FA+
Shop
FA's Block System - A convenient way to slander people
Posted 9 years agoGood morning,
There is an individual on FA who has continually posted slanderous and erroneous information about me. Conveniently, they are behind the shield of placing me on a block list. If FA staff could PM me for a resolution, it would be appreciated. This has been going on for well over a year in which I have called no attention to it.
To the individual: Calling you out for douche baggery involving trying to get a waitress at our furmeets fired for accidentally spilling water on your Nintendo DS does not make me a self important "popufur". That's just one incident in a long string of incidents. I have a responsibility for our community, and so when you harass someone within our community, when you continually slander people within our community, which goes far beyond just myself, guess what? I'm going to be there to defend them because I care and have a responsibility to them.
I am tired of these games.
You need to understand that the world does not revolve around you. No one is spying on you. No one really cares about you enough to actively do that. But you are very good about airing your dirty laundry publically, and so any and all attention that gains you is your own fault.
Please grow up. And to other people reading this who he's harassed, please get a restraining order against him.
There is an individual on FA who has continually posted slanderous and erroneous information about me. Conveniently, they are behind the shield of placing me on a block list. If FA staff could PM me for a resolution, it would be appreciated. This has been going on for well over a year in which I have called no attention to it.
To the individual: Calling you out for douche baggery involving trying to get a waitress at our furmeets fired for accidentally spilling water on your Nintendo DS does not make me a self important "popufur". That's just one incident in a long string of incidents. I have a responsibility for our community, and so when you harass someone within our community, when you continually slander people within our community, which goes far beyond just myself, guess what? I'm going to be there to defend them because I care and have a responsibility to them.
I am tired of these games.
You need to understand that the world does not revolve around you. No one is spying on you. No one really cares about you enough to actively do that. But you are very good about airing your dirty laundry publically, and so any and all attention that gains you is your own fault.
Please grow up. And to other people reading this who he's harassed, please get a restraining order against him.
Furry Migration 2016 MEME - Where to find me and STUFF
Posted 9 years agoWhere are you staying?
In an undisclosed broom closet in the shape of a suite.
What day are you getting there?
Wednesday morning. That's when I officially get to work.
How are you traveling?
Teleportation. But if I can't figure out how to get that working, I'll be taking my car.
Who are you staying with?
alkora and 
flyingfire
How is the best way to find you?
Look for my foxy! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CebqDj2WEAETqW0.jpg
Or a human wearing a headset radio.
Are there any panels you might be attending?
Holy crap YES. Seriously? Suiting on a Deeper Level by Croc & Yippee. And everything by our guests of honor. I'd go into it all but I don't think it's public knowledge just yet.
What do you look like?
Human: I'm skinny with brown hair, glasses, a Hawaiian shirt, and smiling most of the time.
Not Human: I look like a realistic fox. I talk fast and like giving hugs. But my vision is kind of horrible so don't be afraid to approach me and say hello if I don't see you right away.
Will you be suiting?
I will be in suit as much as I can, or loaning my suit out to Flyingfire and watching her derp around in it.
Do you do free art?
That's the only art I do.
Do you do trades?
Sure.
Do you do badges?
Yes
What is your gender?
Guy
How tall are you?
6FT ish
Can I talk to you?
Please. Talk to me and enhance my day!
Can I touch you?
Only if I can touch you back.
Can I visit your room?
If you can find it ;)
Can I buy you drinks?
If my staff badge is on, then no. But if I'm off duty, please. I would be delighted to share a drink with you!
Can I give you stuff?
Ah, stuff. The way to a fox's heart. Give me all the stuff. Dollar bills, chocolate, food, hugs.
Can I hug or snuggle with you?
Just no surprise glomps, please. But if I see you are you want one, hugs or snugs are fine.
Are you nice?
Very nice!
Do you have an artist table?
The Hotel is my artist table.
Will you be going to parties?
Yes, yes, and a third time, yes. So invite me to one! Otherwise I will have to retract those three yes and that would make me a sad foxy.
Will you be performing?
No one out performs a fox! (Quiet, you!)
If I see you, how should I get your attention?
Aerak!, Foxy! Cute Foxy! Fluff butt! Hey, you! Or make something up!
Where will you be most of the time during the day/s?
Making sure the Hyatt doesn't burn down. (That's not an invitation)
I work with the Hyatt and the Convention. But if my department did it's job right pre-convention, then I will have lots of free time!
Can I come with you for food/fun/etc?
Of course! Just ask first, please!
Can I draw in your sketchbook?
Yes!
Can I take your picture?
Take as many as you like!
What's your goal(s) for the con this year?
Have fun and try not to get overly emotional with how awesome everything is and how I helped make it happen.
What's your food plan?
Find it! I like being a thin foxy, but starving isn't the game plan.
In an undisclosed broom closet in the shape of a suite.
What day are you getting there?
Wednesday morning. That's when I officially get to work.
How are you traveling?
Teleportation. But if I can't figure out how to get that working, I'll be taking my car.
Who are you staying with?
alkora and 
flyingfireHow is the best way to find you?
Look for my foxy! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CebqDj2WEAETqW0.jpg
Or a human wearing a headset radio.
Are there any panels you might be attending?
Holy crap YES. Seriously? Suiting on a Deeper Level by Croc & Yippee. And everything by our guests of honor. I'd go into it all but I don't think it's public knowledge just yet.
What do you look like?
Human: I'm skinny with brown hair, glasses, a Hawaiian shirt, and smiling most of the time.
Not Human: I look like a realistic fox. I talk fast and like giving hugs. But my vision is kind of horrible so don't be afraid to approach me and say hello if I don't see you right away.
Will you be suiting?
I will be in suit as much as I can, or loaning my suit out to Flyingfire and watching her derp around in it.
Do you do free art?
That's the only art I do.
Do you do trades?
Sure.
Do you do badges?
Yes
What is your gender?
Guy
How tall are you?
6FT ish
Can I talk to you?
Please. Talk to me and enhance my day!
Can I touch you?
Only if I can touch you back.
Can I visit your room?
If you can find it ;)
Can I buy you drinks?
If my staff badge is on, then no. But if I'm off duty, please. I would be delighted to share a drink with you!
Can I give you stuff?
Ah, stuff. The way to a fox's heart. Give me all the stuff. Dollar bills, chocolate, food, hugs.
Can I hug or snuggle with you?
Just no surprise glomps, please. But if I see you are you want one, hugs or snugs are fine.
Are you nice?
Very nice!
Do you have an artist table?
The Hotel is my artist table.
Will you be going to parties?
Yes, yes, and a third time, yes. So invite me to one! Otherwise I will have to retract those three yes and that would make me a sad foxy.
Will you be performing?
No one out performs a fox! (Quiet, you!)
If I see you, how should I get your attention?
Aerak!, Foxy! Cute Foxy! Fluff butt! Hey, you! Or make something up!
Where will you be most of the time during the day/s?
Making sure the Hyatt doesn't burn down. (That's not an invitation)
I work with the Hyatt and the Convention. But if my department did it's job right pre-convention, then I will have lots of free time!
Can I come with you for food/fun/etc?
Of course! Just ask first, please!
Can I draw in your sketchbook?
Yes!
Can I take your picture?
Take as many as you like!
What's your goal(s) for the con this year?
Have fun and try not to get overly emotional with how awesome everything is and how I helped make it happen.
What's your food plan?
Find it! I like being a thin foxy, but starving isn't the game plan.
Reading Your Comments Fursuit Video Posted
Posted 9 years agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsOJDH6iBf4
This is the very first Reading Your Comments Video. It was fun and some good questions were asked. Hoping to do it again later this month and hopefully get more questions. ^_^
This is the very first Reading Your Comments Video. It was fun and some good questions were asked. Hoping to do it again later this month and hopefully get more questions. ^_^
MNFurs: July Community Feedback Meeting - July 30th
Posted 9 years agoIt’s time for the monthly MNFurs Community Feedback Meeting! Do you have suggestions for what we can be doing better? Something we aren’t doing that you think we should be doing? Or do you want to volunteer with MNFurs? Let us know!
Join us at the Hopkins Caribou before the next fur meet for coffee and discussion. There is no agenda. Just stop by and chat with us.
Visit the link below for more information
https://www.mnfurs.org/forums/topic.....dback-meeting/
Join us at the Hopkins Caribou before the next fur meet for coffee and discussion. There is no agenda. Just stop by and chat with us.
Visit the link below for more information
https://www.mnfurs.org/forums/topic.....dback-meeting/
Doing a Reading Your Comments Video and Need Comments!
Posted 9 years agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjQPew-zENY
I'm going to do a reading your comments video. So if you'd like to help me out, please comment on the video on youtube. It will be fun! ^_^
I'm going to do a reading your comments video. So if you'd like to help me out, please comment on the video on youtube. It will be fun! ^_^
Aerak Reacts to police gunning down an innocent black man
Posted 9 years agoThe police officer who shot and killed this man during a traffic stop (with the mans family in the car) occurred right in my own neighborhood. The man was a stand up citizen. No criminal record. Ran a school cafeteria where he remembered 500 students names and all of their food allergies. His 4-year old daughter was in the back seat, as the mother took video with her phone and live streamed it. It's one of the saddest things I have ever watched. The 4 year old doesn't understand what happened and tells her mom. "Don't cry mommy. I'm right here."
Below is my reaction video. You can find the video the mother took of this all happening by searching for #PhilandoCastile
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE5kM9dqO3Y
Below is my reaction video. You can find the video the mother took of this all happening by searching for #PhilandoCastile
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE5kM9dqO3Y
Lost my Job Again - No going back this time
Posted 9 years agoI haven't been too vocal about it. I lost my job Wednesday of last week. This is the same job I lost back in November and gained back a week later when the owner came to the realization that he made a terrible mistake and couldn't run the company without me. After that, I never felt good about being there and never again trusted the owner. So, the week after I get back from my vacation to the UK he tells me that the company is going through a restructuring. My take away on this is that he's after cheap labor, and doesn't see the point in having an Operations Manager when it's less expensive not to have one and to offload some of the admin stuff on the lesser paid employees.
Anyway, what is done is done, and frankly, I'm glad to be done with this company. I loathed going there every day. If the owner turned around again and told me he'd made another mistake and asked me back... well... I wouldn't come back. Maybe as a contractor for twice my salary as before, but I'd really have to think on it. At this point, I just want to move on.
The past six months I have been working on project manager certification courses. Now that my schedule has been freed up, I should be able to finish the courses and take the final exam within 2 weeks. From there, I'm going to contact a bunch of agencies and work on finding a job in management somewhere. I'm a little scared every now and then. But overall, I'm okay. I'm doing the course work eight hours a day and relaxing in the evenings. I have a plan and I'm going to execute that plan, get the certification I'm after, and then move forward and be happy.
Anyway, what is done is done, and frankly, I'm glad to be done with this company. I loathed going there every day. If the owner turned around again and told me he'd made another mistake and asked me back... well... I wouldn't come back. Maybe as a contractor for twice my salary as before, but I'd really have to think on it. At this point, I just want to move on.
The past six months I have been working on project manager certification courses. Now that my schedule has been freed up, I should be able to finish the courses and take the final exam within 2 weeks. From there, I'm going to contact a bunch of agencies and work on finding a job in management somewhere. I'm a little scared every now and then. But overall, I'm okay. I'm doing the course work eight hours a day and relaxing in the evenings. I have a plan and I'm going to execute that plan, get the certification I'm after, and then move forward and be happy.
Confuzzled - My trip to the UK
Posted 9 years agoConfuzzled was my first time outside of the United States. Getting to visit the UK and experience a different culture was an amazing experience. I was able to talk to people of many different nationalities, and doing so was very illuminating. I was very excited to attend Confuzzled as another furry convention I had never been to before, but I was also hopeful that it would give me a change in perspective. Well, mission accomplished on both fronts.
On the topic of life in general: I got to see the pros and cons of other types of governments. On politics, the only sentence I'll spend on it, everyone I talked to knows a lot about the upcoming US presidential election and everyone thinks Trump is a joke. The Danish and Swedish people I talked to couldn't imagine not having free education and universal (non broken) healthcare. The Danish pay close to 50% of their earnings to taxes to accomplish this, but they don't seem to mind. I didn't see a single homeless person while in the UK, where as in MN there seems to be one on almost every city block sometimes. People definitely seem to feel a lot more empowered in the EU. There seems to be a lot more compassion for your neighbors.
So how are the furries here different? Well, the wonderful thing is, they aren't. They are every bit as amazing as the furries in the US. It's nice to know that furries, despite the nationality, really get it. I'd heard stories about the London furs being wild and crazy, but I really didn't see that.
In terms of the convention experience, many of the US conventions need to up their game. Opening ceremonies was top notch; a combination of video and on stage performance. And an open appreciation for all their staff. The theme integration was seen through and through. "Carnival" - evident from the decorations in main stage, the carnival street vender carts in the lobby setup by the hotel, the programming, the artwork, and the attendees coming to the convention. The theme mattered. It wasn't some slogan used in the marketing and never incorporated. The staff were also very passionate about what they were doing. And the guest of honor liaisons, of which there were three, bent over backwards to make sure our stay was enjoyable. I know it was their job to look after Alkora and Whiteyfawks, but they also made me feel quite welcome as well and by the end of it all, I didn't feel like they were our handlers. They were our friends.
I experience times of loneliness at almost ever convention I go to. But this convention those moments were few and far between and almost didn't exist at all.
The take away from all of this? For me, I need a different job. It seems like other nations I talked to get more support from the government in this respect, but I'm just going to have to make do. I need to strike while that iron is hot, and for my sanity's sake, I need a change in profession asap because as I'm writing this, I'm in the backseat of a taxi heading for the Manchester airport, and I'm already getting stressed about returning to work in two days. Next, I need to downsize. I either need a smaller place to live and a smaller car, or Alkora and I need another room mate. I'd like to have a cheetah for a room mate, but I don't think we are quite there yet. I am spending too much on things of perceived worth. Things of status that have no worth except in my head. I don't need a super fancy car to be happy. This trip has taught me that to be happy, I need a day job that doesn't stress me out, pays decently with good benefits, and most importantly, I need good friends and people I love. And I need furry. If I could I'd help this community for a living. That would be one hell of a thing.
Some special shout outs:
Washu - You truly are a very kind person and I am lucky to have met you. Thank you for everything you do.
Pinky - Thank you for hanging out with me, and for talking with me regarding life in Denmark compared to in the US. It was great getting to hear about the conventions you help with, it was great getting to know and you share some drinks. Thanks for doing that Port party too, that was really brilliant. You are a really great person and and I hope we can get you to visit us for Furry Migration one of these years.
Whiteyfawks - Wish you lived closer. I think you'd be a pretty cool guy to party with. Your fursuits blow me away and the impact you have on this fandom and peoples' lives is very admirable. Seriously, you make people's dreams come true. That's pretty amazing.
Blue and Bungle - You guys were our hosts leading up to the convention. I loved hanging out with you both. Blue, I need to get you to come to our convention so I can take you to the headquarters of Fantasy Flight Games. Bungle - Washu told me to give you shit for the pawpets show. I think it was that too much praise would go to your head. So with this in mind, I must rescind my words speaking so highly of the production. It was rubbish.
Swedish Lady in Artist Alley - I wish I remembered your name. We talked about so many things and I just wanted you to know I appreciated it.
Shanie - It was great getting to meet you, however brief. Thanks for lending a paw during the group photoshoot. That meant a lot. That fox suit has the worst vision of any fursuit I've owned. Everyone tells me how amazing you are and I definitely believe it.
Ari - You are adorable. I saw you and asked for a hug and was about to leave and you pulled me back and had my bf take a picture. That was really thoughtful. I'm usually too much of a derp in fursuit to do something like that. It meant a lot. Thank you!
Okay, my taxi ride is almost over. If I missed you in my shoutouts, I apologize. Everything about this trip was perfect. It was just what I needed.
On the topic of life in general: I got to see the pros and cons of other types of governments. On politics, the only sentence I'll spend on it, everyone I talked to knows a lot about the upcoming US presidential election and everyone thinks Trump is a joke. The Danish and Swedish people I talked to couldn't imagine not having free education and universal (non broken) healthcare. The Danish pay close to 50% of their earnings to taxes to accomplish this, but they don't seem to mind. I didn't see a single homeless person while in the UK, where as in MN there seems to be one on almost every city block sometimes. People definitely seem to feel a lot more empowered in the EU. There seems to be a lot more compassion for your neighbors.
So how are the furries here different? Well, the wonderful thing is, they aren't. They are every bit as amazing as the furries in the US. It's nice to know that furries, despite the nationality, really get it. I'd heard stories about the London furs being wild and crazy, but I really didn't see that.
In terms of the convention experience, many of the US conventions need to up their game. Opening ceremonies was top notch; a combination of video and on stage performance. And an open appreciation for all their staff. The theme integration was seen through and through. "Carnival" - evident from the decorations in main stage, the carnival street vender carts in the lobby setup by the hotel, the programming, the artwork, and the attendees coming to the convention. The theme mattered. It wasn't some slogan used in the marketing and never incorporated. The staff were also very passionate about what they were doing. And the guest of honor liaisons, of which there were three, bent over backwards to make sure our stay was enjoyable. I know it was their job to look after Alkora and Whiteyfawks, but they also made me feel quite welcome as well and by the end of it all, I didn't feel like they were our handlers. They were our friends.
I experience times of loneliness at almost ever convention I go to. But this convention those moments were few and far between and almost didn't exist at all.
The take away from all of this? For me, I need a different job. It seems like other nations I talked to get more support from the government in this respect, but I'm just going to have to make do. I need to strike while that iron is hot, and for my sanity's sake, I need a change in profession asap because as I'm writing this, I'm in the backseat of a taxi heading for the Manchester airport, and I'm already getting stressed about returning to work in two days. Next, I need to downsize. I either need a smaller place to live and a smaller car, or Alkora and I need another room mate. I'd like to have a cheetah for a room mate, but I don't think we are quite there yet. I am spending too much on things of perceived worth. Things of status that have no worth except in my head. I don't need a super fancy car to be happy. This trip has taught me that to be happy, I need a day job that doesn't stress me out, pays decently with good benefits, and most importantly, I need good friends and people I love. And I need furry. If I could I'd help this community for a living. That would be one hell of a thing.
Some special shout outs:
Washu - You truly are a very kind person and I am lucky to have met you. Thank you for everything you do.
Pinky - Thank you for hanging out with me, and for talking with me regarding life in Denmark compared to in the US. It was great getting to hear about the conventions you help with, it was great getting to know and you share some drinks. Thanks for doing that Port party too, that was really brilliant. You are a really great person and and I hope we can get you to visit us for Furry Migration one of these years.
Whiteyfawks - Wish you lived closer. I think you'd be a pretty cool guy to party with. Your fursuits blow me away and the impact you have on this fandom and peoples' lives is very admirable. Seriously, you make people's dreams come true. That's pretty amazing.
Blue and Bungle - You guys were our hosts leading up to the convention. I loved hanging out with you both. Blue, I need to get you to come to our convention so I can take you to the headquarters of Fantasy Flight Games. Bungle - Washu told me to give you shit for the pawpets show. I think it was that too much praise would go to your head. So with this in mind, I must rescind my words speaking so highly of the production. It was rubbish.
Swedish Lady in Artist Alley - I wish I remembered your name. We talked about so many things and I just wanted you to know I appreciated it.
Shanie - It was great getting to meet you, however brief. Thanks for lending a paw during the group photoshoot. That meant a lot. That fox suit has the worst vision of any fursuit I've owned. Everyone tells me how amazing you are and I definitely believe it.
Ari - You are adorable. I saw you and asked for a hug and was about to leave and you pulled me back and had my bf take a picture. That was really thoughtful. I'm usually too much of a derp in fursuit to do something like that. It meant a lot. Thank you!
Okay, my taxi ride is almost over. If I missed you in my shoutouts, I apologize. Everything about this trip was perfect. It was just what I needed.
Video: Aerak the Elevator Fox - Confuzzled
Posted 9 years agoI'm at Confuzzled in the UK!
Posted 9 years agoI'm in the UK for the first time EVER, and so excited to be here. And a little lost and slightly overwhelmed. But mostly excited.
alkora is one of the guests of honor, and I decided to come with him. It's my first time leaving the US. Travel and customs were pretty uneventful. And now I'm here and um. It's interesting being in another culture. Im really enjoying it and England is really beautiful and the food is really amazing.
I didn't bring my onefurall suit with me because of limited space, so instead I have my foxy. If you see me, come say hello!
alkora is one of the guests of honor, and I decided to come with him. It's my first time leaving the US. Travel and customs were pretty uneventful. And now I'm here and um. It's interesting being in another culture. Im really enjoying it and England is really beautiful and the food is really amazing.I didn't bring my onefurall suit with me because of limited space, so instead I have my foxy. If you see me, come say hello!
Security on FA
Posted 9 years agoI think there's a lot of negativity towards FA right now and there is a lot of animosity towards the staff for perceived wrong doings and/or oversights. So here's my opinion.
The people that did the damage were members of this fandom. It was probably some petty angst against the site or the staff done for the lulz, and it resulted in people having a lot of accounts on many different sites compromised. So if they were trying to "white knight" things, well, they kind of failed since everyone and not just FA itself got screwed.
So the aftermath.
Realistically, I think the only way to make FA secure is to completely code it from scratch. You have so many people now with complete copies of the site. Hell, there's been complete copies found online and who's to say whether the FA you are viewing is legit or not. I'm not going to say to abandon the site, but if you continue to use FA: Use a password unique to this site.
Anyway. That's all I've got. Go about your business.
The people that did the damage were members of this fandom. It was probably some petty angst against the site or the staff done for the lulz, and it resulted in people having a lot of accounts on many different sites compromised. So if they were trying to "white knight" things, well, they kind of failed since everyone and not just FA itself got screwed.
So the aftermath.
Realistically, I think the only way to make FA secure is to completely code it from scratch. You have so many people now with complete copies of the site. Hell, there's been complete copies found online and who's to say whether the FA you are viewing is legit or not. I'm not going to say to abandon the site, but if you continue to use FA: Use a password unique to this site.
Anyway. That's all I've got. Go about your business.
Please watch this overlooked awesome artist
Posted 9 years agohttp://www.furaffinity.net/user/synge./
She is truly an amazing artist but just trying to get her FA going and is feeling discouraged that she's not getting more attention.
She is truly an amazing artist but just trying to get her FA going and is feeling discouraged that she's not getting more attention.
A Reminder to Locals - Community Forum + Elections Today
Posted 9 years agoJust a reminder for local fuzzies,
Today at 4:00pm at the Hopkins Caribou, MNFurs is having our monthly Community Meeting.
Got things you like that you want us to do more of? Got things you think MNFurs should be doing differently? Do you have things the group does that annoys the heck out of you? I personally am asking for you to attend!
On top of feedback, we also have an election happening this evening. Two spots are up for grabs on the MNFurs board of directors, and we have several candidates. Before we have that election though, we need a debate to make sure the right people get voted in. Part of tonights Community forum will be us, as a group, coming up with the debate questions. Because as soon as the Community Forum is over with at 5pm, we are going over to the Perkins for our debate. Following that it's voting time. This is super important because, honestly, there is a lot of things MNFurs has done really well, but there's a lot of things that have been executed poorly. This isn't a specific individuals problem - it is a problem with the dynamics of the current board. That's why this board election is so important. It's a chance to mix the pot.
Anyway. TL:DR - Are you local? Join me at the Hopkins Caribou today at 4pm.
Today at 4:00pm at the Hopkins Caribou, MNFurs is having our monthly Community Meeting.
Got things you like that you want us to do more of? Got things you think MNFurs should be doing differently? Do you have things the group does that annoys the heck out of you? I personally am asking for you to attend!
On top of feedback, we also have an election happening this evening. Two spots are up for grabs on the MNFurs board of directors, and we have several candidates. Before we have that election though, we need a debate to make sure the right people get voted in. Part of tonights Community forum will be us, as a group, coming up with the debate questions. Because as soon as the Community Forum is over with at 5pm, we are going over to the Perkins for our debate. Following that it's voting time. This is super important because, honestly, there is a lot of things MNFurs has done really well, but there's a lot of things that have been executed poorly. This isn't a specific individuals problem - it is a problem with the dynamics of the current board. That's why this board election is so important. It's a chance to mix the pot.
Anyway. TL:DR - Are you local? Join me at the Hopkins Caribou today at 4pm.
Zootopia and ME - Not another bloody Zootopia Review
Posted 9 years agoZootopia made me think about myself - how I see myself. How others think of me. What I want my life to stand for. Who I am and who I want to be.
I want to be someone who doesn't think of himself as a shy individual with social anxiety problems - who has problems talking to people and knowing the right things to say. I want to be someone who doesn't fear uncomfortable silences.
I want to make the world a better place. I want to bridge gaps and just get people together and do amazing things. And...
...I've lost sight of that. I have been sucked inward - freaking out about myself and my job and my career - instead of CARING. I have been so stressed about money. Money in our society is often times the measure of one's success. But it's not the only measure. I need to focus on my mission first and money second. I want to serve the furry community and make it a better place and empower people. And I want to make fursuits so the people that get them can live their dreams, and by doing what they love, they can inspire others, and the ripple effect goes on. Money is a happy byproduct of making fursuits, but it can never be the focus. It has to be about spreading the love.
And it's gotta be about bridging gaps. Even within the furry community, there are groups working against one another and there is animosity and egos at play and.. there is a lot of vilification. And I'm not saying that's all that is going on in this fandom because there's wonderful things happening. The focus has to be on the good that we can do, and not ranting about someone you barely know because they are in a rival furgroup or they sold FA to IMVU.
So that's my NOT a review of Zootopia. Sometimes it's not about the movie itself. It's about how the movie makes you feel.
I want to be someone who doesn't think of himself as a shy individual with social anxiety problems - who has problems talking to people and knowing the right things to say. I want to be someone who doesn't fear uncomfortable silences.
I want to make the world a better place. I want to bridge gaps and just get people together and do amazing things. And...
...I've lost sight of that. I have been sucked inward - freaking out about myself and my job and my career - instead of CARING. I have been so stressed about money. Money in our society is often times the measure of one's success. But it's not the only measure. I need to focus on my mission first and money second. I want to serve the furry community and make it a better place and empower people. And I want to make fursuits so the people that get them can live their dreams, and by doing what they love, they can inspire others, and the ripple effect goes on. Money is a happy byproduct of making fursuits, but it can never be the focus. It has to be about spreading the love.
And it's gotta be about bridging gaps. Even within the furry community, there are groups working against one another and there is animosity and egos at play and.. there is a lot of vilification. And I'm not saying that's all that is going on in this fandom because there's wonderful things happening. The focus has to be on the good that we can do, and not ranting about someone you barely know because they are in a rival furgroup or they sold FA to IMVU.
So that's my NOT a review of Zootopia. Sometimes it's not about the movie itself. It's about how the movie makes you feel.
MNFurs Community Forum
Posted 9 years agohttps://www.mnfurs.org/MNFurs_Talk/.....mmunity-forum/
I'm bringing back the Community Forum - MNFurs community outreach program. If you are local, enjoy coffee, and are free tomorrow afternoon, come check it out!
I'm bringing back the Community Forum - MNFurs community outreach program. If you are local, enjoy coffee, and are free tomorrow afternoon, come check it out!
1 Month Down! - Alkora, Audiobooks, and Friends
Posted 10 years agoThose are the three things keeping me sane.
Feels like Alkora and I have been leaning on each other more than ever. We both are having enormous amounts of stress at our jobs. So we are both dreaming together and keeping each other motivated. This week has been especially hard. A bunch of nights we are just too exhausted to do anything but cuddle up and watch Netflix together. We are still doing fursuit work. I need to start posting pictures of it. There's some amazing things going on.
I'm lucky to have some amazing friends locally. Unfortunately a lot of my friends are going through similar stress to Alkora and I. So I guess we all keep each other going.
And lastly, I'm lucky Audible keeps giving me free book credits. It helps make my day job bearable.
Speaking of my job. Today I may have found about 8 new business clients that will dump millions of dollars of stuff on the company I work for in the next year and has the possibility of tripling the size of the operation in the coming months. Not sure how to feel about it. It will give me a ton of leverage for a pay raise / benefits. Plus good stuff to put on my resume. But it's still very stressful being at that company. I get so mad because I'm very underpaid when you look at the industry average for my job. I guess I should keep an open mind and see where it goes in the coming months...
Feels like Alkora and I have been leaning on each other more than ever. We both are having enormous amounts of stress at our jobs. So we are both dreaming together and keeping each other motivated. This week has been especially hard. A bunch of nights we are just too exhausted to do anything but cuddle up and watch Netflix together. We are still doing fursuit work. I need to start posting pictures of it. There's some amazing things going on.
I'm lucky to have some amazing friends locally. Unfortunately a lot of my friends are going through similar stress to Alkora and I. So I guess we all keep each other going.
And lastly, I'm lucky Audible keeps giving me free book credits. It helps make my day job bearable.
Speaking of my job. Today I may have found about 8 new business clients that will dump millions of dollars of stuff on the company I work for in the next year and has the possibility of tripling the size of the operation in the coming months. Not sure how to feel about it. It will give me a ton of leverage for a pay raise / benefits. Plus good stuff to put on my resume. But it's still very stressful being at that company. I get so mad because I'm very underpaid when you look at the industry average for my job. I guess I should keep an open mind and see where it goes in the coming months...
Back from the Pit of Despair
Posted 10 years agoCount Tyrone:
"We've just sucked two months of your life away. Tell me... how do you feel?
And remember, this is for posterity so be honest."
Me:
"Uggggghhh :("
Count Tyrone:
"Interesting"
----
That mostly sums up the past couple of months. I have been looking through a haze. Every moment I was thinking about work and making sure if work canned me again, I'd be ready. Now I have two backup plans. I can't be too specific on here because one of my coworkers frequents this place. But I'm going to make sure I'm in a strong position moving forward.
I have started taking online courses for PMP certification. I have started dabbling again with design and 3d modeling (both of which I used to do a lot of). And I've recently learned how to relax again. Fell in love with Undertale. It's now my phone's background. https://twitter.com/Free_Hugs_Wolf/.....82517534969856
I'll have more updates soon. A lot is on my mind.
"We've just sucked two months of your life away. Tell me... how do you feel?
And remember, this is for posterity so be honest."
Me:
"Uggggghhh :("
Count Tyrone:
"Interesting"
----
That mostly sums up the past couple of months. I have been looking through a haze. Every moment I was thinking about work and making sure if work canned me again, I'd be ready. Now I have two backup plans. I can't be too specific on here because one of my coworkers frequents this place. But I'm going to make sure I'm in a strong position moving forward.
I have started taking online courses for PMP certification. I have started dabbling again with design and 3d modeling (both of which I used to do a lot of). And I've recently learned how to relax again. Fell in love with Undertale. It's now my phone's background. https://twitter.com/Free_Hugs_Wolf/.....82517534969856
I'll have more updates soon. A lot is on my mind.
End of the Year Post - Reflections on 2015
Posted 10 years agoHello fuzzy creatures! Thanks for looking at this. I have done a bunch of stuff this year and I'm not going to hide any of the details. Infact, we are going to start in reverse because that's the source of my greatest stress... but I'm hoping to use it as motivation in the coming year.
Falling
During the second week of November I lost my job. Before this event happened, I couldn't even imagine the affect that it would have on me, but that's probably also due to the fact that I helped build the company from the ground up - from two part time employees in a run down tiny warehouse with a couple hundred thousand dollars in inventory, to 10 full time employees in a 13,000 sq.ft warehouse with over five million dollars in inventory. I was second in command of the company. Like hell I was going to ever be let go. I felt like Norman Osborn in the original Spiderman movie back in 2002 (played by Willem Dafoe) where he get's let go and he screams at the board, "You can't do this. I built this company. Do you know how much I sacrificed!". Luckily, I took it better than him. But not by much. Being let go shattered my reality. I firmly believed that couldn't happen. I felt like every day at that company was me in the trenches, fighting the war of my future. Because of that feeling, I was passionate about the work. But now I realize it wasn't the war for my future. It was a fight for sure, but I was losing the war due to complacency. After a week of intense stress and anxiety where I struggled to eat anything because I stopped being hungry, my workplace called me up and asked me to come back. My dad pointed out to me that the owner of the company, to his credit, was doing something very admirable. That he realized he made a terrible mistake and reversed it - but most people out there would have stuck to the original decision out of pride. Well, I came back to work the following Monday - the owner barring me from menial tasks - instead I would be directly assisting in running the entire operation. And he kept his word. So I should be feeling just fine, right?
Anxiety and Frustration
The days went by with being back on the job, but I was still suffering from some pretty extreme flare ups of anxiety. Every morning I'd wake up 2 hours early and not be able to get back to sleep.... EVERY.... BLOODY.... MORNING. I would wake up and my heart would start beating faster and faster. And I'd go to work but my hands would have a cold sweat. My concentration drifted. I felt like I was in a prison of my mind. A prison where I was trapped by negative thinking. The weekend came after a week back at work and I actually had to go to an urgent care because my body just wouldn't snap out of it. Alkora forced me to go. Which I'm thankful for. Have you ever felt anxiety? Not the there and gone type, but the type that sticks around? It's like a wall, and it dulls your senses. I talked to a doctor and they told me the technical name for what I have is adjustment disorder with anxiety and that it usually takes a month or two to disappear completely and that I was just going to have to be patient with myself and tough it out. They gave me some low level anti-anxiety meds to use in emergencies.
Fursuit Making and Midwest Furfest
Alkora and I have been thinking on this for a good chunk of the year. We want to get back into fursuit making and do it as a part time business. We have been passionate about making them for years, but haven't truly had the ability to pull it off until now. We had a notion of wanting to premiere an animatronic, lightup fursuit for Midwest Furfest - a prototype showing what we can do. Unfortunately my extreme anxiety in November put us both behind. It was the weekend before MFF and all that we had was a foam head with some motors attached for where the ears would go. In one week, we had made feet, hands, and we finished the head. And this is all hand sewing - no sewing machine. We brute forced it. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CVwavN3U4AA5VzZ.jpg
Alkora and I got a lot of attention at MFF, but at the expense of us being able to relax and enjoy the convention. I didn't get as much time to see people as I wanted. I'm sorry if I seemed withdrawn or distant. I was / am still dealing with anxiety issues and though it's not as bad, well... it's still bad. Getting better every day. But still bad.
Back to the Beginning of the Year - Costuming and Let's Plays
I can't believe it was in January of this year that I finished Let's Playing my first game - Amnesia, The Dark Descent. I had a post about how excited I was to play the Evil Within. It feels like that was years ago... but no. It was this year. Let's Plays took a break so that Alkora and I could finish post production of this video for Furry Migration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6N5RBGPGns . Again, I can't believe this happened in 2015 as well. And then from there I left Let's Plays to pursue costuming. I knew my way around a fursuit but wanted to make non furry costumes - which I had ZERO experience. I started out determined to make a star wars costume. I ended up with this - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16015125/ which I thought was pretty amazing (I even grew a beard to complete the look). Well, looking back, this costume didn't fit very well so I made another version http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17297797/ which fit perfectly. I spent the Spring making a robe for my room mate Larus, http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16571120/ and then I started working on a costume for my Star Wars fox character, Garret https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CURAFDB.....jHO2.jpg:large
MNFurs and the Media
For months this past winter, Ridayah (the mnfurs secretary) and I worked with reporters and photographers with the Star Tribune, a twin cities news paper. In the Spring, we invited them to attend the MNFurs Spring Picnic, which is one of the largest furry picnics you will find anywhere with around 300 regular attendees. In June, this article was published http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16744121/ and it remains one of my proudest achievements sitting on the board of directors for MNFurs.
Furry Migration
Months of hard work paid off and we had an amazing convention at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis. It was our second year and we already had over 700 attendees. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17550680/
Going forward - Putting what I've learned this year into action
Shoot for your dreams. Don't wait. Alkora and I have dreamed of making fursuits for people and we finally have what it takes to make some very consistently awesome products. I want this. I want this so badly. If this ever became a full time job it would be amazing. If it was just a part time job that Alkora and I worked on in the evenings, it would be equally amazing. We'd be able to make some extra money to help get us out of this apartment, provide us both with more security, and enable us to do something we love and something others can take and use to do what they love. All we need is people who are willing to commission us. In January we are making another light up fursuit - this one a fullsuit instead of the partial we brought to MFF. Hopefully this guy will show people what we can do and what they can expect if they are willing to give us a shot. We'll open for commissions in February.
Last thoughts
It's been an amazing year, with one major bump. More like a pit. And while I'm busy digging myself out, I wanted to say that I'm very touched by all of the support I have gotten. If you see me out and about, say hello because even that makes a huge different. Hopefully I'll be my happy, optimistic self again soon. If I'm still having anxiety issues into the new year, I'll be seeing a therapist and doing whatever it takes to get well. Because the world can be a scary place but I know logically that now isn't the time to be scared. Now is the time to be excited for the future.
Falling
During the second week of November I lost my job. Before this event happened, I couldn't even imagine the affect that it would have on me, but that's probably also due to the fact that I helped build the company from the ground up - from two part time employees in a run down tiny warehouse with a couple hundred thousand dollars in inventory, to 10 full time employees in a 13,000 sq.ft warehouse with over five million dollars in inventory. I was second in command of the company. Like hell I was going to ever be let go. I felt like Norman Osborn in the original Spiderman movie back in 2002 (played by Willem Dafoe) where he get's let go and he screams at the board, "You can't do this. I built this company. Do you know how much I sacrificed!". Luckily, I took it better than him. But not by much. Being let go shattered my reality. I firmly believed that couldn't happen. I felt like every day at that company was me in the trenches, fighting the war of my future. Because of that feeling, I was passionate about the work. But now I realize it wasn't the war for my future. It was a fight for sure, but I was losing the war due to complacency. After a week of intense stress and anxiety where I struggled to eat anything because I stopped being hungry, my workplace called me up and asked me to come back. My dad pointed out to me that the owner of the company, to his credit, was doing something very admirable. That he realized he made a terrible mistake and reversed it - but most people out there would have stuck to the original decision out of pride. Well, I came back to work the following Monday - the owner barring me from menial tasks - instead I would be directly assisting in running the entire operation. And he kept his word. So I should be feeling just fine, right?
Anxiety and Frustration
The days went by with being back on the job, but I was still suffering from some pretty extreme flare ups of anxiety. Every morning I'd wake up 2 hours early and not be able to get back to sleep.... EVERY.... BLOODY.... MORNING. I would wake up and my heart would start beating faster and faster. And I'd go to work but my hands would have a cold sweat. My concentration drifted. I felt like I was in a prison of my mind. A prison where I was trapped by negative thinking. The weekend came after a week back at work and I actually had to go to an urgent care because my body just wouldn't snap out of it. Alkora forced me to go. Which I'm thankful for. Have you ever felt anxiety? Not the there and gone type, but the type that sticks around? It's like a wall, and it dulls your senses. I talked to a doctor and they told me the technical name for what I have is adjustment disorder with anxiety and that it usually takes a month or two to disappear completely and that I was just going to have to be patient with myself and tough it out. They gave me some low level anti-anxiety meds to use in emergencies.
Fursuit Making and Midwest Furfest
Alkora and I have been thinking on this for a good chunk of the year. We want to get back into fursuit making and do it as a part time business. We have been passionate about making them for years, but haven't truly had the ability to pull it off until now. We had a notion of wanting to premiere an animatronic, lightup fursuit for Midwest Furfest - a prototype showing what we can do. Unfortunately my extreme anxiety in November put us both behind. It was the weekend before MFF and all that we had was a foam head with some motors attached for where the ears would go. In one week, we had made feet, hands, and we finished the head. And this is all hand sewing - no sewing machine. We brute forced it. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CVwavN3U4AA5VzZ.jpg
Alkora and I got a lot of attention at MFF, but at the expense of us being able to relax and enjoy the convention. I didn't get as much time to see people as I wanted. I'm sorry if I seemed withdrawn or distant. I was / am still dealing with anxiety issues and though it's not as bad, well... it's still bad. Getting better every day. But still bad.
Back to the Beginning of the Year - Costuming and Let's Plays
I can't believe it was in January of this year that I finished Let's Playing my first game - Amnesia, The Dark Descent. I had a post about how excited I was to play the Evil Within. It feels like that was years ago... but no. It was this year. Let's Plays took a break so that Alkora and I could finish post production of this video for Furry Migration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6N5RBGPGns . Again, I can't believe this happened in 2015 as well. And then from there I left Let's Plays to pursue costuming. I knew my way around a fursuit but wanted to make non furry costumes - which I had ZERO experience. I started out determined to make a star wars costume. I ended up with this - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16015125/ which I thought was pretty amazing (I even grew a beard to complete the look). Well, looking back, this costume didn't fit very well so I made another version http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17297797/ which fit perfectly. I spent the Spring making a robe for my room mate Larus, http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16571120/ and then I started working on a costume for my Star Wars fox character, Garret https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CURAFDB.....jHO2.jpg:large
MNFurs and the Media
For months this past winter, Ridayah (the mnfurs secretary) and I worked with reporters and photographers with the Star Tribune, a twin cities news paper. In the Spring, we invited them to attend the MNFurs Spring Picnic, which is one of the largest furry picnics you will find anywhere with around 300 regular attendees. In June, this article was published http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16744121/ and it remains one of my proudest achievements sitting on the board of directors for MNFurs.
Furry Migration
Months of hard work paid off and we had an amazing convention at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis. It was our second year and we already had over 700 attendees. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17550680/
Going forward - Putting what I've learned this year into action
Shoot for your dreams. Don't wait. Alkora and I have dreamed of making fursuits for people and we finally have what it takes to make some very consistently awesome products. I want this. I want this so badly. If this ever became a full time job it would be amazing. If it was just a part time job that Alkora and I worked on in the evenings, it would be equally amazing. We'd be able to make some extra money to help get us out of this apartment, provide us both with more security, and enable us to do something we love and something others can take and use to do what they love. All we need is people who are willing to commission us. In January we are making another light up fursuit - this one a fullsuit instead of the partial we brought to MFF. Hopefully this guy will show people what we can do and what they can expect if they are willing to give us a shot. We'll open for commissions in February.
Last thoughts
It's been an amazing year, with one major bump. More like a pit. And while I'm busy digging myself out, I wanted to say that I'm very touched by all of the support I have gotten. If you see me out and about, say hello because even that makes a huge different. Hopefully I'll be my happy, optimistic self again soon. If I'm still having anxiety issues into the new year, I'll be seeing a therapist and doing whatever it takes to get well. Because the world can be a scary place but I know logically that now isn't the time to be scared. Now is the time to be excited for the future.
Long Journal Post coming later - I'M OKAY
Posted 10 years agoI'm kind of getting ready to run some errands with Alkora, so I don't have a lot of time.
I got a call last night from my old boss. He apologized for letting me go and told me that he made a big mistake in doing so. He wants me to meet with him tomorrow morning to discuss coming back to work for him. I also am being considered for a Resource Manager position at a different company.
So yeah... more info when I have time. Plus I'll be sure to respond to everyone from the last post. THANK YOU so much for all of the support! <3
I got a call last night from my old boss. He apologized for letting me go and told me that he made a big mistake in doing so. He wants me to meet with him tomorrow morning to discuss coming back to work for him. I also am being considered for a Resource Manager position at a different company.
So yeah... more info when I have time. Plus I'll be sure to respond to everyone from the last post. THANK YOU so much for all of the support! <3
Lost my job of 8 years. I'm not in a good place right now
Posted 10 years agoSo yeah... I got let go from the business I was working at for the past eight years. I built it from the ground up, and was the right hand man to the owner. I never though in a million years this would happen. But it did. The owner wants the person in my position to be an engineer. Out of the blue. Just like that. I'm not an Engineer. I have a lot of knowledge on that subject from working there, but apparently that's not good enough.
I got let go last Friday. My weekend was okay. But as soon as the work week hit, I became an emotional trainwreck. I feel nervous All The Time. A tightness in my chest. Clammy hands. Waking up at 3:00am and having my heart begin racing so fast that I can't get back to sleep. Since the week started, I perfected my resume with my friend, Kurst's help. I have written two cover letters. I dropped off cover letter and resume for a Resource Manager at Alkora's work yesterday. I'm trying to shoot for project manager / resource manager / hr type jobs. I was Operations Manager at my previous job for years. I'm trying to be positive... it's only been a week. I just want to be able to sleep again. I just want to be happy again. I just want the nervousness and stress to go away.
During this crisis, I have been so thankful for Alkora. I'm not in the right mind just yet, and he's been constantly there for me. He's been giving me all kinds of encouragement, and as bad as things seem for me right now, I'd be completely lost without him.
I just need to keep putting out more resumes and trying to stay positive.
I got let go last Friday. My weekend was okay. But as soon as the work week hit, I became an emotional trainwreck. I feel nervous All The Time. A tightness in my chest. Clammy hands. Waking up at 3:00am and having my heart begin racing so fast that I can't get back to sleep. Since the week started, I perfected my resume with my friend, Kurst's help. I have written two cover letters. I dropped off cover letter and resume for a Resource Manager at Alkora's work yesterday. I'm trying to shoot for project manager / resource manager / hr type jobs. I was Operations Manager at my previous job for years. I'm trying to be positive... it's only been a week. I just want to be able to sleep again. I just want to be happy again. I just want the nervousness and stress to go away.
During this crisis, I have been so thankful for Alkora. I'm not in the right mind just yet, and he's been constantly there for me. He's been giving me all kinds of encouragement, and as bad as things seem for me right now, I'd be completely lost without him.
I just need to keep putting out more resumes and trying to stay positive.
Life Updates | MFF | Work | MNFurs
Posted 10 years agoLife Updates:
Job
The small business I work for has gone from struggling to survive, to raking in more money than we've ever dealt with. I'm in charge specifically of overseeing all of the company's eCommerce and this October my efforts which is only part of the company's revenue, brought in over $100,000. Not bad for a department consisting of four people in a company consisting of eight. Most of the money will stay in the company, providing things like job security and more infrastructure. Maybe even more jobs.
Personal
I gotta get out of this apartment. I listed my job stuff first because that's the war zone where the battle for my future is taking place. I need to start saving so I can get enough money in the next year for a down payment on a house. Alkora and I are thinking townhouse, because we are each so busy with other things that neither one of us has time for yard work and such. I want a sanctuary - a place I can feel safe and secure and happy in. Sad thing is, right now I feel more at home in my car or out and about than I feel at my apartment. So that's something I need to fix. I'm not rolling in money. I feel I should mention that given the dollar amount given under "job". Because I'm working for a small business and because until the last couple of months the company was under hard times lasting for about a year, I'm getting paid a lot less than I would be if I worked for a medium to large size business. Hopefully the success of the company which I've worked hard to achieve will end up paying off for me.
I still follow the teachings of Vash the Stampede. First anime I'd ever seen. His monologue: "I think I'd like to do something nice for somebody. I think it's good when you smile at someone and they smile in return. Voluntary love encourages people to create a sense of friendliness. Love that is unconditional gives us respect as people" - that monologue, fifteen years after first hearing it, still stays with me.
I just got done helping the Como Zoo with their yearly "Zoo Boo" fundraiser. Over two weekends, MNFurs helped entertain 17,000 kids. As always I was glad I was in fursuit because at least once per night I was getting choked up by something I saw. Sometimes it was something the kids did - like how when Kurst and I were assigned greeters in front of the zoo, we had two little girls run to us from a block away shouting, "PUPPPPPIES!" and leaping into our arms. But just as many times, I was getting choked up by how amazing everyone in our group was. My first night there this year we had many newcomers in our group of fursuiters. And seeing them perform non stop for about 4 hours for wave after wave of kids, well, that was really special. We also had some amazing handlers looking out for us. Handlers who helped with overly enthusiastic kids, and who helped take pictures and provided water. The theme of an event like this is that it's not all about you. It's not about you at all. It's about the community. And man, do we have / belong to an amazing community.
MFF
I've been keeping this hush-hush. I missed out on securing a room at the Hyatt O'Hare and all the rooms were taken. I was bummed and I thought - Oh well. Guess I'm not going. And I went about my life. However, I recently discovered that I do have a room reserved for me. I think the hotel is sticking me in a broom closet. No joke. I wouldn't be surprised. I have no idea what type of room I got. Only that I have one. So... I'll be at MFF. I can't wait!
MNFurs
We are gearing up very soon for our yearly election. Two spots on our board of directors are for sure opening up. So if you are local and have the needed volunteer hours, well, I hope you run!
Job
The small business I work for has gone from struggling to survive, to raking in more money than we've ever dealt with. I'm in charge specifically of overseeing all of the company's eCommerce and this October my efforts which is only part of the company's revenue, brought in over $100,000. Not bad for a department consisting of four people in a company consisting of eight. Most of the money will stay in the company, providing things like job security and more infrastructure. Maybe even more jobs.
Personal
I gotta get out of this apartment. I listed my job stuff first because that's the war zone where the battle for my future is taking place. I need to start saving so I can get enough money in the next year for a down payment on a house. Alkora and I are thinking townhouse, because we are each so busy with other things that neither one of us has time for yard work and such. I want a sanctuary - a place I can feel safe and secure and happy in. Sad thing is, right now I feel more at home in my car or out and about than I feel at my apartment. So that's something I need to fix. I'm not rolling in money. I feel I should mention that given the dollar amount given under "job". Because I'm working for a small business and because until the last couple of months the company was under hard times lasting for about a year, I'm getting paid a lot less than I would be if I worked for a medium to large size business. Hopefully the success of the company which I've worked hard to achieve will end up paying off for me.
I still follow the teachings of Vash the Stampede. First anime I'd ever seen. His monologue: "I think I'd like to do something nice for somebody. I think it's good when you smile at someone and they smile in return. Voluntary love encourages people to create a sense of friendliness. Love that is unconditional gives us respect as people" - that monologue, fifteen years after first hearing it, still stays with me.
I just got done helping the Como Zoo with their yearly "Zoo Boo" fundraiser. Over two weekends, MNFurs helped entertain 17,000 kids. As always I was glad I was in fursuit because at least once per night I was getting choked up by something I saw. Sometimes it was something the kids did - like how when Kurst and I were assigned greeters in front of the zoo, we had two little girls run to us from a block away shouting, "PUPPPPPIES!" and leaping into our arms. But just as many times, I was getting choked up by how amazing everyone in our group was. My first night there this year we had many newcomers in our group of fursuiters. And seeing them perform non stop for about 4 hours for wave after wave of kids, well, that was really special. We also had some amazing handlers looking out for us. Handlers who helped with overly enthusiastic kids, and who helped take pictures and provided water. The theme of an event like this is that it's not all about you. It's not about you at all. It's about the community. And man, do we have / belong to an amazing community.
MFF
I've been keeping this hush-hush. I missed out on securing a room at the Hyatt O'Hare and all the rooms were taken. I was bummed and I thought - Oh well. Guess I'm not going. And I went about my life. However, I recently discovered that I do have a room reserved for me. I think the hotel is sticking me in a broom closet. No joke. I wouldn't be surprised. I have no idea what type of room I got. Only that I have one. So... I'll be at MFF. I can't wait!
MNFurs
We are gearing up very soon for our yearly election. Two spots on our board of directors are for sure opening up. So if you are local and have the needed volunteer hours, well, I hope you run!
Furry Migration 2015: REVIEW
Posted 10 years agoHey guys,
Just a quick note. This review is by me, one of the people running the convention. So it will be a unique review in that it's from the perspective of someone speaking as an attendee with experiences associated with being one, but also containing experiences on the staff side of things.
Welcome to the first Furry Migration. Or so it feels like. This is Furry Migration's second year, and there have been a lot of changes. The first change is obvious if you were at last years - we got a new hotel. Why you may ask? Well, there were many serious concerns with our first year hotel that happened but that convention staff did a really amazing job at hiding. You are just going to have to trust me on that. It's one of those things where I can't go into it just yet. I'll run a panel on it in another 5 years. Don't worry. So anyway, we moved to a different hotel because that was the right decision. So that was the most noticeable change. We also completely changed staff in the Registration and Volunteers departments. So, though this was our second year, in many ways it felt like an entirely new beast from the convention we did the year prior.
Below is what went down from my perspective.
Thursday:
Alkora and I got on site around 11am. We had our final meeting with the senior hotel staff at 1pm and wanted to be able to meet up with some of our friends beforehand at the hotel restaurant for lunch. Most of us got burgers and were not disappointed but the star of the meal were the fries which were seasoned with rosemary which really made them taste amazing - like a turkey dinner but in fry form.
The meeting between upper level hotel staff and our upper level staff went well and from there we went directly into setting up the convention space. Most of the work had already been done by that point from convention staff. My department co-head and I got checked in with security at the hotel dock and began coordinating with other departments and volunteers. Everything ran like clockwork. Videogames started moving in TVs, game systems, and pinball machines. Registration got their computers and printers in place. Mainstage, despite having a few minor issues arise, began getting set up. Time flew by. Around 9pm we had a staff photo shoot and around 10pm we had a staff meeting to make sure everything was going well. Afterwards, I ended up back in main stage while they were testing out all the lighting and getting sound levels figured out. I sat down with some good friends and had a GIANT donut that was the size of a cake. Got to chat for awhile with Wolever who came down from Canada for the convention. That was really awesome.
Friday:
Started by waking up at 7am and getting ready for my shift. I went down to the market (kind of like the Hyatt's version of a cafe) and picked up some dog bone shaped cookies and some sort of egg concoction. One of my contacts at the hotel got me starbucks coffee - which is a running joke doing business there. For the past year, our main contact there has tried to buy me coffee. But whenever I have a meeting with them to go over convention stuff, I'd arrive there early and get coffee on my own. So my main contact has never been able to buy me coffee. But one of her assistants managed it at the convention and my main contact was like, "oh I see how it is".
Calls started coming in over the radio around 8am to unlock convention space. From there main stage got things finalized for opening ceremonies. Some last minute signage was being printed. By mid afternoon I got in fursuit and went down to the lobby with my friend, Ridayah who was in his Sith outfit. We interacted with the non furries and that went pretty well. From there we went outside and took a walk in the park behind the hotel. Unfortunately most people just ignored us out there and after a while we came back in, parted ways, then I took a shower and checked in again with Pat, my department co-head, followed by a really amazing dinner at the hotel restaurant.
Later that night, I checked out the Furmented room party, and had some amazing home brewed beers.
Saturday:
This was my day. This was the one day where things were running so smoothly that, though I always had a radio on me, I got to just enjoy the convention as an attendee would. The day started with the Sponsor Brunch - in which there was a lot of pressure on my department to "get it right". The year before our sponsor brunch was pathetic and this year Pat and I had to work with the new hotel to make up for it. We even invited our guests of honor from last year to be at our brunch this year at no charge. Our convention chairman made a speech, thanking everyone for attending and sponsoring, and then it was time to eat. Mission accomplished. Smiles all around and great vibes. Great conversation. What a relief!
Next came the fursuit parade, which Ringer led but I stayed right behind him since I know the hotel pretty much better than anyone at this point. Well, we got down to the lobby where our group photo was to take place and I looked down at the ground and kind of went, "HUH?". There were three steps leading down to the main lobby hangout space. So, to make sure everyone was aware of the stairs, Ringer and I stood there making bad stair puns for about ten minutes while everyone piled in.
After photos I got out of suit and headed to the poker tournament. I made a big deal about how I'd do the tourney but would have to play pretty quickly since I had a radio and could be called away in a heart beat. So I'm telling people this and I sit down for the first hand of poker and I had pocket aces. So I played super aggressively and got a lot of chips. I didn't make the final table but I did out last quite a few players. Not bad for not having played in almost two years.
Next came a panel I ran with Ridayah on MNFurs - our history and all the things that led up to wear we are now. We had quite a few people join us for that and they had lots of questions for us. There was also a mother in the crowd who was not a furry herself and was just there to support her son. She thanked us for everything we were doing for the community and... well... that was really great to hear. It's really great that she was supporting her son like that. And I was touched at her words and her gratitude for what we were providing for her son.
Alkora and I went to Brit's Pub for dinner, which is a few blocks north of the hotel. The food and atmosphere were amazing. On the roof of the building there was a giant lawn about 3000 sq ft with lots of couches and easy chairs around it. On the lawn they had "bowling" but not like in the states. "Proper" bowling =P.
Saturday evening one of our hotel contacts came up to us laughing and showed us a cell phone of her coworker. One of our other contacts who works mornings apparently snapped a few hundred photos of our fursuit parade and the rest of the hotel staff was telling her, "Jeez, you should register for the convention next year".
Also that night I caught some of the Fursuit Dance Expo and was blown away by how amazing people were. There is a moment every con I help with where something happens that gets me all emotional and I realize I made a difference. Seeing all the amazing talent and knowing that my hard work building a relationship with the Hyatt and planning things had made this possible - yep. This was the moment. A few moments of pure happiness for what I was a part of.
The night ended with another wonderful visit to the Furmented room party for some home brewed mead.
Sunday:
Was a blur. I had jury duty the following day so I had to leave the convention early and turn things over to Pat. I managed to catch Sike's panel on Volunteering World wide. She was recently on an aid mission to Africa which MNFurs helped to sponsor. This panel was on her travels - with lots of amazing photos - but also a message of HOW to volunteer locally and internationally. I'm in pretty deep with volunteering, and I learned A LOT from her during this panel. I'm thankful she did it. Unfortunately the scheduling of it conflicted with other programming so it wasn't very well attended. But I still appreciated it, and I know the others in the audience, although small, did as well.
Feedback:
We got SO many feedback forms from our attendees. Close to 100. Which might not sound like much considering we had 700 people attending. But still. Thank you! The general consensus seemed to be people had a lot of fun. There will be some tweaks next year - concerning con suite, the zoo, and signage I imagine. Some of these things has already been solidified with the hotel and within our organization. Some things are still getting figured out.
If anyone reading this went to FM and has feedback for us, please use the contact us form here:
http://www.furrymigration.org/contact-us/
And please give positive and negative feedback. If you loved something, we want to hear it. If you hated something, we want to hear about it too because we can't fix a problem if we don't know about it.
So in summary: I loved Furry Migration but I'm really glad it's over and I get a break for a week or two. =D
Just a quick note. This review is by me, one of the people running the convention. So it will be a unique review in that it's from the perspective of someone speaking as an attendee with experiences associated with being one, but also containing experiences on the staff side of things.
Welcome to the first Furry Migration. Or so it feels like. This is Furry Migration's second year, and there have been a lot of changes. The first change is obvious if you were at last years - we got a new hotel. Why you may ask? Well, there were many serious concerns with our first year hotel that happened but that convention staff did a really amazing job at hiding. You are just going to have to trust me on that. It's one of those things where I can't go into it just yet. I'll run a panel on it in another 5 years. Don't worry. So anyway, we moved to a different hotel because that was the right decision. So that was the most noticeable change. We also completely changed staff in the Registration and Volunteers departments. So, though this was our second year, in many ways it felt like an entirely new beast from the convention we did the year prior.
Below is what went down from my perspective.
Thursday:
Alkora and I got on site around 11am. We had our final meeting with the senior hotel staff at 1pm and wanted to be able to meet up with some of our friends beforehand at the hotel restaurant for lunch. Most of us got burgers and were not disappointed but the star of the meal were the fries which were seasoned with rosemary which really made them taste amazing - like a turkey dinner but in fry form.
The meeting between upper level hotel staff and our upper level staff went well and from there we went directly into setting up the convention space. Most of the work had already been done by that point from convention staff. My department co-head and I got checked in with security at the hotel dock and began coordinating with other departments and volunteers. Everything ran like clockwork. Videogames started moving in TVs, game systems, and pinball machines. Registration got their computers and printers in place. Mainstage, despite having a few minor issues arise, began getting set up. Time flew by. Around 9pm we had a staff photo shoot and around 10pm we had a staff meeting to make sure everything was going well. Afterwards, I ended up back in main stage while they were testing out all the lighting and getting sound levels figured out. I sat down with some good friends and had a GIANT donut that was the size of a cake. Got to chat for awhile with Wolever who came down from Canada for the convention. That was really awesome.
Friday:
Started by waking up at 7am and getting ready for my shift. I went down to the market (kind of like the Hyatt's version of a cafe) and picked up some dog bone shaped cookies and some sort of egg concoction. One of my contacts at the hotel got me starbucks coffee - which is a running joke doing business there. For the past year, our main contact there has tried to buy me coffee. But whenever I have a meeting with them to go over convention stuff, I'd arrive there early and get coffee on my own. So my main contact has never been able to buy me coffee. But one of her assistants managed it at the convention and my main contact was like, "oh I see how it is".
Calls started coming in over the radio around 8am to unlock convention space. From there main stage got things finalized for opening ceremonies. Some last minute signage was being printed. By mid afternoon I got in fursuit and went down to the lobby with my friend, Ridayah who was in his Sith outfit. We interacted with the non furries and that went pretty well. From there we went outside and took a walk in the park behind the hotel. Unfortunately most people just ignored us out there and after a while we came back in, parted ways, then I took a shower and checked in again with Pat, my department co-head, followed by a really amazing dinner at the hotel restaurant.
Later that night, I checked out the Furmented room party, and had some amazing home brewed beers.
Saturday:
This was my day. This was the one day where things were running so smoothly that, though I always had a radio on me, I got to just enjoy the convention as an attendee would. The day started with the Sponsor Brunch - in which there was a lot of pressure on my department to "get it right". The year before our sponsor brunch was pathetic and this year Pat and I had to work with the new hotel to make up for it. We even invited our guests of honor from last year to be at our brunch this year at no charge. Our convention chairman made a speech, thanking everyone for attending and sponsoring, and then it was time to eat. Mission accomplished. Smiles all around and great vibes. Great conversation. What a relief!
Next came the fursuit parade, which Ringer led but I stayed right behind him since I know the hotel pretty much better than anyone at this point. Well, we got down to the lobby where our group photo was to take place and I looked down at the ground and kind of went, "HUH?". There were three steps leading down to the main lobby hangout space. So, to make sure everyone was aware of the stairs, Ringer and I stood there making bad stair puns for about ten minutes while everyone piled in.
After photos I got out of suit and headed to the poker tournament. I made a big deal about how I'd do the tourney but would have to play pretty quickly since I had a radio and could be called away in a heart beat. So I'm telling people this and I sit down for the first hand of poker and I had pocket aces. So I played super aggressively and got a lot of chips. I didn't make the final table but I did out last quite a few players. Not bad for not having played in almost two years.
Next came a panel I ran with Ridayah on MNFurs - our history and all the things that led up to wear we are now. We had quite a few people join us for that and they had lots of questions for us. There was also a mother in the crowd who was not a furry herself and was just there to support her son. She thanked us for everything we were doing for the community and... well... that was really great to hear. It's really great that she was supporting her son like that. And I was touched at her words and her gratitude for what we were providing for her son.
Alkora and I went to Brit's Pub for dinner, which is a few blocks north of the hotel. The food and atmosphere were amazing. On the roof of the building there was a giant lawn about 3000 sq ft with lots of couches and easy chairs around it. On the lawn they had "bowling" but not like in the states. "Proper" bowling =P.
Saturday evening one of our hotel contacts came up to us laughing and showed us a cell phone of her coworker. One of our other contacts who works mornings apparently snapped a few hundred photos of our fursuit parade and the rest of the hotel staff was telling her, "Jeez, you should register for the convention next year".
Also that night I caught some of the Fursuit Dance Expo and was blown away by how amazing people were. There is a moment every con I help with where something happens that gets me all emotional and I realize I made a difference. Seeing all the amazing talent and knowing that my hard work building a relationship with the Hyatt and planning things had made this possible - yep. This was the moment. A few moments of pure happiness for what I was a part of.
The night ended with another wonderful visit to the Furmented room party for some home brewed mead.
Sunday:
Was a blur. I had jury duty the following day so I had to leave the convention early and turn things over to Pat. I managed to catch Sike's panel on Volunteering World wide. She was recently on an aid mission to Africa which MNFurs helped to sponsor. This panel was on her travels - with lots of amazing photos - but also a message of HOW to volunteer locally and internationally. I'm in pretty deep with volunteering, and I learned A LOT from her during this panel. I'm thankful she did it. Unfortunately the scheduling of it conflicted with other programming so it wasn't very well attended. But I still appreciated it, and I know the others in the audience, although small, did as well.
Feedback:
We got SO many feedback forms from our attendees. Close to 100. Which might not sound like much considering we had 700 people attending. But still. Thank you! The general consensus seemed to be people had a lot of fun. There will be some tweaks next year - concerning con suite, the zoo, and signage I imagine. Some of these things has already been solidified with the hotel and within our organization. Some things are still getting figured out.
If anyone reading this went to FM and has feedback for us, please use the contact us form here:
http://www.furrymigration.org/contact-us/
And please give positive and negative feedback. If you loved something, we want to hear it. If you hated something, we want to hear about it too because we can't fix a problem if we don't know about it.
So in summary: I loved Furry Migration but I'm really glad it's over and I get a break for a week or two. =D
Furry Migration Meme
Posted 10 years agoWhere are you staying?
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis (The convention hotel)
What day are you getting there?
Thursday morning.
How are you traveling?
Car.
Who are you staying with?
Alkora.
How is the best way to find you?
I'm staff so I'll be running around with a radio most of the convention. When I'm not on duty I hope to be fursuiting either as Aerak my Jedi Wolf, or a secret fursuit that I'm hoping will be done in time for the convention. ^^
Are there any panels you might be attending?
I'm helping to run "All About MNFurs" and "Starting a Furry Gathering in Your Area"
Otherwise, I REALLY want to attend "Write Now", "Building a Better Community", "History of Furry", and "Volunteering: World Wide"
What do you look like?
Like a human or like a wolf or like a fox depending on the time of day.
Will you be suiting?
As much as I can be.
Do you do free art?
If you can get me to do art, it's usually because I'm bored. If so, yes it will be free.
Do you do trades?
Nope
Do you do badges?
Sometimes
What is your gender?
Wolf... or wait, gender. Male
How tall are you?
6FT
Can I talk to you?
Who would EVER answer no? Of course you can talk to me. Costume making, fursuiting, event organizing, volunteering, and technology are some of my favorite topics.
Can I touch you?
If I don't know you, just ask before randomly hugging me.
Can I visit your room?
If I invite you, SURE! I probably won't invite a whole lot of people. I will be too busy helping to run the convention to spend much time in my room. And when I am in there, it's going to be a sanctuary! It's going to be like, OMG I can finally relax for a moment or two! =D
Can I buy you drinks?
If I'm not on duty, most definitely!
Can I give you stuff?
Depends on the stuff.
Can I hug or snuggle with you?
Hugs are fine if I know you or you ask before hand. Snuggles are like hundred dollars bills - don't expect me to be giving too many of them out.
Are you nice?
Super nice!
Do you have an artist table?
Nope!
Will you be going to parties?
If invited and off duty.
Will you be performing?
Every day there shall be a performance. =D
If I see you, how should I get your attention?
If you start reciting, "The Knight's Code" from Dragonheart you shall have all of my attention!
Where will you be most of the time during the day/s?
Everywhere.
Can I come with you for food/fun/etc?
If you ask and I say yes. =)
Can I draw in your sketchbook?
Yes, assuming I remember to bring it.
Can I take your picture?
Sure!
What's your goal(s) for the con this year?
Make sure we do not break the Hotel. Make sure everyone has as much fun as possible.
What's your food plan?
Go out for Hibachi at least once.
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis (The convention hotel)
What day are you getting there?
Thursday morning.
How are you traveling?
Car.
Who are you staying with?
Alkora.
How is the best way to find you?
I'm staff so I'll be running around with a radio most of the convention. When I'm not on duty I hope to be fursuiting either as Aerak my Jedi Wolf, or a secret fursuit that I'm hoping will be done in time for the convention. ^^
Are there any panels you might be attending?
I'm helping to run "All About MNFurs" and "Starting a Furry Gathering in Your Area"
Otherwise, I REALLY want to attend "Write Now", "Building a Better Community", "History of Furry", and "Volunteering: World Wide"
What do you look like?
Like a human or like a wolf or like a fox depending on the time of day.
Will you be suiting?
As much as I can be.
Do you do free art?
If you can get me to do art, it's usually because I'm bored. If so, yes it will be free.
Do you do trades?
Nope
Do you do badges?
Sometimes
What is your gender?
Wolf... or wait, gender. Male
How tall are you?
6FT
Can I talk to you?
Who would EVER answer no? Of course you can talk to me. Costume making, fursuiting, event organizing, volunteering, and technology are some of my favorite topics.
Can I touch you?
If I don't know you, just ask before randomly hugging me.
Can I visit your room?
If I invite you, SURE! I probably won't invite a whole lot of people. I will be too busy helping to run the convention to spend much time in my room. And when I am in there, it's going to be a sanctuary! It's going to be like, OMG I can finally relax for a moment or two! =D
Can I buy you drinks?
If I'm not on duty, most definitely!
Can I give you stuff?
Depends on the stuff.
Can I hug or snuggle with you?
Hugs are fine if I know you or you ask before hand. Snuggles are like hundred dollars bills - don't expect me to be giving too many of them out.
Are you nice?
Super nice!
Do you have an artist table?
Nope!
Will you be going to parties?
If invited and off duty.
Will you be performing?
Every day there shall be a performance. =D
If I see you, how should I get your attention?
If you start reciting, "The Knight's Code" from Dragonheart you shall have all of my attention!
Where will you be most of the time during the day/s?
Everywhere.
Can I come with you for food/fun/etc?
If you ask and I say yes. =)
Can I draw in your sketchbook?
Yes, assuming I remember to bring it.
Can I take your picture?
Sure!
What's your goal(s) for the con this year?
Make sure we do not break the Hotel. Make sure everyone has as much fun as possible.
What's your food plan?
Go out for Hibachi at least once.
What it takes to make a furry convention come together
Posted 10 years agoI wish I understood years ago, attending these conventions, just how much time and dedication it takes to bring one together. Even more so if you plan on being around 5 years down the road. I think about all the years I have attended Midwest Furfest, or the years I have attended Anthrocon. I wish I could go back and properly thank those people. I'm not just talking about the convention chairmans, but all the departments that make it happen. People just don't understand what it takes to make a large scale weekend come together for an attendance of hundreds to thousands of furries. And I think I speak for most event runners, in that that's precisely the point. If things are going well, you will notice us as little as possible. Some event runners are more "center stage" than others, but everyone just wants you, the guest, to have fun - hangout with friends, make new friends, have a good time. That's the most important thing.
So let's talk about Furry Migration. Furry Migration, for those who don't know, is a Minnesota based furry convention that is going into it's second year. Our first year we had a little under 500 attendees. Our second year, we are set to hit around 600+. I run "The Hotel Department", along with my co-head,
kitsunekla. We have a scary job that entails a lot of hours. Our job for this year's convention started while last year's was happening. Finding a new hotel. Kitsunekla and I emailed hotels, talked on the phone with representatives, visited and did walk throughs of hotels, received bids from hotels, negotiated for our convention, and in the end, signed with the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis - Sister hotel to the Hyatt Regency O'hare - current home to Midwest Furfest. This all was done over the course of a month or two of when last year's convention happened. A hotel selected, a contract signed, you might think our job was done. Far from it.
Next we setup meetings between the convention and the hotel. We find out what each department in the convention wants and we work with the hotel to provide it. We make maps and diagrams for the hotel to reference in setting up the space. We coordinate the electrical needs of the convention since electricity isn't cheap. We work with the hotel to cater special events like the Sponsor Brunch. We work with the hotel restaurant to provide tailored options that fit with our attendees. Then there's coordinating the room block - the number of different types of rooms, Guest of Honor needs, and so on. We coordinate load in/load out times with the hotel's dock space. And most importantly, we weigh each option with our convention's budget so that the convention doesn't go broke. And then at the convention, we are on duty as well - acting as a go between for representatives of the hotel and representatives of our convention.
That is the Hotel Department. I don't even want to tally the hours Kitsune and I have put into this. It's a lot. We each have put in close to 200 hours for Furry Migration 2015. 200 hours for one department.
Let's talk about other departments. Con Ops - develops and drafts procedures, both safety and security, radio protocols, and other things my brain can't wrap itself around at the moment. If the hotel department is Engineering, Con Ops is the Bridge. You have the Programming department that finds and coordinates with panelists, artist alley, dealers, main stage, web. The Gaming Department coordinates with game stores and individuals/organizations to supply games, tournaments, and other fun social diversions. You have your Dealer's department that spends countless hours coordinating with all the Vendors, seeing to their needs, setting up spaces for them. You've got the Main Stage department that sets up all the rigging for main stage, brings in all the lighting and audio equipment and sets everything up and coordinates with any programming that takes place on the main stage. Registration, that creates a system for people to use to preregister and then implements at the door registrations, organizes badge printing and sponsor bags and OMG lots of things. Our web department builds and maintains the website www.furrymigration.org and you can bet are already working to get next year's site online following this year's convention. You have Publications that coordinates the conbook - pretty much designing it from scratch and coordinating for artwork and content - not to mention helping coordinate convention badges, signage for around the convention, the restaurant guide... it's crazy. Our Treasurer, who constantly watches over things to make sure WE HAVE MONEY and that we stay on budget - not to mention handles tax forms and all sorts of annoying IRS paperwork. And then you have our convention chairman who oversees the entire ship and makes sure every department stays on coarse. He has to keep tabs on everything that is going on from every single department.
And all of that and you still aren't done. You have an event coordinator at the hotel - in this case, The Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, spending tens of hours gathering necessary staff, coordinating with them how we want the convention laid out. You've got hotel security, you have a guest room guru who is tasked with making sure all of our guests for the convention are centralized. You have the catering department at the hotel sourcing the food that the convention is going to eat.
It's just crazy. If you take the time to think about it. Just for one weekend, between the convention staff and hotel staff, THOUSANDS of hours of labor go into it. It's awesome. It's amazing. It is a HUGE accomplishment. When you think big picture here and all the moving parts... I get dizzy. It's incredible.
I personally love this. I can't even begin to describe how satisfying it is being a part of it all. It takes up so much time, but it is so worth it. Everything, the thousands of hours that go into planning just one event - it is all realized when -you-, not somebody else, but YOU, when you and your friends smile and laugh. All the work is just for that one moment.
One moment. Of pure happiness.
And that is why, in the end, YOU are the most important part of our convention, or any convention. You attending the convention, bringing YOU there - your personality, your humor, your laughter. Everyone running the convention; it's not about us. You are what matters.
So let's talk about Furry Migration. Furry Migration, for those who don't know, is a Minnesota based furry convention that is going into it's second year. Our first year we had a little under 500 attendees. Our second year, we are set to hit around 600+. I run "The Hotel Department", along with my co-head,
kitsunekla. We have a scary job that entails a lot of hours. Our job for this year's convention started while last year's was happening. Finding a new hotel. Kitsunekla and I emailed hotels, talked on the phone with representatives, visited and did walk throughs of hotels, received bids from hotels, negotiated for our convention, and in the end, signed with the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis - Sister hotel to the Hyatt Regency O'hare - current home to Midwest Furfest. This all was done over the course of a month or two of when last year's convention happened. A hotel selected, a contract signed, you might think our job was done. Far from it.Next we setup meetings between the convention and the hotel. We find out what each department in the convention wants and we work with the hotel to provide it. We make maps and diagrams for the hotel to reference in setting up the space. We coordinate the electrical needs of the convention since electricity isn't cheap. We work with the hotel to cater special events like the Sponsor Brunch. We work with the hotel restaurant to provide tailored options that fit with our attendees. Then there's coordinating the room block - the number of different types of rooms, Guest of Honor needs, and so on. We coordinate load in/load out times with the hotel's dock space. And most importantly, we weigh each option with our convention's budget so that the convention doesn't go broke. And then at the convention, we are on duty as well - acting as a go between for representatives of the hotel and representatives of our convention.
That is the Hotel Department. I don't even want to tally the hours Kitsune and I have put into this. It's a lot. We each have put in close to 200 hours for Furry Migration 2015. 200 hours for one department.
Let's talk about other departments. Con Ops - develops and drafts procedures, both safety and security, radio protocols, and other things my brain can't wrap itself around at the moment. If the hotel department is Engineering, Con Ops is the Bridge. You have the Programming department that finds and coordinates with panelists, artist alley, dealers, main stage, web. The Gaming Department coordinates with game stores and individuals/organizations to supply games, tournaments, and other fun social diversions. You have your Dealer's department that spends countless hours coordinating with all the Vendors, seeing to their needs, setting up spaces for them. You've got the Main Stage department that sets up all the rigging for main stage, brings in all the lighting and audio equipment and sets everything up and coordinates with any programming that takes place on the main stage. Registration, that creates a system for people to use to preregister and then implements at the door registrations, organizes badge printing and sponsor bags and OMG lots of things. Our web department builds and maintains the website www.furrymigration.org and you can bet are already working to get next year's site online following this year's convention. You have Publications that coordinates the conbook - pretty much designing it from scratch and coordinating for artwork and content - not to mention helping coordinate convention badges, signage for around the convention, the restaurant guide... it's crazy. Our Treasurer, who constantly watches over things to make sure WE HAVE MONEY and that we stay on budget - not to mention handles tax forms and all sorts of annoying IRS paperwork. And then you have our convention chairman who oversees the entire ship and makes sure every department stays on coarse. He has to keep tabs on everything that is going on from every single department.
And all of that and you still aren't done. You have an event coordinator at the hotel - in this case, The Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, spending tens of hours gathering necessary staff, coordinating with them how we want the convention laid out. You've got hotel security, you have a guest room guru who is tasked with making sure all of our guests for the convention are centralized. You have the catering department at the hotel sourcing the food that the convention is going to eat.
It's just crazy. If you take the time to think about it. Just for one weekend, between the convention staff and hotel staff, THOUSANDS of hours of labor go into it. It's awesome. It's amazing. It is a HUGE accomplishment. When you think big picture here and all the moving parts... I get dizzy. It's incredible.
I personally love this. I can't even begin to describe how satisfying it is being a part of it all. It takes up so much time, but it is so worth it. Everything, the thousands of hours that go into planning just one event - it is all realized when -you-, not somebody else, but YOU, when you and your friends smile and laugh. All the work is just for that one moment.
One moment. Of pure happiness.
And that is why, in the end, YOU are the most important part of our convention, or any convention. You attending the convention, bringing YOU there - your personality, your humor, your laughter. Everyone running the convention; it's not about us. You are what matters.
On a less introspective note
Posted 10 years agoHow's your summer going?
