Further Confusion 2011 report
My Further Confusion 2011 trip
Well, I promised this last week, and here it is. Sorry about the wait, but had to deal with both bad weather and the con crud first.
The trip itself was off to a less then stellar start; at the local airport I and everyone else had to wait several hours while they got a mechanic to check out the plane because it hit a bird while landing. It took about two hours to find the mechanic, who then took another couple of hours to look the plane over and say, “Oh, it’s just fine, you didn’t hit anything!” I get a late connecting flight out of North Carolina on the most crowded plane I’ve ever been on and make it out to LA where I get picked up by Ken Pick. Along the way I get dinged by the airport(s) and also have to drop some last minute money at home because of storms coming in, and as such I am very low in funds for this con (but Ken helped me out a lot. Thanks, Ken!). It’s a bit late to do anything by that point, so we snatch a late supper and head back to his place.
The next day starts out fine -- the weather stays in the 60’s-70’s for the whole con. I walk around in short sleeves and wonder why the locals keep asking me if I’m cold. We head out for San Jose and pass through some great small towns on the way. Breakfast in Buelleton at a Danish pancake place (their chocolate pancakes were amazing!) and then lunch/supper at a Texas barbeque place near Gilroy AKA Garlic Capital of the World. We get in to San Jose and have to go through three sets of keys before we have one that actually works for the room. It’s not hard to see that the furry con is in town, either, as we see some fursuits right off. I saw a blue bear with lights in her suit called Sookie and a friend who I forget, a cute purple husky girl I’ve only ever seen on DA, and a very cute puppy girl made by Shadow named Leeloo. They have a nice dance that night and then it’s off to bed.
Friday -- the dealer’s den looks insane. I’m able to get a playfully racy sketchbook commission from XianJaguar, and for less than usual because she heard about my cash troubles (thanks, Brenda!). I also get a print of a pretty silver fox vixen from M’Light and a comic about an old favorite, Rossweisse from Ted Shepherd and a book of human/furry art from Heather Bruton. Ken also gets a few commission here and there, including one very cute glam pony from Ponygirl. That’s pretty much the end of shopping at the con for me.
I also get mistaken for Fred Patten by several people. Lord knows why!
The Friday night dance is cool and I get to shake a rug with one or two lovely fursuited ladies, including a cute wolf. I also meet up with Onai, Ember, and Springdale the Crux, all of whom look great. Ember the Black-Backed Jackal even remembers me from last year and we get to talk a bit, which flatters me intensely. There’s also a magnificent black wolf named Volk Z. Wolf running around as well as a huge furry demon by Quarrezel, with both getting lots of attention from non-furry ladies outside the con hotel. Man but I have got to get a fursuit.
Saturday -- The high point of the day is meeting Stoker Bramwell, who is attending the con along with Razz. I pass along greetings and best wishes from Heavy and they ask me to give the same to him (so here’s a “Hi, Heavy Horse” from Stoker and Razz, Heavy!) I take a look at the art show and man does it seem small, both the room and the amount of art. Very nice work hanging up, mind, but I’d have thought that FC would have had a bigger art show.
I hit a few panels today, including one showing off live animals such as servals and bengals. They’re very sweet cats and we ever get to pet them a bit. More sun and warmth, and more fursuits getting their photos taken by eager non-furry locals. I see more folks I know -- Tempestuous in a very lovely Revolutionary War lady cat suit, Hyena Girl looking better than ever, Jill Rabette, Sunstreak the Chakat, and Zeitgeist Vixen are just a few. Terraluna the Giant Orange County Fruit Bat is also out and spreading his wings, and it’s great to see him back. Very nice dance that night. I come back up to the room to find Ken Pick having a conversation with Scott Malcolmson, but by then I’m too tired to contribute anything helpful.
Sunday -- The con seems to be slowing down by this point, but it was still fun fior the last day. I see a last few fursuits I missed thus far, like Latin Vixen’s pretty dog girl Valerie and a gorgeous peacock-wolf suit. I also sit in on a panel on hyenas with both Hyena Girl (in suit) and her boyfriend Crocutta (out of suit). Hyena Girl is very funny during it, especially when someone comments that there “are no North American hyenas” and she just sits up straight with a loud “HMMPH!”
The dance is very memorable, not least for me getting to dance nice and slow with a lovely female black panther named Bixx Katt. A very, very lovely panthress. It’s a great end to the con.
Monday -- Things start out okay but then Ken starts having trouble with the clutch in his car. We make it into San Luis Obispo where we usually spend the night. They have the usual free spaghetti and garlic toast dinner there. Ken has to get the car repaired at a local dealer, leaving me wondering how long this will take and how heavy the price will be.
Tuesday -- The car gets repaired though it leaves us several hours behind schedule. Still, it’s a lot better than having the clutch going out on some of those roads. Not much to do back in LA. We join Steve and have dinner at a Mongolian barbeque, which is a first for me. Very nice food! Then it’s back to Ken’s place until next morning, when he runs me in to a local Denny’s for breakfast and then drops me off at LAX. The flight back is much, much better than the one out. Nowhere near as much crowding and everything is on time.
Well, that was it for FC 2011. One or two unpleasant spots aside it was a great con and I was glad to make it. Thank you, Ken and Steve, for putting me up and sponsoring me out. I hope it can happen again sometime!
Well, I promised this last week, and here it is. Sorry about the wait, but had to deal with both bad weather and the con crud first.
The trip itself was off to a less then stellar start; at the local airport I and everyone else had to wait several hours while they got a mechanic to check out the plane because it hit a bird while landing. It took about two hours to find the mechanic, who then took another couple of hours to look the plane over and say, “Oh, it’s just fine, you didn’t hit anything!” I get a late connecting flight out of North Carolina on the most crowded plane I’ve ever been on and make it out to LA where I get picked up by Ken Pick. Along the way I get dinged by the airport(s) and also have to drop some last minute money at home because of storms coming in, and as such I am very low in funds for this con (but Ken helped me out a lot. Thanks, Ken!). It’s a bit late to do anything by that point, so we snatch a late supper and head back to his place.
The next day starts out fine -- the weather stays in the 60’s-70’s for the whole con. I walk around in short sleeves and wonder why the locals keep asking me if I’m cold. We head out for San Jose and pass through some great small towns on the way. Breakfast in Buelleton at a Danish pancake place (their chocolate pancakes were amazing!) and then lunch/supper at a Texas barbeque place near Gilroy AKA Garlic Capital of the World. We get in to San Jose and have to go through three sets of keys before we have one that actually works for the room. It’s not hard to see that the furry con is in town, either, as we see some fursuits right off. I saw a blue bear with lights in her suit called Sookie and a friend who I forget, a cute purple husky girl I’ve only ever seen on DA, and a very cute puppy girl made by Shadow named Leeloo. They have a nice dance that night and then it’s off to bed.
Friday -- the dealer’s den looks insane. I’m able to get a playfully racy sketchbook commission from XianJaguar, and for less than usual because she heard about my cash troubles (thanks, Brenda!). I also get a print of a pretty silver fox vixen from M’Light and a comic about an old favorite, Rossweisse from Ted Shepherd and a book of human/furry art from Heather Bruton. Ken also gets a few commission here and there, including one very cute glam pony from Ponygirl. That’s pretty much the end of shopping at the con for me.
I also get mistaken for Fred Patten by several people. Lord knows why!
The Friday night dance is cool and I get to shake a rug with one or two lovely fursuited ladies, including a cute wolf. I also meet up with Onai, Ember, and Springdale the Crux, all of whom look great. Ember the Black-Backed Jackal even remembers me from last year and we get to talk a bit, which flatters me intensely. There’s also a magnificent black wolf named Volk Z. Wolf running around as well as a huge furry demon by Quarrezel, with both getting lots of attention from non-furry ladies outside the con hotel. Man but I have got to get a fursuit.
Saturday -- The high point of the day is meeting Stoker Bramwell, who is attending the con along with Razz. I pass along greetings and best wishes from Heavy and they ask me to give the same to him (so here’s a “Hi, Heavy Horse” from Stoker and Razz, Heavy!) I take a look at the art show and man does it seem small, both the room and the amount of art. Very nice work hanging up, mind, but I’d have thought that FC would have had a bigger art show.
I hit a few panels today, including one showing off live animals such as servals and bengals. They’re very sweet cats and we ever get to pet them a bit. More sun and warmth, and more fursuits getting their photos taken by eager non-furry locals. I see more folks I know -- Tempestuous in a very lovely Revolutionary War lady cat suit, Hyena Girl looking better than ever, Jill Rabette, Sunstreak the Chakat, and Zeitgeist Vixen are just a few. Terraluna the Giant Orange County Fruit Bat is also out and spreading his wings, and it’s great to see him back. Very nice dance that night. I come back up to the room to find Ken Pick having a conversation with Scott Malcolmson, but by then I’m too tired to contribute anything helpful.
Sunday -- The con seems to be slowing down by this point, but it was still fun fior the last day. I see a last few fursuits I missed thus far, like Latin Vixen’s pretty dog girl Valerie and a gorgeous peacock-wolf suit. I also sit in on a panel on hyenas with both Hyena Girl (in suit) and her boyfriend Crocutta (out of suit). Hyena Girl is very funny during it, especially when someone comments that there “are no North American hyenas” and she just sits up straight with a loud “HMMPH!”
The dance is very memorable, not least for me getting to dance nice and slow with a lovely female black panther named Bixx Katt. A very, very lovely panthress. It’s a great end to the con.
Monday -- Things start out okay but then Ken starts having trouble with the clutch in his car. We make it into San Luis Obispo where we usually spend the night. They have the usual free spaghetti and garlic toast dinner there. Ken has to get the car repaired at a local dealer, leaving me wondering how long this will take and how heavy the price will be.
Tuesday -- The car gets repaired though it leaves us several hours behind schedule. Still, it’s a lot better than having the clutch going out on some of those roads. Not much to do back in LA. We join Steve and have dinner at a Mongolian barbeque, which is a first for me. Very nice food! Then it’s back to Ken’s place until next morning, when he runs me in to a local Denny’s for breakfast and then drops me off at LAX. The flight back is much, much better than the one out. Nowhere near as much crowding and everything is on time.
Well, that was it for FC 2011. One or two unpleasant spots aside it was a great con and I was glad to make it. Thank you, Ken and Steve, for putting me up and sponsoring me out. I hope it can happen again sometime!