Texas’ biggest furry convention moved to a new hotel this year, which introduced a few new issues.  Overall, though, it was a lot of fun.  As always, I noticed a few things:

1. BEFORE/DRIVE UP-I’m a little bummed over missing the conbook deadline but that’s what my website is for.

   

2. I’m guessing I’m going to see a lot of Alices and Mad Hatters. Hopefully, the cartoon versions.
3. Seriously, I thought the 2010 version was ‘The Mad Hatter Movie”
4. I will openly admit to being jealous of all my friends that will be there on Thursday
5. I swear work gets tougher the last few days before a vacation…it’s like THEY KNOW
6. Okay, I wussed out and told my cowokers I was going to a ‘comiccon’
7. Does loading Disney soundtracks onto a USB stick for the drive qualify someone as ‘furry trash?’ Asking for a friend.
8. Thing I forgot: Cologne. Given the female-to-male ratio it’s just as well!
9. I’ve lost about 30 pounds since last TFF. I bought a pair of slim fit jeans so I gotta keep the weight off now!
10. Honestly, I-35 keeps getting better and better each year…Temple notwithstanding
11. The Czech stop was definitely worth the 200-mile wait!
12. Parking seems to be one of the big issues early on; I was furtunate to get a spot fairly close by.
13. I feel like a tourist lugging my bags around the hotel before check-in.
14. It wasn’t too long before I started running into friends, YAY FRIENDS!
15. I had forgotten about the placeholder name I had placed on the reservation beforehand, which made for a funny moment: “So that will be two keys:  One for you, and another for Roger Rabbit?”
16. “Can I get the lowest room available? I have a thing with heights.”
17. New hotel is very nice, though the open elevators are a little scary for me. (see above)
18. FRIDAY-Noticed a few folks kvetching about the lack of con suite this year.  Hopefully they bring the snacks back because playing ‘bartender’ there was great fun.
19. The Presidential Suite is open to Super-Sponsors, though.
20. Forgot to print out my reg sheet for the first time ever. *hangs head in shame*
21. Their reg was so fast it didn’t matter.
22. The Hyatt Regency feels so wide open compared to the other hotels.
23. Taking five fights of stairs to the room (if I don’t want to wait for the elevator) is definitely a workout
24. The hotel room has an Ethernet port, and me without a cable *argh*

    

25. New camera has been great, but the battery went dry after only 75 pictures! So glad I got a spare…that I had to retrieve from my room. *pant* *gasp* *wheeze*
26. It’s awesome that the con T-shirts aren’t black this year.
27. I’m usually pretty careful about catching autocorrects before I hit Send, but finally had one slip through the net 😀
28. There’s a fursuiter named Sherbert who has you try to guess their gender.  I went with ‘male’ because if I can’t figure someone’s gender in 3 seconds at a con, I just assume it’s a guy.
29. I am seriously considering buying a Lemonbrat partial fursuit.
30. Overall, the bigger hotel is pretty nice with plenty of space to work with BUT the elevator situation is pretty bad and it is a (understandably) a mite warm inside.
31. That moment when you realize the fursuiter you’ve seen in a partial for months now has a fullsuit which means SHE’S NAKED NOW OMG
32. It’s 6pm, send in the normies!
33. There are places to eat downtown if you don’t mind a little walk.  Cool.
34. Elevator situation is pretty awful, I wonder if the top-floor con suite is a contributing factor.
35. Random young lady: “Are you Eduardo Soliz?”
    Me: “The one and only!” *peers at person* “Do I know you?”
    Her: “No but I love your YouTube channel!”
    Aww! *blush*
    UPDATE: Found her on Twitter!
36. Maybe I’m not done with “Con Talk” after all…
37. I really really need to get cracking on making some panels for next year’s Furry Fiesta.  People want them!
38. SATURDAY-630AM and I don’t want to be up, but I guess I’m up, bleh.
39. Might be early enough to hit Waffle House without losing my parking, hmm
40. Upon further review I decided not to risk losing my spot.
41. A little disappointed in the scheduling app; it shows the full schedule without hiding events that have already passed.
42. Oh, I have to manually refresh it. Derp.
43. Nope, still didn’t do it. Boo.
44. For some reason I have Matthew Ebel’s “Merry Christmas from Cell Block 2” in my head
45. Are the microphones in the panel rooms even on?
46. New addition to the fursuit parade: Concerned parents
47. Dunno what the deal was with the peanut gallery continually yelling “Spring Break” during the parade but it was annoying to the point where I might put music over the parade audio.  UPDATE: I didn’t.
48. Nothing like 40-degree weather to make you want a fursuit.
49. Freezing my face off was totally worth it for the Cuban sandwich, though
50. If you’re running audio you should be professional enough to know to not talk while a presentation is going on.  Fuzzing amateurs
51. Another great Furry Psychology talk from Nuka. I was getting a little sleepy near the end, and not because of the content, just to be clear!
52. I learned that some of the FurScience folks went to San Japan last year. I invited them to attend “Furry 101” this year.  COME ON GUYS, I WENT TO YOUR PANEL AND I DID MY HOMEWORK 😀
53. The partial suit I was thinking about buying was sold. Oh well.
54. A friend bought Lemonbrat’s ‘Tide Pod Fox’ and got very popular very quickly.

    

55. Knees starting to feel it by afternoon, likely due to all the stair-climbing bought on by not wanting to wait for the elevators…or I’m just getting old.
56. Halfway down the stairs to go to dinner, I realized I still had my bear tail on. Screw it.
57. Nothing like walking 2/3 of a mile to go to Spaghetti Warehouse in 30-degree weather.
58. Totally worth it, though.  Chicken parm you taste so good.
59. I was disappointed to find karaoke was full up; I wanted to sing ‘Why Should I Worry’ by Billy Joel from ‘Oliver and Company.’ The canines would have loved it!
60. Nice lobby-wide howl on Saturday night, by the way.
61. I wanted to be all supportive and stuff for Padunk’s first panel, but it was completely packed!  I guess that was a sign it went well! (link warning: some naughty bits)
62. Drunk normies + fursuiters = hilarity
63. I swear the ‘Two women: One embarrassingly drunk and the other trying to get them to stop being embarrassing’ bit is a trope.
64. SUNDAY/TRIP HOME-Breakfast was weird: After we got seated, the hostess kept fussing over our table being dirty (it wasn’t) The table is fine lady, I WANT FOOD
65. Mom never made ‘fingerling potatoes’ for breakfast, just sayin. That said, they were tasty.
66. No salsa on the breakfast buffet? What is this, NEW YORK CITY?
67. The longer the con goes, the harder it gets to not take multiple pictures of the same fursuiters. Oh well!
68. Me to friend: “I was thinking about buying a partial”
    Her: “I have a bear head base I haven’t started yet.”
    SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!
69. So yeah, I may be getting a fursuit made.
70. Left the con at probably the earliest time I’ve ever left.  Continually going up and down four flights of stairs took more out of me than I thought.
71. To the jackass who parked their Honda CRX in the middle of the end of the parking lot: YOU SUCK.
72. I am very glad I only make two trips that involve I-35 a year
73. Didn’t stop at Buc-ees on the way home, the Wendy’s across the freeway was too tempting.  I may have sinned against Texas.
74. Big thank you to the solider who fished a soda out of the machine for me at the Bell rest stop. Enjoy the freebie!
75. Note to self: Lay off the caffeine on the day when you are making a long drive unless you want to make restroom stops every 50 miles or so >.<

    

76. AFTERWARDS-I will openly admit to being jealous of my friends that are still at the con on Monday.
77. I think the reason I don’t get post-con depression is that afterwards I go over pictures, post the fursuit parade video, work on this list, prepare for and record a podcast, so the show isn’t really over for me for several days.
78. There is apparently an underground tunnel leading from near Union Station to the hotel. I may consider taking a train ride for next year.
79. Remember how I said “Con Talk” was over a few months ago?  I was never very good at lying. 😉
80. “Roll Fur Initiative” for next year’s theme?  I guess Creativity failed her saving throw!  Hey, I tried!