tabbiewolf | Entries tagged with california

So every anniversary since Spot & I have been married we've spent with friends or family (mostly family). This is fine — it's great, our friends & family are amazing — but it's an anniversary, you know? I wanted to do something on our own.

So in TWO DAYS we'll be headed to San Diego. Because I got the wild idea that going to California for our anniversary would be awesome and the means to get there existed readily thanks to excessive airline miles.

Current plans include at least one tiki bar (the Bali Hai), the Zoo & Safari Parks, seeing a live taping of @midnight (already got tickets), and possibly Disneyland. Very possibly Disneyland. Disneyland is more or less a definite but I keep saying "if" because we're trying to do this trip on the fly outside of the Zoo, and I'm failing spectacularly at not planning. But I enjoy the hell out of planning so I can't complain TOO much.

We may hit other tiki bars — Tonga Hut in Hollywood and Trader Sam's in Disneyland — and possibly Oceanic Arts and/or the Tiki Farm home base, if they're open. I'm trying to decide if hitting 3 tiki bars in one month will contribute more than one to my "once a month" count (can I skip June & July so we don't have to go to Cape Cod or Long Island during actual summer? I haven't decided yet).

And yes: we know that Los Angeles/Anaheim/San Diego are a fair distance from one another. Our rental car ranked over our hotel room when it came to luxuries, simply because we knew we'd be driving a lot.

We still need to pack, though =p

Driven through the canyons I was
Dazzled by the mountains and we didn't go very far
Close enough to heaven if you
Climb up on a mansion you too can swing like a star

In ONE WEEK,

spotweld and I will be on a plane somewhere over the middle of the country on our way to San Jose. I'm just a little excited, in that I have brought back lyrics to describe myself, which I have not done in quite some time.

The unneeded excuse for going, of course, is Further Confusion. I haven't done a BIG furry convention in years, so this con is going to be a big deciding factor in a lot of things…mostly: Are big furry conventions still worth going to? Is the time/money/travel stress worth it? Or is staying close to home and focusing on my online commission work the way to go?

As you all know, I've been overly critical of big furry cons because the money I made didn't make up for the time/money/travel stress that went into one a few years ago. I was completely underwhelmed by the traffic, though I can fully admit: it may have been the economy and it wasn't just me (though I've heard similar things from other, much bigger name, artists). Further Confusion seems to have taken the dealer:attendee ratio into account for their dealers room, which as a dealer I agree with wholeheartedly. I've heard nothing but good things about it from artists who've gone previously (as in: you barely have time to eat, you get so many commissions), so I'm hoping it'll change my views on bigger cons.

Then again, the last big convention had the whole "terrorist attack" issue so who knows. I'm hoping for the best but expecting the worst, which is my normal state of being (yeah, I'm that kind of person).

At least I fully don't expect to pay for our transportation with convention earnings. Sadly, cross-country plane tickets are a WEE BIT too expensive to expect something like that. Though…that would be a HELL of a convention.

I was just a passenger a
Rider on the tremors that were shaking all our beds at night
A visitor a stranger thought I
Might pass for a regular if I just kept out of the lights

Besides Further Confusion, which again is the unneeded excuse to get out to California (I can write those plane tickets off as at least a partial business expense), I've got a dorky, happy excitement going on for staying with

tugrik. It's a feeling very similar to meeting a crush for the first time, which it pretty much is (we've probably crossed paths before, but I spend most conventions braindead and in "work mode" — if you've ever worked retail you hopefully know what I mean…I've re-introduced myself to people I've met before at the same convention a few years in a row because of this. On the other hand, I get to meet folks for the first time several times!). And yes, Spot knows fully about my crush and is okay with it, as far as he's let me know.

Can I mention how glad I am that I married Spot? Let me mention that again here: damn, I'm a lucky girl.

After Further Confusion, all three of us will be driving down the beautiful California coast — assuming no major storms show up, anyway, as I know that makes the Pacific Coast Highway kind of a bitch to drive — to Anaheim. Despite being a huge Disney fan, Spot's never been to Disneyland, the place that started it all. Sadly since it's off-season a lot of it is closed or under construction, but hey, it won't be crowded!

I really wish we had more time on the trip. Part of me thinks "Damn, I wish the convention wasn't that weekend" even though that's part of the reason we're going. But I think no matter how much time we had, we wouldn't be able to see it all. Tiki bars, jade hunting on the coast, the Missions, weird tourist attractions, San Francisco & Los Angeles/Hollywood/etc. in general…and we won't even be going further down the coast, which is sad because the San Diego Zoo is amazing but we just don't have the time.

Of note: the International Tiki Marketplace at Don the Beachcomber's will be taking place THE DAY AFTER WE LEAVE. Aaaaaaaaaaaugh. Though two cons one right after the other might be nuts. We should plan to do that some year, though.

I wonder if people who actually live in California feel like there's no way they can possibly do everything. It's been forever since I lived there (or near there, considering my years in the desert of Arizona) but I can't help but think it's more normal than anything (similar to what I imagine living in NYC is like…"Oh, yeah, Empire State Building? Walk by that every day."), despite that it takes 6 or more hours of driving to get anywhere.

Well, I can't be pissy about it: we're gonna have a lot of fun and I'm gonna eat a ridiculous amount of In & Out Burger.

(That is not the only thing I'm excited about but damn I'm looking forward to it.)

Tore my heart out from my chest
Mixed it up in my mind with the best freshest pieces of my soul
Chose the ones I loved the most
Drove 'em all down to the coast
Threw 'em in a big black hole

Now, back to convention preparations. I've gotten most things done, but I still need to work on my Sketch of the Day book (if it doesn't get done I won't be TOO depressed about it), pick up some more new markers, and make some more badge examples.

And if you're also gonna be at Further Confusion: Lemme know and/or come say hi! Space 25 in the dealers' room, I'll be there most of the convention selling my wares and drawing all the things. I also take badge & commission orders in advance, if anyone wants to throw money at me now ;)

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Entries tagged with california

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