Yes, it's true!

I survived 2016. :P

There are a few moments in particular that stand out about my 2016, and a lot of fun but otherwise forgettable days (since we rarely had the money to do anything). The good thing is it will make for a very short journal. ^^

BEST THINGS ABOUT 2016:

MARRIED  katalina ^__^ (and wedding was awesome!)
HONEYMOON!
Seeing all my friends again (during wedding)
Leaving Yellow Cab for Marco's Pizza (making it by slightly better now)
Developing Jayni more (she has a Twitter now. ;3 Oh, and an Instagram! ^^
Cleveland Cavaliers winning the NBA Championship!
Albany Alphas winning the FBA Champioinship (I will be making art of this! :3)
Chicago Cubs winning the World Series (I'm not a baseball fan, but the breaking of a 108 year long curse is pretty cool)
No deaths in the family, including pets!
Another year with my sweetie! <3

WORST THINGS ABOUT 2016

Trump
No conventions at all :(
TRUMP
Lots of stress because lack of money, wedding planning and car repairs
Little to no furry stuff accomplished
TRUMP
Gatlinburg Fires nearly destroying our honeymoon location (thankfully our cabin was spared!)
Nazis and White Supremacists
We're all fucked because Trump
TRUMP
Did I mention Trump?

Well I won't mention Trump anymore than I already have, and I certainly won't get into a political rant here (Jayni usually has a lot to say on the topic on Twitter though). But I will say because of the whole Trump thing (and I am really scared about that) the ONLY thing that could have saved 2016 as a year for me personally was something huge like getting married. And lo and behold, I went and did just that. ^^ The Cavs winning the championship was really cool too. :3

So overall, in the end, I guess 2016 was not so bad for me. It could have been worse, and depending how things go with our new president, next year will certainly test that theory. But I'm definitely happy to be married, FINALLY to my sweetheart of 8 years. So yay! ^__^


HOW ABOUT 2017?

I have some pretty big plans for 2017. Of course I usually have "big plans" for every year, but I fall off that wagon in the first week and never really get back on. But I plan on making a lot of progress on my art and videos in the next year and hopefully beyond, barring the unexpected. However, if I really can get back on track and get things done next year, that really would be unexpected (given my track record). But regardless, I'm damn sure gonna try!

Expect another announcement on that and more soon. I have to spend the final hours of 2016 at work. Woot... X3

Happy New Year everybody! Let's make 2017 magical! ^^

-JT

...and they weigh a TON!

(sorry, bad joke X3)

I'm super excited for Christmas this year! Why is that, you ask? Because for one, it's my first Christmas with  katalina as a married tiggie! So there's sentimental significance! ^^

Another reason is I've been told I'm getting super spoiled this year. :D

A friend of ours sent us a generous donation out of the blue recently, and it was as vital as it was unexpected. I was (and still kinda am) very behind on bills and stuff since we just got back from our honeymoon a month ago. Luckily, with that donation, I was able to catch up a bit and have some money left to buy gifts with! Or rather, I will, at some point... yeah, it mostly went to my car payment but eh, at least I was able to pay it.

Kat on the other hand... hehehe... so this is the type of awesome, kind, generous kitty she is. She comes across a bit of money and what does she want to do with it more than anything in the world? Spoil the fuck out of me for Christmas! Not buy stuff for herself. She wants to bombard me with Christmas presents like she's been wanting to for the last 5 years! Such a sweet kitty. How did I get so lucky? :3

I've got to up my game if I'm gonna match her for gifts this year. It's ok, I've got a couple things up my sleeve, hehe. But one thing's for sure, this Christmas is going to be one of the best ones we've ever had! :D

COMMISSION/ART UPDATE:

So you may notice I've finally uploaded some art.

Yes, those took FOREVER to finish. If I take that long on basically one character bust shots, I shudder to think how long the rest of my art queue is going to take me. X_x

However, I do have a plan for that. And I'd like to address that a bit, especially for those who have been waiting for a commission from me for a long while.

I am getting closer to being able to make my art push, where I will be focusing on chipping away at not only my commission backlog, but many other fun stuff I have had planned for years and just never get around to. That includes commissions, personal art, music, videos, stories, and whatever else I've thrown in the To-Do pile.

My goal is to get everything organized and make a focused, driven effort to increase my artistic output a lot more than what it has been for a while. This means more streaming art (hopefully on a set schedule, or if not that then dedicating a minimum amount of time to it every week). It also means working on my video buffer for my YouTube channel and another channel I will be creating with Kat called "Spots & Stripes"!

I have a literal FUCKTON of raw footage I need to edit, and well over 100 fursuit video ideas on the shelf just waiting for me to get off my lazy, unfocused ass and edit them. Imagine a buffer of at least 30 videos that I can set to upload a few times a week without me having to say I was too busy to edit this week... it wouldn't matter because they'd already be DONE! That is part of the goal I have.

Also, if I can get used to putting in a lot more effort each week to complete art, edit videos, and write songs, then I may be able to start up my Patreon finally. But there's no point in starting it if I'm not serious about producing content... which I am. I'm just in the scheming stage right now, waiting to unveil my productivity initiative. ;)


So yes... bottom line is I plan to be a lot more active in making stuff for you guys to enjoy... very soon.

People who have been extremely patient in waiting for their artwork... very soon.

Those who enjoy watching my fursuit videos with Kat will get more videos, possibly in a steady stream of consistent uploads... very soon.

Just... it will all be soon. As long as life and my schedule remains more or less stable (no sudden job loss or family emergencies or anything) then it will happen. I will finally be productive.

It's about time.

Just gotta wait a little longer.

Kinda like Christmas... but it should all be worth it. ;3

-JT

So in case you haven't heard the news by now, I got hitched on October 15! :D

Yes it finally happened... after all the false starts and financial troubles, after all the stressing over planning and scrimping and saving and invites and wedding dress drama (that's a whole different story) it's over with. I married my love  katalina in a beautiful little ceremony in my sister's backyard. ^__^

My sister and family helped me put it all together and made sure it ran smoothly (mostly). My brother-in-law cooked for everyone. My sister helped plan and manage things as well as helping with decorations. My 16-year-old niece and her friend stayed up all night making this epic cake (just wait til you see it! It's phenomenal!) and also took pictures during and after the wedding, and my other niece was the flower girl! Oh, and Mom helped everyone with decorations and set up and in the end, it was just perfect.

It wasn't a large ceremony. It went from possibly having way too many guests (I sent out 64 invites, and each of them was allowed a guest as long as there was room) to having only about 40 people total show up. Guess what, that was totally fine. The people who did show up I was incredibly happy to see, including a few good friends I haven't seen in over 5 years. And most of the guests had traveled from far away places (Austin, Houston, Seattle, Vegas, OKC, Buffalo), and I felt quite humbled that they went through all that effort to be there.

Even Kat's best friend for the last 20 years was able to make it down from Boston despite being in a coma and very near death just a month before the wedding. Ok, so the person she drove down with was an emotional vampire tasked with making everyone around her miserable (her sour expression, which photobombed many otherwise beautiful wedding pictures, has led to her being dubbed "Bitchface"), but even that wasn't enough to ruin the happy times.

The wedding weekend was awfully short, almost unfairly so. Most people didn't arrive until at least Friday night, and they were almost all gone by early Sunday. Saturday was a blur of last second preparation and of course the ceremony and reception, so there wasn't much time to hang out with everyone except for Fri and Sat night. We didn't even get to play basketball at all, which my friends and I grew up playing together and had played at least one game at all of their weddings. But I did receive a basketball signed by all of them as a gift (another tradition) and I teared up as I turned it around in my hands, reading all of their messages to me.

Everyone was so damn awesome and supportive. I had never felt so loved by so many people. Yeah, I know, they're my friends and all, but the love and respect and friendship was truly on display that weekend. Many of my older friends had not met Kat before, but from the minute they were introduced you'd have thought they'd all been friends for years. All the anxieties and fears melted away. Everyone was just wonderful. And it was so wonderful having so many friends from my very different walks of life there in one place, having a good time, in support of me and my new wife. From my best friends from Kindergarten and first grade, elementary school, middle and high school, college at SCAD, the furries I'd met since then in person and online (the ones who were able to make it), and even a couple of friends I made while driving cabs around. It was a melting pot of friends. Surreal, but very awesome.

Oh, and I had never told my oldest friends I was a furry, but it clearly wasn't going to be kept a secret this weekend. In fact, a couple of them came up to me and told me what their fursona would be and asked me some respectful questions. Didn't put me on the spot really, just wanted to know what it was I did. So I showed them a video from Furry Punk Rock Massacre. X3 And even though it wasn't much of an insight, that tiny bit of trepidation about revealing that part of myself to them is gone. I don't have to keep that part separate from them because they truly do support me and love me no matter what. It's a nice feeling. ^^

I'm still gathering pictures, but there will definitely be a collage posted as well as a video (and yes, the ceremony was recorded). I wrote these epic vows a few days before the wedding, and it took me a while to get through them because I kept choking up and pausing. XD But I couldn't help it. Seeing my beautiful bride beside me, dressed head to toe in purple (she's my little purple lady! ^^), and my Mom and all my friends, it was very emotionally overwhelming in a very good way. The toasts given were great. There was dancing and catching up with old friends, and an epic cake cutting moment (did you expect us to simply feed each other normally and not smash a piece into each others' faces? X3) And everyone had a good time.

I especially enjoyed seeing Mom smiling and having a blast the whole time. She had waited a long time to see her son get married, and I finally did at age 31. She was so happy that day, and that made me very happy. I danced with her to an Elvis song, "Can't Help Falling In Love", and soaked in her joy and happiness as we swayed back and forth. The song I danced to with Kat? "Thank You" by Dido. One of the first songs she ever sang for me. The lyric "I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life" could not have been more appropriate.

The honeymoon was amazing too. For all the stressing I was doing about having enough money to even have a honeymoon, my friends really came through for us. Ok, a good chunk of the donations were given on the wedding day (way to keep me guessing til the last minute guys XD) but the point is they came through. Just like I knew they would. We were able to get away to a cabin in Gatlinburg, TN and enjoy our wonderful wedded solitude. The view was to die for. And that hot tub... best part of the whole freakin' deal. That hot tub got plenty of use that week. And of course we did what newlyweds would be expected to do given complete privacy in a beautiful and romantic location. And we did it pretty often. ;)

We got to go into town a few times, including once to walk around downtown and browse all the shops. We were supposed to go to Ripley's and the Aquarium and some other things, but to be honest it had been a very long time since we had the funds to browse around like tourists and actually BUY some things! Quite possibly even got carried away a bit on that, but hey that's partly what the wedding gifts were about! Just we got to buy our own gifts with the money, and we got a few awesome things! We were completely fine not seeing the attractions. It'll give us something to do next year. Hopefully we'll get to go on that hike and canoeing trip next year too. ;)

Other than that, we basically relaxed and took it easy at the cabin. It was so needed though. It was like... this is how I only wish I could live my whole life. I felt refreshed, reborn almost. There with my new wife, with ample time to do whatever we wanted, forget our worries and just be happy. Just living life for ourselves and not slaving away for someone else. It's been a while since I got to experience not having to work for a whole week. It was super nice. And we're already eying the same cabin for an anniversary trip next year. ;)

Sadly, all good things come to an end, and we had to drive back at some point and resume normal mundane life. But at least I got to resume it with my wife, and I couldn't be happier. And I will forever be grateful to those wonderful friends and followers who donated to our cause, allowing us to have this awesome trip and make some awesome memories. It was everything we could have hoped for and more. And really, words can't say enough to fully describe how grateful we are that this was able to happen. From the beautiful little wedding to the relaxing honeymoon, everything was perfect. ^^

I'm still getting back in the swing of things 2 weeks later (call it the Honeymoon Hangover) and trying to get my tail in gear. Lots of stuff to work on, including some videos we recorded at the cabin! We would've recorded more, but yanno... it wasn't a work trip. ;)

Feels good being a married tiggie, though things are basically the same as they were before. But now everything is all official, hehe. Again, I'll post a picture collage or a video or two eventually, before too long. But for now, just know that everything worked out, we had a blast, made some awesome memories and saw some awesome friends, and we're very grateful and very happy. :)

Here's to a very long and happy marriage! I love you ! ^^ <3

-JT

I can't believe it's finally happening...

8 years of being together, 3 years of being engaged, 2 failed wedding attempts, wedding dress drama and car repairs galore, and all of it boils down to this.

 katalina and I are getting married. Tomorrow.

FINALLY!

AND... Through a combination of me busting my ass to save money, a few timely airport runs, some generous and giving friends, and a pinch of actual good luck, we managed to save up enough money for our Honeymoon! YAAAAAAAAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!! :D

You have no idea how much this means... the perfect honeymoon with my sweetie, the years of waiting and waiting for the right time to get married, and then after making it official and soon after wondering how in the hell we were gonna make this work... to have it be happening finally and for it to appear to be looking like it will go smoothly (nice weather, preparations just about set)... man. Wow.

I'm so very very grateful. :)

That being said, this will (obviously) be my last journal as a single unmarried bachelor. True, not a lot will change because Kat and I have been living together a while and we've already got this marriage thing figured out. ;) Ok, my tax status will change and some other menial crap. But mostly, this is a way to solidify our commitment to each other and to show that love really does conquer all.

And I can't wait to begin the journey. ^^

We do still have a GoFundMe running, as well as a Honeyfund. Like I said, the base goal of paying for the cabin is reached (THANK YOU!) but any additional donations would still help out. We hope to be able to afford to have a couple of nice meals, maybe some bubbly, perhaps a canoeing trip, oh and gas to get there and back and of course bills (no matter how much I try to ignore them). So if you'd still like to donate, I'm going to leave the donation pages up til at least after the honeymoon and probably til the end of the month.

The incentives are still there. Just check out my previous journal ( http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7842258/ ) and also the video I uploaded to YouTube with Kat!



The GoFundMe with the donation and art incentives is linked below!
https://www.gofundme.com/JonAngelHoneymoon

You can also donate to Honeyfund (no incentives though, sorry)
https://www.honeyfund.com/wedding/J.....Angelhoneymoon


It looks like by the amount of donations we have so far (slightly over $200 right now), we'll be owing you guys some videos when we get back. Which is great, because we will have videos when we get back. We plan on making quite a few during our honeymoon, and editing some ones that are almost done.

I'll also be jumping back on art commissions when I return. My creative juices should be flowing by the time our honeymoon is over, and frankly I can't wait to get started! We'll finally have this huge event done and over with, so my focus will return to creating content and finishing art (and I've got a lot of it).

Thanks again guys, for everything! We love you all! ^___^

-JT

[VERY IMPORTANT CAUSE, It's long but PLEASE READ]

Soooooooo HI GUYS! :D

Man oh man oh maaaan has it been a jam-packed couple of months. So much working. So much wedding planning. So much... well, mostly that covers it. Oh, and mostly driving too, which is part of the reason I'm asking for donations now at this crucial moment, 2 weeks before my wedding.

Wedding. Wow... can't believe I'm getting married to the love of my life  katalina... been together 8 years, engaged for 3. After 2 previous wedding dates that fell through because of my financial situation, I decided we've waited long enough. Yet this date seems to have proven even harder than the others to pull off. However, I've already invited people, they've made arrangements, and we've got the marriage license. There's no backing out now.

But trust me, that's a good thing. I'm super freakin' excited! Almost all my friends will be there and it will be an amazingly wonderful day for both of us! ^^

One thing that has me really worried though is the fact that we don't have enough money for the honeymoon yet... and that's mainly because of my stupid car. :(

I had been trying to save money for the past 4 months, but every time I put a couple hundred bucks in savings, I'd need a costly car repair. All in all I've replaced both front ball joints and control arms, a leaky CV boot, brake pads, and am about to have to purchase new tires (going with used tires, no thanks $500 new tires). Plus I'm averaging an oil change every month and a half because I drive for both jobs. In total, after the tires I probably will have spent at least $1800 on it since buying it in January, and most of that has been in the last months leading up to the wedding. Very unfortunate for us.

We've had to downsize our plans considerably, until what we ended up with was a wedding in my sister's backyard and a far simpler honeymoon than originally planned. But again, that's not bad at all because we are saving a lot of money doing it this way, and we don't need much to be satisfied. However, due to bills and random expenses (like the car), we are still struggling to pull it all together.

The wedding won't be a problem, thankfully. Most of my leftover funds have gone to that, and because we started buying stuff a while ago, we've got basically everything we should need (aside from Kat's wedding dress, which may or may not get here at the last minute due to a dressmaker screw up, but that's a whole 'nother can o' worms).

It's the honeymoon that we're mostly concerned with now.

I reserved a few days in a quaint, cozy cabin nestled in the mountains and wooded splendor of Gatlinburg, TN months ago. When our plans to drive through the Northeast and attend Furpocalypse fell through due to lack of funds, we added a couple more days to the cabin reservation (which apparently, weekends in October are kinda expensive). At 6 days, we got a 7th free. So we're staying a week in the cabin. It's simple, it's beautiful, it's private, it's romantic... it's perfect for us.

But I've only been able to squirrel away $400 so far, and I need like $800 more at minimum just to get us to the cabin (not counting gas or the fact I still have bills to pay while we're away). Though don't worry, I am assuming the majority of my wedding guests are just waiting on the invites I haven't sent yet, which contains the registry link among other things (even though they already know about it). Surely they'll all donate a couple days before the wedding... right? *nervous chuckle*

It's just making me really really nervous that we might not only have to cancel our honeymoon, but still lose out on the deposit and possibly owe the whole cost of the reservation. And that would really put a huge damper on a very special, once-in-a-lifetime occasion. :(

So I'm trying to raise money. And I'm willing to make VERY generous offer. Possibly more than one. Stay with me.

First off, let me post this...

HONEYFUND!
https://www.honeyfund.com/wedding/J.....Angelhoneymoon
https://www.honeyfund.com/wedding/J.....Angelhoneymoon
https://www.honeyfund.com/wedding/J.....Angelhoneymoon

GOFUNDME!
https://www.gofundme.com/JonAngelHoneymoon
https://www.gofundme.com/JonAngelHoneymoon
https://www.gofundme.com/JonAngelHoneymoon


The Honeyfund is our official gift registry for the wedding, except instead of gifts we are only asking for money. That money is specifically to enable us to have a honeymoon. It's mainly for invited guests to give a gift, but it doesn't matter to me if others decide to donate through that.

The GoFundMe was set up as an alternative donation option, with a few perks if you happen to be a furry or a fan of kitty produced content (art, videos and such).

Let me explain that last part.

If you follow Katalina's YouTube Channel (which you totally should!) and if you like fursuit videos with Kat and myself or just furry videos in general, then you'll be possibly intrigued about our...

DONATION INCENTIVE PLAN plan plan *dramatic echo*

Here's the dealio.

For every small money goal we hit on our GoFundMe, we will release a private link to a video we've created! These videos were intended to be part of a buffer we're building in advance of our new joint video channel launch (Spots & Stripes!) but if you'd like to see them earlier (possibly much earlier) all you have to do is donate any little amount! As long as it's $5 or more, you are guaranteed to get a private link to any of the unlocked videos as soon as they are uploaded privately to our channel! Sweet deal right? :D

At the $25 mark, an extra video was unlocked! Another extra video will be unlocked at $50, $75, $100, $150, $200, $250, $300, $350, $400, $450, $500 (EPIC), $600, $700, $800, $900, $1000 (MORE EPIC), $1200, $1400, $1600, $1800, $2000 (MOST EPIC!)

All in all that's 22 videos you could see early! Most of these won't see the light of day until we have a 25 video buffer, so this is the best way to see them sooner if you're impatient! ;) And the videos get better and better at the higher donation levels. We've got a bunch of new Taste Test videos, reaction videos, rants, and involved skits in various stages of production, and at the $500, $1000 and $2000 mark we will have something special in store. ^^

A few terms on that deal so that to discourage everyone donating $5 (because we do want to meet the goals)...

When donations have reached 5-500, everyone who donates gets a link to the private videos unlocked within that span.
When donations have reached 600-1000, everyone who donates $20 or more will get a link to the private videos unlocked within that span.
When donations have reached 1200-2000, everyone who donates $40 or more will get a link to the private videos unlocked within that span.
Anyone who donates $50 or more will get a private link to ALL VIDEOS once completed (except $1000 and $2000 videos) even if the goal for those video was not reached.
Anyone who donates $80 or more will get a private link to ALL VIDEOS including $1000 and $2000 videos even if the goal for those videos was not reached.
Anyone who donates $100 or more will get a private link to ALL VIDEOS regardless of goal reached as well as special artwork from Kat & JT!
All donators of $20 or more will be mentioned in a special Thank You video (unless that person wishes to remain anonymous).

Yes you can combine separate donations to unlock rewards, and we'll make sure any art for donations of $100 will be worth it!

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

Because we really need the money (and I'm feeling particularly sassy in my art gland) I will draw art of any non-copyrighted character you choose FOR ANY AND ALL DONATIONS! Yes you heard me. If you donate $5, you get art. Mind you it may only be a sketch or a small quick icon, but if you donate, say, $20... or maybe $50, the quality increases. When it gets to $100, you will be receiving fully rendered art pieces with possibly more than one character. These art pieces are to be completed ASAP after the honeymoon. (I won't have a wedding to plan, therefore I will make time). And yes, if you donate to the Honeyfund instead of the GoFundMe, you will get art and access to unlocked videos (your donation just won't go towards unlocking those videos).

If that's not enough, THERE'S EVEN MORE!!!

You can get art for any donations, yes this is true. But I am also opening up for 4 PRIORITY CHARACTER BADGES done in a quick cartoony style like this: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9707862/ These will be done FIRST before any other art and before the wedding if I can help it (we'll see). But I really need the money, so $25 will get you a slot plus I'll include the private link to the 5-500 videos too because why not? An extra $5 and I'll even laminate and ship it to you! :D

Reply below for a badge slot, then donate to the GoFundMe (you must claim the spot first to get a badge. If you donate $25 or more, you will still get art but it will be done after the badges and honeymoon).

Badge slot 1
Badge slot 2
Badge slot 3
Badge slot 4

I think that's a lot of good reasons to donate to a very special cause, don't you? Again, even if it's $5 you will get some special video viewing privileges and personalized art too. And yes, I may be slow at creating, but if you owe you something I am good for it.

On that note, if it comes to it, I'm even willing to accept a loan on good faith that I will pay you back as soon as I am able and in regular intervals. I can pay in art or music too. Just send me a message and I will work with you.

I want this honeymoon to happen more than I've wanted anything to happen before aside from marrying Kat. It is extremely important to me that I give her this honeymoon as a special commemoration of the moment and of our love. It's a memory that will stay with us forever and ever, and will get our marriage off to a positive start. Some believe that the first days and weeks after a wedding is a sign of how things will be for that couple in the future, and canceling our honeymoon is just... not the way I want it to go.

Please... if you ever have considered donating before or if you never give me money again, please this is the time. It's 2 weeks before our wedding. I want to know before that day that we have a special little cabin waiting for us. It would really help with the loads of stress we've both been under for a long time.

In short, we need this. And I will do almost anything to make sure it happens.

But I need your help.

So please, donate something, anything. Share to your followers. There's a lot of cool stuff in store for you, and it's for what I think is a really good cause.

Because I don't intend on marrying anyone again.  katalina is the only one for me. I've dreamed of this day for 8 years, of giving her a wedding experience that is as special and priceless as she is to me.

A wonderful honeymoon would just be *ahem* the icing on the cake. ;)

Fundraiser and incentives will end on Oct 18 at 12:01am. By then we'll either be enjoying our honeymoon, or we won't.

Thank you for listening. And thank you for any assistance you can offer. It means more to both of us than you can know.

-JT

*blows dust and cobwebs off his journal*

Man, it's been a while. Last time I wrote something here was May 23. In fact, this is only the 5th journal of 2016. Guess the whole "write a journal every month" thing hasn't been going well. Heh...

Well anyways, I usually am pretty wordy with these things, but I only have about 20 min before work, so I'll be as concise as I can be.

Where have I been the last, oh, many months? Well, if you mean as far as online, mostly Twitter, sometimes YouTube with Kat (but much more rare these days. That will change).

But mostly, I've been busy. Working. Adulting. Lamenting about having to be constantly working and adulting. And up until recently, filling in whatever spare chunks of free time I could find with anything that might resemble fun, relaxation, or having a life. Or sleeping, when possible.

See, thing is, I'm trying to change old habits like procrastination and my poor self-discipline, because as I've discovered, it is impossible for me to do anything I need to do with this life-heavy schedule if I don't change around how I perceive time. I always take my time (we call it being on 'Tiggie Time' around here), because I don't like to rush and I don't like feeling like I don't have a break. Constantly working has its way of making me feel like that's the case.

Oh, did I mention I'm also trying to plan a wedding and a honeymoon and put all that together? More on that later.

Currently, I'm trying to manage my time better. I've made schedules and lists of things to do, and while those have been unsuccessful mostly over the last few years (yes, years...) I'm finally, FINALLY starting to take to them.

It's still not easy. Not by a longshot. I usually have to make a choice between sleep or being productive, and I can only put off sleep for so long (the bags under my eyes have gotten so bad, I think I might be turning raccoon). But I feel that I've been being decently productive lately with the bits of time that I have. Sure, I have a long ways to go, but I'm doing the best I can right now (except for when something comes up that makes me throw up my arms and say 'Fuck It' for the day, but that's not too often...)

I'm going to be drawing more soon. I'm going to be streaming more. I'm going to be making strides to chip away at my mountain of work (or possibly add more to it, but not before at least making a little dent first). I'm going to be doing all that more or less soon.

But right now, working, resting, and wedding planning are taking all of my time. That and "adult things" like laundry, food shopping, cleaning, cat box, mowing lawns... you know, the stuff that we all likely deal with on a day to day basis (unless you don't have cats).

I'll be starting another wedding fundraiser soon. I'll also be mailing out invites to people soon and making a video to try to raise a bit more money. If I can get my shit together in time, I can maybe put my streaming and video making to use by starting a Patreon. I also am considering small, quick badge commissions or FBA character commissions. But there is just... so much to juggle. And not enough time to juggle it all.

So that's mostly what I'm up to. I'm still around, lurking... waiting... until I can pounce on my commission queue properly. I'm also hoping to make the experience of toiling away at years of built up art ideas into a fun one by involving my followers. One of my ideas was giving them a vote as to what they want to see me work on next, and then streaming the suggestion! Of course that's only if I don't have a time-sensitive piece that needs to be completed first, but more on that in a different, more detailed journal down the line.

Anyway, I have to go to work now. See, I CAN bang out a journal in 20 min! Usually I'd just say "Eh, 20 min is not enough time to do anything" and proceed to check twitter. But I'm trying to change that mindset. I got a lot done today in the 3 hours I had, but 3 hours is not enough to make too much of a difference. However, every little bit helps.

Look for another journal in the near future, be it about wedding stuff, or my latest art-movement initiative (and videos, music and whatnot).

For now, yes I'm alive and yes, I have to go. Talk to you all later! :3

-JT

NOWHERE.

That's right, I'm not going anywhere.

I don't even have time enough to keep up one account much less multiple accounts with the same content.

Every time FA goes down, I see a huge flood of "I'm leaving" journals. Sometimes I'll see these journals from the same people who said they were leaving last time.

I get it, FA has a lot of problems. And if you're concerned about security leaks and whatnot, I don't blame you for not wanting to risk sticking around. And naturally its your prerogative to use or not use a free website for whatever reason.

But dear lord, some people act like it's FA's fault that it had the audacity to go and get hacked. How dare they not have invincible cyber-armor that personally loads a giant flaming middle finger on the screen of any would-be hackers who want a piece of them? Chances are, if you're still here, you're not one of these people, but yes they do exist.

If hackers want to hack a site, they're going to hack it. Even the freaking Pentagon website has been hacked before. And if you take steps to protect a site against hackers, hackers will just find another way around it. It's as inevitable as Zootopia rule 34 art.

Yeah FA has its flaws, but I've never seen one site withstand so many baseless attacks, as if admins didn't have enough shit to deal with. And the massive backlash and subsequent exodus when literally anything happens here is so... exhausting after a while.

So yeah, I'm not going anywhere, so don't worry.

I do have a Weasyl account though, but there's nothing in it. However, you can follow it if you want. Maybe if enough people become strictly Weasyl and not FA, I may have motivation to post there. But again, time, and the fact I don't have much of it to spare, make that unlikely, at least in short term... or until FA really does bite the big one. But I'll list it anyway in case you care. Actually I probably will upload stuff there, eventually (which could mean anytime in the next 3 years... maybe).

https://www.weasyl.com/~jtigerclaw

Of course I'm on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/JTigerclaw

Oh, and YouTube. Videos will show up on there somewhat soon, I think.

https://www.youtube.com/user/JTigerclaw

That's pretty much it.

Stay safe, stay sane, and remember kids, "Only YOU can prevent furry drama... actually, no you can't. Nobody can. But you can sure stand back at a safe distance and laugh at it." ^^

(in before Read-Only mode)

-JT

Hmm... didn't I say this year I wanted to write more journals? Like one a month to keep everyone updated on things? Maybe I did, or maybe I just told myself, in my head, along with the billion other plans of things I'm "definitely doing in 2016" that have yet to pan out.

No surprise here, really. I've not really kept up with my goals this year, nor have I kept to any schedules or plans when I make them. Other than the "get a new job" plan, which was the most important plan of the year (next most important, "Have that damn wedding finally!") my plans have always been derailed, either by being busy with other priorities, or just general laziness and exhaustion from work and responsibility.

This is not to say that I will never stick to my plans. In fact, I'm optimistic about keeping to them in the near future, for a couple reasons.

One big reason is that I just finished editing a video for someone, a freelance promotional video for their personal business venture. Between my crazy-ass schedule and being generally unmotivated, it took me 3 months to finish it. That's 3 months of not being able to really make progress on anything else on my agenda, yet still having enough time to waste procrastinating. Such is the way when an artist gets a project that doesn't really put wind in their sails, yet I still couldn't bring myself to stop and go "Eh, good enough" (until the very end, at least. But she loved it anyway).

Point is, that project is done. And I'm exuberant about that. I'm still busy as hell, generally speaking, but I'm more motivated to continue working on my projects than I have been in the past many months. And while I'm still in the baby steps stage of getting off my ass and making things happen, at least the plans are starting to take shape.

Then it's just the matter of doing it.

That, of course, is always the hardest part.

Currently, I'm trying to catch up on a few personal goals that have nothing to do with furry (mostly). Things that I haven't had time, money, or the necessary items to accomplish before. Top to bottom house cleaning (god it needs it...), decorate the office wall so it's not blank anymore (it's been 2.5 years... starting to bug me), mow our Amazonian Jungle grass (it eats lawnmowers for breakfast), car and lawnmower maintenance, etc. Again, baby steps.

But what I'm planning on doing AFTER I get all that other stuff out of the way, let's just say I'm hoping you will be seeing A LOT more content from me. I even have a cool little plan on how to involve all of you in the process, which I hope will be as fun as it is motivating (in the light-a-match-under-me, kick-in-the-ass sorta way ^^).

I'll expand more on all that in a video, when I get around to making it. And speaking of videos, that is one of the things that I will be working to make more of (yes, including all those food videos I still have to edit). Commissions, music, and comics will also be in the works eventually. Don't know how much content will get made, but the goal is to spend more time creating and chipping away at it, not to hit a certain number of accomplishments in a certain timeframe. I've tried that idea to death and for many reasons, and it's simply not possible to depend on having a designated amount of time to finish something, nor is it possible to know how long a particular project will take to complete. But as long as consistent progress is being made and I'm using whatever time I have efficiently, that's what matters.

So anyways, keep a look-out for more stuff from me soon! Don't know how soon, but soon enough. ;)

-JT

I finally did it. After 3 1/2 years working at Yellow Cab, I just told the boss it was my last day.

That was yesterday. As of now, I no longer work for Yellow Cab.

Which means the car I bought that I hoped would get funded finally did. Last possible freaking minute (20 min before I talked to my boss) but still, it happened.

It's done.

And I feel great. ^^

It remains to be seen if I can sustain everything with the Marco's job. And yes, I do have a few leftover customers to drive around (one of which is very regular), which will help add additional income. Although I did have a bit of a freak out when I thought my new boss gave me 27 hours next week after promising 40, and admittedly delivery numbers aren't that high yet. But then again, the place just opened a week ago. It's in a good location, has a solid reputation in surrounding areas, and there's a Publix going up right next to it which will make a bunch of new people aware of our existence. Delivery numbers will increase. I think I'll do fine.

Also just as importantly, I now have more of a set schedule. Sure my hours may fluctuate slightly from week to week, and I never know when I'll have a regular call me, but I know ahead of time when I will be at work and when I won't. No more sitting around in a cab, burning/freezing, waiting for runs whose quality and frequency can never be depended on. No more getting called out on a run all of a sudden, or getting stuck working many unpredictable hours. From now on, I can schedule things a lot easier, which means I'm going to be a helluva lot more productive! :3

And the best part? No more $400 a week lease that I have to overcome in order to make any money. That fucker is the reason I so often couldn't make rent or bills or even buy necessities. Finally I can use ALL my time for ME, instead of working 5 days of the week just to pay HIM, then bust ass for leftover scraps the last 2 days of the week.

I'm finally free.

It wasn't a bad job at first. It did help me and Kat get a house to rent, and I did pretty well for a bit, while also getting to choose my own hours (and hours off. Not days off, hours off). And my job was easy, I'm not going to lie. But since he kept hiring drivers it was getting harder to get runs, and business kept dropping at random intervals, causing a lot of venting and frustration.

It had come time to move on.

And I did.

Now I look to the future optimistically! I'm super excited to start organizing my time better and getting some cool stuff done! I'll be hopefully getting my commissions completed or almost completed this year. I'll be releasing fursuit videos with Kat. Drawing more art. Playing more basketball too! ^__^

I'm finally free.

And it feels DAMN good. :3

-JT

Happy Belated New Year everyone! It's been a while. :)

SO... In the interest of time, I'll try to keep this short as possible (HA). No seriously. Stop laughing! DX

*ahem* Ok, really, I just want to give a bit of an update and an abridged list of goals for this year (NOT a detailed list like I love doing... that can stay confidential). There will be some pretty big changes I think, the biggest of which has already happened.

I got a new job. And a new car. More monthly payments YEAH! Can't get enough of those delicious monthly payments...

I'm actually still in the process of transitioning over to my new job (currently working both, because reasons) but when I do, it should be a better situation for me. I mean, how can it NOT be better than having to pay a $400 weekly cab lease when I can only make maybe $600 at most despite waiting in my cab doing nothing for hours? I already borrowed enough money in 2015, thank you. And while I like the premise and freedom of the cab job, that ship has not only sailed, it hit an iceberg and sank. That ship is a barnacle museum now. Time for a new ship.

That new ship is pizza delivery. Though it is tip based, I stand to make more money in the end than with my other job if all goes as it should. Also, I still have a handful of loyal regulars who don't care if I drive a taxi or my own car (and would likely prefer to ride in a not-shitty vehicle for once) that I can cart around on a semi-regular basis. Again, it's a hell of a lot better than the alternative of sitting around in a cab, freezing my ass off helplessly as the boss adds more and more drivers despite decreasing business... but whatever. That will be in the past soon.

Anyways, long story short, 2015 sucked ass and I'm tired of being broke, so I went and did something about it. Will it work? I hope so. Granted, I have like $400 more in monthly payments thanks to getting a car, but it's better to pay that monthly than weekly. Plus I literally can't do anything else unless I have my own car, so it's a step in the right direction.

What about cons? Is the wedding still happening?

Cons, I dunno yet. I imagine I wouldn't be the only pizza guy to take time off to go to a con. Surely it must be possible as long as I don't go too often. I'd settle for 3-4 times a year, taking an extra weekend off. But I can't think about that yet since I don't know what money will look like. That goes for the wedding too. My goal is to ABSOLUTELY have the wedding in 2016. Will it be in April like we planned? Will it be in October like originally planned? Dunno. But unless my job bombs or some other inconceivable event happens, the wedding will happen in 2016. It has to. I mean, we don't live forever. :P

Commissions and creative stuff? Music? Videos? What of the fun furry things I miss so much?

Part of my resolution for 2016 is to become more organized, stop procrastinating so much, and to manage my time better, as well as to have a little (a lot) more will power to get things done. This has always been a problem for me, but I realize nothing will ever get done if I don't manage whatever free time I have. Now with a more solid structure to my schedule due to my new job, I can budget time for art, commissions and whatnot. And I'm gonna start by having a LIVESTREAM ON SUNDAY, JAN 10... if I can find time, of course. :P

If all goes according to plan (or close enough) I may be able to finish ALL my back-owed commissions this year. Boy, wouldn't that be something? XD I'd settle for 80%, honestly, but I'm shooting for 100% done and off my freaking plate and off my mind finally, for good. Only then can I focus on creating other stuff and move on to better, cooler things.

I'm hoping that if I try VERY HARD to make a schedule and stick with it, I will be more productive than in years past. My last job, as it turns out, wasn't too good for that, but a large part of it is my fault for not pushing myself. This year, that will change. It has to. I really don't have any other choice, unless I want to move back in with Mom due to overwhelming debt (love my mom, but no, I don't want to do that).

And so here's to 2016 being something 2015 could not be... not a shitty suckfest on steroids. And if I have anything to say about it, it won't be. ^^ (shitty, that is... confusing double negatives are confusing).

Here's to hoping.

-JT

Hopefully the title of this journal doesn't scare you lovely folks away, since you probably already have plans for that precious holiday cash. But hey, if cheap art is on your holiday list, why not entertain the idea of some discounted art from your fave (consistently broke) tiggie? ^^

*deep exhale*

Alright, so the poop is that since it's coming up on winter times, my job has been really slow (REALLY really slow) and I am finding once again that I need a bit of help to pay rent. I hate asking people straight up for cash (though it's gotten there before, sadly) so I thought maybe I could do more emergency commissions to help out.

What I'm offering is limited time, Orange & Black Friday Discounted $25 full body, FULL COLOR commissions (normally $40), as well as $20 colored and laminated shaped badges (cuz I have a new laminator sitting around collecting dust). These will be one character, digitally colored with simple shading, and you can pretty much request anything you want. Afterall, beggars can't be choosers (though I can still say no, I just probably won't because I need the money bad). You may also get additional characters (like a couples pic) but it's still $20 a character (but what those two characters are doing is totally up to you. ^^). As for badges, they come cut out and laminated with a clip, ready to wear at your next convention! :D (I'll mail them to you!)

Now I know what you may be thinking, so I'll cut to the chase. Despite my record for not finishing commissions in a timely manner, these WILL have a hard deadline with a money-back guarantee. I'm gonna set that deadline at March 1. I'd set it at the end of the year, but I'm not quite THAT confident. :P Anyways, if your commission is not fully completed and posted by March 1, you get a full refund. This is simply insurance to ensure I will carve out some time to get them done, although I fully plan on starting an art movement as soon as I finish this website I'm working on for someone (which has led to free time being non-existent, along with my sorry excuse for employment v_v but I digress.)

I'm hoping to get at least 5 of these, though I will take as many as I can (up to like, 10, if it gets that high). And I'll chip away at these in the next couple of months, along with some other commissions on my plate (I'll post a commission completion schedule soon). Trust me, you'll be seeing more art uploaded here than in previous months. Who knows, if I can get an actual planned day off, I'll even stream them! (maybe)

So yes, if anyone wouldn't mind some of my art and is ok with waiting up to 3 months (might be done sooner, unless I wanna risk losing money), please do consider getting in on one of these fast. I wouldn't be offering them at this low a price if I didn't really need the money. So get them while they're hot, get them while they're cheap... just get 'em! :3 (please. mew.)

Comment below or note me! Thankies!

-JT

(WARNING: Eyes may become moist during viewing. Have tissues handy.)

Two years ago, at a furry convention in Cromwell, CT, I proposed to the love of my life on stage in front of a couple hundred friends, strangers, and giant furry animal people. This is the slideshow that I created for that moment, which I then sang along to in front of an oblivious Kata'lina (my blushing bride to be) and a very moist, tear-filled ballroom. ^^

The convention was FurFright 2013. It was a very special con to both of us, since it was the con we first met at in 2007 (as referenced in the song). So of course it was the most special and meaningful place I could have chosen for this proposal, which was more than 2 years in the making. Turns out my timing was perfect, as it was announced that FurFright was ceasing to be, a number of months after this proposal took place (the con changed hands and has since become Furpocalypse).

While the closing of our favorite convention was certainly saddening, it made the proposal (which was the last thing to happen at the con, at closing ceremonies) all the more special. A very fitting end to a wonderful 7 years of joy, memories, laughter and love. And as one chapter ends, a new one begins, as Kata'lina and I hope to soon start our new lives as husband and wife. ^^

I love you, my darling Angel. Mew mew mew! :)

---

If you enjoyed this video and you'd like to help out with the funding of our wedding (now set for April 2016), please consider donating to our GoFundMe (link below). We currently do not make a lot of money, and the wedding has already been postponed once from last October due to lack of funds, so anything you care to give will be of great help. We don't need fancy gifts or a huge cathedral with bells and whistles. I simply want the opportunity to give her the special day she's always dreamed of.

Donate to our wedding fund here - https://www.gofundme.com/y6qz88

As for our part, we will be coming up with donation incentives for when certain dollar amount goals are reached, such as additional fursuit videos, game streams, online hangouts, maybe some art... let us know in the comments what you would like to see, or what you think others may like to see!

And of course, please like, subscribe, and share! Help two loving kitties become one giant aww-inducing, love-expelling, teeth-rotting fusion megabot thing! That's what happens when you get married, right? X3

Who knows... if you go above and beyond, maybe we'll invite you to the wedding. Hey, it could happen... ;)

---

Original Proposal Video:



Kata'lina Tells Her Side:

---

Song credit --- music originally written by Plain White T's, lyrics modified by me.

Art - JTigerclaw, Kata'lina, Dakota Bailey, Dark Natasha, Seth Triggs, XianJaguar, Valentine Crow, Caribou Ink (thumbnail)

---

Hey guys! ^^

So I'm still trying to get back on my feet from being behind on bills and shit. It's been an arduous process, but I'm doing all I can. And to help the process along, I've opened for my very first YCH commissions!

I'm trying it as an auction, but it could just as well be a "claim your spot first and it's yours". I don't see the bids going that high honestly, but I also can't afford to sell low right now. This is strictly to get my monthly debt paid down so I can start affording things again and making more time to get my art off the ground like I'm hoping.

Included in these spots are some sexy pics that I normally don't draw. Believe it or not I've only drawn intercourse one or two times in the past, and definitely not recently. This is a good chance to pick up some rare sexy art from me (although it shouldn't be the last time, hopefully. ^^)

So please, if you're interested, have a look at my YCH prices and bid on one! Or spread the word around! I'm not known enough to get spots filled within hours or minutes of posting like the big names, so little bit helps!

And if you're worried about your commission getting stuffed away in my To-Do list and never finished, don't be. I'm setting a Complete By date of Dec 1, 2015, so it will be of utmost importance for me to complete all YCH pics by then (especially if I want to open up again for Christmas!)

Please have a look and bid here!

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17486823/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17486823/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17486823/


Thanks everyone! I'm really hoping this goes well, but I've never done one of these before. But if I'm doing it wrong, let me know. Please be gentle. :)

-JT

It saddens me to report that the wedding for this year is postponed due to the fact there's no way we can raise enough money in time. And even if we could raise the money, there's not enough time to plan it. Of course we could see this coming many miles away, and when you're struggling to pay simple bills, paying for a non-crappy, non-thrown-together wedding seems like a distant fantasy.

However, I'm not completely bummed, nor is Kat. Yes, we had a specific timeframe we were hoping for (late October, fall colors, Furpocalypse afterward), but since that's not in the cards, we're not going to worry about it right now. We know it's going to happen soon enough, and although we may get impatient, it will be worth the wait. Cancelling is not an option. It will happen eventually.

We're hoping now that "eventually" means an April/spring wedding. We'll keep plugging the GoFundMe (see footer below, after my commission queue. plug plug plug) and keep trying to find money that we can put away to pay for it. But like was said in the GoFundMe, it's likely not happening for a while without a good deal of help. However long it takes us to save up the money, so be it. But between the money troubles, Kat searching for a job, and my hoping to transition to a new working arrangement, it was simply apparent that right now is not the best time for a wedding.

Before we focus on planning a wedding, we have to focus on stabilizing our money/job situation. And I need a decent car so I can leave my crappy, low-end job and start saving actual money. After that, maybe we can start putting money away bit by bit. Then we can have an amazing wedding of our dreams with friends and dancing and cake and fun times and awesome memories.

Until then, Kat and I will keep on keeping on. Getting back on our feet is a slow process which will take time, and after that happens, we can think about paying for a wedding. We just want a small, intimate wedding, but we do want it done right, and we want to remember it fondly for a long, long time.

We'll keep you updated on things, and when we set another date, we'll let you all know.

Until then, if you do want to make a donation to help fund the kitty wedding, please go here --> http://www.gofundme.com/y6qz88

All money donated towards the wedding will be used for the wedding, no matter how long it takes. X3

Thanks everyone,

-JT

So it took a while, but I managed to finish editing a fursuit video with  katalina! In it, we talk about relationships and act like kitties and stuff! ^^

Have a look! And go "like" and "subscribe" and junk! I promise there will be more to follow! :)

The commission streaming is about to happen! Looking at a 2:30pm EST start-time! Hey, that counts as on time enough to me. ;)

But never fear, clock watchers! I have a special, awesome fursuit video to keep you guys entertained as you all stroll in and make yourself at home while I get my final preparations in order! Early birds may get to see the whole thing! Trust me, it's worth it. ^^

So come on and join the fuzzy fun! jtigerdraw.tigerdile.com Art begins when the video ends. :)

This is a SFW stream. At least as far as art goes. X3

See you guys there! I'm pretty excited! ^__^

-JT

Howdy!

I'm taking animated and non-animated icon commissions to be streamed live over Tigerdile tomorrow, Sunday Aug 2!

As of right now, the stream is scheduled to start around 2 PM EST. I haven't streamed in a while, and I have never used this site, so please bare with me as I may start late or run into technical hiccups and whatnot. But please feel free to come and chill, as well as talk to me about commission requests! :3

I will also take selected non-icon commissions! Just trying to keep it simple so I don't overload myself, but I'm open to digital inked, flat color or shaded pieces with 1 character (2 characters maybe, depending on time restraints).

For more information, or to grab a commission, go read and comment on this journal --> http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6929807/

Hope to see you there! :3

-JT

Right, so hopefully you've read (skimmed?) my last 2 journals detailing... THE PLAN. ;3

While that is not going to take effect just yet, I would like to start cutting my teeth on the whole "streaming commissions" thing. And uh... frankly, I don't think I can make my rent next week without it.

So yes, it's sorta like emergency commissions. >,> But it's also practice for when I get to doing this for real. Gotta see if it's a realistic goal after all.

So for right now, I'm taking small commissions.

That's right, ANIMATED (and non-animated) FLAILS!

http://www.furaffinity.net/full/8676132/
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/8694693/
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/6024928/
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/6024953/

And of course, my icon. ;3


Static icons of this style are $10.
Basic animated icons are $20.
Additional steps (complex design, more words, more frames due to more moving parts) will likely be $25 unless you want A LOT of extra stuff (then we'll discuss).

I'm opening for 10 slots. You can choose either flailing or non! (please specify)

1.  bassman - animated icon [PAID]
2.  ianmj91 - animated icon [awaiting payment]
3.  sethtriggs - one char (#1) inked [PAID]
4.  hurricaneblackspark - one char flat color [PAID]
5.  sethtriggs - one char (#2) inked [PAID]
6.  aeliawyndsong - animated peeking icon [awaiting payment]
7.
8.
9.
10.

These will be streamed on Sunday, August 2nd on Tigerdile! (unless the stream gives me trouble or takes too long to figure out).

Comment below to reserve your slot!

You will have to either pay me at the stream or before, but please don't send money until we discuss parameters. (I'll send you a note!)

EDIT: I'm open to non-icon commissions too, as well as on-the-spot commissions during the stream after I'm done with my list! If you have a commission idea, note me and we'll talk! (trying to keep it simple, so open to 1 char digital sketches, flat or simple shading, and non-flail icons. Ask me about prices).

Alright...... GO! :D

-JT

This is part 2 of my 2 part journal series (the first one being HERE). This is the positive journal. Yanno, the one with the actual productive PLAN. If you want to skip all the bullshit and get to that part, please scroll down to the TL;DR part below. Especially if you happen to like my art... hint hint. ;)



"You need to work with the true essence of who you are...
Your juice, your gasoline, your power, your aura, your passion.
How many people do you know who say, "I wish I were doing this instead of what I am doing now"?
'Well, why aren't you?...'"

Those are just a few excerpts from the book that my friend published called "Living A Rock Star Life". If that sounds familiar, it's because I drew the cover for it! It's also slightly ironic because I met her in the cab, back when she was just a passenger, before first getting to know her. And now her words are causing me to carefully consider what it is I'm doing with my life, what it is I truly want, and what I have to do to achieve it.

Here's a hint... it ain't driving a fucking cab for the rest of my life, wallowing in poverty, lamenting the loss of my passions and time while being completely and utterly miserable. I think I've had enough of that for a while. I'd like to go back to being happy now, kthx.

And hopefully, the decision that I've made today will help me do that.

It's funny, but I started down the road to this decision today, after talking to this same friend. She's asked me to help her make a professional video (YAY!) helping her advertise and market her book. And while I sat in her house discussing the ideas I had for the video, and my vision, I felt inspired. I enjoyed the fact that I actually knew what I was talking about, and it seemed to excite her too. It gave me a bit of a confidence boost, actually.

And it made me realize... Goddamn, I am in the wrong line of work.

Like I said in my previous journal (if you managed to wade through all the toxic, negative brain sludge I expelled all over it), my cab driving job used to be fun. It was supposed to be a temporary fix, since I needed a job after moving back in with Mom. And frankly, the last job I had before moving pretty much sucked out every ounce of creative inspiration and desire I had to continue working in the design and multimedia field.

Bottom line is, the cab job was a nice change of pace. And I needed that.

But now, I need something else.

Mostly what I need is money, but that's not the only thing. If it were that simple, I'd go to law school or some shit (yeah right, MORE loans?! DX)

I do need money, yes. That is obvious. But what else is obviously missing is passion.

I miss having time to do the things I enjoy. I miss drawing art, making videos, playing music. But most of all, I miss the connection I used to have with the furry fandom, back when I had time and energy for such things (before it withered and dried up with this asstastic and asinine cab job).

And out of everything I miss, and everything I love... if there was one thing I miss the most that could be summed up in one short sentence....

I miss creating for the furry fandom.

That, and all the creative endeavors it entails, is my true, honest-to-god passion. It's what I enjoy doing the most, and it's what I miss the most since losing my free time.

And I think I have a way to get it back.

---

If I could go back to the subject of the book cover I did for my friend... That cover took me a LONG-ASS FUCKING TIME! Way longer than it should have. Of course it did. It was my very first published cover, and it was for a good friend. I wanted it to be my very best.

However, due to having to take time away from the cab job, I actually lost a lot of money doing this. I certainly lost more money than I got paid.

"Wait, what?" I hear you think (because I am in your head, hearing your thoughts... wOOoOOOooooOoOoOOoo... ahem.)

"How can you lose money doing a professional book cover as freelance? Isn't that supposed to bolster your income?"

Well, yes, but not with THIS job.

Because in order to make anything decent with THIS job, I have to spend 60 hours driving around waiting for runs. Also because the first 40 hours or so is usually spent just trying to earn the fucking lease. And if I work just long enough to earn the lease and nothing else (or in this case, pay out of my fucking pocket to cover it)... well, let's just say that is not a very sound business practice.

This job is holding me back. It has for a while. If you look through my gallery and compare the years, the last 3 years have had woefully little for actual art uploads (photos and commissions drawn by others don't count). It started well enough, since I was able to power through some pencil sketch commissions during my down time. But that was back BEFORE the dispatch box, when I had no option but to sit around and wait for the dispatcher to call me on the phone.

Back then, I could sometimes wait 3-4 hours for a run. But we weren't required to pay a full $400 lease at the time, we only paid 40% of our earnings. Or in other words, back then if I earned $400, I would have earned $240 (or 60%). Nowadays, if I earned $400, I have earned nothing.

The $400 flat lease thing is only better when I earned more than $1000 (when the earnings of the old way and the new way were equal at $600). But it's been a looooong time since I've earned that. Between business being slower, more drivers, less airport runs (because they all are regulars for other drivers now)...

Well anyways, if you want to read more of me bitching about my job, go back and read the first journal. X3

Point of the matter is, having to dig myself out of a $400 hole each week before I make any money is not only difficult and counterproductive, it's stupid. And to have a system set up to where I HAVE to put in 70 hours or I don't make anything?!... O,o

It's no wonder I never have time for anything.

But that is about to change. Because here's what I'm going to do.

I'm going to support myself doing what I love... creating for the fandom.

---

Now, there might be some skepticism in you about this idea, but hear me out.

First thing's first: It can't possibly be much worse than what I'm doing now.

Secondly (and here's the kicker)... I can STILL DRIVE MY AIRPORT REGULARS.

Think about it. I have about 5 airport regulars who tend to fly weekly (though usually not all at the same time) as well as a good handful of others who fly once in a while. This week, I took 3 of them to the airport. I also picked them up when they returned.

The amount that I earned from those regular customers was $340. Subtract the $400 lease, I've made -$60. Awesome.

But these guys are my regulars. Not only would they likely continue to ride with me if I quit my cab job and got a new car, they would probably be thrilled to fucking death that they don't have to ride in a POS rickety-ass cab! So instead of STILL being down $60 to my lease, I'd be UP $340 AND they'd get to ride in a nicer car! All I gotta do is get one of those credit card swipers for my iPhone and I'm set.

Now does it sound like making a living with my art might be a little more attainable? ;)

---

My plan is to supplement my regular cab...er... private chauffeur money with money earned from furry commissions (or vice versa)... by making furry commissions my FULL TIME JOB. Like, at least 40 hours and 5 days a week.

Yes, I'm dead serious.

"But JT, you SUCK at getting commissions done! You never get around to them!"

Yeah, well... that was before they were my full time job that I depended on to get by. And besides, don't you think my ACTUAL full time job had something to do with me never getting commissions done?

To be completely honest, I don't always prioritize things well. Commissions sometimes get pushed back in favor of other things, if there is no deadline. However, with this being my actual job that I depend on to make a living, you bet your sweet, fuzzy ass I'm going to prioritize commissions over everything else. Because ... and this is important... I will not take more commissions if I haven't finished the ones from the week prior. Commissions are to be done in batches, and I do not intend to overexert myself by taking on too much at once. My intention is to take money for a commission right before I start it and not before. Then I intend to stream my progress, both so you know I'm working on them, and so it keeps a fire under my ass and doesn't allow me to procrastinate.

Of course I will ask for a little lenience as I acclimate myself to this practice, but the days of taking a dozen commissions and then not working on them are done. This will be my job now. There is no excuse.

"But... you're like, really.... REALLY slow."

Yes. I'll admit, I am a slow artist. But if I'm going to be serious about this, I will have to speed up. I will be quite conscious of my pace, and because I cannot afford to let things pile up, there are times I'm going to have to cut a corner or two. This is not to say I will half-ass anything, but if you know me, you know I can be very perfectionist and OCD when it comes to details. I'll just have to pick and choose my time-battles. Over time, I'd like to think my speed will improve to the point I can include all those yummy details I love so much without sacrificing time.

Also, do you remember that Iron Artist I did back in the day, like 2010? Where I took 50 "sketch" (HA!) commissions and ended up doing full color on them all? Well for one, I can't afford to go above and beyond without sufficient payment for that extra time now. And two, since I was unemployed and was working on those commissions pretty much full time, they got done relatively fast, didn't they? And yes, I finished them all. ;3

"But... wait, what about all the other commissions you already have?"

Those will be done in "free time". Since I'm hoping to do commissions 5 days a week, I'll still have time to work on other things. This will include older commissions, as well as other ventures like fursuit videos, music, and... comics! ^^

My goal would be to get at LEAST one old commission done a week, along with my weekly new commission goal. Even if I have to draw all week, at least I'll be working nonstop doing something I actually ENJOY as opposed to wasting my time in a cab. (within reason... burnout would suck). Eventually, my other projects will take off as well, since I don't think I'll be lacking in the motivation department. ;)

"But JT..."

NO BUTS. I'm serious about this venture. This is probably my best chance to do what I love doing while contributing to the fandom AND supporting myself. My airport regulars will help a lot in this. And I think it's realistic I can make $300 a week with just my art, probably more once I get faster (or in higher demand to the point I can raise my prices).

Yes I will do YCH's. Yes I have some ideas for introducing new characters specifically for this artistic venture (to be used with other people's characters, should they so choose). Yes I will do standard full body sketch, ink, and color pics, as well as icons both animated and static.

And yes, I'll be drawing a lot more porn. ;)

Point is, I don't like the life I have now as a penniless cab driver. If I'm going to starve, I'm going to starve being an ARTIST, following my passion, and trying my ass off at what I love to do. I keep saying I don't have time. I keep saying I wish I could support myself with my art. I keep saying I have a ton of ideas (like, 16 metric tons of 'em) and I'll never have the time to get them out. And now, with this plan, I will have more time. And I'll be motivated. And I'll get better and BETTER in time the more I do this.

And if I never try, how am I ever going to know?

---

This won't happen overnight (probably) because I still need to get a car, and Kitty will still need to find a job (just in case this doesn't take off as quickly as I'd like). But at the very least, my regular customers and a bare minimum of art commissions will keep me afloat.

ALSO, I do intend to use some of this newfound time to spruce up my portfolio website, build up my Adobe Suite skills again, and eventually if it comes down to it, I will apply for jobs in my selected field. But they're probably not going to hire me coming straight off a 3 year lay-off working as a cab driver.

(They also won't hire me if I show them all the new porn I've drawn... >,> but... heh. Anyways. ^_^)

I'm really, truly excited about this step. Trust me, I know it's a BIG one, but I think it's a necessary one. This is my dream, and dreams cannot be attained without risk. And in the end, it will result in A LOT more art and fun content from me! And that, hopefully, is a win-win. ^^


And now... finally...

---

TL;DR

As soon as I am able to (must attain car, some other odds and ends), I will be quitting my job at Yellow Cab and starting my own business as a FULL TIME FURRY ARTIST, following my passion and hoping for the best (and yes, it will be better than my current job, I promise). I will be taking it VERY seriously, and I hope to come across as very professional and pleasant to work with (with much faster results than in the past!) Also, this means I should have more free time, allowing me to continue to produce content for you, such as fursuit videos, music, and comics, which hopefully will eventually generate more interest/income!

Also, yes. I will be drawing porn. ;)


TL;DRx2

Life changes. Job quit. More Furry porn.




Wish me luck! And if you may be interested in a commission, let me know! I'll need to gauge demand before I do this for real.

Let's make some dreams happen. ;3

-JT

[This is part 1 of a 2 part journal. This is the venting one. Feel free to skip it if you don't really care to read my bitching. The second journal is a lot more positive, I promise]


So yeah... things are not going so well right now for me and my mate financially. In fact, this is the worst things have been in that category since, well... since probably ever.

Or, ok... maybe not EVER. I mean, things have been bad before. Yet somehow we've always managed to scrape by, usually due to the kindness of friends and others (I can't count how many times a friend has come through with a donation that literally saved our asses from being kicked out on the street). But I tire of depending on the kindness of others to simply do what everyone else has to do too... make it by. Day to day. Week to week. Month to month.

And thus, I haven't asked for much recently, even though we've been needing it to the point of desperation.

And it's been effecting us both... badly.

---

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

For those of you who don't know (or may have forgotten), I drive a Yellow Cab for a "living". (see THIS pic, in one of the rare times I've actually managed to upload something)

"Aaaand, you put 'living' in quotations... why?"

Because I'm NOT making a living off of it. In fact, we're falling quite short, and have been for a good while.

At the beginning of July, I scheduled a rent payment to be drawn out of my account. Of course I didn't have it... like, any of it. But what choice did I have? We gotta have a place to live. And late fees add up, yanno. So I pushed it through anyways.

My account overdrew by several hundred dollars. I got an overdraft charge. Ok, I expected that.

Then another overdraft charge happened, this time from a purchase I made BEFORE I paid my rent. But of course, my bank arranges it so the largest, most important purchase is drawn out first. So the next purchase (which was only $11) became $47.

Then the electric company demanded payment. I go further into the negative. Another overdraft charge.

Then the auto-deduct payments for other shit start trying to force through. Some make it through, plunging me further in debt. Others get stopped by the bank and returned... which is another fee, the same as the overdraft. Except NOW the payment they rejected is late. And I still don't have the money to pay it.

It took me all month to get out of the hole and into the positives. I pretty much "worked" all day, every day to do it too.

"Oh, 'worked' is in quotations too?"

Heh heh.... umm.... yeah.

---

When I am "working", a lot of the times that just means I am sitting around in my cab doing nothing (except sweating and thinking bad thoughts), waiting for a run to pop up that I can grab off the dispatch box (if I'm quick enough to grab it before the other starving drivers do). Or I'm sitting around in one of the "zones", waiting for a run in that particular zone to just fall into my lap. Of course there are often anywhere between 8-15 other drivers waiting around too, doing the same thing as me, and most every one of them is struggling like me.

Because there ARE. NO. RUNS...

Today I was out in my cab at noon. When I went home, it was midnight.

My best run? That would be my regular customer who goes to the airport every week (I have a few of these who tend to travel weekly, or at least a few of them will, depending on the week and their work demands).

Other than that, what did I do in those 12 hours? Other than sit on my ass and feel like crying and punching things?

I did 4 runs. For a grand total of about $50. And I put $40 of gas back in the tank ($20 on 2 separate occasions, though I was almost out of gas from the previous day).

So I made $10 in 12 hours from runs that were dispatched to the box. My airport run was $55, and that only took about an hour.

But wait, it gets better.... I STILL HAVEN'T MADE MY CAB LEASE FOR THE WEEK YET.

This means essentially I have made ZERO dollars this week so far. In fact I OWE the company money for the lease still...

---

The lease on my cab is $400 a week. A WEEK... Not a month... a fucking WEEK!

That's only $150 less than my entire rent... which I pay once a MONTH (when I can pay it, that is)...

So this means that before any money goes into my pockets at all, I have to make $400 PLUS whatever I need for gas PLUS any money I decide to spend on food to feed myself as I sit around in my cab wasting away.

Yeah... that's pretty hard to do when there are A) No runs to do (or very few), and B) A shitton of mouths to feed (and the boss keeps hiring more people because HEY, that's another $400 a week for him).

Nevermind the fact that the cabs break down all the time. Nevermind the fact that I have gone through FIVE cabs in less than 2 months. NEVERMIND THE FACT that I have LOST CUSTOMERS whom I DEPEND ON TO MAKE MY LEASE because they are sick of riding in shitty Mickey Mouse cabs that break down in their driveway, can't keep working air conditioning in 90+ degree weather, that are constantly jerking or grinding or leaking (minds outta the gutter guys...) or God knows what the fuck else...

I mean, I don't blame them. Who could? They don't pay all that money to cook in a rachet-ass, broke-AC-havin' cab while worrying if they're even going to make it to their destination or if they're going to be sitting on the side of the road, missing their flight.

And because of all this shit, I can't make rent. I have ignored credit card payments to the point they become delinquent. One of my accounts has been closed permanently due to this, and I'm stuck paying it off tiny bit by tiny bit for the next 5 years. My student loans are so bad that my payment due had snowballed to over $1000 for one month. My electricity was shut off a few days ago (I got it turned back on thankfully). My phone is threatening to shut off if I don't make a payment soon. My internet bill is late. We have almost no food in the house.

Kat is feverishly searching for work, to no avail. I would be too, but I have no car now (my own car was junked since it reached the end of its life long ago and I have been using the cab for everything... plus I needed the money).

And I am working my ass off nearly every day... frustrated, angry, spiraling... and STILL to no avail.

---

TL;DR

In short, I'm paying over half my earnings to this company to drive shitty cabs that deter loyal customers from using me because the cabs are so shitty, all so I can spend ALL MY TIME slogging through heavy traffic or sitting on my ass helplessly, trying to work and not being able to because there's too many starving drivers grabbing an ever-shrinking number of runs. And now my credit is nearly rock bottom, my bills aren't getting paid, we're struggling to pay for essentials like food and electricity, and I'm slowly going out of my mind and slipping into a really bad space mentally. It's adding stress to my relationship, it's leading me slowly into depression and ruin...

Oh, AND ALSO... we have to postpone the wedding. We can't afford it. We just fucking can't. :(

When are we going to be able to?

To be honest... I don't know.

[those who have donated, your donations will still go toward the wedding... whenever it is. And if you'd like to donate, there's a link in the footer to this journal. Anything at all is appreciated, and I guarantee your funds will be used for their intended purpose]

---

This job really USED to be good. There's a reason I've been doing it for almost 3 years now. Many reasons, actually.

-It's easy
-Mostly stress-free (when things are good)
-Kinda fun
-Driving around outside, not trapped in an office
-Learn where things are
-Meet many different people (some even become friends or connections)
-Ample breaks
-Job security
-Flexible hours and days off (whenever I want... or can afford)
-Minimal interaction with higher-ups
-Can wear what I want
-Potential to earn more than any other low-end job due to being able to work more hours (in theory)
-Don't have to pay my own car insurance or car note
-Having multiple airport customers with a fairly high potential for random long distance runs off the box (like more airport runs)

... among other things. I mean, I USED to have expendable income, enough to move out of Mom's and into our own place, and occasionally afford trips and other nice things...

But I now realize that I usually had to work 60-70 hours a week to do it (and I was, yanno... living with Mom).

And now even that no longer covers even our most basic needs. And it's putting us in a hole that I'm finding more and more impossible to dig out of.

---

But you know what the worst part of all this is? I mean, aside from financially?

That would be the absolutely SOUL-CRUSHING feeling of having ZERO free time to do anything I like to do. No time to draw art, or write music, or play basketball, or make fursuit videos. Shit, I can't even afford a fucking day off this week at all. No cons. No eating out. No enjoying anything.

The only thing I ever get to enjoy is the very occasional/rare bong hit and the pure, simply blissful feeling of sitting in my own house instead of sitting in that GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKING PIECE OF SHIT CAB...

---

I'm way way WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY past my breaking point. I can't do this job anymore. I just can't.

And you know what?

I've got a plan to do something about it.



[Please flip this journal over, and we will continue on the other side ---> ]


-JT

So today is the birthday of a certain kewt kitty, my mate  katalina! Go wish her a happy birthday! ^^

I didn't think I would be able to get her anything, but I managed to get a small cake and card (which I decorated the hell out of XD) as well as Adventure Time Season 5 and Mario Party 10 (thank god I had a Best Buy card). I also woke her up with a foot and back massage. So even though I'm broke as fuck, I managed to pull something together at the last minute, which makes me happy cuz kitties deserve to have awesome birthdays. ^__^

Lastly, while we're talking about gifts for kitties, we're still trying to raise money through GoFundMe for our wedding. Admittedly, we haven't made a lot of progress with donations, and it's possible we may have to postpone the wedding since I'm struggling to raise money on my end too. We don't want to do this obviously, so any help towards that would be super-duper appreciated!

Help JT & Kat Pay For Their Special Day!
http://www.gofundme.com/y6qz88

See journal for details
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6862532/

Happy birthday hun! I looooove you! And I can't wait to call you my wife. ^___^ #sappiesttiggie

-JT

So the time has come (actually, it's far overdue...) for me to reach out my fuzzy paw and humbly request your attention for something EXTREMELY important...

On October 24, 2015, my fiancé  katalina and I hope to be wed in the Smokey Mountains, near the NC/TN border. As expected, we have precious little money to our name (despite having almost 2 years to plan and save, but that's hard to do with our employment situation), and now we desperately need help to make our dream of marriage a reality.

gofundme.com/y6qz88
gofundme.com/y6qz88
gofundme.com/y6qz88
gofundme.com/y6qz88
gofundme.com/y6qz88


I've started a GoFundMe to raise money for our wedding and honeymoon. The total goal is $6,000 to use for both, although whatever comes in, we will make work.

Our idea of a perfect wedding is pretty much just a quiet, wooded area, surrounded by nature and a handful of close family and friends, overlooking beautiful mountain scenery with a golden sunset illuminating the autumn sky. The wedding would be low on bells and whistles, with a cookout style reception planned instead of catering, BYOB rules for beer and liquor, and select guests having the option to pay us to stay in a kickass log cabin instead of a Super 8.

Even still, the costs of reserving and paying for a cabin to host a fairly large get-together (with a 4 day minimum) far exceed what we're capable of sparing, and of course that doesn't include all of the other lovely expenses that go into planning and having a wedding. We are also hoping that we have enough money to take a honeymoon trip up to New England (fall up there is lovely!), where we will drive through Massachusetts (where Kat is from!), Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, then back down to Connecticut to end our trip with Furpocalypse, therefore bringing our story of love full circle. (if you remember, we met at then-FurFright in 2007, and I proposed at the last FurFright in 2013. To attend FurFrights' descendant con Furpocalypse for the first time as a married couple would truly be the icing on the cake. ^^)

Also, to borrow some of what I said on the GoFundMe, my main goal in all this is to give Kat that special day she's always dreamed of since she was little. That special day she's been promised by many others, none of which have ever come through. That special day where she can finally feel surrounded by all the love and positive attention she could possibly hope for. That isn't exactly accomplished with a quickie ceremony in our back yard. In my mind, she's waited for more. She deserves more... And I want very much to be able to give that to her.

So I humbly ask for your help, if not with a donation, then by spreading the word. This fandom has shown us, many times before, the unyielding love and support we furries have for each other, especially for a worthy cause. If not for the fandom, my beloved fiancé may never have gotten the extensive dental work she had desperately needed for years, and because of that, she can proudly smile as big as she wants at our wedding. :)

Now, we need your help again, perhaps more than ever... to make our dream born from love become a reality.

And because both Kat and I dislike asking for large sums of money without giving anything in return, we are willing to offer incentives if it helps us reach our goal. Some of these incentives contain joint offers, which will feature art created by both of us together (a fitting theme for a hopefully-soon-to-be-newlywed couple! ^^). The largest incentive will feature inclusion for 2 characters in our furry wedding picture, which I will draw and Kat will color, as well as all the stuff included in lower donation tiers!


$1.00 or more will get you a very heartfelt thank you and appreciation.

$25.00 will get you a mention in our wedding video, with a link to your personal page of choice. [To be uploaded to YouTube]

$50.00 will get you a mention in our video, with a link to your personal page of choice, plus a simple icon drawn by JT and colored by Kat.

$100.00 will get you mention in our video with a thanks, plus a link to your personal page of choice and a full body picture drawn by JT and colored by Kat.

$200.00 will get you a mention of thanks in our video with a link to personal site of choice, a full body character picture drawn by JT and colored by Kat, plus a custom necklace made by Kat.

$500.00 or more will get you our undying thanks, us being floored, everything mentioned above [video mention, link, icon, full body pic and a custom jewelry set made by Kat. This includes a necklace, bracelet, and a pair of earrings], plus a cameo of you and a guest in a large scale wedding art piece drawn by JT and Colored by Kat.

If your donation meets any of these, please note me or  katalina with your name, donation amount, and any references or info we will need to complete your incentive gift.

Of course these thank you gifts will take time, but we will make good on them. Anything we can do to help get the funds we need to become happy, lawfully married kitties. ^^

Again, the link to the GoFundMe is here...

gofundme.com/y6qz88
gofundme.com/y6qz88
gofundme.com/y6qz88
gofundme.com/y6qz88
gofundme.com/y6qz88


Thank you for reading, and if you donate, thank you so very very much.... It means the world to us. If you can't donate, sharing this journal would be appreciated too.

And of course, we will try to stream the wedding, or if nothing else, there will be a video of the ceremony posted later (with appropriate thanks to all who donate. ^^)

Thanks again, and much love. Here's to hoping. <:3

-JT

My lovely, talented and all-around kittyriffic fiancé  katalina is opening for commissions!

She does fully shaded character art, b/w lineart, "Ball Animal" pics, and ooooh you should see her jewelry! It's gorgeous and can be made in practically any style! ^^

And of course, what she makes helps me out as well as her, since she buys food for the house, pays for internet and fun stuff like that. So it would mean a lot if you checked out what she's offering! :3

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6812911/
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6812911/
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6812911/

Thanks for lookin'! The kitties appreciate it! ^^

-JT

Yep! Today marks the official 7 year anniver... er, sorry... KITTYVERSARY with my beloved  katalina! ^__^

7 years ago today, on 6/7/08, my kitty arrived at my doorstep in Hilton Head, SC, having just experienced a 19 hour road trip (I think) riding down from Buffalo, NY with the irreproachable  sethtriggs, who has been our savior at every turn. We owe us being together in large part to this wonderful man (which is why he will be giving Kat away to me at our wedding. ^^)

It was the first time she had ever traveled out of New England, and it was a HUGE leap of faith for her. She put a lot of trust in me to be the one she needed, to provide love, happiness and a stable life together. And even though life hasn't always been "stable", and we've moved around quite a bit, it's caused us to become even closer and experience awesome things that neither of us thought were possible for us!

We've been across the country together (twice!), camped in the Utah desert, saw the Grand Canyon (both sides!), lived in LA, saw a 1000 year old Native American settlement (Taos), drove all the way to my hometown in TX, saw the St. Louis arch as well as the Capitol building and the Washington monument (with a kitty trapped in a car >,>) and so many other, awesome things.

We've helped each other grow, and we've been each other's rock, companion, lover, and ray of sunlight when things get grim. I owe a lot of the person I am today to her, and she is the most important thing in the world to me.

And that's why I proposed to her at the very last FurFright in 2013. That's why we're getting married in October of this year. Then I'll have a new anniversary to remember. ^^

But the date 6/7/08 will always be our Kittyversary.

I love you  katalina and I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together! I just hope it doesn't fly by in the blink of an eye, so let's cherish the moment together and just enjoy each day life offers us. You've made this tiggie very VERY happy sweetie. ^^



*~*~*~*~*~* 6/7/08 - 6/7/15 *~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*
* 7 years of kitty love + hopefully many more! *



*hugs a kitty*

Happy Kittyversary, my darling Angel. Mew mew mew! ^_^

-JT

Ok, so I started typing this originally on the plane back from my friend’s wedding last Sunday, since that seems to be the only time I can find to type journals. Even now, I am putting off going into work to get this thing done and uploaded, just so it can be off my plate (which is full to bursting of actual important things, nevermind blogging about vacation).

It also doesn’t help matters that I tend to be extremely long-winded when recalling cons and other events (bachelor party journal, anyone?) and I have to consciously reign in my tendency to describe every minute of every day in chronological order (with commentary!) I was right in the middle of that with this journal when I realized that at this rate, I’d finish in about 2 hours and my work night would be shot. [Yet I still had to stop to go to work because I was taking too long DX] Plus, nobody wants to read a lengthy play-by-play of the con, they’d rather have a quick summary with a few highlights and comments mixed in. Am I right, or am I right? ;3

So without further ado (enough ado as it is, dammit!) here is a quick rundown of my FWA 2015, starting with some pros and cons to give you a decent idea of how it went!


Getting There

PRO:
Unlike my bachelor party, which I had no choice in the matter, we were able to leave AFTER all my Thursday night cab fares from the airport. This was a big deal, since it meant I wouldn’t owe the cab company money when I got back from the con, and I didn’t have to give away all my money... er... runs. Also, we took the cab to the con, since we couldn’t afford a rental car, but since the cab didn’t break down, it ended up saving us money! Plus, there was plenty of room to haul all our crap! :D

CON:
The downside of leaving after my Thursday night runs meant we would miss almost all of Friday just trying to get there. I had already been up way too long without much sleep, so instead of leaving at midnight or catching a quick nap before leaving, we elected to sleep in our own bed and leave Friday around noon. It was the best decision, but due to crazy Atlanta traffic (and the PARKING LOT HUNT FROM HELL) we didn’t get into our hotel room until around 8pm Friday. :/


Parking

PRO:
We uh.... found parking. Eventually. My friend  sethtriggs came along to help me navigate (and boy did I need it) and paid for my parking because he is a great friend and we were hurting financially.

CON:
Hmmmm..... well, let me just say this was the WORST parking experience at a con pretty much ever. It was right up there with last year at FWA, and I didn’t even drive to that one! (but I did pay my friend for having to leave the parking garage to get rental drums, since there was no re-entry on the parking).

Driving around downtown Atlanta traffic is bad enough. Driving around A) During a torrential downpour B) Unable to see due to rain and constantly fogged up windows C) With every single street blocked due to construction or other reasons D) On the same night as an Atlanta Hawks game, which clogged up traffic more E) Did I mention we couldn’t go anywhere because EVERY STREET WAS CLOSED?!

It took us over an hour to find parking. When we did find parking, it wasn’t $4 like the sign said (that was a trap, and only covered the first hour). It was $15, which we could have parked in a covered garage much closer to the hotel for that kind of money. Plus we walked 5 blocks in the rain. Ughhh....

PRO:
I DID end up finding a pretty decent parking arrangement the next day (which I wish I found the first day). Since I had to return to my vehicle by 10 am every day to renew my parking pass, I decided to try to find better parking in a garage or something closer. Ended up finding one for $16 a day, but the lady working the ticket booth told me that if I were to “lose my ticket”, they could only charge $16 for the missing ticket. So I got Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning for $16 (and am totally remembering that garage for next year!) ^^

CON
Why did I not feel bad lying about losing my ticket? Because the other shitty parking lot I was in Friday night... not only did I have to wake up and haul ass down the street on foot before 10 in the morning Saturday, but because I got to my car at 10:15, there was already a fucking BOOT on my wheel! The attendant had wasted no damn time at all busting me for that extra 15 minutes I stole by not being there right at 10 on the damn dot to renew my ticket.

Luckily, the attendant was still there, fresh off his prompt booting of my cab. I could have cried when he told me it was $75 to get it off... which is why I think he showed a bit of sympathy and charged me $30 (which was all the money Seth had given me to make sure I had gas for the return trip). So for a grand total of 14.25 hours of parking, it had cost $45. Ain’t that some bullshit?


Seeing Friends

PRO:
Seeing all my friends (Fen-Fen, Toraie, Roo, Warrn, Teddy, Cajun, Seth, Zabu, Babylon, Trista, AzFlip, Sh3w0lf, Rebel, Clementine, Gearpaw) and meeting new ones (Safiel, Travvy, Lavitz, Jeremy, and a bunch of others I can’t remember the names of because I suck X3).

It was extremely nice not having a schedule packed with events like the talent show, talent show auditions and having to fuck with off-site rehearsals, renting drums, and all that. My schedule was mostly open to hang with folks or fursuit to my heart’s content, and that’s what I did. ^^

CON:
Naturally, at a con there is never enough time to spend with everyone. Although I think I did a pretty good job trying to spread out and hang with everyone that I could, unfortunately I couldn’t spend as much time as I wanted with some (and another person I wanted to hang with, I didn’t get to, as he was a Dealer and short on time, and I couldn’t make my schedule work). :(


Money

CON:
Yeah, I’m starting with cons for this one.

We had NO money at this convention. I had just lost a bunch of money to go to a Bachelor Party in TX, and I was still badly in the hole when FWA rolled around. The only money I had was $30 for gas, which was spent as soon as we left the house.

After that, it was Mooch City... My friends had to feed me and Kat for 2.5 days, a couple bought us drinks, and then there was the whole parking issue (Bless you, Seth Triggs...) All in all, we barely scraped by on the help of our friends and a bit of good fortune in the Artist Alley (oh, and packed snacks and drinks from home).

PRO:
Did I mention I have some really amazing, wonderful, benevolent friends? Thanks to a handful of them (Seth, Cajun, Teddy, Safiel, Rebel) for making it so we didn’t starve or get stranded in Atlanta. Their kindness was the single greatest part of the con, the fact we even got to go at all being in large part due to their unyielding generosity. :)

It also helped that Kat spent about 4 hours selling jewelry in Artist Alley on Saturday and made like $120! That helped us get back home and put some gas in my car for work the next week (I still owe her money).

Oh, and can’t forget the money Cajun gave me for giving him 3 hours of the most epic foot massage ever (he kept requesting more, and he made it worth it!). Although I would have liked to have slept some Sunday night, it was an offer I really couldn’t afford to refuse, and in the end I was quite thankful for. X3


The Hotel

PRO:
Well, it was certainly bigger than the last hotel. Granted I did hear complaints about the hotel from some others (the reason for which I’ll cover in a bit), but to me, after I got over the initial feeling of being overwhelmed and not knowing where anything was, I thought it was a definite step up from the old hotel.

There was plenty of space and plenty of places to hang out. The bars were right smack in the middle of the hangout space, which I found convenient even though I didn’t drink there. The elevators were pretty fast and overall, I found the wait times tolerable. I definitely didn’t feel like I couldn’t get to someone’s room because I didn’t want to wait for the elevator like in years past.

Finally, DEAR GOD THAT POOL... Heaven wrapped in a soft, watery cloud. That is all. ^^

CON:
My biggest gripe with this hotel was that it was too warm for fursuiters. When I stepped out of my hotel room door (which we tried to keep at a cool, crisp 62) I immediately felt like I had stepped into a sauna. I ended up more or less getting used to it (I already sweat buckets as it is, no biggie), but Kat and Cajun both tried fursuiting and could only do it for a few minutes before having to flee to the headless lounge, dripping in sweat. I know keeping large buildings cool is a problem, but the warmth could potentially be an issue if suiters get too hot.

My only other real issue was that a couple of friends I have are scared of heights, and the glass elevators don’t help in that regard. That and one of the elevators’ doors would open and shut like 3 times on every floor. Oh, and Kat and I got lost going to the mall food court (which apparently there’s two of, but we got it now).

Overall, I’m pretty happy with the hotel space. With some tweaking, I think it can work just fine. Although parking does and always will suck in downtown Atlanta.


Events/Activities

PRO:
I went in with pretty much no preset plans for activities, aside from wanting to do the Fursuit Games and of course the Fursuit Parade. And, well, that’s pretty much what I did! And I have lasting memories from both! ^_^

The parade was a parade. If you’ve seen one fursuit parade, you’ve seen them all, honestly. Though they are still fun to be in because I get to act like a huge ham for the cameras (like that’s so different from usual. XD) I made it to the ballroom right as the big fursuit picture was being taken (AKA I was late... er... running on Tiggie Time. Yeah, that’s it. >,>) but I was in time for the main thing! I had my basketball all ready to go, and my jersey, and everything was going pretty well! Until this happened...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6sLEGjhwwI

Yep, that’s my basketball escaping my grasp and plummeting over the railing to the small decorative water pool below and landing with a SPLASH! (just imagine the sound effect, since you couldn’t hear it. X3) Luckily nobody was bonked on the head and nothing broke (although apparently I made some Asian guy wet, but I don’t think he liked it. ^^). I kept going in the parade like nothing happened, jumped out of line when it started clustering near the bottom of the escalator, retrieved my ball from Safiel (who had snatched it up for me) and jumped back in the parade for the end! And the cherry on top was definitely the guys who took that video finding me in suit later and showing me (I was really hoping somebody got a good view, hehe). So while I’ll try not to do that again, it’s definitely a hilarious, positive memory. ^^

The other event I participated in was the Fursuit Olympics. The event did start late (actually, it seemed like most did), but it was a lot of fun! It was slightly disorganized and improvised (especially musical chairs at the end... dear lord. X3) but because of the difficulty (and intensity) of these games, they were among the best that I’ve been a part of! There was the scooter race, charades, dodgeball and musical chairs OF DEATH!!! All of the events were fun (reminded me of FurFright, which had the best games I’ve been in) and definitely more intense than normal fursuit games (which I enjoy because I like to be active and competitive). Dodgeball was a nice touch, though I would have liked to play til I got out (we picked one suiter for the last battle, due to time). My bud  thediversezabuza was the last one out for that battle. ^^ You can see the full dodgeball match here --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzM1I1YiB3c

The finale for the Fursuit Games was musical chairs... OF DEATH!!! What made them OF DEATH?!?! Well, for one they removed like 5 or 10 chairs at a time, making for a lot of really desperate fursuiters all wanting the same chair. And how about the fact that when the music stopped, before sitting in a chair, we had to do a variety of silly/challenging stunts. Things like spinning in a circle, or touching our paw to the ground, or a jumping jack, or a full pushup! Oh, and we had to run from the edge of the floor, only to collide in the middle like a big destruction derby of fur and chairs. I’m actually surprised no one got injured, but damn it was the most extreme, awesome game of musical chairs ever! Oh yeah, and I won musical chairs, securing the victory for my team. ^^

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e.....psr12aqxzm.jpg

I’m really hoping to see some video of the musical chairs uploaded to YouTube at some point. I want to see it from a spectator’s view. ^^

CON:
Well, the events I participated in were enjoyable, but I did notice some disorganization. The Fursuit Olympics started like 20 minutes late. I didn’t go to the Dance Contest, but I got a text 40 minutes in from a friend saying they still hadn’t started. The parade was a bit of a disaster because no one knew where to go and suiters were getting backed up.

And I’m sorry, but I gotta say it... 4 acts at the Talent Show?! I kinda would have felt bad for entering Furry Punk Rock Massacre for that one. In the end, despite losing out on instant free admission to next year (because all four acts got that. There was no need to compete.) I’m glad I didn’t enter the band this year. It would have been... well.... a massacre. XD


Fursuiting

PRO:
I did get to suit a decent amount at this con, for which I’m glad! There were plenty of open areas to suit, and balconies to cool off on. Looking down at all the suiters from a few floors up was pretty cool too. Had a few pictures taken, though I mostly walked around and observed, taking the chance to interact when I could (like getting lost in Duncan’s balloons X3)

CON:
As mentioned before, it was just too hot for a lot of folks to suit. I was able to keep going, but my endurance was definitely tested at times. I also noticed that, for some reason, it was a bit harder to initiate things with suiters while in suit. Everyone was already hanging in a closed cluster/clique or taking photos with specific suits for specific reasons, and I felt like I was intruding if I interrupted them. Also, a lot less people came up to me to take pictures than usual, it seems. I mostly walked a few laps downstairs in fursuit then left to do something else. I dunno, it was a weird vibe that wasn’t as silly and carefree as some other cons I’ve been to, which is no one’s fault in particular, just... something I noticed.


Overall Impressions
Overall, I had a really nice time at FWA! I wish I had more money to spend, obviously, but I hung out with some good friends, suited, won 1st in fursuit games, had some cool stand-out moments, and just relaxed and chilled. The hotel is very nice (no hotel is perfect) and I think that next year, the staff will be more accustomed to it, as there clearly were some growing pains. But really, I enjoyed the con and will most likely return next year... hopefully with a band this time. ;3


Can you believe I went into this thinking “Ok, let’s make this short and to the point”? .... BAHAHAHAHA!!! XD Yeah, I'm not capable of that, ever.


Oh, and if you happen to have or see any photos or videos of me or  katalina in suit, feel free to let us know! Picture search is underway! ^^

-JT