The Storm at MFF
Well, I went to my first 'official' furry convention this last weekend - the infamous MFF up in Chitown. *chuckles* It was an interesting experience, to say the least. Since it's a relatively "full" (read, VERBOSE) report, I'll split it into sections for ease of screens ;)
I travelled up north with wolfpaws & rozberk from KC, leaving around 9 in the AM & getting to the hotel around 4-4:30ish. We got our room, dropped off our bags, then went downstairs for registration... at which point, I was awarded 'Best Handwriting at the Con' by one of the guys at registration *laughs* Said my form was the easiest to read & had the best handwriting of any they had seen thus far that day...which considering registration had been going for many hours by that point...well, it was pathetic *laughs* But a good start to the con ;)
After Registration, sat around in the hall for awhile & people-watched to get a feel for things. One of the first things I noticed was that it was pretty much like being at GenCon (only with much less people & in a smaller hotel & with a stress over interaction over gaming...and with furries instead of gamers...). I spotted someone that I figured looked like one of two people I was gonna be actively hunting for at the Con, wearing a rather distinctive t-shirt...and then the other one came up to talk with Wolfpaws for a bit, but I bided my time - Friday night was for lurking, there would be plenty of time to pounce on Saturday ;)
Ended up going out to dinner with Wolfpaws, Rozberk & some friends of theirs - sephebonblade,wingedwoof, JoMo, RC Rabbit, Sylvan & FoeClan. We dined at Houlihans, which took /For-bloody-ever/ >.< And the burger sucked royally in the worse possible ways...but the Georgia Peach (Long Island) Iced Tea was good (if small)...and expensive...but the company was definitely worth it :)
After dinner, we headed back for the hotel, where we once more began dispersing and going separate paths. I was a bit exhausted from the long drive, so went upstairs to take a nap...and ended up passing out until morning - not moving a muscle, even when 'Paws and Roz' made it to bed whenever they got there. And before you start tossing around accusations of me being a light-weight, I made up for it on Saturday, so there! Hush and keep reading! :P
I woke up around 6:30 Saturday morning, sorta laid around in bed for another two hours, got up, showered & refreshed myself, then headed downstairs for some coffee & plotting.
I did a stroll around through Artist Alley, which was overly crowded & poorly situated, and yet a truly humbling experience. I'm a half-way decent artist, with just enough talent to make me a damned good Art Editor, but some of the artists I saw in there blew me outta the water. I'll be honest here and admit...I think that most furry artists are way too generous with the amount they charge for their commissions...sketchbooks are one thing, and that's awesome...but for full-blown commissions...*just shakes his head and mutters under his breath* There were way too many awesome artists in there that were working their tales off in order to earn airfare home (although I don't even want to get started on ranting about that...). It made me stop and think for a bit about seeing if I could set up a panel or something on how to sell one's self as a professional illustrator/artist. That thought is filed away for some further research at the moment...anyways, on with the con-report.
After walking through Artist Alley, went to the Dealer's Room where I already knew I was gonna end up blowing away most of the free-cash I had...and did, sure enough (not that I brought much, on purpose)! *laughs* Picked up a 'Book Wyrm' T-shirt for the In-Denial-That-He's-A-Dragon-Scalie-Roommate, a couple of small prints for the Snow Mao roommate, and ended up getting myself a couple of Dark Natasha prints - one of Anubis (the same one that's been on my desktop for a year & the wallpaper on my cellphone) & a winged-wolf one that's about as close to a non-commissioned image of one of my two main alts on Taps as I'm gonna find.
Finishing up there, took the stuff up to the room, grabbed my bag & went downstairs to relax for awhile with my sketchpad. While watching the main foyer, I spotted one of my two targets walking by with his boyfriend. So, wicked plotter that I am, I started text-messaging him...took him only a few clues to realize who it was, ended up tracking him down at the Art Show where I got to give hurst a big hug for the first time :) That was awesome, finally gettin' to meet him in the flesh after talking off and on for a few years. It was even better seeing him happy & his boyfriend was adorable - so all was good with the world. *grins crookedly* After doing some quick catching up, let Hurst & Blaine (hope I'm spelling that right..d'oh!) go on their own path, then set out to hunt down my second target.
Soon enough, mere minutes after beginning my hunt, I saw him amongst the masses, his white t-shirt a beacon amongst faux-fur, black leather, black t-shirts, wide loads, and other distractions. Weaving through the crowd, I sought to catch up, trying to raise my voice above the chaotic din of hundreds of furries chattering simultaneously, all to no avail. Finally, however, he turned off the beaten path, heading downstairs towards the Dealer Room. Breaking free of the relentless furry-rapids, I veered right and spotted him turning the corner. Rushing forth, I called out one last time, and northwlf turned around. *grins crookedly*
My adopted 'son' through mateship with Greylopht (though we are no longer together for the here and now), North was a bit suprised to see me...and I'll be damned if one of the first things he said to me wasn't, "I thought you'd be taller..." >.<
So, finally got to meet North in person, hung out for a good while, talking and catching up and stuff, got to see his boyfriend (wolfknightx)'s in-bloody-credible art portfolio, and generally just chilled for awhile in the lobby, hanging out with 'Paws, Roz & others as they passed through. *laughs* North's mate was out with friends seeing Casino Royale, so once he got back with their friends, North headed out for awhile while a few of us grabbed our coats & ran to Wendy's for some cheap dinner. As we were getting ready, I was heading upstairs when all of a sudden, I hear a pounding on the ground behind me...I get on the elevator, just as silverfenrir thrust out his hand in introduction. *laughs* Apparently, 'Paws had spotted him & pointed him in my direction...so for one of my high points at the con, I got chased down by a SilverFenrir ;) *chuckles* 'course, made me wish I was in much better shape, but was still good seein' him, even if he wasn't pimping his art.
'Paws, Roz, RC Rabbit & I headed for the Pigtails for dinner & when we got back, we met up with kamberlane and his friends - Leandra & her girlfriend, Eryth (I believe?) and delievered their dinner. Spliting ways once again, we ended up meeting up at the bar with Seph, Geemo & company where we chatted for awhile before getting ready to move up to their MASSIVE (read handicap-equipped *hees* though neither of them are HC) room, where we were gonna have a small (drinking) party.
Just as I finished smoking outside, I got a call from North, who had stayed behind while the mate had taken a friend of theirs out to the bar to celebrate a 21st birthday, so grabbed him and headed upstairs to join in the festivities. Seph, Geemo, JoMo, Roz, 'Paws and others were getting started with the drinkin', so I joined right in and had a blast. Party went on 'til some time after midnight, at which point some were gettin' tired & North was about ready to head on out. Me, I was still full-steam ahead, so went downstairs to smoke, where I was joined by the living desert, chsck83. *laughs* We blathered on for a few hours about religion, coming out and other things that I'm probably completely forgetting about. It was probably around 3 or so before he headed for bed, and still going strong, I joined in on yet another conversation outside, this one about music and music culture, somehow managing to hold my own despite being a total airhead about music!
When that broke up, after about an hour or so, I went back inside & back to roaming, where I ran into a Bucktown Tiger, who I had met down at Oklacon last year...somehow, despite the numerous hair changes over the last year (which is a separate post by itself!), he managed to recognize me, so we joked around for at least a half-hour or longer, where being the bouncy drunk that I can be at times, I proceeded to show those youngin's around that I am still fairly bloody limber, even managing to hook my left leg behind my neck while standing up! Well, okay, I had some support from Bucktown holdin' my waist, but still! You try that some time! ;P
Getting twitchy, I went back to roaming once again, when I spotted a curious gathering in the foyer, where people seemed to be sitting in a large circle playing a game. Always curious, I perched on the railing and watched a bunch of people playing some game about Werewolves, Seers, Owls, Werehamsters (?!?!?!), Bodyguards and stuff like that! Was fun to watch, and kept me occupied for another hour or so *laughs*
Going outside for another death-stick, still a bit tipsy despite having run out of alcohol more than 2 hours prior, I met up with Pistol-Pup, where we discussed costume design for awhile (*hangs his head in shame* Yes, a spectre of my dark past - I was a costume design major in college), before realizing that dawn was rapidly approaching and figuring I had best try to at least get some sleep. Saying my good nights...er, good mornings...I went upstairs and hit bed around 6:30ish, only to be roused by 10:30! ;.;
Sunday, I suffered. Oh, did I suffer. With only 4 hours of sleep, my body was definitely unhappy with me. I grumped around, probably looking like the Stormy One properly, despite how much pure coffee I poured down my gullet. I spent much of the day just sitting around, waiting for my head to stop aching, although I definitely pulled myself together to say a most reluctant farewell to North, since he & his mate were heading back that day. After telling him to give my love to Seneca (one of my other adopted sons), I went back to nursing my hangover and inking over one of my art projects.
To be honest, after Saturday, for most of Sunday I took it pretty laid back - maybe because I sensed something big on the horizon...something that could potentitally hold great devestation. I was saving myself for what would unfold that evening...
At around 8 or so, Kamber was bouncing around the hotel like a Ferret whose blood had been secretly replaced with an unholy concoction of Meth-Espresso-, determined to have a party in the room he was sharing with Roxycat, Leandra & Eryth...so, grabbing up the remaining alcohol we had left over from the night before (blasphemous, I know, havin' leftovers like that, be nice!). While Roz got busy running the bar, chatted and made nice with the few people that were there...when suddenly more and more people began showing up, driven by the relentless Force of Nature known as The Kamber. Within less than 2 hours, the tiny room was packed with at least 30 'permanent' residents at the party, and over the next few hours, I couldn't even begin to tell you how many others came and went outta curiosity. *laughs* Roz played Bartender all night, hosting whenever Kamber was out on one of his hunting-gathering missions, whether it be for cups (we had a noted lack of drinking cups...to the point that for awhile there, we were even cutting up the Pepsi bottles to make Ghetto-Glasses!) or to track someone down or to just get outta the stuffy room for some fresh air. *snickers* By the end of the night, it was deteremined that the first impromptu Dead Horse party was a rousing success!
Unfortunately, most of the names and faces are a blur, although I do remember this absolutely drop-dead gorgeous guy briefly passing through...short, pale blond hair, blue eyes, silver-rimmed glasses, wearing shorts & a dark blue t-shirt emblazoned with a white tiger...*shivers and grins impishly*
Regardless, I had a great time, but after the night before, I was staying low key, only had one drink and headed for bed around 1:30-2am, although from what I understand, the party continued on afterwards & even moved to a different room (probably following noise complaints *snickers*). Went back to the room, pre-packed just about everything, pulled my clothes out for the ride home the next day & realized I was defintely ready to go home, so I curled up and went to sleep.
Come waking up around 8:30ish, it was time to head home. *laughs* Check out went quickly, and we were on the road by 9...I slept through much of it, outta the same instincts I developed as a kid - sleep makes travel times feel much shorter! Got home around 5:30ish, unpacked, passed out presents, started laundry and got ready for going back to work the next day...by that, I mean I jumped on to WoW for a few hours & played catch-up to the room-mates who ruthlessly took advantage of my time away to surpass me in levels! Bastards! *snickers*
That was my weekend away. Believe it or not, it's rather an abbreviated/truncated entry, but there are some things that don't need to be said, nor should they be ;) I met some great people & not only am I planning on attending next year, but now I'm even debating going to MFM as well :)
I was pretty quiet this weekend, managing to put quite a few faces to the names I see online or hear about, in some cases being pleasantly suprised and in others being horribly disappointed (no, not naming any names)...and thanking the powers that be that very few people know all my alts or know me well enough to have been disappointed one way or another, although I do hope that I wasn't a total disappointment to the few people that I did enjoy spending time with :)
Anyways, I've blathered on WAY too much at this point, so I'm gonna go ahead and end this entry so I can prepare for my final entry of the day! After which, I'll pretty much be caught up with things, and will TRY and updated more often, particularly since North made me promise to be online more often...*grins crookedly*
This is StormyWolf, aka Tribal, signing off ;)
Stormy
I travelled up north with wolfpaws & rozberk from KC, leaving around 9 in the AM & getting to the hotel around 4-4:30ish. We got our room, dropped off our bags, then went downstairs for registration... at which point, I was awarded 'Best Handwriting at the Con' by one of the guys at registration *laughs* Said my form was the easiest to read & had the best handwriting of any they had seen thus far that day...which considering registration had been going for many hours by that point...well, it was pathetic *laughs* But a good start to the con ;)
After Registration, sat around in the hall for awhile & people-watched to get a feel for things. One of the first things I noticed was that it was pretty much like being at GenCon (only with much less people & in a smaller hotel & with a stress over interaction over gaming...and with furries instead of gamers...). I spotted someone that I figured looked like one of two people I was gonna be actively hunting for at the Con, wearing a rather distinctive t-shirt...and then the other one came up to talk with Wolfpaws for a bit, but I bided my time - Friday night was for lurking, there would be plenty of time to pounce on Saturday ;)
Ended up going out to dinner with Wolfpaws, Rozberk & some friends of theirs - sephebonblade,wingedwoof, JoMo, RC Rabbit, Sylvan & FoeClan. We dined at Houlihans, which took /For-bloody-ever/ >.< And the burger sucked royally in the worse possible ways...but the Georgia Peach (Long Island) Iced Tea was good (if small)...and expensive...but the company was definitely worth it :)
After dinner, we headed back for the hotel, where we once more began dispersing and going separate paths. I was a bit exhausted from the long drive, so went upstairs to take a nap...and ended up passing out until morning - not moving a muscle, even when 'Paws and Roz' made it to bed whenever they got there. And before you start tossing around accusations of me being a light-weight, I made up for it on Saturday, so there! Hush and keep reading! :P
I woke up around 6:30 Saturday morning, sorta laid around in bed for another two hours, got up, showered & refreshed myself, then headed downstairs for some coffee & plotting.
I did a stroll around through Artist Alley, which was overly crowded & poorly situated, and yet a truly humbling experience. I'm a half-way decent artist, with just enough talent to make me a damned good Art Editor, but some of the artists I saw in there blew me outta the water. I'll be honest here and admit...I think that most furry artists are way too generous with the amount they charge for their commissions...sketchbooks are one thing, and that's awesome...but for full-blown commissions...*just shakes his head and mutters under his breath* There were way too many awesome artists in there that were working their tales off in order to earn airfare home (although I don't even want to get started on ranting about that...). It made me stop and think for a bit about seeing if I could set up a panel or something on how to sell one's self as a professional illustrator/artist. That thought is filed away for some further research at the moment...anyways, on with the con-report.
After walking through Artist Alley, went to the Dealer's Room where I already knew I was gonna end up blowing away most of the free-cash I had...and did, sure enough (not that I brought much, on purpose)! *laughs* Picked up a 'Book Wyrm' T-shirt for the In-Denial-That-He's-A-Dragon-Scalie-Roommate, a couple of small prints for the Snow Mao roommate, and ended up getting myself a couple of Dark Natasha prints - one of Anubis (the same one that's been on my desktop for a year & the wallpaper on my cellphone) & a winged-wolf one that's about as close to a non-commissioned image of one of my two main alts on Taps as I'm gonna find.
Finishing up there, took the stuff up to the room, grabbed my bag & went downstairs to relax for awhile with my sketchpad. While watching the main foyer, I spotted one of my two targets walking by with his boyfriend. So, wicked plotter that I am, I started text-messaging him...took him only a few clues to realize who it was, ended up tracking him down at the Art Show where I got to give hurst a big hug for the first time :) That was awesome, finally gettin' to meet him in the flesh after talking off and on for a few years. It was even better seeing him happy & his boyfriend was adorable - so all was good with the world. *grins crookedly* After doing some quick catching up, let Hurst & Blaine (hope I'm spelling that right..d'oh!) go on their own path, then set out to hunt down my second target.
Soon enough, mere minutes after beginning my hunt, I saw him amongst the masses, his white t-shirt a beacon amongst faux-fur, black leather, black t-shirts, wide loads, and other distractions. Weaving through the crowd, I sought to catch up, trying to raise my voice above the chaotic din of hundreds of furries chattering simultaneously, all to no avail. Finally, however, he turned off the beaten path, heading downstairs towards the Dealer Room. Breaking free of the relentless furry-rapids, I veered right and spotted him turning the corner. Rushing forth, I called out one last time, and northwlf turned around. *grins crookedly*
My adopted 'son' through mateship with Greylopht (though we are no longer together for the here and now), North was a bit suprised to see me...and I'll be damned if one of the first things he said to me wasn't, "I thought you'd be taller..." >.<
So, finally got to meet North in person, hung out for a good while, talking and catching up and stuff, got to see his boyfriend (wolfknightx)'s in-bloody-credible art portfolio, and generally just chilled for awhile in the lobby, hanging out with 'Paws, Roz & others as they passed through. *laughs* North's mate was out with friends seeing Casino Royale, so once he got back with their friends, North headed out for awhile while a few of us grabbed our coats & ran to Wendy's for some cheap dinner. As we were getting ready, I was heading upstairs when all of a sudden, I hear a pounding on the ground behind me...I get on the elevator, just as silverfenrir thrust out his hand in introduction. *laughs* Apparently, 'Paws had spotted him & pointed him in my direction...so for one of my high points at the con, I got chased down by a SilverFenrir ;) *chuckles* 'course, made me wish I was in much better shape, but was still good seein' him, even if he wasn't pimping his art.
'Paws, Roz, RC Rabbit & I headed for the Pigtails for dinner & when we got back, we met up with kamberlane and his friends - Leandra & her girlfriend, Eryth (I believe?) and delievered their dinner. Spliting ways once again, we ended up meeting up at the bar with Seph, Geemo & company where we chatted for awhile before getting ready to move up to their MASSIVE (read handicap-equipped *hees* though neither of them are HC) room, where we were gonna have a small (drinking) party.
Just as I finished smoking outside, I got a call from North, who had stayed behind while the mate had taken a friend of theirs out to the bar to celebrate a 21st birthday, so grabbed him and headed upstairs to join in the festivities. Seph, Geemo, JoMo, Roz, 'Paws and others were getting started with the drinkin', so I joined right in and had a blast. Party went on 'til some time after midnight, at which point some were gettin' tired & North was about ready to head on out. Me, I was still full-steam ahead, so went downstairs to smoke, where I was joined by the living desert, chsck83. *laughs* We blathered on for a few hours about religion, coming out and other things that I'm probably completely forgetting about. It was probably around 3 or so before he headed for bed, and still going strong, I joined in on yet another conversation outside, this one about music and music culture, somehow managing to hold my own despite being a total airhead about music!
When that broke up, after about an hour or so, I went back inside & back to roaming, where I ran into a Bucktown Tiger, who I had met down at Oklacon last year...somehow, despite the numerous hair changes over the last year (which is a separate post by itself!), he managed to recognize me, so we joked around for at least a half-hour or longer, where being the bouncy drunk that I can be at times, I proceeded to show those youngin's around that I am still fairly bloody limber, even managing to hook my left leg behind my neck while standing up! Well, okay, I had some support from Bucktown holdin' my waist, but still! You try that some time! ;P
Getting twitchy, I went back to roaming once again, when I spotted a curious gathering in the foyer, where people seemed to be sitting in a large circle playing a game. Always curious, I perched on the railing and watched a bunch of people playing some game about Werewolves, Seers, Owls, Werehamsters (?!?!?!), Bodyguards and stuff like that! Was fun to watch, and kept me occupied for another hour or so *laughs*
Going outside for another death-stick, still a bit tipsy despite having run out of alcohol more than 2 hours prior, I met up with Pistol-Pup, where we discussed costume design for awhile (*hangs his head in shame* Yes, a spectre of my dark past - I was a costume design major in college), before realizing that dawn was rapidly approaching and figuring I had best try to at least get some sleep. Saying my good nights...er, good mornings...I went upstairs and hit bed around 6:30ish, only to be roused by 10:30! ;.;
Sunday, I suffered. Oh, did I suffer. With only 4 hours of sleep, my body was definitely unhappy with me. I grumped around, probably looking like the Stormy One properly, despite how much pure coffee I poured down my gullet. I spent much of the day just sitting around, waiting for my head to stop aching, although I definitely pulled myself together to say a most reluctant farewell to North, since he & his mate were heading back that day. After telling him to give my love to Seneca (one of my other adopted sons), I went back to nursing my hangover and inking over one of my art projects.
To be honest, after Saturday, for most of Sunday I took it pretty laid back - maybe because I sensed something big on the horizon...something that could potentitally hold great devestation. I was saving myself for what would unfold that evening...
At around 8 or so, Kamber was bouncing around the hotel like a Ferret whose blood had been secretly replaced with an unholy concoction of Meth-Espresso-, determined to have a party in the room he was sharing with Roxycat, Leandra & Eryth...so, grabbing up the remaining alcohol we had left over from the night before (blasphemous, I know, havin' leftovers like that, be nice!). While Roz got busy running the bar, chatted and made nice with the few people that were there...when suddenly more and more people began showing up, driven by the relentless Force of Nature known as The Kamber. Within less than 2 hours, the tiny room was packed with at least 30 'permanent' residents at the party, and over the next few hours, I couldn't even begin to tell you how many others came and went outta curiosity. *laughs* Roz played Bartender all night, hosting whenever Kamber was out on one of his hunting-gathering missions, whether it be for cups (we had a noted lack of drinking cups...to the point that for awhile there, we were even cutting up the Pepsi bottles to make Ghetto-Glasses!) or to track someone down or to just get outta the stuffy room for some fresh air. *snickers* By the end of the night, it was deteremined that the first impromptu Dead Horse party was a rousing success!
Unfortunately, most of the names and faces are a blur, although I do remember this absolutely drop-dead gorgeous guy briefly passing through...short, pale blond hair, blue eyes, silver-rimmed glasses, wearing shorts & a dark blue t-shirt emblazoned with a white tiger...*shivers and grins impishly*
Regardless, I had a great time, but after the night before, I was staying low key, only had one drink and headed for bed around 1:30-2am, although from what I understand, the party continued on afterwards & even moved to a different room (probably following noise complaints *snickers*). Went back to the room, pre-packed just about everything, pulled my clothes out for the ride home the next day & realized I was defintely ready to go home, so I curled up and went to sleep.
Come waking up around 8:30ish, it was time to head home. *laughs* Check out went quickly, and we were on the road by 9...I slept through much of it, outta the same instincts I developed as a kid - sleep makes travel times feel much shorter! Got home around 5:30ish, unpacked, passed out presents, started laundry and got ready for going back to work the next day...by that, I mean I jumped on to WoW for a few hours & played catch-up to the room-mates who ruthlessly took advantage of my time away to surpass me in levels! Bastards! *snickers*
That was my weekend away. Believe it or not, it's rather an abbreviated/truncated entry, but there are some things that don't need to be said, nor should they be ;) I met some great people & not only am I planning on attending next year, but now I'm even debating going to MFM as well :)
I was pretty quiet this weekend, managing to put quite a few faces to the names I see online or hear about, in some cases being pleasantly suprised and in others being horribly disappointed (no, not naming any names)...and thanking the powers that be that very few people know all my alts or know me well enough to have been disappointed one way or another, although I do hope that I wasn't a total disappointment to the few people that I did enjoy spending time with :)
Anyways, I've blathered on WAY too much at this point, so I'm gonna go ahead and end this entry so I can prepare for my final entry of the day! After which, I'll pretty much be caught up with things, and will TRY and updated more often, particularly since North made me promise to be online more often...*grins crookedly*
This is StormyWolf, aka Tribal, signing off ;)
Stormy