Like my squirrel fursona, I’m awake way too early, 4:45am. Used the facilities, shaved, dressed and hiked the four blocks downhill to Becky’s Diner, the only option open in the area prior to 6:30. I got the Hobson’s Wharf Special (big breakfast) and coffee. Excellent breakfast that set me back $30 with tip ($25 for the meal/coffee and tax). The hike back up hill was more of a challenge then I thought and I was a bit winded when I got back to the hotel. Climbed the stairs to the second floor, snagged a muffin from the super sponsor room and then being a glutton for punishment climbed the remaining five floors by stairs to my room. Wrapped the muffin up for later. Glanced briefly at the Internet and then headed back downstairs for my morning volunteer shift.

That shift started at 9am, so I was down in the lobby at 8:45 to check-in with the volunteer desk. There was a line, but not like the night before. We blew through it in about 15 minutes, once they resolved some WiFi issues. People trickled in the rest of the morning. So, yeah, everyone around on Thursday must have showed up all at once.

I had a break from noon to 2pm. Dealers Den (downstairs) opened at noon. The line for that looked like registration the night before. Oh, and pointless being a super sponsor who can jump to the front of the line, ‘cause the supers were backed up to the gaming room entrance (or so staff controlling the line claimed)! I guess I wasn’t going to be able to pick-up my super sponsor swag right off. Realizing this might be my only other chance to go offsite for food, I went and got Thai for lunch. Finished lunch and got a message from another attendee that the dealers den lines had cleared-up. I had a little over 30 minutes before my next volunteer shift and it was enough time to snag my swag and a quick walk through of the dealers den. I didn’t see any squirrel merch, just like last year. There’s too few of us in the fandom. Of course, being a quick walk-through, I may have missed it if it was there.

Check back in at Vol desk and start an afternoon shift with Registration. Four hours of standing there (I eventually got a chair) screening new arrivals to make sure they had an account set-up through the con website. Yes, even for a day pass, you need an account. I know that’s not clear on the website and I’ve given them that feedback. So hasn’t the head or Registration. Please be sure you give them the same feedback when you receive the survey link after the con. On the positive side, you’ll have an account already when you return next year. Lather, rinse repeat. By the time I was done that shift, I had put in seven hours just that day in volunteering and 9.5 overall. This is assuming they don’t count the 15 minute prior to each shift as you’re expected to check-in 15 minutes early. Good thing there weren’t any panels I was really interested in on Friday. Off at 6pm.

I can either go rest up in my room and take a quick shower or go watch the fursuit games. As much as I enjoy the latter, the former won out. I did get back down and catch the last portion of the games before the super sponsor dinner that started at 8pm off-site (about a block away) like last year. Thank goodness it wasn’t a plated sit-down affair like last year that dragged on for 2 hours. Nope, buffet style this year. So, I ate my fill, talked to the others at my table, and excused myself at 9pm explaining I’m as diurnal as my character and had been up since 5am whether I liked it or not.

I got snagged in the lobby briefly by some of the Maine Discord furs, all much younger than me, but I appreciate being pulled into their conversation, though, again, I excused myself after explaining how long a day I had had already and wished them a good evening. They said they planned to be at my panel on Sunday. I got back to my room around 9:40 and was in bed by 10pm. Like the night before, I could hear the music in the evening rave 6 floors below me, but somehow, I still fell asleep.