October 24th, 2007
Lack of drawing and updates? Are you surprised? I'm not.
In June, my ability to draw was put on hold for a little over a month, because I broke my right hand. I can't
say exactly how I pulled that one off, because I don't know. Rather, I don't remember. The theory goes that I
took a really bad spill, as the other people in the house heard a very loud crash in the bathroom. Suffice it to say,
my hand was not the only pain I had when I woke up. I will never get that drunk again. I wouldn't have been
nearly so pissed if I had broke my left hand, instead. Anyway, it healed properly by the first week of July.
I then started focusing on a writing project I had been planning out, intent on completing a novel that I could
be somewhat confident in showing to others. In July alone, I completed about 59,000 words, so NaNoWriMo
can bite me. I've been pushing the novel forward, and from the few who have been reading it, it's apparently the
best writing I've done so far. Now, this may not seem like such a big deal, but it is for me. I've needed the
energy to write with this much enthusiasm, because for the past few years, I've been smacking my head against
my desk, trying to find my muse again. Project ideas have come and gone, but nothing really stuck. But this
time, I've caught on to something solid, and it's paying off. My English/humanities mentor (a terribly strict old
devil) back in Denver loves my writing, and my spouse and my buddies on MBAM (who are all brutally honest
folks) have been terrorizing me for more pages to read. That's a good sign. I've been considering the idea of
putting a few pages in my "Projects" section here on my site, but I'm not fond of the idea of any of my work
getting stolen. We'll see.
Toward late July, my eldest sister and her family were kind enough to come and visit me. My hope is that we
didn't scare them away from visiting again, because it was probably one of the best weeks I've ever had. Now if
only I could lure my parents up here...
We've been camping a few times, and doing a bit of hiking and swimming. Tolmie State Park, with beach
access to the Sound, is only about ten minutes away from my house, so we often go there to chill out. Another
of our favorite places to go walking is Tumwater Falls, and just this past month, the salmon have been crowding
the river, prompting more than a few salmon festivals. I know I've stumbled into the right place when the
community shares my love of fish.
Everything would be peachy keen here except for one little snag. The house I live in is a bit old, I understand.
But the plumbing has been giving us consistent trouble since we moved in, and the landlord and his handyman
aren't entirely reliable in getting the problem solved. We asked for the problem to get fixed over six months ago,
when our house flooded over and over again. While there hasn't been a flood in a while (thanks to the handiwork
of my in-laws, and not the landlord), the pipes are consistently getting plugged, and I don't personally have the
equipment to fix the problem. Every time the handyman or landlord tells us that the problem is fixed, all of the
drains get stopped up again a few days later. I can't believe I'm saying this, with as much as I hate moving, but I
can't wait to get out of this house. This on/off plumbing is pissing me off.
Some folks have been asking why I no longer update on DeviantArt, and my answer is that honestly,
DeviantArt seemed like more of a massive popularity contest rather than an art gallery. I don't have the time or
energy to check up on 300+ deviations each day, and if I didn't comment on *every single one*, someone was
bound to get pissy and start moping about how I didn't care enough, and that I wasn't a good friend. I care
plenty, and I've tried to tell people on DA that I *do* look at the new art. Others get mad because their watchers
can't or don't give them the kind of drawn-out criticism that they want. Sometimes, art doesn't require my bland
commentary. There's not much criticism that I can offer, either, especially to artists whose own talents blow
mine out of the water. Where do I even begin? And anyway, screw these people. I was happy just to *receive*
comments, even simple ones. I didn't demand that people comment. I didn't bitch and whine when my art didn't
receive hundreds of favs or insightful comments. I didn't try to guilt-trip my watchers into responding to every
single one of my submissions. Unfortunately, that's the kind crap people were regularly pulling, so I quit. I
realize places like DA are good for promoting my site, and indeed, I've met some very good people there. But as
the Internet and Internet communities are not the center of my life, I don't have the time or energy to try to
compete with all of the attention whores. So, right... maybe sometime I'll give it another shot. But I'm not in any
hurry.
Anyway, as the summer weather has officially ended, I'm getting back into the swing of drawing. Expect
more comics and art to appear in the gallery. Also, keep an eye out. I plan to sell some art and crafts on eBay
soon enough. Blue Man Group is coming to Seattle in January, and I want to be able to afford tickets. :)
-T.
In June, my ability to draw was put on hold for a little over a month, because I broke my right hand. I can't
say exactly how I pulled that one off, because I don't know. Rather, I don't remember. The theory goes that I
took a really bad spill, as the other people in the house heard a very loud crash in the bathroom. Suffice it to say,
my hand was not the only pain I had when I woke up. I will never get that drunk again. I wouldn't have been
nearly so pissed if I had broke my left hand, instead. Anyway, it healed properly by the first week of July.
I then started focusing on a writing project I had been planning out, intent on completing a novel that I could
be somewhat confident in showing to others. In July alone, I completed about 59,000 words, so NaNoWriMo
can bite me. I've been pushing the novel forward, and from the few who have been reading it, it's apparently the
best writing I've done so far. Now, this may not seem like such a big deal, but it is for me. I've needed the
energy to write with this much enthusiasm, because for the past few years, I've been smacking my head against
my desk, trying to find my muse again. Project ideas have come and gone, but nothing really stuck. But this
time, I've caught on to something solid, and it's paying off. My English/humanities mentor (a terribly strict old
devil) back in Denver loves my writing, and my spouse and my buddies on MBAM (who are all brutally honest
folks) have been terrorizing me for more pages to read. That's a good sign. I've been considering the idea of
putting a few pages in my "Projects" section here on my site, but I'm not fond of the idea of any of my work
getting stolen. We'll see.
Toward late July, my eldest sister and her family were kind enough to come and visit me. My hope is that we
didn't scare them away from visiting again, because it was probably one of the best weeks I've ever had. Now if
only I could lure my parents up here...
We've been camping a few times, and doing a bit of hiking and swimming. Tolmie State Park, with beach
access to the Sound, is only about ten minutes away from my house, so we often go there to chill out. Another
of our favorite places to go walking is Tumwater Falls, and just this past month, the salmon have been crowding
the river, prompting more than a few salmon festivals. I know I've stumbled into the right place when the
community shares my love of fish.
Everything would be peachy keen here except for one little snag. The house I live in is a bit old, I understand.
But the plumbing has been giving us consistent trouble since we moved in, and the landlord and his handyman
aren't entirely reliable in getting the problem solved. We asked for the problem to get fixed over six months ago,
when our house flooded over and over again. While there hasn't been a flood in a while (thanks to the handiwork
of my in-laws, and not the landlord), the pipes are consistently getting plugged, and I don't personally have the
equipment to fix the problem. Every time the handyman or landlord tells us that the problem is fixed, all of the
drains get stopped up again a few days later. I can't believe I'm saying this, with as much as I hate moving, but I
can't wait to get out of this house. This on/off plumbing is pissing me off.
Some folks have been asking why I no longer update on DeviantArt, and my answer is that honestly,
DeviantArt seemed like more of a massive popularity contest rather than an art gallery. I don't have the time or
energy to check up on 300+ deviations each day, and if I didn't comment on *every single one*, someone was
bound to get pissy and start moping about how I didn't care enough, and that I wasn't a good friend. I care
plenty, and I've tried to tell people on DA that I *do* look at the new art. Others get mad because their watchers
can't or don't give them the kind of drawn-out criticism that they want. Sometimes, art doesn't require my bland
commentary. There's not much criticism that I can offer, either, especially to artists whose own talents blow
mine out of the water. Where do I even begin? And anyway, screw these people. I was happy just to *receive*
comments, even simple ones. I didn't demand that people comment. I didn't bitch and whine when my art didn't
receive hundreds of favs or insightful comments. I didn't try to guilt-trip my watchers into responding to every
single one of my submissions. Unfortunately, that's the kind crap people were regularly pulling, so I quit. I
realize places like DA are good for promoting my site, and indeed, I've met some very good people there. But as
the Internet and Internet communities are not the center of my life, I don't have the time or energy to try to
compete with all of the attention whores. So, right... maybe sometime I'll give it another shot. But I'm not in any
hurry.
Anyway, as the summer weather has officially ended, I'm getting back into the swing of drawing. Expect
more comics and art to appear in the gallery. Also, keep an eye out. I plan to sell some art and crafts on eBay
soon enough. Blue Man Group is coming to Seattle in January, and I want to be able to afford tickets. :)
-T.