Officially Summer

(My days are better said in Doodles now.)

 

This summer has been pretty uneventful, thus far, except for the blistering HEAT WAVE that's been hitting Chicago all week, but I feel lucky that my two jobs involve working indoors.

 

I must say that working over the summer has its good moments, but then you have to sell sugar.  The bakery speaks for itself, but now Second City has its summer during the day, and part of my job involves selling concessions to them.  I didn't realize how much sugar kids intake on a daily basis.  Was I really that bad at that age?  No joke, one kid bought a 16oz Mug Root Beer, a 16 oz Mountain Dew, a Three Musketeers and a bag of Chips for his lunch.  His lunch.  I was appalled, and almost wanted to refuse his crumpled up dollar bills unless he got himself a water or an apple instead of ANY of the above.  I feel like a criminal letting kids consume all this junk.  Of course, we also have granola bars at the store... but we can't sell them due to the risk of fricken'  peanut allergies.  Really. 

My writing has gotten back on track... after 6 months of telling myself to do something about it.  =)  I got to meet comic artist Lucy Knisley at Columbia College this past weekend!

(Her work is an inspiration to my comic-making!)

I'm doing a bunch more drawing when I can, and pushing myself to get this book idea rolling.  The tough part is the re-writing:  going back to your initial chapters and changing some of the details to go with a major change to the setting in the story.  One of my coworkers mentioned how one of my ideas are way too similar to something that already exists... and that really stinks, because I believe it has great potential.  

I need to get my butt into a library and research the crap out of Chicago in the 1930s, because that's where this story is taking place.  I want it to be vivid, magical and filthy at the same time, where you can see these characters and have conversations with them.  I want to write a story that wins awards and sells for its quality, not for its dirt-cheap appeal. 

 

It's amazing how many awesome writers I've been able to meet thus far:  Neil Gaiman, Brian Selznick, Audrey Niffenegger, Linda Sue Park, Lucy Knisley... haha.  I think there's room for another great story. 

Plans for the summer:

-WRITE and RE-WRITE my Hatchlings book.  Write 1 page a day.

-Start cooking in this lovely new kitchen I have in this lovely new apartment!  ^^

-Keep at it with the Japanese (you never know!)

-Draw for myself and for others.

-Quit worrying about these metaphysical 'deadlines' I have about life.  Things will happen when they happen.

-Run and train for the Chicago Marathon!!!