Post #477649 by Tiki from the Black Lagoon on Mon, Aug 17, 2009 6:40 PM

Wow, I sense some frayed nerves. I hate being preachy, and I don't do this very often but I have to say something to those of you who want to complain about things. 8 years ago I went to my first Tiki Oasis in Palm Springs, and was it perfect? - Not by a long stretch - power outages, crummy sound, lines for food... But I observed our hosts, Otto & Baby Doe and their few volunteers working hard to put on a great party for all 90 of us that were there.

I saw things that needed attention and instead of complaining about it I volunteered to help our the next year so that WE ALL could have a better party. I have volunteered every year since then and I'll tell you right now that there were issues we had to deal with every year that were unbelievably challenging and yet we made it through and made it better for the next year. Each year has a new set of problems that we are trying to get ahead of.

Tiki Oasis is growing like crazy and there are two ways for you to look at it and deal with; through inspiration or desperation. I myself choose the former. Please realize that the people that put on this event have regular jobs, families, and daily issues just like you do. The only difference is, that they come home from work and put in another 3-4 hours of planning, emails, calls and negotiating to put together a party for the enjoyment of the group. A cool thing for everybody to do would be to offer some "positive" feedback so we can crunch the info and make it better for all of us next year.

We need to have good constructive feedback in order to make this happen - and I know there are a lot of smart and talented people out there that can offer a great suggestion or two and help out the group. Please send us that info. Post it here if you want and I'll start compiling it. We have to work fast while it's still fresh in our heads, because it seems to fade pretty fast while we get on with our lives.

My experience this year - I busted my a** more that I ever have, but I had a great time meeting new people like Jim (Cutter) & his wife from Michigan; or Brad from Tualatin, Oregon; or Scarlett who was doing anything she could to make sure you were seeing a great show on stage; or getting up at 7am to see people at the pool in their pajamas waiting for spots to sun in; or going to the Twist Contest to see the room packed with people having a blast; cruising through the room party with the volcano in it and seeing some poor guy trying to get sleep in a closet with one of his legs sticking out (while 6 or more people lined up for photo ops with the unsuspecting sleeper) or seeing some of the old guard that have been coming year after year to this cool event. I had a blast!

I have my own set of issues that I observed that I will definitely be thinking of how to deal with for the next one. I am just thankful to all of you that volunteered to help put on this cool party and keep coming back to volunteer year after year.

So, if you want to whine about how bad it was this year, my suggestion is to stay home next year. If you want to help us put on a great party next year please volunteer and help put a few of hours in on the event so we can all have a great time.

Jim Giddings