Little_Orca
08-26-2015, 09:51 PM
Hello MerNetwork! Yes, I am still alive! No worries on that! I have been working my tail off, but I am in need of some opinions to help me with something that is bothering me.
I volunteer with a traveling mermaid cove when I can, which is not always easy since work demands at least a month in advance for time off and school can get in the way. I did two events last year and had such a good time I had planned to do one this year as well. Which one? Faerieworlds! Woot! It was so much fun last year that I started planning to go again this year.
I have been planning since January, got the time off from work, working on a new tail, got myself a wig, and all sorts of fun ready to get involved in this again.
Then, I see on the page that the venue has refused to give the mermaid coordinator a full amount of volunteer bracelets needed to cover all the mermaids. The group attendance in the Facebook group says that 46 mermaids are going, and we were given bracelets for only 15 mermaids.
So I offer up to be one of the mermaids that has to pay their own way. I figure, hell, someone else needs more help than I do probably and I can surely afford the price... until I saw the price of attending the festival for 3 days. To -volunteer- at this event, it will cost me $125; $225 if my fiancee wanted to come with to take photos and ensure I am okay and help me with my belongings. That is not including the gas it will take to get there and back each of the days and any food that will be purchased.
I was floored. I did not expect the price to be that high. I have been told that it is ridiculous that as a volunteer I have to pay, and I agree, but I do defend the cove leader as they did attempt to get more bracelets and were denied, so it is not on their shoulders at all.
This has me questioning my desire to volunteer at this event now at all. My fiancee has agreed to pay for it, so that I will still have the money to do other things I had planned later in October for our anniversary. He told me that he saw how hard I have worked and been planning to get to this event and he did not want me to miss it because of this. While I tentatively accepted his offer, it is still rubbing me the wrong way.
That is a lot of money to pay to volunteer somewhere... Could I cut the days down to save money? Only slightly:
Fri, Sat, Sun: $100 per person, + Parking Pass ($25) = $225
Sat & Sun: $75 per person, + Parking Pass ($20) = $170
Sunday: $35 per person, + Parking Pass ($10) = $80
Going by that, the cheapest we could do it for would be on Sunday and it would be $80 for the both of us to go. That would give me one day at the event and then some money still for my other plans in October. Sunday, however, tends not to last as long as the other days and usually has less excitement as the other days.
My main reason that I have not just given in and decided not to go is that I have 1) been planning so long, 2) I enjoy the volunteering, 3) I get to see the other mermaids some more, 4) I get to see Iona who I usually only get to see at these events as I cannot usually make mermaid meet-ups (for the work reason mentioned above... I also work Tues - Sat, so I don't get normal weekends and can't always plan around normal weekend events without that month in advance to get the time off.)
I have also been told to get people to do a Go Fund Me over this, but I can think of more important things for people to donate to, so I'm not really looking for that.
Thoughts? Opinions? I have until this Friday to make up my mind; that is when I can afford to get the tickets.
I volunteer with a traveling mermaid cove when I can, which is not always easy since work demands at least a month in advance for time off and school can get in the way. I did two events last year and had such a good time I had planned to do one this year as well. Which one? Faerieworlds! Woot! It was so much fun last year that I started planning to go again this year.
I have been planning since January, got the time off from work, working on a new tail, got myself a wig, and all sorts of fun ready to get involved in this again.
Then, I see on the page that the venue has refused to give the mermaid coordinator a full amount of volunteer bracelets needed to cover all the mermaids. The group attendance in the Facebook group says that 46 mermaids are going, and we were given bracelets for only 15 mermaids.
So I offer up to be one of the mermaids that has to pay their own way. I figure, hell, someone else needs more help than I do probably and I can surely afford the price... until I saw the price of attending the festival for 3 days. To -volunteer- at this event, it will cost me $125; $225 if my fiancee wanted to come with to take photos and ensure I am okay and help me with my belongings. That is not including the gas it will take to get there and back each of the days and any food that will be purchased.
I was floored. I did not expect the price to be that high. I have been told that it is ridiculous that as a volunteer I have to pay, and I agree, but I do defend the cove leader as they did attempt to get more bracelets and were denied, so it is not on their shoulders at all.
This has me questioning my desire to volunteer at this event now at all. My fiancee has agreed to pay for it, so that I will still have the money to do other things I had planned later in October for our anniversary. He told me that he saw how hard I have worked and been planning to get to this event and he did not want me to miss it because of this. While I tentatively accepted his offer, it is still rubbing me the wrong way.
That is a lot of money to pay to volunteer somewhere... Could I cut the days down to save money? Only slightly:
Fri, Sat, Sun: $100 per person, + Parking Pass ($25) = $225
Sat & Sun: $75 per person, + Parking Pass ($20) = $170
Sunday: $35 per person, + Parking Pass ($10) = $80
Going by that, the cheapest we could do it for would be on Sunday and it would be $80 for the both of us to go. That would give me one day at the event and then some money still for my other plans in October. Sunday, however, tends not to last as long as the other days and usually has less excitement as the other days.
My main reason that I have not just given in and decided not to go is that I have 1) been planning so long, 2) I enjoy the volunteering, 3) I get to see the other mermaids some more, 4) I get to see Iona who I usually only get to see at these events as I cannot usually make mermaid meet-ups (for the work reason mentioned above... I also work Tues - Sat, so I don't get normal weekends and can't always plan around normal weekend events without that month in advance to get the time off.)
I have also been told to get people to do a Go Fund Me over this, but I can think of more important things for people to donate to, so I'm not really looking for that.
Thoughts? Opinions? I have until this Friday to make up my mind; that is when I can afford to get the tickets.