Ultra Late Anthrocon 2010 Report GO.
Man, where should I start.. Chronologically, I suppose! Those past four days were just great! Some of it may just be a touch bit of a blur, or out of order, though.. I had quite a bit to drink, and I spent most of the convention wandering about and chatting with so many folks! It was almost blissfully overwhelming.. But I'll try my best!
Oh, about the almost month-later report-- I've probably written this twice, trying my best to summarize my experience unsuccessfully.. I don't expect anyone to read this mess. XD
Wednesday was a day I planned on heading out, but I failed to find anyone to really crash with. I had no choice but to reset my Amtrak tickets to Thursday, thankfully no extra cost! Thursday itself began for me at Wednesday, 11:45pm. I spent the next few hours double-triple-quadruple checking everything. What I planned to be just a simple set of clothing stuffed into my new and huge messenger bag turned into a small luggage and messenger bag. Finished by 5am, napped 'till 8am.. a touch later than expected, but still on-time.. A quick Coinstar stop bought about $50 in extra cash. It all fell into place perfectly-- I made my train just in time for it to leave so I can then rest. I noticed that also my particular cart was the 'furry cart,' too! Shyness and sleepiness kept me from really chatting with the folks, though. I successfully avoided the uber-expensive snack cart with my own food I bought. Lesson learned from last time!
Thursday evening
Complications with the hotel.. For this year, I "unofficially" transferred my room from another fur who was unable to attend. I decided to pay full-on cash for the whole room and have my only roomie pay me the rest upon arrival. All my prior estimations were right except the hotel. Since I didn't pay with plastic, they decided to first take $100 extra dollars from me, THEN proceed to NOT deduct the first day's deposit from the grand total on my receipt, making me pay over $665.44! I didn't have that amount on me at all! I was both shocked and angry, reminding them first of the deposit which they then deducted.. But I guess partly it was my fault for not seeing the extra $100 deposit, which was a nice amount of my spending money. Roomie attempted to paypal me $100, but that didn't work due to the 3-4 business day processing. So I got dressed, and headed to the first night's dance, which I raved / danced my emotions away for almost 2 hours before they kicked usu out, and I stumbled my tired self over to the Zoo, where I ran into nothingkat. A bit of chatting with him and his friends and it was then off to bed before sunrise as the Zoo became empty.
Friday
I didn't really leave my room 'till 3pm as I waited for my roomie and long-time friend, Peter to arrive. Growing fearful that he got lost or something, I went out to find him. We apparently even had a bomb threat in Pittsburgh, as I stayed briefly to look on before I disappeared! Interesting that a lot of convention goers weren't aware! Turned out to be a false alarm, though. As I made my way back to the hotel, unsuccessful in finding him, he was already in the room. O.o; We then ran into his own friend as well, Jynx, had some dinner at a restaurant that we didn't spot in the diner guide-- Max and Erma's with Jynx's boyfriend simply known as 'SD' :3 I'm not sure what his FA is or anything.. No signs welcoming furries usually tells me the place isn't too furry-friendly.. Though it turns out the place had a slight 'conservative' air. The food was awesome and the service was too, regardless! We all went to the convention as I discussed my big party-mood, which was then granted thanks to Jynx.. He introduced us to a room full'a Florida furs ( I think! )-- Moxari, Kryphos, BlueNeko, and Slyphox I believe.. and another fur, which I really wish I can recall the name of.. They were all welcoming enough to allow us all to travel in one big happy, drunken group and share their cache of booze, and their Westin room! From this point on, their room sort of became the little 'base of operations', or 'rendezvous point' where I can find most of the folks if we ever separated, or needed something to do between events. Of course, little time was wasted with drinking. I tried all sorts of different beers and some from their keg. Friday was spent more with room-partying than anything rave-dance related.. Or any convention activities for that matter! From there, I made it my mission to just be social!
But.. That was about my only regret about the convention, as I do enjoy some of the panels or con events. I ran into nothingkat, and another dude I haven't seen in a long time-- Roberto! He's a long-time local I haven't seen in forever, and who commented on the rather great bit of weight loss I've made. |3 We said our hellos before parting ways.. Donno if he's into furry anymore, but he IS at a furry convention. :D Most of Friday was spent chatting in the Zoo, going to room parties, making a sneak by over to the dance, wandering about with friends and crashing a room party or two briefly, saying hello to folks and trying the various concoctions folks made their 'main drink' in that room. I didn't get back to my room 'till around 4:30am or so when everyone just felt like retiring.
Saturday
No hangover! :D Took my roomie, Peter over to the Dealer's Den / Artist's Alley-- If that's one thing I never miss, its this thing! I was interested to find that they separated the two, but my brain's fuzzy. My last Anthrocon was in 2006 and I didn't recall it being that big! A friend and I spent time weaving about, and I spent time trying to shake off the bit of awe and overwhelming sensation of having a lot of your favorite artists in one room! Not to mention the vast concentration of geek! Peter and I had to stop by Fel's table, as we're pretty big fans. :D I stood anxiously while my friend Peter and him chatted. After a while, he put in a commission of his character, a Siamese cat. After a bit of getting my bearings, I went and gave him a little chat, and even put in a commission of my own! Fel's a tough guy to catch! After that, I said hello and made small-talk to whomever wasn't swamped with work.. I believe I even saw ModemRedpill there as well! I also ran into Rensis, a local I was once acquainted with and an artist who seemed to have taken a liking to my fruit bat character and squeezed me into his queue for a commission for my badge. :3 My second regret this year was not being at the Dealer's Den the very moment the doors opened! Now all the artists had their heads down, or their eyes clearly spoke with a bit of exhaustion, or a lack of sleep, emotional draining.. Or what-have-you. I decided to just not be the asshole, and nodded or said hello to whomever responded. :3 I managed to pick up about three badges, and one pr0n piece by Fel, and as expected-- I only got just one of all the commissions. Everyone's queue was swamped to hell. Its exactly why I hit the Dealer's Den early! After that, we finally stumbled off together to have dinner at Fernando's, a sandwich shop almost a stone-shot away from the convention itself. Crammed with furs!
For some reason, I'm always amazed at how tolerable Pittsburgh in general seems to be of the furs-- though I heard any Sports-oriented places were quite unfriendly. But anyway, I remember wandering about, recalling running into local folks I haven't seen in AGES like freakylynx and catmandux too! I ran into raz_raccoon whom we had a bit of catching-up and chatting before he invited me to a room party ran by local furs. After that, a bit more wandering was done, before we all eventually reunited with all the others. Me and Peter decided to go to the restaurant that was at the doorstep of the convention since Jynx was eating there with his own group of friends. Me and Peter sat on the side with rum n' coke and just talked 'till we left .. Meeting back again at the Westin room for more nightly plans. Plans were made to hit the dance, but everyone got caught up with all the chatting that we just barely made it for the last 15-20 minutes. I was a little disappointed, though the night was young, and once again I was in company. :3 I found myself in various places such as a Canadian room party, which all seemed to welcome me all the same :D I stumbled about, following the noise and trying to make some of the room parties I did get invited to.. But I tried sticking to just the Westin. I wasn't too certain about traveling outside of the convention in my tipsy state. Unfortunately, most room parties seemed to have kicked folks out by 12am, which then I spent most of the time wandering, chatting with any strangers that seemed to have withstood my presence on just about any other subject I can think of on the fly. X3 A reunion with Jynx, some chatting was done with folks abound.. I traveled around the Zoo before I realized that it was slowly emptying out. In my tipsy state, I tried my best in understanding this "Wolf" game a circle of remaining furs were playing, and drunkenly explained it to Jynx before we parted. Jynx ran into his boyfriend, then he led me to my room before we finished for the evening. I slept peacefully, though I slept in my dang clothes. :| Saturday evening was a bit sad knowing that Sunday was the day things would begin to officially end.
Sunday
We awoke early enough to actually have a decent breakfast! Cherrie's Diner-- it was a bit more homey and simpler. Less fancy than most stuff around the convention but the breakfast was amazing! <3 I had a rather large breakfast, replacing whatever the alcohol took out of me the prior evening. Sunday was a bit more laid-back-- we went to the Dealer's Den, staying to near-closing time. I was so angry about the money situation! I wasn't really able to get any gifts for anyone due to money issues that wouldn't solve until the end of the convention, itself. :| As I've discovered, most of the artists who I commissioned were swamped. Though I did finally run into Ganador! He used to be a local to me, 'till one day he sort of just went poof.. We reconnected, too! I visited them, reassured them to take it easy before we all parted ways. :3 After that, a final dinner meet was attempted, but it failed. Peter and I nibbled on a restaurant appetizer before I made the decision to just head back to the convention. Jynx and I went to find some mixer drinks while Peter went back to the Westin room. We went back up, where the strong spirits ran low.. But apparently enough was left for me to get a little buzzed on the Southern Comfort drink, and some remaining beer. I was happy as then we all got together to order some pizzas! It was a nice conclusion before we went out to party s'more! As the evening fell, I was pretty amazed to find that nearly the majority of the furs were inebriated to some degree! I was actually I happy to stay all the way into Monday morning because Dead Dog was fun! There was another smaller dance in which I unfortunately didn't participate in. I wandered about trying to fulfill a personal promise to capture as much footage as I could, and so I did! Fursuiters everywhere! Even a small group of zombies walked by which I captured a great bit of footage of, too. :D The evening made a very slow, almost unwanting conclusion.. I avoided (and was subsequently barred!) from drinking more to avoid missing my early train ride out. Most of my roomies began retiring for the evening, our little base in the Westin kicked us out to get some rest for the Monday journey drive to Florida, as with most folks were doing. The Zoo closed around 1am as well so most folks retreated to their own more private final get-togethers. I went to my journey with Jynx back to the room. I myself couldn't sleep, really.. Monday morning from around 3-4am onward was a depressive blur. Except mayhaps a slight blink before I saw Peter getting ready to leave for his plane ride. We had one last, long embrace before he left.. After he left and I know he was safe, I pretty much took a very brief nap. Jynx and I got up and I began the whole process of checking out..
Monday
Monday morning was a bit scary. Check-out didn't want to give me my $100 back, instead applying it to the credit card of the prior room's owner. I thought the worst has come, and I was to discover that I was probably scammed or something.. But thankfully it just turned out to be a case of newbie-worker error.. The attendants gave me $100 cash, and I apologized for being "that guy." I grabbed as much coffee as I could from the little built-in 7-11 the hotel conveniently had, and a cinnamon roll.. It was early 6am and I had plenty of time to hang, so me and Jynx went to the convention center. The Westin and convention center played a rather neat disappearing trick with Anthrocon-- most Anthrocon adverts, decoration and the like were gone. The music in the lobby was replaced by that boring droning muzak.. Maybe a stray furry or two was about, and other folks with their huge fursuit storage bins carrying them all out one by one to awaiting cars, and the look of confusion of some folk returned to some newcomers' faces with some folks still wearing tails. I believe a Christian convention was to take place after ours. Me and Jynx stayed, chatted about video games while I gave passing nods and smiles to any whom I recognized as furry before the final walk was made. Jynx lead me to the Amtrak station, finding mild comfort in seeing just any furry in line. Unfortunately, most con-goers were sort of scattered about.. I was rather alone most of the trip, though I just tried my best to sleep during the ride. The whole trip lasted about 11-12 hours or so due to Amtrak delays and a stumbling about the NYC subways. Back to the noise. Back to the crowds. Back to the grind, I suppose.
In conclusion..
Overall, it was probably the best Anthrocon, yet! 2004 was my very first convention-- I was new to the scene so to speak. Fursuits made me nervous or creeped me out. By 2010 I fricking wanted one, even after briefly trying it. :D I did a LOT more partying and mingling on my own without assistance, most folks said that they found me silly and fun to be with! I was with more friends, met more people and made more friends. :3 My only regrets were not taking enough photos, and video footage was a little disjointed. Editing will take a bit, as I made the silly mistake of recording with my phone holding it length-wise instead of width-wise. I got recording at a decent 720x480 resolution-- better than my digital camera, AND with sound as well. Playing fullscreen on my 1920x1200 screen shows little artificing and still retains a crystal clarity. Next convention I make, I will make better plans to take video. I was also very happy with how staff and furs themselves treated one another. I saw little to no drama, and in the case where I dropped a few very important things from my messenger bag, some furs served as life-savers! I felt welcome even by the folks at the Westin room as well, and I hope I recalled in chipping in a donation for consuming some of that alcohol. :3 Of course, I'm dealing with a serious bout of post-con depression, compounded by not seeing Peter for quite possibly a little while, and returning to the "real world," but I feel totally strengthened. I haven't had a great vacation like that in too long! Here's hoping this new energy can serve well in life!
Oh, about the almost month-later report-- I've probably written this twice, trying my best to summarize my experience unsuccessfully.. I don't expect anyone to read this mess. XD
Wednesday was a day I planned on heading out, but I failed to find anyone to really crash with. I had no choice but to reset my Amtrak tickets to Thursday, thankfully no extra cost! Thursday itself began for me at Wednesday, 11:45pm. I spent the next few hours double-triple-quadruple checking everything. What I planned to be just a simple set of clothing stuffed into my new and huge messenger bag turned into a small luggage and messenger bag. Finished by 5am, napped 'till 8am.. a touch later than expected, but still on-time.. A quick Coinstar stop bought about $50 in extra cash. It all fell into place perfectly-- I made my train just in time for it to leave so I can then rest. I noticed that also my particular cart was the 'furry cart,' too! Shyness and sleepiness kept me from really chatting with the folks, though. I successfully avoided the uber-expensive snack cart with my own food I bought. Lesson learned from last time!
Thursday evening
Complications with the hotel.. For this year, I "unofficially" transferred my room from another fur who was unable to attend. I decided to pay full-on cash for the whole room and have my only roomie pay me the rest upon arrival. All my prior estimations were right except the hotel. Since I didn't pay with plastic, they decided to first take $100 extra dollars from me, THEN proceed to NOT deduct the first day's deposit from the grand total on my receipt, making me pay over $665.44! I didn't have that amount on me at all! I was both shocked and angry, reminding them first of the deposit which they then deducted.. But I guess partly it was my fault for not seeing the extra $100 deposit, which was a nice amount of my spending money. Roomie attempted to paypal me $100, but that didn't work due to the 3-4 business day processing. So I got dressed, and headed to the first night's dance, which I raved / danced my emotions away for almost 2 hours before they kicked usu out, and I stumbled my tired self over to the Zoo, where I ran into nothingkat. A bit of chatting with him and his friends and it was then off to bed before sunrise as the Zoo became empty.
Friday
I didn't really leave my room 'till 3pm as I waited for my roomie and long-time friend, Peter to arrive. Growing fearful that he got lost or something, I went out to find him. We apparently even had a bomb threat in Pittsburgh, as I stayed briefly to look on before I disappeared! Interesting that a lot of convention goers weren't aware! Turned out to be a false alarm, though. As I made my way back to the hotel, unsuccessful in finding him, he was already in the room. O.o; We then ran into his own friend as well, Jynx, had some dinner at a restaurant that we didn't spot in the diner guide-- Max and Erma's with Jynx's boyfriend simply known as 'SD' :3 I'm not sure what his FA is or anything.. No signs welcoming furries usually tells me the place isn't too furry-friendly.. Though it turns out the place had a slight 'conservative' air. The food was awesome and the service was too, regardless! We all went to the convention as I discussed my big party-mood, which was then granted thanks to Jynx.. He introduced us to a room full'a Florida furs ( I think! )-- Moxari, Kryphos, BlueNeko, and Slyphox I believe.. and another fur, which I really wish I can recall the name of.. They were all welcoming enough to allow us all to travel in one big happy, drunken group and share their cache of booze, and their Westin room! From this point on, their room sort of became the little 'base of operations', or 'rendezvous point' where I can find most of the folks if we ever separated, or needed something to do between events. Of course, little time was wasted with drinking. I tried all sorts of different beers and some from their keg. Friday was spent more with room-partying than anything rave-dance related.. Or any convention activities for that matter! From there, I made it my mission to just be social!
But.. That was about my only regret about the convention, as I do enjoy some of the panels or con events. I ran into nothingkat, and another dude I haven't seen in a long time-- Roberto! He's a long-time local I haven't seen in forever, and who commented on the rather great bit of weight loss I've made. |3 We said our hellos before parting ways.. Donno if he's into furry anymore, but he IS at a furry convention. :D Most of Friday was spent chatting in the Zoo, going to room parties, making a sneak by over to the dance, wandering about with friends and crashing a room party or two briefly, saying hello to folks and trying the various concoctions folks made their 'main drink' in that room. I didn't get back to my room 'till around 4:30am or so when everyone just felt like retiring.
Saturday
No hangover! :D Took my roomie, Peter over to the Dealer's Den / Artist's Alley-- If that's one thing I never miss, its this thing! I was interested to find that they separated the two, but my brain's fuzzy. My last Anthrocon was in 2006 and I didn't recall it being that big! A friend and I spent time weaving about, and I spent time trying to shake off the bit of awe and overwhelming sensation of having a lot of your favorite artists in one room! Not to mention the vast concentration of geek! Peter and I had to stop by Fel's table, as we're pretty big fans. :D I stood anxiously while my friend Peter and him chatted. After a while, he put in a commission of his character, a Siamese cat. After a bit of getting my bearings, I went and gave him a little chat, and even put in a commission of my own! Fel's a tough guy to catch! After that, I said hello and made small-talk to whomever wasn't swamped with work.. I believe I even saw ModemRedpill there as well! I also ran into Rensis, a local I was once acquainted with and an artist who seemed to have taken a liking to my fruit bat character and squeezed me into his queue for a commission for my badge. :3 My second regret this year was not being at the Dealer's Den the very moment the doors opened! Now all the artists had their heads down, or their eyes clearly spoke with a bit of exhaustion, or a lack of sleep, emotional draining.. Or what-have-you. I decided to just not be the asshole, and nodded or said hello to whomever responded. :3 I managed to pick up about three badges, and one pr0n piece by Fel, and as expected-- I only got just one of all the commissions. Everyone's queue was swamped to hell. Its exactly why I hit the Dealer's Den early! After that, we finally stumbled off together to have dinner at Fernando's, a sandwich shop almost a stone-shot away from the convention itself. Crammed with furs!
For some reason, I'm always amazed at how tolerable Pittsburgh in general seems to be of the furs-- though I heard any Sports-oriented places were quite unfriendly. But anyway, I remember wandering about, recalling running into local folks I haven't seen in AGES like freakylynx and catmandux too! I ran into raz_raccoon whom we had a bit of catching-up and chatting before he invited me to a room party ran by local furs. After that, a bit more wandering was done, before we all eventually reunited with all the others. Me and Peter decided to go to the restaurant that was at the doorstep of the convention since Jynx was eating there with his own group of friends. Me and Peter sat on the side with rum n' coke and just talked 'till we left .. Meeting back again at the Westin room for more nightly plans. Plans were made to hit the dance, but everyone got caught up with all the chatting that we just barely made it for the last 15-20 minutes. I was a little disappointed, though the night was young, and once again I was in company. :3 I found myself in various places such as a Canadian room party, which all seemed to welcome me all the same :D I stumbled about, following the noise and trying to make some of the room parties I did get invited to.. But I tried sticking to just the Westin. I wasn't too certain about traveling outside of the convention in my tipsy state. Unfortunately, most room parties seemed to have kicked folks out by 12am, which then I spent most of the time wandering, chatting with any strangers that seemed to have withstood my presence on just about any other subject I can think of on the fly. X3 A reunion with Jynx, some chatting was done with folks abound.. I traveled around the Zoo before I realized that it was slowly emptying out. In my tipsy state, I tried my best in understanding this "Wolf" game a circle of remaining furs were playing, and drunkenly explained it to Jynx before we parted. Jynx ran into his boyfriend, then he led me to my room before we finished for the evening. I slept peacefully, though I slept in my dang clothes. :| Saturday evening was a bit sad knowing that Sunday was the day things would begin to officially end.
Sunday
We awoke early enough to actually have a decent breakfast! Cherrie's Diner-- it was a bit more homey and simpler. Less fancy than most stuff around the convention but the breakfast was amazing! <3 I had a rather large breakfast, replacing whatever the alcohol took out of me the prior evening. Sunday was a bit more laid-back-- we went to the Dealer's Den, staying to near-closing time. I was so angry about the money situation! I wasn't really able to get any gifts for anyone due to money issues that wouldn't solve until the end of the convention, itself. :| As I've discovered, most of the artists who I commissioned were swamped. Though I did finally run into Ganador! He used to be a local to me, 'till one day he sort of just went poof.. We reconnected, too! I visited them, reassured them to take it easy before we all parted ways. :3 After that, a final dinner meet was attempted, but it failed. Peter and I nibbled on a restaurant appetizer before I made the decision to just head back to the convention. Jynx and I went to find some mixer drinks while Peter went back to the Westin room. We went back up, where the strong spirits ran low.. But apparently enough was left for me to get a little buzzed on the Southern Comfort drink, and some remaining beer. I was happy as then we all got together to order some pizzas! It was a nice conclusion before we went out to party s'more! As the evening fell, I was pretty amazed to find that nearly the majority of the furs were inebriated to some degree! I was actually I happy to stay all the way into Monday morning because Dead Dog was fun! There was another smaller dance in which I unfortunately didn't participate in. I wandered about trying to fulfill a personal promise to capture as much footage as I could, and so I did! Fursuiters everywhere! Even a small group of zombies walked by which I captured a great bit of footage of, too. :D The evening made a very slow, almost unwanting conclusion.. I avoided (and was subsequently barred!) from drinking more to avoid missing my early train ride out. Most of my roomies began retiring for the evening, our little base in the Westin kicked us out to get some rest for the Monday journey drive to Florida, as with most folks were doing. The Zoo closed around 1am as well so most folks retreated to their own more private final get-togethers. I went to my journey with Jynx back to the room. I myself couldn't sleep, really.. Monday morning from around 3-4am onward was a depressive blur. Except mayhaps a slight blink before I saw Peter getting ready to leave for his plane ride. We had one last, long embrace before he left.. After he left and I know he was safe, I pretty much took a very brief nap. Jynx and I got up and I began the whole process of checking out..
Monday
Monday morning was a bit scary. Check-out didn't want to give me my $100 back, instead applying it to the credit card of the prior room's owner. I thought the worst has come, and I was to discover that I was probably scammed or something.. But thankfully it just turned out to be a case of newbie-worker error.. The attendants gave me $100 cash, and I apologized for being "that guy." I grabbed as much coffee as I could from the little built-in 7-11 the hotel conveniently had, and a cinnamon roll.. It was early 6am and I had plenty of time to hang, so me and Jynx went to the convention center. The Westin and convention center played a rather neat disappearing trick with Anthrocon-- most Anthrocon adverts, decoration and the like were gone. The music in the lobby was replaced by that boring droning muzak.. Maybe a stray furry or two was about, and other folks with their huge fursuit storage bins carrying them all out one by one to awaiting cars, and the look of confusion of some folk returned to some newcomers' faces with some folks still wearing tails. I believe a Christian convention was to take place after ours. Me and Jynx stayed, chatted about video games while I gave passing nods and smiles to any whom I recognized as furry before the final walk was made. Jynx lead me to the Amtrak station, finding mild comfort in seeing just any furry in line. Unfortunately, most con-goers were sort of scattered about.. I was rather alone most of the trip, though I just tried my best to sleep during the ride. The whole trip lasted about 11-12 hours or so due to Amtrak delays and a stumbling about the NYC subways. Back to the noise. Back to the crowds. Back to the grind, I suppose.
In conclusion..
Overall, it was probably the best Anthrocon, yet! 2004 was my very first convention-- I was new to the scene so to speak. Fursuits made me nervous or creeped me out. By 2010 I fricking wanted one, even after briefly trying it. :D I did a LOT more partying and mingling on my own without assistance, most folks said that they found me silly and fun to be with! I was with more friends, met more people and made more friends. :3 My only regrets were not taking enough photos, and video footage was a little disjointed. Editing will take a bit, as I made the silly mistake of recording with my phone holding it length-wise instead of width-wise. I got recording at a decent 720x480 resolution-- better than my digital camera, AND with sound as well. Playing fullscreen on my 1920x1200 screen shows little artificing and still retains a crystal clarity. Next convention I make, I will make better plans to take video. I was also very happy with how staff and furs themselves treated one another. I saw little to no drama, and in the case where I dropped a few very important things from my messenger bag, some furs served as life-savers! I felt welcome even by the folks at the Westin room as well, and I hope I recalled in chipping in a donation for consuming some of that alcohol. :3 Of course, I'm dealing with a serious bout of post-con depression, compounded by not seeing Peter for quite possibly a little while, and returning to the "real world," but I feel totally strengthened. I haven't had a great vacation like that in too long! Here's hoping this new energy can serve well in life!