The few people I keep in touch with here, I miss you! (Looking at you, 'BFox64'.)
I will be going to Midwest FurFest, but for real this year. Did I save up hundreds specifically for a certain few pervy vendors? Yes, yes I did...
I will definitely be more crafty and active once winter hits and I'm stuck indoors avoiding the endless months of snow.
I've really taken more of an androgynous turn lately, since I haven't been in a relationship with anyone wanting me to fit a specific role. I've had more health issues than pretty much any year, but I know not everything can be resolved overnight.
Comment with your furry-related adventures! New fursuits, favorite artists, etc? Get me back in the loop! :)

I have gone 28 years without trying drugs, smoking cigarettes, only got blackout drunk once, etc. Well, my boss gave us $90 in edibles to dispose of for him. I've heard okay things about weed, so I figured hey, I'll try a couple, life is short.

Noooooooo. I was laying in bed reading, got tired, and turned off the light. Then bam, the weed kicked in. So I was in three different dimensions, and only one where I could control my body, the other two were above my body, slightly higher and then much higher. I was sharing every thought that came in my head, really loudly and mumbling. I closed my eyes and I was freaking hallucinating this blue guy jumping over a brown rug, and I couldn't stop laughing at that. So many freaky patterns going on. Then I was touching myself but I didn't realize it. I felt really bad for talking so loudly so I made myself be quiet by pushing my hand down on my face as hard as possible... then my brain convinced my body I was dying. I could feel my heart rate slowing and my body getting cold. No matter what I couldn't convince myself I wasn't dying, and I was thinking about all the people I hadn't said goodbye to.

I had a bad reaction to anesthesia when I got my teeth out, so it's not overly surprising. I have mental illness so I think that makes drugs far worse. Anyways, I'm done with that nonsense...

I'm living in Mishawaka, Indiana now. I'm sleeping in my employer's basement at the moment, but I found a beautiful apartment (castle-like on a hill surrounded by woods) for under $500 a month. My job is traveling around the US as a convention vendor for mostly anime cons (wearing animal ears, wigs, and cute t-shirts!), and during off weeks I'll be working out of the warehouse. I have a very good partner who also travels around the US for work; even if we only see each other a few times a year, it's worth it.

I know there'll be some tough times, but I don't know if I've ever been so content with everything in my life the way I am now - my location, weather, friends, partner, job, coworkers... I literally lost it all, then gained everything I could ever want, and appreciate it on a level I never would've been able to before. My bosses want to do a company trip to Japan, so I think I'll realize even more dreams in time. I know I'm already headed to Seattle, Denver, Sandusky, Overland Park and more, it's all super exciting.

It's weird, but when you're content with life, people just react to you differently. It's like once you start moving uphill, life keeps bringing you wonderful moments. I'm just so used to the downhill version...

I have a weird rant, *but* a lot of people on FA have mental struggles so I want to share.
I suffer from sensory overload SO BAD. I feel like it's gotten even worse as I've gotten older, or maybe since I've gone through more. Online I feel like I come off as.. decently intelligent, then in person I get overstimulated and I'm airhead mode. It's actually part of the reason I got so into fursuiting, the sensory deprivation was really relaxing. I honestly wonder if I'm some sort of Asperger's, ADHD, or maybe just a severe introvert.

I'm bored easily, so sitting in a quiet corner isn't a good life choice for me either. There's only a few exciting things that don't overstimulate me: flying (white noise and no change in people), driving, and most things outdoors.
And BARCADES. Oh my gosh. I've been obsessed! When I focus on one machine, it instantly relaxes me, it's the only bar/social spot where I don't have to drown myself in alcohol to reduce the stimuli. I've spent more hours in arcades than on consoles these last 3 months.

Anyways, if anyone has any tips for dealing with this... sometimes my brain treats leaving the house as a threat and it's really interfering with my way of life. I've heard sensory overload gets worse with PTSD. On the plus side, my boyfriend is so chill that it's kind of like going out with a service dog (he's a sub so he won't mind that description xD), I notice I'm a lot more relaxed and able to socialize when he's nearby.

Small but too much fun! Seriously, what can I say? Pretty much zero complaints. The least amount of drama I've ever seen too, and no ambulances that I know of! What a first!
I got an awesome Tsampikos porn book, and stickers of cats with offensive phrases!
I can't wait for the next con... BLFC next year is for sure, besides that I'm not sure. I seem to have contracted car narcolepsy so I need to solve that problem before I make any plans.
It was more organized than Califur. I saw lots of people I met there! It was nonstop fun, a few days of being a furry freak makes the depression go away. I threw bread at people, went swimming at 2am, and raved for hours (I am so lazy so I surprised myself there).
If you wanna see me making a fool of myself and some others from here too, here's a link. I have the white LED shoes... https://youtu.be/IN5vjhvnzno

Love you guys!!

First off, I met Zyira in the dealer's room, she's so FA famous I expected her to be different but she was so sweet, she tried to give me a free print (in addition to the free 'messed up' charm [it looked fine!]) and I refused because her art is amazing and needs to be financially supported! I've got three of her prints to hang up now. It was really reassuring knowing I'm not the only gal who gets freaked out by crowds and socializing. And we're about the same age which is awesome too.

One reason I get a little 'meh' about anime conventions is the young age group... this was not an issue at this con! There were a surprising amount of (mostly) men well over 60, wearing harnesses and raving it up too. No doubt, that'll be me because I'm never giving this lifestyle up, bury me in a fursuit please.

I stumbled into the hackers meetup accidentally and it ended up being the best panel I've ever been to! It was run by a guy by the name of TM Drake (gonna look him up) who was extremely knowledgeable, engaging, and talented. Needless to say, I've been extremely inspired, I'm going to apply what I'm learning in my IT degree to my hobby and start programming LEDs, embroidery machines, etc.

I don't know what official attendance was, but it felt like a thousand people, which I actually enjoyed. You run into the same people over, and over, and over. It really took the guesswork out of trying to track each other down on social media or trying to find some obscure meetup location. By the end of the con I was greeting people like I was running into an old friend. I didn't even notice I'd come alone because I always had company if I wanted it.

I loved the video streaming room and I spent hours in there. It was like 70s adult swim for furries. Watching some of those videos at 2am was really, really trippy. It was a quiet, dark 24/7 spot to just chill out for a bit away from the semi-humans. I definitely need to track down some of those shows.

Free snack room= awesome. It was really useful being able to pick up coffee and carby snacks when I spent the entire time eating Clif bars and a bag of apples (I lost a lot of weight).

Admittedly I spent a decent amount of time at the hotel bar. The bartender was the first person *ever* to recognize my obscure comic book reference on my t shirt, so he got mega-tipped. I met so many people there too..!

I have a rep for being a party pooper around here (I always turn down invites to stay in and study/craft), but at Califur I was such a ridiculous party animal. The mini outdoor rave Friday night sure beat the official rave, but Saturday night I danced it up (even though it was like an hour long, so short), the condom and sex toy balloons were hilarious. So many odd textures..

I'm scared to look at my bank account, I also bought awesome ears and one of those silly sexy foxgirl dresses. (Necessary.)

I know a lot of people didn't have as much fun as I did. Yes, it was small, disorganized, the panels ran way too long. But for me, it was therapy for my soul. Being amongst my own kind for days felt like a different world, one I'd missed so desperately. Not having to hide a single part of my personality was so freeing.

The advanced BDSM panel was not as extreme as I'd hoped. It was more like make your own BDSM toys. Like the conversation I had with the former professional dominatrix - if you don't have to put down a tarp, is it really that extreme? xD (bahaha, good times)

Well, time for me to enter the post con blues stage. I'm going to make attending furry cons a top priority in my life now. (Besides TFF, I didn't enjoy that one at all.)

Pros:
No matter how many people attend, Megaplex always feels like a small con to me. You can actually walk and interact with semi-humans.
Lots of amazing/cute suits!
People really weren't as obnoxious as TFF, and better raves.
Pool social was enjoyable.

Neutral:
Had to make a new category for the inflatables panel. Awesome that they have a huge event like this, but why was it so formal? It was like a mix of lotto drawing and museum exhibit. I wanted to pet pool toys.

Cons:
More than one fedora per crew.
Ambulance con! And fart con, apparently..
Dealers den and artists alley were a bit weak. I came looking for unique plushies, I left disappointed.

I don't know how much I'll be there the rest of the weekend, after Thurs and Fri I'm really exhausted socially. I wish I was one of those suiters with endless energy.

Pros:
Hotel was amazing, club level lived up to its name
Really enjoyed many of the artists/dealers, Anime Cat's custom plush did not disappoint
Good organization, no one blocking the hallway for more than a few seconds
Renting out the lounge was a good move!
No ambulance, that was a first
Awesome Anubis kigurumi mask, loved it
Meeting King Elliot finally

Cons:
Being too tired to go to any parties
DJs who seemed to refuse to play music you can actually dance to
People. If you know you're obnoxious while drunk don't get obnoxiously drunk. I had to dissuade a couple fights.
A little off/socially awkward is all good, but there were many people who were just *too* off and it made me uncomfortable a lot of the time.

It sounds mean but people are just.. stranger out here.

Haha just a dumb joke at my own expense to get your attention for the real subject!

Inspired by xWingedVixenx, I am making a Valentines Day themed set to be auctioned off for her charity of choice, the American Cancer Society. 100% pink X harness, a character design drawn by her lovely self, fluffy corset tail and a matching pair of corset ears. (You'll see!) Me being an unknown artist is an understatement so I will need help advertising so we can raise a lot of money.
I would love for this to become a regular thing. For that matter I would love to get a group together to visit children's hospitals suited up or something. I'm gonna work my butt off to get it done prior to V-Day! Somehow, with my 9-5 six days a week D: