We are WHOOPING the Fins right now. Seriously. 3 goals in 5 minutes? 2 goals in FIFTEEN SECONDS?! Are we great, or are we great? I love the Olympics. <3

Also, I realized that I have shifted from getting art of my fursona to almost exclusively getting art of my friends' fursonas. I love my fursona, but for some reason I'm only motivated to drop some cash if it's for a friend. Strange, no? 8D

Still crazy excited for AC. Fff. If you see a bright orange donkey-shaped fursuit wandering around, there's a 95% chance it'll be me. 8D Wee~

Just ordered the fur for my suit and registered for AC! My bank account is crying, but I'm happy so it's ok. 8D I look forward to seeing as many of y'all as possible there. x3

...ketchup juice. Seriously, that watery shit that comes out mere moments before actual ketchup emerges from the bottle. I haven't figured out how to get ketchup out without it being accompanied by this menacing flow. D8< GRRR.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! 8D <3

This is what I think of whenever I see y'all posting mostly-naked pictures of yourselves on FA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj8fETOnVco

"What a WHOREEEE!"

I love scrubs. <3

I really love moderately hairy fat guys. I mean, REALLY. Like, a lot. I just ran across an artist whose gallery was 90% skinny, hot people in underwear, and I immediately gravitated to their one picture of a fat dude. XD I LOVE FAT GUYS. Fuck yes.

So, I hardly do memes, but has forced me at gunpoint to do this one. Plus, I think it's neat. 8D


Forced Species Meme

Put down what species of animal your fursona would be within each category, if your fursona had to be a species from that animal type. If/when you reach the category your fursona is already put an alternative animal. Links to pictures are useful and fun but not necessary. Then tag five people. :D

1. If your fursona had to be a primate, it'd be...
NONE. Ugh, I hate primates. But, if I HAVE to choose one, I'd say...Orangutan.

2. If your fursona had to be a feline, it'd be...
Domestic: Munchkin
Wild: Ocelot

3. If your fursona had to be a canine, it'd be...
Domestic: Bull Terrier
Wild: Maned Wolf

4. If your fursona had to be a hoofed animal, it'd be...
Even-toed: Okapi Gerenuk
Odd-toed: Asian Tapir
Cetacean: Humpback Whale

5. If your fursona had to be a rodent, it'd be...
Kangaroo Rat

6. If your fursona had to be a reptile, it'd be...
Piebald Ball Python

7. If your fursona had to be a marsupial, it'd be...
Tazmanian Devil

8. If your fursona had to be a fully aquatic animal, it'd be...
Sea Cucumber

9. If your fursona had to be an amphibian animal it'd be...
Amazon Milk Frog

10. If your fursona had to be an avian/bird, it'd be...
Secretary Bird

11. If your fursona had to be a creepy crawly, it'd be...
African Giant Millipede

12. If your fursona had to be a real or unreal hybrid, it'd be...
Mule

13. If your fursona had to be a mythical creature, it'd be...
Nessy

14. If your fursona had to be a Pokemon/Digimon , it'd be...
Snorlax

15. If your fursona had to be a vehicle, it'd be...
A Smart Car 8D


I hate tagging people, but to annoy him I'm going to tag 8D Wee~

Strap On is No Parts backwards. IS YOUR MIND BLOWN? Mine was.

Also, Sigil's car is fine now, so I thought I'd get that shit off my front page. XD Lest people continue to fret about her months from now. Thanks to everyone who helped out. 8D

Hey y'all.  sigil's car is brokeded and needs some fixing up. As we all know (especially me), fixing cars requires time, parts, and labor, but before all that can be done, exorbitant amounts of money must be given to the people doing the fixing. So, to help out with this ungodly sum, she's doing commissions:

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/1118802/

Check her out! Her art is lovely and well-priced when she's NOT having sudden car-related financial issues, so now it's definitely a great find. She's hard-working, quick, and actually gives a crap about her customers, which in this fandom is rarer than an extrovert with a steady job who showers every day.

I usually don't give my two cents about things on art sites (at least, not on the actual art sites themselves), but I've seen a lot of people complaining about slow artists lately. I've also seen a lot of artists apologizing to their 394720749237 commissioners about being slow. So, here are my 5 simple steps to obtaining a commission. They don't let me down.


Before commissioning an artist, think of the following:

1. Does the artist have a list of the commissions they need to do? If not, don't commission them. They're too disorganized to even keep up with their work, yours will never get done. If they have one, go to 2.

2. Is said list of commissions long as shit? I mean, are there more than 10 commissions on said list, excluding ONLY that work which you can verify via experience takes that particular artist only a couple hours to do? If so, don't commission them. If not, go to 3.

3. Is the artist a dramawhore? Do they constantly put commissions on hold because of stupid life shit, because they're feeling down, or because they're in a never-ending art block? If so, don't commission them. If not, go to 4.

4. Are they active and timely with their work? Some artists take months to do a sketch, while others take four hours to do a fully-colored piece. Know your artist before you dump money in their hands. If they seem competent, go to 5.

5. This is more personal preference than anything, but whatever; is the artist businesslike with their customers? No matter how young an artist is, because they have started their own business they need to be businesslike. If not, your choice...commission them and feel like you don't matter because they don't care about you at all (and risk your commission being completely not what you asked for), or don't.


I have had one encounter with an artist who treated me like crap (see #5; it's risky business), and one who was such a douche I just ended up canceling my business with them. Both were a long while ago. I don't have issues with artists these days, because I actually think before I press the "send money" button on paypal. Your brain is an organ, guys; use it or it'll seep out the side of your head and find someone with some common sense to inhabit.

Semester...almost...over. D8 UGH SCHOOL, why do you suck so much right now? x__x; I made an unfortunate professor choice this semester, and it has lead to three months of having to self-teach myself chemistry, my number 1 most hated subject. All while wasting time at lectures taught by a woman who, while extremely knowledgeable in her field, couldn't teach her way out of a paper bag. Instead of finishing up my second (and last) semester of general chem in a nice, easy way, I've been either so busy I want to kick homeless people (which I conveniently have a lot of outside my apartment building) or so stressed from being so busy that all I can do is turn my brain off and watch scrubs until I pass out.

Everybody, go to college. 8D It's totally fun and worth it. NOT. D8<

My icon is A) amazing and C) from this picture by kobbehdoom. LEEFS.

Life is slowly, slowly knitting itself back together. Semester's almost over, thank every deity in existence. >_> Worst semester ever. Looking forward to time bringing me farther and farther away from this semester.

I get my car Monday. 8D I miss it, omg.

Throughout all of this craziness I've still been deliriously happy. XD Most of the time. I hope y'all are doing well. <3

I think I spent too much time being deliriously happy lately, so life decided to throw as much shit my way as possible. Two weeks ago I had to pay $500 to fix a car I messed up by being a failmachine, and then Friday I proceed to mess up my own car mere MINUTES after buying a $200 part for it (which incidentally did not fix the problem it was supposed to fix, and was therefore a giant waste of money). I now have to pay $500 to fix my car, in addition to the $500 I had to pay to fix the other car, and on top of that my laptop is showing definite signs of being near-death.

WEE. ~sighs~ You can stop being shitty now life, I'm not constantly deliriously happy anymore. You did your job, and you did it well. :/

I'm thinking about doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writers Month) this year. Anyone else doing it?

Website: http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Purpose: Write 50,000 words (or as much as you feel like) during the month of November.

I usually do memes and suchlike on LJ, but since this is a furry-specific meme, I thought it appropriate to put it on FA.



*Are you a furry?
Well, yeah. I'm an active participant on FA, ne?
*If you have a Spouse/SO - Is he/she a furry too?
N/A
*How long have you been in the community?
About 8 months now, give or take a couple.
*How did you find furry?
I kept getting art links from DA to FA, and eventually they started to be porn. I love porn. Unfortunately, you can't access FA's near-bursting bodice of nakedness without a password, so I made an account. Eventually I noticed that other people also use this website, and some of them are cool. Wee~
*What's your reason for furry (what interested you to get into the community)?
I've had "fursonas" (two, not at the same time) for years on DA, not really knowing what furry was all about. Before I joined FA I thought it was a bunch of weirdos humping plushies. My assumptions were strengthened by FA, but I also met some people who don't hump plushies, so there you go. It's mostly the art that keeps me here. 8D
*What's Furry to you?
My dogs and cats are mostly furry. Oh wait, you mean the fandom? Furry is what people make it. Everyone's definition is a little bit different, but we're tied by our mutual love of animal-people, so we sometimes stick together in gooey lumps.
*If someone found out you're a furry and asked you about it how would you respond?
No one outside of this fandom will find out I'm a furry offline. It's just not something I talk about, not something you can infer from my behavior, and I don't associate with people stupid enough to go blathering on about it in public.
*What are your favorite aspects of our community?
I'm accepted despite (and because of) being transsexual. I can also run around telling everyone I'm an okapitaur so chubby and cute that I'm anatomically incorrect. 8D
*Do you use any furry terms? (i.e. yiff, paws, murr?)
No, but people I know do. I think the fandom used to use it a lot, so people who have been in it for a long time tend to use it. Or not.
*What do you wish furry was NOT associated with?
I don't really care what furry is and isn't associated with. We're a bunch of weirdos, go ahead and throw dog sex and plushie humping into the mix, it'll fit right in.
*How strongly do you feel about someone bashing the community as a whole?
Stupid furries (or, people claiming to be furries) showing how socially inept they are to the media doesn't disturb me. It's stupid, but so are anime kids, and I used to be one of those.
*How strongly do you feel about anyone bashing you yourself for your interest based on the media's aspect of what furry is?
No one does that. See above "No one offline will find out I'm a furry" comment.
*We all know furries have alot of sexual aspects in this fandom, What's your opinion on it?
Every fandom has sexual aspects. Walk in on a micromachines collector and you might see the cars racing on a different kind of track. >_> Or not. But, sexuality is fun and interesting, and I participate in it whole-heartedly. 8D

Personal


*What is/are your fursona(s)?
A gray-furred, purple-striped okapi(taur).
*Do you have any fetishes that pertain to the fandom?
Sure do. 8D
*If you could magically morph into your fursona would you?
Depending on the world I'm living in at the time, I'd probably opt for a bipedal version, but sure, I'd love that. 8D Not only for the animal aspect, but because I'd be a biological male as well. x3
*Do you believe you have a spirit animal?
Nope. I do try to connect with animals when I am with them, but that's more of a friendship than a spiritual connection. I feel at home with animals, but not because I think they talk to me or are a part of me. I just understand them more than I do people. x3
*What other fanbases/groups are you a part of?
None, I think. I used to be an anime nerd, but those days are LONG passed (thank god).
*Anthro/Feral, Therian or Kemonomimi (Not a furry, just a human with animal ears and a tail)?
Um, if I had to pick, I'd pick Anthro/Feral. I have therian friends, and I can't say I hate that last one, so...they're all cool. x3
*Are you a fursuiter?
If yes, how many do you own?
If No, do you ever plan on being a suiter?
I'm hoping to make one soon. 8D
*How many of your friends are furry?
Bunches. Probably more than I know about, I tend to gravitate toward people who love animals.
*How many pets do you own, if any?
Two dogs (corgi + mini dachshund), eight cats (they keep showing up at my parents'/relatives' doorsteps D8 ), four snakes (3 corns, 1 ball python), and a quaker parrot. I want a bull terrier and a pomeranian, as well as goats, sheep, horses, etc. I'm going to be a crazy (insert animal here) man. 8D
*Aside from furry what other interests do you have?
Reading, writing/being nerdy in respect to English, Italian, being outdoors, music, hanging with folks, disc golf (at a very amateur level), other things.
*Are you confident enough in yourself to say that you're a fur, no matter what the media says?
Sure. It's a fandom, not a specific definition. I'm a fur, yay for me. ~Shrugs~

Meatups (I'm a vegetarian, do I still count?)

*Do you attend any cons?
If no, would you attend any cons?
If yes, which cons have you been to?
Not any fur cons yet, but I want to go to AC '10. I've been to oodles of anime cons, though.
*Do you go to local meetups(bowling, public outings...etc)?
Nothing official, but I tend to hang with groups of furries and do various activities, so I suppose that counts.
*Have you ever attended a furry party?
-If no, would you attend one?
You mean a party with furries? Um, I guess?

Online

*Have you ever met up with a fur you talked to online?
Yup, several.
*What furry websites do you attend?
FA.
*What non furry websites do you frequent?
Email, money stuff, deviantart (not as much anymore though), LJ, school websites.
*Has the fandom done anything for you that you're thankful for? Has it taught you anything or brought you anything you treasure greatly?
I appreciate the acceptance I get from this fandom a LOT. You guys really let me know that I have a place in this world. Plus, I've gotten some awesome friends out of the fandom, so yay for that. 8D

The AC unit/fan thing in the parking deck next to my apartment is generating a sound not unlike horses' hooves clopping on cobblestones. As a result, my apartment constantly sounds like it is located just below a cobblestone road upon which a horse (or several horses) is/are continuously trotting.

Best. Apartment. EVER. <3

School, work, life, etc...I'm busy. It's not you, it's me.

By the by, I am deliriously happy.

x3 <3

 axolotl-mafia is helping out some feral cats in her area, and one needs surgery in order to live. His name is Moogle, and he needs to have his eye removed. The surgery is going to end up being about $300 - $500, and at the time of this journal she's saved up about $250 so far. If you can, please help out! <3

Moogle: http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g.....st9th20096.png

Paypal Account: axolotl.mafia[at]gmail.com

Chipin site: http://arielmorris.chipin.com/mypag.....626478d835aece

Original Journal: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/878930/

I donated as much as I could right now, and I know you guys will help if y'all can. Thanks in advance. <3

I have a lot, a LOT, of people asking me what okapi are. Almost every time I introduce myself via my fursona, I get asked what I am or if I made the species myself. I did not. For everyone who has ever asked, or will ever ask, what an okapi is, here you go:

Species Name: Okapia Johnstoni

Common Name: Okapi

Habitat: Democratic Republic of Congo/Zaire (Rainforest/jungle)

Diet: Herbivore; leaves, fungi, grass, etc

Behavior: Solitary, silent; habitats of individuals overlap, but there is very little interaction save for during mating season; babies may whistle, cough, or grunt, but adults seldom make any noise, save for the occasional cough during mating

Zebra/Giraffe Hybrid? NO. The okapi is related to the giraffe (in fact, the giraffe and the okapi are the only two animals still alive in the giraffidae family). The okapi is a sort of forest giraffe, with a similar body type but a short neck for forest foraging. The stripes are used both to help the okapi blend into its environment, and help the babies locate their mothers in the dense underbrush.

Fun facts: The okapi is the only mammal that can completely clean its ears with its tongue. Incidentally, its tongue is 14 - 18 inches long, blue, and extremely versatile. It has the same blood-regulating membrane that a giraffe has, although in the okapi it doesn't serve much of a purpose (obviously); this is one of the things that links the okapi to the giraffe, aside from the obvious physical similarities.


THERE YOU GO. Stop asking.

As you may know, my good friend  balitiger23 is in serious financial distress at the moment. She is holding four multi-artist auctions to raise funds for her fiance and her. If you can, please spread the word or place a bid!

Details here: Auction Journal

Thanks y'all. She needs it, she's worth it, and I believe in this community as an entity capable of doling out serious amounts of love. Do me proud. <3

My good friend  balitiger23 has been rejected from welfare (for bs reasons; see this for more info) and is now in need of some help.
She is holding an auction involving many AMAZING artist (including her); more info can be found here.

Any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated, even if it's just a mention in a journal. She is a great person, her commission plate is MORE than full, and she is cutting back on everything she possibly can. If you read my last journal, you know how much I appreciate my friends and how highly I value them. She is worth it.

Thank you, everyone. <3 I believe in this community; don't let me down, y'all.

I wanted to keep up the Habits journal a little longer, because y'all are crazy and interesting people, but I am literally so overflowing with happiness and jhank that if I DON'T say something, I might explode into a thousand tiny "8D" faces. If you think I post too often on here, you should see my LJ. Or not, you might die from overexposure to nonsence and useless information. XD

ANYWAY. This is going to be kind of sappy, so don't read if you don't want to. <3

I have always had one or two friends in my life. When I say friends, I mean real friends, the people you can rely on when shit goes down. I complain to them, they complain to me, I help them, they help me, and life is generally swell. Recently, though, I have discovered that people I thought were just casual friends have turned out to be really close, awesome, caring people. When the chips were down, I had more people to lean on than I have ever had before, and I can't really describe how awesome it's been.

I strive for an honorable existence, without lies and drama and all that petty shit, so when I have friends who stick by me, I know it is because they truly like who I am, not some sugar-coated piece of me I use to get friends. I kind of believe that having all of these great people by my side is a sort of reward for me trying to be the best person I can be and live the best life I can live.

I'm really thankful for everything everyone does, even just the random people I sometimes talk to, or people I've just started to get to know. It's plain that people don't have to be nice, honest, or friendly to get ahead and life, so I consider every person willing to extend kindness and happiness my way a gift. I'm not religious, but I guess if I was this is where I'd thank someone or something for all of this. Sorry dieties, maybe later. D8

Either way, I just needed to post this somewhere that it could be read by everyone I talk to online, should they feel like reading it. I can't describe how thankful I am for you, and I hope I continue to help you out as much as I can in the future. Thanks, y'all, you mean a shitton to me, really. <3 Every one of you.

Is it just me, or do people have some weird-ass habits? I'll list mine, you list yours, we'll compare and contrast, and you will have wasted at least a half an hour on me. 8D Sounds good!

First of all, I refuse to be in the bathroom when I brush my teeth. I walk around my house (or outside) while brushing, and only go back in to rinse. I'm pretty much the grand-master of not dripping toothpaste everywhere, so it works out.

Recently I've gotten into the habit of going through lists of recently submitted art and deleting ones I don't want to look at, but not actually viewing the ones I want to see. I do this for about a week, then I'll go through ALL the ones I want to see at once, rinse, and repeat. Does anyone else do this? >__> Maybe this is how normal, busy people do things.

I can't think of other weird habits. I apologize to inanimate objects when I run into them and to spiders when I break their webs accidentally, I tap my fingers when they're not doing anything, and I grind my teeth all the time (and therefore now chew gum all the time). BORING.

Tell me your habits. 8D I want to knowwww~

I discovered tonight that I can balance a large glass full of amazing home-made smoothie on my stomach. I can do this for long periods of time, while breathing and laughing. I win at life. That is all.

I OD'd on chem so I stayed home today. >.> Anyway.

I've been thinking about this a while, and I'd like to know what other people think about it. When I joined the community/fandom about...six-ish months ago, I noticed right away that a lot of people seemed to be in open relationships, in multiple-person relationships, swingers, or something similar. I'm not talking about single people trolling for booty, they exist in bold numbers everywhere. XD

Before I joined I never noticed any of this going on, and I was certainly never invited to join in. Ever since though, I've been harassed for cyber sex, invited to join multiple-person relationships, and hit on by people who have patiently listened to me go on and on about my boyfriend for long periods of time. I am at the point where I believe a large portion of the community assumes that because someone is a furry, they are open to sexual advances of every kind.

Is this just me, just how the fandom works, or something normal I just never noticed happening in life? It makes me uncomfortable to be hit on, especially since turning someone down usually results in them insulting everything they know about me. I don't know how else I can tell people I am not available in ANY sense. Do not want. D8

This fact, among others, also makes me not want to tell people I'm a furry. I'm not rejecting who I am, I AM a furry and I know it, but I find that as soon as I tell someone (furry or not) they immediately either hit on me or assume I fuck dogs all day. I'm not some sort of pure, nonsexual being, but I'm not a stereotype, a creeper, or a cheater.

What do you think? How do you deal with people, furry and not, and do you tell them you are a furry? Have you given up on the fandom at large, or do you just ignore some people and move on? I want to know~

The only thing worse than being super-busy and having depressing things happen is being SICK while it's all going on. BLEH. There should be a law against sickness that makes you feel like crap for days, but never amounts to anything. Someone contact mother nature, I have a complaint. D8<

Also, if you'd be so kind as to contribute your two cents to a tattoo idea I think I might get in the semi-near future (read: in two/three years), I'd be grateful. 8D It's over here: http://torikonero.livejournal.com/