I took my GRE today (it's the standardized test before going to grad school) I did super well and am very excited. Now, this means that I can take a breather. I can focus on things other than doing mental math and using vocabulary that normal people don't understand and have no desire to. I wanna get back into things and enjoy my life the way I like to live it!

That means going to furry things like the Delaware furbowls and conventions (ok, convention- singular) and maybe doing some artsies. I visited my parents last week and managed to find my tablet that got packed up from when hurricane sandy stealing half the house in 2012. Now to download OC and maybe find PS... I'm excited to have my own hobbies again rather than sticking to what my BF and I both enjoy. It'll be so nice to have extra time!!! YAY LIFE!

For Squeaki to have hands!???

Oh, hey, hi! I've been away from the fandom for a while... (lots of things.) But I went to New Years Fur Ball in Newark, DE and was reminded of how much I love it.

So! Because of that, I want to start drawing and probably commissioning art again and am trying to find a way to make my super weird character normal. Do you think I should just try harder to find unique ways of working with her? Or should I just make her a generic thing-a-ma-blob with terrestrial limbs and a tail? OR when I'm at an impasse use Miki, my alt?

HI again! THANKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

I am a personal trainer based out of NYC, unfortunately my ability to attend Anthrocon this year has been stifled. I am looking for individuals or a group who would be willing to take over the panel at AC Friday at 6PM. I would be more than willing to put together some talking points or even skype during the panel.

Please let me know if you are willing and able to participate or if you know someone who is.

^^ this is the form letter I've been sending out since Giza was so kind as to tell me he'd attend my panel. Unfortunately I'm not able to go to Anthrocon this year for a plethora of reasons.

So if you can help me out in anyway (like telling me I am not allowed to pawn this off to someone else) please let me know??

Hey, so, I know... I'm never here anymore.

That's partly bc I've started this amazing new job as a personal trainer in NYC. I love helping people and always have, but now that I'm nationally certified with the blue ribbon of certifications,I have a legitimate way to promote health in this community. Furries aren't generally a super health concious bunch. A lot of furs are overweight, and those who aren't are probably just genetically blessed. I know a few military furs and folks who are seious about their fitness but for EVERYONE ELSE this is for you...

I'm trying to work with  healthyfurs to write journals more regularly and I'm hoping to be allowed to take on some personal training duties at Anthrocon. I'd love to educate people and give them super user friendly resources for tracking fitness and nutrition. Then I'm planning on setting up at least 24 half hour sessions after I advertise at the panel.

If any of you are interested, email me at SqueakiManatee AT gmail. The sessions will be double booked for only 20 USD a person and sessions will come with my educational material and charts to track your own progress for 3 months. If you don't want to work along side someone you don't know you can find a friend to workout with you or book both slots of a one-on-one session with me for $40.

Let me know if you're interested or have any advice on how to make this better.

P.S. I am looking into the legality of this. I'm aware that AC doesn't allow sales to be made outside of the Dealers Den. So, I've contacted them asking how to deal with selling this service. And I'll update the status of this venture as I know more

I was so close to being able to go to my first Fur Fright last month bc I had off Fri-Sun, but I still don't have any money.

I'm now a personal trainer at a super awesome, rich people gym. but the thing is... I get paid 8$ per hour until I have clients. yeah... Did I mention this is in midtown Manhattan? it sucks but my goal was to make butt loads of money in the next 3-4 years so I can go back to school & get my PhD and this was my best bet aside from waitressing (too hard to find a restaurant in NYC), bartending (I hate alcohol and would cut ppl off after 2 drinks) or stripping (...normal excuses there). Bleh. well, yeah. Wish me luck bc without it I can't go to cons, meets, LIFE until I get some PT clients!

I somehow just realized why I don't come to check my FA very frequently anymore. I'm watching so many great artists but most of them do their art for income. I'm influxed with so many pieces of art that were commissioned by strangers for personal reasons that I can't share. It's really awkward for me to look at ref sheets or badges of other people unless I know them and can appreciate the personalization, or I'm looking to commission something similar. Considering my financial status, I'm not commissioning folks anytime soon. I'm going to be bored going through so many commissions if they're all preposed pinups with a fill-in-the-blank style.

So! those of you who've been slacking on your doodles youknowwhoyouare get to it! You're here to entertain me!

oh, no, I didn't mean I was going to tell you something funny. I'm just here to say that I went to a comedy show at Eastville Comedy Club this weekend. It was pretty non-stop hilarious. I was glad when it was over bc my face hurt from laughing for 2 straight hours. I saw uh... that guy that thinks hes fat... and that guy who wears t-shirts of him self... and a few other people who've all been on comedy central (if that means anything, idk. I've never seen it. Isn't that a whole channel?) Ok I'll look them up: Jim Gaffigan, Judah Friedlander, Ted Alexandro, Mike Britt and other peoples.Some of the highlights included "I fucking loved The Lion King on Broadway! Because I was finally allowed to talk about how HOT grown up Nala is!" and "what would you do as president about gay marriage?--MANDATORY! You wanna get with a chick you gotta marry a duded first. because there are a lot of gay dudes that wanna hook up with straight guys and women love putting men through tests. it's a win-win."

Well anyway it was funny and NYC is awesome. I love living so close that I can just show up for an hour or two at a time.

Alright, alright. I'm a little behind because I wasn't planning on writing one of these. I've been reading through my journals today to catch up on what I missed last week and read a few that made me want to do my part. It was  kitt3ns journal that really made me think I should write one. He concluded his detailed account by saying “ I came home and I knew I wanted to make a record of it so I'd remember this one forever.” I was also listening to the song that he linked it totally made me tear up thinking of this as like a convention theme song

TL;DR shit's awesome. you!



I won't turn this into some super long bio of 5 days at AC. I'll just tell you that I had a terrific time. I got some great partying in (Squeaki style). I stayed in my budget and was totally happy about it. I hung out with old friends & met some new. This was absolutely my best AC. I didn't have any serious spazz attacks, I handled the minimal creeper issues with grace and I did just about everything I set out to do! I've had the issue in the past of not seeing some friends enough or wasting too much time with people I don't really consider friends; but this year I had the perfect balance! I noticed that one of the guys I hung out with for a bit has been a friend of mine since 2004. ante is one of the fellas who introduced me to this wonderful world of creativity, imagination and individuality and for that, I will always appreciate his friendship.

I suppose I'll at least hit some highlights of my weekend.

I was all set to catch my 1:45 Megabus from Philly to Pitt until my ride and I realized that we should never have listened to the GPS. Rather than finding the “station” (a span of road, a block away from the actual 30th st station) at 1:50. Oh, yes, I did plan ahead, don't think I didn't. We left in time so that I'd be there no later than 1:15... if we took the sane route. So I chased down the bus I was supposed to be on but he wouldn't let me on because it'd already departed. I sat in the strain station for the next 5 hours listening to my audio self help thingies & tried to keep myself from buying overpriced station food. Then after waiting in a line of 97 bus riders I helped another chick get to AC. She only had cash but needed to buy this last minute ticket because she managed to take the Harrisburgh bus to Philadelphia rather than Pittsburgh. Once I got on the 6:40 bus, I was all set. I had to get on last because people with tickets for THAT bus got preference. There were only about 3 seats left & I managed to choose the one covered in anonymous beverage from the dude next to me. The ride was pretty pleasant though. No one was rude or obnoxious during this late night sleepy bus & the bus driver was hilarious! Riyu told me later that the bus I tried to catch had a super douchey driver, so, from what I heard of that ride, it was worth it to wait 5 hours.

Anyway! Actual con stuff! I had a great time rooming with my friend & his friends Kiric & turtyll. Our 5th roomie was a nice fellow named Milt. I went out to dinner with Whitefeet's friends most nights and had a great time. I met a few Brooklyn furs because of it and that excites me. (Nice & Raff are the 2 that stand out in my mind) Brooklyn's not exactly close but once I move to North Jersey it'll be nice to have some semi-local fur friends. I also met up with a guy I met a few years ago at FAU Nazaryn. I went through the dealers den & artists alley & saw some nifty stuff but nothing really eye catching for someone trying to load up on manatee paraphernalia. The art show, however, had some amazing shit. I wish that I had 500$ to spend on a print of something. There really was some jaw dropping stuff. I was amazed. I actually noticed some works that actually had meaning and emotion put into them (other than lust).

I did go to the dance comp and as usual, it was pretty fantastic. I also made it to the gym one day & met some new folks including  mootsadog. And the next day I did minimal laps in a not so exercise friendly pool & hung out with setno & sunshadow in the hot tub. I didn't make it to the masquerade or that acrobat guy's show & I slept through the fitness furs panel (irony?). I hear there was some psyc related thingamagig I'd have been curious enough to just pop by. But other than missing those things. I really had a great time. I can't complain about missing a few little things when I had almost 5 whole days of good times.

I don't think I'll be going to FAU but I really really want to pass my CSCS exam to get certified as a personal trainer. It'll just be so great to have a job that pays me well enough to go to FF, FC or FWA next year. So until the update titled “FUCK YES CONGRATULATE ME ON MY AWESOME NEW JOB IN NYC THAT PAYS ME LOTS AND GIVES ME AT LEAST 5 VACATION DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I'll just have to say: see you at AC 2014.

So, for those of you who forgot: Anthrocon is just a giant birthday party for me. (the fireworks are also for me, not independence day). Today, I'm officially 25 years old. I've been on this planet for a quarter of a century (According to the Western world)! I really like how perfect 1/4 markers are so I've decided to stay this age until I'm 50. That does not, however, mean that I won't be celebrating the next 25 June 28ths. I'll just be celebrating the anniversary of my 25th b-day.

Interesting Squeaki trivia: I was delivered by an intern who almost dropped me. My mother thinks that I'm the reincarnation of a murdered model because of something I said when I was 3. My parents don't celebrate my birthday.

Thank you to those who remembered the anniversary of my gross entrance into this world! Celebrate with me at AC by buying me sugary baked goods! I'll be staying at the Westin from Wednesday through Monday.

any advice?!

Took this from ! I should be working on my take home final, paper and notes but decided to do this!

A - Available: let's go with no... :/


B - Birthday: 6.28.88 (look, it's a bunch of 8's)


C - Crushing on: a few folks including squirrels


D - Drink you last had: water


E - Easiest person / people to talk to: Myself, of course!


F - Favorite song: psh... no one can pick one song! I can't even pick a favorite song from each genre. The more you care about something I think the harder it is to pick out one thing.


G - Gummy bears or gummy worms: I don't eat gummies


H - Hometown: Kingwood twp, NJ


I - In love with: LEARNING!


J - Juice flavor: watered down cran-apple


K - Killed someone: HA! why would I admit to that here!?


L - Longest relationship: 2 years


M- Milkshake flavor: hmm... I really like every ice cream& therefor most milkshakes... I'll go with black rasberry with chocolate chips.


N - Number of siblings: .5 brothers! (My brother and I have the same mom)


O - One selfish wish: to have everyone agree with me on the important stuff!


P - Person you called last: the person who called to tell me my dad has a doctor's appointment.


Q - Quick at running: hells no!


R - Reason to smile:End of school, love, life, mostly my awesome grades


S - Stores you shop at: Uhh... shoprite?


T - Time you woke up: 8:39


U - Underwear color: Not Applicable!


V - Villains: pollution!


W - Worst habit: I have no bad habits! I AM PERFECT!


X - X-rays you've had: normal dental thingies & tibia. Thought I broke it kick boxing but my bones are too strong!


Y - Yogurt: Greek vanilla


Z - Zodiac sign: Cancer

I aim to make this Anthrocon my best ever! It's my second AC to fall on the fourth of July. In 2009 the fireworks on the rooftop were to spectacular! This falls the week after I turn 25 years old and six weeks after I graduate. I've got good roomies set up and I don't plan on having to deal with elevator waits since I'll hopefully be on a low enough floor to take the stairs.

Today, I started looking up the prices of megabus tickets. I've always driven to Pittsburgh with friends and usually something changes to screw up my plans. It will be so relaxing to just chill on a bus for 6.5 hours and be dropped off at my hotel for the cost of a tank of gas. So much better than showing up at someones house to leave at 10AM and not actually leaving until 3PM. Then needing a different pitstop for everyone in the car. Then needing to pay for parking. Dealing with the return trip is oh so much worse...

Well, anyway! I want to ask! Is anyone in the area want to book the same bus trip with me out of Philly on Thursday? Or share my company on the way back Monday morning? I'd love the quiet commute but I also like to socialize, especially on an 7 hour trip!

The commision tab is so cool! I'm so excited for it! I browsed a few artists I watch to see their commission tabs & some are super nice looking. Yay! Good job FA!

https://youtu.be/Yc7yp1quBYw

Iceland is considering the possibility of being the first "Western democracy" to censor internet pornography.

This interview compares this possible choice to an Orwellian dystopia.

This happens at least once a year. A new furry art thingy appears and everyone flocks. I wish the things that FA said they'd change would actually change, but is it so bad that you need to spread your art out over ten sites? I don't even bother with these new art sites anymore. Every year I think: "So many people are interested in this new thingamajig! I should see what all the hoopla is about!" Every year I'm met with the same thing. I'm not posting to FA like I was years ago (and if you don't remember I was posting a lot, it's just not here now because I took it all down). But I still can only think of one thing that I really don't like about FA. The lack of folders is annoying, but I've dealt with it for 5 years and I can hold on a little longer.

So, if anyone feels like a new art site is just so CRAZY good that I should try it, just tell me. I'm happy where I am.

NO, SERIOUSLY

 camohusky has a chance to go to fucking space and he wants to do it in fursuit!

https://www2.axeapollo.com/en_US/23.....kovacs?image=1
https://www2.axeapollo.com/en_US/23.....kovacs?image=1
https://www2.axeapollo.com/en_US/23.....kovacs?image=1

He's number 22 right now and needs to get to #2 by April 30th in order to be considered. PLEEEEEEEEASE! If you have any methods for getting a bagillion people to vote, please do it! How amazing would it be to know that a furry (especially as cool as Camo) went to fucking space??!? like, as in, outside of the Earth's fucking atmosphere in one of those fancy shmancy suits!??? Let's at least get him to 1000 votes by the weekend!

1) Vote using your email or facebook!
2) Then share this on FA, twitter, facebook... I don't care, fucking call up random people or walk around your office or school computer lab making people vote for "Gabriel Kovacs" on that site I linked you to ^ up there ^
3)Continue sharing this contest anywhere you can!

His journal is right here but just go ahead, this is amazing and by reading this you've already wasted more time than voting at that link I gave you up at the top will take! DOO EET! You know you want to!

No, not like cow tipping.

How many of you make a habit of tipping an artist after a pleasant commissioning experience? I just came across a journal asking her watchers why she's getting so few tips now that she's changed her method of payment. She now sends an invoice so it's more difficult for commissioners to just add a few bucks to their payment.

I think it's pretty obvious that people aren't going to go out of their way to send you a dollar or two in a separate payment after having to ask how they can send it to you. I'm not going to go back and ask them for their paypal address just so I can send them $1-2. That seems silly. If I "tip", I just give a little more than what the artist was asking. I really just give them what I think the work was worth. It's not a tip like you tip a server or a bell hop or something. I think that an artist should be encouraged to work quickly and efficiently to secure good word of mouth and repeat business, not financial gratuities.

For the time being, I'm spending a bit of my "free time" on FA again. I'd LOVE to get back to drawing but all my coloring is digital and I have a wonderful tablet from  kitt3ns but no Photoshop. I have gimp but I hate it.  strifechu gave me PS like 2 years ago and haven't gotten it to work... I'm lazy and forget to ask him for help. But yea, whether I draw or not, I'll be on here more! I wrote something that I may tweak to make more appropriate for here... maybe if I can't draw I'll just write. I dunno.

oh well... I shouldn't be spending time on art anyway. I'm taking 18 credits in this (my last) semester while studying for my Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist majigger to be a personal trainer in June. (I'm supposed to spend over 6 months studying and only have 4 left til I want to test) I also need to get straight A's this spring so my GPA doesn't drop. AND I started swimming/ exercising again. I want to be toned and jazz by the time I look for jobs.

I've done VERY basic screen printing before to make some adorable"I FURBLE" shirts but I really want a manatee shirt. Specifically I want a grey shirt with a pink bow near my right shoulder eyes and a big tan colored muzzle on the belly. really I could just free hand paint this but I'm on a screen printing kick.

...was great! Though I felt pretty put off at first by not being kept in the loop about well anything I eventually decided that if they needed my help they'd ask and until then I'd just have a good time. Because I have been so preoccupied recently with school work I've missed a few furbowls and other furry events. It was so nice to have a week off between fall and winter session so that I could fully enjoy myself in DE.

Embassy suites was terrific, as always. I don't know how helpful individual staff members were but I could tell that the management wanted to keep us happy and coming back. The price was great ($99 for the night that could give 6 people bed space) and best of all: the buffet dinner was very vegetarian friendly!! I heard minimal complaints that 39-45 for con reg wasn't worth it but that's because those people are comparing prices to huge established cons that have minimum costs taken care of that aren't competing for venue space on NEW YEARS EVE and don't have dinner or breakfast included in a hotel made entirely of suites!

The low point of my night though was ironically related to that great buffet. I was enjoying some awesome cuddles with friends when I saw  kitt3ns patting the back of a man sitting on the floor. I thought it was worth checking out so I went over to see if I could help with anything and saw a massive pile of puke. After I finally cleaned up the floor and Kitt had carried the puke covered man away I estimated my new collection of vomit to be roughly 3.5-4 pounds. :sarcasm:

All in all I had a great time. All the dancing definitely did a good job of reminding me how out of shape I am.

Oh! also: COOKIES! Thanks to Luna and  lupinespark for managing to make some where around 30 extra pounds of Christmas cookies and choosing to share them with the con!

Thanks to and everyone who helped kick off 2013 in such a positive way for me!

Finals have begun and I'm jittery from my new caffeine addiction! This semester has been ridiculous. the past 2 semesters I only took 4 classes (13 credits each semester) This semester and spring I'm taking 6 classes (18 credits) and a winter course. I'll be able to finish my BA in psyc on time to graduate spring of 2013 (7 years after high school but w/e).


ANYWHO! my real reason for writing this was to explain that it's been so long since I've logged in that I accidently went to furaffinity.COM... bad idea.

ok, well wish me luck on finals! (and not killing myself over the next 5 months)

I just logged on and had 3 new watchers! I love it, it's so cool to see new "faces" but why!? do I know you in real life? are you watching me because you liked my avatar, or a comment I made on someone else's page? It's confusing. I haven't submitted anything in so long bc my tablet broke and I lost Photoshop. now I've got a new tablet thanks to  kitt3ns but still no PS. I'd love to earn my watchers and I'd love to get back to submitting but a while back I even took down almost all my old stuff so now really! why are you watching me???

OK now, that's enough... k thx bye

Twilight Sparkle:

[ ] You have a huge collection of books.
[x] You value your alone time.
[ ] You have trouble making friends.
[x] You are very intelligent.
[x] You write letters regularly.
[x] You find a lesson in everything.
[ ] You have trouble doing things “the old-fashioned way.”
[ ] You’ve recently moved to a new town.
[x] You’re rather sarcastic.
[x] You’re often accused of being a know-it-all.
Total: 6

Pinkie Pie:

[ ] You’re the black sheep of the family.
[x] You’re majorly hyper.
[ ] You love to siiiing!
[ ] You’re known for throwing great parties!
[x] You’re great at baking.
[x] People sometimes don’t get your jokes.
[ ] You’re a prankster troll.
[x] You’re a super-intense personality.
[x] You have strange pets.
[x] You are known to go to extremes.
Total: 6

Applejack:

[x] You’re very stubborn.
[x] You find great joy in working.
[ ] You prefer the country to the city.
[ ] You speak with an accent.
[x] You HATE cheating.
[ ] You have freckles.
[ ] You prefer casual wear rather than formal things.
[x] You wear your hair in a ponytail(s).
[ ] You have a large family.
[x] You have trouble lying.
Total: 5

Rainbow Dash:

[x] You love winning.
[x] You like sports.
[ ] You have a funky haircolor.
[x] You have fangirl tendencies.
[x] You have no problem speaking your mind.
[x] You will give up anything for your friends.
[x] You like being recognized for good things.
[ ] You have no problem defying traditional gender-roles.
[ ] You act now, think later.
[ ] You’re very brave.
Total: 6

Rarity:

[x] You love being the center of attention.
[ ] You have a cat.
[x] You sew well.
[ ] It’s well-known that you’re somewhat vain.
[x] You love the excitement of the city!
[x] You will overwork yourself to do something nice for your friends.
[ ] You wear makeup.
[x] You’re prone to whining.
[x] You have original taste in fashion.
[ ] You enjoy bonding with your besties.
Total: 5

Fluttershy:

[ ] You HATE being the center of attention.
[ ] You struggle with sharing your mind.
[x] You love animals and help them however you can.
[x] You’re graceful.
[ ] You’re very quiet or soft-spoken.
[ ] You have a secret mean-streak.
[x] You’ve been told you could model.
[ ] You’re the eldest of your friends.
[ ] You like wearing your hair loose and long.
[x] You’re very nurturing
Total: 4

I was studying for my GREs and decided I needed an FA break. Also thought I should write a journal to assist in proving that I still exist. Of course, someone could have just taken over my account. I don't know how guessable my password is. :/

...despite not going.

I'm still glad that all my friends had such a great time. I so wish that I could have joined them so that I could have stories to share like everyone else. I always love walking around the city and I love to just sit against a wall to watch all the silly fluff balls! Instead I stayed at home saving hundreds of dollars and got poison ivy! Then I went to Hoboken, NJ to chill with a friend but was terrorized by roughly 20% of my body being covered in itchies. Then I went to a friend's place who was having a "Too Poor For Anthrocon Party." That felt great to get out with folks and have a good furry time to substitute a time in Pittsburgh.
But I still got presents! Skrimpf gave me three beautiful, high-quality prints and kitt3ns bought me a cute little Squeaki badge. Now that I'm back from visiting Kitt I plan to spend a lot of time watching youtubes of the convention. I hope I don't get too jealous of how much fun I missed!

In other news, my grandfather died last week and the funeral is this weekend. It's all right, no need for sympathies. He lied about his age when he came to the USA but he was between 95 and 105 years old. He was spry and lived a good long and full life but for the last few months his health has been failing and it was painful to watch. It was good that it didn't go longer than it did.

I'm not going! Stop making me feel bad about not getting to have fun with all of you!

I just realized today that I could have asked my family for AC money for my birthday rather than the nothing that I asked for...