Buddy Has Two Daddies

Or, Reflections on 24 Hours of Dog Ownership.

* In walking Buddy around the neighborhood this morning I met more neighbors than I have the entire seven months that we’ve lived in our house.

* The fact that you and a stranger each have a dog is the basis for striking up a friendly and chatty conversation. And everyone loves a shelter dog.

* Buddy spent the night in our bedroom last night, outside of his crate. He crashed out on his bed and pretty much stayed there all night. Dan and I kept waking up worried about him or thinking we heard whining, but he was just fine. This is very promising.

* Speaking of crates, Buddy wasn’t really sure he liked his. He had to be bodily escorted in this morning, though once in he laid down and didn’t complain. When I put him back in the crate after walking him at lunchtime he strolled right in. Maybe it was just a case of getting used to it?

* Adopting an adult dog is a fascinating case of trying to deduce the dog’s training and history by his behavior. He is crate trained – we knew that from his foster family. He was obviously not allowed on the furniture by his past owners, since he steadfastly refused our invitation onto the sofa. It looks like his foster family fed him the very first thing when they woke up, since he was positively bouncing off the walls when I came downstairs this morning. He gets one can of Pedigree in the morning, and another in the evening. We need to see if we can work in some dry food to get him a bit more fiber because, uh, he kind of needs it.

* The only strange quirk I’ve noticed about Buddy is that he tends to sleep with his eyes open, which can be a little freaky. You think he’s asleep and you look down and his eyes are rolled back in his head. Eep!

So far things have been going very well. I’m very pleased! Plus, it means we’re going to be getting more exercise each day, which is also a Very Good Thing. I know I’ve already walked a mile and a half just today, and there will be more tonight.

A Weekend Full of Fuzzies

On Friday night, takaza‘s mom brought over her new kitty, Bud.

From 2010_03_05 – Bud the Cat

He’s a sweetie with a terrible story: he was shot with a shotgun, but the vet was able to patch him back up although he lost one of his front legs. He gets around amazingly well and is healing up quickly considering it’s been less than a month. He’s a little purr box, and it’s great to see Dan’s mom with another pet in her life.

On Saturday, we celebrated genet‘s birthday! We went her and roho to Dixie Kitchen & Bait Shop in Evanston and had a really awesome lunch. I had a very tasty Southern Eggs Benedict with Creole Hollandaise. Dan’s Cajun Biscuits and Gravy were excellent as well! After brunch we stopped by Happy Husky Bakery because the guys there are so nice (and Ginger and Astaire, the titular huskies, are indeed happy and friendly!) and picked up a few items at The Spice House. From there it was down to Ruff House Pets to look at some of the dogs that New Leash On Life had at an adoption event. We saw some real sweeties (I was quite taken with Dug, who was indeed a true representation of the film Dug), but none of them that really clicked with us. So it was on to the next adoption event, this one at the Highland Park Petco put on by Castaway Pet Rescue.

Wow. I can’t say enough good things about Castaway. Kathy and Debbie clearly believe in the work that they are doing, but they also know that the more dogs they place in homes, then the more dogs they can rescue out of shelters with euthanize. We really liked working with them (and it was so refreshing after our last experience!) and it seems like we asked all the right questions. We met two dogs we liked, Merlin and Buddy. Merlin was a bit of a handful – very sweet, but headstrong and clearly a behavior “project”. Buddy really clicked with us, though, and after discussing it between us and with Roho and Genet we decided to put in an application for him. We celebrated by coming home and hanging out at our place, watching fun videos and getting Genet drunk 🙂 By the end of the evening I had two emails from Castaway promising to set up an adoption appointment with Buddy’s Foster family on Sunday.

This afternoon we met with Kathy from Castaway and the adoptive family, who live nearby. We met with Buddy (and their other dogs, including Tulip, an adorable – and huge – great Dane/akita mix) and chatted briefly. We double-checked to see if Buddy had any bad habits – trash-surfing, chewing, separation anxiety – and he was clean on all counts. We signed the adoption papers on the spot, and Buddy walked out the door with us. We stopped by Petco and invested in quite a few goodies (dog food, grooming stuff, harness, etc.), then came home. We took some time to take some pictures to show off our new cute family member:

From 2010_03_07 – Buddys First Day

I headed out again to pick up a few more things at Meijer and Petsmart, and to stop by Roho and Genet’s. They were kind enough to lend us Brianna’s crate since she isn’t using it (thank heavens because after pricing out crates…yikes!). We’ve been spending the evening relaxing and getting used to each other. He’s sacked out on a pile of blankets and seems very happy. We’ll be taking him to the vet this week for a check-up (it’s suggested in the adoption contract, and a good way to establish the relationship). We need to work on making sure he’s comfortable with his crate, too – that’s a job for tomorrow I think.

Get Your Train Geek On!

It’s time for some full-on train geekery! I had mentioned this on Twitter and it sounds like there are enough people interested that we’re going to get a group of folks together for it. What is it?

It’s the 2010 IRM Snowflake Special on the CTA!

This event is a fundraiser for the Illinois Railway Museum. For $43.00 ($42 + $1 handling fee), you can join us on Sunday, March 28 for a tour of the Chicago Transit Authority El lines. “Beginning at 9:00 AM at Rosemont station (River Road) on the Blue Line, the trip will travel on almost every line, plus lots of non-revenue and yard trackage.” There will be lunch stops in The Loop, and the train returns to Rosemont station at 6:00 PM.

Yeah, it’s a long day. But I figure it’ll be fun with a group, and if we get tired we can always bail and head back to Rosemont on our own. So…who’s interested?

Where Have I Been?

Now the The Month From Hell is over, I can finally come up for air.

The last few weeks have featured a whole lot of early mornings, late nights, and working weekends. I’m looking forward to having a little more normalcy in our lives now.

Saturday sucked – I was at work from 8:30 until 4:45 PM putting the finishing touches on the final report for the project at work. Nothing like having your boss, his boss, and HIS boss keeping an eye on your work as you’re writing the report. I got a nice round of kudos once it was done, though, so that was nice.

Yesterday was a real hoot. takaza, rustitobuck, and linnaeus took part in the Fox Lake Polar Plunge, a fundraiser for the Special Olympics. I posted a sample of the pictures I took on Facebook, and you can see the full album here. Thanks to roho, genet, rolliebear, and RJ for showing up and providing moral support. After the event we went home and the swimmers showered, then we got some lunch. Roho and Genet had to take off, but the rest of the folks hung out at our place for the afternoon, chatting. It was a lovely way to spend the day! After folks left we watched The Amazing Race. I have to say that I’m really liking the cowboys – they’re smart, they play the game well, and they’ve got a great sense of humor. As for who will be gone next, my money is on either the detectives or the brothers.

So it’s a new month, and I’m looking forward to working on some new personal projects. I have some MFF work to take care of this week, and we need to get the builders into our house to take care of some warranty work. We’re working on possibly adopting a pair of adorable dogs, but the shelter is being amazingly picky about things and we may get turned down, though I’m still not sure why. I’ll be calling them today and figuring out what’s going on. Also, we’ve got some planning to do on our fall trip and Memorial Day festivities as well. Oh yeah, and there’s this Anthrocon thing I need to start planning for…

Still Around

I am still here, and still reading LiveJournal. This has been the month from hell due to some ferocious deadlines at work. The good news is that we’re in the home stretch, but the next few days (and part of Saturday, too) will be long and tedious. I’ve got a lot to talk about, including some potential exciting news on the home front, but that will probably have to wait for this weekend.

Now, I’m off to bed. Tomorrow promises to be another 12+ hour day…

What Have I Been Up To?

So, what have I been up to these last few weeks (besides, you know, answering questions)?

Well, back on January 17th we had the first staff meeting of the year for Midwest FurFest. Time to start it all over again! It was a good meeting, recapping some of last year’s activities, and including a walk-through of the new hotel space. We’ve got a lot of big plans, but it’s going to take some time to bring everything to fruition. I’ve got some items for the website that I need to take care of, and I need to get some information posted. That’ll come this week, I hope.

On January 23rd we braved some freakishly dense fog to visit aureth and jenwolf‘s lovely place in Hebron. Excellent company, some very tasty beer, and entertaining games followed. The next day I finished up my taxes and arrived at some very happy numbers (yay for first-time homebuyer’s tax credit, boo for not being able to e-file if you claim that credit!).

That week kicked off what may be my most stressful week at work since I started with $employer, and it’s been pretty crazy ever since. This has really put a damper on my time that I would be able to post to this journal, or even to think about posting anything since when I get home from work I just want to de-stress. Unfortunately, this trend will continue at least until the end of February, though I’m hoping that things will ease off a bit after that. It’s all but certain that I’ll be working Saturdays for the rest of the month, though.

At the end of January I squeaked out of work on Friday the 29th and takaza gave me a ride down to O’Hare Airport, where I caught a flight to Columbus to spend the weekend hanging out with fordshepherd. The ostensible purpose of the trip was to give him a weekend to relax and not stress, but we all know the futility of this – it would be like someone wanting to do the same for me 🙂 Anyway, it was a delightful weekend, with dinners with roby_panther and kai_darkwolf, cooking up a storm (and a lot of smoke) with crappy recipes from Jamie Oliver, and generally just hanging out and chatting. I had an excellent time!

This brings me up to this past weekend. On Saturday, Dan’s mom and sister joined us, along with roho and genet for a joint early-birthday celebration for me and Dan’s sister. We had a delicious turkey dinner, and I made a butternut squash risotto that turned out really well. Afterward we watched “Julie & Julie”, which is a really fun movie. Last night we took all those leftovers (along with a freshly-made bread pudding) to Genet and Roho’s place where they hosted a Super Bowl party. We were joined by linnaeus, Aureth, and Jenne. We had a whole lot of fun and I really enjoyed the game. The couple of beers I had didn’t sit well with me, though, and as expected I had reflux issues all night long. I’m dragging a bit right now with the combined lack of sleep and lack of caffeine, since I can’t face the acid of coffee right now. Maybe a soda before I head off to work…

Speaking of which, time to shower. Hope everyone has a great day!

Questions Answered, Round 3

Doubling up, I know: 1) Where do you think we (pick a group, be it The Fandom, “normal” people, America, whatever) are going? 2) Because I asked, does this mean I have to set up one of these question thingies? by Anonymous

Well, to answer your first question, I can’t begin to imagine where the world is going, but I can make some guesses about furry fandom. I think it will continue on a track similar to science fiction fandom. Over the coming decades it will become more mainstream, and I think as it does the more outre’ or narrowly-focused subgroups will spin off into their own fandoms and begin the process anew. A side-effect of that mainstreaming is dilution, though, so I suspect that eventually (and I’m talking many years from now) there won’t really be a furry fandom, per se, but rather it will be subsumed into popular culture.

Then again, as a cultural anthropologist, I make a pretty good chemical engineer 🙂

Oh, and as for question 2? “Do as thou wilt, an it harm none.”

A simple one: What was an extrodinarily low point in your life, and what was an extrodinarily high point? by chancehusky

An extraordinarily low point in my life was, without a doubt, when I lost my job in 2002 and was unemployed until September 2004. Being unemployed that long, going through countless interviews, recruiters, job application forms, rejection after rejection – that does something to your self-esteem and feelings of self-worth. I would not have made it through without the support of my dear husband, who not only kept us afloat with his job but also kept my spirits up.

The high point? That’s easy. At the end of Midwest FurFest 2001, Dan and I celebrated our love for each other with a commitment ceremony. I have never been happier than on that day. Thinking back on it even now makes me smile at my good fortune to have Dan in my life.

Keep the questions coming! Ask me about anything.

Questions Answered, Round 2

Given you could send a letter to yourself 15 years in the past, would you? If so, what would you write? by chancehusky

15 years ago was a particularly difficult time for me. I was finishing up my last semester in grad school, I had come out to my friends and family and there were adjustments there, and I was feeling a little alone. I absolutely would write that letter. I’d say it will all work out – there is happiness and contentment in the future, more than you can ever imagine. You think you know yourself now but more is coming, and it’s for the better.

Also, 49ers over the Chargers, 49-26 in the Super Bowl 🙂

Hmm. For once I’m at a bit of a loss as to what to ask. Aha! That’s the ticket. What should I ask you? by Hartree
When is a mouse when it spins?

Suppose some god of Chaos shows up and says: No cooking for a year, and then, only if you’ve indulged some new passion that was formerly something you rarely or never did. What would you choose? by Rustitobuck

I’ve always wanted to take up woodworking, actually. I love the idea of creating something enduring with my hands, and woodworking appeals to the engineer in me. I just need a workshop and about $2,000 in tools…

Keep the questions coming! Ask me about anything.

Questions Answered, Round 1

How did you become a big part of MFF? by secrethusky

After a very successful New Year’s Eve party with the local furry group (LAFF – Lake Area Furry Friends) at the end of 1998, some discussion popped up on the mailing list, including at least myself and Aureth. We were quickly shushed by a couple of other folks, though. As it turned out there were already quiet plans underway to create a new furry convention in the Chicago area. The very first planning meeting at Robert King’s house had maybe six or seven people in attendance. From that, we created the core of the Board of Directors, adding a few more shortly thereafter.

We decided to shadow our designated departments at Duckon the year before our first convention; I worked with the folks in Registration and learned a lot. I believe that shadowing was Robert’s idea, and it was an excellent one – we were able to hit the ground running that first year.

Since then, the staff ranks of Midwest FurFest have swollen to close to 150 amazing individuals who help make the convention happen every year, though there is a core group of about 15 or so that works year-round to push things along. I’ve stuck with it for ten years, and I’m very glad I have. If nothing else I have made the most amazing friends, and that makes it all worth it.

How did you discover your relation with furry? by anonymous

Waaay back in 1996 and 1997 I was becoming disenchanted with my former geek home, the Society for Creative Anachronism. I poked around and came across this group of people who were similarly geeky, and enjoyed a lot of movies and artwork that I did as well. They seemed to center around the Usenet newsgroup alt.fan.furry. I found AFF to be an OK place, but eventually gravitated over to the more civil and thoughtful discussions of alt.lifestyle.furry. In conversations there, I found a spiritual resonance that matched my own agnostic/pantheistic views and made my home there for the next three years or so. In that time I made some really excellent friends who I am pleased to say are still a part of my life.

What’s the one thing you would like to be able to cook, but haven’t yet been able to? by RobyPanther
Oddly enough, although I like it I have never really cooked much seafood (fish, shellfish, whatever). Usually those I’m cooking for aren’t fans (or are allergic). It’s something I really want to explore, though, because it’s an entirely different cooking technique and flavor palette.

Keep the questions coming! Ask me about anything.

Reminder: MFF 2009 Feedback Survey Closes Soon!

Just a reminder: The Midwest FurFest 2009 Feedback Survey closes in just a few days, at midnight on Friday, January 15! Here’s a reminder in case you missed the initial announcement:

As promised at Closing Ceremonies, we have posted a Feedback Survey for Midwest FurFest 2009 at http://www.furfest.org/survey We would appreciate you taking the time to fill out the survey and help let us know what worked, what didn’t, and how we can continue to make Midwest FurFest the best convention we possibly can! Just to sweeten the deal, we’re throwing in a little bonus – one respondent’s name will be chosen at random to receive a free night’s stay at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare, to be used any time before November 22, 2010 (which means you can use it at Midwest FurFest 2010!). Participation in the drawing requires you to enter your contact information, but it is strictly optional and is not required to complete the survey. We look forward to your responses, and thank you for your help in improving Midwest FurFest!

Good Heavens! An Update? Can It Be?

Right, about time for a proper update I suppose.

Once again, takaza and I were able to celebrate the new year by hosting Wuffmeet New Year’s Eve (our fourth in a row). Once again, it was an awesome party as we welcome about 40 friends to the cozy confines of our usual hotel for three full days of hanging out, swimming, hot-tub-soaking, and just a wee bit of imbibing. I think we really did well on the food this year: the New Year’s Eve dinner from Brown’s Chicken was tasty, but Saturday night’s dinner catered by Smoque was definitely a home run. Add to that a very entertaining (and very inexpensive!) trip to Whirlyball, and I’d say that it was an excellent Wuffmeet all around. Thanks to all who could make it! A notable thing about this year: it’s the first Wuffmeet ever where we were in the black, even if it was just a little bit. That was a nice change, too.

Work has been crazy over the last few weeks, including having to work between Christmas and New Year’s for the first time in a few years. It was annoying, but not the end of the world, even if I did have to work until 2 PM on New Year’s Eve. I finally wrapped up the last bit of really high-pressure stuff yesterday, so it’s nice to actually have a chance to breathe again.

Things weren’t helped by the fact that both Dan and I got sick after Wuffmeet (only two of several folks who got sick, unfortunately). Dan’s getting over a sinus infection and mild bronchitis, and I think I need to see a doctor about my chronic bronchitis since I’m coughing a lot at night. This should be fun since at the first of the year I moved onto my employer’s health plan after having been on Dan’s plan for the last eight years. We had the distressing realization that with the tax penalties for domestic partners, we were losing about $1,300 per year by keeping me on his health plan. So, I don’t have a health insurance card or prescription card, but I’ll need to figure out how to see a doctor in the meantime. Fun!

Finally, we had the pleasure of spending the some time with girtygrin, nikvulper, and eddiddiums as they visited Chicago last weekend. After hanging out and chatting at their hotel on Friday (joined by daveqat, jimcyl, and tecknow as well as several locals who we saw fleetingly before they took off), we met up with them in time for brunch on Saturday, which we had at Wishbone (and were joined by linnaeus). The biscuits and gravy were transcendent, and my shrimp and grits were delicious.

We then walked up to Paulina Market where we picked up some tasty meats (and I got some duck fat, yum!), then it was over to Dave and Jim’s place to hang out and chat for a bit. We ventured into the cold to stop by Evil Squirrel Comics to say hi to woodychitwn and Ryan, then it was time for dinner. We wound up at The Curragh (yes, the Irish pub that was near Woodfield Mall – they finally re-opened in Norwood Park!). Dinner was excellent, and the Magner’s cider was much appreciated. It was a very fun day spent with some very cool folks – we definitely need to return the favor and see more of Ann Arbor soon.

On Sunday…well, on Sunday we rested. It was glorious – a quiet day at home, and after spending the morning doing not much, I took a nap in the afternoon. Unheard of! Dan got to sleep in untilt he crack of noon as well. It was just what we needed, I think.

So that’s about it right now. Oh, I did want to mention that yesterday marked the eighth anniversary of this journal. It’s been a crazy eight years, but I’m pretty happy with how everything has worked out.

And Thus Ends Wuffmeet 2009

We’re home now, and everything is unloaded from the cars. Unpacking will have to wait until tomorrow, at the earliest.

We had an amazing time this year, and a hell of a lot of fun hanging out with dear friends. Thanks to everyone who joined us! We are already looking forward to Wuffmeet 2010 and making plans, so you know it was a great weekend for us.

Leavin’ On A Jet Plane

So work has been eating my brain lately, but the good news is that one way or another it all wraps up by 2:30 this afternoon, which is when I have to go.

We’re flying out of Milwaukee this evening at a little after 5 PM – hopefully just before the worst of the snow and ugliness that’s coming. We’re flying down to Atlanta, spending the night,t hen tomorrow driving up to spend Christmas with my family in exciting Anderson, SC. We’ll be there until Sunday, and will be flying home Sunday night.

And next week? More work, then it’ll be time for last-minute Wuffmeet preparations! But that’s next week. Now, I just need to concentrate on surviving the next six hours…

Hi! Remember me?

Wow. This may be the longest I’ve gone without a substantive public post to LiveJournal since I started this journal. What has happened since I last updated? Here’s the short version:

  • Midwest FurFest happened. It was a great convention, though it was the usual blur for me. It was my second and final year as convention chairman (MFF has a tradition of two-year terms for its chairmen). I didn’t accomplish everything I would have liked, but I feel that I was able to keep the convention on its upward trend and overall people seem to be very happy. How do I know? Well, we’ve got this nifty survey up, and if you take it you can win a free room night at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare! My biggest personal regret from the convention is that it sounds like there was one hell of a party in our suite on Sunday night but I was just so exhausted and done with socializing that I wound up taking a nice relaxing bath and going to bed early. Oh, and rest assured that I will not be disappearing from Midwest Furfest staff! I will be taking over the position of Hotel Liaison for MFF 2010, just as we’re going into a new hotel. Whee!
  • Thanksgiving happened. We were pleased to welcome Roho, Genet, Bander, Shawn, Shadowstalker, and Tarin over for Thanksgiving dinner, with a delicious turkey made by takaza‘s mom. The food was delicious, and the company was fantastic! Incidentally, if you were at Midwest FurFest, you might have met Dan’s mom – she was Staff Liaison, and her job was to go around the convention and make sure that folks who were stuck in one location got an occasional snack and drink and had everything they needed. She was a tremendous help during the convention and I’m so glad she was able to make it!
  • Dan’s birthday happened. We rounded up a bunch of folks and went out for dinner at Wildfire Restaurant, which was really excellent. Dan ordered the martini flight (!) and even drank a few of them. Great steaks, and really tasty desserts.
  • A doctor’s visit happened. I found out that what I thought was carpal tunnel is in fact tendonitis. This led to a nice cortisone shot (ow) and orders to wear an arm brace for two weeks. I’ll be living on Advil for a while, I think.
  • And finally, a brief visit down to Urbana happened. mirkowuff‘s neighborhood revived the “Candlestick Lane” tradition on short notice, so he threw a small short-notice party to celebrate. We had a lovely time and got to see some great old friends and meet some new folks as well. It was a very pleasant weekend.

So now we’re pretty much caught up. What’s coming up? Well, we’re going to dog-sit this weekend, and hopefully visit either Evanston or Milwaukee to go to The Spice House and do some restocking. We’re flying down to South Carolina for Christmas. And of course there’s Wuffmeet coming up, for which we really need to start making specific plans for food. December is a trainwreck, as always, and it doesn’t look like January will be much better! But we’re having fun and all is right with the world, regardless.

We Did It.

I am tired.
I am hoarse – I have almost no voice left.
Did I mention I was tired?

But with 14+ months of preparation and untold hours of hard work by over 130 staff members, Midwest FurFest 2009 is done and was a huge success.

And now, I’m going to relax on the sofa, enjoy my mint tea, and not. Do. Anything.

And I’m going to feel damn good about it.

And Now, Here We Are

Twelve+ months of preparation (because planning for this started well before the last Midwest FurFest) and untold hours of work later, here we are at Midwest FurFest 2009, celebrating our tenth anniversary. This will be my final year as convention chairman, so it’s bittersweet in that respect. I wasn’t able to accomplish everything I wanted to do, but I made a good dent in it, so I’m not too unhappy.

Being chairman versus running Registration was a huge difference for me. It’s a lot less hands-on, and more management. In that respect it offered a welcome break from seven years of doing the same thing, but it introduced a whole host of new and interesting issues to be dealt with. All in all it’s been a worthwhile, if at times frustrating, experience. It’s been worth it, though.

As far as what this has meant to me as a person, it has been a tremendous experience in relinquishing control and letting other people do their jobs. Delegation, delegation, delegation. I know when I came into this position many staff members expected me to be a micromanager because I am such a control freak; I hope that I proved them wrong, or at least was helpful and constructive in what management I offered. I certainly appreciate the patience and cooperation that has been shown to me in return.

I guess I should say that I’m not going anywhere next year – I’ll be taking over the Hotel Liaison position, something that is sure to offer new and interesting challenges. But first I need to make it through this year’s convention. It’s going to be stressful, I can already see that. But we will work it through, and have a good time doing it.

I will receive a lot of thank-yous at this convention, and I can’t begin to say how much each and every one will be appreciated. But I would ask that you also take the time to stop a staffer or volunteer at the convention and thank them as well. I’m just the manager – they are the tireless folks who are doing the actual work. You would be amazed how much just a simple “Thank you” can turn around a crappy day and erase a bad experience someone has had. We are all volunteering our time to make this convention happen – nobody gets paid. Do your part and help people feel that it’s time well-spent.

And with that…I’m out of here! My email and web access will be spotty for the next five days, so if you need to reach me, my cell phone is your best bet. See you all on the other side!

Still Around

In case anyone was wondering, I am still around, keeping up with LiveJournal. This is the portion of our program where I’m up to my ears in work and life stress, and Midwest FurFest preparations are going full-blast. Also, I’m feeling that anything I might post would be whiny, snarky, or drama-inspiring, so it’s probably just better that I sit on my hands.

Get ready for The Midwest Furfest 2009 Charity Auction!

(Copied from )

It’s now less than a month til Midwest FurFest! Time to start packing and planning! Of course, as you pack, you’ll want to leave some extra space for all the loot you’ll pick up at the Den, the Alley, and the Art Show. Rather than leaving that corner of your suitcase empty, why not turn it to a good cause – like cute fuzzy animals in need of rescue?

This year, Midwest Furfest’s Charity Auction goes to benefit Kane Area Rehabilitation and Education for Wildlife (KARE for Wildlife). KARE has been helping Illinois wildlife since 1995. Every day, they work to rescue injured and orphaned members of Illinois’s native species, such as foxes, coyotes and raccoons, as well as raptors. In addition, they are involved in local education and outreach, along with some of their non-releasable charges.

So how can your extra luggage space help KARE and the animals? Auction donations! That signed original fox piece that your boyfriend won’t let you hang on the wall? The gorgeous handmade blanket that you never use since moving to Arizona? The skunk tail you don’t feel right wearing since discovering your tiger side? All of these would find a great new home at Saturday’s charity auction!

Don’t have anything to donate? Come to the auction itself, and see if you can find something to pick up instead! Every year, the auction brings in unexpected, creative, incredible donations for our talented auctioneers to send home to new owners. Not sure if you’ll be interested? Come for the show anyways – the banter is half the fun, and KARE will be there with some of their critters to cheer folks on. And don’t forget to drop by the charity’s table to meet Vicki, her volunteers, and the animals.

For details including donation instructions, rules, and more info on KARE, check the latest on the website Charity Page

See you all in November!

Who Knows Where the Time Goes?

Oh wow, it’s been a while since a proper post here, hasn’t it? OK, here’s a quick recap of the last few weeks…

The weekend of October 10th: This was the big Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind weekend. On that Saturday I took the train into the city and wandered around a bit. I stopped by Julius Meinl Coffee House, which was delightfully civilized (and had great coffee)! After that I walked around the Lincoln Square neighborhood and stopped by The Bad Apple. While I didn’t get any of their tasty-looking food, I did have a New Holland Charkoota Rye Smoked Doppelbock which was…challenging, but interesting. You have to love a bar where you can strike up a conversation with two strangers about the relative merits of the beers your drinking. I really need to get back to this place!

From The Bad Apple it was across the street to the Half Acre Beer retail store. Alas, their offerings were a bit thin still (they had just started retail sales) but I did pick up a couple of good beers to take to dinner. I bussed it over to Andersonville and arrived at Ranalli’s Pizza in plenty of time for the LAFF get-together. I have to say that the folks at Ranalli’s were awesome to work with for our little shindig! We had about 28 people show up, and they were extremely accommodating. The pizzas just kept coming out, and the company and food was excellent. I hope that maybe we can do another LAFF event there again sometime soon.

After dinner the whole crowd trooped down to the Neo-Futurarium, where a line was just starting to form. I’m really glad we got there when we did! It was a cold night, but not too bad and the time passed quickly. We were treated to an extremely entertaining show, and I was reminded once again why it’s going to be so damn great to have the Neo-Futurists at Midwest FurFest this year.

The next day was the Midwest FurFest staff meeting, and things went really well. We nailed down some lingering details and I hope that everyone left with as good a feeling about the convention as I did.

On the weekend of October 17th, we aimed to keep things a little lower-key. takaza and I both slept in and had a lazy day around the house, slipping out late in the afternoon to stop by a restaurant supply place not too far away, then stopped by the local butcher and liquor store (where Dan had an amusing exchange with the Twitter-rep of our favorite rum). On Sunday, we welcomed roho, genet, and linnaeus over for a very tasty dinner of braised short ribs, ratatouille, and roasted potatoes with garlic vinaigrette. Very tasty dinner, supplemented by some really nice wines.

And here we are in the throes of another week. We’re going to be doing cleaning in preparation for a get-together this weekend, not that the place is all that dirty. If nothing else this gives us the impetus to put away the last few items left over from the move. Oh, and the penultimate Midwest FurFest staff meeting is this weekend! Believe it or not, plans for next year are already in high gear as well – nothing I can talk about, but I can say that folks should try to get to Closing Ceremonies at MFF, because we have a lot of cool information to share!

Too Much Light Makes the Furry Go Blind!

As a part of our ongoing quest to bring you new and exciting programming each year, we are proud to welcome one of the most innovative theater groups in Chicago to this year’s Midwest FurFest: The NeoFuturists, creators of the long-running play “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind”, which is currently celebrating its twentieth anniversary! “Too Much Light…” is a rollicking, exciting, thought-provoking, and at times interactive attempt to perform 30 plays in 60 minutes.

In the NeoFuturists’ own words: “The single unifying element of these plays is that they are performed from a perspective of absolute honesty. We always appear as ourselves on stage, speaking directly from our personal experiences. Each short play is written by a performer, honed by the ensemble, and randomly collaged with twenty-nine other plays through high-energy audience participation. Each night of performance, we create an unreproducable living newspaper collage of the comic and tragic, the political and personal, and the visceral and experimental.”

National Geographic Traveler Magazine says, “This experimental company delivers exactly what good satiric theater should: wry humor, skilled slapstick, thought-provoking social commentary – sometimes all at once. It’s been a long time since I enjoyed myself so much at a theater, since I laughed out loud so much.”

The NeoFuturists will be preparing a performance specially tailored to Midwest FurFest and furry fandom; you don’t want to miss it! Their performance will be on the main stage in Ravinia Ballroom DEF on Saturday, from 5 PM – 6 PM (immediately before the Furry Variety Show). This promises to be a one-of-a-kind show. We hope to see you there!

You can find out more about the NeoFuturists at http://www.neofuturists.org.

LAFF Pizza and Too Much Light Outing – Call for RSVPs!

Get those RSVP’s in! The LAFF Pizza/Too Much Light Outing is this weekend, and we’re going to have a blast. A brief recap:

DINNER
WHAT: Pizza buffet! Ranalli’s will be providing salad, all we can eat pizza, beverages, and dessert in a separate seating area.
WHERE: Dinner will be at Ranalli’s of Andersonville (http://www.ranallispizza.com/), 1512 West Berwyn (between Clark and Ashland), Chicago, IL 60640
WHEN: 8 PM – 10 PM
HOW MUCH: $18.00, including tax and tip (if you are going to be sitting with us, you *must* pay for the meal). Takaza will be collecting money from folks as they arrive.

THEATER
WHAT: Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind: 30 Plays in 60 Minutes by the NeoFuturists (http://www.neofuturists.org/).
WHERE: The NeoFuturarium, 5153 N. Ashland (at Foster), two blocks from Ranalli’s of Andersonville
WHEN: Seating is first-come, first-serve, so we will be lining up at 10:15 PM or so for the 11:30 PM show. Come prepared to hang out, chat with friends, then enjoy a great show
HOW MUCH: $10 – $15 ($9 + roll of a six-sided die), cash only

RSVPs: Please RSVP directly to me at duncan@wolfhusky.org. Please let me know if you will be at the DINNER, the THEATER, or BOTH. RSVPs sent to LiveJournal and to the LAFF mailing list will be cheerfully ignored. A reminder: “I might be there” is not an RSVP. “I may be bringing three friends” is not a useful RSVP. These will be ignored.

The following RSVP’s have been received:
(Name – Pizza / Too Much Light)
1. Duncan – Yes / Yes
2. Takaza – Yes / Yes
3. Syn – Yes / Yes
4. DaveQat – Yes / Yes
5. Pawnce – No / Yes
6. Leon – No / Yes
7. Narkiel – Yes / Yes
8. Huxley – No / Yes
9. Dane – No / Yes
10. Woody – Yes / Yes
11. Ryan – Yes / Yes
12. Perro – Yes / Yes
13. Wolphy – Yes / Yes
14. Bramble – Yes / Yes

So, who else is in? Again, please email your RSVP’s directly to me at duncan@wolfhusky.org. See y’all soon!

-Duncan

Birthday Weekend for a Sheppie!

What a weekend that was! It was fordshepherd‘s birthday, and we were determined to celebrate it in style.

baja_hyena flew into Milwaukee International Airport (MKE) on Thursday night. I picked him up and we came home to a tasty dinner of fried chicken and mashed potatoes that Takaza had made.

Friday, we were joined by Ford, who arrived just in time for a great steak dinner and a relaxing evening of chatting and relaxing.

On Saturday, the fun really began! Following the surprise (to Ford, anyway) arrival of r_bear, the first stop was Whirlyball, a crazy combination of bumper cars and lacrosse with a really good bar. We were joined by perro, wolphy, deccadoggy, tozier_wah, justincheetah, calapurr, r_bear, linnaeus, and snickershusky. We were able to get in six 10-minute games, and we had a blast! We’ll definitely be going back, perhaps either during Wuffmeet or Memorial Day next year.

After Whirlyball we stopped for a tasty lunch at Eloise Chicago, then it was over to Nickel City Arcade, where after paying $2 admission you can play any of their 100 games for a nickel (OK, maybe $0.15, sometimes). I got an hour’s worth of entertainment on about thirty cents with a couple of games of pinball, an old version of Mortal Kombat, NFL Blitz ’99, and Puzzle Fighter. The place was of course overrun with kids on a Saturday afternoon, but it wasn’t too bad.

When we wrapped up there several folks took their leave, and it was down to eight – me, Dan, Baja, Ford, Linnaeus, RB, Cheetah, and Cala. We stopped by Linnaeus’ place to change and then it was off to dinner at Moto. Oh my god, Moto.