Here we are, the first actual day of Furry Fiesta 2018. Oh, sure, we had a few activities last night (though I skipped both the tour and Reunion Tower), but today is when it all starts.

I have to say, though, the hotel's breakfast buffet is far and away better than that at the old hotel. Chicken sausage, bacon, cream cheese blintzes... When this con is over, some of us may need crowbars to leave the hotel! 🐺

Still a little while before opening ceremonies, so I'll post more later. Just figured I'd get started.

Mm, dark chocolate loaf...

In case anyone who reads my journals is going to TFF, a note on restaurants: The best prices are outside the hotel. Sure, the $17.50 breakfast buffet is nice and tasty, but just a few minutes' walk brings you to Cindi's NY Deli. They're only open for breakfast and lunch, though, so for dinner, a good price is Spaghetti Warehouse -- it's a longer walk, but much cheaper than the hotel restaurants.

Sadly, there is no Tea Time for the Soul this year, due to hotel rules regarding outside food and drink -- and, unless I've missed it somewhere, no con suite either, for the same reason. If you don't want to walk as far as Cindi's, though, there are food trucks scheduled, as listed on the TFF schedule page.

Take care, everyfurry, and have fun!

Hey, all. Just heard from  mikefang that  grottokraft was starting up a Your Character Here auction for an extended comic. Sure enough, Grottokraft has it up as well. I'm unlikely to have enough money to take part, but hopefully some of you can enjoy it.

Grottokraft's YCH comic will focus mainly on inflation and expansion, including non-fatal popping. Five pages are up for bids:

Page 1: Muscle-gut expansion.
Page 2: Skritching and other enjoyable activities.
Page 3: Transformation and growth (custom scenes go here).
Page 4: Belly expansion and belching.
Page 5: The Earth-shattering (or at least really loud) KABOOM!

Auction winners will appear as "extras" partaking in various activities at The Werehouse, a transformation and expansion club. Does feature recreational use of intoxicating substances, so if that's an issue, you have been warned.

Well, every year I like to at least try to get a neat contribution to the convention. Some years, this works out really well -- the letter to the convention from Gary "Who Censored Roger Rabbit?" Wolf for "Out f the Inkwell". Some years, not so much -- the Foglios never did get back to me for the Mad Science theme...

This year, I'll be contributing two (2) ride passes from Texas' own Wonderland Park, located in Amarillo, Texas!

(I'll be honest, I was only hoping for a t=shirt or something, but I'm not one to look a gift unicorn in the mouth.)

Looking forward to dropping them off with the Auction folks as soon as I can!

I'm sorry if you were expecting any more Spanish after that.

I'm going to Furry Fiesta! Got my Super Sponsorship, made contact with  vvolf for a place to sleep, and even contacted  rabbi-tom to see if I can get one of his mirror badges for the occasion -- the theme is "Texas Wonderland", after all.

(Fun fact: There's an amusement park named "Wonderland Park" in Amarillo, TX. It looks like fun, but I doubt there are any day trips planned -- it's hundreds of miles from the con site. Yes, Texas is just that big.)

VVolf should be picking me up on Thursday, February 7 for the trip to the hotel -- changed from last year. This year, we're in the Hyatt Regency Dallas, over by Reunion Tower (that big light-up ball on a stick you see in pictures of the Dallas skyline).

(By next year, I hope to have another vehicle in the family, so he doesn't have to pick me up. That should make things a bit easier on him -- and on me, considering how little is within walking distance around these cons.)

I wonder where the GoH dinner will be? We're a bit farther from Maggiano's than we used to be, after all... well, I'll find out, won't I?

See everyfurry there!

(Honestly, I'm just glad to finally get a few days away from the family. I love them, but they can be a little hard to take when you do little more than eat, sleep, work and deal with them.)

What a year, huh? Admittedly, I've spent most of it working and sleeping.

On the bright side, my sister's putting divorce plans on hold long enough for me to attend Furry Fiesta, so.... Well, there's that

Happy New Year, folks. May the next one be an improvement. .

. . . and not for the better.

Just needed to let people know that my sister has thrown her husband out of the house after he threw a ceiling-fan-blade cleaner at their son. This makes me the only driver in the house for the foreseeable future, meaning that extended trips are out of the question. No Furry Fiesta, no TSA-Bash, and definitely no New Year's Bash this year. I'll be sending this information to other people under separate cover -- specifically, anyone that would be severely inconvenienced by my absence -- but I thought I'd cover some ground, here.

Take care, everyone, and please raise a drink to me while you're having fun. I'm not really going to be able to leave the house for extended periods for the foreseeable future.

Yours with no way out but death -- or, y'know, the teenager getting a license, whichever comes first,



The wolfish,

Wanderer

Car's in the shop -- again -- for the power steering -- again...

Are all PT Cruisers like this, or did I just get a bad one?

Yep, the car is back in the shop... again... for the power steering pump... again. And since nobody could come and get me, I just finished walking six miles to get home. Oh, my aching paws... >.<

Just recently back from Thanksgiving dinner at a co-worker's house. His family's terrific, we got two new pie recipes out of the deal, and everything was going well...

... until my dear little nephew -- bless his little ol' cotton-pickin' heart -- messed up their son's PS3. 9.9 We weren't able to fix it while we were there, either, because the network was having issues -- we couldn't get anything but a timeout error when we entered the network key. As you might imagine, my little 12-year-old nephew is disinvited from the boy's room for the foreseeable future.. They assure us they're not mad... even the boy assures us he's not mad at US, just at my nephew... but sweet, merciful Heavens, you'd think he'd get a clue by this point that getting on someone else's computer system without permission is a NO!

In unrelated news, apparently the problem with the car may be the wireless control module. That would explain not only the failure to start, but also the somewhat random triggering of the door locks and the hatchback from time to time. Now to see how much the darn thing costs... and how hard it is to replace.

Just dropping a note to wish everyone on FurAffinity -- but especially my friends -- a Happy Thanksgiving. May you have much for which to be thankful, and may the times ahead be free of strife.

Later, I'll be off to a friend's apartment with the rest of the family for Thanksgiving dinner. We're taking his in-laws' van, rather than risk the twitchy ignition on my PT Cruiser, so there shouldn't be any transportation issues. (We're bringing dressing. It's not fancy, and not even fully homemade -- Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Dressing -- but it's yummy!)

Take care, everyone!

Yours truly,

The thankful-to-know-you,

Wanderer

I tried to start it -- repeatedly -- and nothing.

The mechanics can't get it to reproduce the issue.

(facepaw)

At least I'll only be out a $45 tow -- assuming I can find some way to get up there to pay and take the car home. Nobody's available that can run me up there.

That's right, the car's in the shop AGAIN< and just in time for Thanksgiving! Thankfully, a co-worker has invited myself and the family for Thanksgiving, because there's no way to get to the in-laws' place out in Denton at this rate.

Basically, the issue that randomly disabled the car's ability to start stopped being random -- and became constant just as I tried to leave for work today. 9.9 I managed to get a lift to and from work with my co-workers, but this is getting old FAST, you know?

(sigh) More annoyingly, if it's too expensive, I'll have to cancel my New Year's trip to Tennessee. :/ I was really looking forward (and fur-ward) to seeing a bunch of my friends from the Transformation Story Archive and associated mailing list. If this turns out to be the starter, though, that's about $500, and that's more than I have in my bank account right now.

(shakes head) I gotta get a better car and/or a job that pays enough to take care of the one I have.

Well, my family is now completely without cars.

The first to go was a used wheelchair van. Died of a cracked block.

The second was a PT Cruiser I'd bought with my last tax refund. Steering went out.

The last was a Chrysler 300M donated to my sister's family some time ago. Engine burnt out.

The good news, such as it is, is that my PT is the cheapest of the three to get running, especially with some help (or at least a short-term loan) from a friend. The bad news is, I can't get to the mechanic to pay for the repairs to start, because I have no transportation of any kind.

Sirius-ly, if anyone in the Dallas area would be willing to give me a short ride to and from my mechanic, it would be much appreciated. 9.9

(And if anyone could help get my niece to the Love Live! showing in Dallas this Saturday, that would be great, too. She already bought the ticket before the last car died, poor thing...

Ah, the joys of a good night's sleep and a good breakfast at the end. Still waiting for someone to open the conference room, though.

Tomorrow's eclipse viewing has been set for the Demos restaurant in Hendersonville, TN. We were originally going to the one in Murfreesboro, but apparently they didn't pick up the phone. (shrug) Beats me. We'll be leaving early, though, so I won't be posting until later tomorrow.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know a good free e-mail provider? The TSA mailing list doesn't work with GMail, and my alt is restricted from outgoing mail due to a presumed virus. (Though I'm uncertain we're at fault. According to the people running the blocked mailservice, our server is somehow able to make use of other connections in order to send out the viruspam, even though our outbound mail is completely shut off. I asked for an explanation a week ago, but nothing yet...)

Anyway, it's almost 0900, so I think I'll go and check the conference room. Later!

Having arrived at the Bash, I joined everyone for a pleasant lunch/dinner at Pancho's Place, a great little Mexican restaurant here in Tennessee. Of course, this being the Bash (or, really, any convention), this worked out about as well as herding cats -- Rabbit intended for us to meet at the more-accessible Spring Hill location, but a significant chunk of our attendance went instead to the Columbia location. Still, it's a great little place in any location. (I had the Quesadilla Azteca. Yummy chicken, avocado, sour cream... delish!)

After that, though, I had to crash. I love the Bash, and I wish I could just stay up forever -- but, folks, I worked overnight the night before, and the night before that, and the night before that... I have my limits!

So I'm here with  fulminar in our roo, enjoying the programming on HLN and working up my RPG session. Always something, right?

More later!

Okay, not really. But after tomorrow, I'm off to Columbia, TN to take part in this year's Transformation Story Archive Mailing List Bash (TSA-Bash for short; we had the abbreviation before the Transportation Safety Administration, after all, though the Tax-Sheltered Annuity got there before us). We'll be jaunting up to Murfreesboro to take in the eclipse at a little restaurant, since it's considerate enough to hit the area about lunchtime.

(Honestly, am I the only one thinking this is starting to smell like a story setup? The TSA-Bash, an eclipse, and the chimes of Big Ben falling silent, all on the same day? If nothing ominous happens, I won't know whether to be relieved or disappointed! )

Anyhowl, I don't get much chance to post during these things, so I'll be offline most of the time until I return home on the 23rd.

(Seriously, the 21st is the anniversary of the Haitian Rebellion, the Nat Turner Rebellion, one of the thefts of the Mona Lisa, and the loss of the Mars Observer. Okay, it's also the anniversary of the Oldsmobile and "Please, Mr. Postman", but still...)

So take care, everyfurry! I'll see you after the sun returns!

I got put of the hospital late Monday afternoon. No sign of damage to anything, though they've put me on low-dose aspirin and Lostatin to bring down my slightly-high blood pressure. No aftereffects, no cardiac trouble, no brain damage -- well, other than the kind you normally see in a 47-year-old ( ) -- and no harm done. Again, sorry I didn't update more quickly.

Well, the good news is, I finally get a full 24 hours with no work to do.

The bad news is why...

At 0630 this morning, I stepped out of my PT Cruiser and started walking toward the local Kroger. Suddenly, my right side felt tingly -- all pins-and-needles. I trued to say "That was weird", and it came out, "Thwrrr..."

Well, I remembered the account that  robcat had written about his Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA, basically a mini-stroke), so -- as soon as I had the family woken up for church -- I headed to the emergency room.

As I type this, I'm in room 335 at Lake Pointe Medical Center in Rowlett. All the tests are negative -- yes, including the brain scan, I know that joke -- and they're just holding me for observation. Apparently it was just a basilar artery migraine, which has very similar symptoms to a TIA.

So, yeah. Figured I'd catch folks up.

Yours from a hospital bed,

The uninsured,

Wanderer

Well, not yet, but at least I've finished preparations. Next month, from August 19th to August 23rd, I'll be attending the TSA-Bash in Columbia, TN. I'll fly first class on American Airlines and stay at the lovely Richland Inn -- and on the 21st, WE SHALL BLOT OUT THE SUN!!!

. . .

Okay, we're actually just going to witness the great solar eclipse. Current plan is to drive into Murfreesboro and settle in at a restaurant for the viewing and a nice lunch.

Aside from that, of course we'll play boardgames and RPGs, chat with those TSA members who were unable to attend (via the free Wi-Fi, to say nothing of Skylos' genius way with a router) and generally have fun.

See everyfurry there!

Believe it or not, things are actually going somewhat smoothly for me, fur once. No crises on the horizon, nobody screaming or crying in my immediate vicinity, and I'm actually doing all right on money right now. Heck, I'm even up for a new job -- Dispatch at the Balch Springs Police Department. If I get it, I'd be making more money than I make from both of my current jobs, which might actually leave me on a semi-workable schedule with regard to sleep. (Wish me luck!)

Because I actually had time to stop and think, though, I happened to think of some artwork I'd like:

1. A Zootopia-style portrait. I've been looking for some time at having a Zootopia-style ID card, whether free or paid, and I'd like to have a suitable portrait to go with. Anyone know an artist that can deliver in a style not unlike that most furry-friendly of movies? (I admit, I might even contemplate having a version drawn with a Tame Collar...)

2. A photorealistic portrait. I'm a registrant of the Supernatural Registration Authority, you see, and they're considering bringing back ID cards. Currently, my most photorealistic pic is this one by Jim Groat, and -- well, he's great, but I'm looking for something more "might have been a photo", if you take my meaning. Anyone know a good artist fur these?

Of course, I probably won't be able to afford both -- possibly either, depending -- but it's nice to dream, you know? Heck, I even contacted the Technical Director of Zootopia through Facebook, just in case there's a way to get a character drawn in that style. (But I won't be surprised if the answer is "No". It's just worth asking.)

Otherwise, everyone okay out there?

Howl-o, all! I know I've been awfully quiet lately, but between my two jobs and other happenings, well...

First, the good stuff:

Finally spent my birthday money! Combined with $30 in Amazon gift cards (courtesy of blood donations and an online survey), I got myself a new set of dice (blue and sparkly), a new dice boot (Blue Panther knockdown with werewolf-themed graphics), a new dice bag (leather with a pewter wolf accent) and a watch (from Timex).

Got myself a car! One of my regular customers at the restaurant was selling a 2007 PT Cruiser (Pacific Coast Highway Edition), and I had enough money to buy it, so here we are. Completely in my name, free and clear, and (if I may say so) a sweet ride. (Got the oil changed just yesterday. Still want to get a tuneup, though.)

A friend has made a Harry-Potter-style magic wand for me, complete with "unicorn" tail hair for the core. It hasn't arrived yet, but I'm probably going to put up a picture once it does. He says he's never working with ash again, though -- too soft and difficult to carve. (That's what I get for being born in March...)

Now, the not-so-good:

The wheelchair van my family's been using is history, at least for now. The motor is blown, and would require $4,000.00 to fix.

Put the first half down on the repairs for the Chrysler 300M -- $900. It's not as bad off, thankfully, or we'd be in worse trouble than we are. Until it's finished, though, the PT Cruiser is the family's only vehicle.

My sister's husband managed to get their Bank of America account so far into the red that it dragged down all connected accounts -- specifically, his brother's household funds -- in order to stay afloat. I'd be madder at him, but his father and brother already ripped him a well-deserved new one for ignoring the problem so long.

On the whole, could be worse. (shrug) At least it's looking good to attend the TSA-Bash this August, when the eclipse hits. I could use some time away. (Heck, if I can swing the funds, I'll probably take a couple of nights in a nearby hotel before then, just to relax.)

In any event: Happy Easter, everyone (and every-bun)! May the day of resurrection and candy be everything you hoped for !

Well, the con's almost over. Today is mostly Furry Drama Show, Entertain the Staff for Small Prizes, and Closing Ceremonies.

Well, and picking up commissions. I picked up a sketch from  goldenwolf last night, but  noxychu wasn't quite finished with my two watercolor badges. I'll be scanning them in once I return home, of course.

After the Dealer's Dens closed -- yes, there's two of them now, we're that big a convention -- I checked out a panel from curiosity before heading down to join Rabbit, Kanren, Koko (Andrea) and another one of Rabbit's friends at the restaurant. (Aloha was busy, so we went without him this time.) We had a gine time before we repaired to Rabbit and Kanren's room (across the street) for some tea and talk before bed.

Oh, I almost forgot: I'm the newest admin of the Transformation Story Archive. The last admin kind of disappeared in the night -- I try not to worry about that -- so it took Dragon a while to reset the password for me; I've actually been the admin for a while, but unable to do anything. Now that I'm in, I just need to get time for editing and adding new stories.

Anyhowl, just getting in some websurfing before breakfast. After the Den (downstairs) opens, though, of course it's time to check in with Noxychu.

Swag haul: In addition to the Super Sponsor bag (beaker glass, Con*Tact soap (Ruby Dragon -- again -- exchanged for Werewolf), poster, prints (o/ Someday my prints will come... \o), acrylic laser-etched badge (needed help to get the backing off this year), t-shirt), I also bought several t-shirts ("Furries Anonymous: Don't Ask, Don't Tail"; "Lycanthropes: Werewolves In Disguise"; "Furry Inside"; and "In my defense, the moon was full and I was left unsupervised"). Not a bad year.

Oof, a busy day. Where to begin... ?

Well, I have three commissions in queue in the downstairs Dealers' Den, one of which is a sketch from Goldenwolf. That's right, she'll be bringing her talents to bear on my TBP fursona -- this should be interesting! I'm also considering getting a t-shirt or two.

Met up with Rabbit shortly before the GoH dinner and made plans to meet up in the restaurant.

The GoH dinner was as wonderful as ever -- Maggiano's does not disappoint. Lasagna, salmon, two kinds of cake... delicious! No sign of the G's of H from my table, though.

Arrived back at the Intercontinental about 7:30p (that's 1930 for you 24-hour-clock types) and we had a blast catching up and chatting and reminiscing. Eventually, though, we worn-out graymuzzles had to pack it in for the night...

... though not without setting up for the Furry Drama Show! Mako will be accompanying me as I sing "I'm Going To Back There Someday". We have some rehearsal ahead of us yet, but we're coming together.

(I don't think Draconis likes me very much... but it's hard for me to tell, with him.)

Side notes: Two big changes for next year:

Path Hyena is stepping down as con chair, to be replaced by soon-to-be-former security head Sable. That's right, we've gone off the Path.

This is the last year TFF will be in the Intercontinental. Next year, our still-expanding con moves to the Hyatt Regency Dallas, near Reunion Tower. That's right, we've outgrown ANOTHER hotel!

Anyhowl, I need sleep -- getting up at 6:30 so I can get breakfast at the buffet before things get going. Good night, all!

Yep, made it to Texas Furry Fiesta.  vvolf and I got to visit the grounds of C.A.R.E., the con's charity, as part of Thursday's "C.A.R.E.-a-van". We saw (and got to help feed) lions, leopards, tigers and lemurs.

Unfortunately, it seems my sense of direction is rubbing off on him - we made a wrong turn and wound up in Fort Worth. But hey, we got back eventually...