My close friend Syme and I went to watch Obama’s inauguration, and holy crap, what a day! It was like the entire day was one long adrenaline rush; Syme and I didn’t have a chance to sit down from the time we got out of his car at the Metro station at 7:30, to the time we sat down for lunch at 15:30.

The day started with a trip to Starbucks, and heading over to the College Park metro station (an excellent choice, we learned later, because the other choice had run out of parking spots long before we left). Thankfully, we already had fare cards, because the line to purchase them was over an hour long

Our train ride was crowded, but light-hearted. We chatted with someone working for one of the vendors in the downtown area (who looked and smelled like he’d had a few drinks already, but he was coherant), and there was a lively black lady leading the entire train car in patriotic songs. It was awesome, despite the entire train being shoulder-to-shoulder. We got off at our stop, where we encountered a station that literally had no visible floor, it was completely filled to capacity. And, to make things worse, we were there when this happened, and the DC police officers in the station committed the cardinal sin of crowd control by making this announcement: “We need everyone to clear the platform now, there’s been an emergency”. There wasn’t a riot or anything, but it did make a lot of people rather panicky.

Once above-ground, we began the Walk That Wouldn’t End. We were trying to get to the National Mall, but we couldn’t seem to find a way in; every cross-street we went to resulted in us going to another one even further up. After walking nearly 16 blocks, we finally made it to the mall, and worked our way through the crowd to the base of the Washington Monument. The view of the big screen wasn’t great, but it didn’t need to be; we were there. Before things go started, they showed various noteworthy people arriving, which made for an interesting demonstration of group mentalities. When Bush or Cheney appeared on the screen, the entire croud booed. When a member of the Obama or Clinton families came on the screen, the entire crowd cheered.

The ceremony itself was what everyone saw on TV. What wasn’t shown was the aftermath - the entire National Mall attempting to vacate through the same two streets. We ended up standing still for like two hours, just waiting to be able to exit. It was kinda fun though, because we ended up next to a lively bunch of guys who started singing lots of fun songs. And, there were people climbing on top of the porta-potties. And families who were really getting into the mixed, joyful atmosphere. Unfortunately, after awhile, the overall feel of the crowd started to become tense, until we were finally able to leave.

Every open restaurant within a 10-block radius of the mall was utterly slammed, and the metro stations were more full than on the way in, so we went up to Dupont Circle for a classy lunch (where we met up with a friend of ours who was working nearby as an audio tech for one of the balls) and a bit of shopping, then headed back to College Park. Our detour worked to our advantage, because we were able to catch a train that had enough room for us to sit down, before we swung by the two primary stops and filled the train to capacity.

Overall, it was an incredible experience, and I had a wonderful time. I didn’t get many good pictures, but the few I did get will be posted soon.

Working from my porch >= awesome

I can’t wait ’til it’s warm enough for this not to be a fluke. I’ve also discovered that the shiny screen on my laptop isn’t nearly as glare-y if I wear my light blue sunglasses (I wear them quite a bit anyway), and the screen is still quite visible, unlike with my regular mirrored sunglasses.

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In other news, I’m still really torn about whether to go to FC or not. On the one hand, I’ve been trying to go since 2005, and every year, I’ve been unable to make it due to finances. This year, it’s a question of whether I should spend the money on this or something else, rather than a question of whether I have the money at all. Which makes it a much more difficult decision :-\

The rational side of me says to not go, and put the money toward debt repayment. I have a ton of credit card debt to clear, plus a car loan I want to pay off next month. I have some upcoming financial goals that will require me to not only get rid of debt in my name quickly, but also to resist impulse spending to a certain degree (and a $900 furry con next month is a hell of an impulse “purchase”). Plus, Anthrocon’s suite reservations are likely to open the week before FC (based on previous years), which is $500 I need to drop right away. And, based on my experience with MFF, working a few extra hours from a con is impossible to plan on, so FC would cost me at least four full days of work (three full days and two half-days), almost half a paycheck.

That said, I’ve never been one to let finances alone influence my decisions, and everything else is leaning toward going. FC has been this unattainable trip for me for years, and everyone keeps telling me what a spectacular con it is. It’s on my list of furry cons to attend at least once in my life, but if I go this year, it’s unlikely that I’ll go to any other cons between now and Anthrocon. I wasn’t sure which ones I’d hit, but I was thinking about going to FCN (there’s stuff to do other than drinking there, right?), or FWA, or some other small spring con. I’m already planning on Megaplex, which will pretty much have to be rolled into my Anthrocon budget due to their proximity. I hadn’t made any con plans beyond that, but MFM is tempting, and MFF next year is a strong possibility.

I just don’t know what to do. I’ve never been in this situation before, it’s always been a year-long process of saving up just to be able to go to one big con a year. One thing’s for sure, if I do go to FC, I need to adhere to my budget much more strictly. I spent WAY too much this year, enough to set the aforementioned financial goals back by almost two months (getting screwed over by AMEX didn’t help, but it was still mostly my fault). Note to self: Never go to the ATM at a con.

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Update to the first part of this post: In the span of about an hour, the temperature dropped by like 15 degrees. Yuck.

[curls up with a fluffy blanket and sips hot chocolate] I can’t feel my toes… :-\

Around the time of MFF this year, I decided not to try to go to FC this year. It’s a really expensive con for me, I have nowhere to stay, and I’m trying to pay off some debts in that timeframe. But, I keep thinking about how everyone tells me what a fun con it is. And then, I start thinking about how many consecutive years I’ve made plans to go, and not had the money for it.

So, let’s do this. I’m still a little on the fence, but to keep my options open, does anyone reading this have bed space available for me at the main hotel at FC?

Yay, my first not-Anthrocon furry con since Megaplex ‘06! I had a really good time, and while I didn’t meet as many new people as I hoped to, I did make some new friends

Special thanks to greenreaper for giving me a place to stay!

Highlights
-Ram’s, the restaurant across the street from the hotel. It was heavenly, I wish I could’ve put it on a truck and brought it home with me
-The programming at the con. This was the first time I’ve been to a furry con that had panels I was actually interested in attending, it was nice.
-Kage’s media-relations panel, very well-presented. If he does it again, I highly recommend it to everyone.
-Convoying with LilPup & crew, something I haven’t had the opportunity to do in a long time.
-Having LilPup’s vehicle along for the whole trip, including my detour to Michigan, when they could have just gone straight to Chicago. It made an otherwise-miserable road trip much better. Thanks guys!
-Impromptu Marci badge
-Lots of new art!

Low-Lights
-Having to stand in the bitter cold with no jacket for a half-hour thanks to the fire alarm. I literally couldn’t feel the skin on my arms by the time we went back inside.
-2 and Kage’s show getting cancelled on Friday night.
-No quick restaurants within walking distance of the hotel. This was a major problem, because getting a meal always took at least an hour at any time of the day. And yes, I know there’s a nice consuite at MFF (much better than anything similar at AC), but their timing with food other than chips was so unpredictable that I kinda gave up on it for real meals. The one time that I actually tried to rely on it, I ended up having a bowl of chili dip for lunch out of desperation.
-The trip to Chicago. What should’ve been 8 hours ended up being 16, thanks to a blizzard along the way.

After-Con Gathering
I really didn’t want to go home right away after the con, so I stayed in Pittsburgh an extra day and went to the furmeet Firefox and Dobie organized, to see the movie Bolt. If you haven’t seen the movie, go see it! Highly recommended! The opening scene will make anyone who thinks puppies are cute go “Awwwww!”, too

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Art post coming soon!

Yay, MFF was cool! The trip had some downsides, but it was a good con.

I’m back in Pittsburgh now, going to the movie meet later. Working my tail off, too, I have a project that needs to be finished Monday.

A more in-depth con post will come later, as well as art posts once I get home (I got some awesome art this time, including an impromptu new Marci badge with a scene/theme that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before).

Gah, I can’t believe that I’m leaving tomorrow for a furry con, it just doesn’t feel right. I guess it’s because I’ve never been to a con this time of year, nor have I been to one in cold weather since my first Megaplex, but still. It just feels like a normal week

Anyway, this is the part where I post my phone number before a major con. Call me if you need me, or want to find me, or whatever. My current plans are to depart Pittsburgh around 9am Thursday morning (EST), with a couple people to pick up along the way.

My phone number is: [EDIT: Con's over, nothing to see here].

Do NOT text-message me! If you do, it will NOT be received! Any messages sent to me will now disappear into the digital void instead of landing in my phone to pester me and make me want to throw said phone at your head, thanks to Verizon turning off that service for me

Work Stuff
I really need to stop taking naps in the afternoon. It feels good, but I end up having to work ’til midnight to get my hours in. Lame.

On the plus side, I’m only a couple hours short of my goal of averaging 8 hours a day for this pay period, so I’m doing much better than last week (did I mention that I fail at time management?). Darn election (which I feel no need to post about here, since the entire world knows what the results were) distracted me too much

My first project was completed ahead of schedule, and my boss was very impressed, so that’s a good sign. Working on the next one now, which is less complex, I’m hoping to have it done by early next week.

Laptop
My new laptop (Dell Precision m6300) is in production, and is scheduled to arrive Nov. 11, if not earlier. Not in time for this weekend, like I hoped, but it will be here in time for MFF.

Travels, and Furry Events
I’ll be in Pittsburgh this weekend (leaving tomorrow, actually), and two weeks after is MFF, where I’ll be in Pittsburgh for a few days before and after (and attending the after-con festivities hosted by firefoxbc and lildobe.

I will not be attending FC this year. I wanted to, and could find the money to do it, but considering that I only know of one person who actually got a room (not counting the SL pricks who got rooms from the huge block Raven Welesa reserved), my chances of finding a place to stay with someone I trust are pretty slim. Plus, the money for that trip would be better spent to help build/rebuild my finances, since I’m still hoping to relocate within the next year or so.

Who all is going to the New Year’s Furry Ball in Philly? I hadn’t really thought of going, but I’m considering it now.

Is there anything going on in December? Furmeets, parties, etc? I know there are no cons (at least, not in this country, I ain’t flying to Australia for a furry con).

Also, who’s going to Megaplex? It’s in July this year, which blows, but it looks like it’ll be one of the better cons they’ve held, and worth standing the Orlando summer heat for. I’m planning to go, and I’ll be driving down, and a 14+ hour drive alone sucks, so if anyone wants to carpool, that’d be awesome (I know it’s early, but I loathe last-minute planning). Convoying would be fun too, I’ll bring radios

Car Stuff
I’m currently trying to get my Rover to run, I think I might know what’s wrong with it. I still plan to sell it, probably after the winter, and I’m thinking about replacing it with a Ford Bronco. Taking my mom’s Blazer out off-roading reminded me of just how much I missed it, and it also reminded me that not just any 4WD will get me where I like to go, despite my occasional thoughts to the contrary.

On the other hand, if I can find a really good deal on rust repair (it’s only worth a grand or two at the absolute most, I don’t want to spend that kind of money to patch holes), the thought of keeping it has crossed my mind. It really means a lot to me, and I love LRs anyway. Plus, I already know exactly how it performs in extreme situations,

I’ll be selling my Crown Vic sometime after January, most likely. It’s starting to show its age, and I’d really like to get something smaller and sportier. So, if anyone reading this might be interested at that time (I’ll need to replace it first, since it’s my only vehicle that runs and is legal to drive at the moment), let me know, and I’ll give you a good deal. I’d really like for it to go to a good home, someone who’ll enjoy it as much as I have, so I don’t plan to use it as a trade-in on my next car.

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I think that’s about it for today. I haven’t made a real post in awhile, and most of these bits weren’t quite full entries on their own, so you get a mega-post

I forgot to mention another awesome highlight from WPAFW in my last post about it. On the way home, I was taking symelion back to Maryland, and foxchild was driving with us in his car, so I gave Foxchild one of my handheld radios (there’s one mounted in my car now). Along the way, Syme started reciting lyrics from Convoy and chatting with CB lingo in his fabulous English accent.

I think it was the funniest thing I heard all weekend

Squee! WPAFW was such an awesome trip, and if you didn’t go, you SUCK! Just kidding, of course, but it was far better than Anthrocon.

Good Stuff
- New art from MehndiX.
- Comfortable weather (instead of the ridiculous heat we had last year).
- Getting to know symelion better, he contains large amounts of awesome
- Less-structured format made the event feel more “cozy” than last year.
- The website/email hosting package I donated on behalf of Lupinia brought in at least $10 for the charity auction.
- Fun in the parking lot at Steak & Shake (”Car!”).
- Watching turn a bowl on his lathe. I’ve always been fascinated by lathe-work, and watching it in person is quite fun.
- The biggest good-thing of all, getting to see all of my friends again, even the ones who were busy running the event were able to chat a little.

Bad Stuff
- Random creepy dude who harassed hotel staff, smoked in the shelter at the park, and just generally didn’t know when to shut up. I had to forcibly shut my hotel room door in his face at one point while trying to get settled in the room one evening.
- Someone left a web browser window minimized on the public computer in the lobby with Yiffstar loaded. I don’t think anyone saw (I closed the browser without restoring it when I saw it), but damn, what’s wrong with people?
- Didn’t get a chance to see the kangaroos at the zoo, but there’s always next time.

And, a big thank-you to everyone involved in running WPAFW. This is a truly spectacular event, and it remains my favourite furry gathering. Well done

First off, thanks so much to everyone who replied to my last post, and also a big thanks on behalf of my sister. She really appreciates the advice

Secondly, WPAFW is this weekend, woot! Aside from being fun and silly to say, it’s a really great event, so if you’re in the area and haven’t yet decided to, come on over!

I’ll be leaving for Pittsburgh tomorrow (Thursday), along with symelion, and I’ll be staying at the event hotel (the Comfort Inn - sorry, no crash space available). I look forward to seeing everyone there