Time sure does move forward, doesn't it? I've been enjoying my time in the fandom more these past few years it seems, for the friends I've made in it, and the bonds that have formed with people over time. Never used to be like that. I'm not as much of a wallflower as I used to be.

I went to FWA this year with my "local" friend  Schrix, my housemate, and a couple of other local furs. It was my fault we arrived late on Thursday, but miraculously Registration was a total breeze. There wasn't even a line! It seems as though FWA has finally perfected the back-end of the con; everything ran much smoother and more comfortably this year. The original plan was just to stay for two days as my housemate had work on Sunday, but Schrix convinced me to return on Sunday morning. It was a lot of driving, and it exhausted me much more than I was expecting it would, but it was nice being able to close out the con and grab some artwork that I would have otherwise missed.

FWA's theme this year was "Pirates!" It was fun, but not nearly as fun as the camp and college themes. Still, it was nice just to get back together with everyone again. Probably the highlight of the con was the historic set by Mystery Skulls. Unless I am mistaken, I believe this to be the first time a furry convention has ever had a mainstream musician perform at the con. Sure, we've had celebrities appear at cons before, but always incognito, and they always left after rumors began circulating. It was an honor to be there and get to experience it. Also got to meet some members of the old guard like Scappo and J.Bernal, which I totally wasn't expecting. Got to meet Rick Griffin, whose art I've been a longtime fan of.

Festivities were tempered by the death of Schon Howard over the con weekend, and I only learned just recently that Viki Wyman passed last winter. Not much of the old guard left now, but the fandom continues to thrive, built upon their contributions and the contributions of us and those that come after.

Next con I plan to attend is FursonaCon in VA Beach. Also have tentative plans to return to ASE for its second year. We shall see what happens though; money is more of an issue.