FA+
Shop
FC-WrapUp
17 years ago
Wow, its 2008 and here I am.
Two significant things have passed this January, for years I have wanted to: Go to Further Confusion, and to take a long distance train trip, namely ride the Coast Starlight.
I managed to merge the two into one amazing trip. The ride up was a spectacular journey, granted it took a while longer than a plane, about the same time it would take to drive. But oh, not nearly as fun or relaxing.
An excerpt from an email I wrote while on it:
I must say beats air travel all the way. It is much more different than the Surfliner. There is a lot of legroom, and 45 Degree reclining seats, from laying back I can't touch the seat in front of me. This laptop fits on the tray and can have the lid fully open without touching the seat. The seats are very soft and you sink right into them. Each "row" has its own 6' window with a pair of curtains. Each chair has its own set of leg rests, on on your chair, and a foot rest on the chair in front of you. There is also a nice draft of warm air rising up from the window. The inside itself is very dark and cozy, carpeted ceilings and minimal lighting. Its also very quiet, the sound of my keyboard is the loudest sound other than the soft sound of air circulating above.
Lunch was an experience itself, a fantastic cheese burger while looking out the window to see fields of strawberries set against a backdrop of mountains while being bathed in a dance of rain.
NEVER have I felt so relaxed and not stressed while traveling. We have already made friends with everyone near us, always eager to strike up a conversation. Susan, who sits behind me, has been on this train many times and has shared with us her experiences. Right now as I type this out we are passing by miles of pure beach line with only campers and RV's randomly scattered about. The staff here has been nothing but friendly and helpful. Once again, Even me with my long legs, I have plenty of leg room to stretch out fully. I've never been traveling with everyone who is just always happy. Everyone is happy to be here. I could just fall asleep here.
And I did, fall asleep there, and trust me, when traveling, I DON'T sleep in cars or planes, I just DON'T, tried many times to but was unable to.
We arrived Wednesday night, it was cold and rainy, a quick cab ride and we were there, suiters already present giving us weary travelers a warm welcome. The sight of the hotel was just an out of body experience, after seeing many thousands of pictures online from past conventions, of many furs I would have loved to meet, seeing the areas of where they were was enough to make me light headed. After checking in, walking around was a difficult task, being on a moving object for 12 hours makes you want to sway your walking patterns a bit. After nearly crashing into a few furs and laughing about it, we did make it to our room. Ah fun times. Just being in the lobby was just an experience to behold.
One significant moment of just "NO, omg", was at the dance I managed to catch a glimpse of Vincent, for years I have just wanted to say Hi, but it was like and un-explainable field around him that made him "un-touchable." Otherwise a phenomenon known as "star-struck."
Later in the trip I managed to meet a few furs who I've admired over the years, one of them being the infamous FurFragged, If you don't know 'em go ahead and search for him, I'll wait right here. Done? Good. Its weird really, every time you see an artist or a friend for the first time, you have this "undefined mental picture" that totally does not match who you just met. Then there is the quick exchange of mental unsaid thoughts, "Hay, your the artist that draws the stuff and the things" while simultaneously, "Hay, your a guy who likes looking at the things and stuffs I made" It's quite hilarious if you stop and think about it. Any who tangent now back on track. Either way when presenting yourself to these furry celebrities, its difficult to present yourself, you most certainly don't want to come off as an "OMGEEEEE ITS U!!!!!" type of person. But yet you want to show some kind of enthusiasm. So yeah. There ya go Mr. Fragged, wish I had more time to hang with you and other artists I've met. I've always wanted to get to know them from the inside out, as many people seem to find out from the outside in.
A few others include, oh drat, I have forgotten his name. Either way, he was a suiter, (I'll try and locate his name) and we sat outside in the central patio at night for a while just talking about general con stuff, and gradually the conversation drifted into suiting, he gave us some awesome advice so, shout out to you Mr. I'llFindYourNameSoon
Another big shout out to Furven, the name that I had so much difficulty hearing that I turned to the internetz to help me, you had such an awesome suit and quite an impressive personality and fursonality.
Kaji and Kal, mah TF2 buddies, was awesome running into you at points, shame we didn't hang out more.
The ride back was a sad quiet one, was very relaxing, a lot quieter than the trip before, fell asleep a few times, and managed to catch a very beautiful sunset on the stretch of coast line, that was silhouetted by the channel islands
Wonderful trip, wonderful con. I would do the whole ride again in an instant.
I'll ask if some local furs want to do the whole trip next year.
Until then, Peace out!
Two significant things have passed this January, for years I have wanted to: Go to Further Confusion, and to take a long distance train trip, namely ride the Coast Starlight.
I managed to merge the two into one amazing trip. The ride up was a spectacular journey, granted it took a while longer than a plane, about the same time it would take to drive. But oh, not nearly as fun or relaxing.
An excerpt from an email I wrote while on it:
I must say beats air travel all the way. It is much more different than the Surfliner. There is a lot of legroom, and 45 Degree reclining seats, from laying back I can't touch the seat in front of me. This laptop fits on the tray and can have the lid fully open without touching the seat. The seats are very soft and you sink right into them. Each "row" has its own 6' window with a pair of curtains. Each chair has its own set of leg rests, on on your chair, and a foot rest on the chair in front of you. There is also a nice draft of warm air rising up from the window. The inside itself is very dark and cozy, carpeted ceilings and minimal lighting. Its also very quiet, the sound of my keyboard is the loudest sound other than the soft sound of air circulating above.
Lunch was an experience itself, a fantastic cheese burger while looking out the window to see fields of strawberries set against a backdrop of mountains while being bathed in a dance of rain.
NEVER have I felt so relaxed and not stressed while traveling. We have already made friends with everyone near us, always eager to strike up a conversation. Susan, who sits behind me, has been on this train many times and has shared with us her experiences. Right now as I type this out we are passing by miles of pure beach line with only campers and RV's randomly scattered about. The staff here has been nothing but friendly and helpful. Once again, Even me with my long legs, I have plenty of leg room to stretch out fully. I've never been traveling with everyone who is just always happy. Everyone is happy to be here. I could just fall asleep here.
And I did, fall asleep there, and trust me, when traveling, I DON'T sleep in cars or planes, I just DON'T, tried many times to but was unable to.
We arrived Wednesday night, it was cold and rainy, a quick cab ride and we were there, suiters already present giving us weary travelers a warm welcome. The sight of the hotel was just an out of body experience, after seeing many thousands of pictures online from past conventions, of many furs I would have loved to meet, seeing the areas of where they were was enough to make me light headed. After checking in, walking around was a difficult task, being on a moving object for 12 hours makes you want to sway your walking patterns a bit. After nearly crashing into a few furs and laughing about it, we did make it to our room. Ah fun times. Just being in the lobby was just an experience to behold.
One significant moment of just "NO, omg", was at the dance I managed to catch a glimpse of Vincent, for years I have just wanted to say Hi, but it was like and un-explainable field around him that made him "un-touchable." Otherwise a phenomenon known as "star-struck."
Later in the trip I managed to meet a few furs who I've admired over the years, one of them being the infamous FurFragged, If you don't know 'em go ahead and search for him, I'll wait right here. Done? Good. Its weird really, every time you see an artist or a friend for the first time, you have this "undefined mental picture" that totally does not match who you just met. Then there is the quick exchange of mental unsaid thoughts, "Hay, your the artist that draws the stuff and the things" while simultaneously, "Hay, your a guy who likes looking at the things and stuffs I made" It's quite hilarious if you stop and think about it. Any who tangent now back on track. Either way when presenting yourself to these furry celebrities, its difficult to present yourself, you most certainly don't want to come off as an "OMGEEEEE ITS U!!!!!" type of person. But yet you want to show some kind of enthusiasm. So yeah. There ya go Mr. Fragged, wish I had more time to hang with you and other artists I've met. I've always wanted to get to know them from the inside out, as many people seem to find out from the outside in.
A few others include, oh drat, I have forgotten his name. Either way, he was a suiter, (I'll try and locate his name) and we sat outside in the central patio at night for a while just talking about general con stuff, and gradually the conversation drifted into suiting, he gave us some awesome advice so, shout out to you Mr. I'llFindYourNameSoon
Another big shout out to Furven, the name that I had so much difficulty hearing that I turned to the internetz to help me, you had such an awesome suit and quite an impressive personality and fursonality.
Kaji and Kal, mah TF2 buddies, was awesome running into you at points, shame we didn't hang out more.
The ride back was a sad quiet one, was very relaxing, a lot quieter than the trip before, fell asleep a few times, and managed to catch a very beautiful sunset on the stretch of coast line, that was silhouetted by the channel islands
Wonderful trip, wonderful con. I would do the whole ride again in an instant.
I'll ask if some local furs want to do the whole trip next year.
Until then, Peace out!
