Well, every year I do a BEST OF list of 2011, remembering the best and worst things that happened. My mind is a blur and really there's a lot of gaps but I will try to make the best of it. Here we go. My top 2011 lists:
ALBUMS:
1 TOM WAITS-Bad as Me
2 PATTON OSWALT-Finest Hour
3 DOCTOR WHO-Series 5 Score
And thats all I really have. I have many other albums released in 2011, but Havent listened to them yet. Such as the new Megadeth, Dream Theater, Arch/Matheos, Radiohead, Neal Morse and more. I just haven't had time to devote to dissecting them. Too many podcasts in my head. Speaking of which, a new list!
BEST PODCASTS!
1 The Joe Rogan Experience
2 Mighty Sabo and Son
3 Hollywood Babble On
4 Drunken DVD Commentaries (yeah, my own. Sue me)
5 Bill Burr's Monday Morning Podcast
BEST MOVIE:
Again, this is a very short list cause I haven't seen many 2011 films. In fact, the only ones I've seen are Captain America and Red State. But I liked, but feel there are others that might be better once I get to see them. Stuff like Hugo, the Muppets, The Artist, etc. So I reserve the right to redo this list later on.
BEST TV SHOW:
Finally! Something I can weigh in on.
1 Breaking Bad
2 Walking Dead
3 Beavis and Butthead (new!)
4 South Park
5 (spot reserved for Curb's new season which I haven't seen yet)
BOOK/COMICS:
1 Walking Dead
2 Invincible
3 Dave Stevens Complete Sketches and Studies
4 Icons: Jim Lee
5 Horrifylingly Mad: Halloween MAD MAGAZINE collection
BEST EVENTS
1 Dallas Con, the only con I went to in 2011. :(
2 Getting into Sketch Card World (thanks Durden to the advice and help!)
3 Move - We moved into a newer, smaller place. But its benefits are far greater than where we were.
4 Anna Pocalypse #1 released in March - My best selling GN yet! Thanks folks!
5 Scott Started School - A head start program to catch him up a bit. Its been an interesting experience.
BEST NEW DISCOVERIES:
1 RUSH SECTORS - I never was a Rush fan but this year I embraced them and this box set came out when I needed it. Wonderful!
2 TOM STRONG TERRIFIC TALES - A great collection of comics. I absolutely love Jonni Future.
3 MAKING OF STAR WARS book - A huge collection of BTS photos, art, etc. So thick of a book its intimidating to even try to move it! I love it though.
4 IPAD/IPHONE - I got both this year finally. The kid loves em. Lots of greatness in both things.
5 BREAKING BAD - I finally gave the show a chance and was instantly hooked. WONDERFUL show!
WORST EVENTS:
1 Debt Fight - We've been working on paying off our longstanding credit card debt. Its a slow process and a constant struggle. But I feel in 2012, we'll have it licked.
2 ER SCARE - The wife headed to the ER recently for an anxiety Attack. Scariest moment of my life.
3 Work Drama - Seems like every now and then, the wife and I both have been getting a lot of drama at our respective day jobs. It damages us too much if we let it.
4 Neighbors - The major reason we moved is cause our neighbor at our old place was a pain in the ass. Always yelling at her kids and her kids were soooooo unruly. They'd fight outside our door, bounce balls off our windows and doors. Be outside all hours of the night making noise. No consideration. We complained and complained and the office did nothing. So we moved. Far better off now. Much MUCH MUCH quieter. Arseholes.
5 Unorganized and lack of steady work flow - A personal problem I need to address immediately. See below in 2012 goals!
Overall, 2011 was a really great year for me. while I only did one convention and released one book, it was a fertile time. I got into sketch card work and my resume is getting bumped up. I scored a job at Upper Deck/Marvel and I cannot wait to work on that. I did Walking Dead cards and that was a dream come true. Its been great. I also did a lot of work for my overseas client for his erotica gallery. And I've done tons of commissions this past year. Indeed, the BUSIEST I've been ever in my career.
However, I am realizing most recently of a fatal flaw in my approach. I don't have a standard work schedule or ethic when it comes to getting my work done. I started a sequel to ANNA POCALYPSE and am only 40 pages in. I am also working on strips for an online thing to be launched, I THOUGHT, this year, but will have to be sometime in 2012. Parenthood, day job, etc... all of that gets in the way. But those take a priority, natch. But somehow I have to balance all of that and continue on my path to achieve my personal goals with my own work, along with the pay gigs I get. I haven't missed any deadlines but my own personal ones, so that is great. but I need to achieve and create some sort of new work schedule for artwork and get my head back into the game. I have been discussing this for a while now. It comes in spurts. I'll draw nothing for a week and then one night, pencil 4 pages. I catch a wave and try to ride it, but then the wind gets knocked out of my sails. Not out of self doubt, but just exhaustion. I haven't been taking care of myself mentally, physically and its wearing me out. So, its with this in mind that I look to 2012 and make new goals:
2012 GOALS:
1-Create new Work Ethic and Schedule. And this means get into a DAILY routine of getting less sleep and then artworking. Get ANNA done. Get the webstrip done and up. Get other books I want to do done and up. Do warm up sketches. Update my deviantart regularly. Stay active on Twitter/FB and keep my face out there so much with new content that people will get sick of me. As CREATIVELIFE on twitter says, "Be present in your day to do what you need to do. Now is all you have." And I am tired of wasting time. Every second I waste is a second I will not get back. I have to get that eye of the tiger back.
2-Lose 50 Pounds. I know. The longest goal that I keep failing on. But I am gonna ride a plane this year and I want to be 50 pounds lighter. I gotta start on this soon. Very soon. But it must be done.
3-Do More Conventions! I only did ONE SHOW this year, and it killed me to miss so many. Going to shows fuel and exhaust me all at once. But its that good exhaustion. To where you are so pumped up by others and what they are doing that you go home and kick ass. It really helped me suffer this year to not go to them. Cause when you are home alone, all you got is you. So I need to get back out there and do some shows. I'm looking forward to it. And with this newfound attention thanks to the sketch cards I am now attached to, the traffic to my table is gonna increase. I gotta make some new prints and content to get people interested! Already working on that. But anyway, I am eyeing Motor City again, Wizard World Chicago and Heroes Con. Maybe one more late in the year if I can. We shall see.
4-GET OUTTA DEBT! A huge one for me and my family. We got the plan and the start of the year will bring the spark we need to get it going. Things are gonna line up and we're gonna get debt free finally! I know it. 2012 is our year!
5-Finish All Projects. I got Anna 2, a new art/sketchbook, Lingerie Massacre and a few other things I want to get to. I will finish them. I will.
Okay, thats it. 2011 is almost done. I look ahead to 2012 already. Time to kick its ass before it arrives!
Cheers, T
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