tl;dr: I had some okay fun at Anime Boston. First time in suit in half a year and reasons why.

It's been almost a year since the last journal I posted (10 months?) and probably about as long on even putting up any photos. There's a reason for that to be honest. Over the last year I have just been fed up with the constant crap. Life has found ways to screw me over or at least heavily defer my plans. My involvement with projects has been cut down so substantially by work, family and other things going awry that I'm amazed I have anything at times. Took a promotion last year in august which put me in the highest possible position at work. I'm now the Quality Manager for a whole company. My usual work load is doubled to some extent as I'm supposed to be training new employees to help handle my old jobs and at the same time I'm supposed to somehow manage my way through AS9100 audits, supplier and customer reports and oversee that everyone is doing their work properly and jobs are done right.

If you don't know what I do for a living, I work in aerospace, specifically overhaul and repair. Maintaining and upgrading aircraft engines, tank engines, atomic power plant, turbine power plant and naval vessel components. The parts we work on are from across the US and other countries. Lifestar, Fire Rescue, Dakota/California firefighting helicopters, that 747 you sat in, the plant that produces the electricity you use, the tanks and our troops use overseas, supply and support copters and craft for the military among many other things.

Anyway... life has been pissing me off and eating away at my time. This past weekend I went to Anime Boston on the encouragement of some friends. Wouldn't have gone otherwise given my current attitude towards things as of late, and my immense discontent to dealing with people lately. It was actually somewhat enjoyable. Though I ended up mostly wandering around on my own. Spent a couple hours in suit on saturday for the first time in about half a year now. Friends had wandered off to do their own thing, so I just hung out with my younger brother. He's fine with the furry and fursuit thing, so he was my handler for the time I was in suit. Made it a lot easier that I could just use hand signals to convey if I wanted to stop or get out of there if someone or something wasn't feeling quite right. This and only one other time has he ever been my handler. I usually rely on my friends to do that, but as of late I've stopped suiting because I don't have anyone that wants to help with it, or too many just don't care enough or pay attention to realize that the suiter is having issues or needs to be rescued from a situation they can't navigate so well in suit.

An example of some obvious carelessness in regards to your suiter if you are a handler, is neglecting the fact your suiter is nearsighted, and therefore has issues identify distance without their glasses or contacts. Neglecting to make sure they find the first step on a flight of stairs, or after a landing. Not making sure they're still somewhere near or to your side while trying to traverse crowded areas. Things that have happened to me as of late, and it's become to much of a risk or trouble to bother suiting when you have no one to rely on...

All things aside, I had a nice weekend at AB. Even if I was left on my own for quite a while. I've lost a few friends over the last year, and it's been keeping me out of suit more often because it's hard to find someone to trust when you realize just how vulnerable you are in a fursuit. Situations are harder to deal with (grabby children, people who have no idea when you really just want to walk away, you're trying not to keel over from heat exhaustion and no one will just let you get moving again, stairways...). Being an introvert doesn't necessarily help with this issue. either.

Whatever, I'm done ranting.