Post FC Report
Because I was distracted by the launch of ANTHERIA this is a little delayed. Now I am back into the swing of work and have no time to blog, but if I don't get this out now pretty soon it will be March and I will write the whole thing off as a lost cause and there will be no FC con report for you, my loyal readers. Yes, all five of you.
So.
My first time at Further Confusion, and my second ever art show. I have to give out props to Ch'marr and his art show staff who running a good ship; despite the fact that they were not allowed access to their main room on time they still threw up the show in shapely fashion and were always helpful and nice. I know because I got to help set up the main Art Show on Thursday; I was bored and lonely (a rare thing at a furry convention) so I wandered into the GoFur den and volunteered to help set up the art show, just so I could hang my stuff.
Two and a half hours of intensive labor later and I was ready to fall over. So then I went off to get my art. By the time I dragged myself back up and around to the show (the San Jose Fairmont, where FC was held, is sort of like the Hotel Babylon from Deep Secret in that you seem to turn right angle after right angle and never get to the place you're going to. Unfortunately, I did not have a Magid with me to jerk things right again, and so I ended up doing a lot of surplus walking-this even after having just been there in October for WFC, oh, the shame!) anyway, back to the art show and got in line to check in behind a very nice young lady who turned out to be Balaa of FA. Balaa is a fantastic artist and a very nice girl to boot; I've been an admirer of her work since I joined FA, and was extremely flattered when she recognized me. We ended up side-by-side in the show which was quite awesome.
FRIDAY I took the Wonderful Mother for her first FurCon experience, and despite nearly losing her good humor in the Long Line of Registration Doom she had a fun time. I got to introduce her to Jibba (after we finished squealing and glomping each other, that is). Which was lucky; we bumped into him coming out of Reg, and it turned out to be the only time I got to see him the whole con-apparently he had friends to catch up with and they were buying him booze. Pah! Next con we go to, I am SO stalking him. Just to get vengeance. Yes, I can be Creepy-Stalker-Rondie when I want to! Fear me, I say!
A pleasant surprise on Friday, but right after my Wonderful Mother left to drive home I wandered in and found that Who's Lion is it Anyway, the awesome improve panel hosted by Allcali and SemaJay was going on. I think I actually squealed as I ran into the room. But at the Who's Lion panel, this is not out of the ordinary. Had a great time, as always, even though Allcali was sadly absent; drew them some quick fanart which made Sema laugh harder than anything I have ever done on stage. Oh well, I guess I'm a better cartoonist than a stand-up comic. Good thing: that's 2's job.
Speaking of 2 there is not much to say as he was not able to attend. This made for an all-around less-funny con, and I am looking forward very much to AC.
Friday afternoon was a little hectic; right after the Who's Lion panel some extremely athletic and beautiful young men came in and threw all the chairs into the corners and got out big bamboo sticks and poi (weights and ribbons on the end of strings) and hula-hoops. It was a strange transition from the oddball freakshow of Who's Lion to the Cool Kids crowd that gathered to spin the sticks and poi around. But then, this was the Cook Kids of the Fur Fandom, so "cool" is a bit of a relevant term.
I kid. They were all very nice and I got to spend a few hours happily spinning sticks with the amazing Fox of Fire, who helped me learn some new tricks with only the minimal amount of bruising. Yay!
Perhaps the most surreal experience, however, came Friday night when I ended up in the men's room chatting with a guy using the urinal.
This is how it happened: I wandered into a sort-of-open-mic comedy show. The guy up on stage was a Character. He was white, with bleached blond hair and wore all white clothes. Oh, and eyeshadow. Needless to say he stood out a bit. I later learned from Brother that this Character had been at WFC, which came as a bit of a surprise; because I had spent half of WFC wandering forlornly through the infinite right-angles of the Fairmont wishing it were full of furries, and he was one who had been there! And I had not spotted him! So before I left for the evening I caught him on his way out the door and introduced myself.
The next thing I knew the White Apparition had grabbed my arm and was towing me at break-neck pace across the hotel lobby. "You were at World Fantasy? That's awesome! C'mon, we gotta talk!" All this said in shouts over his shoulder as we ducked and wove through the crowd until we came… to the men's room.
Suddenly his urgency took on a new light.
Now, I am not a girly girl. I wear pants. And men's shoes. But I'm not a bull dyke; I've never been mistaken for a man in real life. I mentioned this. I offered to wait. Outside.
"Nah, it's no problem," said the Apparition.
"No, really," I said. "I'm afraid I'm not dyke enough to go in there."
"Oh, you're totally dyke enough!" laughed the Apparition, dragging me through the doors.
Strange, but somehow the world did not disintegrate when I stepped inside. Though I got a few odd looks. But it seemed that most of the guys there either didn't care, or were unsure (this being, after all, a furry convention) whether I was simply one of those men.
However, their looks had nothing on brothers when I emerged from the men's room, White Apparition in tow. I swear, his eyes were this --> O.O <-- big.
Oh, the lawls we had! And yet strangely, I never did get the Apparition's name; Devin, or Chris, I think. Anyway, he said it, but I think was I too occupied with Not Looking Down at the time to remember it properly. But he's an awesome guy, and tells great stories. And spontaneously smooches people. Well, at least, semi-dykish women.
I have since come to the conclusion that my personality attracts mostly old ladies and gay men.*
My, what I good thing I enjoy being single! 8D
So. SATURDAY I was tired, my feet hurt, and my arms were sore. Still had a great time, though, thanks to meeting up with Jibba's roomies Waggs and Niles. Niles especially is fun to hang out with; I swear, the man cannot walk more than ten feet at a fur con without running into someone he knows. Much hilarity and hijinks ensue. I bought him lunch; he professed his undying devotion; we hung out of the rest of the day. (And yes, he's gay too. THEY COME OUT OF THE WOODWORK WHEN I'M AROUND I DON'T KNOW WHY!) Saturday night we hung out at the internet lounge and showed each other our characters. He says my avatar looks like a man. I say his looks like a girl. Yay for androgyny! Also, I fear we had a great deal of fun and laughs at the expense of Gomer over Gmail chat. So, um… sorry Gomer! You were a great sport, really, but you were up against three furries (hola Kimmy!) fighting over a keyboard. You didn't stand a chance!
SUNDAY was a mixed bag; on the upside I got to hang with Waggs and Niles and watch the Critterlympics and show my Sugarauntie, cousin, and other Aunt around the con-oh, and come to find I actually sold something in the art show, joy of joys. But then after lunch I was attacked by Pain, and had to go sit in a chair for a few hours, shivering, shaking, and in a cold sweat before the ibuprofen kicked in. Really, men complain about how getting kicked in the nuts hurts, but dude… we women get our dosage of pain monthly if you know what I mean. D:
I had a wonderful fur moment though; at one point I managed to drift off to sleep, and was woken at one point by something big and soft and fluffy poking my nose. Dragging my eyes open I wake to find myself face to face with a giant raccoon. It waves, satisfied that I am not dead, and wanders off. Ah, fursuiters! <3
Fortunately I did recover in time to stagger into the Furry Night Live performance, which was something else! Words cannot really describe it, but thankfully someone taped the warm up act so I can show you that:
Let me reiterate: that was the warm up act. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase Stage Ninja.
So all in all I have to say it was a good con. Even though I missed 2 and lost one of my custom badges on the last day I had a great time; got to party, have a good time, make new friends, sell some art, and not least, chat with GOH and personal goddess Ursula Vernon who was kind enough to compliment me on my art. Oh, be still my beating heart!
A very encouraging experience to bring to AC later this year.
Til then, my furry friends! No, back to the old grind…
*Before anyone asks how I know the Apparition was gay, well, he kinda introduced himself as a "Flamboyant Faggot." Not very subtle.
So.
My first time at Further Confusion, and my second ever art show. I have to give out props to Ch'marr and his art show staff who running a good ship; despite the fact that they were not allowed access to their main room on time they still threw up the show in shapely fashion and were always helpful and nice. I know because I got to help set up the main Art Show on Thursday; I was bored and lonely (a rare thing at a furry convention) so I wandered into the GoFur den and volunteered to help set up the art show, just so I could hang my stuff.
Two and a half hours of intensive labor later and I was ready to fall over. So then I went off to get my art. By the time I dragged myself back up and around to the show (the San Jose Fairmont, where FC was held, is sort of like the Hotel Babylon from Deep Secret in that you seem to turn right angle after right angle and never get to the place you're going to. Unfortunately, I did not have a Magid with me to jerk things right again, and so I ended up doing a lot of surplus walking-this even after having just been there in October for WFC, oh, the shame!) anyway, back to the art show and got in line to check in behind a very nice young lady who turned out to be Balaa of FA. Balaa is a fantastic artist and a very nice girl to boot; I've been an admirer of her work since I joined FA, and was extremely flattered when she recognized me. We ended up side-by-side in the show which was quite awesome.
FRIDAY I took the Wonderful Mother for her first FurCon experience, and despite nearly losing her good humor in the Long Line of Registration Doom she had a fun time. I got to introduce her to Jibba (after we finished squealing and glomping each other, that is). Which was lucky; we bumped into him coming out of Reg, and it turned out to be the only time I got to see him the whole con-apparently he had friends to catch up with and they were buying him booze. Pah! Next con we go to, I am SO stalking him. Just to get vengeance. Yes, I can be Creepy-Stalker-Rondie when I want to! Fear me, I say!
A pleasant surprise on Friday, but right after my Wonderful Mother left to drive home I wandered in and found that Who's Lion is it Anyway, the awesome improve panel hosted by Allcali and SemaJay was going on. I think I actually squealed as I ran into the room. But at the Who's Lion panel, this is not out of the ordinary. Had a great time, as always, even though Allcali was sadly absent; drew them some quick fanart which made Sema laugh harder than anything I have ever done on stage. Oh well, I guess I'm a better cartoonist than a stand-up comic. Good thing: that's 2's job.
Speaking of 2 there is not much to say as he was not able to attend. This made for an all-around less-funny con, and I am looking forward very much to AC.
Friday afternoon was a little hectic; right after the Who's Lion panel some extremely athletic and beautiful young men came in and threw all the chairs into the corners and got out big bamboo sticks and poi (weights and ribbons on the end of strings) and hula-hoops. It was a strange transition from the oddball freakshow of Who's Lion to the Cool Kids crowd that gathered to spin the sticks and poi around. But then, this was the Cook Kids of the Fur Fandom, so "cool" is a bit of a relevant term.
I kid. They were all very nice and I got to spend a few hours happily spinning sticks with the amazing Fox of Fire, who helped me learn some new tricks with only the minimal amount of bruising. Yay!
Perhaps the most surreal experience, however, came Friday night when I ended up in the men's room chatting with a guy using the urinal.
This is how it happened: I wandered into a sort-of-open-mic comedy show. The guy up on stage was a Character. He was white, with bleached blond hair and wore all white clothes. Oh, and eyeshadow. Needless to say he stood out a bit. I later learned from Brother that this Character had been at WFC, which came as a bit of a surprise; because I had spent half of WFC wandering forlornly through the infinite right-angles of the Fairmont wishing it were full of furries, and he was one who had been there! And I had not spotted him! So before I left for the evening I caught him on his way out the door and introduced myself.
The next thing I knew the White Apparition had grabbed my arm and was towing me at break-neck pace across the hotel lobby. "You were at World Fantasy? That's awesome! C'mon, we gotta talk!" All this said in shouts over his shoulder as we ducked and wove through the crowd until we came… to the men's room.
Suddenly his urgency took on a new light.
Now, I am not a girly girl. I wear pants. And men's shoes. But I'm not a bull dyke; I've never been mistaken for a man in real life. I mentioned this. I offered to wait. Outside.
"Nah, it's no problem," said the Apparition.
"No, really," I said. "I'm afraid I'm not dyke enough to go in there."
"Oh, you're totally dyke enough!" laughed the Apparition, dragging me through the doors.
Strange, but somehow the world did not disintegrate when I stepped inside. Though I got a few odd looks. But it seemed that most of the guys there either didn't care, or were unsure (this being, after all, a furry convention) whether I was simply one of those men.
However, their looks had nothing on brothers when I emerged from the men's room, White Apparition in tow. I swear, his eyes were this --> O.O <-- big.
Oh, the lawls we had! And yet strangely, I never did get the Apparition's name; Devin, or Chris, I think. Anyway, he said it, but I think was I too occupied with Not Looking Down at the time to remember it properly. But he's an awesome guy, and tells great stories. And spontaneously smooches people. Well, at least, semi-dykish women.
I have since come to the conclusion that my personality attracts mostly old ladies and gay men.*
My, what I good thing I enjoy being single! 8D
So. SATURDAY I was tired, my feet hurt, and my arms were sore. Still had a great time, though, thanks to meeting up with Jibba's roomies Waggs and Niles. Niles especially is fun to hang out with; I swear, the man cannot walk more than ten feet at a fur con without running into someone he knows. Much hilarity and hijinks ensue. I bought him lunch; he professed his undying devotion; we hung out of the rest of the day. (And yes, he's gay too. THEY COME OUT OF THE WOODWORK WHEN I'M AROUND I DON'T KNOW WHY!) Saturday night we hung out at the internet lounge and showed each other our characters. He says my avatar looks like a man. I say his looks like a girl. Yay for androgyny! Also, I fear we had a great deal of fun and laughs at the expense of Gomer over Gmail chat. So, um… sorry Gomer! You were a great sport, really, but you were up against three furries (hola Kimmy!) fighting over a keyboard. You didn't stand a chance!
SUNDAY was a mixed bag; on the upside I got to hang with Waggs and Niles and watch the Critterlympics and show my Sugarauntie, cousin, and other Aunt around the con-oh, and come to find I actually sold something in the art show, joy of joys. But then after lunch I was attacked by Pain, and had to go sit in a chair for a few hours, shivering, shaking, and in a cold sweat before the ibuprofen kicked in. Really, men complain about how getting kicked in the nuts hurts, but dude… we women get our dosage of pain monthly if you know what I mean. D:
I had a wonderful fur moment though; at one point I managed to drift off to sleep, and was woken at one point by something big and soft and fluffy poking my nose. Dragging my eyes open I wake to find myself face to face with a giant raccoon. It waves, satisfied that I am not dead, and wanders off. Ah, fursuiters! <3
Fortunately I did recover in time to stagger into the Furry Night Live performance, which was something else! Words cannot really describe it, but thankfully someone taped the warm up act so I can show you that:
Click to viewLet me reiterate: that was the warm up act. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase Stage Ninja.
So all in all I have to say it was a good con. Even though I missed 2 and lost one of my custom badges on the last day I had a great time; got to party, have a good time, make new friends, sell some art, and not least, chat with GOH and personal goddess Ursula Vernon who was kind enough to compliment me on my art. Oh, be still my beating heart!
A very encouraging experience to bring to AC later this year.
Til then, my furry friends! No, back to the old grind…
*Before anyone asks how I know the Apparition was gay, well, he kinda introduced himself as a "Flamboyant Faggot." Not very subtle.