Bout time I made it official and did this here thingy:P

Where are you staying?

Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel

What day are you getting there?

Friday evening. This can't be helped unfortunately.

How are you traveling?

Via Ole Bacon most likely. Need to be sure I can get back in a timely manner Sunday.

Who will you be with?

I'll be sticking close to roommate  leviwolstrom as well as other Athens furs but truthfully I hope to be all over and meet as many of y'all as possible. With the passing of LemonadeCoyote, I've wanted to open up even more to this fandom. Try to be friends with a few more of y'all. If it don't work out with some, well that's ok. So long as I try. Nothing's ever gained until an attempt is made.

Who will you hang out with during the convention?

See above comment.

How is the best way to find you?

Always DM/@ reply me on Twitter: CobaltTheCoyfox. I'll be checking that periodically. Hit me up there and I'll be glad to find you.

Are there any panels you might be attending?

Haven't decided yet:P

What do you look like?

Average 5'8" dude with brown hair and big ole puppy dog brown eyes. Some would say I have a huge nose as well:P

Will you be suiting?

Just ears and tail. Haven't fully advanced to the partial suit phase quite yet but my interest is growing:3

Do you do free art?

I could try but you definitely wouldn't get anything before I leave. I'm a very slow, deliberate artist and I use the term artist loosely.

Do you do trades?

Might be interested but understand I'm in the final phase of my grad school work so it's unlikely I'll take on many if any.

Do you do badges?

See above comment

Do you do commissions?

See above comment

What is your gender?

Dude

How tall are you?

5'8" I covered this already:P

Can I talk to you?

Absolutely^^

Can I touch you?

I'd advise against any surprise touches. Especially if I don't know you.

How can I find you?
I might be in the Artist Alley quite a bit

Can I visit your room?

Depends.

Can I buy you drinks?

I wouldn't turn it down:3

Can I give you stuff?

Not really one that likes to receive free stuff out of the blue.

Can I hug or snuggle with you?

Hugs are fine for first greetings. Maybe light snuggle if I warm up to you.

Are you nice?

I like to think so. Can be a bit awkward and shy.

How long are you going?

Til Sunday. Again can't be helped.

Do you have an artist table?

Nope

Will you be going to parties?

Looking at a couple.

Will you be performing?

With this bummed right ankle, I doubt it:P

If I see you, how should I get your attention?

I'll answer to Nathan or Cobalt or even yotefox.

Where will you be most of the time during the day/s?

As many places as I can

What/where will you be eating?

I'll figure it out as I go.

Can I come with you for food/fun/etc?

Always love good company while I dine.

Can I look in your sketchbook?

Please No! Not at this stage in my drawing infancy.

Can I draw in your sketchbook?

Sure. Just let me find you a nice, blank page far from my crap:P

Can I take your picture?

I don't consider myself very photogenic but hey I'm game.

What's your goal(s) for the con this year?

Fun, Stress Relief, and meeting tons of new furs. Pretty darn simple as that.

I was hoping it was just not fully getting over the flu. But I'm afraid it's more than that. I've battled with it, assuring myself it isn't the case but I'm afraid it is. I've fallen into a pit that no matter how hard I try, I just can't crawl out of. I've hit a spell of depression I'm afraid. Nothing seems to have gone right since Feb. 16th. My mind can't stop reliving the loss and the hurt. It's not so much losing the chance to meet an awesome person but it's also just...the compounding of the feeling that I don't belong here. What do I have to contribute to this fandom? Can't really draw worth crap and am steadily losing the motivation to keep trying my paw at it. I don't fursuit...I don't dance...I don't do anything. Why am I still here?! I know the answer to that well enough though. I've met such awesome folks in this fandom and I love em all dearly. There's so many more I want to meet at FWA but I'm so scared I won't be accepted by most. I'm just too dull and too plain. Yet I don't wanna up and leave this. I can't really. It's become too much a part of who I am. But not having the means to travel as often as I'd like has made meeting new furs difficult so I have to rely on things like Twitter and IM services to get to know many folks better but that's just not enough. And perhaps at FWA, things will go spectacular and I will make some new friends but I just don't see how these days. I'm just not all that fun. Yes I'll still go to FWA and yes I'll still be a furry probably for many days to come. I just wish I felt more furry. I wish I could related better to this.

As many may have learned by now  lemonadecoyote passed away earlier today. The results seemingly being of one of the most senseless acts, drunk driving. All I know is that a young lady in her 20's ran a red light and slammed into the ambulance he was in, him being an EMT. I'll withhold judgement till I know the result of the blood work done on her. She may have had a seizure as it seems the brakes were never applied. I'd ask the same of others. I've been seeing others quickly saying she was drunk and that may be the case but one shouldn't jump to that conclusion without facts. Either way it doesn't change the fact that the fandom has lost another one of its active members. I regret I never got to meet him. Only recently started getting acquainted with him via twitter. I was looking forward to getting a chance to meet him at FWA this year. Telling him in person that I appreciate what he does as a first responder. I'll never had that chance now. We're never guaranteed anything in this life. This is a solemn reminder of that. My thoughts and prayers to his family, close friends, and all who've adored his presence in the furry fandom.

...one changes the age on their profile from 29 to 30:P I'm getting old. My 20's zoomed by way too fast. Well here's hoping I figure out better my path during this next decade of life.

Despite my best efforts, couldn't shake the flu this year. Guess it shouldn't be that big of a surprise being on such a big university campus and the fact that the flu this year appears to have reached almost epidemic status. Really to me it doesn't feel as bad as the last flu I had. The body aches are much less but with this strain, the persistent cough and the high fever accompanied with down-to-bone chills is what is the most debilitating. I'm dong all the right things now. Staying in unless absolutely necessary to get out (it's driving me insane!) and drinking plenty of fluids. My biggest concern is I haven't gotten around to going to the grocery store yet so nourishing noms is running short. May have to get out at least tomorrow at some point and go shopping. Might should do it today as I have no clue what to fix for tonight but I'm too sick today to barely leave my room. I had big plans today to make this awesome Fat Tuesday Noodle dish with shrimp and smoked sausage but now that's all shot to hell. In a sense yeah this is kinda a feel sorry for me entry:P More than that though it's me venting my frustration at being sick when the weekend has turned out to be so gorgeous if not bone-chilling cold. It could take as much as a week to recover from this which is not good considering next Sat. is my 30th Bday. Still I'd think by then I'd be over worst of it. Despite how I feel I need to get to my lab Monday, Tuesday at the latest. Such progress has been made in the past month with my intestinal model. I excited to move forward with it and do so many kinds of awesome experiments with it. I would dearly love to share video of this thing in action but UGA is funny bout these things. I could share it personally with a few friends and family but it's not a good idea to share it broadly over the internet. Well such is the update with me. Last week of enjoying my 20's. Not the way I wanted the week to start out but who knows, might can still finish it on a super high note^^

Never ever think that everything is so bad that the only way out is suicide. This life is worth the living and so many possibilities exist for it. Ride out your storms and see where the rough seas take you! You never know, you may find yourself on the most beautiful island you've ever seen:3 Live this life please. Never think of ending it intentionally. If you are one who's entertaining those thoughts, please seek help from parents, ministers, counselors, friends, where ever you can! Thank you.

...and so grateful they put up with me, socially challenged as I can be at times:P

Step 1: Planning and Designing <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Step 2: Building <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Step 3: Debugging <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Step 4: Revert to Step 2 if needed. If you don't think it's needed after that long a debugging period, you're in denial:P

Note that most of the time step 3 can be shortened a proportionate amount with increase to time spent on step 2 but this is, and I stress this strongly, NOT always the case!

Labor through all this and you will have quite a thing of beauty that is also very practical and just plain awesome!:3

This is something I said over on FB and something I truly hope for with every fiber of my being. For cancer is such a brutal enemy wounding not just the person who goes through it but all the friends and family as well. I've been through it too many times. Strange enough though it took my grandfather passing away from cancer before I was willing to say that you know I am a furry and that's fucking OK! Strange how sometimes such an awful thing can lead to positive things at times. Yet for the most part it just sucks. I hope I am alive when there comes the time when it can be said that yes, cancer has been beaten. My thoughts and prayers to all who are having to deal with this beast right now in their lives.

So here it is. A little over 45 days and 13 hours, I shall leave the realm of the 20-somethings. As this supposed start of greymuzzle status approaches, I have a lot of thoughts going through my brain. Some are the usual concerns on whether this will be the year I find a good career and love after so long a drought. A great many though actually pertain to this fandom. It is regrettable that it was not until late 2009/early 2010 that I started to really consider myself a furry. I was at the time 26 going onto 27. Did I wait too late to embrace this side of me? I have to wonder at times. For though I still love it and the people I met here, I have to entertain the notion that in some aspects it may be outgrown. I do know of folks who've remained furry their whole life. Heck some even have big families now but it just seems at times the exception and not the rule. Especially in those cases though where the person holds to his/her furriness, the crushing responsibility of life can crush upon it. I hate to admit that I am jealous but of a few younger folk in this fandom I am so. I hear of all the traveling and all the conventions gone to and my heart sinks a bit because once again, it will most likely be the case I will miss out on all this again for trying to be a responsible adult and finish grad school and hopefully land a career. Even if that gets accomplished, how long? How long will it be before it is acceptable for me to do more of the con thing? As much as I love this fandom, I can't allow myself to get in deep debt for it. There are bigger priorities and quite frankly, there are some in the fandom I feel need to realize this badly. Life can't be strictly about attending every con one can in a year! More over I feel there are some that need to learn to define themselves rather than be defined by what the status quo of the fandom says they should be. It is your own self that should determine who you love, where you go, what your views are, and whatever faiths and values you may hold, not for what one perceives the fandom expects. For starters, the fandom is not one homogeneous entity. Just as there are a great variety of different folk in this world of ours, so too is the case with the furry fandom. Will these different identities sometimes clash with each other, most definitely! But we can still be respectable of each others differences and be civil. Not at each others' throats all the time over petty differences. Sorry of that long aside but that's been bottling up in me for quite some time after my own personal observances of what this fandom truly is, for good and for bad. I am grateful for all the wonderful people I have gotten to know this past year. There's a more than a few of you I've gotten acquainted with that I hope to get to know better in 2013. I don't want it construed that I feel this is an irresponsible and divisive fandom. This is an awesome fandom with so many different people of so many different walks of life. I just want us all to be sure as we go into 2013 that we don't let these differences become points of derision but rather mutual respect. I close with a plea that all keep  taiko_shepherd in your thoughts and prayers what have you. Not divulging details. I don't even know all the details but it would seem after last night, the gshep and his family could use some good vibes so do send them his way. Also as always, GO DAWGS! Maul them Cornhuskers!:P

I'll go on and wish everyone here a Merry Christmas here and now. I wish I had more than mere words to offer. So many of y'all have come to mean so much to me. Earl, Jasper, Luke, Ryan, Chris, William, Ian....so many. Have a safe one all.

First off I really am grateful to  kalahari and  kami_yama for the lunch invite. Turned out to be a real bright spot in a day that saw a series of many unfortunate events culminating in me spraining right ankle late last evening. I can get around good enough so I'll just manage it myself. Not gonna let it keep me from making this a far better day than yesterday.

On the subject of friends, I must say I've been so blessed. Not just with the addition of more furry friends but friends in general! At times I feel I really don't deserve it for how I used to be and in some ways still am. Been tweeting a lot about the cantata I performed in Sunday evening. I know that's not that big a deal to a few of my followers but for me, it's the true spirit of Christmas. To be able to brighten the lives of so many who attended after such a tragic Friday that left us all stunned, it's truly powerful stuff. The weather that night and most of beginning of this week really told the mood of so many after that shooting. So cold, gray, and drenched with the unbelief and uncertainty of anything good existing in this broken world. But no matter who you are or what you do or don't believe, we all have the ability to find our own good in this world. Scratch that! We all have the ability to make some good in this world. That's the important thing to grasp this holiday season and every darn day!

So why all the inspirational talk here. Well I just feel it's so important. Also it's really all I have to offer a lot of you. I wish I could buy all my buds nice little gifts and trinkets to show my love and gratitude. As it stands I hardly have enough to shop for my family. Really not complaining. Knew this would be the case as a grad student. It's just I'm so grateful yet that's something so hard for me to convey at times. Words, gifts, drawings, all these things they just seem so inadequate for all I want to say. I am truly blessed. There's no other way of putting it really.

I hope all of you let your family and friends know just how much you appreciate em this holiday. Give them a big ole hug and say how you feel. You just don't know when you might not have that chance. Christmas is just a week away. Seems so crazy! Time is flying by. Let's try and hold on to each other. Just enjoy the ride:3

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for a lot of things this year. I've blossomed quite a bit here in Athens. Many new friends made in my program of study. Also a couple of real good furs I've gotten to know and spend lots of time with. I speak of  kalahari and  kami_yama It's been a much more interesting fall semester hanging with y'all. This also bolstered me to reach out and meet three other local Athens furs. Hopeful to spend more time with all of them before I'm through at Athens. Enjoy Turkey Day everyone!

Well when I planned this little get together, I wasn't expecting it to be an all afternoon and well into the night thing. It was though and though my body will hate me for the late night noms and little sleep, it was so worth it. I had a great time and accomplish partially what my original goal for this get-together was. I was really wanting to introduce  kalahari to a few more of the local fuzzballs here in Athens, GA. Mainly three of them that I've gotten to meet myself this year. Only one of those three showed but still that was one more furry that Kal got to meet in person! Thanks once again to Kalahari for his hospitality and his handcrafted burgers:9 Thanks also to  kami_yama for tossing round the ole pigskin with me and Kal and sharing his usual interesting stories:P Thanks much  curlyfryhusky for being there, meeting Kal, and being you! Enjoyed your company immensely! Also thanks to all these guys above for being guinea pigs for these Spicy Thai flavored kettle cooked chips that caught my eye and I was curious about. We ate em all so yeah they were pretty darn good! Now it's way late and well past this yotefox's bedtime! Time to get some sleep if I hope to not blow up the lab tomorrow:P G'night all and oh yeah!!! Falcon's still unbeaten!!! 8-0 Baby!!! And Georgia won too and them Giants lost so yeah all was good for me football-wise this weekend too^^

No it's not half-priced candy though that is a big perk. No much deeper than that. For this is All Saints Day. Christian in origin though it is, it applies to all really. For it's a day to reflect on those gone one before us in the past year. I like to extend that even further though because, as I'm sure is the case for many here, there are those we've lost that continue to influence us through the years. Even in their physical absence from us, they influence us. For me that will always be my grandfather. Not long after his passing, I first decided to just sit down and try my paw at drawing. I liked anthro art so much but I always said I can't do it. I'll never be any good at it. Well one thing I know thanks to my grandpa is that you just don't know until you try. So I tried my paw at it. That has helped me deal with so much in my life. Every time I start drawing, I think of him. Now am I any good at it? Well there's room for improvement to be sure but I've surprised myself quite honestly. I'll continue to work at it and improve at my own pace. Each time I will learn something new. It's exciting to take on something that we so convince ourselves that we can't do. For those who have offered me advice, I greatly appreciate it and always take it to heart. I love this community! I may not seem to fit in as well here but some of the greatest friends I've made have come about by embracing my furriness and this fandom:3

Yet another journal entry! Been a regular thing of late. That's just a clear testament to how much more I'm experiencing dwelling here in the Athens area. I love my hometown n' my friends n' family therein with all my heart but it's not exactly the most exciting place on earth, especially for someone who's never gone hunting. For someone who's never fired a gun for that matter!

This makes the perfect segue into the point of this post. If you watch  kalahari, n' if not you should be, you know he's a very talented traditional artist who's also a bit of a firearms enthusiast. Well thanks to him a can now say I've shot a gun before. Yes it's such an anamaly I know! A rural GA country boy who's never fired a gun. I've done target shooting with bow n' arrow a few times but that's been it. Not that I have anything against guns. Just never grew up into em as much of my friends. Doesn't help matters my mom was deathly afraid of em n' my dad got out of hunting shortly after I was born. I've obviously picked up a lil' something from all those friends back home though because I picked up on both rifle n' pistol shooting very quickly. Quite frankly I loved it too.

As for what I fired well, I remember they were Czech made n' I can recall a bit of the name but I forget already:P If you could comment to this post Kal with what those firearms were, I'd appreciate it. I can remember things a lot better if I see em typed out. Guess things really do go in one ear n' out the other with me:P I have to say that was an interesting way to cap off an awesome weekend n' I wouldn't maind doing it again. In a couple of weekends, with the help of Kal, I'd like to get a little meet together with all the local furs. Be working out the details next couple of weeks but input from others are welcomed. I may sound like a broken record here but I would really like to continue getting acquainted with other fuzzballs here. I have a suspicion there's way more here in this college town than I am aware of. Happy Monday All! Seize it as you should seize everyday!

So last night I attended a masquerade party with a few of my fellow grad students n' friends. Being a half-moon night, I got the idea to don my ears n' tail n' go as a partial werewolf. The gag being since the moon wasn't full, my transformation was incomplete. Oh man they LOVED IT!^^ The only problem being that when I arrived, I was offered a cool mask that the host had decided to make. She made quite a few of em. Well I wasn't bout to let her effort go to waste so I tried a few on. So doing, all the newcomers who came after me mistook me for a raccoon of all things:P Now those who have seen my tail, it's not coon-like! I'm actually glad that the host guessed fox early on so I told her a bit about the origin of my tail. She thought it was neat. I knew I loved this girl for a reason. Tis a shame though she never felt as strongly for me as I did for her n' chose someone else. It's all cool though. No bitterness n' animosity here. We're good friends n' hope to remain so for quite some time. You never know. I kinda wish my ears n' tail would've stirred up more of a conversation about what furry really is in my humble opinion. The fact though that such a conversation never came up may actually be a good sign that they have no negative views of it or may have no idea bout what this fandom even is. Truth be told, before too long, we were all too drunk to care:P

So yeah I think I'm gonna be siding with Bromine as the elemental nickname for my SoCal surfer otts Mordecai Dean Riggsdale. Thanks for the suggestions guys. Though I'm going with that, I'm also implementing another nickname for him:P You see Thought this is a character with a lot of the same values n' super friendly n' helpful as my principle two, he is a totally different animal, pun intended, when it comes to his mannerisms. I've stressed that he won't be the typical airhead surfer. Far from as he considers himself a natural born scholar. He will however possess that laid back, easy-going surfer personality. He's not prone to being high-strung as both Brandon and Martha can get. This makes him a nice foil. A calming element. I'm currently considering a good backstory for him. Before moving east, he possessed another nickname among his friends in SoCal. Caramel was a named penned for him. Somewhat due to his color but a lot to do with his borderline addiction to caramel machiatos. Decaffeinated of course as he doesn't like how caffeine makes him. Also with soymilk of course. Better fits his SoCal upbringing. This nickname is also a bit of a nod to my chosen area of study. Being a food scientist, it was only natural that I would work that in someway.

As a brief aside, I will be trying out something a bit new for my gradually developing art skills. Serif DrawPlus is available as a free download n' it looks like a nice next-level step to take. If anyone has had any experience using this program n' has some tips, they'd be greatly appreciated. Also any other input is greatly appreciated as I try to hone my skills in this rewarding hobby.

Hey all. One common thread I've been seeing clearly with myself n' my colleagues is that the past couple of weeks have been massively stressful. Of course this makes perfect sense as for most of us, it is around this time that midterms n' such are underway. That's not as big a deal for me as a grad student with only one class n' most of his focus day in n' day out on research. Also not for another local I know as he's done with his schooling but is working for the university. Mostly though the local furs I've gotten to meet are all still undergrad students with way more in the way of class loads n' more than a handful trying to balance all their classes with a job. Hey I may be 3 years removed from that experience myself but I'm still fully aware of the challenge.

I mainly write this to put out there that I'd like to find some time to hang with all of y'all in some capacity or another. Two or three of y'all I've gotten to know well but some are still relatively new to me. Recently acquainted so to speak. Plus I think there's a chance that some of y'all haven't met everyone yet n' I'd like to make sure we're all introduced. See that there's indeed a fair number of us furries amid this massive population of students n' others in this university town. As for a when n' where, for that matter a what, I'm open to any n' all suggestions. Personally I wouldn't mind a supper gathering at one of the Keba's here. I've grown quite fond of them. Unfortunately I don't think I can swing this month. Got a lot of things scheduled with my friends n' colleagues of the non-furry persuasion. Plus money is real tight this month. One of the worst months I've had since last fall. Be thinking bout it guys. Would like many more opportunities to hang with y'all before my time here in Athens comes to a close. Peace y'all:3

So I decided since my Fitocracy account is still linked to my ole Twitter account, I've decided to use it once again. Has nothing to do with the fact Chipper Jones uses it now. Ok maybe that's a little bit of the reason. Also there's a few new friends on there I'd like to stalk ah eeh I mean follow:P It's also pretty much the only way to see how a few of the folks I've met on the other side of the country are doing. Personally I don't get why someone would almost exclusively use Twitter but hey it takes all kinds in this world right? So if anyone wants to follow me, I'm CobaltTheCoyfox. Following me is not strictly mandatory as of right now there's not that much that's exciting going on in my everyday existence. But if you're curious as to what a food scientist yotefox would tweet about in the course of a day, feel free to follow away:P

I just wanted to get back to an icon that is one of my most favorites by one of my most favorite artists n' a friend. Ok yeah I'm a wee bit mad at my Dawgs n' quite frankly a bit embarrassed. But I'm still gonna try n' make the next home game n' get caught up in the energy once more because when it gets down to it, it's not always win or lose. Winning is so much better though:P

Now for some more pleasant business to post here. During my rare moments of free time, I've been developing the back story for my otter character Mordecai Dean Riggsdale, the Southern Californian surfer dude. I have some good ideas for it. One thing I'd like a little help on is actually quite simple. As seen in my other two characters, including my fursona, I like to utilize elements as nicknames. You have Cobalt for my yotefox self n' Mercury for Martha the gray vixen. So naturally I would like to continue this trend. So be creative. Help me come up with an element best suited for this laid back n' super friendly n' awesome otter. I'm curious to see what others here at FA will come up with:3

Live This Life! I've heard this from many friends through the years. Seen it emblazoned on folk's webpages n' cars n' backpacks etc. I've used this phrase a lot myself a bunch more in the past 5 years or so. The meaning being as I've always viewed it as just another way of saying live life to the fullest. Which is good n' all. I still like that meaning of it. Yesterday though it took on a much more somber meaning.

You know this life can really be a drag at times. It can just plain suck to be alive. But it is never...NEVER...so bad that one should just give up on life completely. Just decide it's not worth it to live anymore. To feel that the saying that life is a blessing is false. As Gary Allen sang, or so I believe it was him, life ain't always beautiful but it's a beautiful ride. A lot of truth to those lyrics. I'm not gonna go into much more detail as to what brought on this contemplative mood out of respect for a friend's privacy. I will say that no suicide was committed n' I've been assured that help is being pursued. To even have those thoughts though is very disheartening n' I know that too well. These were thoughts I had myself not that long ago. I was at a place where I just wanted to escape. I don't say this to garner sympathy for this isn't who I am now. I say this just to illustrate I've been there n' I know the hopelessness that brings this on.

What I'm trying to say through all this is, if you or someone you know, even if it's just someone you know of just a little bit, is considering ending his/her own life...please get help. Particularly close by to your own physical location. It's good to talk it out with friends over the phone or via IM or whatever but for this serious a case you need to be physically next to whoever you choose to confide in. Could be a family member, could be a close friend, could be a priest/pastor/rabbit/imam what have you. Most likely it will call for professional help from a trained counselor. Whatever the case just get help. I can't stress that enough! Live This Life!! It ain't always gonna go well but each day is a new day with countless possibilities! Don't give up on it! Live it n' embrace it!

Yes I know there's a lot of folks here that don't follow sports. Heck I'm sure a bunch of y'all are just like my twin brother who could care less bout sports. But I like it. It's not just the excitement of the game itself but the energy that is shared by fellow fans.

Of course it all started with an awesome tailgate with awesome friends n' colleagues followed by my first trip inside Sanford Stadium to see a high energy UGA home game. Was high energy alright! A lot closer than it should've been but I'm glad for that actually. If it were a blowout like last week, I don't think it would have been as intense for me. Well it most likely still would've been. So much energy in that place. No I still don't have my voice back completely. Fortunately I will not need it tomorrow.

If that close football game wasn't enough, the Falcons really pulled out a huge win against the Panthers. Matt Ryan is no doubt at his best in situations where he needs to take his team down the field to win it. Just plan awesome. Closing it out though was the Braves having a victory for Chipper Jone's last home game, of the regular season at least. That wasn't really all that exciting as it was emotional for me. I grew up rooting for these Braves. Chipper's been an instant favorite of mine. When I think of this guy, I'm reminded of enjoying the games with my late grandfather who loved this team so much, even when they were at their worst. I was so spoiled. I got to see the dominant Braves teams of the 90's n'early 2000's. It'll be a little emotional for me next year when there's no Chipper. Last piece of the team I grew up loving will be gone. At least we have a bunch of awesome players that will continue to take this franchise forward.

My grandfather was also a big UGA fan n' an alumnus of this great institution. Naturally he was not far from my mind during that game Saturday night. He was front n' center during this last regular season game for Chipper. He's a big reason I'm a sports fan. It's not about hard hits or controversies or overpaid prima donna athletes. For me it's about togetherness of fans. It's about sportsmanship. Most importantly it's about enjoying every moment with the folks you care most about. That's what it truly means to be a sports fan my furry friends:3

This yotefox does!!! Now Saturday can't come fast enough. Big tailgate to be attended n' then I get to go to the game as well. It's gonna be an insanely fun atmosphere descending over Athens for me n' countless others this Saturday!