Greetings and good tidings! It is finally time to tell you all about Vancoufur 2018. Partying and other nonsense under the cut, if you are sensitive to rowdy animals! It's not much, just CW drinks, party, strangers

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Thursday Evening: I drive up to the city in my new (18 year old used) stick shift and wear myself out with anxiety fourfold. It is the first time I am going completely alone to a con I realized, where I will meet new people. And be staying in a completely new location. It got nerve wracking as everything settled in but hey, I new the routine. Being a full adult this time around was just something I couldn't avoid.

Pull up to the location and the hotel is the wrong hotel, I barely find and see furries in a hotel lobby adjacent. I round the block a couple times and park. This is my first 100+ mile drive in this car and I have already stalled twice at lights in Burnaby and almost through the tunnels. I feel like such a clutch clutz! I park the thing and just. Feel it out on foot. I don't have anybody with me, and I'm eager to meet my room mates so I can key up and settle in and maybe go to the dance that night. I end up just sleeping and my roommate is the one I actually don't see until next morning, who was my actual contact. Turns out he got a head start on partying that night. I sleep on the floor because someone is already asleep and I am warm from walking around and begin in my kigu (it was too cold I should have grabbed a blanket ahh).

Friday: Wandering! Breakfast in the hotel lobby graciously provided by my hotel, then we got ready and walked across the street to the main hotel. Early Artists Alley visiting and the first mosey was had. I usually have 3 large moseys during a con, with many frequent visits. Visiting to find people, see friends, deliver things, have conversations. But the 3 are: Scout, Engage, and Scavenge. I managed to get so much merchandise there... over 150$ I think, maybe 170$ Because I HAVEN'T BEEN TO FURRY CONS SINCE 2014 OR WHENEVER THE LAST HELLHOLE OPENED UP IN SEATAC wheEezy inhale and it was good. Two bandanimals, a shirt, stickers, keychains, I felt like I was getting stuff for me and who I liked and wanted to gift that it was... I dunno! Pretty heartening! Gave me reasons to continue believing in liking this stuff, fantasy, sci-fi, imagination, and investing in it. I went out on a food and drink run but my stick shift... was unhappy... with hills and traffic and my ineptitude and learning and... it... flashed lights at me... Which scared me, but I was on my way home to the hotel so what could I do? Conclusion: no more driving. I'll check on it tomorrow. Dinner, the dance, friends, and exhausted sleep!

Saturday blew me away. Lunches, buying tons of merchandise, and seeing fun panels, including the Drone 101 panel where I learned a lot! If you were at the drone panel, HIT ME UP! My car stopped flashing at me and settled down, but I ended up not driving places on trips out to the city like I wanted to... Fast forward: The dance was awesome, the parties were awesome. Finding new and old people, getting inebriated and dancing, crashing in random peoples rooms for a minute to go out again and party, safely landing on the covers of bed with good friends. It was really really nice. It was absolutely what I needed. I just wish It could have lasted longer. People were so hospitable, so ready to have conversation, and just hang out. Whatever petty clique bullshit may have been brewing, people were just too tired for it! I wish the dances were bigger, thought. I was hoping to see at least a couple people at the saturday dance that never came around. I spent the time instead hanging out with Ildar the dragon, teaching him how to dance. TBH, I was kind of lonely after 11 pm at the dance, when I thought shit would start getting real. It needs to be biggerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!! But hey. More people will probably go to the dances if they didn't have to register for the con for the day, which would bring a lot of people out to the floor. Things are being contemplated.

Sunday: I woke up lonely and in a haze, cold and feverish, and the begining of Con Crud setting in. Too wild of a party with too little preparation on my part. I paid the price! The comedown was awful and I ended up crying and drawing to myself in the patio for a bit, because I couldn't make it to the hotel without ruining my face and someone asking me about it. I decided to fursuit head it up and just spend the rest of the day as a dog, which was comfortable. All in all, I really REALLY should have slept instead of wandering around. THAT'S WHY NOBODY WAS THERE. I guess I'm just a dynamo that when it gets excited, it can't stop.

Monday was a slow slog back through hellish rush hour traffic of the Vancouver island, Burnaby BC, and the border. My stick shift recovered and my skills grew, but it was a lonely, hot spring day in the car for 5 hours. It usually takes 3 and a half, but it may have taken 6 actually.... It was a good thing I had Monday off. I pretty much immediately contracted Con Crud with huge fever, and shaky groans for the next couple days combined with a partial lockjaw from the dance. It has taken an entire week to recover partially and ONLY UNTIL JUST NOW to feel better. That thing really put me down. I haven't been able to eat hamburgers in weeks. Or whole apples. Or even medium sandwiches. Considering all the things to go wrong or the risks, I think it may have been worth it. But next time I sure as hell am getting wayyyyyy more sleep.

I had lunch and coffee on Sunday and Monday with some people though, which really helped. Shoutout to those two who really were there for me at this con. Thank you so much!!

I aw and reaquainted myself with a buch of old familiar faces and some new cool attitudes! Let's see if I can find them all. Make sure to visit their pages and if you like their stuff, follow and say hi!

Korozar !Roomate =Dragon Twitter and their Game Dev blog - the first to greet me! super chill and super cool, we had breakfast many times and was a gracious host.

Drake Bates !Roomate =Dragon Twitter and their FA - the connection! through twitter. a good chap! great host, and knew how to party. could have been a bad gamble on my part never meeting them, but it turned out wonderful!

Korin !OldFriend =DolphinFox FA They recognized me from my first Vancoufur and mentioned acquaintances. They reached out to me and made me feel not as lonely, and got lunch with me. Very gracious, very kind!

Nico !ArtistFellow =Mouse (and occasionally Seal) Twitter - we had good lunch and party times!! They were super gracious to have me along with their hangouts even though we haven't seen each other in a few years. It was so good to catch up. Hella rad. I need more Canada adventures.

Uni Otter !ArtistFellow =Otter Twitter - thanks so much for hosting me with your chill!

Ludo !ArtistFursuitFellow =wolverineTwitter - I saw them briefly at a party later when they also lost a part of their fur suit! I'm mailing it back to them today. They're a storyboard artist!

Sixel !ArtistFellow =Goose Twitter and FA - we had a good lunch also and even though they weren't staying the whole con I was so glad to see them and catch up. Just knowing that people I've met long ago are still making it in the world gives me life. I hope the car gets better!

mBlade !CrafterFellow =Akita Twitter and their new and under construction Website - I saw them at the dance and managed to talk with them breifly afterwords in the Headless Lounge about their set-up. LED under-fur arrays that synchronize to the sound in the room!! Super super suuuuper cool.

Apoxon !ArtistCrafterFellow =Creature Twitter and Art Twitter - their table was full of goodies and I think I bought a sticker? They were always cordial to talk to. Wonderful hoodies of theirs everywhere at the con!

Logan !ArtistFellow =Wolverine=Otter=Raccoon Twitter - They were in the Dealer's Den with this beautiful set up that I REGRET NOT GETTING ANYTHING FROM. (see tweet "Opening in 30 minutes!" pic.twitter.com/6dQg7FKOR1— Logan 🍜 🍣 🍹 (@animal_shapes) March 9, 2018)

Jai !ArtistCrafterFellow =Jackodile Twitter - the Guest of Honor with their partner Devacor Twitter were suiting around REALLY CUTE like, and also were wonderful party pals! Here's to Bindstone!

Adrian !ArtistFellow and !OldFriend =Hyena Twitter - holy hell I did not expect to see you here but I was so happy when I did. It's been a while and all I've seen of you are your rad twitter exposé into your filming life. I was so glad to hear you were doing better than in the past, and to see you so happy and relaxed. And it was great to meet Cennay and the others! Next time you're in Olympia WA, hmu and we'll creep the goth bar!

Spykr !Fursuiter =CactusCat Twitter - saw a glimpse!

Safaki !Fursuiter? =Lemur Twitter - did I see you at the dances and dance comp????

...and probably many more..! I may add in the comments to this journal.

I didn't document it very well from a visual standpoint, but if you want to see a lot of photos of the convention, check out thunderorca 's Twitter!!