It is a humiliating thing that I'm still laid off, and in counting the days, it has been 291 days of not being in the workplace!

I will have to be ashamed too because I'm living a lie-my parents do not know that I'm jobless basically, but I'm purposely away from them to have them believe that I'm still hired. However, I do want to not have my father know that I'm jobless as he has a short fuse and reacts to even the most miniscule things that happen in the house or sometimes in the countries he has been living in, even.

I'm hoping to get a new job soon so I can get out of this lie, but I will in the meantime do other stuff. The one thing that will affect me now is that I have a missed paycheck as a caregiver for my sister-I never got it in the mail and it was lost in it! ($1,100 not received! ) If I do not get it soon at a certain point, I will have to report the missing check to the government. It will be a LONG time as I have heard that there is a backlog in the state, and I may not get a response from them during this year- an official said that California bureaucracies are behind 4-6 months, and I should note this in the taxes if I never get it this year, but I will keep getting every way to get that paycheck-it is very valuable as you can see!

For the time being in terms of employment as I do want to have some fun with my money in being in the FF'dom in getting arts and also getting a replacement head for Cory wolf, I'm investing, and I'm trying my best in getting my money up so I can have more things for my future-I am expected to pay off my student loans this year, I will be contributing to my life insurance once I'm married and have some outside chance of having a child, and I will have some shot in making it easier to living on my own if I make smart money moves in both savings accounts and stocks. I do have a CD, and online high-yield savings accounts, and pretty soon, with the help of my mom, dad and aunt, I could get a house to be a shared landlord in the Caribbean country as an AirB&B or a rental space. In going with stocks, I will have to thank NVIDIA ( https://www.nvidia.com ) for its stock price shooting up-now it is possible it will shoot up again as they just this week have a 10:1 stock split- no more $1200 stock, but now a near-$127 stock as of the date this journal was posted. I advise you, if you have interest in investing, this is the stock to get with its A.I. future and innovation in computing and graphics. I'll tell you, the time to get it is NOW.

Outside of passive income, I hope to get direct income other than the caregiving to replace the loss I got last August from Good Eggs ( https://www.goodeggs.com ), and try something else. It was last Saturday, June 8 where I had some chances to get help. First, I went to audition for a play as I did have minimal experience in the performing arts, but the auditioner/casting member saw that I have potential after I read a poem about being broken. I did put feeling into it, and it was good to my ears, but the caster wanted more, and I did so, but what was something was that if I DIDN'T have potential to be in a play, they would NOT have brought out a costume for me to wear! (I DID, and it is likely that I may be in a rehersal! ) So it can of optimism that I can have a change of career, and if it is that I'm casted into a play and there are agents coming to see me perform, I could be going to Hollywood soon! WISH ME LUCK!

There was still more done on that Saturday as I had an alumni BBQ with graduates of the business school at St. Mary's College of Moraga, CA ( https://www.stmarys-ca.edu/ <academic/intercollegiate> https://smcgaels.com/ ). I did have the chance to meet with the faculty and even graduates and current students, but it would seem that I'm the only one in the cohort I was with; however, the faculty recognize me and I had a good time. As I did have a master's and I'm STILL searching for emplyment related to what I've studied, I did get contacts-even the Dean's name I got, and I even got a devoted career specialist's card to contact him whenever I need advice. Overall from at least 3 staff members and one alum that is working, me having a master's of accounting should NOT GIVE UP DESPITE THAT A.I. COULD TAKE JOBS. There are companies still needing the human (or furry) factor of accounting, and even though there are calculations, there is that bit of auditing that is needed and verification too. There is still tax to cover, and therefore despite that it is getting to scary times, IT IS STILL VERY POSSIBLE to be an accountant and not worry about a computer brain taking all the operations. I should keep trying! Also from that time, there was a raffle, but did not win, however, someone who won one GAVE me their prize! It was just a hat with a pin, but it's significant as I do like to collect hats and even shirts from schools that I got classes from to remember my educational history, so I will cherish this greatly!

If you have to know what I have as clothes and the place I got classes, this is the list:

Bachelor's-B.A. in Biological Sciences with Chemistry minor

University of Wisconsin, Madison: https://www.wisc.edu
University of Kentucky: https://www.uky.edu
University of California, Berkeley: https://www.berkeley.edu
San José State University (Got my actual degree here.): https://www.sjsu.edu

Associate's-A.S. in Business(Transfer) and Liberal Arts (separate)

Chabot College: https://www.chabotcollege.edu/

Master's-M.S. in Accounting

St. Mary's College (Got my actual degree here. [Yes, listing again for me to access it easily instead of going in the paragraph.]): https://www.stmarys-ca.edu
Colorado State University (As an extension.): https://extension.colostate.edu/ (I do not have any gear from this yet...)

Well, I have a LOT to offer, you know! So as I will need help in getting hired, I did get an e-mail from SJSU about how to appoach or change my career and get to know it better. Though, you can have a national collaborative, this is helping me big time: https://www.missioncollaborative.com/ . It does focus on myself, strengths and what talents I'm good at. I will be researching myself, butI'm doing the work on my own instead of having to have somebody paid to do the applications and resumes to get the job for me-it is MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE. This week is my last week of my required meetings, and it will be optional meetings thereafter, but I will take advantage of the optional ones too so I can be on the right track to having my dream job. I will see what happens. They are looking at what I did that last Saturday and would like to see my progress! Yes, it's good news I'll bring up, as you can see. So I hope I will in the next few weeks to see if really, I will be hired. Here's to hard work and luck!

Well, that's the end of this LONG journal!

If you did read all, I will gladly buy you cake! Likely tiramisu. (NO! NOT THE UNCLEAN "CAKE" ON SOMEONE! CLEAN UP YOUR MIND!)

For the potential emplyment I may get, do give me luck and thanks for the wishes!!

Let's bring out Matt Taylor again to discuss what I have tasted lately-

THE KOREAN (ORIENTAL) MELON

https://youtu.be/UG2T1sikQhA

By now, if you are in the West Coast-where I'm at, the most likely store that you will find such fruits will be Safeway/Vons ( https://www.safeway.com ). If it is that I buy such a different fruit from a different store, I will let you know, but this is the default store that I would get such rare fruits for. I did try Lucky (Subsidiary of Save Mart: https://www.luckysupermarkets.com/ ), and they do not have such fruits, and so the company that would market what the company Melissa's products ( https://www.melissasfarmfreshproduce.com/ ) that carry such rare fruits, will be found in the Safeway companies, who is owned by Albertsons ( ...who believe it or not, did gobble up Lucky before it was merged with defunct Supervalu and Lucky returned again!: https://www.albertsons.com/ ) AND NOW...

>>>For something that would have to be costing nearly $4.99, it will have to be good-but not always! When I found this one, I had not known what to expect after tasting the bland pepino melon, but I did give it a sniff and I did find it pleasing to my nose. For me tasting this fruit, I did not eat the peel nor the pulp that is with the seeds and threw them away. The next time I eat this, I will see if it tastes better, but REALLY, it was much better than I expected! It would be a little bit less tasty than the cantaloupe, but there is a good blend that will make me want to buy it again!

Matt did say that there was a cucumber taste to this one, but I did not get that according to my taste buds. It would be better than that cousin of the cucumber, and I do taste it similar to cantaloupe and honeydew-almost together. It may be too that this melon is easier to get everything in your body as after peeling it, there is minimal leftover waste. It goes down easily, and it's quite juicy! As I do see it as nutritious as well, it may not be the only time that I will be eating it-only, I will have to wait a little bit for the price to go down.

Overall, I will rate it as 5.6/6, and I like it! So to update the standings of rare fruits I have eaten:

11: Cherimoya
10: Dragonfruit
9: Papaya
8: Passion Fruit
7: Mangosteen
6: Durian

>>5: KOREAN MELON <<

4: Lychee (close to "MEH", but OK)
3: Kiwano melon (bit good)
2: Pepino melon (Bland)
1: QUINCE (RAW, BUT NEVER TASTED) (BAD!)


So if it is that there is an upcoming art of Alfred eating fruits as this can be cultivated OUTSIDE OF KOREA, I can guess that he can find this in a patch somewhere and enjoy.

....maybe steal it if he loves it so much?!

If I were Ashley and I decide to not be in the river and be in the seas/oceans, what would you do if I'd want to be on the surfboard or go close to you while you wade along the beaches as a human?

Yep, this is what I would want to ask you if this happens!
Of course, there would be no way that in the furry world that this lutrine species would get away from any talk! Consider it lore!

It is going on for some years now that the female sea otter with a numerical name #841 can be terrorizing or just wanting to have fun on surfboards. If it is that there would be some furry instance that could happen in real life, this would be it. From the news, it is that its mother who was exposed to friendly human interaction caused her to be this way, and it could be soon that the offspring she had could do the same. She is currently trying to hitch rides on surfboards, boats and other modes of transportation that are built for the water. And from some accounts, SCARING sea recreationists!

As it would be a bit detrimental that we should leave the wildlife alone and have them have their survival skills ingrained to fend for themselves and not be dependent on humans for protection. Although at a time, Enhydra lutris was on the cusp of being critically endangered, it was the ban of hunting its pelt that the populations are rising and it is the help of humans in general for conservation to have its populations higher and have a better future for the species.
Well, it is PROFESSIONAL SCIENTISTS involved in helping the sea ottter return to the oceans to have more rafts (floating together) and bevies and romps, but with the casual human interaction increasing, with this one, sea otters could be having some romps with humans! Of course, with Otter #841 able to escape capture several times, it could be a matter of time when perhaps it can educate other otters that humans are of no harm and can maybe evolve to be smarter and could act furry in RL to even mimic what humans do.

Already, there have been RIVER otters as pets (From the channel "Kosumet"):

https://youtu.be/z5tq-I3RJwk

....but SEA otter? With how it was getting close to extinction, and that one will have to have the right salinity for a pet owner to have such an otter, and that it can be more aggresive if one touches this species as they don't want their fur to be messed up (It is much more dense than a river's.), and provided that it would spend almost its ENTIRE life in the water, that would much less than 1% possible that one would own a lutrine species built for the ocean. So if it is that you would come to Santa Cruz or Monterey, CA and encounter Otter #841 and would behave like it wants to be your pet, abstain from interacting-DON'T be nice towards it and have it go. Just looking at it would be the only way to see that otter-I agree with what the wildlife agencies would say for it.

I feel it is intriguing for this otter to act the way it is, but this is a sign that otters would soon be furried and be more able to act like humans if they are in contact with humans so often. Of course with the many videos of otter owners recording their pets, they do seem to know what they want, and with the behavior that they kiss each other-EVEN A HUMAN MASTER (See this one-look for 1:17-AWWWwwww! : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX7ZVg2IoYw ), it is soon that these species despite a bit more clumsy on land, can be more adaptable and behave like Homo sapiens sapiens if evolution is positive for them.

We will see what Otter #841 will do in the years ahead if it keeps evading capture- will it cause other sea otters to act like her? Is the sea otter getting less scared of humans? Is it a sign that nature is starting to get more needy of humans because we aren't leaving them alone? Would our friendliness in RL and the presence of watercraft be detrimental for the species itself in general?
Do remember, if it is one animal that has a behavior that is not normal for the rest of the wild population, it can cause the others to take notice and may adopt the abnormality as well. As it is natural for sea otters to AVOID humans, this one is the deviant! If you are thinking that such a small animal in RL will not harm humans, you may want to think again as there are videos of otters in the Amazon as a group KILLING JAGUARS! As they do have claws and the ability to use rocks as tools, we'd better be careful on these species, you know. Related, but a different species, mountain lions (cougars/pumas) in the Americas are getting more and more prevalent like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE6JY1Lw0xc ...and we humans have no other choice for our defense to save our loved ones to kill them for such attacks. Hope otters will not up to that level of viciousness and vice, but let's hope that Otter #841 is just curious and would be playing around, because if it is that it makes such an attack and KILL, it will be a definite alarm for marine scientists, the IUCN and the public as its history of seeing humans via its mother could have a profound effect on both man and otter if it tells others to not fear man as many species of otters are socialistic. We'll see if they will hate humans if they all of a sudden turn anthro and have their furry personalities... or like and be friendly towards us if they have that mantra of "Don't eat (or harm) the hand that feeds you".


For such news of Otter #841, here is a website to start off with: https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/ne.....er/ar-BB1nfyxP
You can find more about this sea otter in such news searches.

There is so many things going on in my mind and that I can say that they should be brought up as interesting to the FF'dom. It can be of personal things, and there would be some that may be of questions to ask of all of you, and there are some conjectures (more than hypotheses) that I do bring that may be something to learn and think about. It will be that I do have more time on my hands, but it will be of good use.

I could be the serious type, but I will be trying to be more nonsensical as there are some who would put memes in their journals and other gobbledygook crap. In any case, here is what I have planned as upcoming journals:

>The notable animal making news in Santa Cruz/Monterey area: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10885274/

>Activities I have done while laid off (Status): https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10886022/

>Rating of rare fruits (I can have 3 in one journal, but better to have one for each.)
--Korean Melon: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10886005/

>Procrastination of furry stuff/funds (may vent)

>Second Life Avatar Comparison of my fursonas & why I'll say "No two avatars are from the same maker" (includes just-debuted Ashley)

>Why I feel love exists outside the human world (Possible 18+ content)

>An October wedding plan and how it can relate to ice hockey, and possible vacation plans

>TV game shows, boring summer on TV, series finales/shows I'll miss -https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10886928/

>Silly, joking journal (I don't know what it is, but I feel there should be, and I'll think of something! )

(These journals are in no particular order!)

The good thing here is that one overtowering family member is going to leave for vacation and I will not have to worry about them interfering with my desires and duties-they seem to be against what my mom and I would like to do for ANYTHING-even use force to say he's right.
If it is going to be that for 14 days despite having to be without my elder relative in the house, I may be not staying up late and orgnaizing my time better, and I could be in the FF'dom more.

Well, whatever floats your boat in the subjects I bring to you, hopefully you may come out with something after reading them, and I guess I made my job sucessfully done.
Anyway, for these, I will post on perhaps on a consistent basis-I can set a certain hour to when the next journal will debut, and I will hope that my mind will have less to remember and be less overwhelmed with facts. As a parting shot-remember from what I got from a teacher-if you have to destress and relax, best to write it down and come back to it and therefore you have info and your problems set aside so you can get new ones easier.

Get ready for lots of writing from me! Hope you appreciate or enjoy it!

(And yes, if you do want to come back to this journal to see if there is a topic covered, I will post the journal link right by it.)

The Mangosteen

...and NO, this is not related to the mango at all!!

Let's make a lively introduction to this fruit....
https://youtu.be/ZpI9bNlsQV8

This is a fruit with a hard violet/purple skin with a center that is lighter in texture, but the thing here is unusually, the actual fruit is the white center, and it is like an orange, but has 5 wedges that look like a star! For me in buying it at Safeway ( https://www.Safeway.com [If you're in my urban area in San Francisco, the El Cerrito location has it-go there to buy, one, but it will cost $4.99 for EACH!] I think they are mass produced, but as there are possiblities fo more wedges, maybe having more time for some to grow would be possible to get 5+. It is beautiful to see; I don't know how it will be to your nose if you search for a beautiful aroma, but I did not smell anything before tasting. If you search for one-look for a distinctive few leaves over the hard fruit that you have to cut with a knife to get in.

For me in eating this fruit, I would think it is good for a diabetic. There isn't much of a boisterous sweet, when I tasted it, but as it is dubbed "The Queen of Fruits" (King is Durian), I could like it. Some claim that it tastes like some hints of strawberry, pineapple and lychee-perhaps kiwi together, but it does seem to be on its own. I can tell you when you feel that white part, it can be a little "fluffy," if you see it, but not too much, and does get a tiny bit slimy, but it was a good fruit.
You will have to search for the seed sometime in the fruit, but the thin seeds are edible. You may find 1-3 seeds in a mangosteen. If you find the BIG wedge, that is where the one big seed you want to harvest to possibly plant to grow your own tree. Yes, to hear that in some areas close to the equator, one can grow a tree in a decade, it can be possible to grown in perhaps no farther north than North Carolina if you have the right conditions.

To hear from the video above that the hard rind CAN be used to be steeped to make tea, DARN! I would like to try that-I threw the outside away! Well, IF the cost of the fruit can be put down and it can be purchased by perhaps weight, I would be happy to buy more. It was a good try, and it may not be as boisterous as a kiwi and pineapple like it would have a taste for, it is still a fine fruit to have from time-to time, and it has it own delectable taste that anyone can appreciate, even Romeo would agree! A song about mangosteen? I'd be happy for that! If (The Artist Formerly Known As) Prince (Full name: Prince Rogers Nelson [1958-2016]) were still alive, he would do a nice song for this fruit as well like the time he did a song about what he'd find at the diner-as shown in the show, Muppets Tonight S2, Ep1 (Segment will start at 13:32):
https://youtu.be/cARhhf-ATT8

...if anyone can do a song for mangosteen like how he did for this even "Raspberry Beret" (Or here, "Raspberry SORBET"), I'd be downloading on Spotify!

So now, here is a rating for the fruits I tasted, updated today:

10: Cherimoya
9: Dragonfruit
8: Papaya
7: Passion Fruit

>>6: MANGOSTEEN<<

5: Durian (very good!)
4: Lychee (close to "MEH", but OK)
3: Kiwano melon (bit good)
2: Pepino melon (Bland)
1: QUINCE (RAW, BUT NEVER TASTED) (BAD!)

....and if I were to rate it, 5.5/6 as I do like the taste.

So yep, if it were not expensive, I'd be having it quite often, but I guess I should be in SE Asia to do so very often, but there's always the possibility that I don't have to go TOO far. I hope it can be less expensive. For Alfred being the fruit lover fursona in my lineup of 4, he'd be closing his eyes and be in Paradiso with this fruit. Hope that the art I may commission will be a good one of him eating this fruit!

If there are other fruits that I should try, go ahead and give me suggestions-I'll try to find them high and low to give them a try!

The lychee

And so, here is what Matt has to say about it....
https://youtu.be/LpJsZeU79Fo



So... it can be a bit subjective in terms of taste, huh? That can be true, yes. The thing here is that the fruit can be quite like the little "down to Earth" to my taste buds. In terms of me having to enjoy the fruit, I'd rather use the knife, then peel since I have short fingernails. Yes, it is quite an interesting little package- would it be like a visual euphenism of a testicle?! () I would really feel that when I found it at the Asian market, it was a bunch of them in a sieve-like bag, and it costed US$3.99. Well, if it is going to be planted and can be regularly found in select areas of the United States and Central America, it can be one of the cheapest fruits you can get.

Would I recommend trying? It would depend on how your taste buds are. For me, I can guess my bitter area of my tongue got me to taste it at first and I feel that it is not completely delicious. As it is termed a "soapberry", I can feel that it is what I would taste when I have it for a few seconds in my mouth-a bit of tasting soap. It will still be there, but after a few moments, I do taste the complete sweet from lychee. I can agree with Matt, it can somewhat taste like a grape, but that bitter soapy-like taste that I would compare with perhaps NutraSweet(TM), I think I can have something a bit better than this... It does go down easily, and I like it, but not as much as other rare fruits that I have tasted. The benchmark here is me tasting durian, and I would rather have durian over lychee, but better than the other melons I have on this list but BARELY IF NOT WORSE than kiwano melon. It gets plus points because of the seeds that are in that melon:

9: Cherimoya
8: Dragonfruit
7: Papaya
6: Passion Fruit
5: Durian (very good!)

>>4: LYCHEE<<

(close to "MEH", but OK)
3: Kiwano melon (bit good)
2: Pepino melon (Bland)
1: QUINCE (RAW, BUT NEVER TASTED) (BAD!)

For this case, it is 5.25/6 as my rating. I think I have tasted the juice of litchi, but it was SOOOOOOO different from the actual fruit I ate, so there would be too much additives to the lichi juice for it to be drinkable to the outside world.

Anyway, if it is in a future art with Alfred eating these fruits, He would be having an inquizitive, but a little puzzled mind over this fruit, and he'd be eating it all the available soapberries only if he has no other choice but to sate his hunger.

PS: The next fruit is MANGOSTEEN! It's VERY expensive- US$4.99 for one of these small fruits!

Yes, you may have seen this post before- this was from March 31. However, I have noticed that I do say some others that I may make myself distinctive, and therefore, I would like to list them here if you do want to get to know me. So yes, if you do find something I blurt below, that's me-enjoy! (New additions are shaded in yellow.)

Okay, if you are going to want to be closer friends whether or not we are in the FF'dom, it can be good to know a few things that I could say that will make my experiences quite fun. It can be traditions I have adopted over time, and I would go and say them when the time is right. For some, I would add gestures to make the moment resonate more. If you know me well, I may go a bit jovial at positive times, but once you get to know the appropriate setting, you'll understand. There are 5+2 that are synonym to me, and if it ever that I'm in fursuit and I say these, it is me underneath. So enjoy what I have put down, and don't be surprised that I could say these at some point! (Note that if they are in italics or capitalized, I would be shouting, or I could be in glee. )

1: "It can, it can, OH, yes it can!"

When it comes that one is in disbelief and that it is a casual setting and what I believe is 100% true, this is what I will say if the person is surprised, or wowed. ONLY when I hear the verb, "CAN", I will say, but it is when the person is happy as well. If you think this is familiar, you may have seen this from the PBS show, Between the Lions's episode, "Oh Yes It Can!":

https://youtu.be/KKE-9ancQjw
(I like Karen Kendel telling the story in her version of "Too Much Talk"- a West African folktale. You will find a book of this story done by the author named Angela Sheif Medearis in the library.)

2: "SCORE!!!"

I will say it instead of "GOAL!" if I do not want to say "YAY!". You will expect me to say this when there is a net and a goalie, and that the goals are for one point in the score. I will even point to the goal if I clearly see the ball or puck go in. It is likely you will hear this if I attend or listen to a world football (soccer) or hockey game of any kind (likely ice.) However, we cannot rule out lacrosse....

3:"May the Lord be with you!!"

(I would have my hands up in the air as if I were saying, "Hallelujah!")

It is when people in game shows are in the last part of the show and are playing the deciding round or the bonus round. Once there is a winner and the person is surprised and is amazed that they have won, once I hear "OH MY GOD!!" from them, then that will be what I will say as I'm Roman Catholic and of course, God has blessed them.
Do you think that my rejoice when this pair won be fitting for the occasion? I'd even say if there is more than one, "May the Lord be with you [both or all, or even, y'all]!"
Listen to 1:03 for the Double Showcase Winner on The Price is Right for these lovebirds for the "OMG!", and imagine me saying this! And what a bid too! Not bad of a haul, huh?
https://youtu.be/yijBK_34JfA

4:"GOT IT!!!"

(I would point at the victor.)

To keep with game shows, if the final round is timed, I will say this and point at the screen if I know the prize, and I wait in anticipation of the solve. Either the contestant beats the clock, or like "The Chase", the Chaser did not beat the clock and I'll say when time runs out. No, it will not be me doing that on "Wheel of Fortune" as I would be playing along. It does not have the same aura. I could use it if ever "Press Your Luck" primetime has the person reaching the $1 Million prize... (I hope it happens soon!)

5:"Let's get crazy!"

Do you recall the Fur con journal I posted?: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10780342/ Yes, that is my signature catchphrase! I first used it when the Warriors ( https://www.nba.com/warriors ) won the 2022 NBA championship, and I went to a makeshift gathering in front of the arena, Chase Center. I was fursuiting, but ruining the magic by not having Cory's head on while partialing, but I made that speech just before putting his head on me in front of the crowd and joining in the festivities. It was fitting, really! I did say this on the first day of FC when I first open the doors, and that would be what I will say before being in line for registration after going through the doors of a convention center that holds ANY FURRY CON whether I'm with other attendees or just solo. This was derived from the song, "It's About to Get Crazy" by Oh the Larceny:
https://youtu.be/F6y1uVZV1FM

6 (Sinister laugh ):"MOO-HOO-HA-HA!!!"

If you're really young-you won't remember, but for those that were alive in I think 1988, you may remember in the USA (and Canada) a show on the defunct block in the 1990's, Eek! The Cat, and the eventual compilation of the cartoon by Savage Steve Holland, Eek! Stravaganza. On one episode, there were a group of antagonists involved, and then there was an eventual event where the owner of the restaurant wants everyone out, and does not know who is the culprit in causing such disorder in the restaurant. The owner then makes a chef chase the patrons out-he gets the cleaver and makes this laugh-frightened, the patrons ran away from him and spilled into the street, they were gathering others along the way and the chef keeps on chasing with his MOO-HOO-HA-HA laugh! It was eventual that everyone in the chase had crashed into something, causing a pile of mess. That trailing chef then stopped chasing to see what happened and was calm. He said to all that he wants nothing to do with this, and may say that that was a justified punishment for all of them in the pile of mess. He walked away, back to the restaurant, relaxed.
I felt that this was goofy, but it was distinctive enough to make it my signature evil laugh, and it is unlike the "Mua-hahaha!!" that is used in mainstream. So that is my own way of being evil, and it can scare some. My mom does not like it, though!

7:"Cutie-wootie!"

If it is something that is adorable or lovable, and even fun, this is what I will likely say. Now it will give more emphasis than just saying that something is "cute", but if it is sweet and can make me blush, then this would be something that will have go far as being a little childish to make me go "Ahhh!" or "Awww!" I would make my voice in higher tone or squeaky when I say this. I will type up whenever I see arts, but it can be any time when I encounter in RL something winsome like a beautiful baby or a flower...

😌

So, do you think that this art is cutie-wootie to you? : https://www.furaffinity.net/view/56668262/

Be ready if I do these at some time-don't be surprised!

After seeing that if you try to eat quince, it is not tasty at all, and it would make you be in discomfort thereafter. You will have to cook the fruit to enjoy. So it is by default that for that fruit it will be 1 as NOT delicious. I will have my ratings as when you eat them raw. I have taken what was on YouTube and trust them, and despite that not anytime soon that I will eat that fruit, I have instead got a substitute-

cherimoya.

Quite expensive! If you were to buy the fruit in a supermarket like at my neck of the woods, Safeway: https://www.safeway.com , the cost per pound is US$9.99/ pound (or US$0.0220/gram)- I paid for one, US$6.20 approximately! Well, let us see how it is via an introduction:

https://youtu.be/MpiSGJ7RVhI

Do note that he did not taste it first before ripening. If it is that you buy it green, you would have to let it ripen to a near-black color-I got this advice from my mom, who was eating this while in her home country she loved them. Be careful, the seeds ar poisionous-DON'T EAT! And basically, you may not want to eat it every single day anyway because if you do take too much of it in your diet, there will be a chemical that will cause brain lesions if you eat too much of it. However, once every week would not hurt you. Don't eat the skin-not really tasty.

After tasting it ripe, it was sensational!! So what if it was like custard? Well, to me, when I had to scoop it up to eat, it was like I had mango, apple, and a little bit of banana mixed in. The fruit can be grainy like sand, but it will not harm your teeth- think of it aw grain 800-1000 if you try sandpapering your tongue (Not that I recommend it! BUT...) When it is that you get the center, or have the "clove" area, it is where you would want to avoid- not too tasty ; but overall, it was fantastic, and on some occasions, you can make ice cream from it! I would be delighted to let it ripe as much as possible before spoilage, but this is something to enjoy. Hope it won't be the last time you eat it if you eat the seed-do call the poision center immediately if you accidentally eat it.

Overall, this was a 5.8/6, and it was something that one can enjoy in a cocktail if you were in the tropics as they are from there, but you CAN grow them in your backyard if you are lucky-but it would be well worth it as it was expensive when you buy them at the market. It does not stop me from trying it again, and I will remember to ripen it before eating for the best taste. So in terms of ranking, this is what I put- and unfortunately for quince, I will say bad despite not tasting it before ranking, but this is MUCH riskier than durian:

>>8: CHERIMOYA<<

7: Dragonfruit
6: Papaya
5: Passion Fruit
4: Durian (very good!)
3: Kiwano melon (bit good)
2: Pepino melon (Bland)
1: QUINCE (RAW, BUT NEVER TASTED) (BAD!)

Give it a try! For Alfred who is a fruit eater, he will love this! (He will be in an art eating this soon!)

There are many varieties of passion fruit- I got the one that is common in North America- the one with a purple/violet rind.

In some ways in having to have the fresh fruit, I can feel that if one sees the color purple, then that is FALSE juice, the companies trick you in having to drink its juice that would be of a dark color inside- NO, it is green and yellow! And yes, do take a look when Matt explains and cuts one up:

https://youtu.be/r8kKiKhO9Js

To believe when I shop at Safeway ( https://www.safeway.com ) it was US$3.99- FOR ONE! (Keep in mind that Matt bought this 4 years ago.... OY, INFLATION!) Because of the cost and that there is just little fruit inside, it would not seem to be worth it to buy on a regular basis. If it is to go and have a experiment now and then to get this fruit, do it. BUT YES, BY ANY MEANS, IF YOU ARE ABLE TO SAVE THE SEEDS AND GET SOME OF YOUR OWN, DO IT HOMEGROWN!

IF you feel that the first time you taste it is well worth having, on a regular basis, I would feel that the taste is what might turn you on to make you want to get your own. From what I taste in passion fruit, it would remind me of lemon, but SWEETER- there is that sourness, but truly, the seeds you would get in this would be more tasty and blend in well with the pulp. If you do scoop out the fruit, you will get some of the flesh, and it does not seem to alter the taste much. There is no aftertaste, and it would seem that the fruit does have its tiny bitterness, but overall even though it is low in sugar, it does have a good taste. No matter how this is eaten-either spoon it and eat directly, or have it in juice, it is satisfying to my tastebuds. It won't have much robustness in juice content like a lemon would or any type of citrus, but as it is that the seeds are eaten and that there is good nutrient content in the fruit, it will be well worth it to try and grow this yourself after you do have one-try and spit out a seed if you can. It smells sweet with its distinctive flavor, but robust, and with what I described as its flavor, it would be the same thing.

Overall, it would have its own taste, and you can bet that if you are successfully able to grow your own, you get your money's worth. I would rate the fruit as 5.6/6, and it is above average, but for the previous fruits I have eaten, if there is not enough fruit inside, there would not be too much to enjoy, but it would be fine if you want fiber.

So here is the ranking of all the fruits I have eaten, and from here on out, I will go ahead and numerically put which ones I like from least (1) to best (∞):

6: Dragonfruit
5: Papaya

>4:PASSION FRUIT<

3: Durian (very good!)
2: Kiwano melon (bit good)
1: Pepino melon (Bland)

Very soon, I will say what I would hate if I find a fruit that is not delicious. All of the above are at least OK, but I will put perhaps the puke emoji for the one that is bad:

🤮

Hopefully, that will never happen if I do puke out a bad tasting fruit- it would have been durian, but luckily it was surprisingly good, and fruits so far are fabulous to the taste! It will be time soon to no longer eat empty-calorie snacks soon...

NEXT UP-QUINCE!

It can be a bit prickly, but here we go, it is time to try....

THE KIWANO MELON....

and here is a different person trying the prickly fruit...
https://youtu.be/0Oe3Tu-xKNU

Call it horned melon too, but this is an interesting fruit, really. In the case of how expensive it is, yes, I got mine quite pricey, however, I was lucky to get it on sale. To imagine that it does give some health benefits, it can be a fruit that one can enjoy at times when it is one that would want some adventure in their life.

For me, yes, I did, and well, it did have a little bland smell after I did eat it half of it, and it wasn't that tasty. It did have some taste like a cucumber, but it at first was less tasty than the pepino. Fast track to the next day, somehow after putting it in the fridge after eating half, the other half somehow did taste better, and it had more of a light citrus taste to it. I did not know that the seeds were edible, and I unknowingly had to spit them out. It was an imaginary endless way of separating the gel from the seed; you will have to take little by little to get the fruit. If you wouldn't mind it, they would be great for you to have to plant and grow your own kiwano melons in the future. From one, if you do take away the prickly skin, the whole melon is edible like a cucumber. However I chose not to and if there is a next time, I will do so. Truly, in the aspect of taste as I did not eat the seeds, the green gel would behave like aloe. There is a little bit of film when you finish eating it-you will see it on the spoon. For a first timer, one can say that if you let it be for a day after cutting, it is tastier, but also if you use salt, it may be tastier as well.

Anyhow, as it can be that it can be good sometimes, it can be at points, like a strawberry, but strawberries are tastier, really. Overall, I would say a 5.2 and it is OK, and it is good, but it can be a bit better. So to rate my fruits, this is how they stand:

Like/love: Papaya/ Dragonfruit

OK: Durian (very good!)
Kiwano melon (bit good)
Pepino melon(Bland)

HATE!: (nothing yet)

What got me to put it lower is the consistency of the taste-if it were open and left for a day in the fridge, it should not have changed its taste. I can bet that if nature were to give the kiwano more sugar, this would be like eating grapes with seeds. Anyway, it may not be soon that I will eat it again, but I can give it another try.

Up next: the last fruit I bought- passion fruit.

Here comes something that one would not see every day-

THE PEPINO MELON.

This time, let's have Emmy talk about it:

https://youtu.be/oRfIOfMjQU8

Well, it will not matter if you decide to let it ripen, it will still taste a bit like a tarty fruit. I was imagining that it will be like the honeydew or cantaloupe melons, but I would be right that it will be like cantaloupe-LESS in flavor however. I can agree with Emmy that it will taste like cucumber, and a little bit of tomato, but it would be more cucumber to my taste buds. The thing to know is that cucumbers are in the same biological family as the melons, so their characteristics can be similar. And well, we do have a cousin for the cucumber in terms of taste! NO, it was not at all sweet, but you can say that it is edible, anyway. Well, if you do compare it with the durian that I had earlier: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10840162/ , this one does have an allowable smell, but not really something that your gustatory sense would be pleased to have, especially the sweet area of the tongue. No, I did not throw up after eating this, but I would feel that this is more of a vegetable in terms of culinary sense. It is more of so-so; I don't like it, nor do not not like it, but if it is that you are struggling with diabetes and would like something that is less sweet, I could figure that this fruit would be for you. I do not know if the peel is edible, but I think it is as it is thin compared to the other melons and watermelon. So it would be soon that when I eat it whole on my last half, I think there is a benefit as you can get the fiber from there.

And do note that she said kiwano melon- THAT IS MY NEXT FRUIT TO TRY. BUT, nope, if there's those spikes on it, there would be no way I'd go house and home to eat the peel!

In the meantime, I can rate this fruit as the lower end- it is good, but I could use it for something else. Cook it? I could think so as it has some cucumber-y taste... If there are recipes for cucumber, this could be a replacement for something interesting... However, if it is to be eaten raw, Alfred would have a slight wince and raise an eyebrow if he ever tastes this one. In terms of the ISU former figure skating rating, I would say 4.8/6. Well, it can't go to waste, but I won't really have the torture of eating it as it is small.

So to give the standings of how the fruits I tasted are:

Like/love: Papaya/ Dragonfruit

OK: Durian (but good!)
Pepino (Bland)

HATE!: (nothing yet)

Keep in mind that this fruit is quite expenisve as I have paid for one, US$5.99! Well, it may not be worth the money to eat it again raw, but it was a good experiment on this one, and I don't feel sorry in eating it. At least I have a journal to go back to if I ever forget how it tastes, and you get to see my take on it.

Today, was the test in having a notorious fruit be eaten that has been imported from Indochina and the Indonesian archipelago-

DURIAN!

_{...bum bum buuuuuuuuum!!!}

As long as I have chiefly herbivore Alfred with me, I will gladly go ahead and have such fruits from around the world, and I will gladly be trying it whether it has a stinky smell or not, and this fruit is no exception...
Let's see how Matt Taylor would describe the fruit:

https://youtu.be/1O_9YnHkzl4

For my take...
I did buy it 3 days ago and it was in the freezer, but I did however let it defreeze for a day or two. After that, the spiky fruit did get softer, but I could have let it ripen a little bit more. As Matt had said, if the durian does start to crack, it is ready-I did not let it crack. Notwithstanding, I did enjoy it anyway and opened it the way it was. For this one I opened, there were 5 pods, but ONLY 4 FRUIT PULP.
Still for something that is US$3.69/pound (I paid $27.50 almost for one!) it had to be good as there would be the good fat content and the high vitamin C in it as well. In some varieties, there can be red or orange pulp, but yellow is the most common and I got that.

Well, how does it taste?

If you recall me journaling about my time at Further Confusion, I went to the International Snack Exchange, and had a durian snack: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10783107/ , and it was delicious. Either you like it or you don't. This would apply to the fruit itself. I can guess that the white pulp would be the one with the most stink, but if you do taste it and not have the seed, for my taste buds, it is as sweet as that snack I had at that FC panel! It would be less, but still, if it were a comparison of tastes, I can guess that it can taste like a mix of avocado and mango together. Since it does have fat, it would be expected to be like an avocado taste, but sweeter. Whether or not you classify avocado as a fruit, durian can derive from that, and it is tastier!
As Matt did say that it has some sort of egg in his description, I did not really taste any. It can be later that there would be a tiny bit weird aftertaste, but I can feel that it's palatable, and in some cases, tangy. Do remember though, the seed you'd find is NOT edible. It is delicious enough to say that it is possible to have both nutritious and delicious together like the old Iron Kids Bread from Rainbo in the years past. Good luck cutting it up for composting, if you do!

I do like it- it may not be as yummy as a dragonfruit, or papaya, but really, I can have this fruit in the future again! So if it is that Alfred will be in an art that eats this rare fruit that he COULD have if he does have the ability to cut open, as my fursona, he would like it, but it won't be like he would be crazy to like it like he would see an apple or grape like in RL on YouTube.

On my rating with 6 as highest, I would put it as 5.5. If it were less spiky and had more pulp, maybe I can give it a higher rating. However, it is a healthy fruit, and truly, it does deserve to be "King of Fruits" according to my taste buds. I will say OK on my rating, but I will list them in a way to put them in order of best to worst soon:

Like/love: Papaya/ Dragonfruit

OK: Durian (but good!)

HATE!: (nothing yet)

Be ready to shell out money to enjoy it, but as there is inflation woes going on, if you are able to find one at an asian supermarket and are willing to take the chance in having an exotic taste, PLEASE BUY IT NOW before it gets too expensive. You will not feel regret if you do it now. Hope you like, and time it right to get the best taste in durian.

>>PAWGODA: https://twitter.com/ChavapaBearTW/status/1769770704935755884?t=oVZ4BLqSyFe-B3zp5x6Bbw&s=19 <<

For those that are  Bayfurs, we do have something special that is announced-it is quite new! As it is in the higher part of the hill there and is in the vicinity of Geary Boulevard, it will be fun to try out for the fine Oriental restaurants there, especially Benihana that I've been to once: https://www.benihana.com/locations/.....ancisco-ca-sf/ . Obviously, for this place is quite storied and that there is some overlap between the Anime'dom and the FF'dom, this would go well and will last long-term. It may not last this long in terms of hours when it comes to perhaps late fall to early spring (Likely November [depending on when Daylight Saving will end-1/7 chance] to March, maybe), but I'm sure that furries will make most of the meet until dusk. One thing for sure, if you do have to go to this meet, do check on the weather in April, but after- from May to September, 70% of the time, there won't be rain while Pawgoda is held. So, if you are an San Francisco Bay Arean or visiting to be in the area, do give this a try!

For me, I won't as I have lots of work to do personally, like lots of tax forms to fill out, but I hope all will calm down come the next one, in which May the 4th be with you all. If that does not work, DEFINITELY June 1 if the meet is still held. Hope you enjoy if you go, and hope I will in May or June!

Here's a picture of the March Pawgoda-taken by  Skyite_Ovexion-WOW, a lot!: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/56132202/

This was shown on the US channel, Fox on March 20, 2024: https://www.fox.com/animal-control/

Oh, just one minute?! At least there was not much that would make us react a little bit to say that this was a cringeworthy episode of the show... I do feel disappointed, but it could be of a good thing.

If you are going to pick up on the show in this season, and this episode, it is the cold open that you will have to see the furry night party at the house. For this one, the FF'dom is not the primary premise of the episode despite that there are some antics that sometimes occur from the wild animals that would try their best to make them furry. So it is just two minutes for you to see the quite short exposure to the FF'dom to the fans of Animal Control. It is worth spoiling as it will be a waste of time to go ahead and watch the cold open-I will put the whole story here:

In the beginning, Frank (Joel McHale) and "Shred" (AKA: Fred- Michael Rowland) were on duty and Frank did not want Shred to order food-it will cause another assignment to come up. Shred did this and in just seconds, the two were assigned to go to a disturbance-an unattended barking dog was disturbing neighbors in Grove Place in Seattle. Shred had pity on himself, and Frank being a bit shrewd did warn him and wanted to get the spotlight.
At Grove Place, once the two arrived, they were let in, and Frank did titter when he saw what was inside before entering-FURSUITERS! In here, nearly everyone was in partial-so few were in fullsuit, and nary a person without one. Shred says that it is a little late for a children's party when he took a good look around the environment while inside with Frank, but it could be that Frank knows about it, and says to him that it's a furry party-Shred looks confused.
Eventually, the two have found the dog barking outside, which is sitting at the sliding door entrance. Then a horse fursuiter came-he has a mane of gold, pink and green, and was wearing a large gold chained necklace with an open pink t-shirt.
"Hey, can I help you?"
Frank said, "Oh, goodness- I certainly hope not. Are you the pony in charge?"
Pony fursuiter says, "Yeah."
Frank says, "We got a dog complaint."
All of a sudden, a basset hound dog fursuiter who was in grey, tan and black eared fur in a leather jacket comes who overheard this and responds, "Hey man, I just got here."
"Uh, the one not in leather," says Frank who points at the dog barking outside.
"Yeah, that's Dexter. I had to put him outside, he was humping everyone," says the pony.
"Yeah, I could see how that could create a weird sexual energy," he said a little exasperated after hearing the news.
"Yeah," said the pony.
Then weirdly on Shred, the dog fursuiter was looking at him and touching him on the shoulder quite sultrily; it would seem that he would like to dance with Shred. Shred was nervous seeing the fursuiter act towards him, and he was smiling a little bit in embarrassment. He responds while patting his paw that was on his right breast, "Sir, please don't make me put you in a crate."
Frank successfully held in his laughter after Shred made that remark, however, craziness ensued...
The dog fursuiter happily shouts, "Hey guys, he's going to put me in a crate!" Then, everyone in the party cheered jumped, and happily shouted, "Crate! Crate! Crate!" except Shred and Frank. That dog fur was still giving some feelies on Shred, and he was caressing Shred's neck and face.
"This is getting away from us," said Shred to Frank.
"All right, here's what we're going to do," Frank said. He continues after seeing a fullsuited squirrel near the barking Dexter at the sliding door, "Chipmunk!"
The squirrel did not respond and Dexter kept barking.
Frank corrected himself and said, "Sorry, Squirrel by the window!"
The silent squirrel did respond by turning towards Frank, and as if saying, "Me?", he used both hands to point at himself.
"Can you move to another room?"
What would be a bit of a happy agreement, the squirrel sauntered away from the sliding door with that dog still barking. (Do look sharp at the lower right of the TV screen- the pony fur was there, and he actually waved to the squirrel that was leaving.)
After a few seconds of the squirrel not there, Dexter stopped barking, and may have whined with a lick on his nose.
Frank responds to the pony fur satisfyingly, "We did it, we solved the problem. This is why we get up in the morning."
Meanwhile, Shred was still with that dog furry that was in leather. The dog fur was SO comfortable with Shred there that he was doing some happy squeals and moans when he got some scritches. Shred himself was still uneasy getting cuddled by a fur, but just when he was about to get used to it, Frank nudged him out to snap out of it.
Frank said, "You're on duty, let's go," and he pushed him out of the area. >>END

>> According to IMDB ( https://www.imdb.com/title/tt311897.....ef_=tt_eps_rec ), the pony was played by Babak A. Motamed (An Iranian, WOW! ), and the basset hound was Mindu Dias (II).<<
~~~~

To respond to this, uff! That hound in leather would be a little bit too far on how the FF'dom would be. I know it is supposed to be comedy, but yes, it is a bit of consent being broken, and to bring up the crate, that would be more adult if one's mind is unclean. I would not believe that Prancing Skillitaire would be this erotic. At least for the furries there, other than the crate joke, the music and how everyone mingles to talk and dance was sensible. I would think that there was a fursuiter in blue with horns that was familiar. I would not think that was the fursuiter that have attended FurCon several times in the past.
Clearly, it would be a mocking of what the FF'dom is all about, but it was not like the CSI episode that made an uproar few decades ago. Overall, it was short but the issue that was a little bothersome is the basset breaking the rules of consent to go touchy-feely; at least it was not like "grooming", but it warrants a few to say "Excuse me?" to some that watched. I know it was supposed to have humor, but they could have been better than that...

It dawned on me that of course, red pandas are fruit lovers, and I am going to include more fruit in my diet in real life, so it would fit in that soon, he will would have to be in for fruits that I would like as he would be more of my real self. Of course, when I have tried dragonfruit, I liked the taste, and I have journaled about it a long time ago: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/8811202/

Well now, here we have a new fruit that is exotic in my neck of the woods-PAPAYA!

I did try it today, and as it will be St. Patrick's, luck was on my side to eat it while ripe, and I LOVED it. I did hear that though the peel is less tasty, all of the fruit is edible. The pulp would be the main thing to eat, but there is also the seeds that you can eat as well. From my taste buds on the pulp, it was tasty like a cantaloupe melon! For this one, I got the one from México, and they look big, but they are well worth its weight in gold. As there are PLENTY of good things if you eat the pulp and seeds, this would be a regular fruit for many. It is hard to determine that it is not on a mass scale like bananas for tropical fruits, but if you do get one, it is really good. Sure, you can get them in tropical fruit cocktails, but having it fresh is more deserving to get all the pure benefits from it.

So for this case, Alfred WILL like papaya! It is not just apples, bananas and grapes that they eat when you see the YouTube videos of keepers feeding red pandas! So, upcoming, it will be Alfred enjoying these fruits that are hardly found in the USA and Canada! If you remember me doing a journal from Further Confusion where I had a snack that contained durian-I liked it, and even though they have a bad rap with their smell, I will want to taste a fresh one soon, and if I like it, then I will have one do an art of how I got to taste one!

So soon, every time I go and try a new fruit, I will list it on my journals as "(Rare Fruit #N)", then the name.

After I do judge it, I will put as like/love, OK or hate. No grading this time, these are for the movies I see.


So here is what I have:

Like/love: Papaya/ Dragonfruit

OK: (nothing yet)

HATE!: (nothing yet)

I will find them from one YouTuber chef that goes by the name of Matt Taylor on "In the Kitchen with Matt."
So if you want to hear how to eat papaya, here is how with Matt-
https://youtu.be/M8g7B7Ucr
...I hope to find a mangosteen-I'll need all the luck in the world!

(And yes, as we speak of luck, Happy St. Pat's Day.)

First of all, if you are looking for Finn the Panther, he isn't here on FA. However from a few of the people that know him he does do good informative videos. If you do want to go ahead and watch and to see his X (Twitter) account, it's on his YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@FinnThePanther . I can say that after I saw this vid below thanks to the YT algorithms, this was worthwhile! This vid at the time I posted is 2 weeks old:

https://youtu.be/0gg-LYUBeDU

WATCH FIRST BEFORE READING BELOW!

...AND NOW, MY RESPONSE:

WELL...

It was well said that what we would see at cons and meets is a preconceived notion that the FF'dom is a place where the extroverts are, but it does seem to be quite like a stereotype. I mean, even by taking tests online on https://www.16personalities.com and https://www.idrlabs.com/test.php , consistently, I do list as introvert- taken 5-6 times on the first site, I'm most tests, I'm INTJ-T, and on the other, it is INFJ after one test. So it would hit me a bit hard that I could have the disadvantage of being tired when I am in a social setting for too long-and yes, it has happened, I was in a conversation panel at FC few years ago, and after talking to perhaps the 5th person, I was getting exhausted and maybe dizzy. I could think that I will need water, but clearly, the aura around me was too much and my energy was being sucked; so yes, THERE IS SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH FUN. So it is to relate that there are times when you don't need to overdo, and one will have to know their limits.

To continue on that note as Finn does say that the FF'dom is a place to open up and to be yourself and try some ways to improve on oneself socially, but you would go and say that you would love oneself when you have such activities and meeting others while in the FF'dom-it is not just being in conventions and meets, Finn even says that you don't need a fursuit to take advantage of being here. True that, even though I would have Cory as fursuit, it is a way to meet others before having to meet with the actual person sometimes. However, do give it some try when it comes to having to be out of fursuit or have none at all-as long as you are in a place that you all have something in common with, you can eventually have enough friends that you can click with online and it can be eventual that you can meet with them face-to-face. No, this is not the same as being shy, you can be shy and be extroverted.... If you are shy, then the meets and conventions would not be for you-if you do have to get out of your shyness the FF'dom is a good way to be out of it as many are accepting. Shyness is never the same as introverted, it is just that the notion of approaching others, how to initiate conversations, how you would like to be portrayed in such a conversation- be central or at the side, or be comfortable one-on-one or in a group conversation that would help you in being in a social situation comfortably.

I can relate to Finn- sometimes it is going to take some work to be out there, and if you do look at that iceberg comparison-it does show that you're not alone-many of us in the FF'dom are quite quiet. However even society is this way in the USA-I have seen a source where there are more introverts than extros in the population. Would it be that the USA is reserved and like a clam to others, proverbially? Probably not as communication is key for the country to run well socially. But do note the other meme that was funny that would relate to what would many people would do as introverts-the idiomatic "ride on the extrovert's coattails." As it would be important to network in employment, it can be said in the FF'dom in order to gain friendship. It is clear, you as an introvert will have to master what Dale Carnegie would write in his book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People", but like Finn says, it is not a good idea to go dive into the deep end, and even risk having mental injury (behaviorally)-take your time and you will be comfortable. It is all a part of getting used to such social situations as well, but how you would acclimate and accustom yourself to the fandom you are in-it is not just here, but in other ones as well.

A final thing I will say as well is that though Finn did not touch on this, it will be good to do such self tests regularly and though it can vary in what your personality is from site to site, they can meet at a common ground. Do pay attention to the end of such tests you will get, like the archetypes, temperaments, personalities and then some. If it is that the advice they tell is valid, you may definitely have to follow it for your own good so that you will apply it to your experience in the FF'dom and to life overall. Going back to the FF'dom, although there are those that can be the minority in terms of relating occupations, statuses, orientation, gender makeup, class, race, etc., try to put these out the window; some can be stereotypical. If you believe that you would not belong in a place where you presume that the fandom is composed of extroverted white guys that are single, part of the LGBTQIA+, younger than 30 and are engineers-ignore it. There is a place for everyone, and it is up to you to find it. Introverts will be having a harder time, but if you as one do put the effort, you would be integrating with the furry subculture comfortably if you know thyself in both strengths and weaknesses, and you capitalize and improve on them, respectively.

You can note that you have a world ahead of you, what you make of it in the FF'dom will be recognized by others-you have a lot more to offer than you think as being an introvert-just let yourself shine in your own way, and life is always a learning experience. Don't let being introverted hinder you from enjoying things and keep you in finding successs in what you do-like bothersome Barney Dinosaur and Elmo Monster (The Not Too Late Show with Elmo) in their own shows, you're special. The FF'dom, if you take out the toxicity, can be a place for both intros and extros to mingle easily-you just have to find your style and people will like you for it. Overall, to answer Finn's titled question, YES, you can be introverted, and you can survive and enjoy the FF'dom.

(I hope Finn appreciates my response. I like what I wrote. )

This was the announcement from the previous journal: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/9772353/
I did plan this for today. I did feel that after 9 years of being in the FF'dom, I feel that I will accept NSFW. OF course if you have followed me since 2016, I have started getting into such art since May 2016. It was going all right for me, and I was able to avoid the public and even family, and so I am responsible for my actions. I have no problem of yiff going on, and all the love involved, but of course, there is always a line to draw. In any case, I feel that once I enter the unclean side of the FF'dom, it will be EXTREMELY hard to get out of it as what ever art I make or commission/trade, it will be permanently there when my fursonas are involved, or if I draw someone else's fursona in NSFW.

I do not mind my arts that I do or someone does for me as adult, but it feels OK that whatever is online will stay online. No, it will not be so yucky for you all-it is not my style to see inflation of the abdomen and all the hyper when NSFW occurs. Anyhow, for the arts that are upcoming, they would be considered "normal" NSFW's. Now as a fair warning, if you don't like my characters be in such things and are against me in these things, you can unwatch me starting now, but do keep in mind of the controls you can use when you go on the FA menu that shows the account settings and select "Enable Adult Artwork", and there is the "SFW" button that you could see on the top right of the page if you enable.

So at this point, I did some extensive research on how animals in RL have sex, and it is soon that I will want an NSFW reference soon for my three male fursonas. However, I do want to be in a way, as close as possible to the RL animal pubic regions that they have. So, for two, we know what they look like-

CORY:
The standard canine peen, and the color would match cherry blossom pink. The sac and perineum (aka, the vulgar "taint") will match the main body fur.

ASHLEY:
All the fur will be the same color, but by view of several peens as an example, especially that otters have a bone in them (baculum), Ashley's is like an otter's- nearly cylindrical, and there can be a small knot, and it would seem that the glans is like a baby bottle. I will want to see more of it, but I have a good idea on what it looks like. The color will be a shade of a pale red or tan. I will determine how it will be.

WELL FOR ALFRED....
In seeing many videos of how they mate, it is so hard to see red panda bits-just like skunk bits are hard to see because of their black fur. Yes, if you are going to YouTube to see Alurius fulgens in RL mating, it is so really difficult to see the parts. However, I was able to spot a few things in their pubic area. Noticeably, the area is a little lighter than the rest of the main underbelly fur. So it can be that the ass too is a bit of a dark grey, along with the perineum, scrotum, and even the foreskin. In a way, There would be a patch of dark grey fur surrounding that area. HOWEVER, I will temporarily make it like a human wang, all in a tan fleshy skin. Now if it were that you will ask, I will make it uncircumsized-the sheath is more of foreskin, so it would be weird if his dick is double foreskinned... This dark gray area won't be appearing when there is an SFW version of him.
FOR NOW SAIRY:
As the vaginal areas are forgiving, I can go for the human vag, but I could be happier with the 3 labia of a canine/vulpine vagina.

To also put into perspective on their orientation, very likely that all of them are going to be straight. At rare occasions, I can accept gayness, but Cory will be a top only, Ashley would be both top and bottom. Alfred however, being the most innocent of the three, as he is the cutest, will not be in this, and is going to be into yiffy stuff in less scope than the other two, and he's more religious. Last of all, they will all have the chance to masturbate too.

Well, this is where love can exist for my fursonas, and they are in all the love as of now. Cupid must have shot arrows in all of them! Well for Alfred, there is not much effect. So if anyone is willing to have my characters be into NSFW, you are free to do so once I get new refs for all characters. And of course, if you have female sonas, I look forward to collaborating with you in doing NSFW art. I will see about males too. Unfortunately, herms aren't going to bode well for me.

So for some of you, today you would be in yiff now in RL, but I will not be there. Arts will be good for me, and I don't mind seeing such liquids exchange from my sonas to the ones receiving.

Well, happy Valentine's Day, (or for some, day after V-Day). The three sonas I have from here on are ready for lustful intercourse!

You remember about the P.S. I put down as the final comment when I journaled about "The Floor"?: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10803601/

I guess that at this point I can go ahead and start journal about it now as it can be things that would pertain to how animals are in RL, and after discovering the show about canines on PBS, "Dogs in the Wild": https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/col.....ons/dogs-wild/ (It can be seen on other public television channels anywhere in the world.), I do have my opinion on what you would likely see about my current fursonas and upcoming ones, and you would understand what I would feel about why I would rather take those found in the wild than domesticated ones/pets.

1: Intelligence
After looking at some docs-especially the PBS one, it would seem that although pets can be of a good companion to humans, it can be a little backfire-notably those who were born in captivity or those saved from danger and rehabilitated fully and can be independent-they may not have the capability to live in the wild, sometimes. If it is that they are in human contact for too long, they may not retain so much intelligence to survive and may depend on humans to think for them. Yes, it is possible for some pets like cats and dogs to learn what words are and learn to read, but it will take LOTS OF EVOLUTION for them to be academically smart-if ever that they will be in school in RL. It is evident that if it were problem solving, they would learn it with other species and even use some symbiotic relationship with another species in the wild to survive. They would be more apt for salving problems individually or in a group depending on how they choose to live, and they would be able to sometimes pick up what other species would do to survive. Having to be sheltered, they may not do so. If it is that the species is solitary, they may have to learn by instinct and visual and auditory cues; while in groups, they can do this individually, but they can pass it to their family and friends-therefore, species that live in groups without human interactions are likely to have a better advantage of survival in the long-term, and intelligence is not wasted. So to put it in the FF'dom, if it is that a wild animal is to be furried in RL, they would likely be from the wild to try and live in such a changing world, and they could put academic intelligence later to be well adapted to eventual society that we're in now-it will be of a shorter time for the wild ones to live in society than for the domesticated ones-so it would be having to be "Street Smart" is better for them than "Book Smart."

2: Social skills
It can relate to intelligence, but this matter would go beyond it as there are times when interspecies relationships would benefit. Yes, if you're a kid, you would see the show, "Nature Cat" ( https://pbskids.org/naturecat/ ) and "Wild Kratts" ( https://pbskids.org/wildkratts/ ), as there are the animals portrayed living in their habitats, and they are constantly in the wild interacting despite that there are constant "downtimes" for them outside of the camera, but they are communicating from near and far. For the furries, they would take those characteristics when away from civilization, but they can decipher when is the best time to communicate-that does happen in the wild as well-they do have their ideas to spread, and they would need each other to benefit whether or not they live individually or group. Of course there is the language barrier as animals do have their own languages, but they may be well suited using primitive facial cues and vocal sounds. For one constantly in the wild, they may understand what another species is saying if they are constantly in relation with the other species. To return to symbiotic relationships-it can be either commensal, mutual, or neutral when it comes to interspecies relationships. With that in mind, it can take many millennia for animals to have a uniform way to talk to each other, but it is happening now in human language as it will take less time for the whole earth to soon have ONE LANGUAGE that humans will adapt to in speaking to each other. (Major exception- The Sentinelese on North Sentinel Island in the Indian Ocean-they are 100% isolated and do not want outsiders-they will kill any foreigner that goes to them. PLEASE DO NOT VISIT-EVER.)
For domesticated animals, they may lack as they are within their species, but it is not common for other domesticated animals to talk to others as they are likely to be with the same species in one house if there are more of the same species. You can argue about zoos and sanctuaries but they do have some limits; however, they try their best-sanctuaries have a better wrap though; it can be the reason why PETA would want to ban zoos...

3: Adaptation/Habitation
There's no escaping that there is climate change. But note that it is DIFFERENT from "Global warming"- climate change can occur naturally. They will be having to deal with this on a grand scale at some point if there is a new ice age coming to the Earth, and they will have to have the time to acclimate (no pun intended) to the changing surroundings overtime. Yes, as domestic animals can be this way, but their setting is in a controlled manner. It can be that their genes for weather survival have been switched off, and if it is that humans would disappear all of a sudden, they would be the first to go if they are in some extreme conditions. (So for those who are pet owners, as a side note, please do not abandon your pet.) It will be clear enough for wild furries to be able to adapt better away from the city, and if they would need be to be in it, they will thrive better. Eventually, should it be that they will be in houses, they will get to pick if they need air conditioning or not if they have the right to move to other areas in the 3rd rock from the Sun; domestic ones do not have that luxury, and they will need to be more dependent on machines for temperature control more often than the wild ones. One can say about some species that would live on the islands than on continents, but that will be another story as there are many variables when it comes to some as huge as Borneo or Greenland and gene spread, while others like the eventual demise in perhaps 300 years of the island country of many tiny islands/atolls, Maldives can occur.

=~=~=~=~

Now I would not think that diet nor beliefs/perception would be a factor for the wild vs. domestic in terms of what would be best suited for the survival of a being. Life expectancy is also variable too as one in captivity would live longer than in the wild, but that's USUALLY what can happen for certain species-if you were in a zoo or aquarium, would you see a bowhead whale, which can live to be 200 years or more?

It comes to say that I would rather see the life of a wild animal through their eyes. It can be good to do some research on what they would do in the wild and adapt it to become fursona eventually-I would feel it is more fun this way, and though it would be that there would be some sacrifices for some to like like human, they can with their instincts put it to their advantage to live better than what the domestic ones will have, as eventually, they could take what humans would do to live comfortably in their domains while keeping their own beaviors. You could say that captive animals have been brainwashed, but if the eventual happens that furries are real, it would likely be from the wild, if it is that they accidentally stumble on a way to gain more intelligence and improve their way of life in terms of having the ability to read and write, they could thrive well and better than before. So eventually, if it is that there will be a new fursona for me, I will likely pick a wild animal than domesticated or eventually going to be domesticated animal (Example- the Asian palm civet as I have seen many videos from Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia of people having many of them as pets and some to make the coffee kopi luwak.)

It is my belief, and you can go ahead and give a contrasting opinion, but it can be possibly valid as soon, artificial intelligence (AI) could cause this to happen, and who knows, wildlife can evolve faster than what you think with the help of science and technology. What do you think? I'll be glad to chat eruditely on this matter.

SAY HELLO TO TINA THE WHITE STOAT FOR THE OLYMPICS, AND MILO BROWN STOAT FOR THE PARALYMPICS!

https://youtu.be/m3tUFN4w5Qc

Just announced on Feb. 7th. At first view, we will say that these two are as cute as the more recent mascots after Athens. After a vote, it was these mustelids that were garnering the most votes to become officially mascots of the two events that will be held from Feb. 6 to 24 for the Olympics and Mar. 6 to 15 for the Para. For those who were in the Italian Alps, this was no surprise as before the final vote, there was a big majority of preliminary votes to have these species from the weasel family-stoats (or ermines) to be officially mascots. As they are quite dominant in the mountains of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo (the site where the 1956 Winter Games were held-SOLO.), it is only natural that the species will be used to represent Italy being the host country to have these cities not too far from Torino that hosted the 2006 Winter Games. It would be obvious on how the two are named- the white stoat's name came from CorTINA and the brown one is from MILanO (His pronounciation is officially, "MIL-o".) With how they are animated, it would definitely be more memorable as Bing Dwen Dwen, Miga & Quatchi, Powder & Copper & Coal, Soohorang, Bear & Rabbit & Leopard (Sochi), BUT NOT NEVE SNOWBALL AND GLIZ THE ICE CUBE IN TORINO! : https://olympics.com/en/olympic-gam.....in-2006/mascot

There have been a little gander of the mascot suits: https://www.thenewsmarket.com/news/.....5-321ed8ce3e62 (There is the announcement on RAI, the Italian channel-video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99V8KWJoHnA) BUT LOOK CAREFULLY AT MILO IN THE VIDEOS, THE PICTURE, AND MASCOT SUIT-HE DOES NOT HAVE A LEG! It would fit well that the paralympic mascot should reflect what the conditions the challenged athletes are-as we have seen The Phryges upcoming for the 2024 Paris Olympiad: https://olympics.com/en/olympic-gam.....is-2024/mascot , we see at right in the website a prosthetic. I guess that therefore, if it is that from now on, if there is one mascot that is represented for the Olympics in both summer and winter, the same exact mascot should be with a visible handicap, and so this is where Milo is in having instead of his leg to stand, it is his tail in place of his leg. We will see if that practice of having a separate mascot for the Paralympics will be abolished. It did start with London 2012 with the horrid mascots, Wenlock and Mandeville though: https://olympics.com/en/olympic-gam.....on-2012/mascot -though they would ambulate well, it can figure that the same thing that represents the Olympics should be for the Para. I will guess that there is the hidden equal representation aspect between the disabled and the "nomal" athletes that should be in all of sports on a worldwide scale.

To return to the mascots, well, as we do see in the suits, very large heads, I will guess that they are trying to have the performer see through the mouth. It would seem that the head is the same size as the body, and the arms are WAY short! It would not be too pleasing unless you have a thing of caricatures as a mascot suit. I would rather have Syd Stoat (Does not have an FA- https://twitter.com/SydStoat ) be mascot-only if he were less lewd! (NSFW: https://twitter.com/BigPawbs ) Still, one will say that the animation of these two ermines are better than the suit, so if it makes it any good, if you like these mascots, do arts to make them save face from the unproportional mascot suits that they have shown! (One is already done by  DonnieKeller- Tina: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/55483084/ Milo: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/55483047/ )

Now yes, you will question if these are stoats, ermines, minks or weasels. Well, this site will tell you: https://www.appalachian-wri.com/pos.....-stoat-or-mink . In seeing Tina and Milo, as they are definitely weasels, they aren't mink as they would be a little bigger, but if it were with a scientific eye, they are NOT ermine or stoat-their tails are too long! I can give Milo a pass as his tail would be needed to stand, but I think Tina is an actual weasel generically as the stoat or ermine has a short tail, but yes, when it is winter, the fur coat does turn white. I would guess subtly as the Para is closer to spring, Milo's fur would be brown or close to black-figures!

So, to conclude, though they would be a little incorrect in having these two be ermine/stoat (Tina would be more of an uproar), as weasels can be known for their mischief, they would be fine for the 2026 Winter (Para)Olympics since we have never seen such a species appear in any Olympic Games. What antics and mischief will they do from now until the Olympics start?? Well, I will hope that they will be in more animation-they look cute! But for you artists seeing this, I hope you put your arts in making these mascots come to life! Let's have them active here in the FF'dom-I'd love to see these in action! Good luck! (Or in Italian, "Buona Fortuna!" [No, in respect of Milo, I'm not going to say, "Break a leg!" in Italian.])

And yes, there's what's called "The Flo". These are anthro flowers who act as assistants to both these weasels.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Fitting- today we have important announcements that you have to hear!

~~SAIRY: A fox species has been picked for her!~~

I have finally figured it out, and I finally found the perfect species for my fursona after MANY weeks of deliberation, and it does seem that what I have when I picked the species, the characteristics align well with what I like in my likes in the FF'dom, and she would be one of the rare species of fox that would fit my interests, and I feel that I will have a good relation with her. I would have to say, in picking this rare fox, it can be great to give more awareness in RL as this species is underrated. What got me to shock is that ONLY TWO fursuits exists in the world, and there are so few arts of her species now From the previous journal in which I have said my preferences of what my fox species is: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10792842/ , I got my picks down to 3. It was overnight that I got it down to 2 after Wednesday as I did not like the Bengal/Indian fox, but then after going one more time to another library despite not finding too much material, I did manage to look online for comparisons and who has advantages and disadvantages.
Eventually I had these personality characteristics in mind for Sairy:

*Likes game shows, Only sports are Olympics
*Likes to travel
*Is tall and slender
*Likes to be in good health
*Values intelligence
*Can be in Macro as being a steppe (as pronounciation is involved) Would rampage if it is necessary-extremely hates war and crushes belligerents. G3 in general
*Loves to see paws of any kind (foot)
*Is into dieting and can be underweight at times
*Vorer, hates spicy food
*Loves tickles-therapeutic
*Orange in the summer months, from June 1 to Aug. 31 (in Northern hemisphere- weather gene related)
*Loves sex-being a switch-is more of a dominant, but can be submissive- would like to peg males, though.
*Gardener
*Very Social
*Believes in God
*Believes in lifelong learning, speaks French, Spanish, Dutch & Portuguese (in terms of fluency)
*Job-Prosecuting lawyer.

What got me to eliminate one and have my final pick for my fox species was that through more research, there can be the ongoing confusion of a kit fox (Vulpes macrotis) and swift fox (Vulpes velox). And to couple with the possibility of confusing swift with a kit as I do strictly want to have my species distinct, and that there exists Kiit Lock ( Dotx), I had to eliminate what was the favorite-initially it was a swift vixen as it is an American fox that is similar to the red, but whereby there's this, and that some of these personalities do not fit with the furry swift fox I planned, that species is gone. It was a surprise, but these twists and turns can occur and they can be for the best.

And so it leaves with the last of the 23 species of fox in the world. THEREFORE (CUE THE DRUMROLL AND CYMBALS AT ANNOUNCEMENT!):

Sairy is a corsac (steppe) fox (Vulpes corsac).

(...and NO, she is not considered a grey fox [Urocyon cinereoargenteus] despite that there is grey fur on her!)

If you want to know the only two fursuiters who are corsacs, I found them:  AliusCorsac and though not active on FA,  Alteq-that's sad! And as of now, I have found only 1537 arts of this fox species which trails a lot against other foxes. I will be then having to have her give more species recognition!

To joke that she's a steppe fox, as you do pronounce it "step", with such a name, she will have to involve such paws! So be ready for a macro Sairy, and digitrade paw play on the nice and evil side!

It will be an honor to have her ref sheet created on my birthday-it is 32 days from now, and I will be REALLY HAPPY to have her be if an artist can do her as a gift. If anyone can do a RS as a gift, bless you, and I will gladly commission you in the future.

So here we are, Sairy Oleanne Rosenboom is a corsac (steppe) fox- it is found in the center of Asia and in the far eastern extremities of Europe: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/23051/59049446 , and since there are some nursery rhymes and fables including foxes, I will see if I will include her in there. Hope you like her!

In the meantime, here are pictures of the steppe fox in RL... https://www.google.com/search?q=corsac+fox&sca_esv=76c68a2d4a39925c&tbm=isch&sxsrf=ACQVn09Ypc1GpVap-RYIhyX0u4vjkqzT3g:1706868756767&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjSiLPPtYyEAxVrFzQIHS5YAPAQ0pQJegQICxAE&biw=1536&bih=695&dpr=1.25

WHEW! Now that's out of the way, here's the other announcement:

~~FurCon pictures of 2024 will be posted again!~~

Yes, here we go, today will be me resuming the FC pics that I like to share, and despite that I will not be on X (Twitter) anymore, it will not sop me in ID'ing fursuiters if I don't find them here on FA. I will have the website FurTrack to help me: https://www.furtrack.com/ . At least if I can get help there, it can be easier to find these fursuiters as another weapon use to browse them-they can't hide forever, you know? As too, it will be good to show  Mosfet (not active at all on FA, but would use) as he appeared at FC, and I have a great memory of him doing an antic towards me that made me loudly giggle! It can be too that I will use Postybirb ( https://www.postybirb.com ) so that I will post on FurTrack as well so that they can have info of such fursuiters there as well. It is not listed that FT can allow Postybirb to upload, but I will give it a try.

In the meantime, once again, here come the massive uploads that I have been doing for the past few times I have attended FC, my home con, and I can't wait to share these memories with you. Of course, as for example, the fursuiter that lost his life in a vehicle accident, Haku  Pamfer, or being in stardom having his own show,  Yippee's Edge of the Unknown: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/.....ith-jimmy-chin , these photos can be priceless to show how they are in their lives and to remember them on how they have made a difference in and out of the FF'dom. It would be great to share such photos- you may never know-they can be useful later on!


Ohhh, finally done! If you have read this far, you deserve a pillow cake from me! Thanks for reading, and see you then!


Do you remember the announcement of my fursona and years ago I drew the vixen?: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10714595/

It would be that I will debut it very soon this year, and I'm hoping that she will be done before my birthday. Now, I did have a little turn of events when it comes to the species of fox, as I have seen that the red fox is the one most popular in the FF'dom. Well, today, I have felt that since it is very popular, and in some cases, overused, I will guess that Vulpes vulpes will not be in my interest anymore. I would like my vixen to be standing out and give more variety to the foxes that are hardly represented.

According to Wikipedia, there are in the world 23 species of fox in the subfamily Caninae: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caninae .

And I do have some preference to having my fox Sairy to be like the other cartoon foxes that are drawn here, but also scientifically correct in terms of physiology and anatomy.
So in terms of having to do a knockout of the 23 species, I have these in terms of preference in the fox I like:

1: To me, red foxes are overrated (SORRY!), and I would like to have my fursona to be different and distinctive.

Eliminated:Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

2: It can have white or black paws.

Eliminated: (None- all are eligible!)

3: The fox should have the notable tick on 1/2 or 3/4 of the muzzle- it can be triangular, dotted or straight-no preference if it crosses the lips of the mouth.

Eliminated:
Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus [FORMERLY: Alopex lagopus])
Bat-Eared fox (Otocyon megalotis)
Culpeo (Lycalopex culpaeus)
Crab-eating fox AKA: woodfox (Cerdocyon thous) (sometimes they DON'T have it.)

4: Sentimentally, I do not want confusion-if there is one fox in the FF'dom that has a name that is altered from a real species name, it is eliminated.

Eliminated:
Kit fox (Vulpes macrotis) (REASON: we have one fursuiter name Kiit Lock- Dotx. Note that when I heard his name, it sounds so much like the real kit fox. Its subspecies are eliminated as well- ex.: San Joaquin kit fox.)

5: As there is the colloquial "True foxes", according to books and Wikipedia, any fox that is having the genus name Vulpes is to my interest.

Eliminated (IT IS A BIG ELIMINATION!):
Cerdocyon-(see Crab eating fox.)

Lycalopex-(Includes culpeo earlier.)
Darwin's fox (Lycalopex fulvipes)
South American Gray fox (Lycalopex griseus)
Pampas fox (Lycalopex gymnocercus)
Sechuran fox (Lycalopex sechurae)
Hoary fox (Lycalopex vetulus)

Urocyon-
Gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)
(California) Island fox (Urocyon littoralis)

6: This one is very weird! Despite that it can be modified in the FF'dom, seeing it looking like a wolf in RL can make me uncomfortable!

Eliminated:
Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata): video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1V0PG1aQv4
Pictures-
1: https://www.facebook.com/NikonIndia/photos/a.421725841172298/4322509787760531/?type=3&from_lookaside=1
2: https://www.reddit.com/r/oddlyterri.....pes_ferrilata/

[NOTE: I have one furend that is one-Lane:  Foxosexual. To compare his fursona to the RL species, his morphology is GREATLY exaggerated! {Sorry Lane, if you're reading this; but you look MUCH better than the RL Tibetan fox!}]

7: I don't like overly huge ears like the bat-like or fennec foxes. (You can say teasingly, "satellite dish ears"!) Standard near-triangle ears are what I prefer, but should be larger than the Arctic's.

Eliminated in the Vulpes genus (other than red and Arctic):
Cape fox (Vulpes chama)
Pale fox (Vulpes pallida)
Blanford's fox (Vulpes cana)
Rüppell's (sand) fox (Vulpes rueppellii)
Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda)



This is borderline, and a little surprise:
Bengal (Indian) fox (Vulpes bengalensis)

I have decided that these two species are favorites to become the species of Sairy Oleanne Rosenboom:

Swift fox (Vulpes velox) and corsac (steppe) fox (Vulpes corsac)

...however, it can be the Bengal one that can suddenly spark my interest; alas, it would wane as I think of many things against the Bengal/Indian fox:
1: when it comes to Bengal- it can refer to tigers as they are synonym to that big cat found in the Indian subcontinent, and there are numerous sports teams in intercollegiate like the Idaho State Bengals (www.isu.edu/ <academic/athletic> https://isubengals.com/ ), Louisiana State (They are the "Bayou Bengals" colloquially. https://www.lsu.edu/ <academic/athletic> https://lsusports.net/ ) and recognizably in then NFL, the Cincinnati Bengals ( https://www.bengals.com/ ).
2: As it is also the Indian fox, there are arts in the FF'dom that would refer to tribal, aboriginal or native American cultures, and I would not have such a connotation on what would be such a name of a fox. If native wear is on other species, OK, but not to this one, or any species with Indian in it (Indian vulture or Indian elephant for example.)

WHEW, though I have listed perhaps ALL fox species here on this journal, it was well worth doing to come down to 3 species of Vulpes! Through books and Internet pictures, I feel that these three (VERY likely 2), would be perfect to make Sairy real.

Before concluding, if you are new to the furry scene and would like a fursona and is going to be a real, living mammal, I do have a book that I will highly recommend. It is a big one that you would find in a library, and it is extensive. Here it is in MLA format:

>> Macdonald, David W. (New) Encyclopedia of Mammals, The. Oxford University Press, 2004. <<

There has been 1984 & 1999 release of this book, and a more reliable 2009 release as well despite it is from Princeton ( https://www.princeton.edu ). However, it does give in-depth info that you will need for all mammal species discovered just before the year of publishing. If you do want to explore what mammal species fits best for you, try finding this book that MacDonald did first, and you'll bloom as a furry mammal in the FFdom-highly recommended! I will want to look at this book 1 more time to see these 3 fox species, and
once the species is picked, I'll announce, and soon it will be her personality. I owe it all to Mr. MacDonald et al.

I'm just about there in getting Sairy for real-hope you like her-STAY TUNED!!

So the "honeymoon" of the New Year is starting to wind down, and we'll go have a few things to do that can be serious for me and you- so I do have things being done in arts, and also things to do for pictures relating to the con I just attended-yes, pictures. So read on if you like...

---

~Arts~

I may plan on having to budget on having arts from here on as I still have no replacement job after being laid off last September, but I do have the easy backup one.

What I can say here is that I may not have more than 12 per year, but I can say that the extreme maximum will be 20 for my account this year. I will go for the simplest arts the drawers will do on a canvas. I will post a mature art here and there, but I will debut Sairy Oleanne Rosenboom the fox this year, and it will be a ref sheet first before individual arts of her will debut. It won't be right away as I have not made the final description of her yet, but I'm getting there.
In the meantime, I do have ideas for a few arts that I have an idea on, and as mutual followers have the first priority before others, I think I have assigned some that would be perfect for the upcoming arts that I'd like to see for my fursonas. If you do see your FA name here, do get ready for me to talk to you:

Mutuals:
 Zelaum-Hunter/ NSlukieH -full body color, 3 characters (FANART)
 Iceshadow13 -full body sketch (can be kinky/mature-provided that sketches are still open: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10757828/ Ashley is the character)
 Garphan95/ ShadowStar95 - full body sketch of Alfred Wizard

Other artists that have done an art, not mutual:
 Pew246
 duskhusky64

New artists with interest (in terms of priority):
 Siberio
 ZoulEtSentiment

So for these three not assigned, it would be Cory wolf, but of course, these are subject to change with how the mutuals are open for commissions, and I will see what they will say. A wildcard here is an artist's fursona included in a SFW art, and I will pick who it is provided that they allow me permission to use.

For me, I will try my hand at it now that I have a schedule for being free at home on Fridays and Saturdays with less craziness, and I will go do on my spare time my own and see if I can improve on arts. I have to start on kiriban gift arts-I still have to do aliendog  Lu123! Hope to clear that list soon...

~Fursuit Pictures, and mine (Cory)~

Yes, it will be that time again when I will upload those pics-I have 2024 of  FurCon to do, but if you have recognized, 2023, I have stopped because of life! So if it is that I should go and do in terms of accounting, Last In, First Out (LIFO), FC 2024 will be done first, then 2023 will be done next, however, I can slip in '23 at times- be ready for little skips here and there.

Well for me, in trying to get Cory, I still have  KamenHamster ( https://www.kamenhamster.com/ ) as interest as my replacement for Cory's fursuit head, and I will allocate the funds to do so, and I guess in perhaps April after taxes are done, I will commission the constructor to do him. I will still keep the sleeves and leggings along with the hand and foot paws from  RumWolf ( https://www.rumwolf.net/ ). HOWEVER, as I was working as constore representative at FurCon and the perk here is that I could venture into the Dealer's Den for things, I did see that 10 fursuit constructors were there gaining my interest. So I can look carefully to see if others can take my interest from Kamen in having me have a replacement Cory head. There is more though, if it is that in their gallery the fursuits are to my liking, it can be soon that Alfred red panda or Ashley otter can be made by them!
Here they are that attended FC and are open (now or soon):

1: https://www.lemonbrat.com

2: https://www.etsy.com/shop/FishbowlFantasies#about (Fishbowl Fantasies)

3: https://thissuitsyou.weebly.com/ (Suits You Fursuits)

4: https://www.oakleyscreations.com/

5: https://www.instagram.com/limeythecheetah/

6: https://www.jaycostumes.com

7: https://www.plaidpawsbymaus.com/

8: https://www.battitudestudio.com/

9: https://tryentpup.wixsite.com/tryentpupstudios (AKA: Mupple Pup Studios <IF ON A BUDGET, THIS IS A FAVORED PICK FOR ME FOR MY NEXT FURSUIT.)

10: https://www.cfstudiosonline.com

Of course, the thing I can say is if there is a first impression and they give a card, that CAN win over my interest, therefore for these ten, if they do have things that would garner my interest like, emotions for my fursuit head, moveable jaw, sleeves for arms AND legs (I call them leggings sometimes.), potential for refurbishment, and more, then I can go for it! So to those that attended FurCon, thanks, I look at what you offer seriously to potentially have Alfred and/or Ashley come to life; let's not rule out Cory being fixed or replaced!

---

So those are my plans and FF'dom-related resolutions for 2024, and hopefully, I can fulfill them to the fullest, as of now, there's 7³=343* days left in the year when this was posted, and I've got to get to work when life allows me! Wish me luck, and stay tuned!

*: Fun useless fact- in terms of exponentials, it is the cube of seven that is the largest exponent that would hold the maximum possible amount to fit in days in a year with 22 or 23 days left over. In terms of number, it is 361- this when you take 192, and the date is either January 4 or for leap year, January 5.

It will be a short journal, but yes if you are regular to FC, there is the traditional coffee social that  Latte hosts, and after a tiring weekend of primarily volunteering, I needed that coffee-that drink did make my eyes wide open MUCH more! Thereafter, for the second year, there is the International Snack Exchange, and I got something good to eat without having to buy more for meals. It did give empty calories, but I did get something at least, but despite for one it had something else mixed in, I had a snack that included durian! The infamous stinky fruit tasted SO GOOD in the snack! If it is good in snack form, well, let me try the 100% fruit version! Hey, if it is that I win a trip to an oriental country, primarily, Southeast Asia, I'll go get it!

After, I did attend Hiss and Purr, and it is evident with the new generation coming, hotels can be hard to come by, and there is a plan to have some in other places in San Jose with shuttles supplied. There will be some plan to use the South Hall for Night Market, as some are requesting, so it could happen that there will be more of that popular even being held in more than 2 days!

After, there was "PIXELATED RETROCOMPUTING SHOW!", and I was wowed by how incredible the graphics were done. Can one believe that the Commodore-64 computer can be used to make vids called Demos? If it is something of your interest, try to be in programming and try it-there are cons for these, and if there is an FF'dom con holding this theme like FC did, go and show your art! There is an audience for it!

Well, at this point, I have to head to Dead Dog. I will dance and say goodbyes to many. Stay tuned for the final journal for FC, my thoughts and opinions, and a goodbye to all who have attended! Until then...

It's been a fine weekend for me, and thankfully, since we have a Monday as a holiday only for the USA, there is extra fun upcoming! If you have not seen my Ferzu, I highly recommend seeing my status of what I did today: https://www.ferzu.com/Member/Details/excelsior30

In the meantime, as I got to have the opportunity to see events, I did get to know the Anthromorphic Arts & Entertainment (AAE) Organization after some years of absence. Yes, there were some changes, but they were nearly the same. Over at this, they did have a good year last year, and soon they will look to make the next con better, and to utilize what profits to make do for 2025. Of course, it will be tax season, so they would need money to pay despite that the are 501©(3) organization to qualify as nonprofit. Well, you will ask about the con store I volunteered in-that is separate so they will still be that nonprofit.

To speak of such, I did volunteer for 3.5 hours and I did get 3.5 hours. The tier 3 level is supposed to be 16 hours, but with these, I just needed 2.5, but I got 17- this means, I got the swag! So I got the con shirt, the small shoulder bag that looks like a backpack, and the duffel bag!! YAY!!! If it weren't for  bellophrawg finding me on Ferzu when I announced that I'd like to volunteer, this would never have happened, and well, after seeing the panels, they were not new, and I should try something else for a change. I will also thank red panda Mippt ( https://twitter.com/MipptActual ) for being lead and appreciating my help and putting order to the con store. The staff there was friendly and professional. Yeah, if it were that I was not lucky in doing 2 hours of Elevator Con and 1 for Fursuit Headless Lounge, I would not have gotten to my goal, and I would have sacrificed my time attending FC Unleashed! Glad I did the extracurriculars-worthwhile. Also, I did help a little bit in closing and tear down before going to FC-U!, however because of something that went on in Night Market, I have a bonus-a LED Name Badge! That will be great to utilize for ANYTHING in and out of con! Last of all that is a bonus, despite that the con did not happen because of two COVID strains, I got the pin for FC 2022 (2023) from HR for my service! OHHH, WHAT GREAT THINGS I GOT-THEY SEEM TO BE BLESSINGS!!

Before I did go to the con store and also FC-U! I did go to the filing for taxes in the USA. Now I did learn one important thing, if you are putting sales tax on arts, it should be done on TANGIBLE ARTS ONLY, DO NOT PUT IT ON DIGITAL-IT IS NOT TAXABLE! It was straightforward-but nothing new. The panel was from an engineering background-just a guy he had said! () Anyhow, I did aid in having to answer other questions that the other audience members bring up, and it went well.

For FC-U!, well, it wasn't too entertaining-nearly everyone was singing; only 2 did skits. I could think I might try to be in the talent show, and see if I can be perhaps a winner. The winner this year for singing a song from Disney's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" was one unsuited named Blue. The winners got candy and gift cards. But most importantly, I should thank deeply  AwesomeSprout for filling in as the host for FC-U! as the usual host unfortunately had emergency surgery and can't recover fully in time. We attendees send our love to Sprout's friend and to her for stepping in when needed-thank you!

After, I saw rocker Shibae for nearly 40 minutes, and then I danced. To stick on to dancing, well, the volunteering did tire me out, and yes, I'm 40, but I think I need more sleep to last longer. I got fursuit pics here and there at the dance, and have my ear protection as well. However, if I were to do dancing again, I will have a power drink... It is weird, usually the dances end at 2AM, but this year other than Thursday, they end at 1. Well, hope it is temporary.

The one thing I will want to say while I was staff, I was fed, and I apprecieate the volunteer cooks for keeping us running EVERY DAY-breakfast and dinner! They won't do MLK Day, but this was something to bless those ones for having us get the care we need and even our health that we need. Bravo to them! *I clap.*

And so, this is the unoffical end of FC, but there are more panels up for Monday. However, for 2025, when I saw the dates, it is January 15-19. It is preliminary, but I was a little shocked to see that it will not go to 20 next year! I hope they did not really mean it, despite that the Monday session is light, I like it, and I can get some rest in at con and talk to the remaining attendees easier. Hopefully they will change it to 20 as one who acted out the planned theme did not know if really, it will end at 19, nor know the reason why. We'll see.
In the meantime for the 2025 con, the theme is "Animal Business." Let us see what that will be, and as I did study a business-related subject for Master's, this can be in my wheelhouse to enjoy! So hope you will be able to come and see this...

Last of all, the numbers. For the charity that gets the donations for the homeless area in San Jose, the attendees raised at least $23,238! There will be more coming for Monday, so here's hoping that they could get $25000... Also, there was a long Fursuit Parade, and it can be 968 fursuiters in there, but that can change to put the official number. And I did hear that this year's total attendance number will eclipse last year's 5388-BUT BY HOW MUCH?! I have been looking everywhere, but no number! I saw these sites for such numbers: https://furryconattendance.com/ , https://coyo.tl/map , but no luck! I don't regret leaving X/Twitter, but I hope to find out sooner than later.

Anyway, as I became an acquaintance to Erizana Ammut who was vice chair, now becoming chair for next year, let's see how FC will be run-hope Monday will still be on.

So this ends FC unofficially-yes, there are places that DO NOT revere Martin Luther King Jr. and put it as a holiday (Maybe Canada, but not likely.), so Monday would primarily be for West Coast US furs to attend, but there can be some East Coast US furs too-it depends on the job.

So OK, that will end here. It was a nice end to the weekend proper of FC, and once I do have my new fursuit head of Cory, I will show off my swag I got for volunteering-devoted picture for all of the items I got!

So if you are still here in San Jose, hope to see you once more for Dead Dog! Let's hug, console- prevent PCD, prevent Con Crud, and keep in touch for the remaining time we have. GOOD NIGHT!

Letting you know, since I do not have Twitter, this time, I'm using Ferzu to post messages on what I'm doing and where I'm at: https://www.ferzu.com/Member/Details/excelsior30

So far getting tired, but I have done great in getting hours for volunteering.

I did go to the Fursuit Parade after doing time of volunteering at the store, and I went to see jazz performances at Modern Jazz Lounge, and Mascha and the Swingin' Tails- Saw a drumming Fursuiter that goes by Fizzle ( https://www.furaffinity.net/view/39307980/) and a lion doing xylophone named Mel ( daemonicusprince) in the group. After a short volunteer at the store again, and I was able to see  Taebyn there, I saw the FCDC, and Aioli was the winner! No group winners this year, but it was fun to see. After, I was looking forward to more hours, but it was a little bit of confusion. I for the moment, lost my umbrella! However, as luck will bring me as there was a representative doing a no-show, I subbed for the near-hour. It was there with the help of the furry named  Lutofisk that found the umbrella for me! It is raining at the time I posted this, and I am lucky that I will not be wet when I return to my motel room. Other than that hour doing the Headless Lounge-CC, I did do elevator regulations at the Marriott (Yes, Elevator Con!) for 2 hours. It would be a blessing that I got this, I get to see some fursuiters that would wait for their turn to use the elevator, and there are some that do want to do such antics while waiting! I was tired, I was standing for quite a long time, and also, well, not eating well. ARGH! It did result in cramping eventually while doing Elevator Con! However, I do thank the volunteer and FC staff for giving me a free food for all of us! I have so far, if all goes well, put 13.5 hours, and I got past 12, which is Tier 2-I have now, the small backpack and the shirt, but my overall goal is the duffel bag. Once I have a new head for Cory, I will show you what I have!

Yes, it was this year that I decided to not do too much in attending panels as I might have seen the panels already, and I do hope that if I do enough, I could be eligible for another free admission to next year's FC-if that happens. But I'll aim for 16 hours BUT, I will not have interest in the "Lionman Award" that is given out when Dead Dog is on.

Well, that is the end of the con day for me, and what got me today was when Lane ( Foxosexual) got his sponsor swag, he said to me directly while we get all feely and pictures, he thanked me greatly for my volunteer service. It was the only one that told me so far a thank you to me. I hope that tomorrow, my service is appreciated by everyone, and I'll be glad to add it to my resume. For now, as of the time I posted this, it's time to rest. Oh, I will be lucky tomorrow if the hours are approved! Wish me luck on me getting the well-deserved swag tomorrow after I complete my hours! And yep, on a final note, if the con gives you free admission when you volunteer the required hours for it, GO FOR IT-IT IS WELL DESERVED!