The Marvelous Patric

 Dear blog,
School is a-going.  And i'm going with it.  Teaching has been going well.  I enjoy the supply-side of education far more than the consumption-side.  The classes they're making me take this semester don't interest me very much.  At least I have my thesis to work on to keep me sane.  I had my proposal meeting today and it went well.  I have some really great people on my committee and I'm really excited about where this play is going.  

Meanwhile, I still make comics.  After I get done with this FNS story, I'll stop and come back in 2010 with FNS in black and white again.  I've decided that the color is cool, but it's slowing me down.  I'll just do it for special stories I think.  Fun Factory continues to be a blast, but each strip takes me like 4 hours to do.  Urg.  The better I get, the slower I get.  I do think that Fun Factory is a better strip than FNS right now just because I've been holding in all these ideas for so long that they're pretty refined.  On the other hand, Freaks N Squeeks looks prettier and it really has some well-defined characters in it.  I don't have to "write" FNS so much as "watch" what the characters do.  

In personal news, April 16, 2011 looks like a pretty important day in my life.  Just saying.  Looks like a game changer and all.  An expensive game changer.  
Band sucks these days.  The fucktards on the band board fired Glen, the awesome director.  There was a loud complaint about this by a good portion of the membership that was essentially ignored.  I swear, if I hear the phrase, "we're getting back to how it used to be" one more time at practice, I'll scream.  Things look grim there.  I'm not sure how much longer I'll be with that band.  Tiffany already left and it just doesn't feel fun any more.  Why should I stay with a group that doesn't want me?

Current Location: office
Current Music: Portions for Foxes - Rilo Kiley

dear blog,

I'm entering the sixth week of my headache. I've decided to name it. After all, we name tropical storms. This is like a tropical storm in my head. Suggestions for names?

I have been to the doctor. There have been scans and whatnot. I shall be returning to the doctor for follow-up.

This is not a migraine. I know this because I have very effective migraine medicine that does nothing, and the migraines always hit the top of my head.

I have some new theories about my headache. I'm considering that instead of my sinuses being full, that perhaps it's that there isn't enough stuff in them. Also, what I was describing as "liquid splashing" in my ears, I believe is actually the sound of air bubbles inside my head popping. I'm also thinking that the fact I can't cry may not just be because I am super tough, but it could be a symptom.

Tomorrow is The Election. Obviously, I'm very excited. I'll be voting for my evil liberal agenda. I'm hoping we'll be able to force everyone into a gay marriage and abort their babies. Mwahahahaha! If nothing else, I'm hoping for healthcare.

School is meh-worthy. Classes are going pretty well. I have written two short stories. One of these two will be developed into a novel for my thesis work, I think.

I'm switching to a new church. Father Tom got taken out of Brennyville this summer. I tried to give the new guy, Father Tony, a shot, but I just can't stand him. He's lazy. I'm switching to St. John's in Foley. I like it a lot better there. I haven't been coming home from church angry like I was at St. Elizabeth's.

Tonight is our band concert at the Paramount. We're dong a movie themed concert. We also have band board elections. I'm running. I really want to be on the band board. After the bit of drama this summer with limiting the band, I really think it's important for a younger person to be on the board instead of the same people who have always been there.

I've been saying that 2008 is the Year of the Patric, but there's only two months left to go! I'm gonna miss 2008!!

Current Location: the office
Current Music: just the sound of the fan

dear blog,

It's 2008! So far, I'm not noticing a huge difference between 2008 and 2007. My Old Year's Resolution that I made in October was to join a gym and to get in (better) shape. Since then, I have lost a little over 20 pounds. While that's awesome, the better news is that I've lost like 3 inches at my waste and gained almost two inches in my arms. I think I prefer measuring my progress in inches, rather than pounds if for no other reason than muscle weighs more than fat. In my head, those 20 pounds I've lost also means that I've gained some pounds of muscle. Which means it's hard to figure out how much I've really lost, in a bizarre neurotic sort of way. Inches? That is far easier to see. An inch of muscle is the same as an inch of fat.

On the comic front, I'm noticing that I'm not feeling nearly as burned out as I was a few months ago. I'm still not pushing anything, though. I'm going to try out 6 strips (each) of two new comics in the next couple of weeks. This is during the Act One Intermission in FNS, so I won't be putting a strain on myself to do more comics than I would normally do. My goal is to add a strip that only updates Sundays. That would mean I have a new comic every day. However, at least psychologically, strips are easier to do than pages.

In other parts of my life, I guess I'm maintaining the status quo. I'm not too thrilled with that. I think I may have to quit band for a while. Both of them. Basically, I have to work every night (except saturday and sunday) until 8:00 pm. Municipal Band has practice at 7:30 monday nights, Sports Band is tuesdays at 7:00. If I leave work early, say 7ish both nights, I feel terrible. On one hand, I feel guilty about leaving work. On the other, on tuesdays especially, I'm usually late to band practice, so I feel guilty about that. Right now, I feel like whatever I do, I'm going to let someone down. It would probably be better for me not to be in band where a large group of people are depending on me to show up. And, even if I make practices, this is the season where the Municipal Band starts doing concerts at nursing homes, which usually start like 7:15ish. Not to mention I hardly ever make it to Sports Band performances on Saturday afternoons, when I'm (you guessed it) working.

This is, as the kids say, a suck.

It's basically impossible to change my work schedule without getting a new job. If they were to hire someone else here, then I wouldn't have enough hours to stay. I think this basically means, as much as I like my job, I have to leave. And I need to do it soon.

Oh, and my mice have stopped dying for the most part. I've got some new ones that are doing well. One died the other day, but it wasn't the respiratory infection that killed the others. She was literally just running around the cage, stopped, walked like she was drunk for a few steps and fell over. I'm guessing heart attack. For those of you keeping track, I'm on my 4th Ginny, 7th Janis, and 2nd Janie. The one that just died was the 1st Brittney.

Current Location: work
Current Mood: discontent
Current Music: I Will Survive - Cake (on XM)

dear blog,

it's been a while since i posted, so i reckon i should. let's see... what's going down....

last night the sports band was in a winter parade. it was so cold the valves froze on all the brass and most of the band ended up just singing. only the bari saxes and tubas were able to play, along with percussion. it was damn cold. after that, we had a potluck and partied till midnight or later. i say "or later" because i left at midnight. i was tired.

i really like the new speed racer trailer. i think it's pretty. i never really watched speed racer, but i think, from what i've seen, that the film has a beautiful design to it. i really love the colors.

i hate it when customers come in, pick up their order, pay, and leave all WHILE TALKING ON THEIR CELL PHONE!! Finish your damn conversation then come in. Talk to me, don't just whisper and point!

I enjoyed "Bender's Big Score." I actually didn't notice the episode breaks all that much. I felt it flowed nicely and I laughed when I watched it. While it certainly wasn't the _greatest_ Futurama ever, it was by no means the worst either. I wish there was more Brannigan, but who doesn't?

I've been playing Guitar Hero III pretty much exclusively since it came out. I'm about half-way through on "hard" now, having never played a GH game before (aside from a few minutes in stores). i like to play online too, but i almost always lose.

over the past two and a half weeks, i've had six mice die. it all started when janis (iii) died. that wasn't too big of a deal. then, ginny (i) died. she was the only original mouse left. so, i went and bought three new mice, dixie (ii), janis (iv), and ginny (ii). both janis and ginny died within a couple of days. they were replaced, thanks to petco's 15 day guarantee. the next janis died too, but was torn apart by the other mice, so who can say if it was the respitory infection the others had. i replaced janis and got a fifth mouse, brittany. brittany got sick pretty much immediately, but by this point, i had recognized the respiratory infection and isolated her. she died, and has been replaced. as of right now, all five mice seem to be doing well, though janie (the oldest) seems to enjoy hazing the newest mice.
i also bought more tubing and rearranged the cages for easier access. it was becoming a hassle to take things apart to get to the cage on the bottom to retrieve sick/dead mice.

we've actually gotten some snow lately, with more on the way. thus, i've been tractoring. i've had to clean my driveway now a total of four times, and i think i'm getting better.

on the comic front, i continue Freaks N Squeeks. i think it's going well. i'm nearly finished with what would be the first act of my big story. Jive has made his appearance, which i've been excited about for quite some time. i knew it was coming and i could hardly wait for it. there's just something about where Jive ended up that i found very interesting. it feels natural, given what we've seen from Jive and given what we've learned about him in this story so far. i have this goal that the first act will finish by the new year, or possibly Christmas. As i don't have this all scripted out, but more or less just outlined, I can't pin an exact date yet. but, i think when i finish the act, i'll take a week off. i think we need an act break, but that might just be me.

Current Location: work
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: various xmas songs