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MWFF '14: A Toast, to the People
11 years ago
Yeah so having two journals covering the same event is probably a bit much, especially considering how long-winded the last one already was, but hey there was a lot on my mind coming off of this weekend, and it beats having my journal taken up with nothing but stream announcements. On the first MWFF journal I spoke in some pretty vague terms about my impressions of the con trip in general, so this one is going to be a bit more directed. Before I get to my personal shout-outs, there are a few smaller impressions I wanted to share about the con and the future.
- One of the things that really struck me, especially early on during my time there was the mentality of...I suppose I'll call it the different ways people at the con approached the division between "real life" and "character life." I attended the con as "Snowe," barely discussed my life at home aside from some complaining about my job, and never used my real name, but outside of explaining why I was wearing a suit all Saturday and barely making a passing vorish mention about the looseness of said suit, I feel like I acted pretty much the way I always do in my everyday life. In some way it felt a little contradictory, considering some of the more "in-character" behaviors I witnessed from others throughout the weekend. Looking back on it, I felt like I was kind of "too old" to just throw away inhibition, and while part of that might have just been first-con trepidation, I think a lot of it also speaks to the way my attitude has changed and matured over the last few years. That is not to say that I consider myself more "mature" than others at the con (I'm not) and it's not a judgement against those activities. It's just...a difference that I noticed. Ultimately I think my favorite moments of the con came when it was just me talking and hanging out with other people, and could practically forget that I was at a furry con at all. Never did I feel unwelcome, but there's also a part of me that questions whether I really "belong" at events like this. It's really difficult to properly explain, as you can tell.
- General con-life note: lots of people seem to have a tendency to flake on plans or take long amounts of time to decide on things. I am not immune to these pitfalls either, and definitely made a couple of mistakes that I regretted pretty immediately after the fact. In particular, my actions on Saturday evening and breakfast on Sunday had me pretty annoyed with myself and I humbly apologize for both of those snafus.
- If I ever do attend another con, I would definitely love to host another "private function," as it has come to be called...but I want it to be bigger next time. I feared things getting too out of control, but the result, while personally a very pleasant experience for me, also was way too restrictive in retrospect for a convention that's supposed to be all about creating and strengthening connections. In a way this follows back to my first point about my tastes feeling "old," but if that's the case, rather than worry about the ways I don't fit into the con, the better course of action is to bring my style to the con and cultivate the experience myself. Furries are a very diverse group, I know there are plenty of others out there who might enjoy what I can bring to the table...I've just got to find that group and do my part to bring it together.
Okay, that's it for overall con thoughts. Yes, finally! Before I finally sign off from this topic though, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge all of the people I met and dealt with at the con, and the impact that they've had on me. I don't know if all of these messages will reach who they're directed at, but I'd like it on record anyway.
- First of all a big thanks to
BlondeVelvet without whom the consideration of going never would have crossed my mind. I guess in the end your full-court press to get me there worked out after all, though for better or worse there was never any tying to room service carts. I know that in doing so you wound up feeling responsible for my having a good time, so I apologize for you dealing with that stress on my behalf, but you were a wonderful host and I hope you feel like your effort for my sake paid off. Additionally, the fact that you recognized the seriousness of the situation on Saturday night as quickly as you did and took leadership impressed me greatly. I can't even tell you how long I probably would have obliviously sat around wondering about the smell otherwise, so thank you for that as well.
- Props to
Kaoru for being willing enough to put up with sharing a room with me, and for generally being my guide to most of the people and places I encountered throughout the weekend. It's easy to see why you're such a popular force, both on Twitter and in-person! I also have to make mention of your courageous efforts during the evacuation. Between you and Blondie I kinda felt like a chump when it comes to situation management. :P
ALSO, I owe you a couple of good drinks and my sincerest apologies for my utter blunder on Saturday evening. It was never my intent to leave you out, but I thought at the time that you were still wrapped up in Artemis and never got back to giving you a proper heads-up like I said I would. I felt like a horrible person after the fact and it remains my biggest regret of the whole trip.
- I also want to thank
Leshana for graciously providing the additional room that Kaoru and I wound up using. Blondie may have provided the motivation to attend, but you provided the means at a time when my other avenues had already dried up. Not to mention that it's just cool to meet one of the vore community's technical wizards!
- To my fellow stream-loiterer
PWedulagro it was a pleasure meeting you in person! For as much as you talk about not being comfortable around people, I recognize what a big undertaking this was for you, so I feel a bit special being one of the few people in the community that have met you. Especially during "the" night, being thrust into a frightening situation and surrounded by people you were not familiar with under unknown conditions, I thought you handled yourself with a remarkable amount of composure. You are stronger than you give yourself credit for, my friend. :)
Also thank you for breakfast!
On top of all this, there are a ton of people that I'd had minimal interaction with prior to attending the con that I met and spent varying amounts of time with. I'm trying to do my best to remember each and every one, but for being a first con that might be understandably tough. I'll list off as many shout-outs as I can though!
- Kamunt (Many thanks for providing the booze and Smash, it was probably the best ice-breaker I could have asked for.)
- Miateshcha (Great meeting and talking with you, and I'm very glad that you, Blondie, and Kamunt all came though alright. And your hat isn't stupid.)
- Arokha
- Nath (I will continue bugging you on Twitter. Sorry.)
- Aziel
- Furo
- Strega
- NegativeTheory
- Rivin
- Jack
- Jit
- Kimmy
- Missy Vixen
- Kaelis
- Lighter (major ego-stroke bonus points for being the first person I hadn't talked to prior to MFF who mentioned recognizing Snowe via artwork!)
- Burnide
- Dingo (and her ridiculously-handsome boyfriend whose name escapes me)
- Retna
- Big Dee (I know we never actually talked, but I'll certainly remember)
I know there were more but for some reason my mind isn't pulling all the names out right now. If you recall meeting me at MFF and aren't on this list already, please hit me up! And to each and every one of you: thank you for being there. Those three days are going to be with me for a long, long time and it's because of the people that I shared the time with. I tip my cap to you.
And with that, I think I've had quite enough retrospective for one con. And I'm sure you've had quite enough reading about it, too. So thanks to the readers as well for putting up with this much bear-rambling.
Until our paths cross once more,
-- Snowe
- One of the things that really struck me, especially early on during my time there was the mentality of...I suppose I'll call it the different ways people at the con approached the division between "real life" and "character life." I attended the con as "Snowe," barely discussed my life at home aside from some complaining about my job, and never used my real name, but outside of explaining why I was wearing a suit all Saturday and barely making a passing vorish mention about the looseness of said suit, I feel like I acted pretty much the way I always do in my everyday life. In some way it felt a little contradictory, considering some of the more "in-character" behaviors I witnessed from others throughout the weekend. Looking back on it, I felt like I was kind of "too old" to just throw away inhibition, and while part of that might have just been first-con trepidation, I think a lot of it also speaks to the way my attitude has changed and matured over the last few years. That is not to say that I consider myself more "mature" than others at the con (I'm not) and it's not a judgement against those activities. It's just...a difference that I noticed. Ultimately I think my favorite moments of the con came when it was just me talking and hanging out with other people, and could practically forget that I was at a furry con at all. Never did I feel unwelcome, but there's also a part of me that questions whether I really "belong" at events like this. It's really difficult to properly explain, as you can tell.
- General con-life note: lots of people seem to have a tendency to flake on plans or take long amounts of time to decide on things. I am not immune to these pitfalls either, and definitely made a couple of mistakes that I regretted pretty immediately after the fact. In particular, my actions on Saturday evening and breakfast on Sunday had me pretty annoyed with myself and I humbly apologize for both of those snafus.
- If I ever do attend another con, I would definitely love to host another "private function," as it has come to be called...but I want it to be bigger next time. I feared things getting too out of control, but the result, while personally a very pleasant experience for me, also was way too restrictive in retrospect for a convention that's supposed to be all about creating and strengthening connections. In a way this follows back to my first point about my tastes feeling "old," but if that's the case, rather than worry about the ways I don't fit into the con, the better course of action is to bring my style to the con and cultivate the experience myself. Furries are a very diverse group, I know there are plenty of others out there who might enjoy what I can bring to the table...I've just got to find that group and do my part to bring it together.
Okay, that's it for overall con thoughts. Yes, finally! Before I finally sign off from this topic though, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge all of the people I met and dealt with at the con, and the impact that they've had on me. I don't know if all of these messages will reach who they're directed at, but I'd like it on record anyway.
- First of all a big thanks to
BlondeVelvet without whom the consideration of going never would have crossed my mind. I guess in the end your full-court press to get me there worked out after all, though for better or worse there was never any tying to room service carts. I know that in doing so you wound up feeling responsible for my having a good time, so I apologize for you dealing with that stress on my behalf, but you were a wonderful host and I hope you feel like your effort for my sake paid off. Additionally, the fact that you recognized the seriousness of the situation on Saturday night as quickly as you did and took leadership impressed me greatly. I can't even tell you how long I probably would have obliviously sat around wondering about the smell otherwise, so thank you for that as well.- Props to
Kaoru for being willing enough to put up with sharing a room with me, and for generally being my guide to most of the people and places I encountered throughout the weekend. It's easy to see why you're such a popular force, both on Twitter and in-person! I also have to make mention of your courageous efforts during the evacuation. Between you and Blondie I kinda felt like a chump when it comes to situation management. :PALSO, I owe you a couple of good drinks and my sincerest apologies for my utter blunder on Saturday evening. It was never my intent to leave you out, but I thought at the time that you were still wrapped up in Artemis and never got back to giving you a proper heads-up like I said I would. I felt like a horrible person after the fact and it remains my biggest regret of the whole trip.
- I also want to thank
Leshana for graciously providing the additional room that Kaoru and I wound up using. Blondie may have provided the motivation to attend, but you provided the means at a time when my other avenues had already dried up. Not to mention that it's just cool to meet one of the vore community's technical wizards!- To my fellow stream-loiterer
PWedulagro it was a pleasure meeting you in person! For as much as you talk about not being comfortable around people, I recognize what a big undertaking this was for you, so I feel a bit special being one of the few people in the community that have met you. Especially during "the" night, being thrust into a frightening situation and surrounded by people you were not familiar with under unknown conditions, I thought you handled yourself with a remarkable amount of composure. You are stronger than you give yourself credit for, my friend. :)Also thank you for breakfast!
On top of all this, there are a ton of people that I'd had minimal interaction with prior to attending the con that I met and spent varying amounts of time with. I'm trying to do my best to remember each and every one, but for being a first con that might be understandably tough. I'll list off as many shout-outs as I can though!
- Kamunt (Many thanks for providing the booze and Smash, it was probably the best ice-breaker I could have asked for.)
- Miateshcha (Great meeting and talking with you, and I'm very glad that you, Blondie, and Kamunt all came though alright. And your hat isn't stupid.)
- Arokha
- Nath (I will continue bugging you on Twitter. Sorry.)
- Aziel
- Furo
- Strega
- NegativeTheory
- Rivin
- Jack
- Jit
- Kimmy
- Missy Vixen
- Kaelis
- Lighter (major ego-stroke bonus points for being the first person I hadn't talked to prior to MFF who mentioned recognizing Snowe via artwork!)
- Burnide
- Dingo (and her ridiculously-handsome boyfriend whose name escapes me)
- Retna
- Big Dee (I know we never actually talked, but I'll certainly remember)
I know there were more but for some reason my mind isn't pulling all the names out right now. If you recall meeting me at MFF and aren't on this list already, please hit me up! And to each and every one of you: thank you for being there. Those three days are going to be with me for a long, long time and it's because of the people that I shared the time with. I tip my cap to you.
And with that, I think I've had quite enough retrospective for one con. And I'm sure you've had quite enough reading about it, too. So thanks to the readers as well for putting up with this much bear-rambling.
Until our paths cross once more,
-- Snowe
