Well day 1 is over know and it went wonderfully. Got up early for breakfast and wandered around until opening ceremonies. Afterwards it was off to the dealers den for a productive day. I ended up with 5 sketches and commissioned 2 bookmarks that I'm really looking forward on. I even managed to get some suiting in as practice before the parade tomorrow. Unsurprisingly, I was mistaken as Bogo three times.

More info to be posted tomorrow.

Well, we arrived safe and sound and had lunch at Montana's. Afterwards we gathered up our fourth roommate and the chilled in the room for a bit. Later on we all made our way to the mall and finally saw Zootopia. Now I understand what all the fuss was about. We had a great time(except for the screaming child) and it was fun watching the little kids dancing in the aisle to the closing music video. Once back at the hotel, we registered and I am now attendee #599.

Now it's just a matter of chillin before bed and then hitting the con up properly tomorrow.

Well in less than an hour I'll be headed out for FE. Frankly I can't wait to see old friends again and spend more money than I really should as well as eat much wonderful food.

Seeya all there.

Sadly the con is all done for another year, but it did end on a remarkable note that brought me to tears. They had just finished presenting a check to the charity that just brought them just short of $60000, when a voice shouted out asking how short they were. They were about $600 short and that's when the miracle started. My dear friend  Hallan stepped forward to add to the total and within moments dozens of people surged forward to add to the drive.

I was in tears as I watched dozens of people step forward to throw money onto the stage. When all was said and done, more than $2400 was raised, all because one man stepped forward. This is why I love this fandom so much, because as much people complain about it, we have to remember the times like this where we make a real difference.

So for now, I'll sit I my room and think back on what a great time I've had this year.

Just got to the hotel and it was a very easy trip this year. Customs was a breeze, travelled with some furs coming for the first time and split the cab. I didn't have to share a seat with anyone on the bus and best of all, no screaming kids.

On the downside, the first bus had very little legroom and my charger wouldn't stay plugged in and the next bus didn't have any plugs at all, but I managed to conserve what battery power I had.

Right now I'm waiting for my roomies to show. I'm back in the executive wing again in 2235 if any of my friends wanna stop by and say hi.

just finished packing and then I'll be off to work. I'll be leaving straight from work by bus and should be arriving in Chicago tomorrow afternoon. Looking forward to seeing everyone soon.

I'm feeling a bit depressed right now. Just discovered that a long time member or the Tigerdile community passed away suddenly. What bothers me is that it was months ago and I had no idea. I'd hate to think that something could happen to me one day and no one would ever know. At some point soon I think I'll set up arrangements to have the message sent to people I care about.

We decided to stay an extra day and I'm glad we did. I did much hanging with friends, picked up my new sketches, but sadly did no suiting. Frankly I found the hotel way too hot on Sunday and decided against suiting. Was the only disappointment of the con for me. That night we went out for Indian and I don't think anyone had any complaints.

We left about 11:30 and took to the back roads mostly to get home. It was a leisurely trip, without the hectic interstate. We finally got back to Phil's about 5:00pm, to be greeted by 21 wild turkeys wandering his front yard. After some brief nap time we headed out for dinner and then I got dropped off at the bus station..

Here is where I had my first minor snafu. Apparently as they were checking the bags, the computer asked for a currency code and the woman behind the counter couldn't get it to print. She'd never seen anything like it and despite trying for over 30 minutes, she had no luck. So apparently when I get into Buffalo, I have to recheck my bags again for the final leg.

I'll post my final log when I finally get home tomorrow night.

Well we arrived a little later than expected, but still with lots of time. I even managed to score a sketch for my Artist's Choice book. Later I managed to do a bit of suiting, before heading out for the pizza feed. Afterwards I stayed for a stand-up comedy routine and later went to a MLP panel. I had a great time at both and shortly headed back to our room to crash.

Today I headed down early for the free breakfast and then went to hand in my auction items for the con charity. I decided to donate bags of the Canadian fan-derived chip flavours from Lays and was looking forward to what they would bring. I had the fursuit parade at noon, so wandered the Dealers Den again, managing to hand out am my sketchbooks.

I survived another parade and suited for about 40 minutes, which for me isn't too bad. Hopefully I can get some more in tomorrow. I went to auction and by the time my items came up, they were up to over $3300 and my chips sold for $15. From there, it was back up to the room to change and head out to dinner at Steak and Shake. This is another chain, I wish would come up to Canada. Afterwards, I headed back to the room to rest.

Not sure what is going on tomorrow. We may be heading back to Phils or we'll stay for the day and head back Monday, as I leave very late Monday night.

Yesterday Phil and I went road tripping and after awhile ended up at the Jack Daniels Distillery and decided to take the tour. Now I'm not a huge drinker, but it was an enjoyable time. Afterwards, despite a few twists we ended up in Monteagle and had dinner at a great Italian place that Phol knew. I ended up with perhaps the best French dip sandwich I have ever eaten. Then it was back to the house for an early start. Hopefully we should be at the con by 1pm.

Just about to cross over to Detroit on my way to MFM. Wish me luck at US customs.

Well thanx to several wonderful people, I've managed to acquire a double room for MFF from Thursday to Monday. Right now I'm looking for up to 3 -4 more people to help me split the costs. The other bed is open as well as floor space being available. I haven't quite figured out the cost yet, but it will be reasonable.

This will be a non-party, drug free room and while I don't mind the odd drink, heavy drinkers may want to look elsewhere. Fursuiters are welcome, as I'll have my suit with me as well. I also snore a bit, but not enough to shake the windows.

I'm also looking for a ride down and back, so if you live in the southern Ontario area or know someone who does, I'd be grateful to catch a lift from you/them.

So if you or someone you know is interested feel free to note me here or email me at fulminar@gmail.com.

Well, it was confirmed today that I will be attending MFM again next month This was the first con I ever attended and holds a fond place in my heart. I'll be there from Fri-Mon and will have my fursuit with me. I am also planning on attending MFF as well. The only snag is that I'm still trying to find someone who has space for me crash. If anyone out there is going and has space or knows someone who will have space, please let me know.

Well it's been a great holiday. I've had a great times with all my friends including rooming with Phil Geusz, who I haven't seen in three years. So far I've been to the Buffalo Science Museum, the Buffalo Zoo and ridden on the Maid of the Mist. Much great food has been eaten including 2 BBQ places, a wonderful truck stop and I can now add Mighty Taco to my list of US fast food chains I've eaten at.

I'm sad that it's over, but it just means I can look forward to next year.

Many thanks go out to Jacob O'Hare who organized it, Phil Geusz who I roomed with and everyone else who made it so enjoyable.

Well, presently I'm waiting at the bus station to start my trip to Buffalo for the annual TSA-Bash. I slept like crap last night, but hopefully I can catch some zzz' while I'm on the bus. Gonna be rooming with Phil Geusz again and it'll be nice to see him again, as we haven't been seen each other in three years. Looking forward to hanging out with everyone else this year as well.

Seeya all soon. My ETA is 1:15pm.

Right now on Tigerdile,  caribou is doing a piece that someone bought for me.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16513598/

I don't know who did this, but it could not have come at a better time. They've keep their identity a secret, so whoever you are, thank you very much, this means a great deal to me.

Update: it came out wonderful, but you'll have to wait to see the result. Many thanks also go out to the donor and this will be framed eventually.

As of 44 minutes ago I turned 49, only one more until the big 5-0. Tomorrow I'm planning on renewing my health card, getting, a hair cut, going to see the Avengers and finishing off with dinner with friends at the monthly TorFur dinner. It'll be nice to do something for a change as I usually just stay home and do nothing.

Well over the last week or so, I've had both of my laptops go down. The older one I use for streams, got infected with so many viruses/malware as to render it useless and my primary gaming machine went down with technical problems. I decided that after several days without real computer access, that I couldn't stand it anymore. The older machine went to a shop for cleaning and the other needed to be repaired.

My brother came down and took a look at and figured out that I was having a hard drive failure and I needed to replace it. I now have a 240G SSD drive and have upgraded to Windows 8. I'm looking forward to how much faster the machine will be and just need to pick up the other machine later on today. It'll be nice to have a working system again.

About time this winter thing finally showed up. Right now, I'm stuck at my mothers house, with enough snow I cant open up the front door to get the shovel, and more is still coming down still. I'm supposed to work today, but I'm gonna give them a call later to tell them I might not be able to make it in. I'll give it a try, but depending on the buses it may be a no go.

So far we've gotten about a foot since yesterday and I don't want to guess how much more is coming. What really sucks is that I don't have my boots with me, just my regular shoes.

To anyone else out there who's dealing with the same problem, be careful and stay safe.

Just realized that I hadn't registered for Furnal Equinox yet, so I figured I'd better do it. Gonna be badge #362, which is a bit off as I was in the single digits last year. Anyways, that's one more thing off my plate.

I've also decided that one of these days I wanna go to FC. It's a huge distance for me and cost is a major concern for me to get there. Hopefully tho one day I'll have the scratch to make it out there.

Well, arrived at MFF around 6:00pm after an easy trip. Had a wonderful time travelling with  Pyat and we had no problem crossing the border at Sarnia. We enjoyed a lovely time counting all the dead deer through Michigan and having fun with the various billboards we saw.

Managed to get registered fairly easily and wandered around until the con suite opened. After a brief snack, I suited for a brief bit and had a good time. Later I dropped off some maple syrup at  laurenrivers room. I'm looking forward to another good day tomorrow when my roommates arrive.

Bit late in posting this, but my mother is home safe and sound. They actually sent her home early in the morning, of the same day they admitted her. They didn't find anything new, but they are having her come back this week for a few deeper tests.

On another note, I wanted to say how amazed I was over the number of new watchers and faves I got last week. 8+ new watchers and over 90 new faves. All I can say is I'm happy that people appreciate the work I have created for me by so many wonderful artists.

I normally visit my mother Wednesday and Sunday until I'll finally be able to move. She had a doctors appointment today, so I was enjoying the warm house, until she got back. Later this evening she called to say that they were concerned about her kidneys and were admitting her to the hospital. Hopefully she'll only be there a day or so, so until then I'll be watching the house, then back to my place in the morning, off to work and then back to her place.

Now the upside is that I'll be staying in a house that's not 52 degrees, the downside being I won't have access to my main laptop and being concerned how she's doing.

A friend sent me this link: http://vimeo.com/110478181 and I've had it stuck in my head for days, but in a pleasant way. It's an incredibly catchy little tune and I may think about buying a copy of it.

The animation reminds of a cartoon, but I can't for the life of me think what it is similar to.

It's amazing how things can change in such a short time. Now, I'm still going to MFF, I'll just be arriving a day earlier. I give many thanks to my friend  Pyat who offered me a space in his car down and back. Now I did the math and it's actually cheaper to join him and abandon my bus ticket, then to travel down and handle all the various transfers and taxis. Now I do have to book a room for the night, but that doesn't seem to be a problem. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to get someone to help share the room for the night as well.

Anyways, see all you folks there.