December 27, 2009

Really hit the spot.
I've been needing a good old Disney movie.
And it was just wonderful.
(To think some people wonder why I go to kids movies).

I imagine I'll be getting the DVD soon as it comes out.

December 25, 2009

Before I get any feedback from this one let me say this.
Christmas, for the most part, was fine.
But when I sat down to do the journal comic, and thought about what stood out most this week, this popped up.

Lately, I just haven't been handling things the way I wish I could.
I'm sure many of you can relate.

And honestly, I don't like to bringing up low points in the comic.
I even went back through the archives to see if I had done it before.
I haven't.
So this is a first.

Don't worry, it won't last long.

December 22, 2009

Took me forever to get that tree to light up properly.
And even now there's a small section of it that's being difficult.

I've turned the tree so that the troublesome spot faces the wall.

Christmas

December 17, 2009

Truly it was.
I have absolutely no explanation for how that batch turned out so well.
But I am so very very thankful for it.

December 16, 2009

I am so tired of caramels
So, so tired.

December 15, 2009

Ack!
I missed a deadline!
A thousand apologies to you all.

December 11, 2009

Setting caramels takes about two hours if you're lucky.
One if you cheat and use the freezer.
(Like me).

So, if I had time, I could shop.
But I don't, so I haven't, and now I am screwed.

But that's only until the wrapping stage.
I rock the wrapping stage.

December 9, 2009

It sets like that.
So you have to hop to it.
Just don't burn yourself in the process.
Then nothing gets done.

December 7, 2009

...and another change in format.
It equals more posts, but better chronological organization.
So yeah.
Anywho...













12.07.09
Note:
The stirring is never done.

November 30-December 2, 2009

11.30.09
Oh yeah.
I am a caramel making machine.
It takes some psyching up to get to that point though.
...
I wish I really had merry xmas sweatbands.
That would rock.













12.02.09
I am not kidding.
We're only a week into December and the grocery stores are already turning up sparse in the Karo corn syrup department.

I have 15 more batches of caramels needs making.
They better get more.













12.02.09
Lots and lots of stirring.
Lots.

November 23-26, 2009

11.23.09
Have you ever tried to cut a seventeen inch bristol page with a twelve inch ruler?
Awful.
Hideous.
Downright mindnumbing.

And that's not all an eighteen inch ruler is good for.

It also hits things.













11.25.09
I suspect at times, that my mental maturity is stunted at age twelve.
And never will it move from that spot.

I really was quite proud of myself actually....













11.16.09
My friends, I have ridden the future and it is AWESOME.
It seems a bit intimidating at first.
But it pretty much becomes intuitive in about, oh, five minutes.
And it is fuuun.

Plus, I had my skull and bones helmet on for extra courage.
Who knows what would have happened without it.

I can hazard guess.

Me.
Flat on my back.
Wondering how that happened.

Thank god for the skull and bones helmet.

November 16-18, 2009

11.16.09
When you go through bouts of self criticism, all you can do is pop open a can of whipped cream and hope for the best.
You gotta love that aerosol.













11.17.09
Alright.
I love Christmas.
I mean seriously love Christmas.
From the moment my Thanksgiving dinner fork is put down I am in full jolly swing.
I dress the tree, wrap the presents, make the caramels, and so on. All to a merry soundtrack.

But I also happen to think that listening to Christmas music, watching Christmas commercials, and seeing Christmas specials as soon as Halloween ends cheapens the whole experience substantially.

...I suppose by next week none of this will matter.













11.18.09
Looonnnggg day.
And nothing that was worth talking about, could be talked about.
Sorry.

November 9-13, 2009

11.09.09
Yeah...
I completely underestimated how long inking was going to take.
But the socks were argyle, so everything was cool.













11.13.09
It's seasonal.
And it's food related.
I think that's as much as I can say.

This contract business wouldn't bother me so much if it weren't for the fact that this is a journal comic and working is a big chunk of time I can't use for material.
I guess my personal life is just going to have to get much more exciting.













11.13.09
I've actually heard of this happening to fish before.
They have something that works similarly to our inner ear; controlling balance and such.
Sadly, for some of them it occasionally malfunctions.

I can't imagine going through life upside down.
I wonder if it makes a difference.

November 7, 2009

October 25-27, 2009

10.25.09
Seriously.
FIGHTIN' ROBOTS!
...
I'm a hopeless case.


10.26.09
Its started to scab over now.
But I still have no idea how he managed to do that and it really bugs me.
I mean, how the hell did he rip out that itty bitty patch of fur?
What was he doing?


10.27.09
It was summer.
And then it wasn't.
It's set me back a bit.

Happy Halloween!

October 19-23, 2009

10.19.09
It's kinda surprising when it hits you in the face like that.
...
And Comics Arts Forum is a gathering of industry artists in Savannah.
Lots of fun, but veeery short notice.



10.20.09
It was nice to be back in Savannah for the familiarity and being able to walk around downtown.
But holy cow was it humid.
I love the dry heat, I really do.



10.23.09
Forum was amazing.
The workshops were tons of fun and the portfolio review enforced a lot of what I was doing already.
Everyone there was enthusiastic and amazing.
I'm so glad I went.
...
As for the cat.
I can't really get mad at her for trying to sneak a snack or two.
She's just too cute.

October 12-15, 2009

Oh ho ho!
This works out much better now, doesn't it?
I'm still drawing the comics on those 3 x 17 scraps, but I reformat them after they've been scanned to make things easier print and read wise.
Now, hopefully, you don't have to do so much clicking.
Yep.
I do this all for you.


10.12.09
I actually have no idea why.
But it seems like I should.
I've been racking my brains trying to figure out if I have some sort of trigger for these fun little anxiety-attacks-without-actual-anxiety.
So far no luck.
The only thing they seem to have in common is that they tend to show up when I really want to sleep.


10.15.09
You know, sometimes creativity works against you.
But the worst is when you know you're frustrated and you have no means of stopping it.


10.16.09
Sorry the type is so tiny on this one. I'm evil.

Seriously tho'
I think about this stuff ALL THE FREAKING TIME.
With no stimulus.
And as irrational as I know it is, its a very difficult voice to cut off.

October 7-9, 2009

10.07.09
I am so simple.
Give me a cookie and I could do anything.

As for the Artwalk Merchandise I've been going on about, keep an eye I out.
I may very well work something out here so you can get a visual.
Which leads me to my next point:

Does ANYONE
for the love of god,
know how I can get a gadget (those nifty do-dads on the sidebar) -->
that will post text and pictures.
I swear I have spent many a night in a obsessive death spiral trying to figure out how to do just that.
Keep in mind that I haven't a clue how to write code, and I'm not really looking to learn now.

The answer is probably so simple I've overlooked it completely...

10.08.09
My cat is so simple.
I let him out by accident, forgetting he had an appointment later in the day...
All I had to do was sit on the brick wall outside our house.
As per usual, Chris showed up, eager to monopolize my attention.
His mistake.
Although, he is really at his most adorable when he's terrified.

I'm traumatizing him, aren't I?

10.09.09
Ahem.
I submit for subject of today's educational moment: the doggie bag.
This is a bag in which one relocates their doggie's mess once they've... messed.
Now, pleased as I am to say that not only are dog walker's in my area familiar with this practice and (more surprisingly) putting it to use; a crucial aspect of the doggie bag etiquette appears to have been overlooked completely.
Allow me to clarify.
Once the time and effort to bag the dog's mess has been taken:
you must take it with you.
Don't just leave it in the middle of the sidewalks for slubs like me to collect.
Just because its wrapped with a pretty little bow, doesn't mean I'm any more thrilled about having to pick it up.

September 29- October 2, 2009

09.29.09
The cupboard next to our front door holds my dogs' leashes.
It is literally impossible to open that cupboard for any reason without exciting them.
Thankfully in this case, I actually intended to walk them (I just wanted them to remain calm.)
Otherwise we would have been in for a huge disappointment.

10.01.09
I get stuck during the process of dressing on a fairly regular basis.

10.02.09
Um.
I'm going through some sort of fall cleaning phase right now.
I guess.

September 21-25, 2009

09.09.21
...and they didn't.

09.09.23
A day lost to the void of melancholia.
Not much happened.

09.09.25
Cookies.
And not just any cookies.
Paradise Bakery cookies.
One dozen of them.
And so I sat.
Eating cookies.
All evening.

September 15-17, 2009

09.15.09
Is it weird that I really enjoy using power tools?

09.16.09
That was a fun day.
Luckily, we're all chemically stable now.

09.17.09
Alright, this one needs explaining.

As you might remember, I've avoided driving for the past four years.
(I was lucky enough to go to a school where it wasn't really necessary.)
And even before that I didn't relish the idea of being behind the wheel.
It's a quirk.

Thing is though, I've sort of come into possession of a hand-me-down car.
With the expectation I'd drive it.

First though, I had to get it back from the Collision Repair Center (its reasons for being there are completely unrelated to me.)
This was the first time in... possibly ever, I think... that I've driven alone and let me tell you, I didn't even have a chance to pull out of the Collision Center before very nearly causing a collision myself.

The rest of the drive home was a series of rapidly induced panic attacks and near misses.
It's truly a miracle I made it the nine blocks back home.

September 8-10, 2009

I just can't seem to get my act together.
Maybe I should resign myself to the life of a night owl.

Other than that, tai chi was fun.
More so than I first expected.

Yeah, short week.

September 1-3, 2009

So dogs don't need much explaining.

But card games do.
Firstly, if you've never played Apples to Apples, you've missed out.
Apples to Apples is a game with two sets of cards: adjectives and nouns.
A player designated as judge pulls an adjective (say 'classic') and the other players must put down a noun they feel the judge will chose as an appropriate fit for said word (such as 'Beethoven,' 'kilts,' or 'shake and bake.')
The judge picks the card they like the most and the player who put it down wins that round.
Another judge is picked and the cycle begins anew.
This was the long way of explaining what I was doing in the Sept. 2nd strip.
Which doesn't matter because the point is:
I AM VERY COMPETITIVE.
You'd just never know it.

And finally.
I have been working on a full blown book lately.
Anytime you've seen me working, that's what I was working on.
It's taken longer than it should have.
But phase 1 is done.
I have two more to go.

Bring it!