Seeking Stability

Hey friends... um.... yeah... I uh... (zzzzzzzzzzzz)

I'm completely out of wack this past week. Working a 3rd shift schedule at the day job and its kinda zapped everything out of my week. I sleep in a few chunks throughout the day and its not consistent. I have not been able to accomplish a damn thing beyond basic eat/sleep type of existing. I start out the 3rd shift work just fine (siphoning off an AMP drink), but then twirl down like a top.

This is me on the first night of overnights around 7am. Barely surviving. Look at them heavy eyelids and dark dark dark circles!

Used to be when I was younger and trimmer I could stay up 2-3 days and get shit done. Not anymore. Simple changes throw me off. I need consistency in my schedule or else I'm unable to function even basically.

Luckily, my 3rd shift obligations end with tonight's shift. Then one more week of a couple mid-shifts and then back to my regular schedule at the day job. I can start to get back in the swing of things. My brain won't be as scattered, I can be more alert and not as moody.

Only productivity I've managed to produce this week is laying out In-design pages for word ballooning all projects on my plate. That took two hours, but I'm glad I slogged through it. All pages (that are done) are placed in the templates and ready to rock. Tedious, but its done. Every day I need one small step forward. I'll take what I can get, you know?

Luna Butt has been sympathetic... even though she likes to use me as furniture.

I showed my night crew friends a nice breakfast at GOLDEN HARVEST. Worf approves.

Before this crazy week, I cleaned the house up really great. James helped vacuum on Sunday, natch... but I organized books and the piles of CDs I've stacked up and reorganized the music organization. Progress.

Anyway, after this next week, I hope to start getting some stability, schedule-wise... thus lighting some firecrackers under my arse to get these pages word ballooned and ready to go. So much to do, so much to be awake and sane for.

Last thing: coming up pretty soon on my Idiothead Morning Show Podcast, I'll be doing episode 500. For that show I am holding a contest:

--Simply EMAIL ME a question (or a few) to read on the air and you will be entered into a drawing for THREE original art pages (1 from STARSLAM, 1 from PLEASANT LIFE and 1 from ANNA POCALYPSE) to be mailed to you! Only one winner will be drawn out of the names of people who email me at phymns@yahoo.com and ask a question before episode 500 airs. I will be collecting the questions and answering them live on the air. We got a little time, as I'm only on episode 483, but it will go pretty quickly. Might as well start plugging now and gathering questions. To enter, simply email me at "phymns@yahoo.com" and ask some questions for me to answer on the show. That enters you in. If you win, I will contact you for mailing info. ENTER NOW!!!!!!!!

Okay, off to your lives. Stay safe and sane out there!

--T

Thoughts pt. 287

He emerges from hobbit cave of internet silence to blog once again.

Hello my friends. lots of things going on. Lots to juggle. Lots of future to plan for. Despite me saying I'm taking a break from commission stuff for a bit, I've taken on some more commission work to help that future come along. Its from a trusted source so it should go smooth. I also got my Starslam 2 books back from the printer. Cheers to all who helped make it happen:

So I am busy filling out sketches and orders for that. Tons of work to do there.

I am busy packing my house for the eventual move to East Lansing in August. And I just secured an exciting deal to get joint custody of my boys next year! But that means I have to be closer to Scotty's school district. They are doing so well with his autism and to change his environment might be a step back for him. So once my lease is up over there in East Lansing, I have to move back to the area! (sigh) It is a juggle, but its for the good of Scotty's education. I was hoping to possibly put a down-payment on a house next year but I still have some financial fallout from my divorce that needs to be solved in order for that to proceed. It will take two things: Money and time. It will happen, but not without yet another move in my life.

Seems like all I have ever done is move. At least 30 times in my life have I moved my things to a new temporary "home." My co-workers are buying houses and fixing their houses. They are younger than me. As much as I am excited for them, part of me kicks myself for not being where they are. I know I will get there, and my circumstances are different. But I desire to mow my own lawn and paint my own walls. I think I've earned that right.

Someday.

I'm still saddened by the events in Florida last week. I usually check news sites more often now that I am avoiding social media. The political landscape is a complete mess. And in entertainment news, we get the sad news that Anton Yelchin (CHEKOV) had passed away due to a freak accident. I liked him in the first 2009 TREK movie. As well as the Fright Night remake and the Terminator Salvation flick. I saw this online and thought it fitting:

So what have I been doing on this break so far? Well, I have mostly sat and caught up with TV and Movies. Not much reading yet, but I will. I got two new Neil Gaiman books to start plus the new Doug Stanhope book. I also scored some new comics like Mark Brooks' on HAN SOLO for Marvel, Ted McKeever's PENCILHEAD and of course INVINCIBLE. And I've been working on new stuff of my own as well: 

Got some help here. James loves to erase daddy's pencils.

Been cooking a lot too. Here is James enjoying one of daddy's famous hamburgers.

I took my girl out to the best breakfast place in town: GOLDEN HARVEST! Here's a fun little toy from the wall in there.

Been taking the time to do a lot of drinking as well!

In addition to my NES collecting addiction, I got into more games on my iphone! I've been itching to play some RPGs but haven't been able to get Dragon Warrior 2-4 in the box. Wayyyyyy too expensive! I got Dragon Warrior 1 complete in the box but I beat that when I was a kid. Searching on the apple store I found you can buy and play those same games (with some graphic updates) on your phone! To wet my whistle about it, I got Dragon Quest (original name for Dragon Warrior) on my phone and have been playing it all weekend. As of this writing, I'm on level 21 and have to go get the Rainbow Drop to make the bridge to go to the last castle. Almost there. Then I'll get Dragon Quest 2 and kick its ass! Some screenshots: 

Right after I beat the green dragon and rescued the princess.

Stupid townsfolk.

This weekend my oldest son is coming to stay with me for a bit over the summer. I'm really looking forward to it. We'll spend the next week or two together and celebrate fourth of July weekend. This weekend I am taking him to southern Illinois to visit my dad and show him where his family comes from. He's never been there. And I'm long overdue for a visit myself. I'm looking excited to hang with him and take a little trip for the family.

Coming up I have NO convention appearances. People keep asking me. I'm not going to any comic cons for a long while. Next show I do will be a book focused indie show. Not sure when that will be but I just want to spend some time with myself chasing the whimsies, doing domestic duties and producing work. I'm still writing, drawing, etc. But at a snail's pace. I hope you all understand.

Anyway, back to my dark cave until I have something new to say. I hope life continues to treat all of you well. My love to all of you!

--T

Updates and Good News All Around

Hello friends! Sorry for the couple weeks of silence but I wanted to sort of put my head to the grindstone and get things done around Castle Adam. There's tons of new things to discuss and some cool pics to show off. Let's get started!

First off, I got another new job! I will now be working at TWO graphic design outlets. One in the morning, one at night. So officially after this week, I am retiring from register based customer service. And it couldn't come sooner! I've jocked registers since I was 16. And when I found myself up shit creek earlier this year, its the first place I turned to. I had to because my resume looked like Dresden, but also because it was comfortable and familiar. But slowly I got this sinking feeling that I have grown beyond basic customer service. The gripes and drunks got more and more annoying and the crazy hours they wanted just was too much on my plate. Also I was repeatedly treated like crap and like I ultimately didn't matter. But I survived and kept applying and finally found two places to call home, where my skills can be used and in an adult fashion. I am beyond thrilled and excited for the opportunities both of these jobs present me. Its in my field of art and both are going to expand my knowledge into the next phase.

Of course, with this I lose my overnight job where I was able to work on comic pages. So that will present a challenge. I will need to fight for extra time to get page work in. So I will have to be very choosy when it comes to commission work for a while. Good thing I am about 3/4ths done on STARSLAM 2 art! I am gonna bust ass all this week on that book and the new Star Wars card set I am on in an effort to stay ahead of the game. No dilly-dallying around. This week is nothing but hardcore work! I'm fighting to stay on schedule here! So expect no delays.

This weekend was a special one beyond it being Labor Day weekend. I got my oldest son Cody for a nice long visit. I hadn't seen him in months due to many factors but I hope I made up for it. I got him things for school and we even went to a video game convention called RANDOM BATTLE CON. There we played a few cool games but the best was this game called NIDHOGG. I love it. Here's father and son at the gaming con (photo courtesy of Joe at migeekscene.com)

The dude is 6"1"!!!! How did he shoot up that tall? I have no idea. But anyway we had a great weekend and I am glad to have spent more time with him this week. He starts his Sophomore year in high school (GAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!) and he is studying hard to get college classes done early and go into Video Game developing. We're planning a trip to PAX maybe next year or the year after so he can soak up some more of that world. Least I can do to help him set out on the path he wants to go on. I'm looking forward to it.

I spent some time with my girl too as we both have been working lots of hours and only see each other in passing. We hit the beach and then some nice breakfast at our favorite spot: GOLDEN HARVEST!

OUCH! The sun hurts my pure white skin!!

Being at the beach rocks. 

BACON GALORE at the Golden Harvest! 

I can never get tired of this place! (Turner St in Old Town Lansing. GO THERE!) 

I also spent a few hours with my pal Dean and we watched some MST3K. It was a much needed weekend of laughs and relaxing. I've really been working super hard for the last few months and I deserved a break. This week I end my career as a cashier and begin next week at the two graphics places. Sundays with my boys. They start school today as well. I'm thrilled at the changing of the seasons and times are advancing. Things are happening. It feels good!

IT's FOOTBALL SEASON!!!!!! The Lions are looking good. I gotta get an antenna for my TV as we don't have cable at home. Sundays will be football and being with my boys. I can't wait!

Don't forget! October 16-18th, I will be at Grand Rapids Comic Con in artist alley. I will be premiering all my new 11x17 prints at the show. If you want to score them early, go to THE RECORD LOUNGE in East Lansing, MI to buy them from there and support my vinyl habit! Hopefully in October my Kickstarter for STARSLAM 2 will launch as planned. But more on that later. Let me get it done first!

There are many other things buzzing in my life but thats all I can think of right now. Thanks for reading my update and I hope you guys have a good week. I'll come back soon to let you know more about the new job and more Starslam 2 goodness. But for now, its time to put my head back down to the grindstone and get this shit done!

Cheers, T

VACATION Recap, Pics, Video and IDIOTHEAD REUNION!

Hey everyone! I'm back from my weekend "vacation" and life is returning to normal. I had great fun and tried to relax as much as possible. It was good to get away from it all for a couple days and enjoy myself a bit. I spent time with family, friends and loved ones. I saw my brother, reunited with Shane and jammed a bit, hung out with Matt & Michelle, hung with my boys, got them some discs, shopped with my girl and ate at a few fancy places. Here are some pics with captions:

First stop was JON'S COUNTRY BURGER in Mt. Pleasant. Necessary.

No visit to Mt. Pleasant is complete for me until I see a bit of my old stomping grounds. Like the WARD theater downtown. Man I miss that job...

After visiting Mt. Pleasant and my family there, I went on to Midland and hung out with Shane, Sara and Evan. We even jammed on some songs. Here's some fun video of the event: 

Artsy!

Neil Peart, I am not.

Like riding a bike.

Future poster Child of Rock and Roll.

Not really playing. But flipping you off.

We had dinner and drinks with Matt and Michelle. They got a bit tipsy! I wouldn't have them any other way!

On Sunday I went to my favorite restaurant in Lansing, GOLDEN HARVEST. An hour and a half wait in the cold but its sooooooooo worth it!

See what I mean? Best Breakfast in town!

All in all, its exactly what I needed. I reconnected with people and places that I've long been meaning to see again. And it all felt fresh and new. They were all happy to see me and how life is for me now. That is what vacations are all about!

And rest assured, Idiothead the band are talking about doing something in the future. Stay tuned!

Great weekend! Back to work. Cheers everyone!

New Stuff!

Hey all. Taking a break from a galaxy far far away to do a quick update bloggy blog. Hope all is well.

I'm mailing out STARSLAM books starting this week. So if you ordered one, be sure to look for them cause they are coming soon! Probably a little longer for my overseas friends due to shipping times.

Recently, I've been branching out and trying new things. I get very tired of routine lately and I felt like I wanted to go out and sample more waters of life. So I have tried new restaurants and dishes I've always wanted to try. And here are some pics to share:

My girlfriend introduced me to Sushi. I got a 101 lesson in what stuff was and how to eat it. Even used chopsticks for the first time (yeah, I know!). I really enjoyed the soup. Sushi was okay. I'm not a massive fan of it. But at least I tried it. I've always wanted to. Bucket list, scratch off!

I've also branched out and tried more vegetables. Broccoli and Asparagus, specifically. This is a turkey/spinich meatloaf with mushrooms. Talk about yummy yummy!

I have heard about this place in north town called THE GOLDEN HARVEST. A dive breakfast joint that only seats about 20 people at a time. You stand outside in the cold for about 45 minutes but the food and atmosphere is WELL WORTH IT! I have a new favorite restaurant in town! 

Here is the outside of the place. They pipe music outside to keep you warm while you want for a table to open up.

Inside the walls are covered with little odd trinkets and signs. The music blares loudly. On this occasion when we visited, I heard Radiohead's OK COMPUTER album in full, also Sex Pistols and Dead Kennedys! Fuckin' awesome!!!

Their signs are hilarious and the best!

Their bacon is the thickest I've ever tasted. Very flavorful. Their hasbrowns are mighty and their toast is unlike any other toast I've tried. Kinda greasy and crunchy. I really wish a show like DINERS DRIVE INS AND DIVES would visit the place and show off how things are done!

By our table today, we had some interesting little trinkets to check out...

Here is a youtube documentary about the Golden Harvest restaurant:



Yeah, we should all strive to step out of our routine and comfort zone and try some new things once in a while. I vowed to do something new every week. And so far, I am enjoying the hell out of it! I guess, thats just called... living!

Okay, back to artwork on these cards. Then STARSLAM 2. And working two jobs. And somewhere in there, SLEEP! HA!

Luvs, T