Last Night-

I was hanging out with my pal Teddy, and he gave me a poster tube when I walked in the door...I had forgotten that about a month or so ago I stopped off at the Kerasotes bldg downtown with him while he picked up a poster for his cousin, and when I saw it, I told him it was pretty cool...then asked if he had anymore to hand out.

I got mine last night. Pretty cool...but then again, I'm a comic nerd, so whatever. It looks like this on both sides, except it's flipped on the other side...type and everything.

Just figured I would add a new image on the blog to f with your dial up connection :)

One more Weekend Recap

Ah yes...it came up fast and practically without warning...and just before I had a chance to turn my head to get a better look at it, BAM!!-Good Friday hit me like a 250lb defenseman going full tilt.

Good Friday is SUCH a gd misnomer...At least the morning part was. I was pulled over in the morning by a Leland Grove policeman for an expired car registration sticker (my fault, yes, but come ON...that just sucks). I had a phone call from the apple store here in town telling me that I am the proud owner of a $200 metal paperweight (a slightly used external hard drive should last longer than a year, you'd think). When I arrived home from picking that up, I had a letter from one of the national comic syndicates...BONNNNNNG. Although it was a nice, cordial and personalized rejection letter...I could see nothing but slipping percentage points when I stared at it. My chances are slipping with this letter, damn it.

I know...by this point I wasn't feeling that half-full glass mentality very much.

I ended up running out for lunch with Shoo, Kyle, Ed and Jessie at Suzie-Q's, which was pretty fun. I suppose that if you were to pinpoint a moment in my day when the negativity stopped blasting me, it was right around this time.

We ate, then grabbed an ice cream at 31 flavas before I went home and f'd around for a while. The t-shirt design company here in town offered me a full time gig...I will have to reply to that email with a salary request today. Pay up biotch....still owe me for three designs, damn it.

As for the night life/social scene...L was in town this weekend and we got together for dinner and a movie back at my place Friday evening. Saturday night I went to Coz' for the game with a couple of friends, and L stopped in for a drink, but after she left, the game got crazy, and I was so damned drained after the overtime finished I went home, crashed out by 11pm, and slept like the dead.

And now-behold! It's Monday. SIGH.

Thursday already? Great.

Yep, well, I've read about 200 pages out of 500 from a Flash manual this week...anyone that has some familiarity with this stuff knows how easy it is to fall asleep when you're halfway through the first paragraph. I actually feel new areas in my brain opening up to the knowledge I'm imbibing. That, and I woke up to find my glasses had become horn rims and were wrapped in the middle with white tape. Yeah. Dorkin it.

I played some basketball last night at the club with my pal Teddy, and he pushed me around like his little bitch. Great fun, getting spanked 11-4 like that. I slept in til 8:30am this morning...apparently I was even more beat than I had thought. I need to get him out on the ice for a hockey game, and then I can repay the physical abuse he seems to enjoy doling out on me on the court. All I know is that it's not as difficult to hit those big guys silly when they're standing on skates as it is when they're charging to the basket. But enough meathead talk.

I met my father downtown for lunch, and I was a guest at the ABC (american business club/ambucs) luncheon meeting. Pretty fun time. Although I was introduced to a nice round of applause (my dad is a past president of the club), I don't know if I really would fit in very well. I doubt there were any members there in the creative field. Nice time, regardless.

Oh-yesterday I took my forms to my accountant in Champaign, and he tells me that I will only end up paying about $1100 to the man, instead of the 3-4K I was expecting. Which is huge, considering I already have that much saved up in my account. Hoorah.

I need that comic strip to get approved...and I will be the biggest licensing and merchandising whore since Sparky Schultz. Mark my words. That guy had his own ice rink and personal plane. All thanks to a little dog named Snoopy. Yeah, you know you had the bedsheets when you were a kid.

k. I'm out

New week...time to get some edumacation

Ahh, wotta weekend. Thursday evening I met out with some friends and the aforementioned girl, 'L', I have been talking to, and we celebrated St. Patty's day...actually followed them over to Floyd's for a few more drinks and some quality time. Met a guy that was hanging with this group that, as it turns out, is a 4th degree blackbelt in some martial art (tae kwon doe? whatever it is, it means that he'd break my neck with his pinky finger before I had his jersey over his head, hockey style. Thus my reasoning for never getting into dumb fights off the ice anymore) and everyone had a pretty nice time. I drove 'L' home and dropped her off, then had to wake up at the butt crack o dawn to get going on some animation states on this website I'm collaborating upon with the local ad agency.

I've since seen some of the animation on my artwork that the programmer has completed, and I am really looking forward to seeing the finished project. Should be very cool, and it may even be a good lead-in to more work with them.

Friday night I met out with shoo, Kyle, Em, Jenny, and Kaley for dinner at Galina's pizza, then went over to Floyd's with Kaley and shoo and em for two more beers. Woozah. I was crashed out by 11pm. Got some flak on that one from my alcoholic friends, but ah well.

Saturday, witnessed the Illini pummel Nevada at Coz' Pizza, then went out with my pal Teddy to the Brewhaus...some of his pals had been drinking all day there, and were in tough condition when we arrived at 10...we ended up escorting the guy's wife all the way back to Chatham to help unload these drunkards out of the car and into the house. I especially liked the way one of these guys had to have his head pulled out of the toilet before we left the house. Classy.

Stayed out until 3:30am, and had a decent evening...but ended up getting screamed at by the mother in the morning. Apparently I need to scale back my partying ways. I suppose I have been getting carried away, but this simply reinforces my dire need to get an apartment soon. Very soon. I have an offer from my family to set up my office rent-free downtown if I want, and that would beat the pants off of working out of my current dungeon-esque setting.

Today, I am going over some software tutorials to try and learn me some Flash...and I'm bored silly. It's just that I need to learn this stuff and get to a point where I can make some kickass...yeah, buddy-KICKASS...websites. Maybe even animate some of my artwork.

booyah

On the freelance front...

Well, I am still trying to get paid from a big job that I collaborated on with an interactive agency in Chicago, for a learning module that they sold to McDonalds...I did the primary illustration work on the set design, and I'm kicking myself for not getting the details of payment down in contract form before I started. Even though we go back...verbal contracts hold about as much cred as a colander holds water. FOCK ME.

Also awaiting word on some back designs I did for a local t-shirt company...he paid well when I was pretty much full time freelancing for him last summer/fall, but I refuse to do any new work until I get paid for three old designs that are still outstanding. I was supposed to do the design for the Barstool Open this winter for him, but it was this reason I passed on it. I'm stubborn, but feeling poor. Arrgh

As for this local ad agency that I am quickly gaining respect within, I am helping them with some digital illustrations that will be used in conjunction with a website they are putting together that will be geared towards high school teens and will educate them about the First Amendment. Edgy, hip, and cool...my only real direction was to provide some MTV'ish styles for them to choose. It's not everyday a designer gets such loose guidelines, and I ran with it. I cannot wait to see what the final product looks like. I'm also very impressed with the employees and owners that I have been collaborating with there. Very nice, great tsenses of humor. The women have redeemed my formerly cynical view of female owners in this business. I am looking forward to working with them in the future.

I dropped off my comic strip to Chris Britt at the State Journal Register the other day, and I'm waiting to hear back from him about what he thinks. Although the general concensus has been overwhelmingly positive, I always enjoy getting the opinions of those guys that do this thing for a living. Since, of course, that's what I'm striving to do.

Oh, and I dropped off my resume to the Journal Register as well...they posted an ad on Sunday looking for a graphic artist. So...yeah.

That's about it for now. Happy St. Pats everyone

Feeling a bit Irish...

Wotta weekend. Wow. I mean, really...WOW.

I travelled to Bloomington this past Friday evening to spend some time with a very smart, very attractive someone that I've been talking to for about a week or so, and she was able to put up with me and my nonsense for the evening. We had a pretty good time, ate at Chevy's (my first time there, but definitely lived up to the hype...we were STUFFED), and then saw Sideways at the not-so-local cineplex. The movie was decent...I can now say that I have seen every movie that was up for best picture this year in the theaters. I still say Ray was the best of all four. After grabbing a bagel with her at Panera, I dropped her off and drove up to Chicago to meet up with my friends for a St. Pat's celebration at the Abbey Pub.

Here's where you can start laughing at me.

We started drinking at noon. Guiness was $5 a pint, and the other beers weren't exactly on discount. I had to make a conscious effort not to count my rapidly dwindling wad of cash that I had arrived with, and eventually I began to enjoy myself altogether waaaay too much. I was there until 9:30pm. That's a pretty long time to be putting them back at the pace we were going. But hey, what can I say? Old man has the drinking skills.

Aside from seeing Detroit Duffy, Irish Tim from Philly, and the rest of the crew, I befriended a hockey team from Boston that was in town to play in some local tourney. We conglomerated our groups together, and after that...well...shit, after that I was still plastered. Good times. Did I make out with random girls? Hell no. Did I get phone numbers on the dance floor? You have obviously never witnessed my dance moves. Did I get in a fight? Naw, but I nearly had a Cubbie fan enraged at me...until he saw my boston hockey bruddas get behind me and snarl at him. He was pretty cool after that.

I was out cold by 10pm. Fun times...and thank GOD it's once a year. My liver is still reeling today.

Hope everyone else had a good weekend!

Thursday Morning- Ahhhh-almost weekend again

So...yesterday was interesting. I had a meeting with an ad agency here in town that needed some assistance with some design and illustration work on a website they're working on for the first amendment, geared towards high school age kids. Right up my alley, since my maturity level is still hovering right around that age...yeah... ;)

Afterwards I swung out to the Church of the Little Flower to pay my respects to one of my best friend's girlfriend's family-her mother passed away on Sunday from a short bout with leukemia. She had undergone two rounds of chemotherapy, and was getting steadily worse when she succombed to the cancer. She was a nurse in St. John's neonatal ward, so chances are she may have helped when I was born. Small town, indeed. I hate wakes, funerals...but I love my friends, and that's part of friendship. It was open casket too. I did not eat dinner last night. Not hungry.

So, I have some character development to work on today and tomorrow...and a few home page designs to create before I get going North.

All in all, not too bad. I have also decided to get my professional certification as a personal trainer...I have some free time, I'm back in fairly decent shape again, and I have a degree in sports science that has never been applied. WTF...why not, right?

Have you ever?

The things I have never actually done are in bold.

1)I’ve Never Kissed A Member Of The Opposite Sex
2)I’ve Never Kissed A Member Of The Same Sex
3)I’ve Never Crashed A Friend’s Car
4)I’ve Never Been To Japan
5)I’ve Never Been In A Taxi
6)I’ve Never Been In Love
7)I’ve Never Had Sex In Public
8)I’ve Never Been Dumped
9)I’ve Never Done Cocaine
10)I've Never Shoplifted
11)I’ve Never Been Fired
12)I’ve Never Been In A Fist Fight
13)I’ve Never Had Group Intercourse (other couple in same room, different bed...does that count?)
14)I’ve Never Snuck Out Of My Parents’ House (never successfully!)
15)I’ve Never Been Tied Up
16)I’ve Never Regretted Having Sex With Someone (see #31)
17)I’ve Never Been Arrested
18)I’ve Never Made Out With A Stranger
19)I’ve Never Stolen Something From My Job
20)I’ve Never Celebrated New Years In Time Square
21)I’ve Never Gone On A Blind Date
22)I’ve Never Lied To A Friend
23)I’ve Never Had A Crush On A Teacher
24)I’ve Never Celebrated Mardi Gras In New Orleans
25)I’ve Never Been To Europe
25)I’ve Never Skipped School
26)I’ve Never Slept With A Co-Worker
27)I’ve Never Cut Myself On Purpose
28)I’ve Never Had Sex At The Office
29)I’ve Never Been Married
30)I’ve Never Been Divorced
31)I’ve Never Had Sex With More Than One Person Within The Same Week
32)I’ve Never Posed Nude
33)I’ve Never Gotten Someone Drunk Just To Have Sex With Them
34)I’ve Never Killed Anyone
35)I’ve Never Received Scars From My Sex Partner
36)I’ve Never Thrown Up In A Bar
37)I’ve Never Purposely Set A Part Of Myself On Fire
38)I’ve Never Eaten Sushi
39)I’ve Never Been Snowboarding
40)I’ve Never Had Sex At A Friend’s House While They Were Throwing A Party
41)I’ve Never Had Sex In A Dressing Room
42)I’ve Never Flashed Anyone
43)I’ve Never Met Anyone From Online
44)I've never been to a circus
45) I've never seen/had an encounter with a ghost


Yeah, A few of these are ancient memories, but why lie? Yikes...

Zee week has arrived- Sheet. Fork.

Um, yeah... copious amounts of caffeine has turned me into a jittery mess tonight. I've got a rendezvous planned with my gym later, so hopefully I can burn off all this crazy energy. Seriously, does anyone else get this way from a few mountain dews and a chocolate bar (yeah, I despise diets, so make fun of my nutritional debacle all ya want)?

Finished painting my room today, pulled up the carpet, decided NOT to refinish the floor and I am opting for new carpet instead. Ah. Problem solved...swept under the rug, if you will.

~ducks shoe being hurled at head~

I received my payment from a cllient in Florida this afternoon. Ya know, I don't mind telecommuting on jobs, but the risk of having someone stiff you on a bill is always on my mind. Not that I was worried about this client/friend, but you know...I have to get better about asking for the 50% payment up front. ESPECIALLY when I have taxes coming up in a month. Anyone else out there struggling to come up with a few grand they should have saved from their 1099's? Yeah...just me. damn.

I have decided to run a marathon. Tonight. At the gym. On a treadmill. Wearing a pink bikini brief. And elven shoes.

Damn the caffeine.

I have to draw, have to draw, have to draw...oh hey, the original Rocky is playing on tv...have to draw, have to draw...hmm...maybe I should go read that last five chapters of my book...GOTTA draw..

Damn the ADD. Night y'all.

Weekend Recap

Wow. Had a great time this weekend, and hopefully didn't leave too many people with too much gossip to spread.

Although the majority of my good friends are in Chicago and St. Louis, I have been making new friends here in Springfield, and I'm getting to know them better as time progresses...and they're all extremely good people. If any of them are reading this, I'd just like to say thanks for letting me into your circle of friends. You all have good hearts, and I've been enjoying the opportunity I have had to get to know you all better. Even Kyle. hehe

The Illini lost today. Damn. Nobody likes to lose in March, but at least it wasn't in the tournament. We'll have to wait and see if this loss motivates them to tear into the rest of the tournament with a vengeance. I'm hoping so.

65º outside today as well...did everyone get a chance to enjoy it? If ya didn't...I feel for ya. I'm aching for a new convertible, damn it. It's days like this that I yearn for my old P.O.S. dodge 600.

All for now. Later playas.

I finished my Halloween costume!

I know, I know...

I'm sure you THINK it's a little premature to be doing this sort of thing, but hey...it's one of my fave holidays.

I had a great idea the other night when I was laying in bed, and I jumped up, threw on my underroos, and got right to work. Hope you guys like the new suit!

I am SO getting three bags of candy this year. Who's coming with me?

Finished logo design...?

Hope you like the final version...a few tweaks here and there, most notably the typography and the sun's rays have been roughed up a bit more.

Wednesday Evening...

A full day again...kind of. Basically painted my bedroom, spackled, sanded, masked off the trim work (not in that order) and cannot wait to see what I have waiting for me once I pull up the carpet. I like wood floors, but if mine has a chalk outline of a murder victim, I'm ordering new carpet faster than you can say "mohawk".

Yes, I was raised around a furniture store, why?

I finished my cover letters for the syndicates as well...just need to print them out, and send out the six packets with my strip tomorrow. Still no word yet from the Tribune, but that's ok. I suppose it just means that my strip gets to go on to round number two. Yippee....right?

I also have a new logo that I designed for a pal of mine, who is an assistant coach on a youth baseball team here in town...

I hope he likes the logo. I figured with a name like "Sun Rays", somebody's gotta make them look mean.

OK. Later everyone.

A couple of jokes...

Two men dressed in pilot's uniforms walk up the aisle. Both are wearing dark glasses, one is using a guide dog, and the other is tapping his way along the aisle with a cane.
Nervous laughter spreads through the cabin, but the men enter the cockpit, the door closes, and the engines start up. The passengers begin glancing nervously around, searching for some
sign that this is just a little practical joke. None is forthcoming. The plane moves faster and faster down the runway, and the people sitting in the window seats realize they're headed
straight for the water at the edge of the airport territory. As it begins to look as though the plane will plough into the water, panicked screams fill the cabin.
At that moment, the plane lifts smoothly into the air. The passengers relax and laugh a little sheepishly, and soon all retreat into their magazines, secure in the knowledge that the plane is in good hands.
In the cockpit, one of the blind pilots turns to the other and says, "You know, Bob, one of these days, they're gonna scream too late and we're all gonna die."



And...if you really want to read more, here's a nice wholesome one sent to me from my father...

A group of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders, accompanied by two female teachers, went on a field trip to the local racetrack (Churchill Downs) to learn about thoroughbred horses and the supporting industry (Bourbon), but mostly to see the horses.
When it was time to take the children to the bathroom it was decided that the girls would go with one teacher and the boys would go with the other.
The teacher assigned to the boys was waiting outside the men's room when one of the boys came out and told her that none of them could reach the urinal. Having no choice, she went inside, helped the boys with their pants, and began hoisting the little boys up one by one holding onto their "wee wees" to direct the flow away from their clothes.
As she lifted one, she couldn't help but notice that he was unusually well endowed.
Trying not to show that she was staring, the teacher said, "You must be in the 5th grade."
No, ma'am, " he replied. "I'm the jockey riding Silver Arrow in the seventh."