Texas Furry Fiesta (con and hotel) is getting a looooot of feedback this year about things such as the insane prereg line (4 hours for me), the emergency siren blaring in all our rooms at 3AM, and the constant bottlenecks with elevators, BUT there was a lot of good stuff too! My roomies and I had a little forethought (based on previous con experiences) and a lot of good luck. (God's grace really. I prayed nonstop the whole trip.)

We got there Thursday and got one of the last available hotel parking spots way up on the roof of the parking garage. I ordered an overpriced (i.e. hotel) burger but it took so long to get to me that the bartender didn't charge me for it. My stomach was grumpy for most of the con though, getting healthy and cheap food always seems to be a problem at these things.

For me the biggest draw of these events is getting to meet the people behind the screen names. It's fun seeing talented artists and good friends even if it's just for a few seconds. There were a few people who recognized my characters/work and wanted photos and hugs, and it filled me with joy. I also met a grand total of THREE frogs at this con, a record! (And I blame you all for buying out all of the "Certified Frog" badges. XD)

And then there was suiting! Wildcard is literally made of sweatpants and mom's sewing but I got a lot of mileage and fun out of being him. I spent a month or two fixing up the head and it paid off. About half the time people correctly identified me as an octopus/squid, which I count as a win. I've learned a lot about crafting suits and I want to overhaul Hex at some point before next year.

The highlight of TFF for me has always been the charity poker tournament. I had a miserable TFF in 2019 and the only redeeming thing was getting 3rd place in that year's poker game which earned me free basic membership for 2020, a much better TFF in which I got to be kaijuHex.

Welp... This year, I went to the tournament in partial Wildcard suit and got the craziest lucky hands and took home 1st place, and with it, free super-sponsorship for next year. I'm super jazzed and I fully intend to take advantage of this. I also want to up my participation! I've led panels for smaller cons, but being an artist or panelist for these big huge ones has been pretty intimidating. I'd love to lead/co-lead a panel having to do with: Christianity, art tutorials, meet n greets for niche interests like multi/taurs, etc.

I'm bad at remembering everyone so please definitely send me any photos you took with / of me! Here's to next year.