Quarterly Report

I used to post every week or two, but now it’s more like every couple of months. It’s because I have a steady job now. When I started this blog, it was just as I was finishing up my last steady employment at Mankato State. Since then it has been part time work off and on so I had plenty of time and angst to invest in a blog. While I am not working full time, I am really enjoying my job. That isn’t to say that I don’t have moments where I don’t want to go to work. I also like the varied schedule. I like having mornings like this one where I am able to stay home and write. I also like afternoons when I get done early and I can come home to paint or draw.

So what’s been happening since my last post? Well, in November, I participated in Nanowrimo again. I was able to write the 50000 words, but it was tough and there were times when I thought I wasn’t going to make the goal. I still have to finish the story yet, and I need to devote more time to that project. December was an adventure. I had some health problems in the beginning of December. Wes was great at taking care of me. Thanks husband! I was really excited for Christmas. It was the first Christmas we had been at home for in quite a few years. I was able to decorate the house, cook a ridiculous amount of food, enjoy our guests and generally enjoy the holiday. January, I decided that I was going to submit a portfolio of artwork to a card company. I have done the hard part of finishing up all the art work, but I have yet to actually put together a portfolio and mail it. The stumbling block is two-fold. First there is the nagging part of me that thinks the art isn’t good enough and that I am wasting my time and money. Of course I will not listen to this part of me, but it does slow me down. Second is the problem of getting prints made from the art. The company does not accept originals and I wouldn’t want to send my originals through the mail. To have it done right, I would have to pay 10$ a scan and then another fee to have each one printed. In the end, it would cost me more to have the prints made then I am likely to make from card sales. So that is where I have stalled.

There were a couple other new things in January. I joined a Tae Kwon Do club, Park’s Club on Little Creek. Of course I haven’t done anything physical in so long and I am still not up to par from being under the weather in December. So I go to practice and every time I come back I am so sore. I feel so old. I have been going for a couple weeks now and so I am past the initial happiness to be doing TKD again and now am only focused on how much I hurt every day. I have to push through this stage and hopefully when I get in shape again I will find the joy again too.

I also attended another Science Fiction/Fantasy convention. Marscon in Williamsburg. This one was very last minute, but I am really glad I went. I packed up my art and hauled it up there without knowing if there would be room in the show for me (I told you it was very last minute). There was just enough room and I got the last panel. I didn’t sell any art, which is always disappointing, but I got some compliments, which is encouraging. There were several panels that I attended that were informative. I also participated in a writer’s workshop. The people in the work shop liked my writing, which was an ego boost. When I participated in a figure drawing class though, it was really a tough experience. I am not a fast sketcher. I will get there in the end, but it takes me a long time. This is why I usually work from photos. I didn’t have a problem drawing live people, but the instructors kept stopping by to give me advice because compared to the others in the class, I was struggling. Sigh. That experience was definitely not a self-esteem booster. This Con was better than others too because I knew a few people, so there was someone to talk to occasionally. I also made a few friends, which was nice for a change. I just the other day decided on a new strategy for putting myself out there at Cons. I have to meet one person for every dollar I spend in the registration fee. Sounds like a good plan, but not easy.

As I contemplate February and look at the goals I would like to accomplish in Feb, I am coming to realize that I am falling back into that old habit of expecting too much from myself and then being disappointed when I don’t make it. So my goals for the month of Feb are to finish and submit the portfolio, be less neglectful of the housework and finish a painting I am working on. I think those are doable. Oh yeah, and write more blog posts!