RCFM: Sunday

[vakkotaur]

So I wired ahead for a jaguar... hrm, that doesn't work so well as a punchline. Ah well. Onward!

jugularjaguar had mentioned some time back that the fan in his suit wasn't working. Or rather, it would work if it were connected, which it was not. I had brought my kit of electronics supplies and figured in a few spare moments I could take care of that. I'd goofed and hadn't gotten any battery clips. Neither had Jugular. Nor had either of us by Saturday evening, so Sunday morning was the time to go get them.

I got ready for the day and did a quick check around the hotel to see what going on. I was invited into a discussion of how to survive in fursuit but other stuff was pressing. I'm sure i would have found it interesting. I suspect things aren't always quite as they appear. When kinkyturtle caught up with me, we went out to look for battery clips after getting directions to a local Radio Shack. We got there, however, considerably before they opened, and so went in search of breakfast. This would allow time to pass and also get us a proper meal.

We went to an IHOP and waited a while. But since it was just two of us, our wait was rather short. We stopped at a grocery store for more supplies and that let more time pass. I found Dr Pepper in glass bottles. That was bought. These are the smaller bottles, like I can find Coke in at local stores. Also, more Yoohoo was bought, the double fudge stuff. Then we went back to Radio Shack and got there not long after it opened. I bought two packs of 9V battery clips (hard style and soft style) and a set of 9V batteries.

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Back at the hotel we stowed everything and looked around the con again. I'm not sure what all was done anymore. This is where I stopped taking notes. KT was better about that, as he needs the notes for the cartoon diary. I hadn't thought to check the art auction area until it was closed. I was wondering if I'd been outbid, or if not, when I could pay and pick up the item. Nobody seemed to know.

I wandered around a while, and wound up talking to Bill Holbrook and BushyCat again in the dealer's area. Sometime around then, I think, moto42 found me and noted I'd won the piece I'd bid on. We both went back to the art auction room and walked into a discussion of tax law. I finally managed to pay what I'd bid and also pick up the stained glass piece. Moto also gave me some chain with which to hang it and asked for a photo of wherever I'd placed it when I got to it. I have yet to find a place for it - the windows at home generally have the blinds closed... Once I figure out where it can go, I'll take care of that picture.

When the Yoohoo had been chilling for a while and felt cold, I got a few bottles out and stuffed them into a big zip-lock bag and filled it with ice. This was then taken to BushyCat who had also expressed a craving. I still can hear her comment to Bill Holbrook, "He's really making sure my artwork for him doesn't suck!"

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I bid on a couple items in the charity auction, and did win one item for surprisingly little. I really expected someone to have more on the Tiffany Tiger shirt. Perhaps that it was just a size L and not XL or more was factor. I can (just) wear a Large, and am optimistic enough to believe that I will, eventually, again fit easily into a Large. One surprise was a ball of lightsticks inside a another ball of lightsticks. They were on a common axis and the poles were hubs. This was such a toy that the auctioneers or presenters played with it quite a bit. Someone got the idea to auction it off, perhaps to get it away from them. That amused me, since I was the one who suggested the spheres be made concentric the night before. I stepped out as the (in)famous hole-y light bulb was being auctioned off.

Closing ceremonies started as mainly the handing out of a set of awards, but it didn't stay that way. There was least one Jugular Jaguar incident (which I'll rely on KT's cartoon diary, since as mentioned earlier, I didn't take notes - and he taped it). There were some other things, but the big one was the selection of "Staph member X" (I know, staph as in infection...) who would be the one blamed for any and all flubs and disasters at the con. A wheel was spun and alexanderkatz won, er, lost. He played it up well, even when something happened not much later, "I did that!" I'm not sure, but I think it was him who got tossed into the pool. The wheel was spun again to determine who would get to toss him in. Jugular Jaguar won. Now, how is that for sheer chance?

We went out to the pool and waited, and one of the folks there (not a con attendee) was wondering what going on. I explained, roughly, what would happen and they stayed to watch the show. First was the official dousing. Then others just jumped in. Eventually even the jaguar jumped in, the crazy cat. Then they decided to have the gripe session in the whirlpool part of the pool rather than in a meeting room. It looked like something right out of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I think I went up and started to take a nap or something. At least I rested for a while.

Oh, and the con raised $1000, well at least $1001 (I couldn't leave an even number alone) for the charity, PCDS (Parenting Children of Different Species - a no-kill animal shelter). Jim Groat even adopted a dog from them. Last year the con raised a little over $500 for PCDS. Not a bad increment, huh?

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KT got back and I think something was mentioned about supper, so I got up. Likely it was something else, but get up I did. Someone was setting up a "dead dog" party and I contributed a bit to that. Sometime later, likely much later, I met up with Jugular and one of us mentioned the fan and such and I said I had the battery clip now. We'd stepped away from the party for a bit. I'd had my one hard lemonade and decided that one drink was quite enough for me. Good thing too. I was still quite able to think straight, despite the goof mentioned below.

I had the whole works done, all soldered up nicely and heat shrink tubing over the solder joints and everything. It worked nicely. Then I noticed I'd put the switch next to the battery connector. JJ had suggested switch placement and battery placement that wouldn't work that way. I goofed. So out came the kit again, wires got clipped and re-soldered, again with heat shrink tubing. I was getting a bit low on matches for that, but had enough. And no, I didn't set off the smoke detector. I did do this all on a magazine so nothing would get damaged if solder fell on it. I was finished for the second and last time when JJ got back from wherever he'd stepped out to. He was pleased with the result. Yay. Well, there was a bit more noise than either of us liked, but it was due to something hitting the fan blades. Re-shaping the area in which the fan was mounted made things quieter. There's still some sound. I didn't think jaguars purred...

Before, and during some of that, I'd had more water and a Dr Pepper. So when JJ and KT suggested going and getting something to eat, I wasn't feeling nervous about driving. It seemed to take forever to get a group together. I think it was that JJ wanted to include as many as possible and the larger the group the harder that is. Eventually it was just five of us and we could fit (if just barely) in my car. Picture a Corolla with a 'taur (okkay, a Warner), a three-armed turtle, a wolf, a gargoyle/jaguar, and a disturbingly large fly (...). I was glad to be driving and KT was riding shotgun as it were. KT and I both vetoed a sports bar, and we wound up at the IHOP at which we'd had breakfast.

The small group was nice, actually talking with and listening to people and being able to keep track of them. To my surprise, this was another meal that I didn't pay for. I think the only meal I paid for was at Rollo's and, technically, the supersponsor's meal. When it was just me and KT, KT paid for the meals, but then I paid at the grocery store, so it worked out.

Back at the hotel I wound up staying up way late. One thing, then another, and with the storm warnings on TV, it wasn't hard to keep awake. There was a lot of red on the radar maps. Someone offered me a drink and I refused, having had my one drink for the night.. then I saw what he had: Glenlivet. Okkay, that I had to at least sample. It had quite a charred wood flavor to it. When I'd finished that (it was far less than a shot) I was told to rinse out the cup and try the other bottle: Macallan's. That, to me, had a far more gentle flavor to it and is therefore likely a more dangerous drink, being easier to drink more.

I'm not sure when things wound down, but around 3 AM or so, I sure did. I was wondering how far I'd get the next day, but recalled getting to Huntsville early so didn't worry about it.