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Tiger Lemon
Feb. 19th, 2023 12:06 amWe are heading over to Nordic Fuzzcon on Monday and I am very apprehensive about it. It is coming a little too close after Scotiacon, meaning I haven't got an awful lot planned, while I am doing a lot of staffing at the event too. Furthermore, I am finding a number of the Telegram groups rather cliquey and impenetrable, although I'll admit my busy week last week has prevented me from spending as much time meeting people as I would like. I am sure once I'm there, everything will be fine, but I fear the confidence I garnered in Glasgow has evaporated over the last few days.
Monday was a very busy day as Wolfie, who was still recovering from his ear infection, had to go to his immigration interview to get a new card. This was more fraught than it needed to be as he waited until the last minute to get new photos, but in the end, he managed to get it issued and he will pick it up next month. Later in the day, I went down to the dentist to have my first filling, something over which I was increasingly fretting as the day wore on. I deliberately picked an English-speaking dentist but in the end, we conducted the whole thing in German, which gave me a slight confidence boost at least. The procedure itself was all rather painless, as was the additional teeth cleaning I had on Wednesday lunchtime. Like before, this was conducted fully in German too, although the lady cleaning my teeth did lament her English wasn't good, which made me doub my German proficiency. At one point, she did break into English and say 'wait two minutes', which was odd as it's a phrase I know. Still, we managed to communicate well enough and she did explain to me I could get €40 back through my health insurance if I uploaded a receipt of proof of treatment. This I did on Friday through a convoluted process with my provider - I don't know why it can't just be done at source.
Thursday was our regular Fureigners night out, which was quite well attended once again. There were around 12 of us, so not as many as in January, but still a healthy number, although Wolfie was forced to sit to one side due to continuing issues with his ear. Proceedings started at 6pm, which is far earlier than usual, so I was a little concerned as we couldn't get there before 9pm. In the end, though, there were quite a few furs still about and we had a rather enjoyable time catching up with everyone.
One of the reasons why we were later was that I wanted to publish another story on SoFurry. I have been trying to build an audience there for a few months and, with Nordic Fuzzcon taking place next week, this would have been one of the last times I could have uploaded something before I went away. The release went quite well and seems to have been well-received, which is good news as on Friday I got confirmation that my first-ever published story will hit the shelves next Wednesday. The book 'Happy Howlidays' was meant to come out over Christmas but got delayed, so it was great to hear confirmation that it will be on sale from next week. This is the first time I have ever been published in a furry anthology and with my second story coming out in OhMurr! shortly, I am excited beyond words. I have always wanted to be a published furry author but never really had the confidence to pursue it, fearing I wasn't good enough. My perspective on this has changed following the acceptance of these two stories, and I am writing pretty regularly these days. I am just hoping that these stories will be well-received.
This weekend has been quite quiet, on account of not wanting to get COVID ahead of Nordic Fuzzcon. I am going to jump into Furality Luma this evening, an online VR con, but tomorrow will be spent working and getting packed for the convention. The only other thing that's happened this week has been the constant battles around my gender identity. Literature can be a powerful thing and having read a story in Roar 8 on Wednesday, I am starting to become more accepting that I am a girl. However, I am incredibly scared and am not sure about the best way to proceed, which is seeing me oscillate wildly in terms of mood. I am hoping to talk to people at the convention about this, but we'll see how it goes.
Update: Furality Luma last night ended up being one of the best VR experiences I have ever had. I was feeling a little down, but decided to check out the world as I had paid for the convention. I went to the Avatar showcase, which was interesting, before checking out the main lobby area, hoping to Talt (who in the end had fallen asleep in that particular instance). It was there I met Ahkira Arts, who I think initally mistook me for someone else. Anyway, we got chatting and she was really lovely, introducing me to her friends and partner too. We watched the stunning fireworks display together before they disappeared for the longboi meet-up. I ended up spending much of the evening with them, coming back later to watch the fantastic When Snakes Sing in concert. Technically, this was a marvel, with a blue wolf avatar performing on a rocky plinth stage, with a video projected onto the cliff face to their right. They had regular dancing guests too, while it was just great to hear an hour of rock music. I'm definitely going to have to check them out. Sadly, I didn't get chance to meet many of my friends as they were all fragmented in different instances - such is the drawback of the popularity of Furality Luma - but last night proved how one person's kindness can really make an evening.
Monday was a very busy day as Wolfie, who was still recovering from his ear infection, had to go to his immigration interview to get a new card. This was more fraught than it needed to be as he waited until the last minute to get new photos, but in the end, he managed to get it issued and he will pick it up next month. Later in the day, I went down to the dentist to have my first filling, something over which I was increasingly fretting as the day wore on. I deliberately picked an English-speaking dentist but in the end, we conducted the whole thing in German, which gave me a slight confidence boost at least. The procedure itself was all rather painless, as was the additional teeth cleaning I had on Wednesday lunchtime. Like before, this was conducted fully in German too, although the lady cleaning my teeth did lament her English wasn't good, which made me doub my German proficiency. At one point, she did break into English and say 'wait two minutes', which was odd as it's a phrase I know. Still, we managed to communicate well enough and she did explain to me I could get €40 back through my health insurance if I uploaded a receipt of proof of treatment. This I did on Friday through a convoluted process with my provider - I don't know why it can't just be done at source.
Thursday was our regular Fureigners night out, which was quite well attended once again. There were around 12 of us, so not as many as in January, but still a healthy number, although Wolfie was forced to sit to one side due to continuing issues with his ear. Proceedings started at 6pm, which is far earlier than usual, so I was a little concerned as we couldn't get there before 9pm. In the end, though, there were quite a few furs still about and we had a rather enjoyable time catching up with everyone.
One of the reasons why we were later was that I wanted to publish another story on SoFurry. I have been trying to build an audience there for a few months and, with Nordic Fuzzcon taking place next week, this would have been one of the last times I could have uploaded something before I went away. The release went quite well and seems to have been well-received, which is good news as on Friday I got confirmation that my first-ever published story will hit the shelves next Wednesday. The book 'Happy Howlidays' was meant to come out over Christmas but got delayed, so it was great to hear confirmation that it will be on sale from next week. This is the first time I have ever been published in a furry anthology and with my second story coming out in OhMurr! shortly, I am excited beyond words. I have always wanted to be a published furry author but never really had the confidence to pursue it, fearing I wasn't good enough. My perspective on this has changed following the acceptance of these two stories, and I am writing pretty regularly these days. I am just hoping that these stories will be well-received.
This weekend has been quite quiet, on account of not wanting to get COVID ahead of Nordic Fuzzcon. I am going to jump into Furality Luma this evening, an online VR con, but tomorrow will be spent working and getting packed for the convention. The only other thing that's happened this week has been the constant battles around my gender identity. Literature can be a powerful thing and having read a story in Roar 8 on Wednesday, I am starting to become more accepting that I am a girl. However, I am incredibly scared and am not sure about the best way to proceed, which is seeing me oscillate wildly in terms of mood. I am hoping to talk to people at the convention about this, but we'll see how it goes.
Update: Furality Luma last night ended up being one of the best VR experiences I have ever had. I was feeling a little down, but decided to check out the world as I had paid for the convention. I went to the Avatar showcase, which was interesting, before checking out the main lobby area, hoping to Talt (who in the end had fallen asleep in that particular instance). It was there I met Ahkira Arts, who I think initally mistook me for someone else. Anyway, we got chatting and she was really lovely, introducing me to her friends and partner too. We watched the stunning fireworks display together before they disappeared for the longboi meet-up. I ended up spending much of the evening with them, coming back later to watch the fantastic When Snakes Sing in concert. Technically, this was a marvel, with a blue wolf avatar performing on a rocky plinth stage, with a video projected onto the cliff face to their right. They had regular dancing guests too, while it was just great to hear an hour of rock music. I'm definitely going to have to check them out. Sadly, I didn't get chance to meet many of my friends as they were all fragmented in different instances - such is the drawback of the popularity of Furality Luma - but last night proved how one person's kindness can really make an evening.
