So, I'm back from ConFuzzled, I'm ridiculously tired, and my brain feels all fuzzy. Under these conditions it's gonna be difficult to write about my experiences, and instead of doing my usual spiel of dedicating an entry to each day, I'm just gonna try and sum things up best I can through the magic of sub-headings.

So, with that in mind, and before I trawl through my tweets and hastily-written notes, what did I think of ConFuzzled this year? In one word: amazing.

The Hotel
I always said the Hinckley Island Hotel was a hard act to follow, and I was practically daring any new hotels to impress me, but boy did the Hilton Birmingham Metropole rise to my challenge admirably. The place was large, well-ventilated, and while the circular loop of the layout took some getting used to it quickly became second nature. The food was gorgeous, especially the evening meals; they were a bit pricey, even with the convention discount, but they were worth every penny. The room I stayed in was spacious enough for mine and arctic_steve's needs, and I was glad to have the air conditioning!

If I had to point out one thing though, I sometimes got the feeling that the serving staff in the bar were rather overwhelmed by all the people they had to serve, indicating inexperience for some of them. I don't know how many they were expecting to have to serve, but I suspect it ended up being way more than they thought. Besides that, the staff really went above and beyond to make the stay as comfortable as possible, and it looked like they were having as much fun as we were.

Fursuiting
Okay, let's get the biggie out of the way. This year marked my debut as a full-fledged fursuiter, swaggering around as Pink, the rather ironically-named wolf - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/13494013/. I'll talk about some of the specific suiting events I attended later, but just goofing around in this guy was... well, how can I describe it? It felt unimaginably great to be able to be this character, try and work out his little quirks and habits and interact with other suiters out there. At first I wasn't sure what sort of character Pink would be, but it all came to me eventually.

For those of you who don't know his backstory, I originally created Pink as the main character in a series of tribute images I was having commissioned based on Pink Floyd's "The Wall". Those of you familiar with the album will know what an emotional wreck Pink is, which seems rather contradictory to the Pink you saw at ConFuzzled. I like to think of the suited version as "Post-Wall Pink", the result of the Wall being smashed and several years of medication and intense therapy. XD

Even for those of you not familiar with the musical reference, I figure people may get a kick out of the sheer irony of his name; God knows I heard the phrase "You're not pink, you're blue" more times than I could count. :P

I also figured out that he loves music and balloons, and hates lousy singers and space hoppers. :P

Anyway, I absolutely adored being in suit and interacting with other suiters, and I'm sure I spent more time at the con in suit than I did out of it. Apparently I did turn in a really good performance according to people whose opinions I trust on these matters, and I'm deeply honoured that people seem to enjoy the suit and the performance. Still, I'm always ready to learn more and improve; a good performer is never satisfied. :P

Socialising
Here's where things get very odd for me. Most of the people I usually hang out with at CFz are now on staff, on crew, or volunteering, so I don't get to hang out with them as much as I'd like, considering I very rarely see them as it is. Still, I've got nothing but respect for what they do at the con, and they're all damn good at their jobs, always looking out for the attendees.

Still, I did get to meet plenty of new faces, and get to better know others I've only seen briefly. Just wish my own social anxiety didn't creep up on me...

Opening/Closing Ceremonies and Fursuit Lounge
Suited for both of them, a decision which I'll probably regret deeply, as it was insanely hot!

I think the reason I was able to suit for as long as I could was because the Fursuit Lounge was so well-stocked and well-run. It was spacious, had plenty of fans and water facilities, and there's a special place in Heaven reserved for the guy who got the huge industrial fan! The only downside to it was that standing in it caused my base layer to get so cold I honestly thought it had snap-frozen. :P

If I may make a couple of suggestions for it though, in case any of the staff happen to read this; perhaps get some longer straws so it's easier to drink while still wearing the head, and maybe bring the energy drinks back?

Dealer's Den
Well, one thing's for sure, I ended up spending waaaaaay more than I thought I would in there. I ended up buying a copy of the first Nordguard comic (which has beautiful artwork, but feels like a ton of setup while falling short of being a self-contained story), as well as the accompanying card game. I also a commissioned a piece for the Wall project (thought I'd given up on that?) from muzz, and a fancy badge from bhavfox. I dread to think of how much I spent, considering I only budgeted for food...

Fursuit Fiasco
My first one of these went pretty awkwardly! I was still getting used to how to move in suit, and I fell flat on my face trying to use a space hopper (which goes towards explaining Pink's resentment of them :P). I didn't humiliate myself too badly in the final event, though I should've remembered previous cons and been a dirty cheating bastard. :P

Considering all the stuff I put my suit through this convention, I'm amazed at how well it's held up. I'm kind of in a quandary here; I want this suit to last as long as possible, but if that means not moving so much then I can't really perform that well. What to do?

Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Had a good laugh with this last year, so I thought I'd go again. Pretty similar layout to last time, though one thing I never expected was for (a doubtless very tipsy) Uncle Kage to join in on a skit draks and I were doing. Of all the things I expected to do this year or at any other convention, "attempt improv comedy with Uncle Kage" was definitely not on the list! Pretty sure somebody filmed it and now has suitable blackmail material somewhere. XD

Pawpets VI
First of all, I really appreciated the heads-up about the show being delayed; certainly gave me a bit more time to have a decent meal! Plus even before the show, there was a bit of Queuecon made entertaining by a drunk solarlay and crew, and for something like this the length of the queue doesn't matter as much as who you're stood next to. :P

As for the show itself? Supremely entertaining. It was funny, well-written, and technically marvelous with all the video cutaways and syncing. These guys really know their audience, piling on the pop culture references, enough innuendo to shame a Carry On movie, some surprising character development for what is essentially a bunch of fluffy puppets, even managing some sly digs at the fandom itself (I know I heard a few boos in the audience when a crack was made about UKFur XD). It was an absolute pleasure to sit through the show, though now I'll never be able to look at fairlight again without thinking of his facial expressions in one of the cutaways. XD

Fursuit Twister
Failed spectacularly at this. 'Nuff said. XD

Photoshoot and Parade
Yup, Sunday was pretty much a "spend the whole day in suit" day. Had a lot of fun prancing around in the parade, and spent an uncomfortably long time waiting to do the photoshoot. Never queue for anything in-suit if you can avoid it! :P I'm sure the photos will be worth the wait, though. :)

Fursuit Dance Contest
I will never cease to be amazed by what some people can do in their suits, particularly the likes of sparkythewolf, kiyo_fursuit and zakari_fursuit. The latter two especially are so in-sync with both the music and each other, and the result is joyous to watch. Some good entries this year, especially considering many were first-timers or weren't trained dancers.

Music Jam
One thing I learned from this is that I need to brush up on my music knowledge; so many of the tunes which were played I had no idea about. Still, it was fun to attend just for the novelty of seeing a wheelie bin be used as a bass drum. :P

Fur-e-oke
Yes, I did attend this. Yes, I did spend an hour in the bar stewing in-suit waiting to sing. Yes, I did sing a Pink Floyd tune (in this case, Another Brick in the Wall). I managed to have fun with it in the end, and lizard-guy was an absolute saint for supplying me with water.

Seriously, I owe you a drink, mate.

Dead Dog Party
Yes, I did stay the extra night this year, going all-out for my thir.... my thi.... well, a landmark birthday. The day itself was spent just chilling, either in the bar or in the pool (which was extremely relaxing, I can tell you!).

For the Dead Dog, I actually went through the entire thing in-suit, which was probably a bad idea given my ham-fisted dancing efforts and all the heat. Plus the music was mostly the cheesiest rubbish I can think of; it took me back to my school disco days in a bad way. Still, I had a lot of fun suiting with chargan and many others, and overall I had a really good time with a great way to see out the con.

Well, that's all I have to say. I want to give my most sincere thanks to the staff of both ConFuzzled and the Hilton Birmingham Metropole, all the friends old and new that I saw throughout the con, and to my roomie for putting up with me for a week and for offering me advice on suiting. I may have joined Club 3-0 now, but the transition was rendered painless thanks to all of you. Whether you realised it or not, you helped make this birthday extremely special. :)