As a Chicago fan, for a long time I envied Mnstf's unity of parties. Chicago fandom is so spread out physically and socially (and I just missed the Rogers Park heyday) that conventions were the only parties where I could see friends across multiple subsections. The Twin Cities are much more manageable geographically -- and real estate is more reasonably priced.

Now that I live in Madison (WI) and time has moved on, I wonder more about group dynamics, and stability, and growth. Are the splits part of just how social groups work? In the end I think it's good for fandom that all three cities now have multiple groups and multiple convention, but I wish there was better blending across groups socially. It's a lot of hard (and often quite deliberate) work, though.

Anyway, happy new year and happy anniversary! It sounds like you had some fine celebrating in there.