Friday was a pretty busy day for me. Around noon I escorted to a nearby AT&T store to get a SIM card for his phone. The clerk knew we were attending Anthrocon and we chatted about it for a bit. On the way back I found some new art, the Strawberry Way mural. It was a rather random looking colorful mural painted on the alley for several blocks. I love exploring Pittsburgh and finding random art. It's like locating Easter Eggs or Hidden Objects in video games. Ever since I first saw Bobo's Escape From Death I've admired Pittsburgh's open enthusiasm for non-traditional street art. Hell, it's no wonder the city embraces Anthrocon. I'm sure to them furries are just another artistic expression that comes by each year to hang out for a few days. Back at the con I ran into Jessica and some friends. We went to Fernandos where I spent $15 for two slices of pepperoni pizza, chips, soda and a dog food bowl. The latter is why it was worth it. I now have four of them. And yay, they used the paw-shape for the bowl again. Jessica had her lovely parasol with her, but the patch job from ANE was wearing off. While I learned from Steele and brought my Leatherman, I lacked tape. We discussed whether it was worth it to replace or repair. I offered to take it home with me, give it a proper fixing and somehow get back to her in Mass to return it. Alas, I forgot to take it before we parted and didn't see her again the rest of the convention. Depending on how the summer goes I might be able to meet up with her again. Maybe at Furpocalypse.

The time had finally come. What I had been waiting for since AnthroNewEngland. 's reading. I got to the room, found a seat up front and was checking over my camera when this strange woman rushed over, greeting me and offering condolences on my job loss. I wasn't sure she was even talking to me (how often have you seen someone at a con raise their hand and say hi, only to realize they were greeting the person behind you) when I realized it was Rondie. O. M. G. The last time I saw this woman she looked like Whoville's accountant. Now she looked like a Warrior Princess. Gone was the vest and tie. In their place a very tight purplish shirt with a spirally motif. A heavily pleated kilt, belt and ass-kicking boots. Instead of a fuzzy purple pointed cap she wore a thick tiara that looked like it gave a +5 racial bonus to Elves. She didn't like someone waiting for an NPC to give her a quest, not someone about to read from a book she wrote. The only thing missing was a double-headed axe, one side notched for ogres, the other side for orcs. She later told me the other outfit was her winter outfit, this was her summer look. Well hell, I'd love to see what she looks like in the autumn. Yeah, I'll admit I was starting to crush a bit.

So anyway. I was here not just to support a great author whose ANE reading was so much fun (the voices she gave to each of the characters were AweSome) but also record it for posterity. I got out my iPodTouch, which I mostly use as a portable music player because it has a lot more memory than my phone and iPad combined. I asked Rondie if she'd like me to videotape the reading as well. An enthusiastic Yes. I set up my Nikon which would record video as long as there was space on the memory card and sat down with my Canon, a better camera for still photos but, for some reason, would only shoot three minutes worth of video at a time.

Rondie read some passages from her upcoming Professor Odd book, due to be released this summer. I thought it went very well and the story sounds like it's going to be another great read. After the panel I tagged along as she and a small retinue returned to the Dealer's Den. I bought the last Odd book, both Driving Arcana volumes (set in the same world as the story she read at ANE), and chatted with another panel attendee who, fitting in with the theme was dressed in an elegant pinstripe suit and hat. We discussed photography tips and I helped encourage him to pick up some Odd books.

I intended, at this point, to return immediately to my room and copy the video and audio files to my laptop because I prepare for the worst. So of course I get distracted and delayed by fursuiters and friends. I encountered Wan and DeeJay with Negger (Yes. He knows what that sounds like in the U.S.) fursuiting as Franko, the main character from the comic he drew (and was selling through SofaWolf). Of course I had to take some photos.

Eventually I returned to my room to discover two horrible truths. First, Apple really hates its customers. Unlike photos, you can't simply copy Voice Memos to Windows. And I didn't have iTunes on my laptop. The only other output option was attach to email but the iPod was wifi only (and I'd later find out there were filesize restrictions and 1hr of audio was too big). OK, make sure nothing happens to the iPod. Now for the video.

Where's my Nikon. Search bookpack. Search bookpack again.

Shit.

SHIT.

Shit, shit, shit. I LOST THE CAMERA? OK, it wasn't the camera I was worried about. It was a hand-me down and I still had my Canon (hell, I could have taken pictures with my ipad if I needed to). It was the video of the panel. That was irreplaceable. OMG, if I lost that. Rondie was so happy I recorded it. If I lost it, it would be such a disappointment. Still I had hope. I've lost stuff at Anthrocon before and recovered them (a few years before I lost a wrist wallet filled with $200 in cash and found it at the Artist Alley bag check, phew). First step, make my way in a panic to Con Ops. Then if need be, scour the hell out of the Dealer's Den. Lucky for me Fate protects fools, little children, and ships named Enterprise. ConOps Lost and Found had a black Nikon! How many pixels, they asked, to confirm it was mine. Err...umm. Wait, I took photos during the panel with my Canon. "There will be a video featuring a woman from this pic." Satisfied, they gave me the camera. I confirmed the video was still there, teleported by sheer force of will back to my laptop and copied the video file twice. And so like happens to a lot of us, what could have been a tragedy ended up being just an amusing anecdote. The Gods, however kind, do require some sacrifice. While they returned my cooler and camera, later in the con I lost my pair of really cool goggle-like sunglasses. You know what? They can have them with my thanks. I also learned some lessons. First, I need something on my camera to identify them as mine (like keeping a unique photo on the memory card, or carve my initials in the camera). Second, when taking pics/video of something important, immediately swap out the memory card and keep it somewhere safe on my person.

Relieved, I returned to the DLCC to meet up with and Negger, still wearing Franko, going to Senko's 2nd Annual International Fur Photoshoot. As with last year, it was mostly South American furs (but some Mexican furs did show up). I'm not sure if attendees from the rest of the world didn't bring their fursuits or didn't know about it, but I hope interest will grow and future shoots will show more representation from other parts of the globe.

I spent the end of the night in the Zoo with , an adorable artist, and , chatting about assorted things.