graemelion

I wish I had some deep and introspective post to say this.  It's kind of weird.  I'm going though this odd transition where I don't really want to go to conventions.  I don't want to go to MFM.  I maybe want to go to FWA, because FWA is in Atlanta and I like Atlanta.  I still have commitments to both, so I'll still go to both, but I just think I'm not the conventioning type anymore.

For awhile, I was thinking maybe I wasn't a furry, even said so on Twitter.  That may be true now, because I don't know who has a good definition of furry.  I certainly enjoy writing furry fic, both yiff and otherwise.  

I guess I've changed into a new phase.

In memory of family and friends who have lost the battle with cancer; and in support of the ones who continue to conquer it! Post this on your LJ if you know someone who has or had cancer. 93% won't copy and paste this. Will you?


I'll go one step further.  Posting something like this is one thing.  Living through it, or supporting friends and family through it.. that's something else.  It's one thing to see it from a distance and acknowledge a problem.  It's something else to feel the pain it can bring to you, or your friend's lives.

Her name was Laurie L.  I'll spare her last name as that would be unfair to her family.   She was having a get-together with friends in a December of 05, I think .  From what I was told, she had bed headaches, and went to lay down.  The next day or so, she went to the doctor, and was diagnosed with brain cancer.

She was gone by the end of January.

I also know someone who has won this fight, only to have it come back, and now he's fighting it again.   

And someone who I hope has won the fight for good.

One of my greatest heroes is someone who won the fight, despite losing his life.   

If you want to encourage, help, or give to people fighting this fight, here are two places that I think could use help and support.

www.stjude.org
www.jimmyv.org

Great.  Now I'm crying again.  Heh.

I just can't seem to do things simply, do I? :)

Hey all.

I, for those who care, have made out my list of goals for this year.  In case people are curious ;)
 

• Get down to 165 pounds by June 30, 2011
• Write 5 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes each time
• Complete 1 short story first draft every two weeks
• Release 1 short story (completed) every month
• Sell or otherwise publish 3 short stories over the course of the entire year
• Finish the first draft of a novel by the end of the year
• Create a program by the end of the year (likely using C#)
• Earn 20% more by June 30, 2011 , than I do at this exact point in time

That's actually more goals than I usually go for.  You'll note there are no furry related goals, and that is due to me having no interest in any convention positions at this time.  2011 or 2012 MIGHT involve me starting a publishing house for furry, much like Sofawolf.  We shall see.

 

Values.

We all have them.  Rules we live by.  An ethical standard that we show to the world.  

I think over the next erratic time frame, I'll be posting some of mine.  It's almost like I've constructed my own belief structure in the absence of the Christianity I now fully renounce.

A lot of people are upset this morning.

I understand it.

But I'm upset too.  When Obama was running, he said that he'd end DADT.  He said he'd get health care reform.  He told everyone that with Congress working together on democratic ideals, that we will have this.

Now, he's simultaneously defended DADT in court, and hearlded its doom to the HRC.  

He has removed his grassroots GLBT grouping on his own webpage.  He's lost the public option healthcare debate and is in danger of losing the whole thing.

We're presented with two parties in the US.

Currently, one will say or do anything to get elected, and then will forget what they've promised.  In some cases, they've intentionally gone the other way.

The other will say they are going to do things that are detrimental to the liberal way of life, and then get them done.

So who should I vote for?  The ones that I can't trust to keep their word, or the ones that I can trust to do things against my interest?

How about neither?

Carlin's right.  It is a massive illusion of choice.   I don't think I'm playing this hypocritical game anymore.

So, why Graeme?

In the past few years, in Furry, I've found myself disillusioned.  There has been a marked difference between when I was younger, and easily able to get attention and affection, and now that I'm older and my wild oats have been mostly sown.  As I moved forward, I discovered that I needed a bit more to be like a lion.  And a bit less like a leopard.  With that being said, I found that I was needing a bit more of a break from Redcard than I thought initially. 

It's been a rocky few years.  I've tried finding my identity.  I've been upset, happy, shocked, and surprised.  I've been an MFM staffer, and then not.  I've been a soccer ref, and then not.   I liked some roles more than others, and some things have just found me burnt out.

But I'm 30+ now.  If not totally a gray muzzle, I'm starting to feel it in the fandom. I'm not the cute kid at his first convention anymore who can get laid where he wants.  I'm the creepy guy who's been to twelve of these things and now I'm watching other people go after the cute new blood.

So it's a step forward.  A step into that nice middle phase of my life.

I look forward to the future.

Hi.

I was RedcardLion.

With the things I have going on in my life, I don't know how often I'll post here.  Maybe frequent, may not.