The Marvelous Patric

 dear blog,

You all have been very patient and worried, so I think it’s time to say what’s what and what is going on with Freaks N Squeeks.  Except this isn’t just about Freaks N Squeeks.

First, let me say that Freaks N Squeeks in many ways, shapes, and forms is in fact over on Friday, July 3rd.  And, to put it another way, it isn’t.

The black and white version of Freaks N Squeeks is over on July 3rd.  The new full color series will begin on July 13th.

So yes, I am a tease.  But, color isn’t the only change coming, but one of many.  Besides being in color there will also be a schedule change.  Freaks N Squeeks will now run on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  You know, like Penny Arcade only not about gaming.

But, less you think I’m some kind of slacker, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, Fun Factory returns as an all-new full color strip at Graphicsmash.

So you see, you the reader, are actually far more in the brave new world.  I have more details to share, and you probably have questions.  I’m going to talk about it on the podcast we record tonight, so post any questions and comments today here and I’ll try to answer them for you to hear tomorrow.

Also, don't forget that Friday, July 3rd, is also the last day to pre-order the next Freaks N Squeeks book, Sad Little Life, for only $10.00.  Pre-orders not only save two bucks, but also get an artist edition and desktop wallpaper for their computer.

 dear  blog,

only one week left to get your artist edition of sad little life for only $10.00! https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=DgNVhCVhDpcKj2yUGwXPLA2-pXWOHU4VvHQ6g7ZV2UmORjYLBCX9XnWKlpq&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1fb6947b0aeae66fdbfb2119927117e3a6ad170b0a66ce6e8a

dear blog,

there's a pre-order going for the next freaks n squeeks book.  all pre-orders will get a signed artist edition of the next book, which will contain all of the year-long story "Sad Little Life" plus a desktop/wallpaper for their computer.  You really need to order yours now because after july 3rd, normal copies cost $12.00 and artist editions will cost $15.00. 

dear blog,

I got engaged this week.  On tuesday, June 16, 2009, I proposed to Tiffany Alison Asher.  This is what happened....

I had been planning this since April.  I bought her an antique ring because I didn't like anything the jewelers were pushing on me.  I had the ring since the end of April.  Phase II was asking for her parents' blessing.  This was tricky in that my main opportunity was Memorial Day Weekend when we went to The Lake with them.  I finally found about 2 minutes where her parents were together and Tiffany was away with her little boy.  The blessing secured, I now moved on to Phase III.  
In Phase III, I had the ring, now I needed a special way to ask.  Tiffany loves her baritone.  This is the horn she played in highschool when we met.  This is the horn she plays and loves.  But, the case she had sucked.  It was a case mostly in the academic sense in that it was made of some sort of material and did technically enclose the horn after many ... modifications... made over the years.  So, I decided that I would propose on her birthday and buy her a new case for her beloved horn, putting the ring inside said case.  Finding a horn case was tricky in that I did not know the make and model of her horn.  Even after inspecting the horn, I still didn't know.  I still don't know it now.  But, I found a generic case and purchased it.  

In Phase IV, I planned the actual proposal.  My plan was for her to meet me by the bandshell in Barden Park.  We play next to said historic band shell during our weekly concert series in the summer.  It's a band geek thing.

As I attempt to execute Phase V, the actual proposal, it rains.  Now let me explain why this is so Patric.  It hasn't rained any amount worth mentioning here for months.  Most "rain" we've had could just as easily have been a flock of birds flying overhead relieving themselves.  But no, on June 16th, it rained.  It poured.  Constantly.  And then, Tiffany calls and tells me she has to pick up her offspring and then drop him off at his dad's.  So, now I'm hoping we can wait out the rain a bit and I tell her I'll meet her in a PARKING LOT over by the now abandoned Circuit City building.  We meet and it is raining harder.
I have this huge box in my car, which is the case all wrapped up.  But I have no idea where to now do this big event.  So, Tiffany says she likes the rain so we go to a nearby park.  
We go to a picnic table under some trees as it rains.  She opens the wrapped gift and is all excited about the case.  She throws the plastic wrapping on the ground by me and opens the case. I go down on one knee (the knee is on the plastic instead of the mud) and point to the ring she hasn't noticed, as she was excited about the screws and washers to adjust the padding. I grab the ring and say... "Tiffany, will you..." and never get to finish because she says "OF COURSE!" and jumps on to me.

So were are now engaged. No idea when we'll actually get married. It all depends on how fast her annulment goes through. But, after 15 years of this whole "will they, won't they" crap, we now know. We will.

Current Location: the office
Current Mood: optimistic
Current Music: dynomite - ima robot

dear blog,

I'm really bad about writing here.  I admit it.  I wanted to post last night, but by the time I got home, it was time for conan's first show and now way was i missing that.  

things be going well here in patric land.  FNS is having a big Summer of Our Content thing where i'm posting "something" everyday.  Comics five days a week right now, with bonus sketches or character profiles on the weekends.  I'm actually ahead with the comic and starting to build a little buffer.  Hopefully by next week, I'll be a full week ahead.  If i can get it up to two weeks, I may start putting comics up on the weekend.  We'll see.   

The other cool thing I'm doing now is a weekly podcast with Matt.  It started as I was doing a Ustream of drawing my comic.  And then I'd post the audio from that.  but, i'd get distracted drawing and there'd be dead air.  And interaction is funny.  So, here we are.  The show is still called "Patric Draws" and we still (usually) do it live, but the podcast is worth listening to on its own.  

things are going well with the girl.  we spent a weekend up at "the lake" with her family on memorial weekend and last weekend, we took her little boy to see "Up."  everyone's already raved about "Up", so i prolly don't need to.  It's enough to say it's really good, but Wall-E still is my favorite.  

I also have been given a teaching assistantship for next year.  I'll be teaching freshman english.  Quite exciting.  

I'm auditioning for a play tonight.  I found out this local theater group is going to be doing Wonka and the Producers in the future, so I thought I'd audition for the next show to test the waters.  I'll about the theater these days, yo.  

I've started another draft of my thesis play.  It's going to be radically different this time around as I'm going to try to do it as a mockumentary and a straight comedy.  Last time was more like Dr. Strangelove or MASH.  This time, I'm going for Spinal Tap or A Mighty Wind.  

Current Location: the office
Current Mood: creative
Current Music: none?

dear blog,

it is finals!  I have just uploaded and printed the first draft of my play.  this summer, i will write a second draft that will be completely different.  meanwhile, last week i was in ohio for a goddaughter's first communion.  this weekend, i will be in chicago for a nephew's first communion.  oh, and it's finals, remember?  I actually only have 1 twenty page paper (double spaced, luckily) left to write about tom sawyer and comparative mythology.  yeah.  i can do that.  but, there's a lot riding on it.  not only my grade, but if i do a good enough job on it, i may get a teaching assistantship next year.  yeah, no pressure.  

matt and i have started podcasting together.  this grew out of my weekly live drawing session on ustream.  i like having someone to banter with, and i liked recording it for people who missed it.  i realized that when i watch other ustreams of cartoonists, i really just listen to them, so i thought really i wanted a podcast.  you can find all this stuff at fns.  

i haven't drawn my comic for over a week.  i was always going to take this week off, but then last week, i got massively sick.  I've been sick a lot this year.  I'll be happy when summer comes and burns all the diseases away, as is my understanding of medical science.  

things are progressing nicely with the girlfriend.  the most common question we / i get is "when are you getting engaged?"  all i'm gonna say is that I know the answer to the question, but i'm not saying.  

today, is the performance of the dramatic reading i'm in!  i'm excited!  and dressed in black!  and my hair is combed nicely.  the things i do for art.  i think it's gonna go well.  i hope people come.  i really love acting.  i missed it so much.  i found out from a friend that next year GREAT theater is doing both wonka and the producers.  I loved being wonka and it's been my lifelong dream (well, as long as it was possible) to be Leo Bloom in the producers.  I have contacted the guy in charge and I'm so gonna audition for both plays.  I wanna be a producer....

Current Location: home
Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: Jack Killed Mom - Jenny Lewis

 dear blog,

i guess i only do this like once a month.  i can't tell if that's because i'm so busy or because i have nothing to say.  a paradox, i know.  

my comic has been seeing record numbers of visitors lately.  i'm pretty happy about that.  it's like hard work is paying off.  i won't be going to SDCC this year.  I'm on the waiting list for a table, so i think i'll go to chicago instead.  for the same amount of money i get a bigger table.  and, i can drive there.  it works out a bit cheaper this way.  

the living room is like 98% done.  the floor has been refinished and everything.  the only things left are the molding and the french doors have been stripped and need to be revarnished.  everything looks so nice.  we moved furniture back in there and i've been able to sit on my couch again and work.  

school continues to be fantastic.  my teachers are amazing.  and, i'm in a play.  we're only doing a reading, so no memorization or anything.  but it's awesome.  a student wrote it and my teacher is directing. she cast me even though i didn't audition.  as the lead.  yeep!  i hope i don't disappoint.  i'm gonna need to SHATNER IT UP!!!

it's friday and i feel really tired.  this past couple of weeks have been grueling.  sunday i'm going over to miss marvelous's parents house.  tomorrow is my day.  i'm not doing a damn thing.  except miss marvleous and i are going to see a play at school tomorrow night.  i guess i'm becoming a theater geek again.  which is awesome.  

i'm like 99% certain i'm going to do a play for my thesis project.  i told my teacher i wasn't sure if i had another play in me, and she said i clearly have tons in me.  she is so encouraging.  i have a great connection with both my creative writing teachers.  this semester has been an amazing and life-changing experience.  

Current Location: office
Current Mood: excited
Current Music: That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings

Dear blog,

I've been sick for like the past week.  It's been sucktacular.  I lost my voice.  This obviously delighted some people quite a bit.  I think my immune system is fried from having to repair that nerve in my head.  I feel like any slight breeze and I get sick.  
At least the nausea has passed.  My doctor and I reckoned it was the meds, so we played around with that.  I'm now not in pain and I'm not throwing up.  Now if I can just get past this massive cold, I'll be awesome-possum.  
I feel super sleepy right now, tho.  And I'm at work, then class, then I need to get a haircut so I look pretty when I renew my driver's license tomorrow.  
It's unfair to be busy when sick.  

I have found a new internet radio station that I love.  It is K-Rock 2 from NYC.  And it is perfect.  

School is going well this semester.  I'm loving the play writing.  The play I'm writing doesn't feel like any play I've ever seen.  It feels a lot faster and snappier.  Also, the cast is sprawling with characters that only have like one or two lines.  I would imagine it would be a nightmare to put on.  And the set!  Oy, the things I envision for the set.  And the way I would want it to function!  Lots of hidden doors and stuff.  And there's stunts galore.  Basically, I'm trying to make a comic on stage, I think.  But, I love it.  I love writing it and I love hearing people read it.  

The house is coming along beautifully.  Rock has kicked ass on the living room.  The new walls and ceiling are gorgeous.  And now we're refinishing the floor.  This has never been done in the 120+ years of the floor's existence.  It took a lot of sanding to get all the wax and gunk off.  I was sick and sleeping while this was going on.  But, from what I hear, it was hard to do.  Rock had rented a nice floor sander, but it proved to be ineffective.  He then used a hand sander and that worked.  Then the floor sander again.  Next, the stain and varnish.  
Anyone whoever thought that house wasn't worth anything clearly was wrong.  It's like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree... all it needed was a little love.  And my brother Rock is a very talented carpenter, even if he doesn't think so.

On Saturday, I'll be in a prime of life.  I'm cool with that.  My life is awesome.  I've got school going well, I'm looking towards my doctorate and teaching.  And I'm dating the woman that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with.  It's weird, because I think I used to think that sort of relationship would be scary. But it's not.  It's calming and I feel not excited or jittery or anything like that.  Instead, I feel calm and content, which is way better. 

Current Location: the office
Current Mood: content
Current Music: K-Rock 2

dear blog,

I'd like to retract a lot of the end of my previous post.  I was harsh.  And I don't want that to be me.  

The truth is, there is nothing malicious about my sibs.  They're not evil, or vile, or anything.  They're fairly nice folk, for the most part, in fact.  And, I apologize to them.  

 

dear blog,

This is the first real post of 2009. I think the Year of the Patric is still going on because things are still going fairly well. At first I was puzzled by this, but then I thought Year of the Patric would begin and end on my birthday. Which makes sense because the good things didn't start for me until around march of 2008. So I have a few weeks left.

The new semester is going pretty well. I really like my classes this semester. Like they are way more awesome than than last semester's classes. I have a play-writing class that I absolutely love. I feel like I'm tapping into a creative spot in my brain that I haven't really used since high school. I get to write an entire play for that class!
Then, I have an independent study with a professor I'm hoping will be my thesis adviser. That is a lot of fun too! I'm doing the IS in her fiction class. She gives really good assignments and the in-class exercises and really good. I've decided to try to really get out of my comfort zone in this class and use a lot of my own personal life as inspiration.
Lastly, I have a 19th Century American Literature class. It hasn't seemed horrible so far, but I have little to say about it at this time.

Tomorrow, we begin to sheet-rock my living room. Rock and I are going to sheet-rock the living room and dining room (at some point). Everything is moved out of the room. We're gonna work like crazy tomorrow and hopefully get the ceiling done.

My mom's computer is dying. What's bad about this is I think the responsibility to get her a new machine will fall on me / her. The two people who really can't afford buying a computer. I've started looking on ebay for used macbooks. Now I know the classic question from the siblings is "Why can't Mom just use your computer?" And the answer is because I'M using my computer. Yes, I have a laptop and desktop. But, I use them both at different times for different things. So, at any given moment, I'll be using one or the other. And so which would mom use? Where would she keep her files? She actually uses her computer quite a bit these days. This could be tricky in the months to come.

dear blog,

Just a quick note tonight. My beloved comic, Freaks N Squeeks, has been reviewed on the immensely popular website, Ain't It Cool News. A website so popular, it was briefly made fun of in an SNL sketch once. Not only have I been reviewed, but it was a positive review.

Okay... so it was a short review, but still, I'm really thrilled!

Current Mood: accomplished

dear blog,

It's the penultimate day of 2008. I'm starting to look ahead and thinking about some of the arbitrary changes I can make to celebrate the change of the year that occurs several weeks after the earth has passed its furthest point from the sun. One change is I'm shutting down marvelouspatric.com at the end of january. I never use it any more. I'll simply make it a redirect to freaksnsqueeks.com for now. I'm trying to figure out just what that website should do now, if anything. When I started it, it was where I put everything, all comics and whatnot that I did back in college. Now, i do a daily and a weekly, each with their own url, and there's no pretty way to display them both on one page. I'm thinking it may serve best as a blog, but I'm blogging here and at freaksnsqueeks.com anyway. If there was more of a community around my comics, I'd focus it there.

My puppies are doing well. They were at the daycare during xmas. dexter has a bit of the stomach/digestive issues. dixie is okay, tho.

xmas went well. now there's all this snow. and it keeps coming! and i'm supposed to take the nephews to see bolt tonight, but if this weather keeps up, that may not be a good idea. which would be very disappointing for them.

the red drum on my new guitar hero drum stopped working. i called them on friday and they're sending me replacement drums. but i just got the email with the shipping label to send them the old drums now, so i don't know if this means they _just_ sent it today or it's going to arrive today. man, that'd be sweet if it did. i really want to have the drums for new years. worst case scenario, i guess i could buy the new rockband, but i really didn't want two sets of drums and the new guitar hero drums work with the new rockband.

wow, i have very not-serious problems in my life. or at least, the ones i share.

dear blog,

the year of the patric is almost over. i'm not going to do a year-in-review post like everyone else. that is just soooooo 2007.

so what is new with patric? well, i finally got a diagnosis on my terrible head pain. i have atypical facial neuralgia. with a diagnosis with that many big words, you'd probably think i'm dying. but, i'm not. actually, it's quite treatable with medicine. for like the rest of my life. but, it could be worse.

i've been playing my bass at my new church. i haven't played very much, but it's been a lot of fun. i wish i was better, but considering i haven't really played my bass in years and never played in a group before, i think it's going fairly well.

band is also going fairly well. we're on break now until the 5th.

my first semester of grad school is also over. i assume i did fairly well. i really don't care much about grades. it seems fairly ridiculous that i could get an A in the class i learned the most in and also get an A in the class i learned the least in. fairly arbitrary, wouldn't you say?

I really liked my Rhetoric of Style class. I think the most creative work I've written in a long time came from that class. far more creative than my actual creative writing class. I learned so much there and had so much fun.

i'm thinking of collecting all my writings from this semester into a pdf and selling it. the work would include 4 short stories and a couple of essays. i'm not sure how many pages, but at least fifty, likely more.

i ended up canning my secret project. the project was a 6 minute animated FNS holiday special. i have the voices and the artwork, but i was having trouble getting the lip-sync to work out. i decided i would rather keep it until next year. maybe i can get someone good at animating to help out. i'd also like to find some music and stuff, so i think it if i wait, it'll work out much better.

FNS is going to return next week. i'm going to devote the time i would have spent animating to drawing it. which is like, tomorrow night. but still, it's the thought that counts. oh, who am i kidding? i'm gonna waste time playing guitar hero.

i have to finish my xmas shopping tonight. i have only a couple of things left to buy.

and i get to work over break. it's "extra" money not included in my usual GA package. woos and hoos.

Current Location: the office

dear blog,

I know a lot of cartoonists who are often given gifts by their fans. I have never had this happen to me before. But, yesterday, I received my first fan gift. Not only that, but it was extremely cool....



So special thanks to Tiffany for the awesome statues! I know I could never make anything like them! They'll adorn my desk forever.*



*note: not a legally binding forever, but the kind where it's gonna be a really long time.



Here's some closer shots of each one!

dear blog,

the pain is now in week 10. i saw a neurologist yesterday. she prescribed neurontin. she definitely believes it's neurological. she has two theories. one is a thing i can't pronounce or spell, which we'll treat with medicine and will probably be with me forever. the other is an aneurysm.  thus, i'm having a ct with angiogram or some such thing next monday down at abbot northwestern.  it's not a typical angiogram and uses some sort of imaging.  i don't really understand it, but it's not a standard ct and can't be done locally.  
oh, and i'll still be using the percocet as well.  i'm all drugged up.

the pain is destroying my life.  for the most part, i sleep a lot more from the meds.  i go to bed early, i take naps.  when i'm not asleep, i'm either dopey from the meds or barely functioning from the pain.  i haven't drawn at all.  i took a break from FNS to draw fun factory and it hasn't happened because all my time is homework or pain.  i'm missing a lot of work for all the doctor appointments.  the pain makes me nauseous.  it's just frustrating.  

i really need a new icon...  i haven't had glasses since april.  

i'm having a new years party.  if i know you, you're invited.  just a warning, my parties tend to be rather nerdy.  guitar hero, board games, etc.  but it's fun nerdy.  i sent out an email, but if i missed you, it wasn't intentional.  just shoot me a message and say you're coming.

my dogs are doing really well.  they actually sleep together now on my bed.  sometimes, there's barely room for me.  they play together all the time.  dexter has really matured since i got dixie.  he's much more confident.  and i noticed that the way dexter treat me, like excited to see me, wants my attention, etc... dixie is that way with me and dexter.  she's placed him in the same category.  i think that means he's higher in the pack hierarchy now.  which is good, because before, dexter saw the cat as higher in the pack than him.  
dixie has come really far from the scared, abused, little dog we rescued.  she now plays with toys and has even learned fetch.  she loves to play with her ball.  it really makes me feel good to see her blossom and grow like she has.  i feel like i really did a good thing adopting her and saving her from being put to sleep.  i always get the feeling she's just so happy to be part of a family.  

Current Location: home
Current Mood: annoyed
Current Music: mom's tv shows

dear blog,

If anyone doesn't want this, they probably have no soul.

coolest. gift. ever.

1. Put your iPod, ZUNE, or other music player on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing this as well as the person you got this from. - not doing this

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
She Wants To Move (N.E.R.D.)

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Waste (Smashmouth)

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Dear You (Far Away) (Zebrahead)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
The New Pollution (Beck)

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
In The Clouds (Under the Influence of Giants)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Royal Oil (Mighty Mighty Bosstones)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Let's Do It (Cover - Joan Jett)

WHAT IS 2+2?
Mr. Brightside (The Killers)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Dreams (Cranberries)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Rollover DJ (Jet)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
This Is Our Emergency (Pretty Girls Make Graves)

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Hollywood (Cranberries)

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Big Bang Baby (Stone Temple Pilots)

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
The Good Life (Weezer)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Big and Bad (Big Bad Voodoo Daddy)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Pain (Jimmy Eat World)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Monster Hospital (Metric)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Hey Jude (The Beatles)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Glow (Alien Ant Farm)

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Cherub Rock (Smashing Pumpkins)

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Icky Thump (The White Stripes)

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Walk The Walk (Poe)

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Steady as She Goes (The Raconteurs)

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Perfect (Smashing Pumpkins)

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
More Adventurous (Rilo Kiley)

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Hey Man, Nice Shot (Filter)

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Bouncing Around the Room (Phish)

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Open Up Your Heart And Let the Sun Shine In (Cover by Frente!)

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
The Boys of Summer (Cover by The Ataris)

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
The Anthem (Good Charlotte)

Current Location: home office

dear blog,

I'm at the office right now. It's quiet today. I've been working on some stuff.

The semester is winding down. I already have final projects in sight. I've picked the story to revise for my short story class. Chances are, this is the story that will be my big thesis deally. It's the most developed idea. It's about a detective in the afterlife. A neo noir story. It's weird working only in text. I'm used to being able to use things like body language to help tell a story. Comics are far more subtle, I think. When all you have to work with are words, the words have to do all the work. It's a weird little challenge.

Right now, I'm hungry for chicken. Possibly lemon-pepper.

The headache isn't too bad today. Maybe the prednasone is helping. I haven't had to take a percoset yet today. I may be able to make it all the way for the first time in a week. That would be nice. I have an MRI tomorrow at 3:55. The doctor thinks it's probably something with a nerve, since there aren't any other neurological symptoms. Unless I'm crazy.
I wonder if it's carbon monoxide. I work in a very small, poorly ventilated room with 1 to 3 other people. We all get kinda sleepy when all four of us are there. I'm tempted to bring a carbon monoxide detector to work. Except, if there is carbon monoxide, what would they do? We don't have any other workspace.

Obviously, I'm thrilled with how the election turned out. Barack Obama makes me feel like I can do anything. He makes me feel like there's no challenge we can't all overcome. I think he's right when he says to be our brother or sister's keeper. We need to look out for and help each other. That's not socialism, that's just being kind.

I'm taking a brief break from FNS until January. The big story ended on saturday and I need a break. I'm taking the time to finish other things. This week, I finally finished coloring some pages for someone else that I've had forever. Tomorrow, after homework, I'm going to work on Fun Factory and finish that up. Someone asked me what my plans for FNS were now. I laughed because I'm going back to my old way of not having any idea what I'm doing. It's going to be so unplanned and unprepared again. Back to basics and all that. I think some people were disappointed I didn't do much with the election this time around. I did make fun of McCain, so it's not like I left it completely alone. I was just much more interested in the story. Which, if I hadn't switched to a five-day schedule instead of six, would have finished before the election. The total number of strips in Sad Little Life? 338. That'll make a nice book.

Target had a huge sale on Wii games two weeks ago. Buy 2 get 1 free type sale. I now have two christmas presents for somebodies. I did claim the free one for myself, but I haven't touched it yet. I think, since Dexter (and now Dixie) usually "give me a present" for Christmas, it'll probably be that game. I really don't have time to play much right now. I played some Smash Bros for about an hour a few days ago. I'm hopelessly lost in that stupid subspace maze. I can't really remember what I was doing. I think I'm going to go back to playing Mario Kart. I still haven't played NIghts from last christmas a whole lot. Clearly, people who can buy a fifty dollar videogame per week and finish it have a.) too much time and b.) too much disposable income.

Current Location: the office