...is less than two weeks now! I'm starting to get excited! Who else is going?

...of FA. Seriously, I haven't been on in *months*. I feel so guilty. :(

Well, I'm going to try to start posting at least once a week, though I'll probably nuke all the old submissions I haven't seen. It's just not practical to go through them at this point.

Much has happened in the intervening months that I haven't been on to talk about, like my car getting totaled in a hailstorm. It wound up for the best-- the car still runs, I got a substantial payment from my insurance company, and they reduced my premium since my car is now technically worthless.

Most of what I've been doing online in the mean time has involved Earth Eternal. It's a free MMORPG that is still in beta and certainly shows it. Lag is a major issue, you occasionally die due to server glitches, the combat is still rather unbalanced and gets old quickly in its current form, there's no PvP yet,(though they are working furiously on it) half of the playable regions they have planned aren't open yet, and they still completely overhaul the economy on occasion. Yet despite all these things, I am still addicted to it.

That probably has to do with the fact that it's FURRY! Over 20 playable races,(still expanding) most of them anthro, and not a human, elf, or dwarf amongst them. Furthermore, the players are furry, or at least most of them. There are at least 5 furry clans(that is, they explicitly have 'furry' in their title, I'm sure there are probably more that don't) and the fandom is often discussed openly in region chat. There's your standard assortment of furs with a few non-furs thrown in, and the usual accompanying drama does occur on occasion, but most of the time it's got a great player base. It was nicely summed up once by another player in region chat-- "This is the only MMORPG where I can openly play in a clan called 'Rainbow Furries' without getting harassed by other players."

So that's what I've been spending most of my time on. Damn you Lavawolf, for introducing me to this game!

On Saturday, exactly 6 days after attending FC, I started to get a sore throat. It developed rapidly into a painfully swollen throat and chills, and ever since I have been unable to sleep. I feel wasted all day, random muscles in my back are sore, and it takes every ounce of willpower I have to swallow because of the pain.

The local clinic said it's not strep, but it should clear up within 14 days whatever it is. In the meantime, I feel like crap, and I can't work. Guess I probably shouldn't go to any furmeets this week, either. If I accidentally gave this to anyone in Fort Collins last Friday, I am extremely sorry.

Whew, so, FC's finally over, and I have time for a proper post.

It went by so fast, it seems like a dream. And yet I lived each moment of the con to the very fullest. I met plenty of new furs, many of whom I should have already known, and I made some great memories. I was going pretty much 18 hours every day, sometimes more, but I never got tired because I was always looking forward to something. Every minute was filled with enjoyable activities. There's this glow, looking back on it, that I only get at cons.

I remember, among other things: Fursuits, eating the best sushi roll recipe I've ever tried, more fursuits, discussing interesting topics ranging from spirituality to the outlook for the international space effort, even more fursuits, learning the rules of Furoticon, feathery and scaly fursuits, handling a beautiful python and deciding I must get a pet snake, dreaming about fursuits, comissioning a tail, watching fursuits dancing, playing poker, closing my eyes and continuing to see fursuits dancing across my vision, and, of course, hearing Jesus talk about dragon porn.

And now it's over. Tomorrow is a work day. And I shall be depressed.

(Damn I haven't been keeping up with FA in a long while. High time I fixed that...)

I should never plan to post anything during a con. There's too much to see and do to waste my time on the internet.

Last night I watched Jesus speak to a standing room only crowd about why he likes drawing dragon porn, to thunderous applause. Memories like these last a lifetime. >J

I haven't been on FA for a long while-- Christmas break came and I found it difficult to surf without nosy family members butting in, and after a while the guilt and backlog of all those unseen friend submissions kept me off.

I just arrived at FC, though, so it's time for that dry spell to come to an end. I'm gonna try to update FA every night despite the plethora of fun things to do here just to get back in the habit.

So far there's not much to tell. They had free food at the opening ceremonies, and it really was a cut above your average catered fare. I don't know too many people here yet, and tonight was a poor night for meeting people because I felt like total crap. Not sure why-- I think I've developed some sort of food allergy, since I felt similarly bad at the Halloween party, but I'm not sure what food causes it yet.

Anyway, I'm feeling better now and I'm looking forward to the first real day of FC tomorrow.

I went to the monthly RMFC benefit poker night on Friday, and lady luck was with me the whole night. I cleaned out pretty much the whole first table on a couple of flushes and one memorable hand when I had two fours and two more were on the table, giving me four of a kind while my two opponents both had full houses. I'd never have that kind of luck if I'd been playing for money.

I wound up winning first place without even having to use a buy-in.  veridian and  ivanotter took second and third, respectively. That plus the free drinks and the delicious appetizers from  freefox made it really a great night. I'll definitely be going again next month, though I'll try to let someone else win. Best of thanks to everyone who makes this event happen!

I have been pretty busy getting my business set up and working on various other projects, so I haven't been on FA in a while. Hopefully I can catch up this week, but we'll see.

[EDIT: Just thought I ought to add something about the Howl-o-ween party on Saturday]

I was there, but I didn't have a costume and I'd been at work earlier, so I was probably the most boringly-dressed person there. I told people I was disguised as a mundane.

The first thing I did at the party(after doing a quick sweep of the basement to see if I could find any hidden passageways) was to try a little of everything at the refreshment table. I then spent the rest of the party doubled over on a couch in the basement feeling like utter crap and trying hard not to vomit. Don't know what I ate, but it sure didn't like me. (I suspect the sushi, or maybe the chimichanga-like Mexican mystery dish)

So, yeah, not one of my better party-going experiences. Still, most of the food was good and I saw and spoke with plenty of furs I hadn't seen in a while before I started feeling bad. Lots of people offered me help and made sure I was alright when I was huddled on the couch, and I'm very grateful for their support.

I've semi-officially got a job now! I've been learning about the business from Scorch for a few months now, but I've never done any of it without his assistance. This was my first day repairing appliances for people by myself and it was long and frustrating, but in a really good way. I learned a lot about the practicality of repairing appliances on your own, and I'm actually going to have a positive cash flow for the first week in longer than I can remember.

I think I could make a living doing this.

It feels like I'm coming down with something. I spent most of the day today in bed. As a result I might not be able to make it to any meets this weekend, unless I'm feeling a lot better tomorrow morning.

But enough of that, on to things that really matter! Like for instance, I finally got around to playing through Portal. I've had it lying around on my hard drive for a while and only just now managed to play it, but it was well worth it. I can see why Yahtzee liked it. It's really good for what it is-- primarily a demonstration of a new type of FPS gameplay. The only real common complaint was that it's short, but I found it to be a perfect length for the content that it introduced. There were never any bits that felt like filler, and that's as it should be in my opinion.

*****WARNING: GEEKY SPECULATIONS*****
(This section can be safely ignored by anyone who does not have time to read my wall of text)

Throughout my playthrough I was struck by how many similarities it had to an old Half-Life mod I played a while back by the name of Half-Quake. They are very distinctly different games,(especially in tone. Portal was fairly light-spirited throughout, even as you are confronted with deathtraps and forced to do horrible things, whereas Half-Quake's tone seemed geared more toward making the player slit their wrists) but I would be willing to bet that, when the team that made Portal decided to come up with an overall setting and theme way back in early development somebody remembered Half-Quake and saw how well the overall lab rat type setup in that mod would work for teaching the player the new gameplay mechanics of portals. This is all just speculation of course, but the similarities are just too striking for me to ignore.

The thing that really did it for me was when I played through the developer's commentary mode and learned that a particularly memorable area of the game was referred to as the "Rat Man's Den". In the interest of not spoiling anything for people, let me just say that I didn't see a whole lot of justification for that name within the world of Portal, but there was a character in Half-Quake who might be referred to as the Rat Man and who played a very similar role in the plot as this chamber does. Wish I could be more specific, but it is a rather pivotal character we're talking about.

And the real reason I'm going so in-depth about this is that I only managed to turn up ONE (1) link on Google noting these similarities, and that was on another furry message board.(which sadly turned into a flame war as somebody thought the poster was accusing Valve of plagiarism, which he wasn't doing) So either I am completely crazy or nobody has made the connection.(quite possibly because very few people have played Half-Quake; though I don't really know how widely it played I know it wasn't nearly as popular a mod as, say, They Hunger, and I *still* haven't encountered anyone else who's even played that!)

*****END GEEKY SPECULATIONS*****

Anyway, I've probably made it clear by now that I'm getting rather stir-crazy from lying around in bed all day and taking it out by typing ridiculously long things about nothing particularly important. Hopefully I'll be feeling a bit better tomorrow.

The cake was a lie, and yet it was not a lie. Such is the Zen of Portal.

My life still goes well, even if it is a bit more routine than I'd like. I'm still much happier than usual, even so much that the impending collapse of Western society doesn't ruin my mood, but seems like just another exciting, albeit stiff, challenge. The main difference seems to be that now I know people worth living for.

That and all sorts of weird things have been challenging some of my core beliefs lately, most notably the second law of thermodynamics. Scorch's device only violates it in theory,(and actually doesn't really involve thermodynamics at all, but the law's been generalized to other fields) but I'm about 10 hours into testing it and I am seeing absolutely no possible conventional sources of energy that could be making it do what it is doing. I've charged a battery that was originally dead, drained it, and charged it again while taking copious records of the voltage and current draws in this circuit.

So far, the test battery has put out roughly 4.5 Amp-hours after being charged from a battery rated at 1.4 Amp-hours and is in the process of charging again from the same battery which showed a voltage drop of less than half a volt after having charged a battery three times its capacity! Oh, yeah, and it's also spinning this big-ass wheel during the whole process, so there's that energy being lost, too.

The design is nothing special, aside from the simple fact that it should not work this way. According to everything I've ever heard about conventional electronics, this sort of thing can't happen. New energy is coming into this system from somewhere, but I'll be damned if I can figure out where.

I knew of the design during college but I figured it was a hoax, like all scientists tend to do when they hear of something theoretically impossible like this. But it works! Here it is, exploiting some unknown principle that could provide the ultimate in renewable energy, and it's made out of common and widely available circuit elements. I feel like a character in a Philip K. Dick novel, where everything I know is suddenly wrong, or at least suspect. If this is possible, who knows what else could be?

Oh, and my birthday is next Friday, so there's that too.

Ever since I have returned to Colorado, one great thing after another has been happening to me, most of them completely unexpected. Each new day seems to bring some new wonder or experience, an increase in comfort, or the destruction of another social barrier. I feel swept up in the greatest ride of my life. I have no idea where I'm headed, but it has to be somewhere good.

Most notably, I have occasionally been overwhelmed with a joy and warmth that is so strong I can only describe it as Love. I didn't used to feel this way. As a matter of fact, I can only remember once or twice in my life that I've ever felt anything similar, and yet now it seems like I'm experiencing it ever day. You might expect one or two people to be responsible, but it's more like everyone that I've met out here has contributed in their own ways.

Much of my love comes from  ScorchGD, who seems to have done nothing but help me out since I moved in with him. I know there are a fair number of people out there who think he's disagreeable, but he's a really nice guy if you don't argue with him about everything. Sure he's got some unusual beliefs, but they don't hurt anyone, which is more than I can say about most people's beliefs. People shouldn't take these things so personally.

Most of it, though, comes from the outstanding  fortfurfriday group. I know so many wonderful people who attend this meet. Whatever I may face on the weekdays, the weekends at Fort Collins keep me going. I've never met so many open, loving people in one place before. There were three friends I had in high school that I felt truly blessed to know, and I figured I'd never meet anybody like them again. Now all of a sudden I know several, and I'm still getting to know some new people there. Even when I'm not there, my thoughts are on them and my love comes from them. Just wanted to say thanks to all of them for being themselves.

*deep, passionate lizard hugs to all*

OMG, Scorch just rigged up a heat lamp over my bed so I can bask! IT'S AMAZING!!!!!!!!! (8K)-<

You may think you detect sarcasm here. You are dead wrong. I didn't realize there was anything left that could produce this kind of reaction in me, but this has done it! I'm like a kid on Christmas morning again! I asked him for it, sure, but even I never suspected how wonderful it would be! Wow! Wow...

Whew...

Yes, it's the simple pleasures in life that excite this lizard. I don't think a million bucks could get me feeling like this. It'd be more useful from a practical standpoint, sure, and I'd feel real good about it, but it wouldn't leave me feeling like *this*. I can't explain it. I'm not even going to try.

Well, I-- was originally going to post a heartfelt piece about how much I love the Fort Collins Furs, to tell the truth, and I feel like a bit of a dick to let something like this take over the post. I was just caught up in the moment. If I post it now, though, it's just going to sound cheap, so I'll hold off and post it tomorrow.

Sigh... I swear I'm not really this shallow...

RMFC may be two days over, but I'm still lingering in the afterglow. The whole experience was like a dream. It was just too magnificent to have actually occurred. The panels, the artwork, the dance floor, the fursuits, but especially the people, made it one of the greatest experiences of my life. I got hardly any sleep the whole time, and yet I never seemed to tire out. Every new activity was exciting, and there were so many of them. My days(and nights) were packed.

The people, though... I feel truly blessed to be around a group like the FoCo furs.( FortFurFriday)  CruelJones drew a marvelous sketch of the FoCo attendees. My best moments were spent amongst them, or with  Rexar, who is from New Mexico Tech and I believe set an all-time record for quickest time to go from complete stranger to beloved friend.  Osiris wasn't far behind, though. I have never been the impulsive type, but it was like I was a whole new person around the RMFC crowd. Or rather, I was who I've always been but never before felt safe enough to show it. The people in this community are just magnificent.

I walked into this con a repressed, neurotic shell of a lizard. I came out totally refreshed and rejuvenated, with my anxieties(already weakened after moving in with  ScorchGD) completely shattered.

Among my most pleasant memories:

- Stumbling quite accidentally and spontaneously into a party in the Otters' room.

- Sitting in a chair by the dance floor and losing myself in the music and the incredible glowstick displays by  shadowcheetah.

- Getting my first conbadge(finally) and winning a particularly nice bit of dragon/griffin porn at the silent auction from the incredible new talent  Rukis, who seemed to pop up out of nowhere.

- Drinking a "special" at the con party on Saturday night in 919. A random woman came up to me and told me I looked like Superman, then asked if I could fly off with her. Wonder how much she'd had to drink?

- Helping a random fur vomit into a toilet at about 4:00 AM on the morning after said party-- not exactly fun but certainly memorable.

- Conversing over drinks with  Rhaen and  Xirex at Marlowe's on Sunday evening while a violent hailstorm raged outside.

- Monday morning. Just... Monday morning. Everything to do with it.

I've got plenty more memories from the con, of course, but these are the ones that most stand out in my mind. It was a wonderful time. The daily grind is not so painful now. Far from post-con depression, my life seems that much better because of my experiences at the con. Life is beautiful.

I am back in Colorado, and finally settled in to my new residence in the back of  ScorchGD's lair. He has agreed not to eat me in exchange for a few services, not to mention my utter awe and admiration. I don't think I've ever encountered anyone quite so interesting in my life, and I've only had a couple of days to talk to him.

The best thing, though, has been the simple fact that for once I can be around someone without feeling like I have to restrain my scaly side. I have always been painfully reserved around others, and yet in the short time I've been here I feel more open around Scorch than I have around anyone in my life. I knew consciously that I didn't have to hide myself around furs, but I was never able to overcome the ingrained habit I had developed over the course of my childhood. Now, however, everywhere I look a dragon stares back at me, like a comforting reminder that there is nothing to fear. This place is so different from any that I have lived in, and yet I feel more at home here than the room I grew up in.

Sure, it's only been a short time, and we're liable to get on each others' nerves after a few weeks, but I expect the time I do spend here will do far more to heal my repressive neuroses than a lifetime of therapy. RMFC is this weekend, and I can finally look forward to it without the slightest bit of anxiety marring my excitement. I don't have a job and I'm nearly out of money, yet somehow life couldn't be going better.

I suppose I ought to...

Where are you staying?
No idea. Really, I have no clue at all. Probably a hotel of some sort. If anybody's up for a roommate, I'd be glad to split the bill.

What day are you getting there?
Friday, of course, and I'll be staying the whole time.

Who will you be with?
I'll probably wind up mostly hanging around the crowd from the Fort Collins meets, since I know them best.

Do you do free art?
To the extent that I do art at all, yes. That is, I will gladly agree to it but may never get around to it given how I've been putting off drawing and finishing art for some time now. Actually, a request is probably just what I need to get a piece finished for once.

Do you do trades?
Uh... maybe, but my answer to the previous question applies.

Do you do commissions?
I'd be flattered, but if you've got money for a commission you should probably give it to an artist who needs it more than me.

Do you do prints/CDs?
Nope. I wish I was that productive.

Do you do badges?
I could do the artwork, I suppose, but I'm not really prepared for making the actual badges. Probably not.

Will you have art in the art show?
Nope. Not good enough, not prolific enough, and really just not the sort of aspiring artist that typically shows their stuff at the cons.

What is your gender?
Male.

How old are you?
26

Are you taken?
Not at all. Invitations are quite welcome.

Can I talk to you?
Sure, but don't expect me to say anything too interesting. I typically have horrible anxiety around others.

Can I touch you?
I don't have anything against it philosophically and I'll probably enjoy it, but I often respond like a startled cat given the aforementioned anxiety issues.

Can I hang out with you?
Please do! I love to meet new people furries.

How can I find you?
I should have a badge or two by the time I get there. I'll be wearing slacks and a beat--up blue ski jacket with black sleeves, and I'll have a black backpack. I like to see a little of everything, but the social interaction stresses me out quickly and I often take breaks. If you see anyone sleeping on chairs or hanging out in empty rooms, there's a good chance it's me.

I just had a drawn-out argument with my mother that, while relatively civil, was nonetheless exhausting. In the end, though, I managed to elicit a promise from her to let me live my life and not pester me about my decisions. She still won't admit to being passive-aggressive, but if she follows through on this promise it will effectively prevent her from pressuring me any more, which makes it all worth it.

She has a history of pressuring me about decisions of mine she doesn't agree with, trying to get me to see things her way, and she's incessant about it. She insists she's not pressuring me or trying to change my mind, even though she will never stop reminding me about why I shouldn't be doing something if she disagrees with it. It's like she's blinded to the effect that has on her kids. I honestly don't think she realizes it, but at least she admits to doing it and has agreed to stop.

Getting her there was like pulling teeth, though. It was in many ways the most technically challenging argument of my life. I had to keep track of many specific instances of her behavior from the past few days and bring them up whenever necessary to support my argument, with very little margin for error. I had to remember what she said in nearly word-for-word fashion, and I had to use it to counter every moment that she would misinterpret or misremember my words. And of course, I had to be absolutely certain to restrain myself just enough to stay civil(or at least, more civil than my opponent), while still remaining emotionally involved enough to convey the importance of this argument to me. It was perhaps the best tactical performance of my life up to this point, and in a way I'm proud of it. That's the first time I've ever managed to maneuver Mom into seeing my point, if not quite into understanding my perspective.

Whew, I feel like having a cigarette now, and I don't smoke. It's like my whole upbringing was building to this, and I've passed the test. And I can't help but feel like something is very wrong with that.

Ack! I've been tagged!  booyakasha011 got me!

1) Post these rules
2) Post 8 true things about yourself
3) At the end you must tag 8 people and post their icons
4) Go to their page and send them a message saying you tagged them
5) NO TAG-BACKS


1) I spend way too much time worrying and not enough time living

2) My heart lies in Colorado

3) I can do 50 push-ups

4) I don't like social pressure

5) I love skiing more than any other activity I've ever tried before

6) I absolutely love anything with scales, especially when they yiff :P (OK, so I stole this from  Booyakasha011, but only because it's true)

7) I am still a virgin (and it sucks) (EDIT 8/08/09)

8) Most of the time I'm alone I spend naked


You don't have to be a systems engineer to realize that untagged people will disappear rather quickly with this meme, but fortunately for me it's still rather early in the process, so I shall tag:

 hgryphon,  kohath,  Lavawolf,  OtakuMan24,  ozoneserpent,  Rhaen, :rinorex:, and  VioletVirtue

I've spent the past few days doing little but searching for jobs, but it's a tough market out there. So far today I've found one (1) entry-level engineering position available in Colorado that didn't appear fraudulent. Most positions want at least 5 years experience, though some dip as low as 2. I'm probably going to have to expand my search outside the field of engineering. I have to have a job lined up by the end of the month-- a deadline imposed by the arrival of RMFC, which I would be remiss not to attend since I won a sponsor-level invitation at a fund-raising poker tournament.

Hopefully I can get out sooner than that. Being stuck at home has killed my art drive. I spent a few hours on Saturday trying to draw something and failing repeatedly, but my heart wasn't really in it. My life feels on hold right now, and so when I'm not looking for positions I tend to stress myself out. Or at least, I think that's what does it, but I've never been too good at figuring out my emotions.

All the furs I know are in Colorado, and I miss them.

There's not a whole lot to talk about, but I felt I ought to follow up last night's post with something a bit more sane. I haven't been keeping up with FA like I'd wanted to, but I'm going to make time now. I should really be more positive about things in general. They're going a lot better for me than they are for many people out there, so I really shouldn't spend so much time worrying about my own stupid problems.

I'll try to be more pleasant, especially on FA. I joined the fandom because I love it, after all. I just feel so cut-off right now, and some of that is my fault for not really keeping up. I've been trying to get some art up. I might post some of the half-finished crap I've had sitting around on my hard drive as sketches, so I can get back into an art frame of mind.

Well, it's been tough to get on FA. I knew it would be. A couple of weeks ago my mother's laptop died, and guess who she wanted to borrow from? That took out ALL my internet activity for about a week. I could probably have posted earlier, but I've apparently been too busy trying to avoid dealing with anything I care about.

Right now there are exactly three things I really care about-- art, FA, and getting a job out in Colorado. How much time have I spent on each? Practically none. My family knows nothing about any of these things, except that I'm trying to get a job in Colorado, and dearest mother is doing her best to persuade me to stick around. It's not an option as far as I'm concerned, but it's tough to reason with her since my motivations for staying out there are mainly furry-related. Lack of an income is the only thing keeping me here right now at all. In the mean time, I have to censor everything I say and do while lying about my real motivations. The sooner I can get away, the better.

These are all just excuses, though. The truth of the matter is that I've been too chickenshit to make time for anything I care about since I got back to Florida because I don't seem to want to deal with the stress of doing things I care about! If your reaction to that was something along the lines of "WTF???", you know how I feel about it. It's like I've got to fight myself just to do things I enjoy.

Eh, I need to quit worrying and just enjoy myself a bit more. Maybe that's the whole reason I've had these problems in the first place.

So, I'm not getting on the internet near as much around my family, and when I do I can't browse furry sites like I want to. I wouldn't want any of my family members to accidentally discover what I do in my spare time, after all. I still haven't come out to my folks, I'll probably wait till I'm going steady with someone. As far as the fandom goes, well... If I tell them, it might lead curious family members to my FA account and that-- would be tragic. My family might not be as judgmental as some, but they've still got pretty staunch ideas on certain things.

In the mean time, I had forgotten how much food was around my mom's house. Feels like I've been doing nothing but eating since I got back. It's a wonder I wasn't 300 pounds in high school. The weather is hot and humid, but air conditioning is much more prevalent then it was in Colorado so I actually feel cooler most of the time than I did in my old A/C free apartment. Can't wait to get to the beach and get some swimming in.

Finally finished packing up and moving out. I've just got in to Florida. Hopefully I can spend some more time on FA now, but probably not tonight.

You Know You're a 90's Kid If...

You remember watching

[ ] Kenan and Kel
[ ] Doug
[x] Ren & Stimpy;
[x] Pinky & the Brain;
[ ] AAAHH!! Real Monsters;
[ ] Rocko's Modern Life;
[x] Animaniacs;
[ ] Gargoyles;
[ ] Hey Arnold!;
[ ] Out of the Box;
[ ] Bear in the Big Blue House

[x] You’ve ever ended a sentence with the word "PSYCHE!"
[ ] You just can’t resist finishing this: "In west Philadelphia born and raised." (The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air is the shit)

You remember: (sadly, all of them)

[x] Step by Step;
[x] Family Matters;
[x] Dinosaurs;
[x] Boy Meets World;
[x] Full House

[x] You remember when it was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons
[x] You remember reading Goosebumps

When everything was settled by:

[x] "Rock/paper/scissors";
[ ] "Bubble gum, bubble gum in a dish";
[ ] "Miss Mary Mack".

[x] When kickball was something you did everyday
[x] You used to listen to the radio all day long; Just to record your FAVORITE song of ALL time on a tape.
[x] You remember Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis;
[x] You remember The Original Game Boy (and I STILL own one!)
[ ] You always wanted to send in a tape to America’s Funniest Home Videos... but never taped anything funny

You remember watching:

[x] The Magic School Bus; (hell, I remember READING this, back before the TV show)
[x] Wishbone;
[x] Reading Rainbow; (Butterfly in the skyyyyy! I can fly twice as hiiiiigh! Just take a look! It's in a book! It's a Reading Rainboooow!)
[ ] Ghostwriter.

[x] You remember when Yo-Yo's were cool (what, they stopped being cool?)
[x] You remember those "Where’s Wally" books; and "I Spy" (Wait, wait... You mean "Where's WALDO", don't you?)
[x] You remember eating Warheads and Splashers Gushers.

You remember watching:

[ ] Batman the Animated Series;
[x] Aladdin;
[x] Ninja Turtles;
[x] Ghost Busters. (Vital part of my youth)

[ ] You remember Ring Pops
[ ] You remember when everything was "da BOMB!";
[ ] You remember boom boxes vs. CD players;

[x] Making those little paper fortune things, and then predicting your life with them;
[ ] You played and/or collected Pogs; (no, they were too "cool", but I still remember them)
[ ] You had at least one Tamagotchi, GigaPet or Nano and brought it everywhere you went. (definitely remember these, but never had the allowance or time for one of my own)

You watched the original cartoons of:

[ ] Rugrats
[ ] Wild Thornberrys
[ ] Power Rangers.

[ ] All your school supplies were "Lisa Frank" brand

You collected:

[ ] Beanie Babies
[ ] Pokemon cards
[ ] Silver dollars

You remember when:

[ ] Everyone watched the WB
[x] Everybody knew all the Pokemon by heart (tried to stay out of it)
[x] Digimon was still on
[x] If you even know what an original Walkman is
[ ] You know the Macarena by heart; (Took a concerted effort NOT to)
[x] "Talk to the hand"
[ ] You went to McDonald’s to play in the playplace and it was still sanitary; (Sorry, I seriously do not remember these being sanitary, even brand-new)
[x] Before the MySpace frenzy;
[x] Before the Internet & text messaging;
[x] Before Sidekicks & iPods;
[x] Before PlayStation3 or X-Box 360;
[x] Back before X-Box period;
[x] Before SpongeBob;
[x] When light up sneakers were cool (see yo-yo comment)
[x] When you rented VHS tapes, not DVDs;
[x] When gas was $0.95 a gallon;
[x] When we recorded stuff on VCR;
[x] You had slap bracelets;
[x] You actually played outside until it was dark;
[x] Way back before we realized all this would eventually disappear;

[x] Post this if you smiled at least more than 5 times (this made me do it)


Read this one in Booyakasha011's journal, and I had to post one of my own.

I just went and added all the people from the meet I've been going to to my watchlist-- which I'm starting to regret having done. I always get self-conscious about my artwork, which isn't so bad if I'm just interacting with people over the internet, but I actually know these folks IRL. That shouldn't make a difference, but it does anyway.

It's ultimately for the better. I've just got to get used to just being open, especially in this community. I just wish I spent more time on my posts so that I could finish them properly. They pale in comparison to what most people have done.