Back from Bronycon · 5:11pm Aug 17th, 2015
Sorry that my update took a while. There were a lot of personal experiences that got in the way. I'll mention those last.
I had a chance to meet so many lovely and interesting people. I know I'm going to forget a few, but I'll try.
On Friday, I met up with the nice people from Rage Reviews. And, y'know, they ARE nice. The dinner was organized by General Soarin, and we had a nice chance to get to know each other over seafood. I got to meet the legendary Broadway Sweetie Belle,, shalrath MrHost56, (I think?), and argh, I know I am forgetting someone. Leaping River and I bonded over our mutual love of PartyDiamond, and I greatly envied her Party Favor plushie, the lucky duck. There was an insanely delicious local dessert, and I'm pretty sure Elric of Melnipony stole some of it. Most of the rest of everyone adjourned to the Convention Center, but I went back to the hotel to chill.
Then there were my fellow panelists on the Shipping and Romance Writing panel organized by bookplayer: Skywriter, Sunchaser, and Aquaman. It was really an honor, and a cool conversation. And also thanks to the contingent from Rage who sat in the second row. I appreciated the support!
I also met . . . a bunch of other people, dammit, and also bookplayer's baby Trixie and her husband James.
A big highlight was getting a sketch of Good King Sombra drawn by Andy Price. He's a great guy, and it was worth the one and a half or two hours I stood in line. He admired the shirt of Pinkie Pie, Cheese Sandwich, and Ponyacci that I was wearing--and I wanted to tell him who drew it and I blanked on Matt's last name! Augh! I suck, especially when I fangirl Matt so hard. I'm going to PM Andy Price on DeviantArt and let him know and give him a link to the shirt page. (Here it is, if you didn't know.)
I hung out a lot with Elric. He's pretty fun, and not at all the scary dude behind the pen.
I never got a chance to wear my Cherry Jubilee outfit. I'll probably wear it at EQLA. And yes, I will be at EQLA!
Now for the personal stuff:
Shortly before I traveled, my cat Marbles started having some troubles--convulsions and vomiting. While those cleared up, I found out in the follow up visit that she has early stage kidney disease. I had two kitties with that a few years ago, and it was two years of nursing: injections, subcutaneous fluids, pills, special food. And it also involved a lot of pain. Marbles is too young for this. She is only nine.
I had to switch her to a different food, and she also has serious gastrointestinal issues that have nearly killed her in the past. So when those started to crop up again, I was about beside myself. Luckily, she has a great pet sitter. Why go to all that trouble for a cat? Well, this is why:
Because she is my sweet baby and very close to her brother, and I would be devastated if something happened to her, and so would he.
Then there's my own health issues: nerve impingement, digestive stuff that makes it impossible to eat a lot of foods, including ice cream and coffee, and a bunch of other stuff, including a mood disorder that carries a lot of incidental stuff. Travel can be very tiring.
And then, as I flew home to California, I found out that an elderly relative had died. I just missed being able to be at her funeral, which is today.
I don't post a lot about things going on with me in groups or even here. Sometimes sympathy just makes everything worse. It's just that as the people who met me at BronyCon can tell you, I'm a fairly ordinary human being, and I'm not in the blush of youth, either. I try to stay upbeat, because it helps me a lot. And I'd like to think that's the person people met, and not some cranky old lady bitching about the lines.
Plus, I had a great time with my niece and nephew, seeing my parents, and going to the beach. I miss seeing my family. They live 3,000 miles away, so that was a real treat.
So I'm back now, getting into the swing of things, catching up on work, and that also means pony reviewing and writing! Thanks again to everyone at Bronycon, including the people I missed.
It was great paneling and briefly chatting with you on matters CheesyPie! Sorry to hear of the ick in the background.
Sounds like you had a lot of fun. I'd like to go to a con, but given how expensive they tend to be, even without the travel expenses, eh... my cheapskate genes say no. Oh, well, I suppose I use that extra time for writing...
...which I should get back to.
Curse the combined forces of August being a busy month and my own laziness. 
"You offered me a bite!" he said indignantly.
So much for my rep around here...
Such a pretty kitty!
I am sorry about the health of Marbles, your health, and the death of your relative. It is too bad that you did not CosPlay as Cherry Jubilee because your costume is perfect.
I'm sorry to hear you had such a rough time! You were absolutely awesome on the panel, I hope if you can make it back things behind the scenes go much more smoothly. And I hope your kitty's health improves, or at least remains manageable.