Just Sitting
I've been doing a lot of navel gazing and being Mindful. I've been balancing what is good for me and re-evaluating where I spend my time and energy.
First and foremost is work. This is where my bread is buttered, so this is prime. I need to be rested and able to perform my duties.
Play is secondary; after a hiatus from IRL attendance of conventions due to reasons, I am slowly going back out to local meets and am exploring convention options.

Living in the Moment
I attended a Lunar Faire with a local group last month. We derped around in suit, pictures were taken and fun was had by all. My cousin acted as a handler as it was an outdoor public event.
I am going back to the fair grounds for a Normie Farm Fair later this month with my Handler -- his turn to take the lead.

Life is a Picnic
There are also a few picnics coming up with the Fur Groups I belong to. I angst over what to bring for the pot luck; I did Cornish Pasties last year, but they aren't for everyone.
I was considering Kare Pan (Curry Buns) but they are a lot of work in quantity and I've got a small galley. I don't like salads outdoors, but want to bring something healthy and fun, that can handle room temperatures.

Stepping out of my Comfort Zone Again
I was also considering MegaPlex again this year, due to FOMO and really wanting to go there, but I never got my real ID and I don't have a passport, so 22 hours on a Grayhound is a bit much this year -- maybe next year when I can fly.
I am seriously considering FurPocolypse -- a driveable bucket list level convention and I actually feel excited about doing it this year. That may be my big con and I may have a new fren to meet there IRL (see Challenge Coin below).

Time and Energy
You may note the early entry time 04:35 Romeo. I've been doing the old dog thing and napping after work. Yesterday (Friday) I fell asleep at 20:00 and got up at 01:30 as I had wanted to meet up with friends who are three time zones behind me so I got into VRChat refreshed and ready to party.

Challenge Coin
In a friends plus room I met a new attendee. He asked me if I was really a furry or just wore an avatar of one.
I said I was one and that I was also a gray muzzle (really a white muzzle, do to my advanced years, but that's not a thing). I then gave him my bona fides and then we chatted, talking about Anthrocon and Furry Delphia. I said I wasn't keen on the city of Brotherly Love for a convention (Nor was he for that matter), but Pittsburgh was more my town -- given my PA and Ohio Relatives (Coal Miners and Steel Workers).
I wetted a line in Lake Erie a few times for whatever was biting during childhood vacations and talked about the train ride around Horseshoe Bend.
Long story short, we may meet up in Connecticut at FurPocalypse.

Tales from Long Ago
The funnest part of fresh fibsh in chat is that they haven't heard tales of my ill spent youth and I get to amaze them with things we did in the 1980s as young and dumb adults before camera phones when the only photos of you were Polaroids and -- if unlucky -- maybe a mugshot from the police gazette.
We were in a Virtual Bar world and most were playing drinking games. I generally abstain from alcohol but I tell cautionary tales about being back in the days of Boiler Makers, Red Deaths and other cocktails that make 5% content Seltzer drinks look like something served at afternoon tea.
When I do imbibe, I mix up a grog with a double measure of "medicinal" alcohol in a fruit juice mixture (aka Torpedo Juice)

Maybe this is why I have so much trouble penning Charlie Stories: 45 years of my own life experience and I don't know how to put a cork in it to create stories for a dog that is just living his life as best he can.