 28th at 7 pm - Sponsor Cocktails at Churchill
We're continuing our Monthly Sponsor Cocktail night at Churchill (198 Church Street at Market) <http://www.churchillsf.com/>; some combination of us will be there from at least 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm. No need to RSVP and any number of guests and friends are welcome. The bar is INCREDIBLY convenient to public transit -- the MUNI Metro Underground (via F, K, L, and M lines at Church Street,) and J and N lines stop less than a block away.
Sunday, December 10th, 2 pm to 6 pm - Dickens Fair
We're going to Dickens Fair as a group <https://dickensfair.com>. We've arranged group tickets for $20 per person and there's no limit to the number of people who can come so please feel free to bring friends, family, children, strangers you met at the bar last night, and so on. If you'd like to come, please drop us a line by replying to this email and include the number of people you will be bringing. We'll get back to you and make arrangements for pre-payment for the tickets. Look for car-pooling information in the next sponsor note.
In the next sponsor note I'll have the schedule of events for the first part of next year, details about sponsorship renewals, mail order information for anniversary hoodies and lots of other news. But for now, we still need to work out all those details.
Now, some news about our new building. First off, it's paid for and escrow will close on Tuesday. I've got a long piece explaining where we go from here in the store newsletter, which I'll be sending out shortly after (or, perhaps, before) this note. Something that I'm not mentioning in the newsletter is that we've got an official building historian and he's been damn busy over the past few weeks.
Zach Harper has been a sponsor since the very beginning (and part of the first 300 -- #260 to be precise). He got interested in finding out a bit about the history of 1377 Haight St. and did a bit of digging. And then he caught the city-history bug (something that afflicts Jude and I, BTW). He's still working on the previous occupants of the building but he's got an awful lot of the history nailed down already. You can see his work thus far at -https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K6LYhBN0A3cvqvldjvTbeUPopjlOxEubYENKp12hlrc/edit?usp=sharing . It's so cool what he's found -- from the original advertisement when the lot was sold at auction through the old Sanborn Fire Insurance maps and even bios of the owners and the architect. We are still very short on historic pictures of the place so, if you run across any, drop me a line and I'll pass them along to him.
In other building news, I'm going to be hanging around the place this Thursday, November the 16th, from 4 pm to 8 pm. If you'd like to come down, take a look at the space, say hi, and chat with me about layout and future plans -- I'd love to see you and show off our new House on the Borderland. The address is 1377 Haight St. and it's just east of Masonic Avenue.
I'm really looking forward to seeing you, either at the building, at the party, or at Dickens Fair. We really do have an awful lot to celebrate!
All Best,
Alan
Complete Anniversary Party Details
Borderlands 20th Anniversary Party, Saturday, November 18th, 10 am to 6 pm - We're celebrating two decades of bookselling with an all-day party. At noon, the store will open to the general public and the fun really starts. We'll have a rotating lineup of some of our favorite local authors signing their work in half-hour blocks. The schedule is:
12:00 pm: Dana Fredsti, Nick Mamatas, Megan E. O'Keefe, and Tim Pratt; 1:00 pm: Peter S. Beagle, Michael Blumlein, Becca Gomez Farrell, and Nancy Jane Moore; 2:00 pm: Richard Kadrey, Ellen Klages, and Pat Murphy; 3:00 pm: Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz; 4:30 pm: Cara Black and Kelli Stanley; 5:00 pm: Steve Boyett & Ken Mitchroney, Gail Carriger, and Katherine Kerr.
Also, as long as supplies last, we'll have our staff's selection of their all-time favorite books for sale at our cost as a "thank you" for 20 wonderful years of bookselling. Last but not least, we'll be unveiling our limited edition anniversary hoodie featuring a lovely design by Michelle Rapp. It's right on time for the chilly season and would make a great holiday present for the booklover in your life.
At four, the music starts, courtesy of DJ Steve Boyett of Groovelectric and Podrunner fame - http://www.groovelectric.com (since there's going to be music, we might just have to start our afternoon cocktails around then, too). Also at four there will be an extraordinary cake, thanks to the incomparable Madeleine Robins.
Then come 6 pm we'll be closing early to get ready for our last sponsor party of 2017. We hope you'll join us for an incredible day!
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Building Update #10 - Signed, Sealed, and Delivered
Hi Everyone,
We've finished negotiations about the price reduction on the building. There was a little back and forth but not as much as I expected. Thanks to the fast work of Diarmuid MacNiell and Jon Fitzgibbon, we had estimates for a total of roughly $115,000 of repair work. Specifically; repairing the retaining wall in the backyard, sorting out the funky framing in the basement, doing a soft-story retrofit, and replacing the roof.
The negotiation was pretty fast since two of those items we knew about going in (the roof and the soft-story). It would be pretty disingenuous to say that we hadn't considered those costs when we made our offer and so we started asking for $70,000 off. With a little back-and-forth, we settled for $41,000 off the agreed price. Since the two things we didn't know about going in (the basement and the retaining wall) were estimated at at total of $42,000, I think we did pretty well. I might have been happier with an extra thousand dollars but, when we're doing a two-million-plus dollar deal, $1000 is kind of small change. I didn't think it was worth fighting over.
So, excluding closing costs, the final price was $2,259,000. And that feels really darn good. It also means we've got a bit of a surplus since we were aiming for a $100,000 repairs budget and now we've got $141,000. I think that the best plan is to get the repairs done and then see where we stand. I expect that I'll use the surplus to pay off some loans early but we'll see how things shake out once the hammers hit the nails.
The most exciting thing is that all the contingencies have been removed as of this evening. Since those are the only ways out of the deal for both the buyer and the seller, with them taken care of it's just a matter of finishing the escrow period and then were done. Translation -- there isn't any work left to do (other than lots of planning) and it's very unlikely that anything is going to happen at this point to derail the deal.
I'm going to be talking with the seller to see if we can close sooner. There isn't an advantage to taking a longer time and, the sooner it's closed, the sooner we can get in there and start working. I'll probably need to give the seller more time to get his stuff out of the place (since it's reasonable to figure that he planned on being out based on the original closing date) but that won't stop us from tearing out ivy, cleaning up the basement, getting measurements taken and plans drawn up.
It's all coming together very nicely.
Which is good; because I'm on a plane tomorrow at 7 am for San Antonio and the World Fantasy Convention. I'll be back in town Monday night and back at work on Tuesday. If you're going to the convention, make sure you let me know and I'll get you an invitation to our Sponsors' Scotch tasting on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 pm.
Since I'll be at the convention and running around quite a bit, please forgive me if I'm less responsive than usual to email. Scott Cox is coming along and so he'll be a bit slow in the email department as well.
Thank you all for everything you've done for Borderlands over the years. Day after tomorrow will be exactly 20 years to the day since I opened the shop's doors in Hayes Valley. It's been a hell of a trip and I'm looking forward to the next 20 years with unbridled hope and excitement. At the beginning of 2015, I never imagined that we'd all be here and doing this.
All Best,
Alan
We've finished negotiations about the price reduction on the building. There was a little back and forth but not as much as I expected. Thanks to the fast work of Diarmuid MacNiell and Jon Fitzgibbon, we had estimates for a total of roughly $115,000 of repair work. Specifically; repairing the retaining wall in the backyard, sorting out the funky framing in the basement, doing a soft-story retrofit, and replacing the roof.
The negotiation was pretty fast since two of those items we knew about going in (the roof and the soft-story). It would be pretty disingenuous to say that we hadn't considered those costs when we made our offer and so we started asking for $70,000 off. With a little back-and-forth, we settled for $41,000 off the agreed price. Since the two things we didn't know about going in (the basement and the retaining wall) were estimated at at total of $42,000, I think we did pretty well. I might have been happier with an extra thousand dollars but, when we're doing a two-million-plus dollar deal, $1000 is kind of small change. I didn't think it was worth fighting over.
So, excluding closing costs, the final price was $2,259,000. And that feels really darn good. It also means we've got a bit of a surplus since we were aiming for a $100,000 repairs budget and now we've got $141,000. I think that the best plan is to get the repairs done and then see where we stand. I expect that I'll use the surplus to pay off some loans early but we'll see how things shake out once the hammers hit the nails.
The most exciting thing is that all the contingencies have been removed as of this evening. Since those are the only ways out of the deal for both the buyer and the seller, with them taken care of it's just a matter of finishing the escrow period and then were done. Translation -- there isn't any work left to do (other than lots of planning) and it's very unlikely that anything is going to happen at this point to derail the deal.
I'm going to be talking with the seller to see if we can close sooner. There isn't an advantage to taking a longer time and, the sooner it's closed, the sooner we can get in there and start working. I'll probably need to give the seller more time to get his stuff out of the place (since it's reasonable to figure that he planned on being out based on the original closing date) but that won't stop us from tearing out ivy, cleaning up the basement, getting measurements taken and plans drawn up.
It's all coming together very nicely.
Which is good; because I'm on a plane tomorrow at 7 am for San Antonio and the World Fantasy Convention. I'll be back in town Monday night and back at work on Tuesday. If you're going to the convention, make sure you let me know and I'll get you an invitation to our Sponsors' Scotch tasting on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 pm.
Since I'll be at the convention and running around quite a bit, please forgive me if I'm less responsive than usual to email. Scott Cox is coming along and so he'll be a bit slow in the email department as well.
Thank you all for everything you've done for Borderlands over the years. Day after tomorrow will be exactly 20 years to the day since I opened the shop's doors in Hayes Valley. It's been a hell of a trip and I'm looking forward to the next 20 years with unbridled hope and excitement. At the beginning of 2015, I never imagined that we'd all be here and doing this.
All Best,
Alan
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Building Update #9 - WE DID IT!
As of about 60 minutes ago, we had enough funds in the bank to pay for the building. I cannot tell you how happy and excited I am about this. It truly is a dream come true.
More than that though -- we've shown our city, our field, and the world what is possible. A few days ago I was talking with one of our lenders in the office. He thanked me for changing the way that people look at the world and expanding what people believe is possible. I was surprised and kind of embarrassed by the sentiment. I'm not some big deal mover-and-shaker; I'm just a guy who likes to sell books.
But then I thought about it a bit and pointed out to him that I didn't do that. We all did. My part was suggesting that the world could be different and that something kind of crazy might be possible. You all, our sponsors and the folks who lent us money and those that supported us in a hundred other ways, too -- you're the people who changed how people can look at the world and you expanded the idea of what is possible. And I would expect no less from lovers of speculative and fantastic literature.
First, you did it by being sponsors and allowing us to continue to operate. Then you proved that idea wasn't just a one-shot, flash-in-the-pan but that it was a viable idea for the long term (we have more sponsors this year than last year; the program is growing, not shrinking). Those things were the basis and foundation that gave me the confidence and hope to try what we just accomplished.
And we did this: 49 lenders in total, $1.9 million dollars, in 18 days.
Thank you all for making a dream come true and showing just how powerful a like-minded, reasonable group of people can be.
Warmest Regards,
Alan
PS There is one other group that deserves credit for what we've done -- the staff at the Bookstore and Cafe. They are so good at what they do that I hardly had to think about work for the past 18 days. Further, they are the people who truly give shape to Borderlands. I'd just be a lonely guy in a tiny bookshop without them.
More than that though -- we've shown our city, our field, and the world what is possible. A few days ago I was talking with one of our lenders in the office. He thanked me for changing the way that people look at the world and expanding what people believe is possible. I was surprised and kind of embarrassed by the sentiment. I'm not some big deal mover-and-shaker; I'm just a guy who likes to sell books.
But then I thought about it a bit and pointed out to him that I didn't do that. We all did. My part was suggesting that the world could be different and that something kind of crazy might be possible. You all, our sponsors and the folks who lent us money and those that supported us in a hundred other ways, too -- you're the people who changed how people can look at the world and you expanded the idea of what is possible. And I would expect no less from lovers of speculative and fantastic literature.
First, you did it by being sponsors and allowing us to continue to operate. Then you proved that idea wasn't just a one-shot, flash-in-the-pan but that it was a viable idea for the long term (we have more sponsors this year than last year; the program is growing, not shrinking). Those things were the basis and foundation that gave me the confidence and hope to try what we just accomplished.
And we did this: 49 lenders in total, $1.9 million dollars, in 18 days.
Thank you all for making a dream come true and showing just how powerful a like-minded, reasonable group of people can be.
Warmest Regards,
Alan
PS There is one other group that deserves credit for what we've done -- the staff at the Bookstore and Cafe. They are so good at what they do that I hardly had to think about work for the past 18 days. Further, they are the people who truly give shape to Borderlands. I'd just be a lonely guy in a tiny bookshop without them.
Monday, October 30, 2017
Building Update #8 - Right Down to the Wire
Funds on Deposit - $1,777,500 Days Left - 1
Hello,
Of course this whole thing had to end up with a photo-finish. And, of course, this couldn't end on any day other than Halloween. I mean really . . . why did any of us think otherwise?
As you can see above, we are really, truly, awful goddam close. But we're not quite there yet.
I fully expect that I'll see one or two deposits at the bank tomorrow that will take us right across the $1.8 million line. As soon as I see them, I'll let you all know.
If I don't see those deposits, don't worry. I'm not going to let a measly $22,500 stop us after we've raised so much. That figure can be covered by the deposit reserve that I have at the store. It can also probably be covered if all of us at the bookstore clean out our rainy-day reserves. There are a dozen ways we can raise that in time.
But, dammit, I really hoped to be writing a different note today.
However, see my comment above -- it kind of had to work out this way.
As a good friend often says, "Now that's out of the way, how about a bright, shiny change of topic?"
What Do We Do First?
Dan, our realtor, asked me a couple days ago, "So, once escrow is closed and Bruce has his stuff out of there, what's the first thing you're going to do?"
In reply, I asked, "Do you mean in general or with the retail space?"
He chuckled and said he was asking about the retail space.
"First off, a lotta people, a lotta beer, a lotta whisky, and probably some pizza," was my answer.
Hello,
Of course this whole thing had to end up with a photo-finish. And, of course, this couldn't end on any day other than Halloween. I mean really . . . why did any of us think otherwise?
As you can see above, we are really, truly, awful goddam close. But we're not quite there yet.
I fully expect that I'll see one or two deposits at the bank tomorrow that will take us right across the $1.8 million line. As soon as I see them, I'll let you all know.
If I don't see those deposits, don't worry. I'm not going to let a measly $22,500 stop us after we've raised so much. That figure can be covered by the deposit reserve that I have at the store. It can also probably be covered if all of us at the bookstore clean out our rainy-day reserves. There are a dozen ways we can raise that in time.
But, dammit, I really hoped to be writing a different note today.
However, see my comment above -- it kind of had to work out this way.
As a good friend often says, "Now that's out of the way, how about a bright, shiny change of topic?"
What Do We Do First?
Dan, our realtor, asked me a couple days ago, "So, once escrow is closed and Bruce has his stuff out of there, what's the first thing you're going to do?"
In reply, I asked, "Do you mean in general or with the retail space?"
He chuckled and said he was asking about the retail space.
"First off, a lotta people, a lotta beer, a lotta whisky, and probably some pizza," was my answer.
Friday, October 27, 2017
Building Update #7
Funds on Deposit - 1,692,500 Days Left - 4
Greetings and Salutations,
You may notice that I've changed the heading at the top of this note from "Funds Raised" to "Funds on Deposit". The reason for that is we're really in the final days of this gig and it's reached a point where it doesn't matter what people have promised us -- the only thing that matters, for the sake of this project, is what is in the bank come Halloween. So, rather than including what people have said they're going to do, the number at the top of this note is only what is on deposit. Don't worry though, we're not out of time by any means. Even though today was the last day that I said would work for deposits, at the time I said I was allowing for a margin of error. We've still got four days. Wire transfers and cashiers checks will still be credited in time, even if they are wired (or handed off to me, for the checks), as late as the morning of the 31st.
Now that I've gotten the doom and gloom out of the way, here's the good news -- I'm almost sure we're gonna have the money in time.
I believe we're gonna get that building.
Greetings and Salutations,
You may notice that I've changed the heading at the top of this note from "Funds Raised" to "Funds on Deposit". The reason for that is we're really in the final days of this gig and it's reached a point where it doesn't matter what people have promised us -- the only thing that matters, for the sake of this project, is what is in the bank come Halloween. So, rather than including what people have said they're going to do, the number at the top of this note is only what is on deposit. Don't worry though, we're not out of time by any means. Even though today was the last day that I said would work for deposits, at the time I said I was allowing for a margin of error. We've still got four days. Wire transfers and cashiers checks will still be credited in time, even if they are wired (or handed off to me, for the checks), as late as the morning of the 31st.
Now that I've gotten the doom and gloom out of the way, here's the good news -- I'm almost sure we're gonna have the money in time.
I believe we're gonna get that building.
Building Update #6 - Very Close
Funds Raised - $1,622,500 Days Remaining - 4
Hello All,
Are you getting nervous? I am, sort of. We're very damn close to making it. Remember, I'm aiming for $1,900,000 to allow $100,000 for closing costs, build out and repairs. We can close the deal at $1.8 million. Which is $177,500 from where we are now.
I'm talking to a couple of people who might be able to do some bigger loans but I'm not going to hear from them 'till tomorrow. Well, 'til Friday, which is technically today. If I don't hear from them then, we might be able to come to an agreement on Saturday or Sunday but the funds can't move until Monday, when we have two days left. That'll make for a nervous weekend, eh?
But, here's the thing -- even if we don't pull it off this time, there'll be another building, and we've proven that we can raise over one and a half million dollars in less than three weeks.
One. And. A. Half. Million. Dollars.
That's a hell of an accomplishment and it'll serve us well if we have to do this again.
But I'm hoping we don't need to do this again. Honestly, I feel optimistic. We've done so much in the past week and we've got a whole weekend and two days ahead of us. Plus, I've still got a few tricks up my sleeves. Something that both my former profession and 20 years in this business has taught me is to have a back-up plan . . . and a back-up for that . . . and a back-up for the second back-up. Right now, we're still working on the primary plan, which is the one with the best overall outcome. But it's not the only plan.
Anyway, enough about that. Last word is this -- if you're on the fence, now's the time to decide if you want to make a loan. And, if you've talked with me about a loan and haven't finished off the deal, get in touch and let's get finished -- I'm totally fine with, "We thought about it and we decided that it's not a good idea" but, not knowing where we stand is kind of hard.
Hello All,
Are you getting nervous? I am, sort of. We're very damn close to making it. Remember, I'm aiming for $1,900,000 to allow $100,000 for closing costs, build out and repairs. We can close the deal at $1.8 million. Which is $177,500 from where we are now.
I'm talking to a couple of people who might be able to do some bigger loans but I'm not going to hear from them 'till tomorrow. Well, 'til Friday, which is technically today. If I don't hear from them then, we might be able to come to an agreement on Saturday or Sunday but the funds can't move until Monday, when we have two days left. That'll make for a nervous weekend, eh?
But, here's the thing -- even if we don't pull it off this time, there'll be another building, and we've proven that we can raise over one and a half million dollars in less than three weeks.
One. And. A. Half. Million. Dollars.
That's a hell of an accomplishment and it'll serve us well if we have to do this again.
But I'm hoping we don't need to do this again. Honestly, I feel optimistic. We've done so much in the past week and we've got a whole weekend and two days ahead of us. Plus, I've still got a few tricks up my sleeves. Something that both my former profession and 20 years in this business has taught me is to have a back-up plan . . . and a back-up for that . . . and a back-up for the second back-up. Right now, we're still working on the primary plan, which is the one with the best overall outcome. But it's not the only plan.
Anyway, enough about that. Last word is this -- if you're on the fence, now's the time to decide if you want to make a loan. And, if you've talked with me about a loan and haven't finished off the deal, get in touch and let's get finished -- I'm totally fine with, "We thought about it and we decided that it's not a good idea" but, not knowing where we stand is kind of hard.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Building Update #5
Funds Raised - $1,422,500 Days Remaining - 7
Hey Everyone,
OK. Much better rested than last night but I've got to run out of here fast because I'm meant to be at Churchill pretty much . . . now.
You're all wondering about the inspections. First off, they went well. We had general building and sewer inspections plus a roofer came in to give a bid for replacing the roof (no surprise -- the roof does need to be replaced, but we expected that).
The general building inspector was the best I've ever seen. His name is James Hicks and he is one of the partners at H.R. Wellington Construction. He's been a builder for years and he's qualified to do both general and pest inspections. He's also a medic and does volunteer search and rescue work, so we hit it off like a house-a-fire.
Bottom line is that it's a 1902 building with all that goes with it. A little bit of dry rot on the siding, old breaker panels (not hard to replace and not urgent), and so forth. The only two notable things were that the framing in the basement (that I mentioned to you all before) is, in fact, a bit funkier than I thought. It looks like the job of abating dry-rot that was done is the 1970s wasn't top-notch and probably needs some fixing. On the other hand, it didn't look like anything had moved much since that job was done, so this isn't one of those situation where a wall is tilting and going to keep tilting 'til it's fixed (or falls over). But, it is a big enough thing that I think we'll be talking with the seller about a price reduction to make up for it.
The other thing that he called out was that there are some cracks in the retaining walls in the backyard. There's a big tree that belongs to one of the neighbors that is right up against the wall and may be pushing on it.
Hey Everyone,
OK. Much better rested than last night but I've got to run out of here fast because I'm meant to be at Churchill pretty much . . . now.
You're all wondering about the inspections. First off, they went well. We had general building and sewer inspections plus a roofer came in to give a bid for replacing the roof (no surprise -- the roof does need to be replaced, but we expected that).
The general building inspector was the best I've ever seen. His name is James Hicks and he is one of the partners at H.R. Wellington Construction. He's been a builder for years and he's qualified to do both general and pest inspections. He's also a medic and does volunteer search and rescue work, so we hit it off like a house-a-fire.
Bottom line is that it's a 1902 building with all that goes with it. A little bit of dry rot on the siding, old breaker panels (not hard to replace and not urgent), and so forth. The only two notable things were that the framing in the basement (that I mentioned to you all before) is, in fact, a bit funkier than I thought. It looks like the job of abating dry-rot that was done is the 1970s wasn't top-notch and probably needs some fixing. On the other hand, it didn't look like anything had moved much since that job was done, so this isn't one of those situation where a wall is tilting and going to keep tilting 'til it's fixed (or falls over). But, it is a big enough thing that I think we'll be talking with the seller about a price reduction to make up for it.
The other thing that he called out was that there are some cracks in the retaining walls in the backyard. There's a big tree that belongs to one of the neighbors that is right up against the wall and may be pushing on it.
Building Update #4
Funds Raised - $1,292,500 Days Remaining - 8
Dear Sponsors,
I was planning to give you a detailed update about the building inspections today (yesterday, actually, since it's 1:58 am), but here it is already Tuesday morning, and I've been going since 7:30 am. I gotta say, I'm pretty beat. If I try to get into specifics about the inspections, I'm going to make word-salad. The short version is that the inspections went really well; better than I could have anticipated. I'm meeting my structural engineer and contractor to get some analysis and estimates on Wednesday and . . . . I'm going to tell you about the inspections tomorrow.
It was a good weekend for fund-raising as you can see. And that's it for building news 'til I get some sleep.
But, some event reminders before I go:
Dear Sponsors,
I was planning to give you a detailed update about the building inspections today (yesterday, actually, since it's 1:58 am), but here it is already Tuesday morning, and I've been going since 7:30 am. I gotta say, I'm pretty beat. If I try to get into specifics about the inspections, I'm going to make word-salad. The short version is that the inspections went really well; better than I could have anticipated. I'm meeting my structural engineer and contractor to get some analysis and estimates on Wednesday and . . . . I'm going to tell you about the inspections tomorrow.
It was a good weekend for fund-raising as you can see. And that's it for building news 'til I get some sleep.
But, some event reminders before I go:
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Building Update #3
Funds Raised - $825,000 Days Remaining - 11
Greetings,
I've got several bits of news, but I'll lead with the most important one.
Fund Raising
As you can see, the fund raising continues, albeit at a slower pace than at the start. The slow down makes sense, actually. At first, the loans were coming from people who were ready to go and, in some cases, they were people I had talked with in advance. Now, it's people who need more time to think about it and make arrangements. But, I'm not discouraged at all. $825,000 are only the loans that I'm sure of -- either the lender has committed to making the loan or the funds are already in the bank. There are another $400,000 in loans in which I'm still working out the final details for, but that I feel pretty confident about. Finally, there are some other lenders that I still need to reach out to personally. Bottom line, we're going to be close, but I'm not sure we're going to make by relying on only larger loans.
Considering that, I think it's time to open things up for smaller amounts. My initial reason for looking for larger loans was the desire to keep the number of people involved to a minimum so that my bookkeeping work would be more manageable. Not that it would be that big a job with 300 lenders but, I may have a few other things to work on in the coming months.
If you are in a position to offer a loan between $10,000 and $75,000, I'd love to talk with you about the details. The general terms of the loan are 3% interest paid annually and the loan to be paid back in nine years (but I could potentially pay it off earlier). The loans are secured by the building so they are pretty safe (barring a huge earthquake). There is room for changes if you would like them (e.g. interest rate can be as low as 2% or as high as 4%, interest can be paid quarterly, and the term can be shorter or longer) and the amount can be anything from $10,000 and up.
In terms of transferring the funds to me, there are a couple of different deadlines, depending on how the money is coming. Remember, if I don't have confirmed funds in the bank by October 31st, I'm going to have to cancel the deal. Since that is only 11 days away, the latest that a personal check is sure to work will be noon on Monday, the 23rd (unless the check is from Bank of America; I'll explain that in a second). Any later and the funds might not be confirmed by our bank in time for the 31st. Checks from Bank of America are an exception since that's where the company accounts are located and the confirmation is instant. As a result, BofA checks could be as late as Friday, the 27th. Electronic fund transfers should be sent by Thursday, the 26th, to be safe. Cashier's checks and wire transfers can be delivered to me (in the case of cashier's checks) or sent (in the case of wire transfers) by Friday, the 27th. All those dates are erring on the safe side but that's how I'd prefer to err.
As you can see, we need to move pretty quickly if this is going to work out. I am available to meet with you anytime and anyplace in San Francisco to discuss details or to pick up checks. I'm also available anytime by phone at 415 385-5968 to answer questions or merely discuss the loan. If there is any information that will assist your decision, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll also be around the shop all day tomorrow (Saturday) if you want to drop by and chat.
One last thing -- if the deal doesn't work out for any reason, I'll be returning the loan amounts with interest to date, within a week of October 31st, two weeks at the outside.
Greetings,
I've got several bits of news, but I'll lead with the most important one.
Fund Raising
As you can see, the fund raising continues, albeit at a slower pace than at the start. The slow down makes sense, actually. At first, the loans were coming from people who were ready to go and, in some cases, they were people I had talked with in advance. Now, it's people who need more time to think about it and make arrangements. But, I'm not discouraged at all. $825,000 are only the loans that I'm sure of -- either the lender has committed to making the loan or the funds are already in the bank. There are another $400,000 in loans in which I'm still working out the final details for, but that I feel pretty confident about. Finally, there are some other lenders that I still need to reach out to personally. Bottom line, we're going to be close, but I'm not sure we're going to make by relying on only larger loans.
Considering that, I think it's time to open things up for smaller amounts. My initial reason for looking for larger loans was the desire to keep the number of people involved to a minimum so that my bookkeeping work would be more manageable. Not that it would be that big a job with 300 lenders but, I may have a few other things to work on in the coming months.
If you are in a position to offer a loan between $10,000 and $75,000, I'd love to talk with you about the details. The general terms of the loan are 3% interest paid annually and the loan to be paid back in nine years (but I could potentially pay it off earlier). The loans are secured by the building so they are pretty safe (barring a huge earthquake). There is room for changes if you would like them (e.g. interest rate can be as low as 2% or as high as 4%, interest can be paid quarterly, and the term can be shorter or longer) and the amount can be anything from $10,000 and up.
In terms of transferring the funds to me, there are a couple of different deadlines, depending on how the money is coming. Remember, if I don't have confirmed funds in the bank by October 31st, I'm going to have to cancel the deal. Since that is only 11 days away, the latest that a personal check is sure to work will be noon on Monday, the 23rd (unless the check is from Bank of America; I'll explain that in a second). Any later and the funds might not be confirmed by our bank in time for the 31st. Checks from Bank of America are an exception since that's where the company accounts are located and the confirmation is instant. As a result, BofA checks could be as late as Friday, the 27th. Electronic fund transfers should be sent by Thursday, the 26th, to be safe. Cashier's checks and wire transfers can be delivered to me (in the case of cashier's checks) or sent (in the case of wire transfers) by Friday, the 27th. All those dates are erring on the safe side but that's how I'd prefer to err.
As you can see, we need to move pretty quickly if this is going to work out. I am available to meet with you anytime and anyplace in San Francisco to discuss details or to pick up checks. I'm also available anytime by phone at 415 385-5968 to answer questions or merely discuss the loan. If there is any information that will assist your decision, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll also be around the shop all day tomorrow (Saturday) if you want to drop by and chat.
One last thing -- if the deal doesn't work out for any reason, I'll be returning the loan amounts with interest to date, within a week of October 31st, two weeks at the outside.
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Building Update #2
Funds Raised - $650,000 Days Remaining - 13
Hey Folks,
On Monday I said that I'd go into the whole inspections and estimates part of the process later because it was a long post. That follows but, if you're not interested in all those details, you can skip the end of this note. But I do have some other stuff that might interest you.
First off, we're in the news again. Both Hoodline and Mission Local posted pieces about what we're doing:
Mission Local - https://missionlocal.org/2017/10/saved-by-sponsorships-borderlands-books-now-aims-to-buy-a-building/
Hoodline - http://hoodline.com/2017/10/borderlands-books-moves-to-buy-recycled-records-building
Secondly, with Jeremy's invaluable help, I've put up a section on our website about this project. There are some documents up there that give more details about the building. There's also a current picture. If you looked at the place on Google street view it was a uniform (and ugly) gray color. It's been painted since and the current picture is much more appealing. Go to https://borderlands-books.com/building/ It's password protected -- if you want access, please drop me a line. I'll be adding anything of interest, including some more pictures, up there as I get it.
Now, how about a deep dive into building inspections?
Hey Folks,
On Monday I said that I'd go into the whole inspections and estimates part of the process later because it was a long post. That follows but, if you're not interested in all those details, you can skip the end of this note. But I do have some other stuff that might interest you.
First off, we're in the news again. Both Hoodline and Mission Local posted pieces about what we're doing:
Mission Local - https://missionlocal.org/2017/10/saved-by-sponsorships-borderlands-books-now-aims-to-buy-a-building/
Hoodline - http://hoodline.com/2017/10/borderlands-books-moves-to-buy-recycled-records-building
Secondly, with Jeremy's invaluable help, I've put up a section on our website about this project. There are some documents up there that give more details about the building. There's also a current picture. If you looked at the place on Google street view it was a uniform (and ugly) gray color. It's been painted since and the current picture is much more appealing. Go to https://borderlands-books.com/building/ It's password protected -- if you want access, please drop me a line. I'll be adding anything of interest, including some more pictures, up there as I get it.
Now, how about a deep dive into building inspections?
Building Update #1
Funds Raised - $500,000 Days Remaining - 15
Hi All,
I hope you had a nice weekend. Mine was, as you might expect, pretty busy. We've been selling books off-site all week at the various Litquake events around town, which . . . was some work. We did 12 off-site events in 6 days. On Friday we had three different events that we were at -- two of them at the same time. And, on Wednesday, there were two simultaneous events at the same time as the Internet Archive anniversary party. That would have been fine except Jude and I were both scheduled to work at the party. So, Z'ev sold books at one event and Maddy sold them at the other while Jude and I worked the party. I'm very glad that all the management folks at Borderlands are cross-trained to work in either the bookstore or the cafe.
But that was all just a warm-up for Saturday when we hosted two events as part of the Lit Crawl, one in the bookstore and one right afterwards in the cafe, each with four authors participating. If that wasn't enough, Z'ev and I were so busy scheduling around all the events last week, we forgot to schedule extra staff at the cafe that evening. Z'ev and Isabel did an impressive job of holding down the fort in the cafe, in spite of lines that went to the door at times.
Despite all the excitement, I managed to get a fair amount of work done on the building purchase. As of now, our funding stands at $400,000 with another $100,000 in contingent funds. I've also started several conversations that may lead to additional loans (one of them well over $100,000). I'm not exactly relaxed but things do seem to be going in a positive way.
Now seems like a good time to give an overview of what we need to get done in the next 15 days. The job falls into three parts; getting financing, setting up the legal structure, and getting inspections and estimates. The discussion about inspection and estimates is long so I'm going to save that for my next update.
Hi All,
I hope you had a nice weekend. Mine was, as you might expect, pretty busy. We've been selling books off-site all week at the various Litquake events around town, which . . . was some work. We did 12 off-site events in 6 days. On Friday we had three different events that we were at -- two of them at the same time. And, on Wednesday, there were two simultaneous events at the same time as the Internet Archive anniversary party. That would have been fine except Jude and I were both scheduled to work at the party. So, Z'ev sold books at one event and Maddy sold them at the other while Jude and I worked the party. I'm very glad that all the management folks at Borderlands are cross-trained to work in either the bookstore or the cafe.
But that was all just a warm-up for Saturday when we hosted two events as part of the Lit Crawl, one in the bookstore and one right afterwards in the cafe, each with four authors participating. If that wasn't enough, Z'ev and I were so busy scheduling around all the events last week, we forgot to schedule extra staff at the cafe that evening. Z'ev and Isabel did an impressive job of holding down the fort in the cafe, in spite of lines that went to the door at times.
Despite all the excitement, I managed to get a fair amount of work done on the building purchase. As of now, our funding stands at $400,000 with another $100,000 in contingent funds. I've also started several conversations that may lead to additional loans (one of them well over $100,000). I'm not exactly relaxed but things do seem to be going in a positive way.
Now seems like a good time to give an overview of what we need to get done in the next 15 days. The job falls into three parts; getting financing, setting up the legal structure, and getting inspections and estimates. The discussion about inspection and estimates is long so I'm going to save that for my next update.
Friday, October 13, 2017
Sponsor Letter, October 13th 2017
My Dear Sponsors,
I have some very exciting news. On Monday I submitted an offer to buy the building on Haight Street that I've been talking about. And, on Wednesday morning, the offer was accepted. It's possible we're going to have a permanent home for Borderlands!
The Building
Located just a bit east of Masonic Ave, the building is a three story Victorian built in 1902. There are two large flats upstairs and a retail space on the ground floor. There is also a backyard and a full basement. It's a little bit smaller that our current spot but, by putting the office and storage in the basement and being smarter with the layout, I think we can fit all our current stock and more. Sadly, there is no room to accommodate the cafe. (Please note -- that does not mean I'm planning on closing the cafe. More on that later.)
The address of the store is 1373 Haight. If you try to look at it on Google street view, the place that pops up is actually across the street so "turn" south. Currently it's the location of Recycled Records but, when we move, we're not going to displace them. The owner of the record shop owns the building and he's planning on retiring. He'll be closing up shop and moving out shortly after the sale closes. He's still open for now so, if you'd like to take a look at the place, you can. But, if you decide to visit, please don't worry about the condition of the interior -- both the bookstore and the cafe were in much, much worse shape when we arrived. When we're done, it will be beautiful.
The Catch
Here's the catch -- I need to raise a lot of money if this is going to happen. Due to the price and having a very low down payment, the lenders that I've spoken to are not interested in financing the purchase. So, I'm going to need personal loans for a significant portion of the price. Having started on Monday to raise the money, I already have $265,000. But I need to raise . . . $1,900,000 in total.
I don't know if this is going to be possible but I believe it is worth trying. We have, including today, 19 days to get the money. After 19 days, I cannot cancel the deal without losing our deposit.
On one hand, I think it's ridiculous for me to think that achieving this is even within the realm of possibility.
On the other hand, two and a half years ago, I was just about positive that we were going to close the shop. If someone had told me what would happen when we started the sponsor program, I would have thought they were completely nuts.
I was talking with someone last night about this deal and they asked me if I was freaking out about it. I realized that I wasn't. There have been a few times in my life when it just didn't matter whether I succeeded or failed. All that mattered was that I act with a clear mind and follow the course that I had set. This is one of those times.
If we succeed, we will have removed the greatest obstacle that exists to my dream of creating a bookstore that can last and last and last. On second thought, perhaps I should say, "our dream".
You're a sponsor because you want Borderlands to continue to exist. In the 20 years that I've been in business, rent has steadily trended upwards in San Francisco. If we don't ensure the cost of our location -- we will have to close at some point. I don't know when it will be but I'm sure it will happen. Only by owning it ourselves can we rely on the physical space which we must have to exist.
The Loan
So, let's give it a try, shall we?
I'm looking for lenders who can offer loans of $100,000 or more. If you're one of those people, let me know by replying to this note or emailing me directly at abeatts@borderlands-books.com.
I'm flexible on the terms of the loan. But I do have a rough outline of what is most desirable (and, I know what's impossible). To give a decent return on a (relatively) small amount while also keeping the expense in the range that we can manage, I've been thinking of 3% interest. To allow a reasonable amount of time to get our feet under us, a term of 9 years would be nice. Paying interest-only makes the bookkeeping easy as well as suiting some other factors. But, to be absolutely clear: none of that is set, including the interest rate. I would take a lower rate and I'm willing to talk about higher rates. In short, if you would be willing to consider that loan under terms that are to be determined, please get in touch and let's discuss it. We've gotten this far by being imaginative and talking about ideas, it would be dumb to stop now.
If you would be interested in lending but have a smaller amount in mind, I appreciate that very much. For now however, I'm trying to keep the total number of loans down by asking for a higher amount. That may change as things move along.
The Last Word
I'm sure that you have a lot of questions: When would we move? How are you going to manage the upkeep? What are the apartments upstairs like? How has the process been so far? and so on. I was going to write a big, long note that would try to answer all that stuff but I decided not to do that. The important thing is to get the word out and start finding the loans.
So, instead of writing a enormous missive tonight, I'm going to spread all the info out over the next couple of weeks. I normally don't send out more than one email per month but this is a special situation. I figure you'd like to know how we're progressing so I'm going to be writing frequently until either the deal goes through or the deal dies. (If frequent emails are bugging you, please don't unsubscribe -- just drop a note to sponsors@borderlands-books asking us to stop pestering you. We'll temporarily remove you from the email list.)
The Real Last Word
If you have a personal policy of not lending money.
Or, if that sort of amount is completely out of your reach (it sure as hell would be for me, personally).
Or, if you think that what I'm doing is just a bad idea.
Or, . . . any of the thousands of reasons that you can't or won't make a loan.
Please, don't feel badly. You sponsored Borderlands. You and your compatriots are the only reason we're still around. You've already done so much for us, we feel gratitude of a magnitude that we can't express. There is no need to do more, unless you wish to and it is safe for you to do so.
Warm Regards,
Alan
I have some very exciting news. On Monday I submitted an offer to buy the building on Haight Street that I've been talking about. And, on Wednesday morning, the offer was accepted. It's possible we're going to have a permanent home for Borderlands!
The Building
Located just a bit east of Masonic Ave, the building is a three story Victorian built in 1902. There are two large flats upstairs and a retail space on the ground floor. There is also a backyard and a full basement. It's a little bit smaller that our current spot but, by putting the office and storage in the basement and being smarter with the layout, I think we can fit all our current stock and more. Sadly, there is no room to accommodate the cafe. (Please note -- that does not mean I'm planning on closing the cafe. More on that later.)
The address of the store is 1373 Haight. If you try to look at it on Google street view, the place that pops up is actually across the street so "turn" south. Currently it's the location of Recycled Records but, when we move, we're not going to displace them. The owner of the record shop owns the building and he's planning on retiring. He'll be closing up shop and moving out shortly after the sale closes. He's still open for now so, if you'd like to take a look at the place, you can. But, if you decide to visit, please don't worry about the condition of the interior -- both the bookstore and the cafe were in much, much worse shape when we arrived. When we're done, it will be beautiful.
The Catch
Here's the catch -- I need to raise a lot of money if this is going to happen. Due to the price and having a very low down payment, the lenders that I've spoken to are not interested in financing the purchase. So, I'm going to need personal loans for a significant portion of the price. Having started on Monday to raise the money, I already have $265,000. But I need to raise . . . $1,900,000 in total.
I don't know if this is going to be possible but I believe it is worth trying. We have, including today, 19 days to get the money. After 19 days, I cannot cancel the deal without losing our deposit.
On one hand, I think it's ridiculous for me to think that achieving this is even within the realm of possibility.
On the other hand, two and a half years ago, I was just about positive that we were going to close the shop. If someone had told me what would happen when we started the sponsor program, I would have thought they were completely nuts.
I was talking with someone last night about this deal and they asked me if I was freaking out about it. I realized that I wasn't. There have been a few times in my life when it just didn't matter whether I succeeded or failed. All that mattered was that I act with a clear mind and follow the course that I had set. This is one of those times.
If we succeed, we will have removed the greatest obstacle that exists to my dream of creating a bookstore that can last and last and last. On second thought, perhaps I should say, "our dream".
You're a sponsor because you want Borderlands to continue to exist. In the 20 years that I've been in business, rent has steadily trended upwards in San Francisco. If we don't ensure the cost of our location -- we will have to close at some point. I don't know when it will be but I'm sure it will happen. Only by owning it ourselves can we rely on the physical space which we must have to exist.
The Loan
So, let's give it a try, shall we?
I'm looking for lenders who can offer loans of $100,000 or more. If you're one of those people, let me know by replying to this note or emailing me directly at abeatts@borderlands-books.com.
I'm flexible on the terms of the loan. But I do have a rough outline of what is most desirable (and, I know what's impossible). To give a decent return on a (relatively) small amount while also keeping the expense in the range that we can manage, I've been thinking of 3% interest. To allow a reasonable amount of time to get our feet under us, a term of 9 years would be nice. Paying interest-only makes the bookkeeping easy as well as suiting some other factors. But, to be absolutely clear: none of that is set, including the interest rate. I would take a lower rate and I'm willing to talk about higher rates. In short, if you would be willing to consider that loan under terms that are to be determined, please get in touch and let's discuss it. We've gotten this far by being imaginative and talking about ideas, it would be dumb to stop now.
If you would be interested in lending but have a smaller amount in mind, I appreciate that very much. For now however, I'm trying to keep the total number of loans down by asking for a higher amount. That may change as things move along.
The Last Word
I'm sure that you have a lot of questions: When would we move? How are you going to manage the upkeep? What are the apartments upstairs like? How has the process been so far? and so on. I was going to write a big, long note that would try to answer all that stuff but I decided not to do that. The important thing is to get the word out and start finding the loans.
So, instead of writing a enormous missive tonight, I'm going to spread all the info out over the next couple of weeks. I normally don't send out more than one email per month but this is a special situation. I figure you'd like to know how we're progressing so I'm going to be writing frequently until either the deal goes through or the deal dies. (If frequent emails are bugging you, please don't unsubscribe -- just drop a note to sponsors@borderlands-books asking us to stop pestering you. We'll temporarily remove you from the email list.)
The Real Last Word
If you have a personal policy of not lending money.
Or, if that sort of amount is completely out of your reach (it sure as hell would be for me, personally).
Or, if you think that what I'm doing is just a bad idea.
Or, . . . any of the thousands of reasons that you can't or won't make a loan.
Please, don't feel badly. You sponsored Borderlands. You and your compatriots are the only reason we're still around. You've already done so much for us, we feel gratitude of a magnitude that we can't express. There is no need to do more, unless you wish to and it is safe for you to do so.
Warm Regards,
Alan
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Sponsor Letter, October 3rd 2017
Dear Sponsors,
Advisory Group
One of the things I appreciate about you all is how willing you've been to give me advice. I appreciate even more how good, cogent and considered that advice has been. But, there are times when questions come up suddenly and need to be answered before the next Sponsor Note is scheduled. Also, sometimes major questions come up that I need to have face-to-face discussions about (like last year when I was talking with small groups of sponsors about how to fund a building purchase). So, I've decided to create an advisory group composed of sponsors. There aren't any required qualifications aside from the willingness to reply to email promptly and come to monthly meetings in San Francisco. The members of the board will be asked to advise on a wide range of matters regarding the operation of the store and the sponsorship program. Members may also be asked to volunteer to work on specific projects. If you're interested in serving, please drop me an email and we'll go from there.
Building News
First off, thank you to everyone who wrote with their thoughts and advice about moving to Haight Street. There were a couple of consistent comments that I received. Many people felt that moving so much farther away from BART would be a problem. I agree with that 100% but, proximity to BART is desirable enough that it affects building prices. I don't want to move out of the Mission District but, we may not have a choice if we're going to purchase a building. And I do think we need to buy a building if possible, for all the reasons I've discussed in the past. On the bright side, a number of very public-transit-savvy sponsors pointed out that there are a number of pretty simple and direct bus options to get from BART to upper Haight. Granted, the buses in San Francisco kind of suck but that's better than nothing. My final conclusion is that the lack of BART access might be a deal breaker, but that's something I'm going to determine if and when it looks like we might be able to work a deal on a building. The flip side of those comments is that there were also a number of folks who wrote me saying that upper Haight is much closer to them and that it would make it much easier to visit the shop.
Another comment was that the street situation on upper Haight is less than stellar. The young street kids that panhandle in the area can be somewhat aggressive and there's a minority of them that are real trouble-makers. I agree with that assessment completely but, I think that the actual threat is probably lower there than it is on Valencia St. It is certainly lower there than it is on Mission Street. On upper Haight the problem is mostly ne'er-do-well homeless kids. In the Mission the problem is gang members, drug dealers, and armed robbers -- all folks who are much more low-profile than street kids and also profoundly more dangerous. But, the comfort of our customers is something that needs to be considered and it's not fun to be aggressively panhandled. So, I don't think that consideration is a deal-breaker but it certainly is a downside.
On the positive side of the equation, the neighborhood is more diverse from a shopping standpoint than the Mission. There are two other bookstores there, three music stores, great used clothing stores, and so on. From a retail standpoint, it's the way Valencia Street was ten years ago. It is also more centrally located within the city. And, of course, there the final advantage - it's a building of the right sort that we might be able to afford.
Overall, the response from you was slightly in favor of the location and so I'm going to keep pursuing it. The building is supposed to hit the market on Monday so I should have some news about it in the next sponsor note.
Note: As usual, to RSVP for any event, just reply to this email and we'll take care of the rest.
Jingle version:
Note: Based on a suggestion at the General Meeting in March, we started a monthly game night at the cafe. After a strong start, attendance has been dropping steadily and so we're going to stop doing it on a monthly basis. Next year we'll certainly have at least one game night and we might consider doing it quarterly.
(1) Wednesday, October 11th at 5:00pm - Free tickets to The Internet Archive's anniversary party.
(2) Sunday, October 22nd at 2:00pm - Sponsor Picnic at Golden Gate Park. A (hopefully) sunny day in the park with grill and friends.
(3) Tuesday, October 24th at 7:00 pm - Cocktail night at Churchill. Time to enjoy the company of fellow sponsors at a great little bar on Church and Market called Churchill (198 Church Street at Market).
(4) Saturday, November 4th at 3:00 pm - Sponsor's Scotch Tasting at the World Fantasy Convention in San Antonio, Texas.
(5) Saturday, November 4th at 9:00 pm - World Fantasy Convention party for Borderlands 20th Anniversary in San Antonio, Texas.
(6) Saturday, November 18th - Borderlands Books' 20th Anniversary Party!
(7) December, date TBA - Trip to Dickens Fair.
Magnum Opus version:
(1) Wednesday, October 11, 2017, 5:00-9:30pm - Free tickets to The Internet Archive's anniversary party at The Internet Archive, 300 Funston Ave. San Francisco. From our friends at the Internet Archive comes this invitation which includes free admission for the first 100 sponsors to sign up using the special code VIPBORDERLANDS. Direct link here: https://internetarchive20ctimemachine.eventbrite.com?discount=VIPBorderlands.
From their website, "We invite you to enter our 20th Century Time Machine to experience the audio, books, films, web sites, ephemera and software fast disappearing from our midst. We’ll be connecting the centuries -- transporting 20th century treasures to curious minds in the 21st. Come explore the possibilities at our Annual Bash on Wednesday, October 11, 2017, from 5-9:30 pm. We’ll kick off the evening with cocktails, food trucks and hands-on demos of our coolest collections. Come scan a book, play in a virtual reality arcade, or spin a 78 rpm recording. When you arrive, be sure to get your library card. If you "check out" all the stations on your card, we'll reward you with a special Internet Archive gift. Starting at 7 p.m., we'll unveil the latest media the Internet Archive has to offer, presented by the artists, writers, and scientists who lose themselves in our collections every day. And to keep you dancing into the evening, DJ Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, will be spinning records from 8-9:30. Come join our celebration!"
(2) Sunday, October 22nd at 2:00pm - Sponsor Picnic at Golden Gate Park
We are once again braving the outside world for a potluck cookout celebrating "Summer" in San Francisco. We're taking our October Sponsor event to Golden Gate Park, on Sunday, October 22nd at 2pm. We have high hopes that we won't be shivering and shrouded in fog. We've reserved table #1 in Lindley Meadow. Directions are at the link below, but the short version is that Lindley Meadow is on the south side of JFK Drive, across from the 30th Avenue and Fulton Street entrance in Golden Gate Park. (At 30th Avenue and JFK, there is a sign for Lindley Meadow.) http://sfrecpark.org/destination/golden-gate-park/ggp-lindley-meadow-picnic-area/ . Please note that several streets are closed in the park on Sundays and parking is often challenging.
Bring something to put on the grill or something to share as a side; bring your picnic blanket and a frisbee, and probably a jacket for possibly unpredictable summer weather. Wine and beer are fine to bring but, please, no liquor and no glass, per the Park's request. Friends and guests (including children) are super welcome so please do bring 'em along. If you're planning on coming, please let us know at sponsors@borderlands-books.com.
(3) Tuesday, October 24, 2017 starting at 7:00pm - Cocktail night at Churchill.
Sponsor Cocktail night continues at Churchill (198 Church Street at Market) <http://www.churchillsf.com/>; some combination of us will be there from at least 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm. No need to RSVP and any number of guests and friends are welcome. The bar is INCREDIBLY convenient to public transit -- the MUNI Metro Underground (via F, K, L, and M lines at Church Street,) and J and N lines stop less than a block away.
(4) Saturday, November 4th at 3:00 pm - Sponsor's Scotch Tasting at the World Fantasy Convention in San Antonio, Texas.
As usual, we'll be hosting a Scotch tasting for our sponsors and their guests at the World Fantasy Convention this year. We don't have the room number yet but, if you'll drop me an email and let me know that you'd like to attend, I'll make sure to get you that information as soon as I have it. You can just reply to this note and tell me that you'll be coming. You're welcome to bring a guest or two if you like.
(5) Saturday, November 4th at 9:00 pm - World Fantasy Convention party for Borderlands 20th Anniversary in San Antonio, Texas.
In addition to our private party in the afternoon, we'll be having a public one Saturday evening at the convention to celebrate our 20th anniversary. I think it'll be a lot of fun (our convention parties usually are) and I hope that, if you're going to be at the con, you'll make time to attend.
(6) Saturday, November 18th - Borderlands Books 20th Anniversary Party!
As I mentioned at the beginning of this note, it's thanks to all of you that we get to celebrate 20 years in business. We're still nailing down all the details for the party but we've decided on a couple of things. There will be a regular-customers only pre-party and sale starting at 10 am. You'll need a password to get in (which I'll be sending out in the November note and in the newsletter) and we'll have Mimosas, snacks, some special deals, a store-wide 10% off sale, and we'll unveil our commemorative 20th Anniversary hoodie. At noon we'll open to the general public and we've got some fun stuff planned for that part of the day including many, many authors signing their work (the full list is to come and it's going to be a long, long one) and, probably, some live music. Then at six we'll close up to get ready for the Sponsor Social, which will start at 7 pm as usual. I'm still planning the details of that part but there'll be some killer food for sure and some special cocktails. And, if that's not enough for you, at 11 pm when that party stops, the after-party will move across the street to the Phoenix Pub where we'll close the place. As I said last month -- this is going to be epic.
(7) December, date TBA - Trip to Dickens Fair.
We're putting together a group trip to Dicken's Fair <https://dickensfair.com>. Scott and I are still working out the details but the trip will be sometime in the first half of December and we'll have some sort of discounted tickets (that detail is still being worked out -- and thank you to all our sponsors who are affiliated with the Fair for all the possible hook-ups for those tickets). Look for more details in the next sponsor note.
Advisory Group
One of the things I appreciate about you all is how willing you've been to give me advice. I appreciate even more how good, cogent and considered that advice has been. But, there are times when questions come up suddenly and need to be answered before the next Sponsor Note is scheduled. Also, sometimes major questions come up that I need to have face-to-face discussions about (like last year when I was talking with small groups of sponsors about how to fund a building purchase). So, I've decided to create an advisory group composed of sponsors. There aren't any required qualifications aside from the willingness to reply to email promptly and come to monthly meetings in San Francisco. The members of the board will be asked to advise on a wide range of matters regarding the operation of the store and the sponsorship program. Members may also be asked to volunteer to work on specific projects. If you're interested in serving, please drop me an email and we'll go from there.
Building News
First off, thank you to everyone who wrote with their thoughts and advice about moving to Haight Street. There were a couple of consistent comments that I received. Many people felt that moving so much farther away from BART would be a problem. I agree with that 100% but, proximity to BART is desirable enough that it affects building prices. I don't want to move out of the Mission District but, we may not have a choice if we're going to purchase a building. And I do think we need to buy a building if possible, for all the reasons I've discussed in the past. On the bright side, a number of very public-transit-savvy sponsors pointed out that there are a number of pretty simple and direct bus options to get from BART to upper Haight. Granted, the buses in San Francisco kind of suck but that's better than nothing. My final conclusion is that the lack of BART access might be a deal breaker, but that's something I'm going to determine if and when it looks like we might be able to work a deal on a building. The flip side of those comments is that there were also a number of folks who wrote me saying that upper Haight is much closer to them and that it would make it much easier to visit the shop.
Another comment was that the street situation on upper Haight is less than stellar. The young street kids that panhandle in the area can be somewhat aggressive and there's a minority of them that are real trouble-makers. I agree with that assessment completely but, I think that the actual threat is probably lower there than it is on Valencia St. It is certainly lower there than it is on Mission Street. On upper Haight the problem is mostly ne'er-do-well homeless kids. In the Mission the problem is gang members, drug dealers, and armed robbers -- all folks who are much more low-profile than street kids and also profoundly more dangerous. But, the comfort of our customers is something that needs to be considered and it's not fun to be aggressively panhandled. So, I don't think that consideration is a deal-breaker but it certainly is a downside.
On the positive side of the equation, the neighborhood is more diverse from a shopping standpoint than the Mission. There are two other bookstores there, three music stores, great used clothing stores, and so on. From a retail standpoint, it's the way Valencia Street was ten years ago. It is also more centrally located within the city. And, of course, there the final advantage - it's a building of the right sort that we might be able to afford.
Overall, the response from you was slightly in favor of the location and so I'm going to keep pursuing it. The building is supposed to hit the market on Monday so I should have some news about it in the next sponsor note.
Note: As usual, to RSVP for any event, just reply to this email and we'll take care of the rest.
Jingle version:
Note: Based on a suggestion at the General Meeting in March, we started a monthly game night at the cafe. After a strong start, attendance has been dropping steadily and so we're going to stop doing it on a monthly basis. Next year we'll certainly have at least one game night and we might consider doing it quarterly.
(1) Wednesday, October 11th at 5:00pm - Free tickets to The Internet Archive's anniversary party.
(2) Sunday, October 22nd at 2:00pm - Sponsor Picnic at Golden Gate Park. A (hopefully) sunny day in the park with grill and friends.
(3) Tuesday, October 24th at 7:00 pm - Cocktail night at Churchill. Time to enjoy the company of fellow sponsors at a great little bar on Church and Market called Churchill (198 Church Street at Market).
(4) Saturday, November 4th at 3:00 pm - Sponsor's Scotch Tasting at the World Fantasy Convention in San Antonio, Texas.
(5) Saturday, November 4th at 9:00 pm - World Fantasy Convention party for Borderlands 20th Anniversary in San Antonio, Texas.
(6) Saturday, November 18th - Borderlands Books' 20th Anniversary Party!
(7) December, date TBA - Trip to Dickens Fair.
Magnum Opus version:
(1) Wednesday, October 11, 2017, 5:00-9:30pm - Free tickets to The Internet Archive's anniversary party at The Internet Archive, 300 Funston Ave. San Francisco. From our friends at the Internet Archive comes this invitation which includes free admission for the first 100 sponsors to sign up using the special code VIPBORDERLANDS. Direct link here: https://internetarchive20ctimemachine.eventbrite.com?discount=VIPBorderlands.
From their website, "We invite you to enter our 20th Century Time Machine to experience the audio, books, films, web sites, ephemera and software fast disappearing from our midst. We’ll be connecting the centuries -- transporting 20th century treasures to curious minds in the 21st. Come explore the possibilities at our Annual Bash on Wednesday, October 11, 2017, from 5-9:30 pm. We’ll kick off the evening with cocktails, food trucks and hands-on demos of our coolest collections. Come scan a book, play in a virtual reality arcade, or spin a 78 rpm recording. When you arrive, be sure to get your library card. If you "check out" all the stations on your card, we'll reward you with a special Internet Archive gift. Starting at 7 p.m., we'll unveil the latest media the Internet Archive has to offer, presented by the artists, writers, and scientists who lose themselves in our collections every day. And to keep you dancing into the evening, DJ Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus, will be spinning records from 8-9:30. Come join our celebration!"
(2) Sunday, October 22nd at 2:00pm - Sponsor Picnic at Golden Gate Park
We are once again braving the outside world for a potluck cookout celebrating "Summer" in San Francisco. We're taking our October Sponsor event to Golden Gate Park, on Sunday, October 22nd at 2pm. We have high hopes that we won't be shivering and shrouded in fog. We've reserved table #1 in Lindley Meadow. Directions are at the link below, but the short version is that Lindley Meadow is on the south side of JFK Drive, across from the 30th Avenue and Fulton Street entrance in Golden Gate Park. (At 30th Avenue and JFK, there is a sign for Lindley Meadow.) http://sfrecpark.org/destination/golden-gate-park/ggp-lindley-meadow-picnic-area/ . Please note that several streets are closed in the park on Sundays and parking is often challenging.
Bring something to put on the grill or something to share as a side; bring your picnic blanket and a frisbee, and probably a jacket for possibly unpredictable summer weather. Wine and beer are fine to bring but, please, no liquor and no glass, per the Park's request. Friends and guests (including children) are super welcome so please do bring 'em along. If you're planning on coming, please let us know at sponsors@borderlands-books.com.
(3) Tuesday, October 24, 2017 starting at 7:00pm - Cocktail night at Churchill.
Sponsor Cocktail night continues at Churchill (198 Church Street at Market) <http://www.churchillsf.com/>; some combination of us will be there from at least 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm. No need to RSVP and any number of guests and friends are welcome. The bar is INCREDIBLY convenient to public transit -- the MUNI Metro Underground (via F, K, L, and M lines at Church Street,) and J and N lines stop less than a block away.
(4) Saturday, November 4th at 3:00 pm - Sponsor's Scotch Tasting at the World Fantasy Convention in San Antonio, Texas.
As usual, we'll be hosting a Scotch tasting for our sponsors and their guests at the World Fantasy Convention this year. We don't have the room number yet but, if you'll drop me an email and let me know that you'd like to attend, I'll make sure to get you that information as soon as I have it. You can just reply to this note and tell me that you'll be coming. You're welcome to bring a guest or two if you like.
(5) Saturday, November 4th at 9:00 pm - World Fantasy Convention party for Borderlands 20th Anniversary in San Antonio, Texas.
In addition to our private party in the afternoon, we'll be having a public one Saturday evening at the convention to celebrate our 20th anniversary. I think it'll be a lot of fun (our convention parties usually are) and I hope that, if you're going to be at the con, you'll make time to attend.
(6) Saturday, November 18th - Borderlands Books 20th Anniversary Party!
As I mentioned at the beginning of this note, it's thanks to all of you that we get to celebrate 20 years in business. We're still nailing down all the details for the party but we've decided on a couple of things. There will be a regular-customers only pre-party and sale starting at 10 am. You'll need a password to get in (which I'll be sending out in the November note and in the newsletter) and we'll have Mimosas, snacks, some special deals, a store-wide 10% off sale, and we'll unveil our commemorative 20th Anniversary hoodie. At noon we'll open to the general public and we've got some fun stuff planned for that part of the day including many, many authors signing their work (the full list is to come and it's going to be a long, long one) and, probably, some live music. Then at six we'll close up to get ready for the Sponsor Social, which will start at 7 pm as usual. I'm still planning the details of that part but there'll be some killer food for sure and some special cocktails. And, if that's not enough for you, at 11 pm when that party stops, the after-party will move across the street to the Phoenix Pub where we'll close the place. As I said last month -- this is going to be epic.
(7) December, date TBA - Trip to Dickens Fair.
We're putting together a group trip to Dicken's Fair <https://dickensfair.com>. Scott and I are still working out the details but the trip will be sometime in the first half of December and we'll have some sort of discounted tickets (that detail is still being worked out -- and thank you to all our sponsors who are affiliated with the Fair for all the possible hook-ups for those tickets). Look for more details in the next sponsor note.
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Sponser Letter, September 18th 2017
Dear Sponsors,
I've lots of entertaining news about what I've been up to recently but, before I get into that, I've a question for you.
Do you think that a location on Upper Haight Street (i.e. around Ashbury and the park) would work for the bookstore?
I'm looking at a property to buy on Haight Street and I think that it would work as a location, but I'd like to hear your thoughts. As I see it, parking is about the same as our current location, as is local public transit service. However, transit from outside SF is slightly worse (it's pretty far from BART and freeway access is not as good). Walking traffic is good (although not as good as Valencia St.) But, the neighborhood "feels" more like our sort of place than Valencia (and the Mission in general) does nowadays.
Obviously, this would be dependent on the numbers working out, financing being possible, and the "bones" of the building being good, but all those things are looking promising so far. Your thoughts are, as always, very much appreciated.
Buildings and the buying of them, has been the theme of my last month-and-a-half. Since the last time I wrote, I've looked very seriously at three buildings that might be possible for the store, and I've made offers on two of them (both offers turned down, as you may guess). I can't say much about the third building since that is still in play (and, for the same reason, I can't say anything about the building on Haight Street). But I'm happy to tell you about the others.
The first one was a return to the building that I was looking at in the beginning of this year. It's an odd one on Mission St. (2965 Mission to be precise). We came back to it because the seller seemed open to a price that was more reasonable. Last time, they were asking 2.5 million and I offered 1.6 (which was very low but was also where the math worked out). They came back with an offer of 2.4 and so we said thanks but; no. Last month my realtor got in touch with them (because the building still hadn't sold - it went on the market in October of last year) and asked if they would be open to talking about another offer. After a bit of back and forth, they said they were open to something under 2 million. After some thought, I decided we could offer 1.75 million. We did and they (rather unprofessionally) declined. But, that one is still on the table. Neither I nor my realtor think that they're going to get much interest at their asking price and so, in a few months, we might come back to them.
The lack of success there is both good and bad. The building is kind of weird in that it's two narrow but deep store fronts with a two-story building at the rear of the lot. The yard between the two buildings was covered over at some point in the past but it was a pretty poor job. And there were two unpermitted apartments built into the rear building. We would have to do a lot of work to make the whole place legal and workable for the store so taking it on would be a hassle.
But, the total square footage is 3500, which is almost twice the current bookstore. The location is excellent with great public transit access, very good freeway access, good foot traffic and close to many other neat businesses. And, both buildings were unusual. The front structure is 1920s art-deco with much of the original plaster work inside and the rear building was an old livery stable (probably from the 1890s). All in all, a headache but a really neat one with plenty of character.
The other building that I looked at was kind of weird right out of the gate. Before I could get any information about it from the listing realtor, they insisted that I sign a non-disclosure agreement (which was a first for both me and my realtor). I'm not going to break that agreement here but I can tell you all the public information on the property. The building is at 3901 18th St. and so it's only five blocks westerly from our current location. It is a single story building with two retail store fronts, one a cafe and the other a nail salon. The size is good (around 2700 square feet) but the layout was awkward. The price, however, was hard to beat -- 1.3 million. So, we started the process of getting details about the building and ran into that silly NDA thing. We dealt with that and then heard nothing for days and days. Finally, we decided to jump-start the process by sending in an offer at 1.25 million. That finally produced a reply. Informally the listing realtor told my realtor that they had already received and turned down offers in the neighborhood of 15% over the listing price. At that price, the limitations in the building made it much less attractive so we walked.
My realtor and I have been joking about there being a pattern to the buildings we offer on -- specifically that the building will, for one reason or another, not be "straight-forward" and then the seller and/or the agent will do some strange stuff. Thus far we've had a seller who seems to not be very interested in selling the building (pro tip here: if a building has been on the market for almost a frickin' _year_, the price is probably too high and you should lower it), a seller who lists a building at a price far below the amount that they'll accept (which is a waste of everyone's time), realtors who are slow to respond to actual buyers (three of those so far, and I think we might be headed to number four), and it goes on and on.
Seriously though, that pattern isn't surprising to me. What we're looking for is an odd sort of property and we're in an odd situation as buyers in that we're planning on being owner-occupiers, we're actively searching for older buildings with some problems (since those problems lower the price and I've got the skills / contacts to sort out most kinds of problems), and we're trying to do this on a shoe-string budget. I'm very grateful that our realtor is willing to work with us, has a boatload of experience, and understands that this is going to be a long process.
That's about all my news for now. I'll have more to tell you about the building process next month, as well as information about our 20th anniversary party (which will be epic) and other upcoming events.
All Best,
Alan
The scattered showers version:
(1) Tuesday, September 26th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Who doesn't love drinking at Churchill? We will definitely be out again this month at the same location and time to enjoy the company of fellow sponsors. Meet us at Churchill, 198 Church Street at Market Street.
(2) Thursday, October 5th at 7:00 pm - Advance Preview of "BladeRunner 2049" at the Balboa Theatre, thanks to SF in SF.
(3) Monday, October 9th at 7:00 pm - Sponsor Game Night. Join us to hang out and bring your favorite game!
(4) Sunday, October 22nd at 2:00pm -- Sponsor Picnic at Golden Gate Park. A (hopefully) sunny day in the park with grill and friends.
The deluge of biblical proportions version:
(1) Tuesday, September 26th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Our next Monthly Sponsor Cocktail night will be at Churchill (198 Church Street at Market) <http://www.churchillsf.com/>; some combination of us will be there from at least 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm. No need to RSVP and any number of guests and friends are welcome. The bar is INCREDIBLY convenient to public transit -- the MUNI Metro Underground (via F, K, L, and M lines at Church Street,) and J and N lines stop less than a block away.
(2) Thursday, October 5th at 7:00 pm - Advance Preview of "BladeRunner 2049" at the Balboa Theatre, Balboa Theatre 3630 Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94121. SF in SF is hosting a sneak preview of BLADE RUNNER 2049! In appreciation of our sponsors, Rina Weisman at SF in SF is giving you first crack at tickets for this show, available only via SF in SF. This will be a sell-out, so you'll want to get your tickets early! Program starts promptly at 7:00 pm, with special guest Paul Sammon, who wrote FUTURE NOIR: THE MAKING OF BLADE RUNNER, (the ultimate reference tool for fans of the movie). Paul will give a half hour talk, and answer questions and sign books after the movie in the lobby. Borderlands Books will be on hand with his book, as well as other PKD titles. Film begins at exactly 7:30 pm. Note - Sponsors may purchase up to a maximum of six tickets each, so please bring your friends. Tickets will be $8.50 each. Payment via Venmo or PayPal (please choose "send to friends or family option") to sfinsfevents@gmail.com. Rina Weisman will be in the lobby as of 6:15PM to the left of the box office with your ticket(s). If you are buying tix for more than one person, you will need to collect all tix at the same time. For more info, email sfinsfevents@gmail.com
(3) Monday, October 9th at 7:00 pm - Sponsor Game Night. Join fellow sponsors & "game" staff for chess, Cards Against Humanity, Scrabble, Pictionary, or whatever other board games you'd like to bring to play! Please bring games that have a usual play-cycle of less than 3 hours, so probably NOT Monopoly, Seven Ages, Arkham Horror, or The Longest Day (that's the Normandy Invasion strategy game that takes an average of 90 hours to play). Are you a secret Balderdash champion? Kick butt at Connect 4? Here's your chance to shine! Feel free to bring your favorite beverage to share. Also, you're welcome to bring food if you wish -- the cafe will be shutting down at eight. No need to RSVP, and please feel free to invite your friends along, as there really isn't any limit to the number of folks we can accommodate -- the more the merrier.
(4) Sunday, October 22nd at 2:00pm -- Sponsor Picnic at Golden Gate Park
BBQ Picnic in Golden Gate Park. We are once again braving the outside world for a potluck cookout celebrating "Summer" in San Francisco. We're taking our October Sponsor event to Golden Gate Park, on Sunday, October 22nd at 2pm. We have high hopes that we won't be shivering and shrouded in fog. We've reserved table #1 in Lindley Meadow. Directions are at the link below, but the short version is that Lindley Meadow is on the south side of JFK Drive, across from the 30th Avenue and Fulton Street entrance in Golden Gate Park. (At 30th Avenue and JFK, there is a sign for Lindley Meadow.) http://sfrecpark.org/destination/golden-gate-park/ggp-lindley-meadow-picnic-area/ . Please note that several streets are closed in the park on Sundays and parking is often challenging.
Bring something to put on the grill or something to share as a side; bring your picnic blanket and a frisbee, and probably a jacket for possibly unpredictable summer weather. Wine and beer are fine to bring but, please, no liquor and no glass, per the Park's request. Friends and guests (including children) are super welcome so please do bring 'em along. If you're planning on coming, please let us know at sponsors@borderlands-books.com
I've lots of entertaining news about what I've been up to recently but, before I get into that, I've a question for you.
Do you think that a location on Upper Haight Street (i.e. around Ashbury and the park) would work for the bookstore?
I'm looking at a property to buy on Haight Street and I think that it would work as a location, but I'd like to hear your thoughts. As I see it, parking is about the same as our current location, as is local public transit service. However, transit from outside SF is slightly worse (it's pretty far from BART and freeway access is not as good). Walking traffic is good (although not as good as Valencia St.) But, the neighborhood "feels" more like our sort of place than Valencia (and the Mission in general) does nowadays.
Obviously, this would be dependent on the numbers working out, financing being possible, and the "bones" of the building being good, but all those things are looking promising so far. Your thoughts are, as always, very much appreciated.
Buildings and the buying of them, has been the theme of my last month-and-a-half. Since the last time I wrote, I've looked very seriously at three buildings that might be possible for the store, and I've made offers on two of them (both offers turned down, as you may guess). I can't say much about the third building since that is still in play (and, for the same reason, I can't say anything about the building on Haight Street). But I'm happy to tell you about the others.
The first one was a return to the building that I was looking at in the beginning of this year. It's an odd one on Mission St. (2965 Mission to be precise). We came back to it because the seller seemed open to a price that was more reasonable. Last time, they were asking 2.5 million and I offered 1.6 (which was very low but was also where the math worked out). They came back with an offer of 2.4 and so we said thanks but; no. Last month my realtor got in touch with them (because the building still hadn't sold - it went on the market in October of last year) and asked if they would be open to talking about another offer. After a bit of back and forth, they said they were open to something under 2 million. After some thought, I decided we could offer 1.75 million. We did and they (rather unprofessionally) declined. But, that one is still on the table. Neither I nor my realtor think that they're going to get much interest at their asking price and so, in a few months, we might come back to them.
The lack of success there is both good and bad. The building is kind of weird in that it's two narrow but deep store fronts with a two-story building at the rear of the lot. The yard between the two buildings was covered over at some point in the past but it was a pretty poor job. And there were two unpermitted apartments built into the rear building. We would have to do a lot of work to make the whole place legal and workable for the store so taking it on would be a hassle.
But, the total square footage is 3500, which is almost twice the current bookstore. The location is excellent with great public transit access, very good freeway access, good foot traffic and close to many other neat businesses. And, both buildings were unusual. The front structure is 1920s art-deco with much of the original plaster work inside and the rear building was an old livery stable (probably from the 1890s). All in all, a headache but a really neat one with plenty of character.
The other building that I looked at was kind of weird right out of the gate. Before I could get any information about it from the listing realtor, they insisted that I sign a non-disclosure agreement (which was a first for both me and my realtor). I'm not going to break that agreement here but I can tell you all the public information on the property. The building is at 3901 18th St. and so it's only five blocks westerly from our current location. It is a single story building with two retail store fronts, one a cafe and the other a nail salon. The size is good (around 2700 square feet) but the layout was awkward. The price, however, was hard to beat -- 1.3 million. So, we started the process of getting details about the building and ran into that silly NDA thing. We dealt with that and then heard nothing for days and days. Finally, we decided to jump-start the process by sending in an offer at 1.25 million. That finally produced a reply. Informally the listing realtor told my realtor that they had already received and turned down offers in the neighborhood of 15% over the listing price. At that price, the limitations in the building made it much less attractive so we walked.
My realtor and I have been joking about there being a pattern to the buildings we offer on -- specifically that the building will, for one reason or another, not be "straight-forward" and then the seller and/or the agent will do some strange stuff. Thus far we've had a seller who seems to not be very interested in selling the building (pro tip here: if a building has been on the market for almost a frickin' _year_, the price is probably too high and you should lower it), a seller who lists a building at a price far below the amount that they'll accept (which is a waste of everyone's time), realtors who are slow to respond to actual buyers (three of those so far, and I think we might be headed to number four), and it goes on and on.
Seriously though, that pattern isn't surprising to me. What we're looking for is an odd sort of property and we're in an odd situation as buyers in that we're planning on being owner-occupiers, we're actively searching for older buildings with some problems (since those problems lower the price and I've got the skills / contacts to sort out most kinds of problems), and we're trying to do this on a shoe-string budget. I'm very grateful that our realtor is willing to work with us, has a boatload of experience, and understands that this is going to be a long process.
That's about all my news for now. I'll have more to tell you about the building process next month, as well as information about our 20th anniversary party (which will be epic) and other upcoming events.
All Best,
Alan
The scattered showers version:
(1) Tuesday, September 26th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Who doesn't love drinking at Churchill? We will definitely be out again this month at the same location and time to enjoy the company of fellow sponsors. Meet us at Churchill, 198 Church Street at Market Street.
(2) Thursday, October 5th at 7:00 pm - Advance Preview of "BladeRunner 2049" at the Balboa Theatre, thanks to SF in SF.
(3) Monday, October 9th at 7:00 pm - Sponsor Game Night. Join us to hang out and bring your favorite game!
(4) Sunday, October 22nd at 2:00pm -- Sponsor Picnic at Golden Gate Park. A (hopefully) sunny day in the park with grill and friends.
The deluge of biblical proportions version:
(1) Tuesday, September 26th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Our next Monthly Sponsor Cocktail night will be at Churchill (198 Church Street at Market) <http://www.churchillsf.com/>; some combination of us will be there from at least 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm. No need to RSVP and any number of guests and friends are welcome. The bar is INCREDIBLY convenient to public transit -- the MUNI Metro Underground (via F, K, L, and M lines at Church Street,) and J and N lines stop less than a block away.
(2) Thursday, October 5th at 7:00 pm - Advance Preview of "BladeRunner 2049" at the Balboa Theatre, Balboa Theatre 3630 Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94121. SF in SF is hosting a sneak preview of BLADE RUNNER 2049! In appreciation of our sponsors, Rina Weisman at SF in SF is giving you first crack at tickets for this show, available only via SF in SF. This will be a sell-out, so you'll want to get your tickets early! Program starts promptly at 7:00 pm, with special guest Paul Sammon, who wrote FUTURE NOIR: THE MAKING OF BLADE RUNNER, (the ultimate reference tool for fans of the movie). Paul will give a half hour talk, and answer questions and sign books after the movie in the lobby. Borderlands Books will be on hand with his book, as well as other PKD titles. Film begins at exactly 7:30 pm. Note - Sponsors may purchase up to a maximum of six tickets each, so please bring your friends. Tickets will be $8.50 each. Payment via Venmo or PayPal (please choose "send to friends or family option") to sfinsfevents@gmail.com. Rina Weisman will be in the lobby as of 6:15PM to the left of the box office with your ticket(s). If you are buying tix for more than one person, you will need to collect all tix at the same time. For more info, email sfinsfevents@gmail.com
(3) Monday, October 9th at 7:00 pm - Sponsor Game Night. Join fellow sponsors & "game" staff for chess, Cards Against Humanity, Scrabble, Pictionary, or whatever other board games you'd like to bring to play! Please bring games that have a usual play-cycle of less than 3 hours, so probably NOT Monopoly, Seven Ages, Arkham Horror, or The Longest Day (that's the Normandy Invasion strategy game that takes an average of 90 hours to play). Are you a secret Balderdash champion? Kick butt at Connect 4? Here's your chance to shine! Feel free to bring your favorite beverage to share. Also, you're welcome to bring food if you wish -- the cafe will be shutting down at eight. No need to RSVP, and please feel free to invite your friends along, as there really isn't any limit to the number of folks we can accommodate -- the more the merrier.
(4) Sunday, October 22nd at 2:00pm -- Sponsor Picnic at Golden Gate Park
BBQ Picnic in Golden Gate Park. We are once again braving the outside world for a potluck cookout celebrating "Summer" in San Francisco. We're taking our October Sponsor event to Golden Gate Park, on Sunday, October 22nd at 2pm. We have high hopes that we won't be shivering and shrouded in fog. We've reserved table #1 in Lindley Meadow. Directions are at the link below, but the short version is that Lindley Meadow is on the south side of JFK Drive, across from the 30th Avenue and Fulton Street entrance in Golden Gate Park. (At 30th Avenue and JFK, there is a sign for Lindley Meadow.) http://sfrecpark.org/destination/golden-gate-park/ggp-lindley-meadow-picnic-area/ . Please note that several streets are closed in the park on Sundays and parking is often challenging.
Bring something to put on the grill or something to share as a side; bring your picnic blanket and a frisbee, and probably a jacket for possibly unpredictable summer weather. Wine and beer are fine to bring but, please, no liquor and no glass, per the Park's request. Friends and guests (including children) are super welcome so please do bring 'em along. If you're planning on coming, please let us know at sponsors@borderlands-books.com
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Sponsor Letter, August 7th, 2017
Hello Everyone,
If you're doing such a thing, I hope that your summer vacations are (or have been) lovely. I'm not taking a summer vacation since I managed to get ten days in New Orleans this spring, but I'm with you in spirt. At the store we've been busy helping all the people visiting for their vacations and it has been great fun. One of the things I like the best about this business (and get to do the least) is make suggestions and help people find the book they're looking for. Especially when they don't actually know what book they're looking for. Summer time and the Holiday Season are the two times that I get to do the most of it, so it has been a good couple of weeks.
Speaking of summer travel, a lot of folks that we know are heading off to Helsinki for the World Science Fiction convention. One of our sponsors, Gay Chung, is going to be there and she has offered to coordinate a get-together for any other sponsors who are going to be attending. Exactly where, when and what it'll be is going to have to wait 'til Gay gets in town (which'll be tomorrow) and has a chance to check out the lay of the land. But, if you'd like to connect with her and other sponsors, you should drop her a note at blbsponsors@gmail.com. Once she has the details, she'll drop you a line. I wish I was going to be there, but I'm sure you'll all send me some great pictures (yes, that is a hint).
And, now on to the list of upcoming events.
Warm Regards,
Alan
Note: As usual, to RSVP for any event, just reply to this email and we'll take care of the rest.
Short:
(1) Monday, August 14th from 7:00 pm -- 10:00 pm -- Game Night. Inspired by the rousing success of the last couple, we'll be doing a monthly game night at the Cafe on the second Monday of each month. Guests are welcome and no RSVPs are necessary.
(2) Saturday, August 19th from 7:00 pm -- 11:00 pm -- Summer Sponsor Social. Cookies, cookies, cookies! Instead of our usual pot-luck, we'd like you to bring cookies. We want to taste your favorite family recipe, your go-to binge, or even your favorite local bakery's confections. We'll have few ports and sherries on hand to try different pairings, but as always, feel free to bring any of your favorite libations. And we'll have all the usual entertainments in the form of door prizes, board games at the back of the cafe, and Alan will be giving a limited number of tours of the (sorta creepy) basement of the shop. Feel free to bring a guest and RSVPs are much appreciated but not required.
(3) Tuesday, August 22nd at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Who doesn't love drinking at Churchill? We will definitely be out again this month at the same location and time to enjoy the company of fellow sponsors. Meet us at Churchill, 198 Church Street at Market Street.
(4) Thursday, September 7th at 6:00 pm -- Sponsor Karaoke with Seanan McGuire at The Mint (1942 Market Street, San Francisco). 21 and over, no cover charge (but there is a 2-drink minimum), guests welcome. Please RSVP so we know how many people to expect.
(5) Sunday, October 22nd, 2 pm to 6 pm -- Picnic in Golden Gate Park. We'll be at table #1 in Lindley Meadow (see map here - http://sfpsociety.org/large_ggp_map.jpg). Any number of guests are welcome and RSVPs are appreciated. We'll take care of the coals and some basic food stuff, but please do bring things to share (however, please, per park rules, no beverages in glass bottles).
Long:
(1) Monday, August 14th from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm -- Game Night. Join fellow sponsors & "game" staff for chess, Cards Against Humanity, Scrabble, Pictionary, or whatever other board games you'd like to bring to play! Please bring games that have a usual play-cycle of less than 3 hours, so probably NOT Monopoly, Seven Ages, Arkham Horror, or The Longest Day (that's the Normandy Invasion strategy game that takes an average of 90 hours to play). Are you a secret Balderdash champion? Kick butt at Connect 4? Here's your chance to shine! We'll have adult beverages (after eight pm), iced tea and lemonade on offer, but feel free to bring your favorite beverage to share. Also, you're welcome to bring food if you wish -- the cafe will be shutting down at eight. No need to RSVP, and please feel free to invite your friends along, as there really isn't any limit to the number of folks we can accommodate -- the more the merrier.
(2) Saturday, August 19th from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm -- Summer Sponsor Social. Cookies, cookies, cookies! Instead of our usual pot-luck, we'd like you to bring cookies. We want to taste your favorite family recipe, your go-to binge, or even your favorite local bakery's confections. We'll have few ports and sherries on hand to try different pairings, but as always, feel free to bring any of your favorite libations. And we'll have all the usual entertainments in the form of door prizes, board games at the back of the cafe, and Alan will be giving a limited number of tours of the (sorta creepy) basement of the shop. Given the sweets-focused nature of this social, you might want to have dinner before arriving (although we will have some "real" food on hand for the folks who didn't have time for dinner - i.e. the staff at the very least). Feel free to bring a guest and RSVPs are much appreciated but not required.
(3) Tuesday, August 22nd at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Our next Monthly Sponsor Cocktail night will be at Churchill (198 Church Street at Market) <http://www.churchillsf.com/>; some combination of us will be there from at least 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm. No need to RSVP and any number of guests and friends are welcome. The bar is INCREDIBLY convenient to public transit -- the MUNI Metro Underground (via F, K, L, and M lines at Church Street,) and J and N lines stop less than a block away.
(4) Thursday, September 7th at 6:00 pm -- Sponsor Karaoke with Seanan McGuire at The Mint (1942 Market Street, San Francisco). Nebula Award winning author, singer/songwriter, snake handler, Borderlands sponsor, and all-around amazing person Seanan McGuire has graciously offered to be a special guest at the very first Borderlands Sponsor Karaoke Night! This will be an enormously entertaining event, and we hope you'll join us to show off your vocal prowess (or your irrepressible attitude, if you happen to lack vocal prowess -- that's great, too). The Mint is located at 1942 Market Street, San Francisco, and we have reserved space for sponsors. Some pertinent info about The Mint: it is a bar, so this event will be for those 21 and over. There is no cover charge, but there is a 2-drink minimum. Guests are welcome, and please RSVP so we know how many people to expect.
(5) Sunday, October 22nd, 2 pm to 6 pm -- Picnic in Golden Gate Park. We are celebrating "Summer" in San Francisco by taking our October Sponsor event to Golden Gate Park! We're actually leaving the store and venturing into the outside world for a potluck cookout! And, since it's October in San Francisco, we have high hopes that we won't be shivering and shrouded in fog. We've reserved Table #1 at Lindley Meadow. Directions are at the link below, but the short version is that Lindley Meadow is on the South side of JFK Drive, across from the 30th Avenue and Fulton Street entrance in Golden Gate Park. (At 30th Avenue and JFK, there is a sign for Lindley Meadow.) http://sfrecpark.org/destination/golden-gate-park/ggp-lindley-meadow-picnic-area/ .
Bring something to put on the grill or something to share as a side; bring your picnic blanket and a frisbee, and probably a jacket for possibly unpredictable summer weather. Wine and beer are fine to bring but, please, no liquor and no glass, per the Park's request. Friends and guests (including children) are super welcome so please do bring 'em along. If you're planning on coming, please let us know at sponsors@borderlands-books.com
If you're doing such a thing, I hope that your summer vacations are (or have been) lovely. I'm not taking a summer vacation since I managed to get ten days in New Orleans this spring, but I'm with you in spirt. At the store we've been busy helping all the people visiting for their vacations and it has been great fun. One of the things I like the best about this business (and get to do the least) is make suggestions and help people find the book they're looking for. Especially when they don't actually know what book they're looking for. Summer time and the Holiday Season are the two times that I get to do the most of it, so it has been a good couple of weeks.
Speaking of summer travel, a lot of folks that we know are heading off to Helsinki for the World Science Fiction convention. One of our sponsors, Gay Chung, is going to be there and she has offered to coordinate a get-together for any other sponsors who are going to be attending. Exactly where, when and what it'll be is going to have to wait 'til Gay gets in town (which'll be tomorrow) and has a chance to check out the lay of the land. But, if you'd like to connect with her and other sponsors, you should drop her a note at blbsponsors@gmail.com. Once she has the details, she'll drop you a line. I wish I was going to be there, but I'm sure you'll all send me some great pictures (yes, that is a hint).
And, now on to the list of upcoming events.
Warm Regards,
Alan
Note: As usual, to RSVP for any event, just reply to this email and we'll take care of the rest.
Short:
(1) Monday, August 14th from 7:00 pm -- 10:00 pm -- Game Night. Inspired by the rousing success of the last couple, we'll be doing a monthly game night at the Cafe on the second Monday of each month. Guests are welcome and no RSVPs are necessary.
(2) Saturday, August 19th from 7:00 pm -- 11:00 pm -- Summer Sponsor Social. Cookies, cookies, cookies! Instead of our usual pot-luck, we'd like you to bring cookies. We want to taste your favorite family recipe, your go-to binge, or even your favorite local bakery's confections. We'll have few ports and sherries on hand to try different pairings, but as always, feel free to bring any of your favorite libations. And we'll have all the usual entertainments in the form of door prizes, board games at the back of the cafe, and Alan will be giving a limited number of tours of the (sorta creepy) basement of the shop. Feel free to bring a guest and RSVPs are much appreciated but not required.
(3) Tuesday, August 22nd at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Who doesn't love drinking at Churchill? We will definitely be out again this month at the same location and time to enjoy the company of fellow sponsors. Meet us at Churchill, 198 Church Street at Market Street.
(4) Thursday, September 7th at 6:00 pm -- Sponsor Karaoke with Seanan McGuire at The Mint (1942 Market Street, San Francisco). 21 and over, no cover charge (but there is a 2-drink minimum), guests welcome. Please RSVP so we know how many people to expect.
(5) Sunday, October 22nd, 2 pm to 6 pm -- Picnic in Golden Gate Park. We'll be at table #1 in Lindley Meadow (see map here - http://sfpsociety.org/large_ggp_map.jpg). Any number of guests are welcome and RSVPs are appreciated. We'll take care of the coals and some basic food stuff, but please do bring things to share (however, please, per park rules, no beverages in glass bottles).
Long:
(1) Monday, August 14th from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm -- Game Night. Join fellow sponsors & "game" staff for chess, Cards Against Humanity, Scrabble, Pictionary, or whatever other board games you'd like to bring to play! Please bring games that have a usual play-cycle of less than 3 hours, so probably NOT Monopoly, Seven Ages, Arkham Horror, or The Longest Day (that's the Normandy Invasion strategy game that takes an average of 90 hours to play). Are you a secret Balderdash champion? Kick butt at Connect 4? Here's your chance to shine! We'll have adult beverages (after eight pm), iced tea and lemonade on offer, but feel free to bring your favorite beverage to share. Also, you're welcome to bring food if you wish -- the cafe will be shutting down at eight. No need to RSVP, and please feel free to invite your friends along, as there really isn't any limit to the number of folks we can accommodate -- the more the merrier.
(2) Saturday, August 19th from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm -- Summer Sponsor Social. Cookies, cookies, cookies! Instead of our usual pot-luck, we'd like you to bring cookies. We want to taste your favorite family recipe, your go-to binge, or even your favorite local bakery's confections. We'll have few ports and sherries on hand to try different pairings, but as always, feel free to bring any of your favorite libations. And we'll have all the usual entertainments in the form of door prizes, board games at the back of the cafe, and Alan will be giving a limited number of tours of the (sorta creepy) basement of the shop. Given the sweets-focused nature of this social, you might want to have dinner before arriving (although we will have some "real" food on hand for the folks who didn't have time for dinner - i.e. the staff at the very least). Feel free to bring a guest and RSVPs are much appreciated but not required.
(3) Tuesday, August 22nd at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Our next Monthly Sponsor Cocktail night will be at Churchill (198 Church Street at Market) <http://www.churchillsf.com/>; some combination of us will be there from at least 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm. No need to RSVP and any number of guests and friends are welcome. The bar is INCREDIBLY convenient to public transit -- the MUNI Metro Underground (via F, K, L, and M lines at Church Street,) and J and N lines stop less than a block away.
(4) Thursday, September 7th at 6:00 pm -- Sponsor Karaoke with Seanan McGuire at The Mint (1942 Market Street, San Francisco). Nebula Award winning author, singer/songwriter, snake handler, Borderlands sponsor, and all-around amazing person Seanan McGuire has graciously offered to be a special guest at the very first Borderlands Sponsor Karaoke Night! This will be an enormously entertaining event, and we hope you'll join us to show off your vocal prowess (or your irrepressible attitude, if you happen to lack vocal prowess -- that's great, too). The Mint is located at 1942 Market Street, San Francisco, and we have reserved space for sponsors. Some pertinent info about The Mint: it is a bar, so this event will be for those 21 and over. There is no cover charge, but there is a 2-drink minimum. Guests are welcome, and please RSVP so we know how many people to expect.
(5) Sunday, October 22nd, 2 pm to 6 pm -- Picnic in Golden Gate Park. We are celebrating "Summer" in San Francisco by taking our October Sponsor event to Golden Gate Park! We're actually leaving the store and venturing into the outside world for a potluck cookout! And, since it's October in San Francisco, we have high hopes that we won't be shivering and shrouded in fog. We've reserved Table #1 at Lindley Meadow. Directions are at the link below, but the short version is that Lindley Meadow is on the South side of JFK Drive, across from the 30th Avenue and Fulton Street entrance in Golden Gate Park. (At 30th Avenue and JFK, there is a sign for Lindley Meadow.) http://sfrecpark.org/destination/golden-gate-park/ggp-lindley-meadow-picnic-area/ .
Bring something to put on the grill or something to share as a side; bring your picnic blanket and a frisbee, and probably a jacket for possibly unpredictable summer weather. Wine and beer are fine to bring but, please, no liquor and no glass, per the Park's request. Friends and guests (including children) are super welcome so please do bring 'em along. If you're planning on coming, please let us know at sponsors@borderlands-books.com
Thursday, July 6, 2017
Sponsor Letter, July 6th 2017
Hi Everyone and Happy Summer,
As is usual for San Francisco, it's been chilly and windy a fair bit but at least 4th of July weekend was nice and sunny. I hope that you're all having a good summer so far. I've been working on various assorted small projects, both work and personal. And there is one that has pointed out to me just how San Francisco is changing.
A few weeks ago someone backed into my motorcycle and knocked it over the side-stand. For you who don't ride, that means it hit the ground pretty hard. Various stuff was bent and broken, but it was all stuff that's pretty easy to replace, except -- the stay that mounts the rider's footpeg was cracked. And I couldn't find a new replacement. So, I decided to have it welded.
I went to Al's Welding, where I've been going for more than two decades. They couldn't take the job because they were moving to Richmond. The reason? Their rent was getting too high. I got in touch with my mechanic for a referral. The guy he sent me to was closing up shop. Rent, again. Next I looked online and found a guy who seemed pretty good. Called him. He moved to Petaluma about six months ago. And, you guessed it -- his rent went up when his lease ran out. I called another mechanic. He not only didn't have a referral but he asked me to let him know if I found anyone because the two welders he usually worked with had both moved out of town. I finally found a shop that was still operating and I should have the bike back on the road soon, but I'm wondering how long that shop will be able to stay in business. I'm also wondering what other services that I've always taken for granted may have been priced out of San Francisco.
I haven't been spending all my time working on my own stuff. There are a few things in progress around the shop that should gel in the next couple of months. One on them is my project to set up an online forum or message board so that sponsors can communicate with each other more easily. At this year's general meeting this was something that people were enthusiastic about and so it's high on my to-do list. At the time, we had some discussion about the best way of going at it. Several people suggested using Slack, others preferred a more traditional forum, and some others suggested that an email list-serve would be good.
After giving it some thought, I decided that an email list would be too intrusive for general chatting. Though I like them very much for working on projects and for sending out things like these notes and our newsletter, it seemed to me that it would work one of two ways; either people would use it a lot, in which case there would be too much traffic (we have over 600 sponsors), or people wouldn't use it much at all, in which case why bother to set it up. That left the choice between Slack and a forum. I think that there are good points for either of them. Slack is conducive to something that feels much more like a free-flowing conversation, but (in the free mode) it doesn't support archiving, which means that the conversation gets lost over time. Forums, on the other hand, are more rigid and (smart) people tend to be more careful about what they post, since it does get archived. And forums are better suited to being a long-term repository for information. Finally, we would "own" our forum and the data, whereas Slack is a single company and (as they should) runs things to suit themselves.
My final conclusion was to try a forum and see how it works for six months or so. Over the years I've been burned several times by becoming dependent on an outside company, only to have them change their business practices. That makes me hesitant to create that sort of dependency unless I really have to. I hope that the forum will be a desirable and successful part of what we do with the sponsor program. If it becomes that, I don't want to risk it being ruined because of another company's decisions.
All that said, if the forum isn't active and working well in six months, I think I'll shut it down and give Slack a try. Of course and as usual, any comments or thoughts about this from you are super welcome -- just reply to this email and it'll go right to me.
All Best,
Alan
Upcoming Sponsor Events
If you would like to RSVP for any sponsor event, just reply to this email and, if necessary, let us know if you're bringing a guest. That's all there is to it. And, same goes if you want to get in touch with me -- just reply to this and it'll get to me.
The Pithy version:
(1) Every Saturday in July at 8:00 pm -- Bay Area Theatre Sports Improv has been kind enough to give sponsors a discount code good for 30% off unlimited tickets to the Star Trek themed improv show "Warp Speed", Saturdays in July at 8:00 pm.
(2) Monday, July 10th from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm -- Game Night. Inspired by the rousing success of the first one, we'll be doing a monthly game night at the Cafe on the second Monday of each month. Guests are welcome and RSVPs are appreciated but not required.
(3) Tuesday, July 25th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Who doesn't love drinking at Churchill? We will definitely be out again this month at the same location and time to enjoy the company of fellow sponsors. Meet us at Churchill, 198 Church Street at Market Street.
(4) Friday, August 4th at 8:00 pm -- Blind Wine Tasting. Sponsors Joe Thomas and John Plevyak have again very graciously offered to host a blind wine tasting for sponsors! The event will take place at the bookstore and the cost will be $10. Attendance is limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible.
(5) Saturday, August 19th from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm -- Summer Sponsor Social. More details to come next month!
(6) Thursday, September 7th at 6:00 pm (note earlier time) -- Sponsor Karaoke with Seanan McGuire at The Mint (1942 Market Street, San Francisco). 21 and over, no cover charge (but there is a 2-drink minimum), guests welcome. Please RSVP so we know how many people to expect.
The Protracted version:
(1) Every Saturday in July at 8:00 pm -- We have several sponsor friends involved with the marvelous Bay Area Theatre Sports Improv, and BATS has been kind enough to give Borderlands sponsors a discount code good for 30% off unlimited tickets to their new Star Trek-themed show, "Warp Speed"! The show's happening every Saturday in July, 8:00 pm, at The Bayfront Theater, Building B, Third floor, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco. You can purchase tickets here: http://www.improv.org/shows/tickets/?eid=19479&edid=69232 and the discount code to use is REDSHIRTS. Go support their wonderful creative endeavors and have a great time at a discount! Their website, with further info about BATS and their shows, is here: www.improv.org
(2) Monday, July 10th from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm -- Game Night. Join fellow sponsors & "game" staff for chess, Cards Against Humanity, Scrabble, Pictionary, or whatever other board games you'd like to bring to play! Please bring games that have a usual play-cycle of less than 3 hours, so probably NOT Monopoly, Seven Ages, Arkham Horror, or The Longest Day (that's the Normandy Invasion strategy game that takes an average of 90 hours to play). Are you a secret Balderdash champion? Kick butt at Connect 4? Here's your chance to shine! We'll have adult beverages (after eight pm), iced tea and lemonade on offer, but feel free to bring your favorite beverage to share. Also, you're welcome to bring food if you wish -- the cafe will be shutting down at eight. RSVPs are appreciated but not required, and please feel free to invite your friends along, as there really isn't any limit to the number of folks we can accommodate -- the more the merrier.
(3) Tuesday, July 25th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Our next Monthly Sponsor Cocktail night will be at Churchill (198 Church Street at Market) <http://www.churchillsf.com/>; some combination of us will be there from at least 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm. No need to RSVP and any number of guests and friends are welcome. The bar is INCREDIBLY convenient to public transit -- the MUNI Metro Underground (via F, K, L, and M lines at Church Street,) and J and N lines stop less than a block away.
(4) Friday, August 4th at 8:00 pm -- Blind Wine Tasting. We're very grateful to sponsors Joe Thomas and John Plevyak, who have again graciously offered to host a blind wine tasting for sponsors! Here's the way it will work: We'll be hosting the event in the bookstore. You're welcome to show up early, if you like, or just come to the door at eight or so. Joe and John will be bringing the wine, with covered labels, and we'll be pouring and chatting about what we think, guided by Joe & John, for a couple of hours. The cost will be $10, and the proceeds will go to the Borderlands' Building Fund. We might even have a prize or two for the folks with the best (or luckiest) palates. This will be a very low-key event and so, if you don't know much about wine, this is a perfect chance to get your "feet" wet. Attendance is limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible. Oh, and please do be over 21 years old. It also might be a good idea if you've had dinner before you arrive. The glasses are pretty small but there might be a lot of them.
(5) Saturday, August 19th from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm -- Summer Sponsor Social. More details to come next month!
(6) Thursday, September 7th at 6:00 pm (please note earlier start time) -- Sponsor Karaoke with Seanan McGuire at The Mint (1942 Market Street, San Francisco). Nebula Award winning author, singer/songwriter, snake handler, Borderlands sponsor, and all-around amazing person Seanan McGuire has graciously offered to be a special guest at the very first Borderlands Sponsor Karaoke Night! This will be an enormously entertaining event, and we hope you'll join us to show off your vocal prowess (or your irrepressible attitude, if you happen to lack vocal prowess -- that's great, too). The Mint is located at 1942 Market Street, San Francisco, and we have reserved space for sponsors. Some pertinent info about The Mint: it is a bar, so this event will be for those 21 and over. There is no cover charge, but there is a 2-drink minimum. Guests are welcome, and please RSVP so we know how many people to expect.
As is usual for San Francisco, it's been chilly and windy a fair bit but at least 4th of July weekend was nice and sunny. I hope that you're all having a good summer so far. I've been working on various assorted small projects, both work and personal. And there is one that has pointed out to me just how San Francisco is changing.
A few weeks ago someone backed into my motorcycle and knocked it over the side-stand. For you who don't ride, that means it hit the ground pretty hard. Various stuff was bent and broken, but it was all stuff that's pretty easy to replace, except -- the stay that mounts the rider's footpeg was cracked. And I couldn't find a new replacement. So, I decided to have it welded.
I went to Al's Welding, where I've been going for more than two decades. They couldn't take the job because they were moving to Richmond. The reason? Their rent was getting too high. I got in touch with my mechanic for a referral. The guy he sent me to was closing up shop. Rent, again. Next I looked online and found a guy who seemed pretty good. Called him. He moved to Petaluma about six months ago. And, you guessed it -- his rent went up when his lease ran out. I called another mechanic. He not only didn't have a referral but he asked me to let him know if I found anyone because the two welders he usually worked with had both moved out of town. I finally found a shop that was still operating and I should have the bike back on the road soon, but I'm wondering how long that shop will be able to stay in business. I'm also wondering what other services that I've always taken for granted may have been priced out of San Francisco.
I haven't been spending all my time working on my own stuff. There are a few things in progress around the shop that should gel in the next couple of months. One on them is my project to set up an online forum or message board so that sponsors can communicate with each other more easily. At this year's general meeting this was something that people were enthusiastic about and so it's high on my to-do list. At the time, we had some discussion about the best way of going at it. Several people suggested using Slack, others preferred a more traditional forum, and some others suggested that an email list-serve would be good.
After giving it some thought, I decided that an email list would be too intrusive for general chatting. Though I like them very much for working on projects and for sending out things like these notes and our newsletter, it seemed to me that it would work one of two ways; either people would use it a lot, in which case there would be too much traffic (we have over 600 sponsors), or people wouldn't use it much at all, in which case why bother to set it up. That left the choice between Slack and a forum. I think that there are good points for either of them. Slack is conducive to something that feels much more like a free-flowing conversation, but (in the free mode) it doesn't support archiving, which means that the conversation gets lost over time. Forums, on the other hand, are more rigid and (smart) people tend to be more careful about what they post, since it does get archived. And forums are better suited to being a long-term repository for information. Finally, we would "own" our forum and the data, whereas Slack is a single company and (as they should) runs things to suit themselves.
My final conclusion was to try a forum and see how it works for six months or so. Over the years I've been burned several times by becoming dependent on an outside company, only to have them change their business practices. That makes me hesitant to create that sort of dependency unless I really have to. I hope that the forum will be a desirable and successful part of what we do with the sponsor program. If it becomes that, I don't want to risk it being ruined because of another company's decisions.
All that said, if the forum isn't active and working well in six months, I think I'll shut it down and give Slack a try. Of course and as usual, any comments or thoughts about this from you are super welcome -- just reply to this email and it'll go right to me.
All Best,
Alan
Upcoming Sponsor Events
If you would like to RSVP for any sponsor event, just reply to this email and, if necessary, let us know if you're bringing a guest. That's all there is to it. And, same goes if you want to get in touch with me -- just reply to this and it'll get to me.
The Pithy version:
(1) Every Saturday in July at 8:00 pm -- Bay Area Theatre Sports Improv has been kind enough to give sponsors a discount code good for 30% off unlimited tickets to the Star Trek themed improv show "Warp Speed", Saturdays in July at 8:00 pm.
(2) Monday, July 10th from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm -- Game Night. Inspired by the rousing success of the first one, we'll be doing a monthly game night at the Cafe on the second Monday of each month. Guests are welcome and RSVPs are appreciated but not required.
(3) Tuesday, July 25th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Who doesn't love drinking at Churchill? We will definitely be out again this month at the same location and time to enjoy the company of fellow sponsors. Meet us at Churchill, 198 Church Street at Market Street.
(4) Friday, August 4th at 8:00 pm -- Blind Wine Tasting. Sponsors Joe Thomas and John Plevyak have again very graciously offered to host a blind wine tasting for sponsors! The event will take place at the bookstore and the cost will be $10. Attendance is limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible.
(5) Saturday, August 19th from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm -- Summer Sponsor Social. More details to come next month!
(6) Thursday, September 7th at 6:00 pm (note earlier time) -- Sponsor Karaoke with Seanan McGuire at The Mint (1942 Market Street, San Francisco). 21 and over, no cover charge (but there is a 2-drink minimum), guests welcome. Please RSVP so we know how many people to expect.
The Protracted version:
(1) Every Saturday in July at 8:00 pm -- We have several sponsor friends involved with the marvelous Bay Area Theatre Sports Improv, and BATS has been kind enough to give Borderlands sponsors a discount code good for 30% off unlimited tickets to their new Star Trek-themed show, "Warp Speed"! The show's happening every Saturday in July, 8:00 pm, at The Bayfront Theater, Building B, Third floor, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco. You can purchase tickets here: http://www.improv.org/shows/tickets/?eid=19479&edid=69232 and the discount code to use is REDSHIRTS. Go support their wonderful creative endeavors and have a great time at a discount! Their website, with further info about BATS and their shows, is here: www.improv.org
(2) Monday, July 10th from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm -- Game Night. Join fellow sponsors & "game" staff for chess, Cards Against Humanity, Scrabble, Pictionary, or whatever other board games you'd like to bring to play! Please bring games that have a usual play-cycle of less than 3 hours, so probably NOT Monopoly, Seven Ages, Arkham Horror, or The Longest Day (that's the Normandy Invasion strategy game that takes an average of 90 hours to play). Are you a secret Balderdash champion? Kick butt at Connect 4? Here's your chance to shine! We'll have adult beverages (after eight pm), iced tea and lemonade on offer, but feel free to bring your favorite beverage to share. Also, you're welcome to bring food if you wish -- the cafe will be shutting down at eight. RSVPs are appreciated but not required, and please feel free to invite your friends along, as there really isn't any limit to the number of folks we can accommodate -- the more the merrier.
(3) Tuesday, July 25th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Our next Monthly Sponsor Cocktail night will be at Churchill (198 Church Street at Market) <http://www.churchillsf.com/>; some combination of us will be there from at least 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm. No need to RSVP and any number of guests and friends are welcome. The bar is INCREDIBLY convenient to public transit -- the MUNI Metro Underground (via F, K, L, and M lines at Church Street,) and J and N lines stop less than a block away.
(4) Friday, August 4th at 8:00 pm -- Blind Wine Tasting. We're very grateful to sponsors Joe Thomas and John Plevyak, who have again graciously offered to host a blind wine tasting for sponsors! Here's the way it will work: We'll be hosting the event in the bookstore. You're welcome to show up early, if you like, or just come to the door at eight or so. Joe and John will be bringing the wine, with covered labels, and we'll be pouring and chatting about what we think, guided by Joe & John, for a couple of hours. The cost will be $10, and the proceeds will go to the Borderlands' Building Fund. We might even have a prize or two for the folks with the best (or luckiest) palates. This will be a very low-key event and so, if you don't know much about wine, this is a perfect chance to get your "feet" wet. Attendance is limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible. Oh, and please do be over 21 years old. It also might be a good idea if you've had dinner before you arrive. The glasses are pretty small but there might be a lot of them.
(5) Saturday, August 19th from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm -- Summer Sponsor Social. More details to come next month!
(6) Thursday, September 7th at 6:00 pm (please note earlier start time) -- Sponsor Karaoke with Seanan McGuire at The Mint (1942 Market Street, San Francisco). Nebula Award winning author, singer/songwriter, snake handler, Borderlands sponsor, and all-around amazing person Seanan McGuire has graciously offered to be a special guest at the very first Borderlands Sponsor Karaoke Night! This will be an enormously entertaining event, and we hope you'll join us to show off your vocal prowess (or your irrepressible attitude, if you happen to lack vocal prowess -- that's great, too). The Mint is located at 1942 Market Street, San Francisco, and we have reserved space for sponsors. Some pertinent info about The Mint: it is a bar, so this event will be for those 21 and over. There is no cover charge, but there is a 2-drink minimum. Guests are welcome, and please RSVP so we know how many people to expect.
Monday, June 12, 2017
Sponsor Letter, June 12th 2017
Hello Everyone,
This is going to be a short intro for the sponsor note this month. I've got all sorts of things to work on and so I'm going to make this quick.
After considering the feedback from the General Meeting at the end of March, I've decided that I'm going to focus on improving the store and cafe this year and leave the larger world for next year. You can expect to see some small and large improvements around the place throughout this year. Two of them are almost done now.
First, thanks to help from my friend Bruce, the WiFi in the cafe has improved substantially. With some better hardware, speeds on the sponsor network are almost double what they were before. And, it should be much more reliable from here on out (not that it was bad before but . . . there's always room for improvement). Since we were doing all that work, I've also changed the password for the sponsors-only WiFi. If you need the new password, drop me a note or ask at the counter in either the bookstore or the cafe.
Second, almost a full year after I intended to get it done, we've got a very nice set up in the cafe to show movies and other video content. With the help of a stone cold pro on the subject, I got a very nice screen and video projector. We tested it out this last weekend to show the movie based on Dan Well's excellent novel I Am Not A Serial Killer. Despite some little technical glitches, it worked out very well. So, if you've thought about throwing a party at the cafe sometime, movies are now an option. Of course, there are a number of ways that this projection capacity is going to make for neat events.
Over the next few months, I hope to be getting the back room at the store open as a used book section, sorting our some long standing problems with the audio clarity of author events, and getting some paint and repairs done.
As always, thank you for all the support and I'll look forward to seeing you around the shop.
All Best,
Alan
PS Just as I was about to send out this note, I got some very sad news. Dark Carnival bookstore in Berkeley will be closing after 41 years of operation. This is a big loss to our field and I'm going to be very sorry to see it go. Back in 2013 they were having some financial problems which I wrote about at the time <http://borderlands-books.blogspot.com/2013/12/dark-carnival-bookstore.html>. It seems that things just didn't get better for them, hence the current decision <http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/06/12/41-years-berkeley-sci-fi-bookstore-dark-carnival-closing/>.
Stores like Dark Carnival and Borderlands are becoming increasingly rare. When I opened my shop in 1997, there were four other science fiction specialty stores in the Bay Area alone. Now, we're the only one left. In fact, to my knowledge, there are only two stores like ours west of the Rockies, and only five or six left in the whole country.
Thank you all for saving us. That means even more to me and our field as the remaining stores close.
The mouse version:
If you would like to RSVP for any sponsor event, just reply to this email and, if necessary, let us know if you're bringing a guest. That's all there is to it. And, same goes if you want to get in touch with me -- just reply to this and it'll get to me.
Short:
(1) On Thursday, June 15th at 6:45 pm, we're exploring the haunted side of San Francisco history. We'll be taking a Ghost Walk tour of the Pacific Heights neighborhood. We're currently full, but if you would still like to join, please contact us ASAP and we'll place you on a waiting list.
(2) Tuesday, June 27th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Who doesn't love drinking at Churchill? We will definitely be out again this month at the same location and time to enjoy the company of fellow sponsors. Meet us at Churchill, 198 Church Street at Market Street.
(3) Sunday, July 2nd at 10:00 am, join us for a guided tour of the San Francisco Center for the Book (375 Rhode Island St, San Francisco, CA 94103). The cost for the tour is $10. Please RSVP if you're interested. You may bring one guest.
(4) Monday, July 10th from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm -- Game Night. Inspired by the rousing success of the first one, we'll be doing a monthly game night at the Cafe on the second Monday of each month. Guests are welcome and no RSVPs are necessary.
(5) Friday, August 4th at 8:00 pm -- Blind Wine Tasting. Sponsors Joe Thomas and John Plevyak have again very graciously offered to host a blind wine tasting for sponsors! The event will take place at the bookstore and the cost will be $10. Attendance is limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible.
(6) Saturday, August 19th from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm -- Summer Sponsor Social. More details to come next month!
(7) Thursday, September 7th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Karaoke with Seanan McGuire at The Mint (1942 Market Street, San Francisco). 21 and over, no cover charge (but there is a 2-drink minimum), guests welcome. Please RSVP so we know how many people to expect.
(8) Win tickets to BATS Improv! We have 2 sets of two tickets to give away for any Bay Area Theatresports Improv show. Saturdays in July at 8:00 pm, this dynamic improv company presents "Warp Speed", Star Trek themed improv theatre! We'll select winners from local folks who reply to this email by Friday, June 23rd and include the words "Beam me up" in their notes.
The mammoth version:
(1) Ghost Tour -- On Thursday, June 15th at 6:45 pm, we're exploring the haunted side of San Francisco history. We're currently full, but if you would still like to join, please contact us ASAP and we'll place you on a waiting list.
From their website: "The original San Francisco Ghost Hunt Walking Tour, SF's first ghost tour, is a historical walking tour of the Pacific Heights neighborhood, one of the few neighborhoods to survive The Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906. You'll walk a mile on tree-lined streets in a safe residential area with fine Victorian architecture. You'll learn about real historic names of San Francisco -- how they lived, how they died, and the reports of their hauntings ever since. We don't make it up. We just report it. You'll enjoy 90 minutes to 2 hours of guaranteed unearthly fun!" The San Francisco Ghost Hunt Walking Tour meets on the corner of Octavia and Bush Streets, in front of 1801 Bush Street. NOTE: Please meet us by 6:45 pm for the 7:00 pm tour -- it starts promptly. The lovely folks at SF Ghost Hunt have offered us a Borderlands discount, so tickets will run only $15 per person. If interested in joining us, please reply to this email and we'll get you on a waiting list.
(2) Tuesday, June 27th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Our next Monthly Sponsor Cocktail night will be at Churchill (198 Church Street at Market) <http://www.churchillsf.com/>; some combination of us will be there from at least 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm. No need to RSVP and any number of guests and friends are welcome. The bar is INCREDIBLY convenient to public transit -- the MUNI Metro Underground (via F, K, L, and M lines at Church Street,) and J and N lines stop less than a block away.
(3) Sunday, July 2nd at 10:00 am, join us for a guided tour of the San Francisco Center for the Book (375 Rhode Island St, San Francisco, CA 94103). The San Francisco Center for the Book was co-founded in 1996 by Mary Austin and Kathleen Burch, "who recognized a growing need in San Francisco, the Bay Area and on the West Coast for a facility specifically designed and equipped to support the appreciation, teaching and creation of book arts." Attendees can expect a walk-through of the space, both the Bindery and Print Studio, with details about the equipment, what it's used for, and a little history of bookbinding and letterpress printing. There will be demos of some of the equipment so we can see how things work, and the tour will wrap up in the Print Studio with a letterpress demo. The Center also has a bookbinding workshop scheduled for July 2nd, so we will get to see some students at work. The cost for the tour will be $10, and the guided portion will take about an hour. Attendees can stay longer to explore the space if they wish. For more information about the Center, their website is here: https://www.sfcb.org/home . We will meet outside the Center at 9:45 am before the tour, and guests are welcome; however, please do RSVP for this event so we know how many people to expect.
(4) Monday, July 10th from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm -- Game Night. Join fellow sponsors & "game" staff for chess, Cards Against Humanity, Scrabble, Pictionary, or whatever other board games you'd like to bring to play! Please bring games that have a usual play-cycle of less than 3 hours, so probably NOT Monopoly, Seven Ages, Arkham Horror, or The Longest Day (that's the Normandy Invasion strategy game that takes an average of 90 hours to play). Are you a secret Balderdash champion? Kick butt at Connect 4? Here's your chance to shine! We'll have adult beverages (after eight pm), iced tea and lemonade on offer, but feel free to bring your favorite beverage to share. Also, you're welcome to bring food if you wish -- the cafe will be shutting down at eight. No need to RSVP, and please feel free to invite your friends along, as there really isn't any limit to the number of folks we can accommodate -- the more the merrier.
(5) Friday, August 4th at 8:00 pm -- Blind Wine Tasting. We're very grateful to sponsors Joe Thomas and John Plevyak, who have again graciously offered to host a blind wine tasting for sponsors! Here's the way it will work: We'll be hosting the event in the bookstore. You're welcome to show up early, if you like, or just come to the door at eight or so. Joe and John will be bringing the wine, with covered labels, and we'll be pouring and chatting about what we think, guided by Joe & John, for a couple of hours. The cost will be $10, and the proceeds will go to the Borderlands' Building Fund. We might even have a prize or two for the folks with the best (or luckiest) palates. This will be a very low-key event and so, if you don't know much about wine, this is a perfect chance to get your "feet" wet. Attendance is limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible. Oh, and please do be over 21 years old. It also might be a good idea if you've had dinner before you arrive. The glasses are pretty small but there might be a lot of them.
(6) Saturday, August 19th from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm -- Summer Sponsor Social. More details to come next month!
(7) Thursday, September 7th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Karaoke with Seanan McGuire at The Mint (1942 Market Street, San Francisco). Nebula Award winning author, singer/songwriter, snake handler, Borderlands sponsor, and all-around amazing person Seanan McGuire has graciously offered to be a special guest at the very first Borderlands Sponsor Karaoke Night! This will be an enormously entertaining event, and we hope you'll join us to show off your vocal prowess (or your irrepressible attitude, if you happen to lack vocal prowess -- that's great, too). The Mint is located at 1942 Market Street, San Francisco, and we have reserved space for sponsors. Some pertinent info about The Mint: it is a bar, so this event will be for those 21 and over. There is no cover charge, but there is a 2-drink minimum. Guests are welcome, and please RSVP so we know how many people to expect.
(8) Win tickets to BATS Improv! Thanks to the kindness of brand-new sponsor Regina Saisi, we have 2 sets of two tickets to give away for any Bay Area Theatre Sports Improv show at The Bayfront Theater, Building B, Third floor, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco. Saturdays in July at 8:00 pm, this dynamic improvisational theatre company presents "Warp Speed", a Star Trek themed improv show, so perhaps you'll want to attend one of those shows! We'll select winners on Saturday, June 24th from local folks who reply to this email and include the words "Beam me up" in their reply, so email us by 8 pm PST on Friday, June 23rd to enter the contest. Winners will need to pick up their passes at the store by July 8th. For more information about BATS Improv, check out their website: http://www.improv.org/
Useful links for sponsors:
Sponsors' Twitter feed - @bl_sponsors
Google Event Calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=ud8v8s1cfutjemfeusiv72ubvo%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Los_Angeles
This is going to be a short intro for the sponsor note this month. I've got all sorts of things to work on and so I'm going to make this quick.
After considering the feedback from the General Meeting at the end of March, I've decided that I'm going to focus on improving the store and cafe this year and leave the larger world for next year. You can expect to see some small and large improvements around the place throughout this year. Two of them are almost done now.
First, thanks to help from my friend Bruce, the WiFi in the cafe has improved substantially. With some better hardware, speeds on the sponsor network are almost double what they were before. And, it should be much more reliable from here on out (not that it was bad before but . . . there's always room for improvement). Since we were doing all that work, I've also changed the password for the sponsors-only WiFi. If you need the new password, drop me a note or ask at the counter in either the bookstore or the cafe.
Second, almost a full year after I intended to get it done, we've got a very nice set up in the cafe to show movies and other video content. With the help of a stone cold pro on the subject, I got a very nice screen and video projector. We tested it out this last weekend to show the movie based on Dan Well's excellent novel I Am Not A Serial Killer. Despite some little technical glitches, it worked out very well. So, if you've thought about throwing a party at the cafe sometime, movies are now an option. Of course, there are a number of ways that this projection capacity is going to make for neat events.
Over the next few months, I hope to be getting the back room at the store open as a used book section, sorting our some long standing problems with the audio clarity of author events, and getting some paint and repairs done.
As always, thank you for all the support and I'll look forward to seeing you around the shop.
All Best,
Alan
PS Just as I was about to send out this note, I got some very sad news. Dark Carnival bookstore in Berkeley will be closing after 41 years of operation. This is a big loss to our field and I'm going to be very sorry to see it go. Back in 2013 they were having some financial problems which I wrote about at the time <http://borderlands-books.blogspot.com/2013/12/dark-carnival-bookstore.html>. It seems that things just didn't get better for them, hence the current decision <http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/06/12/41-years-berkeley-sci-fi-bookstore-dark-carnival-closing/>.
Stores like Dark Carnival and Borderlands are becoming increasingly rare. When I opened my shop in 1997, there were four other science fiction specialty stores in the Bay Area alone. Now, we're the only one left. In fact, to my knowledge, there are only two stores like ours west of the Rockies, and only five or six left in the whole country.
Thank you all for saving us. That means even more to me and our field as the remaining stores close.
The mouse version:
If you would like to RSVP for any sponsor event, just reply to this email and, if necessary, let us know if you're bringing a guest. That's all there is to it. And, same goes if you want to get in touch with me -- just reply to this and it'll get to me.
Short:
(1) On Thursday, June 15th at 6:45 pm, we're exploring the haunted side of San Francisco history. We'll be taking a Ghost Walk tour of the Pacific Heights neighborhood. We're currently full, but if you would still like to join, please contact us ASAP and we'll place you on a waiting list.
(2) Tuesday, June 27th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Who doesn't love drinking at Churchill? We will definitely be out again this month at the same location and time to enjoy the company of fellow sponsors. Meet us at Churchill, 198 Church Street at Market Street.
(3) Sunday, July 2nd at 10:00 am, join us for a guided tour of the San Francisco Center for the Book (375 Rhode Island St, San Francisco, CA 94103). The cost for the tour is $10. Please RSVP if you're interested. You may bring one guest.
(4) Monday, July 10th from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm -- Game Night. Inspired by the rousing success of the first one, we'll be doing a monthly game night at the Cafe on the second Monday of each month. Guests are welcome and no RSVPs are necessary.
(5) Friday, August 4th at 8:00 pm -- Blind Wine Tasting. Sponsors Joe Thomas and John Plevyak have again very graciously offered to host a blind wine tasting for sponsors! The event will take place at the bookstore and the cost will be $10. Attendance is limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible.
(6) Saturday, August 19th from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm -- Summer Sponsor Social. More details to come next month!
(7) Thursday, September 7th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Karaoke with Seanan McGuire at The Mint (1942 Market Street, San Francisco). 21 and over, no cover charge (but there is a 2-drink minimum), guests welcome. Please RSVP so we know how many people to expect.
(8) Win tickets to BATS Improv! We have 2 sets of two tickets to give away for any Bay Area Theatresports Improv show. Saturdays in July at 8:00 pm, this dynamic improv company presents "Warp Speed", Star Trek themed improv theatre! We'll select winners from local folks who reply to this email by Friday, June 23rd and include the words "Beam me up" in their notes.
The mammoth version:
(1) Ghost Tour -- On Thursday, June 15th at 6:45 pm, we're exploring the haunted side of San Francisco history. We're currently full, but if you would still like to join, please contact us ASAP and we'll place you on a waiting list.
From their website: "The original San Francisco Ghost Hunt Walking Tour, SF's first ghost tour, is a historical walking tour of the Pacific Heights neighborhood, one of the few neighborhoods to survive The Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906. You'll walk a mile on tree-lined streets in a safe residential area with fine Victorian architecture. You'll learn about real historic names of San Francisco -- how they lived, how they died, and the reports of their hauntings ever since. We don't make it up. We just report it. You'll enjoy 90 minutes to 2 hours of guaranteed unearthly fun!" The San Francisco Ghost Hunt Walking Tour meets on the corner of Octavia and Bush Streets, in front of 1801 Bush Street. NOTE: Please meet us by 6:45 pm for the 7:00 pm tour -- it starts promptly. The lovely folks at SF Ghost Hunt have offered us a Borderlands discount, so tickets will run only $15 per person. If interested in joining us, please reply to this email and we'll get you on a waiting list.
(2) Tuesday, June 27th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Our next Monthly Sponsor Cocktail night will be at Churchill (198 Church Street at Market) <http://www.churchillsf.com/>; some combination of us will be there from at least 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm. No need to RSVP and any number of guests and friends are welcome. The bar is INCREDIBLY convenient to public transit -- the MUNI Metro Underground (via F, K, L, and M lines at Church Street,) and J and N lines stop less than a block away.
(3) Sunday, July 2nd at 10:00 am, join us for a guided tour of the San Francisco Center for the Book (375 Rhode Island St, San Francisco, CA 94103). The San Francisco Center for the Book was co-founded in 1996 by Mary Austin and Kathleen Burch, "who recognized a growing need in San Francisco, the Bay Area and on the West Coast for a facility specifically designed and equipped to support the appreciation, teaching and creation of book arts." Attendees can expect a walk-through of the space, both the Bindery and Print Studio, with details about the equipment, what it's used for, and a little history of bookbinding and letterpress printing. There will be demos of some of the equipment so we can see how things work, and the tour will wrap up in the Print Studio with a letterpress demo. The Center also has a bookbinding workshop scheduled for July 2nd, so we will get to see some students at work. The cost for the tour will be $10, and the guided portion will take about an hour. Attendees can stay longer to explore the space if they wish. For more information about the Center, their website is here: https://www.sfcb.org/home . We will meet outside the Center at 9:45 am before the tour, and guests are welcome; however, please do RSVP for this event so we know how many people to expect.
(4) Monday, July 10th from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm -- Game Night. Join fellow sponsors & "game" staff for chess, Cards Against Humanity, Scrabble, Pictionary, or whatever other board games you'd like to bring to play! Please bring games that have a usual play-cycle of less than 3 hours, so probably NOT Monopoly, Seven Ages, Arkham Horror, or The Longest Day (that's the Normandy Invasion strategy game that takes an average of 90 hours to play). Are you a secret Balderdash champion? Kick butt at Connect 4? Here's your chance to shine! We'll have adult beverages (after eight pm), iced tea and lemonade on offer, but feel free to bring your favorite beverage to share. Also, you're welcome to bring food if you wish -- the cafe will be shutting down at eight. No need to RSVP, and please feel free to invite your friends along, as there really isn't any limit to the number of folks we can accommodate -- the more the merrier.
(5) Friday, August 4th at 8:00 pm -- Blind Wine Tasting. We're very grateful to sponsors Joe Thomas and John Plevyak, who have again graciously offered to host a blind wine tasting for sponsors! Here's the way it will work: We'll be hosting the event in the bookstore. You're welcome to show up early, if you like, or just come to the door at eight or so. Joe and John will be bringing the wine, with covered labels, and we'll be pouring and chatting about what we think, guided by Joe & John, for a couple of hours. The cost will be $10, and the proceeds will go to the Borderlands' Building Fund. We might even have a prize or two for the folks with the best (or luckiest) palates. This will be a very low-key event and so, if you don't know much about wine, this is a perfect chance to get your "feet" wet. Attendance is limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible. Oh, and please do be over 21 years old. It also might be a good idea if you've had dinner before you arrive. The glasses are pretty small but there might be a lot of them.
(6) Saturday, August 19th from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm -- Summer Sponsor Social. More details to come next month!
(7) Thursday, September 7th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Karaoke with Seanan McGuire at The Mint (1942 Market Street, San Francisco). Nebula Award winning author, singer/songwriter, snake handler, Borderlands sponsor, and all-around amazing person Seanan McGuire has graciously offered to be a special guest at the very first Borderlands Sponsor Karaoke Night! This will be an enormously entertaining event, and we hope you'll join us to show off your vocal prowess (or your irrepressible attitude, if you happen to lack vocal prowess -- that's great, too). The Mint is located at 1942 Market Street, San Francisco, and we have reserved space for sponsors. Some pertinent info about The Mint: it is a bar, so this event will be for those 21 and over. There is no cover charge, but there is a 2-drink minimum. Guests are welcome, and please RSVP so we know how many people to expect.
(8) Win tickets to BATS Improv! Thanks to the kindness of brand-new sponsor Regina Saisi, we have 2 sets of two tickets to give away for any Bay Area Theatre Sports Improv show at The Bayfront Theater, Building B, Third floor, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco. Saturdays in July at 8:00 pm, this dynamic improvisational theatre company presents "Warp Speed", a Star Trek themed improv show, so perhaps you'll want to attend one of those shows! We'll select winners on Saturday, June 24th from local folks who reply to this email and include the words "Beam me up" in their reply, so email us by 8 pm PST on Friday, June 23rd to enter the contest. Winners will need to pick up their passes at the store by July 8th. For more information about BATS Improv, check out their website: http://www.improv.org/
Useful links for sponsors:
Sponsors' Twitter feed - @bl_sponsors
Google Event Calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=ud8v8s1cfutjemfeusiv72ubvo%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Los_Angeles
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