Bear Droppings

O.K. I'm totally back from AC today. The travelling is over. Mundane issues are back in the forefront, and I have to settle myself back into my routine. So here is my take on the wonderful madness that I experienced last week.

Overall it was a tremendous experience. I will be back next year. The biggest disappointment was that there were so many furs that I had wanted to meet and each one of them had a bunch of furs that they had wanted to meet...there was just no time for quality chat. I had so wanted to kick back with many great folks, but it just didn't happen. Back to online relationships. *sigh* Then there's Further Confusion in 6 months.

and now the highlights:
Best con moment: My performance during Masquerade. FUCKING AWESOME! Dex and I nailed the performance. I have no idea how many people were in the audience, but I sensed the great vibe on the stage and ran with it.

Worst con moment: Friday in the Dealer's Room. I experienced "furry overload." All of the tails, ears, collars, fursuits, comics, art, con badges, etc. My brain literally shut down. I had to go stand in the hallway.

Funniest con moment: The ferret performance of "Bohemian Rhapsody" at the Funday Pawpet Show.

Weirdest con moment: Eating Milk Bonz with Nutella in the con suite.

The ALF Dinner at the Outback was a great success. Thanks to Camstone Fox for lending a paw when things started to get over my head, i.e. finding rides for everyone.

I'm glad I had a chance to at least meet almost all of you even for a few seconds. I know I did miss a few *whimper* As Forrest Gump would say, "And that's all I have to say about that."

I thought I would tell of my adventure on the train ride home from New York. I had a bad case of PCD (delayed), because now I was finally heading home. The night before with my friend was wonderful (see LJ entry), and I was just experiencing the let down of it being over. I had debated fursuiting at the Albany station where we had a layover. Nah. It was drizzling, and my heart just wasn't into it. Finally at about 9 pm I decided to suit up and walk through the train. It was a lot of fun! Since I walked from back to front, people couldn't see me until after I had passed. I could hear the gasps and laughs as I walked by. Some people actually started following me. I made it all the way to the lead sleeper when I turned around and headed back. Now the fun really began! Out came the cameras! I was photographed by at least a half dozen people as I made my way through the coaches. Even a car attendant got a pic. And then...I met the conductor from Hell!

Now I know that on a train, the conductor is boss. You don't mess around with a conductor. So anyway, he demands to know who I am. I pantomime that I'm in the last sleeper. He insists on knowing my name. I'm in a quandry because I'm in character and I hate to talk. So I continue to try to talk with my paws. He must think I'm dissing him because he starts to get all pissed off and then demands I take off my head. Now here's where I draw the line! I don't take off my head during a performance for ANYONE! So now he gets even more pissed off. Soon he's threatening to throw me off the train. Finally I whisper my name to the cool car attendant. He relays the info and the conductor checks his manifest. He sees that I am, in fact, a 1st class passenger and orders me back to my compartment to change. As I'm changing a second conductor pays me a visit. This guy is very nice. I explain about Anthrocon and how I'm a fursuit performer. He acknowledges the fact and says the only reason they got upset was that it was an unusual occurence and they didn't know what the heck was going on. Had I contacted Amtrak before I left or let one of the conductors know, it wouldn't have been as issue. He was very polite and thought what I did was pretty cool.

So there is my dilema again. If I wore a full length fur coat, that's not a problem. I put on a mask, and suddenly I am someone completely different! I guess that's the magic of fursuiting, but why should I be treated so differently? I'm not breaking any laws. I'm not a threat to health or safety. I'm not soliciting funds or conducting a business. So WTF? Oh well. At least I got a heck of a story out of it.