First off, I want to apologize again for my absence. Things have been... different.

Had my appointment at the START clinic just shy of two weeks ago. Was told I'd hear back about a follow-up appointment regarding my assessment by now. Called last week. They told me to wait again. It's not been almost a week since I called them and still no word back. It's got me nervous.

On the upside, the depression is starting to go away. I still have my moments, but for the most part, I'm getting better. I can walk to work now without dealing with voices telling me to "slip" off the sidewalk and under the next car to come speeding by, so I consider that progress. Still cutting my nails short though, but I think at this point it's mostly out of habit.

For some reason or another, about a month ago I joined a Mermaid forum, for professional and recreational mermaid performers. It's been a really interesting experience and an absolutely wonderful bunch of people to talk to. They're always really happy and supportive of everyone, and very encouraging. Finding a new sort of "fandom" outside the furry thing has been refreshing.

I'm even getting a custom-painted neoprene mermaid tail soon enough! Once I get my tax return I'll be able to pay it off. I'm pretty pumped!

If you want an example of the type of thing I'm getting into, here are some videos:

Merbella Studios: http://youtu.be/S_lQOO8nyOY
Raina the Halifax Mermaid: http://youtu.be/uvh1OD3hkpY
Mertailor: http://youtu.be/g43b2P_Pjtc
Mermaid Melusinah: http://youtu.be/OVSA43xjf1k

Most people are using performance-grade dragon skin silicone tails, but I'll be learning with a neoprene tail first-- it's the same material used for diving suits, and is a bit more buoyant in the water-- not to mention lighter! While silicone tails are practically weightless in the water, they average about 20-30 pounds out of it! Even in the water, you're using a lot more muscle just to move in them which can actually cause a lot of injuries if you're not a strong swimmer! So training myself with a neoprene tail will help me get those muscles strengthened, and help me perfect my dolphin-kick. I don't think I'll be getting a silicone tail for a year or two either, as the maker I'd like to commission my future tail from would cost about $3,000, which is... A liiiiittle bit out of my budget.

I've had mermaids on the brain a lot lately. I'm even finding myself getting back into the art scene again and working on my "Mersona," what I'd look like as a mermaid. I've got the concept design for my tail all done up, and I've started working on a little creative writing project called "Gills" which is about... Guess. Just guess. I dare you.

I'll try to scan some things in and post some more stuff on here, at least.

In other news, Dinobugfish!

... Well, kind of. They're Triops!

I used to raise these little bastards all the time when I was kid, and after talking over Skype with someone about fish and fish-type things, I found myself ordering eggs from a few breeders on Ebay. Three different types, Cancriformis (50 eggs), Longicaudatus (150 eggs) and Australiensis (60 eggs). The Cancris and Longis are already in the post and on their way to me from Germany, but the auction on the Aussies doesn't end for another eight hours. Watching it like a fucking hawk.

Picked up a three-gallon aquarium, lamp, filter, floating thermometer and some white sand for the bottom. Didn't get anything else I'll need (net, dropper, a small hatching container, plants, etc.,) since rent's due next week, but thankfully I'll have a few weeks before the tank needs to be set up for them anyway; it'll still be a few weeks before I have all of the eggs in my possession and even then they won't be moved in until they're about a week or two old. I'm not too concerned about their food, Shads suggested a cheap mixture for the babies and then once their old enough they'll eat anything from plants to bugs to parboiled vegetables to each other so yeah. As I get the setup together I'll try posting some pics-- I'll be dumping them all over my Facebook anyway, so there's that.

So yeah, life has gone from a spiraling depression to dinobugfish and becoming a mermaid.

Thank god Dave puts up with my shit.