What a weird first post at almost 2 am in the morning. But, I felt like writing this. Welcome to Alpha's Journal. I am bad at writing them on a regular basis but I will do my best as I continue to code this site in HTML and CSS. So far I am having fun with it, and I feel like I am learning a lot. Not sure how exactly how I want to format my site, but I want 90s/early 2000s aesthetic as that is what I enjoy looking at, sort of a Hypnospace Outlaw vibe (underrated game by the way). Not using AI for this is awesome because problem-solving any issue that happens creates a good dopamine increase in my brain. I should be going to bed soon to keep myself on schedule. On a call with friends on Discord and I have not said much. They are playing a game with each other, so not much conversation is happening anyway. I hope to use this more than bluesky, not that I use it much anyways, mostly reposting images or videos I come across. I have not made the site public to my bluesky either. Once I do, and I share this site with others more, then hopefully people will see how this whole thing started. I do not find social media sites of today as appealing as they once were, so I thought to myself, "what did people do back then? Oh yeah, myspace, forums, and blogs." Forums still exist though I wish they were utilized more instead of Discord for everything. I still use it as a means to message friends and join in on group games. It has its purpose, but the personalization of your own website sounds more appealing. You are only limited by your own imagination and coding skills. Well, this post became longer than I anticipated. It is now 2 am.
Today was definitely a Monday. Work went by quick. There's not much I can share about work due to HIPAA, nor do I really want to share anything that would not violate it. Let's just say I work with a population of children that may have developmental delays and I give them individual therapy. It is a hard job, can be draining, but it is a fun job, and can be rewarding as it is nice to help out the children and their families. I love to teach, and although I did use to be a teacher, I found it more strenuous than I anticipated. It took time to find a job I enjoy and can make decent money doing. Earlier today to relax, I started watching Stranger Things with my mate. Hoping to get through it within the rest of the year, considering it as five seasons. But right now I am watching some good old analog horror with friends over Discord. I enjoy showing this and watching it. I like to watch these kinds of videos because it feels like I am solving a mystery. Before I went to watch videos with friends and watch Stranger Things, I had to get groceries and I did some meal prep and freezing. I made 7 portions of pork macaroni and cheese. They are in the freezer for future consumption. I used cottage cheese, something that I have never had in my life, and chedder cheese to make the sauce, as well as adding garlic powder, msg, and salt. It tasted good, no hint of any cottage cheese flavor whatsoever. I sometimes get hyperfixated on the way I cook, what I do to minimize food waste, and more. I also want to eat a bit healthier so I figured I would make things I like but portion it out and hack it to be healthier. I made some protein pancakes yesterday with sugar-free syrup. I might eat those as a snack or some overnight oats with meal replacement powder and peanut butter. I get hyperfixated on many things, including certain video games, video series, researching, creating art or writing about my own characters, or creating new characters for others or for myself. I'm dealing with a bit of a cough, but I have been taking medicine to help quell the symptoms. Cough drops work temporarily, but luckily I have Nyquil. Might take some before bed, and I know it will knock me out.
I was very sick this week and weekend. My cough got worse, threw up Saturday morning, but my appetite has been fine, no fever. Just cough and fatigue. Drinking lots of liquids and taking a lot of medicine to help myself recover and resting a lot. If this gets worse, I will try to get antibiotics. This might just be an upper respiratory infection. I have not been on my computer for a bit, so I am glad I feel good enough to be back online. Trying to catch up with friends has been difficult on count of being sick. I missed a local pool party. Hopefully I can make the next few furry events in my local area. I am glad we have many events each month. It has been too hot out to make some of them, however. Wish there was more indoor events and not just ones at the park. Hanging out with friends on Discord currently, but I have been watching TV mostly and napping throughout the weekend. Finished Season 1 of Stranger Things. I like the character development for Lucas and Steve. I hope Tommy and Carol get what they deserve in future seasons. Anticipating work this week, hoping that I can get through it without overexerting myself. Website progress will be slow as I recover.
Took a nap today, so I do not feel like sleeping at past midnight. I have to do laundry still. Need clean clothes for work. I have been hyperfixating on making a Midwest USA-themed Fakemon region and Fakemon. Some great ideas me and my friend have got so far. It might take years to make it, but it will be fun to do. Had something happen on bluesky where an account was mass following furries and stating something that I am not involved in and used someone else's fursuit likeness as a profile photo. I was not taken with this, so I decided to say something about it, and the account did not like how I showed off their profile and what they were doing. I blocked and reported since they seemed like they were spamming something as well, without any proof. Their account is gone now. I wonder if they were mass reported since the account was gone fairly quickly. Gonna watch videos, do laundry, and shower before bed. Luckily, I get off earlier tomorrow.
How am I still sick? Well, bacterial infection. Got antibiotics from urgent care. Had to leave early from work yesterday since I felt like total garbage. Now I have mucus spilling out of every orifice (gross, sorry). I have been feeling very socially starved and lonely, I do talk to people online, but I see friends every month. So far, I have not seen them since I have been busy and sick. Next week, there is a Coyote vs. Acme meetup that my friends are hosting. I missed two meets I usually go to this week. Started Season 2 of Stranger Things, but have only watched a couple of episodes. I like Max somewhat, she reminds me of me as a kid but less out there and still nerdy. Billy is a douche. Will goes through so much in this season that I cannot fathom what more he can take. I feel I have not been motivated to work on the website, but that is likely due to my sickness. I hope to work on it a bit more since I feel really bored at home, not being social or going out.
I return to work tomorrow. Been at home resting and taking care of my health. I got a lot of new meds from going into urgent care on Monday, got x-rays, and a breathing treatment. I still have a deep cough, mucus spilling out of my nose and mouth each time I cough. The x-ray came back with no sign of anything bad like pneumonia. The nurse practicioner that saw me knew that I had a lot of stuff in my lungs, so I got prescribed antibotics, a steroid, cough medicine, a breathing treatment machine, and an inhaler. Since I am stil having coughing fits, I will keep this breathing treatment going until my lungs finally feel normal. I hope it is not for long. I will also keep my inhaler on me. If this goes for longer than a month, I will have to let my doctor know what is happening. At least the breathing treatment has been improving my lungs. They still don't sound great but better than without the treatment. The steriods make me feel so tired that I nap for hours a day. Every day there is a little bit of improvement, so I am hopeful that I am getting better. Time for some more rest and also having fun by gaming and hanging out with Zarro.
Not fully better, but definietly able to work. I had to resort to cough medicine and my inhaler sometimes. I still need to do a breathing treatment today, but I wanted to write a quick blog. I also cannot wait to see Coyote vs. Acme on Saturday. A friend of mine is making my fursuit head and my tail as well. I already have paws that are perfect. I will have the fursuit by Anthro SoCal. I love how the head is turning out so far. If you have known me for a long time, you know this is my second head. I will show off both here. 
This was a crazy month. I am feeling much better, no more bronchitis. Seldom coughing, but nonetheless I feel great. I saw Coyote vs. Acme yesterday with a bunch of furs and friends. I enjoyed the movie, highly recommend seeing it. I played through the Pokemon: This Gym of Mine rom hack with a dark-type team. It is my favorite type of Pokemon, since most of my favorite Pokemon are dark types (i.e. Weavile, Absol, Zoroark, Mightyena, Houndoom, etc.). Tomorrow Ii have to pick up a slushie making machine that I got from winning an auction. Auction sites are useful, especially if you need something that is worth a lot and you can get it at a heavy discount. The slushie machine was about $225, but I got it for $68.50, plus buyer's fee and tax. I am excited for Anthro New Mexico this week, though I will be there late Friday and leave Sunday. I am not sure if I am working on Labor Day. Would be nice to get extra holiday pay. I also finished Season 2 of Stranger Things with Zarro, and I thought it was really good. Some scenes were a bit overdramatic, but overall a great season. Of course, the Upside Down is not done with Hawkins, Indiana, as was hinted at in the last episode I watched.
I am glad I get to start off the month with going to a fur con (after my duties at work tomorrow). I am making a 6 hour drive to Anthro New Mexico, the first fur con in Albuquerque, but it is not the first fur con in New Mexico. That title belongs to Furry Enthusiasts Rendevous in New Mexico (FERN for short). I am excited and I cannot wait to attend a brand new con again. I am mostly packed, just need laundry done. I hung out with a friend on Monday, seeing the movie Buddy. That was a pretty messed up movie, but a lot of fun to watch. I was so tired after work today that I took a very long nap. I also had some dreams, as I usually do when I sleep. I do not usually share my dreams publicly, only with close friends. I am not comfortable to write a dream journal online. I am almost at 10 posts on here. I am glad that I can write in this when I want to without any pressure.
So let's start with Friday. I drove from work, got gas a couple of times, hit a bit of rush hour traffic but smooth drive overall. Finally, I make it to my motel, but it was closed! I did not know that motel offices could close and so I could not check in. So, I asked in the telegram chat for Anthro New Mexico to crash for the night. It was past midnight, and someone offered a pull-out couch. I gladly obliged. I still went back to the motel on Saturday and they apologized that they were not open after midnight, so I still got a room but I had to pay despite having pre-paying. Their system audit had to go through so it cancelled my room with no refund. Sad, but it was cheap regardless. I got the rate I originally got per night. I got into my room, and this place looked better at night than during the day. But, the staff was nice, and I had a place to sleep in and keep my stuff nearby the con hotel. I made it to the con on Saturday, no line for registration, and I made my way through the rustic-looking hotel. They had two pools, one indoor and one outdoor. The indoor pool had a sauna and a spa, something you do not see at hotels often. It also had a basement that was hosting the dance at night. The hallway had many rooms for the dealers den, the 18+ dealers den. and panel rooms. The gaming ropm was subpar, having only a handful of board games and no video games. The theme for the con was "Haunted Mansion." There was a midnight ball dance and a coffin in the hallway! There was also a handmade decoration made for the con. In the dealers den were many dealers that were major names in the fandom. the 18+ den hosted the spicy stuff. I spent some time in there talking to friends. I also went to a park meet outside of the con and met other New Mexico furs there. I went to some panesl, the dance, and the charity raffle. I volunteered to go on stage and pull the winning ticket for the fursuit head that was offered for charity. That was really fun, and I love helping out cons so much. I still wanna help out small cons and work up to doing big cons later on, even though I know biggers cons always need help, too. On Sunday, I checked out of my motel and went to the con. I hosted my creature collector panel, and talked with a couple of Pokemon fans. I discussed what I like about Pokemon and other creature collector games. Small turnout, but I still enjoyed my time. I stayed at the con until 2 pm and left to go home. On the way back, I got gas and stopped at Sizzler in Gallup, which I had never been to. Lots of food for $32. I could have done the salad bar, but I wanted to try their steak and grilled chicken. It was decently tasty, hoping to go again when I take my friends if they make it to FERN next year. It was a good trip, but I would like to have a friend to pair with and go since I was mostly by myself. I did get to meet new people and chat with friends that went to the con.