My refrigerator is back together again. I let it cool back down overnight before returning my food from the mini fridge.

I was looking at which furry conventions I want to attend next year. Further Confusion happens on or around my birthday every year (Next year's FC ends on my birthday.) If I am lucky enough to find a job before then, I hope I'll be able to get the time off for FC. If not, Texas Furry Fiesta in March is another option. I really want to attend Anthrocon and Mephit Fur Meet next year. I may have to skip DenFur again if I choose either AC or MFM. So many cons, so little money!

The only appliance store I could find open late on Saturday doesn't rent refrigerators. I bought a mini fridge to keep my perishable foods from spoiling. That fridge sure felt lighter in the store! I was able to slowly get the fridge from my car into my condo, though the process zapped most of my energy. I will keep the mini fridge as a backup since my old fridge is at least 16 years old.

The earliest appointment I could get from the repair shop was Wednesday afternoon. My mini fridge is cooled down enough to use, so I put most of my perishables inside.

The door to my refrigerator came loose today as I was trying to close it. I was able to put the door back on, but it still came loose when I opened it again. I called a repair service to see if anyone could come out tonight to fix it. If it can't be fixed or I don't get a response by 7:30 or 8:00, I'll have to rent a mini-fridge until I can replace my full-size fridge. I put a few perishable items in the freezer for now to keep them from spoiling.

I recently joined the BlueSky social app. My address there is jcollie719.bsky.social (Thank you to joabaldwin on Twitter for the invite!)

As with other new apps, it may take a while for me to be really active there since I also have accounts on Twitter, Dreamwidth, Mastodon and other sites. I have some of those bookmarked on linktr.ee/jcollie719

I recently bought some melatonin gummies to help improve my sleep. I had been getting a great night's sleep taking two of the gummies. I just took one last night to see how effective it would be, but I kept waking up. The correct dose for me is definitely two gummies.

After not finding it in stores for a month or two, I bought a container of Blue Bell's Dr Pepper Float ice cream. It's got swirls of vanilla ice cream and cherry-flavored sherbet. It's really good!

I ordered a pack of 100 business cards to help me find radio work. I had ordered a free pack of contact cards back in 2006 after I had gone on a singles cruise. I still have a few dozen of them left, but they have my old address, e-mail and cell phone number, along with a toll-free number I used for a previous home business.

Just call me... Gor-tokin' Rams-weed? (I don't know.)

An update on my pot brownies: They were great! I cut different sizes of brownies to see how much equaled a regular "dose."

I hurt one of my toes a few weeks ago after accidentally bumping into a piece of furniture. My toe's still a little sore, but I'm glad it isn't broken since I don't need any surprise expenses at the moment.

I had an appointment Monday morning with a neuropsychiatrist to see if I could find a better treatment for my depression. I was told the survey I filled out beforehand showed signs of bipolar disorder. I was given new prescriptions for Abilify and Lexapro which are better at targeting depression. I hope this combination will work much better. I also got some melatonin gummies to take at bedtime.

I really want to attend Anthrocon next year, even if I have to skip other cons to afford it. Visiting Pittsburgh for a singles cruise reunion a few weeks before AC took place made me want to return. (I couldn't afford to stay an extra three weeks for AC this year.) If I do attend AC 2024, an online friend recommended visiting the Kennywood amusement park about 10 miles away.

I won't be attending DenFur this year due to both financial and emotional reasons. My depression due to unemployment would probably keep me in my room instead of attending the con itself.

I did my first "medicinal" cooking today. I looked up how to infuse vegetable oil with cannabis for making brownies. I'll have a small sample a bit later to see how they turned out.

In September 2021, I was laid off from a 17-plus-year career as a weekend radio announcer. I have been trying to get back into radio, though being in my 50s doesn't make that easy. My chances would be much better if I had a home studio for doing remote work. I found a bundle of professional equipment selling online for $1,350.

I've been posting about my Ko-Fi account on other sites. I'm hoping to raise $1,350 for the equipment. My page's address is ko-fi.com/collieradio

I get uncomfortable asking for money most of the time. I figured $1,350 is a more realistic goal for me than trying to get $300,000 to buy a radio station currently for sale (plus added costs for staff, operations, etc.)

I would appreciate any and all help in meeting my goal, including sharing my goal with others. Thank you in advance!

I got back from my singles cruise reunion trip to Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon. I brought back a bit of Pittsburgh with me: bottles of cinnamon whiskey and coffee liqueur from the Wigle ("wiggle") Whiskey Distillery, which offered a tour. I also got a bit of Denver since I picked up lunch from Meta Burger on the drive home. I went on Pittsburgh's "Burgh Bits & Bites Tour," where I sampled food from a few businesses in the Strip District. I ended the vacation watching the Mets and Pirates play at PNC Park (The Mets won 5-1.)

I was hoping to visit  Boomer_The_dog while in Pittsburgh, but I couldn't find any available time for us to get together.

Smoke from a Canadian wildfire had blown through Pittsburgh and other parts of the northeast U.S. during my trip. Thankfully, I didn't seem to be affected by it.

My faster internet is now installed. I now get 100 Mbps on my cell phone. My laptop only registers 30-38 Mbps, but that's more than twice the speed I had before.

I upgraded the seats on my flights to and from Pittsburgh for the sadly-not-for-Anthrocon vacation. This basically doubled the total cost, but having a wider seat and better food options is worth it.

I got an e-mail from the airline later saying my purchase was being refunded. I was worried the First-Class seats weren't available. Thankfully, the refund is for my initial upgrade to Economy Plus.

I've noticed my Internet sometimes disconnects when I do occasional music streams. I thought switching from Wifi to a wired connection would solve the problem, but I still get dropouts. I don't know if the problem is with my modem (which is about 8 years old) or my Internet itself. A recent test showed I get 13.4 Mbps download and 0.84 Mbps upload. Later this week, I will have my service upgraded to get 50-100 Mbps. I will also get a new modem since my current modem only handles speeds up to 40 Mbps.

I ordered a new APAP machine last week. My current machine is about 7 years old, and the company recommends replacing it every 5 years. I ordered the new machine after getting an error message saying "Motor life exceeded." The machine still runs, but it doesn't adjust its air flow anymore; I've been feeling sleepier after I wake up. The new machine should arrive Thursday night.

I just finished compiling a Rabbit Hole* playlist for May 14th when Romeo will be at FWA. I'll be starting it with an hour of Atlanta-based artists, including a couple songs from a furry artist.

My singles cruise group is holding a reunion in Pittsburgh next month. I wish I could afford to stay after the reunion and attend Anthrocon, but there's a two-and-a-half-week gap between both events.

I had thrown together a three-hour music set last Friday after I was originally told Romeo wouldn't be doing a Rabbit Hole over the weekend. Romeo played a "best of" show on both Saturday and Sunday. I got home from doing some DoorDash deliveries Sunday afternoon in Denver. I got on Twitter and saw a tweet from Romeo saying I would do the Rabbit Hole's second half after Romeo's best-of.

My Ethernet connection had disconnected when I tested it a few hours before my show. After looking up troubleshooting tips, I found the Device Manager screen and disabled the "shut down connection to save power" option. I reconnected around 8:30 and it stayed connected all night.

Romeo Rabbit announced the Rabbit Hole was off Sunday night due to a RAM failure on his computer. I wasn't originally planning to fill in, but I went on at 10 PM ET.

My internet connection kept dropping during my fill-in show. I'm not sure if the problem was with my service itself or my WiFi connection. I closed all the programs on my computer except Mixxx and IRC, but I still had disconnections throughout the night. I mainly used a playlist from last June to build this show, with a few newer tunes thrown in.

I thought about switching to a wired connection instead of WiFi. Unfortunately, my modem is in my bedroom, and Studio C (couch) is in the living room. I'd need to either relocate my modem to the living room or run about 30-40 feet of cable from my bedroom to the living room when I need to do a show.

I signed up for a free consultation with a professional broadcaster who is now a media "headhunter." I'm thankful that this person pointed out a typo on my LinkedIn profile since I hadn't noticed it. He sent me a link to a media industry site, as well as a digital copy of his book which has lots of useful information. He also suggested getting more professional equipment to take advantage of remote opportunities.

The internet issue I had this weekend would definitely pose a problem for my plans to have a professional home studio. That, and I live in a condo with neighbors above and on two sides of me. I'd have to limit any remote work to the daytime.

I got home from Furry Fiesta around 3:10 PM Tuesday. The convention itself was very good, though long waits for elevators and not enough parking put a damper on things for me. It took 90 minutes of driving through the parking garage before I could find a space.

WEDNESDAY
I left home around 7:30 AM then got breakfast in Raton, New Mexico just after 10 AM. I had plenty of time to have lunch at Furrbie's diner in Amarillo since I arrived earlier than expected. One of the waitresses said I looked familiar to her. I had visited Furrbie's back in 2018, but the waitress was thinking of someone who visited more recently.

I spent the night in Childress, Texas at the same motel I stayed last year. This time the elevators were working! I forgot to change the top on my APAP water tank, so it still had the open spout for my machine's cleaner. I went to the Dollar Tree to get some plastic wrap, tape and pencil erasers to cover the spout. I picked up dinner at Taco Bell on the way back to the motel.

If I stay at this motel next year, I'll make a note that the rooms have both refrigerators and microwaves. (The hotel in Amarillo where I stayed on Monday night also has these.)

THURSDAY
I stopped at Buc-ee's in Fort Worth on the way to the convention hotel. I got two of their Texas cheesesteak burritos to have for lunch and dinner, along with some bottles of water and two rice crispy treats.

The registration line for the con moved MUCH faster than last year. The "line before the actual reg line" only took an hour to get to the front. Unfortunately, a tornado warning forced everyone in line to take shelter for a while. When the coast was clear, it took another 40 minutes to get through the line again and about 10 minutes to get registered.

FRIDAY

I discovered I forgot to pack my Gillette razor this time. I got a different brand razor from the front desk. I only nicked myself 2-3 times with it.

I listened to  taebyn sing Weird Al songs this afternoon. Afterwards, I got a crispy chicken sandwich and tater tots from one of the pop-up food stands at the con since Taebyn has a video where he sings "Crispy chicken, nummy nummy tot-tots."

SATURDAY

The con schedule said Divine Dragon Cannon would be playing at 2 PM today. I arrived early and watched the previous act, Mako Aluveaux, who is a good singer. Divine Dragon Cannon hadn't shown up by 2:30, so I went upstairs to another panel featuring TaebynPup called "Story Time with Taebyn."

SUNDAY

The hotel's Open Market store had run out of kolaches again, just like last year. I got a roast beef sandwich instead for lunch. I definitely put on a few pounds during the con, so I just got a chicken Caesar salad and some lemonade for dinner.

Furry Fiesta had a huge jump in attendance this year. The total given at closing ceremonies was 7,336. That's over 1,800 more than last year.

MONDAY

I checked out of the con hotel just after 10 AM, then went to a drug store to buy a Gillette razor and some snacks.

On my way to Amarillo, I took a side trip on a section of old Route 66 that I didn't get a chance to see last year. The town of Groom has a water tower that was deliberately built at an angle, so people call it the Leaning Tower of Texas. A church in town has a 190-foot cross surrounded by statues depicting the Stations of the Cross. I thought about visiting the VW Slug Bug Ranch again, but it was starting to rain and I didn't bring a paint pen to mark one of the VW's.

In Amarillo, I went to a steak and grill house for dinner and got a chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, broccoli and cheese soup, and a brownie a la mode for dessert. I had a couple glasses of Yuengling beer with my meal. I shaved with my new razor before bed. No nicks this time!

TUESDAY

After leaving the motel in Amarillo, I realized I left a couple small bottles of lemonade in my room's fridge. At least it wasn't anything important or irreplaceable.

I refueled and got lunch in Dalhart, Texas. I got "The Dude" chicken fried steak sandwich at Dairy Queen.

If I make it to Furry Fiesta next year, I hope both my financial and emotional health will be better. I felt sad at times and stayed in my room instead of going to some of the panels I wanted or getting in fursuit. The latter was partially due to not having a fursuit parade.

My car's shifter broke last week. Since the car was already headed to the shop, I asked the mechanics to replace the alignment adjuster that had previously broken. The cost for both repairs was just under $1,000.

My phone's Upside app offered a 30 cents-per-gallon cash back offer for buying at least $10 worth of food at certain restaurants. I went to Jack in the Box for lunch today and got their chicken teriyaki bowl. This should shave a few dollars off my next fill-up.

I got a flat tire while driving two weeks ago. I had to replace all four tires since the shop told me the tires I had were discontinued and no longer in stock. While doing an alignment check, the mechanics found the alignment adjuster on one rear tire was rounded off by whoever did the alignment last. I'll make another appointment a week or so before my Furry Fiesta trip to get that fixed.

I found a psychiatrist's office that is taking new patients. I filled out their forms a few days ago and am just waiting for a call back to make an appointment. I've spent much more time in bed lately because my depression has gotten so bad.

I'm still having no luck landing a new job. I've gotten interest from a few radio and TV stations, but I wasn't hired. If I could find folks who could financially help me, I'd love to start my own station.

I have a "maybe" on my job list. One of the local TV stations recently asked me to rewrite two police reports in the style of a news brief. I hope my news writing skills aren't too rusty and the job won't need me to start until after Furry Fiesta. Another TV station rejected my application.

I got a flat tire yesterday. I had hoped I only needed to replace the one tire, but the shop told me the company no longer makes it. In addition, the shop repaired a coolant leak and realigned the front tires. Whoever did my last alignment broke one of the alignment parts on a rear tire. I'll need to bring the car in again in a few weeks to have that replaced.

I'm still searching for an available psychiatrist. I can't find one that's taking new patients at this time.

My therapist recommended two local psychiatrists to me. I'm hoping I can find a more-effective medication to knock out my depression. One of the psychiatrists called me today to say his practice is pay-as-you-go and doesn't take insurance. The other psychiatrist is on my health plan, though he isn't taking new patients for another week or two.

Even with a few "new" radio stations (old stations with new owners) popping up, I don't see a light at the end of the unemployment tunnel yet. Two stations in Lamar that got knocked off the air by a microburst are being rebuilt, a former Spanish music AM/FM station in Pueblo is now a country station run by a longtime local broadcaster, and a new FM station is being built near Limon. If I could find willing investors, there's one or two FM stations available near Pueblo.

50 days until Furry Fiesta! I registered for the convention last Friday, but I couldn't find an available hotel room for all four nights. I kept checking the hotel site from time to time and was able to find and book a single King room on Monday.

Tech issues kept me from doing a show tonight. I couldn't get my Blue Snowball microphone to work even after rebooting my computer. The computer itself didn't recognize the microphone, and neither did my travel laptop, and none of the troubleshooting steps I took worked. I found my conference microphone which works with Mixxx, but my mood to do a show had gone south by that time. I let Boomer know so he could start RadioLawn at midnight Eastern then do an earlier Doggy Radio after.

I looked over my Amazon purchases and found I bought the Blue Snowball in 2015, so it may just be time to get a new mic. I just ordered a new cord and Blue Snowball. The cord is supposed to arrive by Wednesday. If replacing the cord by itself doesn't fix the problem, my new mic should arrive Sunday before showtime. If not, I'll limp along with my conference mic.

My trip to Las Vegas had a few bumps, and not just turbulence! I flew out of Denver International Airport since the combined flight and parking cost was much cheaper than flying out of the Colorado Springs Airport.

The United Club lounge at the airport had a sign posted at the entrance saying they couldn't accept one-time passes at this time. I went to a nearby restaurant instead for lunch.

After lunch, I saw that my flight had been moved to another gate and the flight's departure was delayed. Apparently, United needed to switch planes due to mechanical trouble. The catering service forgot to load any food onto the new plane. Rather than have everyone wait another hour or more, the plane's captain went to an airport shop and bought bottled water and snacks for the passengers.

The temperature went from 3° in Denver to 61° in Las Vegas. I stayed at the MGM Grand hotel since my cell phone's Pop Slots app offers discounts at MGM-owned properties. I only gambled (for real money) one time on Saturday. I put $10 in a Buffalo Slots machine and walked away with just 60 cents.

United texted me Saturday afternoon to say my original flight home was canceled. I chose a different flight, but I was switched to a regular Economy seat in the last row of the plane even though several Economy Plus seats were still available. I switched to an available Economy Plus seat when I checked in on Sunday. I'm glad I was able to use the United Club lounge in Vegas since my departure time kept getting pushed back. The flight was supposed to leave Vegas around 1:30 PM, but it got delayed to 3:25 and later to 3:40.

The flight home had some severe turbulence close to Denver. I was watching MTV's "Ridiculousness" (like a more-extreme version of America's Funniest Home Videos) on my seat-back monitor, and a collection of winter driving fails was playing while the turbulence was happening. The temperature difference between cities wasn't as severe this time. Las Vegas was at 63° when I left, and Denver was at 41° when I arrived.

I got home to Colorado Springs around 9:15 PM Sunday. I originally planned to nap until 1 AM then tune into Doggy Radio, but I was too tired. I woke up a bit after 4 AM and caught the show's tail end (because dogs.)

"I'm not shoeless. YOU'RE shoeless!"
"Well, you're a towel."
"YOU'RE a towel!"

I wish I could find a job placement counselor who has actual experience with the broadcasting industry. The last few counselors I've had were confident they could find a position for me. After a month or so, they'd say "I didn't realize it would be so difficult."

I had created a Ko-Fi account a few years ago, mainly to donate to other online shows. I've thought about asking for donations for myself, but the amount I'd need for any needed repairs and to become financially stable would be way too much for the small number of friends I have. If you remember how much Fox Amoore raised to produce his "Come Find Me" album, imagine if he had to produce 5-8 different albums all at once.

The monthly broadcasters lunch is tomorrow. I hope someone there has some inside information about any job openings.

I decided to book my Las Vegas Christmas vacation. I reserved the flights and hotel for Christmas weekend.

The green bean casserole I made for Thanksgiving turned out great. I was worried I didn't make enough for 20-30 people, but I had about 2-3 servings left over at the end of the dinner. I had to make a quick dash to Safeway before making the dish since I needed another 1.5 pounds of beans. (I forgot that almost half of the weight shown on cans of beans was the water inside.) I put an 8-quart pot on my Christmas list since the only large pot I have was bought from a thrift store in 2007 and is on its last legs.

I didn't originally plan this, but I noticed my seat on the flight to Vegas is 8-D (which looks like a happy emoji) and the flight home will be in seat 8-C (a frown.)

I tested myself for COVID last Wednesday. My test came back negative! I'm glad that's over and I can get back to doing deliveries. I only hope the city and/or county can improve cell reception on the eastern edge of the city since my smartphone kept losing its connection while I was delivering tonight.

With my mind being focused on looking for a new job, as well as dealing with COVID, I forgot to check my credit union accounts over the past two weeks to look for my federal tax refund. The refund was put into my account on October 26th.

I thought about taking a Christmas vacation in Las Vegas this year. I play the Pop Slots app on my smartphone and have earned enough points for a free two-night stay at certain Vegas hotels. Unfortunately, Fridays, Saturdays and holidays are excluded from this offer. My plan was to stay in Vegas on the 23rd and 24th, then check out on Christmas morning. A two-night stay at the MGM Grand on Christmas weekend would cost around $218 total, so that's still not too expensive.

I felt like I had come down with a cold after the Howl-O-Ween party in Denver two weeks ago. The party's organizers announced that an attendee had tested positive for COVID-19 afterward. I didn't notice any COVID symptoms at first, but my sense of smell has mostly gone away. I went to a local pharmacy to get tested. The next day, the pharmacy texted me to say I tested positive. Per my doctor's instructions, I stayed at home and took the 5-day supply of Paxlovid I was given. I can go out with a mask over the next few days, though I'm trying to avoid going out as much as possible. At the moment, the stuffiness and sinus pressure related to COVID has gone away. I'm looking forward to being completely better sometime next week and hopefully being able to smell everything eventually.

Roooooo-Naaaaaaaa! https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bvp0K_-KvqY?start=70