My convention experience was a little different this time. I had done volunteering at :PineFurCon and Anthrocon in 2018, but this was my first year as full on Staff. I kept pretty busy the entire time and had a lot of fun doing so. I liked being productive and had a greater feeling of accomplishment than at my day job. I know that sounds more like dog behavior than wolf, but so what. Everyone's dopamine fix is different.

Thursday and Friday I was stationed in Registration, checking people in and printing their badges. I thought we did a great job getting everyone processed and not having to wait in line too long. Credit to Rukario, head of Registration, who had us deployed well and took care of unusual stuff, and Novar, head of IT who made sure we had no problem with the software, hardware or internet connectivity.

Saturday and Sunday I was based in the Game Room/Zoo. I brought some games from home and Ben was kind enough to lend us his big-ass TV. A lot of the time I mostly checked out board games and game controllers to attendees, and helped with Wayon's VR games. I'd occasionally run around doing small errands, which I was fine with. I had a fitbit and new sneakers and planned to hit some step goals that weekend.

I didn't attend any panels, except two I was a part of. As this year's theme was the 1970s, Ben hosted a panel on what it was like growing up in that decade. I co-hosted and we had fun talking about stuff from long ago. I think the people who attended enjoyed it.

The other panel I hosted was a Howl. for those who don't know, a Howl is basically the therian version of a furmeet. Usually there's outdoorsy stuff, or camping. But ain't no rule it can't be held inside a convention. And I'd been working on building up the therian community in the New England area. Now I'd been to therian or "animal spirituality" meet-and-greet panels at prior conventions and never liked them. The entirety of the allotted time is taken up by people standing up, introducing themselves, and giving an exhaustive backstory. It felt like an AA meeting. Now I'm not unsympathetic. I understand that if you've struggled with identity issues and find out there's like-minded folks, you're gonna have a lot you want to get off your chest. I just wanted to do something different, and rather liked the Howl we had last year at Wolf Hollow where we hung out and just chatted about our experiences. That was the vibe I was aiming for.

For some back story, the panel was kinda last minute. The guy in charge of Programming had a late cancellation and I volunteered to take the spot. I put the word out in Telegram and Twitter, not expecting too much. Ulfrvif (aka WolfDaughter) has a regular YouTube series on therian happenings and offered to signal boost. Goddess love her, she's amazing.

So Friday afternoon I leave my post in Registration, go to the panel room and attendees start coming in. Not a huge turnout, but not bad. Mostly people I knew, and a few new faces. Including one young lady from Massachusetts who said she saw Ulfrvif mention the panel on Instagram and told her mother she had to come to the convention so she could finally meet other therians.

I was floored, and a little embarrassed. Someone came all the way to PineFurCon... just for my panel. I was not expecting to have that kind of impact on someone.

While I was intending for the panel to be an open discussion, a lot of it was me explaining some terms and concepts and my own take on therianthropy to this young lady and a mother who was awesome enough to take the time to support her daughter and learn more about what from the outside must seem like some weird beliefs.

Some highlights of my weekend, apart from the Howl:
Working Registration and getting to say hi to a lot of friends, and put faces to names for people I'd only known online.
Playing Cards Against Humanity - Jenga variant, that Erin came up with.
Hanging out with Erin and Don, whom I don't see often enough.
Getting to share the beds with both of last year's Guests of Honor.
Watching an assemblage of furries at the bar toast dogbomb's life and passing.
Sunday night after we shut everything down, Gaming/Programming department went to TexasRoadHouse for noms where we embarrassed our Director, Hawk, by telling the waiters it was his birthday. Why? Cause we love him and he loves our evil sense of humor.

Again, I had a fun time. And everyone was fun to work with. I've no regrets, though there's a few people I'd have like to have met, and seeing myself on video I wish I was 20 pounds thinner. :-D

Can't wait till next year. I'm already thinking of ideas to make things better, and I'm definitely hosting another Howl.