I'm just not in a good mood today. Two days removed from a wonderful holiday and all the drama has to start. I can't say I'm not to blame at all for the way I handled things, but it's just sad that there has to be arguments and drama anytime, let alone right after such a loving holiday. I just wish things weren't so stressful so we could enjoy life without all the drama and conflict.
I'm also not feeling well today. I managed to get through Thanksgiving and the day after without any substantial pain, but when I woke up this morning I took one bite of something (oatmeal cake) and off it went. At least it stayed calm on Thanksgiving, that was a blessing.
It doesn't look like this is going to be a very productive weekend work wise. I need to work so I can get paid, but I think for the most part I'm going to try to relax and enjoy the holiday weekend. I may do a few things, but nothing very time consuming I don't think.
Here's to hoping tomorrow's a better day, or that the rest of today will not be as troublesome.
B-Out
I have never gone out shopping on the so called "Black Friday", and this year was no different. I had originally wanted to in order to catch the deals, but I didn't really have enough cash to do so, so I slept in.
My mother, however, braved the madness this morning to go to Wal-Mart and K-Mart to see what she could find. Well, according to her Wal-Mart was crazy in our small little town as seemingly everyone in the town was there fighting over stuff like you only see on TV. A fight broke out, and mom got out of there. She then headed over to K-Mart and it was the same ensuing madhouse there as well. She got so frustrated with the craziness that she left her buggy sitting in the middle of the store and went home.
My poor cousin, Matt, had to go into work (at Best Buy) at 2am today and didn't even get a lunch! He described to us how last year they had a line around the entire shopping center even though what most of the people were there for they only had about 20 of them there, and they were giving out vouchers to the first 20 people in line, so the line was pointless for most. They even had a shooting, which made the news here of course. I did not envy him at all.
So I don't think I'll be making the trip out to the stores on Black Friday anytime soon. I'm certainly not going to camp out for a sale like many did. That's just going overboard to me and really cashing in on the commercialism of the season.
And this is why ebay and online storefronts are a good thing. ;)
B-Out
Man, this was one for the ages! I think we actually had more people than ever, and more food than ever! For the first time ever we also all sat at one table (which was more like 6 giant tables all put together and covered to make one massive table). It was a great experience.
My mom and aunts had decorated the house so nice too. There was a Christmas tree in almost every room, and it was just a very festive, very elegant, but relaxed family atmosphere.
We arrived in time to say our hellos, say the blessing, and dig in! We ate at 2pm as we had some that had to leave and go other places that evening. It was all the regulars, plus some relatives of relatives and boyfriends of cousins and so forth. One of my cousins had three kids I had never seen, one of which looks exactly like their oldest when she was that age.
After we forced ourselves from the table after the main food we went outside and tossed the football for a while before heading back inside to play some games (catch phrase and Rock Band - I suck at the drums, but I did ok on the guitar). Then we hit the dessert table, chatted and played with the dog, then went outside and shot some hoops.
It was a full day, about 7 hours worth, and it was just more fun than I can explain accurately. It's been years since I was able to enjoy the holidays with my family, and I hope to never miss one again. It's just so much fun, and it's what the holidays are truly about for me.
I actually didn't gorge myself today. I ate one plate of food and one plate of dessert, and I drank ice tea and water, no pop. I couldn't have, though, if I wanted to eat or drink more. I am so miserable still from all the good food. I just don't eat big meals like that often, but it was definitely worth it. And if it gives me gall bladder pains later it will certainly be worth that.
This was a great, relaxing day and I loved every minute. I hope all of you who celebrated the holiday had just as good a time as I did.
B-Out
To everyone out there I once again wish you a wonderful and safe and Happy Thanksgiving!
Now go eat some good food, spend some quality time with your loved ones, and just be thankful for everything you have.
God Bless.
B-Out
Scott and I will be at Comic Book World in Florence, Ky December 6th for an in-store signing for Wannabez! Get the details by clicking the title of this post!
B-Out
It's that time of year again where we're all supposed to note what we're thankful for as we come together with family and friends, share some good food and company, maybe watch a game if you're into that, and just be content. So of course, I have to honor the tradition in my own way by posting right here for all to see.
Now, I could take a comical approach with a list of oddball things I'm thankful for. I could wax serious with a heartfelt pouring out of my soul. Or I could just keep things simple, say a massive thanks to everyone and then be on my way.
Well, why limit myself, right? I'm in a good mood today for some strange reason, and this is my blog, so I can get away with doing it all if I want. You can't stop me. You might not read it, but that's just a chance I'm going to have to take (PLEASE don't leave me!).
So, let's start it off like this: just in case I miss anyone or anything in my further missives, let me lay out a blanket thanks to everyone who's done anything for me at all, be it a thought, a helping hand, a prayer or what have you. Thank you, and have a great holiday.
Okay, so that's one out of the way. Next up, let's take a look at some things I'm especially thankful for this year.
1. I'm thankful for cheese. Yes, I said it. I LOVE cheese! Deal with it. (cheese is yellow).
2. I'm thankful for those sidewalk Santas doing their thing, and all the volunteers wearing flashing noses. They may look like complete idiots, but at least they're idiots for a good cause.
3. I'm thankful for the biggest little state in the world, Kentucky, who thinks they are better and cooler and bigger than they are. If you live here, you know what I'm talking about. Wake up, Kentucky, we will never be New York or any other big state like that with their big cities! Stop trying so hard! But I love ya (no I don't). :)
4. I'm thankful for peanut butter and jelly, and Reese's peanut butter cups. I can't eat either anymore, but whoever thought of putting chocolate or jelly with peanut butter is a king in my eye!
5. I'm thankful for modern technology, without which I would not have the patience to cook and would be one bored son of a gun!
6. I'm thankful for Skrulls. Just because.
7. I'm thankful for people worse off than me because then I don't feel as bad. Wait, that didn't come out right. Okay, moving on...
8. I'm thankful for Madonna who shows us we can all be gracefully old, or is that an old disgrace?
9. I'm thankful for Britney Spears who has confirmed to the world that our nation cares more about celebrities than anything else in-the-world! I'm also thankful that she's shown us we can all be rich and famous without any talent and by making every bad choice we can possibly make! (I kid, seriously - I hope she's getting it back together - had to throw in the pop culture references)
10. And I'm thankful for Steven Colbert, Barrack Obama, Seth Green and Mike Meyers who show us the funkiest looking of us can be anything we want to be!
This list has been brought to you by the letter "T" and the number "2". Why? I haven't the foggiest.
On a more serious note, this has been a very eventful year for me. More eventful, in fact, than the last five years have been. It started off like every other year, and I wasn't doing to great like the previous four. Then things started changing before my eyes and I regained hope, vision and faith. Oddly enough, had it not been for two chance events this year would have most likely been no different.
The first of which was my gall bladder attack in March, right before my birthday. It was a wake up call for many things. It scared me, and it made me think about things. I seriously thought I was dying at one point as I couldn't breathe at all and was in so much pain I couldn't stand it. I was very close to passing out. So I am thankful that happened because it did something inside of me, aside from causing me much pain. And it gave me a name to put to the pain I had been in for the two previous years.
That combined with a job offer I got the next month really set the course for my year. I had to have some dental work done before I could go on the trip for the job (to Georgia), and I might not have done that had I not had the attack. It's too complicated and personal for me to explain that here, but suffice it to say that both occurrences got me off my butt to do something about things, and I haven't looked back since.
So even though the job ended up not working out, I'm thankful to Tales of Wonder for the offer and the trip, which they paid for. It was a great experience. Not to mention I got to see my dad for the first time in years while I was down there. We reconnected, buried old issues, and probably for the first time in our lives, we became friends with mutual respect for one another, which is more than I could have asked for. I'm a grown man now, and it's nice to know that my dad, though far away, is a part of my life in some way.
After that trip I set it in my mind that I would make it to Wizard World Chicago, a comic convention, regardless of whether I got the job or not, and I did, thanks to Scott Simmons who picked me up and went with me, and Chuck Moore who provided me with a press pass. Within the first 15 minutes of the show I had landed a lettering gig with Image, and throughout the weekend I made numerous contacts and new friends, and got to sit in on some cool interviews. I also got to finally meet internet buddy Chuck Kennedy for the first time and go out to eat a couple of times, further strengthening the friendship that we have.
I could go on and on about Mid-Ohio-Con, getting Wannabez published, finding a new online home at Comic Related and a new friend in Chuck Moore, and so on and so forth, but you all know all this already, and I don't want to waste your time.
So let me wrap it up by saying that this year has brought me great strides from where I was, both in attitude and in spirit. I was down and depressed for at least three, maybe four years and didn't see a way out. This year that has all turned around. I'm still struggling with things, and my circumstances still have a long way to go, but if anything, this year, all that has happened, and everyone I've had the chance to meet has given me hope and restored my faith. I feel blessed for the first time in a long time, and that's a feeling I never want to let go of again.
So to all you who have contributed in any way, small or large, to my good fortune this year, whether you know it or not, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. And a special thanks to: Cary Kelley, Jason Berek-Lewis, Chuck Kennedy, Scott D.M. and Shannon Simmons, Chuck Moore, Ray Hickson, Jenny and Josh Goguen, Lance Stahlberg, Jeff McClelland, Jason Moser, Jeff Kipnis, Christopher Joe, Jeff Mariotte, Kris Simon, Jim Valentino, Sean Taylor, Brent Sprecher, Itai Rosenbaum, Bob Hickey, Mark and Jonna LeMieux, Bill Gladman, Victor Carungi, Steve Seirer, Grant Chastain, Tracy Duty, William Turner, Peter Aitken, Andy and anyone else I've left out (please forgive me if I have, it's a long list). Without you all, this year wouldn't have been as successful and promising as it has.
To all of you out there celebrating it, have a very Happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy your time with your loved ones - if the unfortunate losses my friends have suffered recently, and the many losses in my past have taught me anything it's that we don't have nearly enough time with those we love. Make it count.
May you all be richly blessed this year and beyond.
B-Out
Well, I got a rude awakening today, and it was all my fault. Well, one of them was anyway (actually got two). I found out I'm not getting paid as much as I thought, and I found out we have a new monthly bill.
First, let me explain the payment issue. On a certain book I'm lettering I had somehow gotten it in my head that I was getting my full rate on the book. I must have gotten it confused with another, because it turns out I'm not. I thought I had gotten paid more on a previous issue I had done, but I hadn't. So basically, I am getting about half of what I was expecting, which has effectively cut my holiday spending in half as it was the largest chunk of where that was coming from. That did not make me happy, but it's nobody's fault but my own. Just one of those things.
The bill is another story, which I won't go into. But suffice it to say, we now have to pay $100 a month for the next to months or bad things will happen. The first payment? Due this Wednesday. Yep, that sucks. Not to mention that my brother has to have a bunch of dental work done as well we discovered, and has a big appointment Dec. 10th that will run us about $1000, in payments thankfully. Yeah, Christmas is starting to look bleak. I know that's not what it's about, but it seems we always struggle to have anything.
On the plus side, every year (save one or two) something has come through and we've been blessed. So I refuse to get down about this stuff despite the title of this post. Something will come through and we'll have a really decent Christmas. Maybe not a great one, but then who in middle or lower class is in our current economic state?
The trouble is the main thing my brother wants is a computer because his laptop keeps freezing up. I wiped it clean and reloaded to factory and it still has malfunctions which, from the errors we get, seems to be hardware to me. So that's the main thing he wants, specifically to play World of Warcraft, the one monetary pleasure he gets. He doesn't go out and spend money on anything else except for food and an occasional XBox game every few months, so I'll pay that $16 a month to keep him from doing other stuff as it were.
As for my mom, I'd actually love to get her a computer too, or at least get mine fixed for her to have. See, I actually got a new computer several months back (a gift from mom) when mine fried again. I had deadlines and I was freaking out, and she came into a little money and came to my rescue. So I got a really good deal on a Dell with tons more memory and space and a bigger monitor, and it has made lettering so much less of a pain! But that money is gone now (thanks to bills, my Mid-Ohio trip and a wedding mom went to, not to mention food and the computer), so we're back to scrounging. Next year I'm definitely either getting a regular job for a while, going back to school in some fashion, or a little of both if business doesn't pick up before then.
But barring a computer, mom wants stuff like mineral makeup, some kind of styling tool, dishes and the like, so I'll be able to get her the little stuff I think. She's been wanting a garmin for two years now, so I'd love to get her that, but we'll see. We want to get Zach out of the way first, and being a 16 year old everything he wants is expensive. Rock Band, computer, a dog, iphone, etc. Luckily he doesn't have his license yet or he'd be bugging us for a car!
As for me, well, part of my list is in the sidebar over there, but in addition to that stuff I've been wanting a digital camera for a while. But really, a nice big stack of comics (I've bought maybe 20 books in the past 4-5 months or more) some DVDs and a couple of other smal things I've mentioned to her would be more than enough for me. In my downtime, whenever that occurs, I get really bored and love reading and watching movies, so that would be the perfect gift for me. Everything else I can buy for myself when I have the money.
Speaking of letdowns, though, to bring it back to relevancy, I mentioned a few posts back how I felt weak about my eating habits. I think I need to clarify something though. While I do love food, and I have been hitting the sweets a little heavier than usual lately, I really don't eat that much.
For instance, today all I had all day long was a veggie sub from Subway and a Christmas tree snack cake for dessert. I may have had 2-3 potato chips at some point, but nothing else.
Yesterday I ate a little more. I had cereal for breakfast (one bowl - honey bunches of oats), a cheese sandwich for lunch and then a Bertolli chicken parm. for dinner, followed by a single scoop of vanilla ice cream.
The day before was when I did that atrocious thing with the pistachio pudding, but even with that I only ate one piece, and not much else throughout the day.
It was suggested to me in the comments to exercise more and eat less. I don't agree with that last part seeing as how I don't eat that much. I think I should probably try even harder to eat healthier things and break it up into smaller portions throughout the day though. The thing is, if you don't eat your body doesn't burn fat, so eating (healthy though) is essential to weight loss, just not overeating or eating until you're so full you can't stand it. And the problem with eating basically one meal a day as I often do is that your stomach contracts, so you get fuller faster, and so I feel overly full from that one meal, and thus my body's not burning anything and I feel miserable. But I don't gain weight, I just don't lose any either.
I do agree with the more exercise part though, and I've tried to get back into it of late. I've begun doing crunches and push ups and stuff again, but I really need to do something to get my cardio going like running. I've just got to figure out where to put that pesky treadmill!
Anyway, as I noted earlier, I called it quits early today and took a nap for about 4 hours. I was feeling bad and couldn't stay awake. When I woke up I had dinner and watched Heroes. Then I tried to make that eggless egg nog and messed something up terribly because it did NOT taste good at all. It was unbearable actually. So I'll try that again tomorrow.
Then I watched something else and here I am. I'm going to try to get some work done tonight then have a LONG day of working tomorrow. So I may not post as much the next couple of days, or answer emails right away. I really need to leave these distractions be so I can get some stuff done!
B-OUt
Just so everyone knows, what I'm attempting to complete before Thanksgiving is:
Complete Corrective Measures #9
Complete Genesis #2 (thought it was #1, but I think I was mistaken)
Letter Venger #2
Write at least a fourth or half of the music artist descriptions (so, 25-50).
Finalize Wagon Wheel Comics logo (waiting on feedback)
Make corrections to En Garde pages 1-5
Letter En Garde pages 6-7
Haven work
Work on Visionary logo
Lay out Visionary lettering project
Those are the things I at least want to get done. Whether my health and time will allow it remains to be seen.
B-Out
I'm not feeling great today. In fact, I had a mild attack last night, and now I'm medicated, so I'm going very slow. I have gotten things done today, just not as much as I'd like. And I got very little sleep last night, and I'm fighting to stay awake at the moment. So I doubt I'll get a great deal done during the day today, but I fully intend on working late tonight and as much as possible tomorrow.
Wednesday I'm sure I'll work at least half a day, then we've got cooking to do as we're having Thanksgiving "dinner" at 2pm Thursday because some of us have other families they have to visit in the evening, or long drives back home.
If you get a chance, swing by www.myspace.com/comicrelated. I'm in the process of redesigning the page to better tie in with the new site, and I'm using the new 2.0 profile MySpace has now. It's far from finished, but it's starting to take shape at least. I'm going to have to write some CSS for it and add some graphics to really bring it home, but I've done all I can for the day as I have other stuff to concentrate on. Thanks to Chuck, though, for being gracious enough to give me the keys to the page so I can play with it.
Student loans suck! Just had to get that off my chest. And student loan people are as annoying as telemarketers! It's a shame we have to pay for education in the first place, but man, they're like the most aggressive bill collectors I've ever dealt with.
Anyway, back to work before I fall asleep. Cheers.
B-Out
That sounds like a cool location in a story, doesn't it? "Eyes Crossing". Maybe spelled differently, maybe not. I think I may use that someday in some meaningful way.
I got up about 8 this morning, though I didn't really want to, but I was too cold to go back to sleep. So I got up, checked my email and then ate some cereal while I watched some wrestling I had taped yesterday. Then it was time to start my day officially.
Today I worked on some logos, did a bit of writing, did some Haven work, and started working on something for Comic Related. I also prepped some lettering files and downloaded some new files, and that's about it. Doesn't sound like much, but from about 10 to 9 I was working on the computer, save what time it took to make lunch (a cheese sandwich) and try a recipe, which I'll elaborate on later.
At 9 I popped some dinner in the oven and watched True Blood. I've really gotten into that show, and I hate that it's done for the season. But at least it'll be on in the summer when everything else is on hiatus. It's a very addictive show.
So after that I worked a bit more and checked emails again, and now here I am trying to wind down for a bit before working some more then heading off to bed. After all, Thanksgiving is coming up, and I'd like to get as much done as I can before Thursday so I can enjoy some of the long weekend.
I'm making a dessert and possibly a drink for the holiday. I'm always trying to find something new I can contribute every year. Years ago I made featherbed rolls, which we hadn't had since my Nana was alive, and everybody loved them. They are very involved though, so time is against me on those this year.
Last year I made a pumpkin black olive dip with green and red peppers for the dipping, which was a big hit I was told (I wasn't there). And the year before that I made these red pepper pecan cheddar poppers as an appetizer which everyone also loved. One year I attempted to make a pumpkin cheesecake after getting the recipe from someone at work (theirs was delicious!), but it didn't turn out. And once I made pumpkin bread, which was pretty good.
This year I'm making a pumpkin gingerbread trifle and possibly homemade egg nog. The trifle uses gingerbread, gingersnaps, pumpkin pie filling, cool whip, cinnamon and vanilla pudding, and it looks very delectable in the picture. And I have clear trifle bowls as in the picture so the beauty of it can be admired. :)
Now, I recently found out that my cousin Jay has gone completely vegetarian. He's never cared that much for meat and has never liked eggs, but occasionally he would eat some kind of meat (though very rare) and would eat stuff with eggs in it. Now, though, he won't eat anything made with eggs. So, I got this bright idea to experiment with the gingerbread, which calls for an egg, to substitute the egg. I looked it up online and tried applesauce this go around. It didn't alter the taste too much, but it also didn't give it that light fluffiness eggs do. And before it cooled it made the middle moister than it should be. After it cooled, it wasn't as moist and tasted better, but it was heavier than it needed to be. So I'm going to try some other substitute. I know you can use a banana or water and baking powder or corn starch, but I'm not sure which substitute will give me the texture I want.
As for the egg nog, Jay used to love it, but they don't sell eggless egg nog around here. So I looked up a recipe and I'm going to try it tomorrow. I love egg nog too, but I hate eggs and can't stand most things that taste like eggs. I'd say before long I'll be just like Jay in this respect. I lost my taste for red meat over a decade ago, and chicken grosses me out from time to time also. So it's only a matter of time, I think, before I'm a complete vegetarian. Not today though, I will be eating turkey this Thursday.
See, I always try to make something Jay can eat because he's my boy. We grew up like brothers, even living together for a few years, and I feel his pain. Since I stopped eating most meats there was many a family function I'd go to and there would be absolutely nothing for me to eat. So I started understanding what he had gone through for years. So I always try to bring something that everyone will like, but that Jay and I can eat also. But he's really not a sweets person, so even though the trifle will be edible for him, I thought I'd try the egg nog as well. We'll see.
Mom was debating on making a pear cobbler too, which he'd probably eat. He and I prefer fruit dishes over richer choices anyway. I'd take a cherry pie, for instance, over anything chocolate or even caramel anyday. That stuff is just too rich for me and I feel sick after eating it.
That said, pumpkin pie is one of my vices, so I will definitely be digging into that!
If anyone knows any really good, really cheap fruit or vegetarian dishes to make I'm all ears!
Man, I've got so much I want to do and my brain is just constantly moving towards fifty directions, but I keep trying to get things finished so I can focus on those other things. It's a challenge, because those other things pay the bills, and I NEED those other things. lol. But rest assured, big things are on the horizon. My mind is swirling with so many things right now I'm just so excited about them all. But as I've noted here before, many times I look at the big picture and see all these things I want to do, then see where I'm at and get overwhelmed and stifled. I'm trying really hard right now to focus on the tasks at hand and just keep those other things in the back of my mind ready to leap out when the moment presents itself.
Comic Jobz is hopefully going to really take off next year, but right now I really see a lof of Comic Related in my future. I'm really enjoying contributing to that site, and I haven't felt this inspired since my days of running SBC. I just really want to push CR as much as I can. I feel like - no, I know Chuck and everyone else there are just so for edifying each other and giving back, and so it makes it easier to want to do big things there. Not for any hope of anything back, just because a community like that that is concerned with helping and promoting each other is the kind of positive momentum we as struggling creators all need. As the saying goes, no man is an island to himself, and many times when we're out there all alone surrounded by our own problems we can become very discouraged in our creative endeavors. I know I have in the past. And Comic Related is a place I can go and be inspired and uplifted just simply by being surrounded by the creativity and drive present there. DW is like this in some parts too, especially the lettering forum where I hang out a lot.
Speaking of Digital Webbing, you all need to check out Fist of Justice and other titles they're producing. DW has tapered off a lot lately and there were doom and gloom fears (unfounded naturally, at least for now) for a while there. They were once a great resource for many, and still are for some (namely me), and they need our support. If it wasn't for DW I may never have found the tools I acquired that brought me to the point I'm at today. I owe a lot to that site and the people involved with it.
Well, I'm off to do something or the other, so I'll bid you all goodnight for now unless I think of anything else to ramble on about.
B-Out
I want to lose weight, I really do. And I want to be healthy, more than you know. But I love food, man, I can't help it.
I used to be very strong willed and could resist no matter what was in the house or around me. I stayed fairly thin (never skinny) for years, and still splurged on occasion. But after a rough 2-3 years with some stuff going on I just lost that will power, and now, if there's something delectable in the house I'll eat it, even if I don't want it!
For instance, tonight, I had nothing for dessert in the house, or at least nothing ready made. And the thing is, I wasn't even hungry so it shouldn't have mattered. But I have this thing where I feel like I have to eat when I watch a movie, and I was about to watch a movie. So even though I had just eaten a sandwich like an hour earlier I decided to fix myself a sandwich, mainly because I wanted to eat food-food before eating dessert. Crazy logic, I know.
So anyway, I started foraging through the house for something to eat for dessert afterward. Well, I had bought a graham cracker crust by accident at the store and was going to take it back. So then I started thinking of what I could put in that crust. I had bought some pudding for a dish for Thanksgiving, but I didn't want to use that. Then I remembered there was a small box of pistachio pudding in the cupboard, and so I went with it, despite the fact I'm not supposed to eat any kind of nuts, and despite the fact that I wasn't really sure how well pistachio pie was going to taste.
Well, I made the pudding and poured it in the crust and discovered it barely came halfway up the crust. So I chilled it for an hour to get it firm, then I covered it with cool whip. Yeah.
Now, the idea of pistachio pudding on a graham cracker crust alone is bad enough, but adding cool whip to it just made it that much worse.
So I proceeded to eat my sandwich and watch my movie. Then about halfway through the movie, even though I wasn't hungry at all, I cut me a slice of the pie and, get this, poured myself a glass of egg nog, and returned to the movie.
Suffice it to say, I'm sorely regretting that terrible decision on many levels. And I feel guilty about indulging myself like that.
See, I was a heavy kid up until the age of 15 (I may have mentioned this before). So I never wanted to be heavy again. Then I got heavier than I'd been in my life, lost some of it, then put half of that back on. And I'm just not happy with my current state and want to change it, but I'm so weak.
Oh, and last night I had pizza. It was a small pizza, but pizza no less, and half of it had green peppers and onions on it. Great for the gall stones I know. I guess I got what I deserved with that one, though, because they burnt it.
I guess the good thing is I haven't actually gained any weight recently, probably because I only eat like one meal a day (supper) and a few light snacks through the day (graham crackers, wheat thins, and the like). But I haven't lost any either, which sucks. I really wanted to lose some before the holidays, but with Thanksgiving in a few days I just don't see that happening. Maybe before Christmas, but come on. My family is having like 15 desserts at Thanksgiving, and wants to get together and make candy for Christmas. I mean really?
I am so weak.
Honestly, I think if I was living on my own right now I wouldn't have this problem because I wouldn't buy the stuff. It's just hard and I've got to break the cycle somehow.
I was supposed to be starting a gym with my cousin, but he never called me back about it, and I don't want to go alone, at least not yet. And the treadmill is still buried under boxes in the garage, and there's nowhere in the house to put it anyway, so...
Sigh, I need to find my will power again and stay away from all the junk! Luckily, I've been spared attacks for the past few days somehow, but if I keep eating like this it's only a matter of time.
I did eat healthier this week up until yesterday, so I was doing good. I just shouldn't have caved with that stupid nasty pie tonight because now I feel like I'm gonna puke!
I am so weak.
B-Out
You may have noticed some slight clean up has begun. I mentioned several posts ago that I'm not really happy with the current layout of the blog, but time is not on my side to totally revamp it right now. So I thought I'd clean it up a tad just to clean out the clutter.
I completely removed the Gonzogoose Wireless and PowerMall stuff because, frankly, they've not brought me 1 cent. Granted, I haven't pushed them hard, but still.
I finally got the video preview box at the very bottom to change where it's not always Spider-Man. I think I had it set where I had to choose the films, which I never got around to. Now it's on current releases within specified genres.
I moved the PW buttons down just a bit and added a larger PW ad where they were, though as you can see, it hasn't been put to use just yet.
I removed the dead column links and will replace them with accurate links as soon as I can. With one site gone and the other deleting my column, I have to republish them all on my own server, and I think I'll just wait until I have the site redesigned to do that. And there is no centralized link for my new column just yet, so that will have to wait as well.
For all you ambitious Christmas shoppers out there, I've added my Amazon.com wish list to the sidebar as well, just for the fun of it really.
And finally, I took off the Amazon search box because nobody was using it.
So there you go, a few unobtrusive (hopefully) minor changes, hope you all don't mind.
More to come in time.
B-Out
It's really cold outside, but it's been colder. My bedroom, though, doesn't circulate well in the winter and is consistently the coldest in the house. Ironically, the air condition circulates very well in my room making it the coldest in the house all summer as well, even with the vent closed. So I'm always cold in my room. That's doesn't make me happy.
Well, I managed to get the grocery shopping done, even though I had to go to three different places to pick up a couple of specific items. And luckily the hair cut place wasn't busy, so I popped in there on my way home. Unfortunately, they cut it too short, and what was looking good now looks awful and I'm a bit upset about it. I really liked the style I had it in, and now it's too short to do that with. Sigh. I'll know better for Christmas.
I also accidentally broke a trifle dish. Actually, I didn't break it - I was carrying it by the stem and the whole top just fell off! Fortunately, they just sent it to claims and didn't charge me for it.
As for the last part of the title, well, just stay tuned. :)
Enjoy your Saturday, everyone.
B-Out
Yep, I'm braving the cold (30 degrees at the moment) to head up the street to Kroger to purchase Thanksgiving and home groceries on a Saturday no less. We're making a few things for the family holiday, and we have no food at home, so off I go.
I was going to try to get my hair cut today as well, but as late as it is on a Saturday I doubt that's going to happen without spending the whole afternoon waiting. So I'll probably take care of that Monday morning and hope it grows out enough to be manageable for Thanksgiving.
Didn't get a whole lot done yesterday, hence the lack of update post concerning that. Family was here most of the day, and I just got sidetracked a lot. Today other matters have taken precedence, but tonight and tomorrow I'll most likely be home alone, so I'm going to take advantage of that and get to work.
I did lay out Corrective Measures #9, which I finally received yesterday, and did some more work on logos and a little bit on Haven. This weekend I've got some music artist descriptions to write on top of all the other stuff (Haven, lettering, APA site) I'm gradually working on.
Well, I'm about to enter the insanity. Say a prayer for me, this is the main grocery people here go to besides Walmart, so it will most likely be packed.
Hey, maybe I'll finally run into Chuck Moore! You never know.
B-Out
My column is now officially live! Check it out my clicking the title of this post.
As I noted earlier, this is just an introductory installment, but I hope you get a beat of what my style in this column will be like, and I hope you find it intriguing enough to keep coming back every other week to read more of it!
Oh, and you may notice in my bio at the bottom of the column that I've been named PR Coordinator. This came about as a result of me hyping the site, and I was more than glad to take it on.
B-Out
Well, today was, again, not as productive as I had hoped, but I still got some stuff done.
As I mentioned last post, the first half of the day involved some family drama. Then cleaning house became the issue early evening as some furniture is coming in from my uncle tomorrow morning, so we had to get the house in order.
In between those two events, I did manage to work on some logos, as I briefly mentioned last post.
I made great strides in the Visionary logo first draft, so that's a plus.
I also nearly finished the first take on the Wagon Wheel Comics logo. Just have to refine the graphic in it, but I finished enough to show.
I completed the revision of the Usen Wareagle signature, so that's wrapped.
I nearly had a scare with Zombie Cop though. Apparently there was some misunderstanding on my part and I ran the prose two pages too long! They're going to adjust it as such, but I still feel bad about it.
On the plus side, I just discovered that Jeff Mariotte mentioned me in an interview with CBR yesterday when he totally didn't have to. It's just a small mention towards the end, but seeing as how I'm the letterer, and letterers are usually 'invisible' it was nice to get the acknowledgement. So thanks, Jeff!
Let's see, I did some minor Haven work, but not much.
I chatted with a couple of clients about jobs, but did no work on them.
I compiled and sent off the high res files for Genotype Prime to Hard Way Studios.
And that's about it. Not a great deal, but still progress.
Got some more cleaning and redecorating to do tonight, then bed, and back at it again tomorrow!
B-OUt
Well, I finished Ellium and sent that in, and no corrections are needed, so I did good. :)
I kind of ran into several roadblocks with the APA site and so I got stalled quite a bit on that.
I did a little bit of Haven work.
I laid out some prep work for some other stuff, then called the day early to be honest.
Today, so far, I've redone the Usen Wareagle signature and made some strong headway on the logo for Visionary, which is a very ambitious logo. It has a lot of design elements to it, so it's taking quite some time.
We also had to deal with some family stuff for the first half of the day up to lunch time, so I haven't been able to get a lot done today.
I've not received Corrective Measures #9 yet, so I haven't been able to work on that. So I'll probably shift some of next week's lettering work to tomorrow unless it comes in, and use today to work on logos and do some corrections.
Tonight or tomorrow I'll be putting up a temporary landing page for APA.
And that's that.
B-Out
Well, I finally got a chance to listen to the podcast interview in its entirety and I have to say it went pretty well! I am always filled with both a sense of excitement and dread for these things as I tend to get embarrassed when I hear myself talk, but this one I did okay. :)
We got to talk about a lot of things, even though I know there were many that I left out. But it was a really fun exchange, and I think that came across brilliantly in hearing it back. Of course, I could be a little biased.
My column, Journey of a Wannabe, will go live on the site tomorrow unless things change. It's just an introduction piece this week, then every two week after that will be a new installment, so make sure you check it out and bookmark it! I talk about my entire life as it pertains to my creative influences and endeavors. I go into detail about my first experience in a comic shop, my first creative influence, my passion for art and so much more. I talk about how it tied into the rest of my life, how I got to where I am today, and eventually, where I hope to go from here. It's a very introspective look into my creative side, so I hope you join me for the journey.
That said, yes, I'm aware I missed my update last night again, so that's coming up next.
Peace.
B-Out
Click the title of this post to go listen to a long, in depth interview with myself and Scott Simmons about Wannabez and many other projects we're both involved in.
This podcast took place in the middle of Blue Line Pro and Comics 2 Games in Florence, KY. It was a blast to record, so please take some time to take a listen!
B-Out
Yep, I'm feeling kind of down today. I'm feeling better physically, just kind of in the dumps for some reason. Just one of those days I guess.
I'll update later in the night when the podcast goes live, and with what I accomplished today.
Tonight I'll be veggin' out to Ultimate Fighter and Top Chef. Yep, I'm hooked on those two reality shows, sue me. Wanted to be a chef when I was a kid, and MMA is the only real sport I can get into anymore.
Learned today that a graphic novel I was going to letter got dumped by the publisher, so it's a no go now. That bummed me a little, but it wasn't money I was banking on or anything. It was a cool book though and it allowed me to experiment with lettering styles a bit. So if the Earth Boy creators are out there and you haven't found a letterer but have new financing, email me!
If you have checked out Comic Related but haven't joined the forums yet please do. You all need yet another place online to go and chill at after all, right? Seriously, it's a great community over there, and soon it will be growing. The forums will have a new skin and new content, and there's just some cool conversation over there.
I gotta give a shout out to my girl Nictoria who got a sweet new job recently. She's doing really well for herself and I couldn't be happier for her.
I'm still bummed. Hey, this is supposed to be therapeutic! Oh well, maybe next post.
B-Out
