It took two months after crossing back into Canada to complete the process. It's incredible how much paperwork and due diligence is required to return to your own home country. This is what I had to do:

Months before departing for Canada
• Obtain Canadian Passport (applied for in person at a Canadian Passport Service Center in Laval which included showing my original Canadian birth certificate as proof of citizenship).
• Interview potential movers (only two were recommended for international moves)
• Call Social Insurance Registry to reactivate Social Insurance Number
• Create a My Service Canada Account
• Phone online financial service, government, etc. that uses 2FA and to continue to get access once back in Canada.
• Get a letter from State Farm that indicates the length of time with no "at fault" claims for me.
• Get a letter from Colorado Motor Vehicle department indicating driver's license history with them (length of time licensed, clean record, class of license, etc.)
• Obtain all health records for myself and my dog
• Obtain rabies certificate for my dog
• Get extra supply of prescription medicine from doctor
• Fill BSF186 customs declaration form for all my possessions that I'd bring with me for the long drive to Montreal and also what the movers would deliver (https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publica.....bsf186-eng.pdf
• Fill Registry for Imported Vehicles (RIV) form for importing my personal car into Canada (https://www.riv.ca/OnlineForms/Home/Landing )

At the border crossing (11 February 2025), I showed my Nexus Card and Passport and declared my intention to repatriate myself upon which I was directed to park my car and go inside the customs office where I presented all my forms. I was required to pay 5% duty on the value beyond 10 000$ for any individual item I was declaring. Fortunately, there was only my car, whose kbb.ca estimated value was about 11 200$. So I paid 5% tax on 1200$.

After that, I drove on to Longueuil, QC where I had booked AirBnB accommodations through the end of March.
Then the next phase of my repatriation began. With my Canadian passport being my only valid Canadian piece of identity, I went through the following steps:

• Opened a Canadian dollar checking account at the local bank, and applied for a Canadian dollar credit card
• Set up an account with OFX.com and WISE.com for converting my IRA distributions from US dollars into Canadian dollars (at near market rate and much better than any bank or credit union).
• Registered with the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) to qualify for the provincial universal health care (coverage will become effective 1 May, after three months residency in Québec)
• Took my car to a Canadian Tire automotive center to submit it for federal vehicle inspection to certify it as compliant to Canadian vehicle laws
• Took my car to different place to submit it for provincial vehicle inspection to certify it as compliant to Québec vehicle laws
• Went to the SAAQ (Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec) to register my car and get my Québec license plate
• Applied for auto insurance in Québec (and cancelled my auto insurance in the United States).
• Met with my realtor in the Montréal area to begin house hunting while also keeping tabs with my other realtor in Littleton, Colorado who was selling my old home there
• Found a house to buy in Pointe-des-Cascades just as I accepted an above-asking-price offer from a buyer in Colorado
• Applied for a mortgage for the new house (this was tricky as my credit profile in Canada was a complete blank), and secured the loan
• Went to the Canadian Border Services Agency main office in downtown Montréal with Form BSF186 to clear my possessions that were at the mover's warehouse in Montréal. Delivered the CBSA form clearing my possessions to the movers.
• Made arrangements for the movers to deliver my things on 31 March, three days after officially finalizing the purchase of my new home with the notary.
• With a new permanent address, I went back to the SAAQ office with my official Colorado driving record as proof of experience that would allow me to exchange my Colorado drivers license for a Québec drivers license.

I received my new driver's license in the mail this past week, two months after crossing the border, and thus completing my repatriation. I'm still unpacking things and setting up my new home, and still have much to do, though I did register myself as an elector for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

But to any other fellow Canadians out there looking to return to Canada, I highly recommend reviewing the information on this website: https://kurucz.ca/expatrepat/index.html
The information provided proved to be invaluable in preparing me for transitioning to this new phase in my life.

After having lived away for many years, I am at last back in Canada. And because of VRChat, I have already made many friends here in the local furry community even before spending my first night as a repatriated Canadian in Longueuil, Quebec.

Furnal Equinox - Toronto - March (Not attending because I'll be in the middle of closing on the sale of one home and the purchase of another home)
Furcationland - Portland (Maine) - April (under consideration)
Calfurry - Calgary - May
Anthrocon - Pittsburgh - July (someone will have to give me reason to attend)
Fur-Eh! - Edmonton - July
CanFURence - Ottawa - August

The first American election I witnessed was when Ronald Reagan become president in 1980. Even up until 2016, election campaigns had been civil and generally free from hatred and violence. That changed on 15 January 2021 and seems to be getting worse. I was deeply disturbed by this past election. Never have I seen such vitriol and hatred to that extent

I have never seen so many "Fuck Joe Biden" quotes and even some "Fuck Trump" quotes. Civility has gone out the window. Whatever happened to the notion that people can "agree to disagree" instead of threatening to punch someone for not agreeing with you? If you want no better example of civility between opposing views, you need not look any further than former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton: a Republican and a Democrat and they are friends!

This past election was without precedent. I have never witnessed a political party turn against its sitting president just because he did poorly during a debate (I understand he was still recovering from COVID) or have two assassination attempts against an opposing candidate. There were also other acts of violence as well (i.e. the attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband and threats against election workers). I do not recall ever seeing such negative vilifying of opposing candidates. And the presidential debates have become a pathetic joke and a disgrace.

I think one big reason for the current political atmosphere is social media. Originally created with the intent of bringing people together, it has had the unintended opposite effect. When I talk with someone who has opposing political views from my own, they seem to live in a completely separate reality. If any of you who have access to Netflix have not seen this, I highly recommend watching "The Social Dilemma" which first aired in 2020. It was a real eye opener.

It brought to my attention that podcasts, twitter posts, news media sites, etc. can be politically very biased. If you are right-leaning, you probably enjoy watching Fox News. If you are left-leaning, your favorite news source is probably MSNBC. These and other similar sources of information cater to their respective audiences and will continue to feed them what they want to hear without giving them a fresh perspective. What they broadcast is also often outright false or misleading.

It is why I've learned to avoid such sources of information. I did find a few websites that report on the level of news bias and reliability, such as https://adfontesmedia.com/ and I'm quite sure there are more such websites. It helped me find the most reliable, least bias sources of information that look at an issue from all sides.

I am pessimistic about the political stability of this country in the years to come. Unless people catch on that they are being blinkered into narrow political views that vilify any who do not agree with them, things are going to get worse. One must learn to fact-check whatever one reads and not accept everything at face value.

I have been a practicing mechanical engineer for over 29 years, 25 years of which were in the aerospace industry. This included the last 13 years of the Space Shuttle Program and now over 10 years here in Littleton, Colorado working in the Artemis Program. But as exciting and interesting as it has been, I have grown weary of work and grown weary of living in the United States.

Things have grown crazy here. I am deeply disturbed by these mass shootings that seem to occur regularly to the point that they are commonplace. And lately, it seems like Canada is a good deal more politically stable than the United States. I cringe as to what will happen in the aftermath of this upcoming election with the vitriolic divisions in this country.

Then there is the cost of healthcare in this country. I've done the math. Universal health care, while not a perfect system, still makes cost of living in Canada less expensive than in the United States. Once I retire, I will have to buy my own insurance if I stay in the United States. It will cost me more in premiums and paying out of pocket for deductibles than would the higher taxes in Canada, even in Québec, which is the province with the highest taxes (but a very low cost of living, even with GST and PST). Quality of living is also better there and property is less expensive in Québec.

I miss being in Canada, and I miss my family there. I have for almost every year visited them, except during the pandemic. I don't think I ever emotionally recovered from the isolation of that year when the Canadian border was closed. I find myself frequently browsing through Realtor.ca and Centris.ca for nice homes along the St Lawrence River between Québec City and Montréal. So last year, I decided the time was near. As a first step towards repatriation, I applied for and received my Canadian passport.

But it really all began in 1996, when I sat in on a presentation by financial advisors and learned that living on social security alone will leave you at close to the poverty level. It was an eye opener for me and I immediately began to prepare for this moment that will soon be upon me by opening that first IRA.

And now, the time has come. Last Tuesday, 22 October 2024, I notified my company of my intention to retire. My last day with Lockheed Martin will be 30 January 2025. I am interviewing movers now, and have already selected a realtor who will help me sell my home here in the Columbine Hills. Sometime in early February of next year, the movers will come and pack all my things away, and I will make the long drive from Littleton, Colorado, United States to Montréal, Québec, Canada.

Once in the Montréal area, I will find a place to rent and over the next six to twelve months explore the surrounding neighborhoods and find some nice home to buy to settle down in and begin vacationing 365 days a year, camping, traveling, attending fur meets, and going to furry conventions (Furnal Equinox will be my next fur con, since Toronto will be only a 5-hour drive away).

I will be in New Zealand from the 20th of March to the 10th of April next year. My itinerary will be as follows:

Queenstown - 20th to 24th of March
Franz Josef - 24th to 27th of March
Greymouth - 27th of March (to catch the TransAlpine Train to Christchurch)
Christchurch - 27th to 31st of March
Wellington - 31st of March to 3rd of April (my birthday)
Cambridge - 3rd to 7th of April
Auckland - 7th to 10th of April

If any New Zealand fur happens to be along my itinerary and would like meet up between sightseeing tours, let me know.

The first nine chapters have been posted of my Star Fox fan fiction. There will be a pause in future chapters now because I will be on vacation and will not return until the 12th of October:

https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10589816/

I will resume posting the remaining 28 chapters when I return from Australia.

I should add that the first three chapters were co-written with the help of Magna Vulpes on Sofurry (https://magna-vulpes.sofurry.com/). Unfortunately, he has disappeared and I have not been able to contact him. Nevertheless, I wanted to give him credit here for helping me get started on this writing endeavor.

Also, I am still looking for an artist to do a drawing for each chapter. If I find one, I'll revise the posted chapters to embed said drawings within them.

About seven years ago, I started writing a Star Fox fanfiction about Fox and Krystal. However, the reason there are no chapters posted is because I was not certain I was going to ever finish it. If there is one thing I really hate is reading a nicely written fanfic or any story for that matter, only to get part way through it and discover that the author has abandoned it.

I promised myself that I would never do such a thing. If I had given up on my fanfic, it would have never been posted anywhere. However, after seven years, 37 chapters, and 436 381 words, my fanfic is complete. I will in the coming days be reviewing and proofreading each chapter for grammar, story continuity, and consistency and start posting chapters at semi-regular intervals. If there is anybody out there among those I consider friends who is available and interested in proofreading my work, let me know. It is always good to have a fresh set of eyes to catch those little errors that would normally sneak by.

I'm also thinking of finding an artist to draw illustrations for the story.

I will be in Australia from the 20th of September to the 12th of October this year. My itinerary will be as follows:

Sydney, New South Wales - 20th to 23rd of September
Hobart, Tasmania - 23rd to 28th of September
Melbourne, Victoria - 28th of September to 2nd of October
Adelaide, South Australia - 2nd to 6th of October
Thala Beach (between Cairns and Port Douglas), Queensland - 6th to 11th of October
Sydney - night of the 11th prior to return flight to Denver, via Los Angeles

If any Australian fur happens to be along my itinerary and would like meet up between sightseeing tours, let me know.

Check the boxes that relate to you and add the + numbers in the total at the end of each section.
Example if you check a box with (+1), add 1 to your total sum!

Section one:

[X] You enjoy anthro art (+1)
[ ] You draw it yourself (+2)
[X] You have your own sona (+4)
[X] You prefer to see/draw the canine phallus on a male anthro rather than the human one. (+2)
[X] You draw/prefer them realistic looking than toony (+3)
[X ] You like to see the adult furry art (+1)

Total: 11

Section Two:

[X] You own a collar (+1)
[X] You own a harness (+3)
[X] You have a fursuit (+5)
[ ] You make fursuits (+5)
[X] You like to hang physical copies of art in your house. (+3)
[ ] You own ears or a tail (+1)

Total: 12

Section Three:

[X] You bark at dogs/meow at cats (+2)
[ ] Around Furries, you love to act cute (+3)
[ ] You act cute all the time! (-1 IF you marked the box above)
[X] You are fully in character in your fursuit (+5)
[X] Your close friends know you're a furry (+1)
[ ] Most of your family knows you're a furry (+2)
[X] You make videos of yourself with furry related stuff that are on social media (+3)
[ ] You refer to your hands as “paws” (+2)
[ ] You make furry puns (+4)

Total: 11

Section Four (Final)

[X] People refer to you by your furry name (+2)
[X] You only hang out with furries (+5)
[X] You mainly talk in forums with furry sites (+3)
[X] You are a popufur (500+ followers) (+5)
[ ] You fully believe you belong in an anthro world (+4)
[X] You love the movie Zootopia (+1)
[X] You go to fur meetups (+3)
[ ] Your character is from a creative species (+3)
[ ] You love to go to furry raves (+4)
[X] You go to furry cons (+4)
[X] You read furry writings (+1)
[X] You would play a furry mmo for sure (+3)
[X] You have friends that are furries (+1)
[X] You are proud to be a furry! (+3)
[X] You know you will always be one (+3)

Total: 34



Now add all your totals up and see your score! Remember don't take this so seriously it's just for fun!

After you find out your score, put "I am a ______ Furry!" In your journal title!

FINAL TOTAL: 68

1-10 = Barely Furry (You enjoy some of the stuff in the fandom but you can't really get into it all)

11-25 = Casual Furry (You're a fan and you like to have fun! You wouldn't go crazy though! Or you're just starting out!)

26-40 = Basic Furry (You're the typical fan. Buy some art, make a sona, have fun! You do spend effort and time in the fandom but not much )

41-60 = Invested Furry (You wanna feel the whole fuzzy package of being a furry! Don't go too crazy, now!)

61-85 = Deeply Invested Furry (Goodness you really love this fandom don't you? Be careful since you're getting close to losing yourself in all the floofiness!)

86-100 = Ultimate Furry (You did it! You have become the ultimate mighty furry and those shall bow to your glory!)

Since its inception in 2002, I have attended every single Megaplex through 2019 and watched it grow from a small convention to the large convention it was becoming up to before the pandemic. I even attended the virtual Megaplex last year.

I supported this convention, going as far as Mega Sponsoring it and was planning to Giga Sponsor my 20th Megaplex. I even was part of the staff my last few years living in Florida before leaving that state in 2013. So I was happy to see Megaplex resume for this year and looked forward to attending it.

Then I saw the social distancing and masking rules, even for fully vaccinated attendees. They seem rather pointless to me given that the hotel itself does not require them. I'd expect that many at the hotel will not be wearing masks.

Almost every person (over 99%) hospitalized with COVID in the United States today are unvaccinated. Indications are that vaccinated people are not likely to spread COVID, though the CDC has not stated this conclusively yet. I suppose it is CYA on their part in their desire to be cautious.

I also understand that Governor Ron DeSantis has decreed that vaccine passports are not allowed in Florida. So Megaplex will not be able to keep unvaccinated people form attending.

I emailed the Megaplex staff about this. They replied that their decision was based on the best medical and legal council. I suspect it was based more on the "legal" part and is CYA on their part so that they are not sued if an unvaccinated attendee dies from COVID. I do not fault them for their decision, but it does not change certain facts for me

This past year has brought out the worst in people. Between those who deny there was any pandemic, refused to wear masks (especially indoors) when there was no vaccine, and then refuse to get inoculated for no legitimate reason now that there is a vaccine, I find myself tired of dealing with such people.

Worst of all are the fearful sanctimonious people who would chastise me for not wearing a mask where none was needed (i.e. outdoors in open air on a windy day walking mountain trails). I then imagine attending Megaplex this year, and seeing people hide behind these masks or getting harangued by some staff member, volunteer, or attendee for forgetting to put mine on, and I find the idea of attending Megaplex this year to be thoroughly unappealing. I'm also still an avid fursuiter, and when I think about the idea of being in fursuit and not getting or giving hugs, I ask myself "why bother getting into fursuit?"

I have also been drifting away from friends I had in Florida since leaving that state in 2013. I rarely ever chat with them, and hardly saw them at Megaplex 2019. One friendship has even ended because he got sanctimonious with me regarding my refusal to wear a mask outdoors, especially now that I'm vaccinated.

So for the first time in 19 years, I have decided to not attend Megaplex. I will attend Megaplex next year (provided they drop the social distancing and masking requirement), probably for the last time since I'll have a Mega Sponsorship carry over from pre-registering for 2020.

I'm always on the lookout for good stories, be they fan fictions or new original material. While I have come across a wide variety of writing styles, there is one style that 99.9% of the time will make me absolutely despise an author's written work.

I find stories that are written in the second person to be utterly revolting: "You are sitting at dinner with friends, enjoying with them the culmination of your culinary endeavors when suddenly, the door bell rang. Not having expected any delivery or further visitors, you excuse yourself to answer the door. You are greeted by an annoying, pushy salesman whose insincere smile and avid eyes declare to you that this individual will do and say anything to make a sale."

A narrative written in such a way conveys to me that the author presumes to put the reader in the place of the character with no regard to how the reader would actually feel. In almost all cases, I will immediately lose all interest in such a written work. In the rare 0.1% of the time that I will read such a story, it will only be because I could imagine myself in the character's place. Even then, I would prefer that such a story not be written in the second person. If a writer wishes to attain a wider appeal though, he would do better to write it as I describe below.


There should be only two ways that a story be written. One way would be in the third person: "He was sitting at dinner with his friends, enjoying with them the culmination of his culinary endeavors when suddenly, the door bell rang. Not having expected any delivery or further visitors, he excused himself to answer the door. He was greeted by an annoying, pushy salesman whose insincere smile and avid eyes declared to him that this individual would do and say anything to make a sale."

This allows the reader to not feel like he is being forced into the character's point of view in a narrative. Most stories are written in this way and it is perfectly acceptable.


The other way is to write a story in the first person: "I was sitting at dinner with my friends, enjoying with them the culmination of my culinary endeavors when suddenly, the door bell rang. Not having expected any delivery or further visitors, I excused myself to answer the door. I was greeted by an annoying, pushy salesman whose insincere smile and avid eyes declare plainly to me that this individual would do and say anything to make a sale."

This to me is a much better alternative to writing in the second person if the author wishes to tell the story from the character's point of view. In this way, the reader is not forced into the character's shoes, but can still see it through his eyes. It would be like reading someone's journal where they relate their story to the reader.

I have for some time been contemplating a trip to Australia and/or New Zealand, but who would I visit? Who would want to see me?

This irrational prejudice some uptight people and furry conventions have against vinyl outfits really irks me.

So far, I know of Eurofurrence and Confuzzled that seem to forbid it. Often, it is an arbitrary enforcement on the part of ignorant, intolerant people. I read the Confuzzled code of conduct carefully when I attended that convention last year. There was nothing forbidding my red and black PVC dress and boots, but I was told I could not wear it. Suffice it to say that Confuzzled will no longer have my support. I understand that Anthro Northwest, in a desire to be squeaky clean after the Rainfurrest debacle, is also now intolerant of any outfit using vinyl, even if its nonsexual. So that con is off my list too.

Then there was Megaplex. Several years ago, this one female complained about my black and white PVC maid dress, even though I wore it in the evening, and during the fursuit parade, went out of my way to not march into the lobby area, actually stepping out of the parade line and rejoining it where it returned to the convention space. I'm a very accepting individual, and it is very difficult to offend me, but nothing will get you on my shit list faster than acting like an uptight sanctimonious busybody.

If it weren't for my long-standing friendship with many of the staff and Florida furs, I wouldn't be going to that con. As it stands, I do not feel like bringing the Travis Fursuit back to Megaplex.

This is ridiculous. I'm not showing any crotch bulge here. PVC is just a shiny material that I chose for some really pretty outfits. These uptight people are making more out of it than there really is. What's next? Satin? It's shiny too. Patent leather? Silk?

Thankfully, there are more open-minded conventions, like Midwest Furfest. I just attended BLFC and had a blast. I was roomsharing with one of the staff members and he assured me that as long as no crotch bulge or other overtly sexual outfits were worn (or going about nearly naked), I'd be fine. So my PVC dresses were fine. Furs were even allowed in con space wearing latex catsuits. All that was required was that the "no crotch bulge" rule be followed.

Sadly, even at BLFC, I heard that one other fur was burned by some intolerant individual. She was wearing a red and black PVC dress very similar to my own and was told she was not allowed to wear it, even though it fully covered her below the neck and was very modest. That was truly hypocritical, given that latex catsuits were allowed. I do hope she files a complaint with the BLFC staff for harassment and is given a complimentary registration for next year to make amends for this insult.

Overall though, it seems like the west-coast cons, like Further Confusion, Califur (hope to attend it next year), and BLFC are more open-minded and not so uptight. Any other convention, I'll be asking the staff via e-mail specifically if my outfits are allowed before I attend.

I've seen them around a few times. These are foam-based fursuit heads, with no jaw articulation, that are only slightly larger than the wearer's head. These would be perfect for doing partials, since the head would not be disproportionately larger then the rest of the wearer's body.

Anybody know who makes such fursuit heads?

I'm looking for someone who can help me write a Star Fox fan fiction.

The setting would take place after Star Fox Command where Fox McCloud and Krystal get back together. Fox bares his heart (and his mind) to Krystal, asking for her forgiveness for kicking her off the team. The story would focus on the telepathic aspect of their relationship, with the two developing a deep mental bond, which solidifies into a mind-link after they are married.

The other part of the story I have in mind would involve the Cornerian fleet discovering a small colony of Cerinians who survived the destruction of their home world. I had this idea inspired from the motion picture Man of Steel. If the Cerinians realized that their world was coming to an end with no time to evacuate their planet, wouldn't some of them take measures to safeguard their race's gene pool. For example, workers at various fertility clinics would escape their dying planet with all the genetic samples they had.

The third concept I had with this story was that Fox McCloud could be a latent telepath, who has been unknowingly using small aspects of telepathic abilities he had no clue he possessed (flying an Arwing with an uncanny ability to outthink his opponents, able to handle Krystal's staff). Krystal, Fox, and a very young Marcus would visit the surviving Cerinians. With the constant mental exposure to so many telepathic Cerinians, Fox's latent telepathy awakens, leaving Fox unprepared for the sudden flood of random thoughts from everyone around him back home on Corneria, which require the fox to undergo telepathic training to manage his new abilities, which also strengthens the mental bond he has with his wife.

I'm still hoping that I can find room space at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. If anybody is looking for a roommate or is canceling their reservation due to room consolidation, please let me know.

EDIT: I've found a roommate at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. I'm all set for MFF.

With the rooms at the main hotel being filled up in a flash, I find myself looking for room space at the main hotel. If anybody here is looking for a rubber-loving fur like myself to join them in their room, or even just a fursuiter to join them, I am very much available.

I have been attending furry conventions since 2002. Looking back, I cannot recall anybody ever inviting me to roomshare with them. In every single instance, it seems like I'm the one inviting others to roomshare with me, or asking if they are looking for roommates. Often, it seems like I have to struggle to find roommates for cons I go to.

In my previous post (http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6923668/), I had announced that I was retiring my old pine marten fursuit, which after 9 years of use was quite worn out, especially the bodysuit. Instead, I'd be wearing a new pine marten fursuit, made by Huskypaws, which I premiered at Megaplex (I'm a bit irked that not one of the many pictures taken of me in fursuit at Megaplex has been posted yet).

Huskypaws has now uploaded the pictures he took upon completion of the version 2.0 of this fursuit. I'd like to introduce all of you to the new Travis Sebastian: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17378672/ and http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17380396/ and http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17381582/

Many of you have seen me wear the pine marten fursuit seen in my Featured Submission. The fact is that that fursuit is OLD now. I've worn it for nine years and at this point it is quite worn out, especially the bodysuit. So I am retiring it and will no longer wear that fursuit. However, that does not mean that I've retired the character of Travis Sebastian. Look for the new pine marten at this coming weekend's Megaplex. My thanks go to Huskypaws for building the new Travis.

I've been thinking of getting this Pelican Case for my fursuit: http://www.pelican.com/cases_detail.....hp?Case=iM2975

My only concern is that its exterior dimensions are 67 inch, which is just slightly over the 62" limit most airlines list in their baggage allowances. Anybody else use this same case? Have any of you been slapped with an oversized fee from any airlines?

I will be at Rainfurrest again this year, with all my latex gear, and fursuiting as well in bondage gear or crossdressing.