Jerzei Collie's journal

I tried a beer I never had before at yesterday's singles meetup. The bar didn't have the beer I initially wanted. The bartender recommended the Dominga Mimosa Sour beer from New Belgium Brewing. It was really good! I actually bought a six-pack of this beer earlier today, along with a bottle of grenadine syrup for another drink recipe. The hotel bar at Furry Fiesta offered a purple vodka lemonade drink they called "Paws Down Tails Up." I found a copycat recipe online called "Purple Rain" and made a pitcher of the drink tonight. It's similar to another "Purple Rain" drink I had in Grenada before a cruise, but that version used Sprite instead of lemonade.

I wish I hadn't had a late lunch yesterday. I ordered a bowl of fried cauliflower for dinner at the meetup but could only finish about half of it.

MONDAY

I checked out of the con hotel just after 10 AM, then went to a drug store to buy a Gillette razor and some snacks.

On my way to Amarillo, I took a side trip on a section of old Route 66 that I didn't get a chance to see last year. The town of Groom has a water tower that was deliberately built at an angle, so people call it the Leaning Tower of Texas. A church in town has a 190-foot cross surrounded by statues depicting the Stations of the Cross. I thought about visiting the VW Slug Bug Ranch again, but it was starting to rain and I didn't bring a paint pen to mark one of the VW's.

In Amarillo, I went to a steak and grill house for dinner and got a chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, broccoli and cheese soup, and a brownie a la mode for dessert. I had a couple glasses of Yuengling beer with my meal. I shaved with my new razor before bed. No nicks this time!

TUESDAY

After leaving the motel in Amarillo, I realized I left a couple small bottles of lemonade in my room's fridge. At least it wasn't anything important or irreplaceable.

I refueled and got lunch in Dalhart, Texas. I got "The Dude" chicken fried steak sandwich at Dairy Queen.

If I make it to Furry Fiesta next year, I hope both my financial and emotional health will be better. I felt sad at times and stayed in my room instead of going to some of the panels I wanted or getting in fursuit. The latter was partially due to not having a fursuit parade.

I got home from Furry Fiesta around 3:10 PM today. The convention itself was very good, though long waits for elevators and not enough parking put a damper on things for me. It took 90 minutes of driving through the parking garage before I could find a space.

I'll break up my trip report into pre-convention, convention and post-convention to make things easier.

WEDNESDAY
I left home around 7:30 AM then got breakfast in Raton, New Mexico just after 10 AM. I had plenty of time to have lunch at Furrbie's diner in Amarillo since I arrived earlier than expected. One of the waitresses said I looked familiar to her. I had visited Furrbie's back in 2018, but the waitress was thinking of someone who visited more recently.

I spent the night in Childress, Texas at the same motel I stayed last year. This time the elevators were working! I forgot to change the top on my APAP tank, so it still had the open spout for my machine's cleaner. I went to the Dollar Tree to get some plastic wrap, tape and pencil erasers to cover the spout. I picked up dinner at Taco Bell on the way back to the motel.

If I stay at this motel next year, I'll make a note that the rooms have both refrigerators and microwaves. (The hotel in Amarillo where I stayed on Monday night also has these.)

THURSDAY
I stopped at Buc-ee's in Fort Worth on the way to the convention hotel. I got two of their Texas cheesesteak burritos to have for lunch and dinner, along with some bottles of water and two rice crispy treats.

The registration line for the con moved MUCH faster than last year. The "line before the actual reg line" only took an hour to get to the front. Unfortunately, a tornado warning forced everyone in line to take shelter for a while. When the coast was clear, it took another 40 minutes to get through the line again and about 10 minutes to get registered.

I wanted to catch Divine Dragon Cannon's performance today. The act scheduled before them was still playing, so I listened to that act for a while. I caught "Story Time with Taebyn" after that.

The laptop I regularly use has an HDMI output which I can use with my TV. This has helped me feel less tired since the TV is about 8-10 feet away versus a smaller monitor about 2 feet away. I don't have a close-up light source affecting my long-distance vision.

Seeing Boomer's "Metal Dawg" QSL picture reminded me of an old fursona/fursuit idea. A long time ago, I discovered my Chinese zodiac sign was the metal dog. I imagined having a "Metal Dawg" fursuit, either a golden retriever or Irish setter with an '80s hair band hairstyle.

Just 10 days until Furry Fiesta!

I haven't heard back from the Subaru dealership about when my car will be ready. I'll call them tomorrow morning.

Dad e-mailed an article about how Americans receiving SSI payments will get one or two additional payments within the next month. If I receive a payment in the next two weeks, that will really help me with paying for the car repair and my Furry Fiesta trip. Just 17 more days until I leave for Dallas!

I found an item that may be useful for future vacations. Someone on Telegram posted an Amazon link to a portable oven used for camping and travelling. I was actually looking up breakfast foods that didn't require heating when I saw the post. This oven would be useful if I'm in a hotel room that has a refrigerator but not a microwave. I have brought mini cereal boxes, instant oatmeal and Cream of Wheat cups to conventions, but those don't have many calories. Ready-made meals like MREs are okay but they tend to be pricy.

Only 37 days until Furry Fiesta! I corrected some of my earlier entries because my countdown was off by 10 days.

Dad showed me a video my brother made where he sings "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch." He really nails Thurl Ravenscroft's voice in this one! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgKVyVuWWL4

48 days until Furry Fiesta!

55 days until Furry Fiesta! I registered for the convention tonight, but I can't find an available hotel room for all four nights. I'll keep checking the hotel site from time to time in case a room opens up. I will also see if any friends have available space, and possibly look on the Con Roomies site.

I've only fully kept one of my New Year's resolutions so far, but I'm on track to accomplish a second one.

1. Weight below 290
2. Reduce debt by 10%
3. New higher-paying job or self-employment
4. Furry Fiesta and DenFur (if COVID doesn't affect either)
5. Christmas with friends or on my own

I attended Furry Fiesta and will attend DenFur this year. DenFur is just 41 days away! For the debt reduction, I'm still waiting on my federal tax refund, but that should get rid of at least 15%.

Stress eating has caused me to gain weight. I got up to 314 lbs. a few days ago and am slowly coming back down. This morning I weighed 308. I don't know if I'll reach this year's goal weight of 290, but I'll definitely try.

I've found a job placement specialist to work with Vocational Rehab to find new employment. I'll have my first official meeting with the specialist next week.

I'm looking at low-cost vacations for Christmas. Any future job I find could affect my plans for this.