Greetings FA'ers!

As some of you know I have a backlog of art I'm going to try to start uploading. I also want to hear from you as to what art ideas you'd like to see me involved in for this year. My Gryph has both a anthro and quad / feral (intelligent) form and I enjoy giving both some love.

If you are interested in sharing a commission together, by all means don't hesitate to reach out as well. 90% of my commissions are shared and it's by far one of my favorite things to do.

Stay safe and chirparriffic my friends!

This gryphy will be there! Will be hosting my Furry Speed Mingle panel on Friday. Hope to see you all there and around the con!

Today is my HATCHDAY ^v^

By far, the greatest gift of all is having you all in my life. *Snugs*

Never stop being you ^v^

-Storm Gryphon

Who all can I expect to see there??? Will be my 10th year on staff for this awesome con ^v^

*caw*
Heya fuzzbutts! Storm Gryph here! First off, yes, I am indeed ALIVE and kicken. Summer college courses have a way of keeping even the best of burdkitties frazzled so I apologize for my abscence from FA for the past few weeks. *streches wings and smiles*

I'm throwin out this journal to make a callout to those that want to share a commish with me. I keep a spreadsheet of everyone that wants to share a commish at this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet.....0Ol3MU/pubhtml

But, naturally, this is abit of a wishlist as sometimes furs don't have the funds or time. So, from time to time I throw up these journals to see who's still interested and get an ideas. I now have two forms to use, both my anthro and "feral" form. If you see my gallery, you'll find excellent examples of both from the past.

Should you fancy a commish with me, just reply to this journal below with your character name, ref, idea (specify if you want my anthro or feral), and budget per person. We can go from there ^v^

I'm a total art whore. I also accept gift art and am willing to commish new artists as well should I like their style.

Also, incase your part of the 0.01% of the fandom that didn't already know, I have a twitter. It's StormGryphon. I chirp on there, a LOT as well as post foodie pics. Feel free to follow me and give me a wingwave sometime. I don't bite too hard.

Stay chirpy my friends!

*chirp* Time to ask me anything! The legendary Storm Gryph is full is vast amounts of knowledge and has an opinion on everything!

Check my journal history to view prior Q&A sessions. I love providing this service! ^v^

Ever woundered what Storm Gryphon thinks about a topic? Looking for a gryphon's perspective on something? Feel free to ask away! No limits! ^v^

Have anything you've ever wanted a gryphon's perspective on? Well now is your chance to ask! Ask me anything! ^v^

Ok Ok! I finally took the test and below are the results. Turns out *gasp* I'm a predator daddy dom. Who'd of thought?

== Results from http://bdsmtest.org/ ==
93% Primal (Predator)
91% Daddy/Mommy
91% Dominant
91% Sadist
83% Master/Mistress
79% Non-monogamist
75% Bondage Giver
72% Pervert
67% Brat Tamer
66% Degradation Giver
66% Primal (Prey)
50% Experimentalist
41% Exhibitionist
41% Masochist
41% Switch
41% Voyeur
29% Vanilla
25% Slave
24% Bondage Receiver
22% All-Rounder
22% Brat
16% Girl/Boy
16% Submissive
15% Degradation Receiver
See my results online at http://bdsmtest.org/result.php?id=40911

What do you think of these results? What were your results?

So I'm clearing out my backlog of commission to upload so... expect some awesome sexy Storm Gryphon artz to be posted!

Lemme know what you think ^V^

Well... aside from the whole chorline gas attack that sent some of us to the hospital and that left me with a raw throat and itchy eyes,... I had a blast! For those of you that I had the privlidge of meeting, thank you so much! Truly! For those that I was regretfully unable to meet this year, I truly apologize and hope we can correct that next con.

Cons like this remind me of just how special a community we truly are. There are so many wonderful, intelligent, caring invidiuals within furry that truly make each day a genuine blessing to live.

You all are wonderful. Just keep on being your happy snuggly chirpy-bark-rawry selves! I made some wonderful friends this con and look forward to getting to know you all more over time in the future.

It is my genuine hope that I treated those of you that I met in a manner that allowed you to walk away smiling. I try to leave a positive impression, always ^v^

Happy Holidays to All!

-Storm Gryphon
The Friendly Holiday Black Gryphy!

So who wants to meet this gryphon at Midwest Furfest 2014? ^v^

I'll be there Friday thru Monday!

Where are you nesting?
Da Main convention Hyatt Hotel Thingy!

What day are you getting there?
Friday around Lunchtime!

Where will you be most of the time during the day/s?
At the con.... you dumbbutt :P

Who will you be roomin with?
 dresil  ookamisuke

Who will you be hangin with at the con?
ALL THE FUZZBUTTS! I'm a very very laid back social gryph! Chirp at me and you may just get a caw in return! ^v^

Do you do free art?
I do! I'll make a mean set of Stick Figures! *chuckles*

Do you do trades?
Yes! I do.... do trades! Especially of the snuggle variety!

Do you do commissions?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbeR6uYxU50

Do you have prints/ CDs?
This is the year 2014... who in the hell still uses CD's? Ovo

Do you do badges?
I do do badges! I do them all night long! It's why my badge population keeps slowly growing on me.....

What is your gender?
*looks down* very VERY dominately male! *grins*

How old are you?
Twenty Six years old! I'm damn near ready to join the "greymuzzles" community!

Are you taken?
My Partner in crime for 8 years is  dresil We are of the semi open variety.

Do you have a fursuit?
Nope! Haven't yet found a suitmaker that can do my Sona justice

Can I touch you?
Snuggles are encourage. Gryphon's love affection!

Can I talk to you?
Um..... http://tinyurl.com/afwp6vm

Can we hang out?
Hellz yeah! We can become burds of a feather! WING BROS! I'll even show you the inner workings of a gryphon's mind! Be warned tho, you might come away acting more like a gryphon when we are done!

Can I look in your sketchbook?
Yes!... Tho it's of the digital variety and on this strange website called furaffinity.net

Can I draw in your sketchbook?
I don't have a physical one but you can draw me anything you like! I love gift art!

Can I buy you a drink?
*nods approvingly*

Can I take your picture?
Of course! I love strutting my stuff! Gotta show off the fact that I'm a walking definition of sexy after all!

What do you look like?
I'm a 6ft 1 fluffy white/hispanic looking fellow... I wear glasses, have a gotee, and a personality that involves me asking you 1,000 questions :P there's no mistaking me once you've met me!

-^v^

Ever wanted to know what's a gryphon's thoughts on something? Why we do what we do? Well now's your chance to ask the *world famous* Storm Gryphon anything you desire!

Questions close Wednesday, 11/12/14 at 12pm CST.

Hi!
I have finally gotten arround to posting the full commission wish / queue / in process list online. This is the list I use to keep track of my various commissions and it helps me understand where I'm at with things. I tend to be a somewhat organized gryphon with life and am no different with art.

To view the list, go here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet.....0Ol3MU/pubhtml

Please note that I am ALWAYS looking to share commissions. I am an art whore and truly love sharing! This includes spots in comics, group pics, etc.

About my character: Storm Gryphon is a studly warrior dominate breeder gryphon. As such he tops 99% of the time. Just keep this in mind. However, I am willing to hear any idea pitch! Just note me / respond below. If it sounds good, I will give it consideration!

Artists: Feel free to poke me if you are interested in drawing my character. I love dealing with artists of all skill sets as it allows Storm to be drawn in so many unique and different perspectives.

Commissioners: I NEED DATA FROM MANY OF YOU! If our joint commission is in orange, contact me so I can update the form with the correct details.

Thanks so much!!!!! I LOVE working with such a wonderful community as those of you on FA and really look forward to seeing what awesome new arts we can get drawn together in the future.

^v^

Ask the legendary Storm Gryphon anything you wish! I am an open book and will answer! Everything from life advice to the meaning of life are on the table! If you ever have wanted to ask a true gryphon something.... please don't hold back now! ^v^

Q's for this journal close 11/9/14 at midnight, CST. hehehe

This is a list of artists I've been itchin to want to commssion recently. It will change from time to time. If your an artist and would like me to throw a commish your way, shout out below or note me and I will absolutly consider adding you to the list. I love seeing Storm drawn in a wide vareity of styles by so many talented individuals.

Artist list:
1.  wolfy-nail
2.  zaush - probably will take a miracle xD
3.  opium5
4.  theowlette
5.  Ahro
6. You?

About me: I'm extremely laid back when it comes to commision turnaround. Just keep me in the loop and take your time. I am very detail oriented and request that sketches / image shots of each stage be sent to me in order to allow for error corrections (streaming commissions are an exception). I strongly prefer artists that either want to be paid upon completiton or 50/50 due to being burned royally in the past. I am almost always, however, willing to work with artist policies.

If your an artist and the above sounds resonable to you, feel free to note me or gimmie a shoutout below. I'd be happy to work with you!

I'm a total art whore! I love sharring commissions and am always up for it! Please feel free to note me or reply below if you ever want to share a pic.

Also, what ideas for future commissions would you like to see from me? You want to see my anthro or feral form? Am curious *wink*

Why? Well the answer is simple......

It's because today is my BIRTHDAY!!!!! I'm now 26 years old. Can someone hand me the retirement papers, please? I'm ready for the easy life! XD

Well wishes and commentary are appreciated ^v^

Every wanted to get my thoughts or opinions on ANY topic? Now's your chance! Ask away! ^v^

I'm itchen to get some of these joint commissions done and am always up for more. If any of yall want a dominate gryph to play with in a pic... hit me up ^v^

Commish List: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5710557/

Hi ya'll
Yup Yup! I have successfully survived surgery and am alive.

Ohh boy waas it an adventure. Lemme tell you. I have a new found appreciation for nurses and all they do. Waking up in that hospital bed and being essentially helpless for 36 hours is not my idea of a fun time. The pain I suffered thru *shudders* I wouldnt wish upon my worst enemy.

For those that are curious, I had something called a "gastric sleeve" done. For those of you that are of the more curious variety, here's an awesome video on the procedure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMlxhICaG0s

Basically, I have been suffering for the past year with painful... unabaiding under pains. I started my weight loss journey at 410. At the 350 mark, I started to get constantly hungry. After trying a variety of things (and still maintaining my weight loss despite the hellish feeling of being hungry 24/7) the doctor explained that since I had stretched my stomach out from years of living the fluffy lifestyle, my stomach was producing too much ghrelin (aka: the hunger hormone).

At the 330 mark it became damn near unberable and was beginning to really affect my quality of life. After evaluating all of our options over and over, it was decided that surgery was the "ultimate solution" The gastric sleeve procedure that the doctor reccomended would immediatly and permanelty fix my hunger issue by removing the part of my stomach that produced ghrelin and it would also shrink my stomach back down from an oversize football to the size of a banana.

It took nearly 1 and a 1/2 years of battling with my health insurance company to get this procedure approved. Then since I was doing so well loosing weight the old fashioned way, they refused to cover it even though for my situation, I was getting it done for hunger relief, NOT weight loss. As the doctor jokingly put it on the day of my surgery, I had the "longest 6 month supervised weight loss" he's ever had at his practice. Gotta love it. Finally after filing an appeal and sending in documentation from 4 docs, a psychiatrist and psychologist, and my entire life's medical history from birth (you should have seen the size of the paper stack, it was rediculous), the appeals board approved my case as being deemed medically necessary.

Well..... insurance companies being insurance companies, they didn't like loosing to the appeals board. So weeks went by while we were all waiting to get my pre-approval ID number so the hospital could get the ball rolling. At the end of June, a mysterious while unmarked envelope appeared in my mailbox. When I opened it, it contained my pre approval letter along with a 6 day window in which to get the surgery done. That window? July 1st thru the 6th. Yes... they approved me to get the surgery done... over the 4th of July holiday. What a bunch of BULLSHIT. My doc was scheduled to go on vacation, and if I couldn't get this done within that window I had to go back to the appeals board.

Well.. given the circumstances with which I had to deal with, the staff at the hospital and doc decided to fit me in and make it happen. I was both thrilled and stunned when I received this call because I had a whopping 48 hours to prepare for what is without a doubt serious surgery. There's pre surgery classes you have to take, family to notify, and you have to get your affairs in order incase you don't survive. A very real possibility.

My family went apeshit and didn't support me, so naturally that added to my stress levels as well. Thankfully my close friends and mate were there because let me tell you... pulling into the hospital the morning of surgery is a very emotional experience. As your being hooked up, you begin to wonder if this is worth it... especially as I sign the forms stating in no uncertain terms that I understand the risk of death and complications.

Heh, many people say I'm brave for doing what I've gotten done. I say I'm just a stubborn ass gryphon that is determined to see things through to the end. I fought with so many damn people to get approval for this that I was NOT about to back out now ... even though deep down I was a very scared gryphlet.

Anyways, my mother and lil bro showed up in the pre-op room. It was nice to see them even though they told me once again while they 100% refused to agree with my decision, they still loved me. Kind of reassuring, right? :P Doc came over, mother asked him 5,172 questions... all of which I had already asked... and I just asked him one. "Hey doc, have you had your bowl of wheaties this morning?" he laughed and said yup and that I was his first surgery of the day. Yippie! I get him fresh!

So then it comes time for me to get wheeled in to the OR and about this time the nurse decided to give me some "happy" juice as they lovingly call it. Man, that is the greatest stuff on earth. I have no idea what the heck they call it but once they give you a shot of the good stuff... nothing else matters. everything is just happy and funny. We could have world peace with that shit! So, I'm just all giggly and happy as can be as I'm wheeled in and joking to high hell with the OR staff as i'm being strapped down like some kind of lab rat. Wires and sensors everywhere. Suddenly in the middle of laughing about some joke the nurse said... lights out.

What the heck happened? I slowly awaken and look at the nurse.. I'm uber groggy and she looks down at me and says "it's all done" I nod and say.. "Life is beautiful". About this time a tidalwave of pain rocket thru my body and ohh boy was that fun. I didn't even have to say anything, my facial expression gave it away. The nurse immediatly took my iv and shot me up with some intense pain killing action and thus began this wonderful process called "recovery".

That first day was mess. I was in an out all day... doped up on an intense amount of drugs. I kept wanting to barf, which is completely the worst thing you can possibly do after stomach surgery. Barfing can cause your stomach staples to rip and you can bleed to death rather quickly. It took every fiber of my being not to puke because the entire time I kept mentally telling myself "if you puke, you die". I was on a variety of drugs to keep me from barfing but they barely kept it under control and I kept asking why I felt this way. The staff told me it's normal. Surrre. More on that later.

So as I'm laying there in this wonderful state of drug indused doped up "bliss" my family decides to visit... all at once. I was put into a private patient room the size of a Motel 6 bathroom. When 18 people cram in at once... it's not exactly a joyous experience. Even more upsetting is my mother told my grandparents what I was going thru so they arrived and got emotional seeing me in that state. When I see my grandmother cry I start to cry. It was just so much FUN don't ya know... totally what someone that just had surgery hours earlier needed to experience!

I decided just to go comatose and stop responding, listening to them talk about me around me as trying to maintain conversation was far too much effort. Eventually they all left, leaving my mate and good friend in the room. Life was good. The nursing staff was excellent. And then night happened. Every 10 hours the nursing staff changed. Let me tell you... the night shift nurse experience was the worst experience in my entire life.

Imagine, it's 1 am... your pain drugs have run out... your "wee" bag (because yes... even my manhood was violated for the purposes of tracking my fluid output) was running full and you are too weak to move very much. You ring for the nurse and it takes a MINIMUM of 2 hours for them to respond. During this time you hear literally every other patient on the floor screaming, begging for nurses, codes being shouted over the speaker, and just utter chaos. I don't know what the flying fuck happened to the nursing staff as the near angel like nurses of the dayshift had been replaced by zombies that had a low work eithic and even lower self esteem.

It got so bad that the ONLY way I got service was to have my mate leave the room and hound someone till they would come and help me. Then... as if god himself said I had suffered enough, the sun rose and the nursing staff changed. Magically the angels had clocked back in because I went from waiting 2 hours for a response to a page to about 5 minutes. They were also SO much nicer and more caring as during most of day 2 I went thru quite a bit of an emtional roller coaster and they helped treat the human element as much as the medical.

The night shift "charge" nurse arrived (apparantly the "nurse's manager" but I didn't know that was her job) and had the guts to ask me how her staff did. Needless to say she ended up personally serving me herself every night thereafter once I finished unloading my polite but firm rage on what I dealt with.

As for the nausea, turns out it was caused my my wonderful pain killer, dilated. After I started realizing my nausea was attacking me within 5 minutes of getting my hourly pain shot, I demanded to be switched. They ended up agreeing to my concerns and put me on tramadol. The Nausea ended almost immediately.

Naturally, the night shift forgot this fact and gave me dilated again the 2nd night but after a friendly "chat" this was corrected permanently in my chart. I suffered needlessly for the first 28 hours because no one including me knew I was allergic to dilated. Puking could have cause me massive problems as I said earlier, so yeah.... not their finest hour.

Ohh did I mention what I got to "eat"? It was great! The first 24 hours I wasn't allowed a damn thing... so they gave me a cup of water with sponges on a stick to keep the inside of my mouth moist. SUCH FUN! Then after the doc came to see how I was doing, he said I was ready to start 'eating' ! Hurray! So the food lady brought my 'meal'. A DELICIOUS 3 cups of liquid heaven don't ya know. 1 cup of protein. 1 cup of crystal light sweet. And one cup of tea. This was to be my meal for the next 2 weeks, with the protein drink getting larger each day.

Day 2 and 3 went by quite amazingly. Since I am only 25 I started to 'bounce back' at a much faster rate than their normal patient for this procedure. I was out walking around the entire wing every 2 hours, had my dignity restored by getting that FUCKING CATHETER removed and agreeing to use a measuring urnal, and could actually sleep in 3 hour increments at night. Aside from a temporary panic when my heart rate monitor set off alarms and sent nurses piling into my room because it's battery died (no joke) things were looking up.

At the end of day 3, I received the most blissful news of my life... the doctor had agreed to discharge me abit early since he was convinced I was doing so well. I never really understood the power of what that meant till this stay at the hospital as I have never been admitted to a hospital before. You see, life in a hospital is very very regulated and repititious. Every moring there's a 9am prayer over the pa system from the in house clergy, food comes at 9:30, 1pm, and 5:30, and your nurse arrives exactly every 62 minutes (in my case) during the hours where your awake.

During this time as your out walking you sort of befriend your fellow patients, many of whom were much older and in sadly much worse states of health than me. Some of them I knew wouldnt be leaving the hospital alive either as part of my wing was dedicated to hospice so this was the end of the line for them. Each day we would wave and chit chat, providing encouragement to keep one another going.

When news spread about my discharge.. they were all clapping for me and patting me on the back like I had won some kind of golden ticket. It was a rather emotional happy experience for me as while I was thrilled to be going home, I was also sad because they were having to stay behind. Im a naturally good hearted person so in a way.. I realised upon reflection that them seeing me be able to go home gave many of them hope they'd be able to leave one day too. *sniffles* Even the nurses were giving me hi-fives as I was being wheeled through the endless maze of hallways, elevators, and more hallways to the car waiting to take me home.

The next couple weeks were spent being very sore and weak. Each day at home I got abit stronger and by the end of the 1st week I started to feel like myself again. I'm now 4 weeks out of surgery and am on the soft to medium foods stage of recovery. I can get pretty much normal foods now and can finally go to the gym again (thank goodness, because I missed working out). I feel a little sore but great overall! My final weight before surgery was 290 on July 1st and I'm now down to 268 as of July 26th.

Each day gets a little better for me and if there's one thing for sure that I'll take away from this, is that during times like this is when you can really tell the difference between who is truly there for you and has your back and who is just a 'friend of convienence'. I have a new found appreciation for my support network and pledge to try and return the support and love givin to me during my time of weakness to you individuals when the time inevitably comes when you need support.

I feel like I've been given a second chance at life. I really do. I have no plans on waisting it this time round.

Sorry for boring ya'll with my life experience story. Feel free to comment below with your thoughts. I love reading about em!

*Chirp Out*

-^v^

P.S. just got the bill for my procedure and hospital stay. Was "only" $32,000 plus $1,200 for pre surgery tests. The surgeon's bill still hasen't arrived yet (billed seperatly) but I've been told to expect about $12,000 for it. My goodness is this stuff insanely expensive in the U.S. Thankfully, I have good health insurance but my copay is still going to be a whammy. Not regretting it tho.

So,
In about 3 hours I will be undergoing very serious surgery to fix my stomach. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't abit scared right now. But between the idea of living life suffering with this or undergoing this very annoying surgery I'm not sure what's worse.

It's at times like this that we all should sit back and be reflective of what we have and just how much we should be thankful for in our lives. Many members of this community have become a sort of adopted family to me. You each know who you are. I truly appreciate the time I've had thusfar with you all.

I know I'm not the best person to deal with after all...

Any prayers / well wishes would be appreciated. Once I go lights out, my old life will end and I will wake up a new person forever changed.

I just really hope I do wake up.....

Life is a beautiful thing.

Time for another edition of " Ask Storm whatever the heck you want"..... day!

Ever wanted to know my thoughts / opinions on ANYTHING? Now you can! For the ultra low price of a snuggle and a chirp or two... this gryphon will answer any question you have, provide life advice, and even wingsnuggles!

Ohh and did I mention that theres a free purr at the end of every purchase?

Act now! Supplies are limited and this is a limited time offer. It will expire eventually! Nobody lives forever you know..... :P

Ask me anything you weird furry bastards! ^v^