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MFM 2018 overview...
7 years ago
General
Hey folks. Just a quick recap of the last week or so. Me and Seaweed headed out Wed. morning and drove to Leoma, TN to visit Pandaguy's mom. I really needed the break from work, so was looking forward to this getaway even more than usual. Fran was doing well, and we spent an evening with her and Jackie, her very excited Jack Russel terrier. I donated a Meeko Pop Funko figure to Jon's memorial room and we drove by the cemetery to pay our respects before heading onward. On that regard, I still miss him after all these years - and doubt I'll ever stop.
We detoured on our way to the hotel to visit an artist friend of Seaweed's. She worked at a country buffet in Jackson, TN. The place was located off a busy commercial road, and had a sign completely hidden by trees. Turning down a road behind a church, it narrowed down to 1 1/2 lanes and dumped out at an old barn next to a pond. Apparently this place was around well before the area grew, and is one of those secret eating spots that only the locals know about. All the waitresses seem to know everyone by name, and the food was the best I'd have all weekend. The only downside is it put us getting in at Olive Branch just slightly ahead of the con-in-a-box, so I had to keep my significant otter focused on checking in and helping me tote the stuff up to our room before she ran off to help. At least this year they did not have to unload in the rain.
The hotel had renovated a little more since last year. Our room had a new TV and most of the place has new carpets now - sadly the AC is still only adequate to keep the room tolerable until night falls (then it actually does get cold). Normally this is a minor complaint, but fursuiters know how nice a cool room can be.... We roomed with Lauren Rivers and Shrag this year. They were supposed to room with us last year, but came down with a slight case of HURRICANE. The weather cooperated this year though. In fact, attendance was up quite a tick at the con, and I attribute that to the first time in about 3-4 years a natural disaster was not occurring nearby as the con took place...
Tibble was supposed to room with us as well, but had to back out due to job interviews dropping into their lap. Best of luck on those! But Lauren and Shrag seemed to really enjoy the slow, casual pace of the con compared to the larger conventions, and I hope they'll be putting it on their con rotation in future years. But getting hugs from Shrag, Lauren and Topaz was a highlight of the weekend. ^^
So rather than go into even more detail, let's sum the rest of the weekend up quicklu....
The Good - Got Timber out and about a few times. I won the "Treasury of Great Recipes by Mary and Vincent Price" at the charity auction. This is the 2nd of 3 books I have been looking for that I have now gotten at this auction.....will my luck hold out for #3? Stay tuned in future years to find out! Lauren and Shrag were awesome room mates, and the local smoothie and wrap place, as well as Osaka's, provided excellent food.
The Bad - Tina got an app come in early in the weekend that turned into a nightmare through no fault of her own, so she lost about half a day to that. The hotel's internet service was actually better than past years. But that is like saying a piece of toast and a ketchup packet is better than rotting garbage. Granted, in past years it was almost impossible to hop on during the day, this year out could kind of sort of get connected - sometimes. Also, the pizza at the pizza feed looked like it was cooked hours before hand. It was never the greatest pizza to begin with, so let it cool down and harden up and "edible" is the kindest word you could use to describe it. Lastly, the BBQ place I loved so much is either going to pot or was staffed by newbies this weekend, because the food was nowhere near as good as it had been in the past. Still, at least this con has plenty of eating options around it, so one or two bad places cannot ruin the whole weekend.
The Ugly - I was going to put the BBQ and the Pizza Feed here, but as disappointing as they were they were not so awful I felt they needed placement here. Nothing really all that "Ugly" about this weekend at all.
I also enjoyed meeting Teric Dragon this weekend. He is a friend of Lauren and Shrag's, and he had a lot of great stories to share.
But as usual, the real highlight was getting to hang out and enjoy the company of friends - something that smaller Cons like MFM seem to excel in. I'm already looking forward to next year...
We detoured on our way to the hotel to visit an artist friend of Seaweed's. She worked at a country buffet in Jackson, TN. The place was located off a busy commercial road, and had a sign completely hidden by trees. Turning down a road behind a church, it narrowed down to 1 1/2 lanes and dumped out at an old barn next to a pond. Apparently this place was around well before the area grew, and is one of those secret eating spots that only the locals know about. All the waitresses seem to know everyone by name, and the food was the best I'd have all weekend. The only downside is it put us getting in at Olive Branch just slightly ahead of the con-in-a-box, so I had to keep my significant otter focused on checking in and helping me tote the stuff up to our room before she ran off to help. At least this year they did not have to unload in the rain.
The hotel had renovated a little more since last year. Our room had a new TV and most of the place has new carpets now - sadly the AC is still only adequate to keep the room tolerable until night falls (then it actually does get cold). Normally this is a minor complaint, but fursuiters know how nice a cool room can be.... We roomed with Lauren Rivers and Shrag this year. They were supposed to room with us last year, but came down with a slight case of HURRICANE. The weather cooperated this year though. In fact, attendance was up quite a tick at the con, and I attribute that to the first time in about 3-4 years a natural disaster was not occurring nearby as the con took place...
Tibble was supposed to room with us as well, but had to back out due to job interviews dropping into their lap. Best of luck on those! But Lauren and Shrag seemed to really enjoy the slow, casual pace of the con compared to the larger conventions, and I hope they'll be putting it on their con rotation in future years. But getting hugs from Shrag, Lauren and Topaz was a highlight of the weekend. ^^
So rather than go into even more detail, let's sum the rest of the weekend up quicklu....
The Good - Got Timber out and about a few times. I won the "Treasury of Great Recipes by Mary and Vincent Price" at the charity auction. This is the 2nd of 3 books I have been looking for that I have now gotten at this auction.....will my luck hold out for #3? Stay tuned in future years to find out! Lauren and Shrag were awesome room mates, and the local smoothie and wrap place, as well as Osaka's, provided excellent food.
The Bad - Tina got an app come in early in the weekend that turned into a nightmare through no fault of her own, so she lost about half a day to that. The hotel's internet service was actually better than past years. But that is like saying a piece of toast and a ketchup packet is better than rotting garbage. Granted, in past years it was almost impossible to hop on during the day, this year out could kind of sort of get connected - sometimes. Also, the pizza at the pizza feed looked like it was cooked hours before hand. It was never the greatest pizza to begin with, so let it cool down and harden up and "edible" is the kindest word you could use to describe it. Lastly, the BBQ place I loved so much is either going to pot or was staffed by newbies this weekend, because the food was nowhere near as good as it had been in the past. Still, at least this con has plenty of eating options around it, so one or two bad places cannot ruin the whole weekend.
The Ugly - I was going to put the BBQ and the Pizza Feed here, but as disappointing as they were they were not so awful I felt they needed placement here. Nothing really all that "Ugly" about this weekend at all.
I also enjoyed meeting Teric Dragon this weekend. He is a friend of Lauren and Shrag's, and he had a lot of great stories to share.
But as usual, the real highlight was getting to hang out and enjoy the company of friends - something that smaller Cons like MFM seem to excel in. I'm already looking forward to next year...
It was fun doing Teric's panel and offering feedback, and playing cards afterwards, not to mention watching the tail end of Angry Birds, hehe.
As always it was nice to see you and Seaweed, and I'm glad it worked out this year. Apparently it rained quite a bit locally while we were gone and if we had been here we would've been flooded and unable to go anywhere, haha.
Osaka was wonderful, I was delighted to have fried ice cream, and a little disappointed in the BBQ place for sure. The pizza feed was okay, perhaps a bit underwhelming but I was hungry so it made it marginally better, haha. Still, it takes a lot to really disappoint me but I was satisfied, I should say. The pool was locked the one time we tried to use it but maybe they just don't open it during the con?
Anyway, if we ever wander back in that direction we'll let you know. ;)
Even though it's a major social event at the con, I avoid the pizza feast and hit up one of the local eateries. Pizza and I don't get along very well.
I tried last year and paid for it until breakfast the next morning.