Okay, time for another sign of life here. I'm somewhat chagrined to say that I can no longer call myself a "young adult." Now that I'm 30, I think I've graduated to just being an "adult." Mind you, that doesn't really mean I'm going to change significantly. If I haven't given up being nerdy and enjoying my inner child by the end of my second decade, I see no reason to do it now! I've kept telling myself that my 30s will probably be my best decade yet physically, and probably socially as well, so now it's time to make it happen. Still, with that being the case, why do I find myself feeling slightly frantic when I tell my twenty-something friends that thirty isn't old?

On a slightly different note...

I've been putting my commission money toward stories lately, and I've found it to be very rewarding. If I'm anything in the fandom other than a basic participant, I'm a writer, proofreader, and maybe an editor. I'm also an enthusiastic bookworm, but until this past summer I never tried commissioning a story from anybody. I guess I figured I'd be writing my own instead, but I've been lazy about that so far. In any case, if any of you are looking to commission a furry author for stories, I've got a couple of suggestions. Granted, my commissions have all been *ahem* adult in nature, but both of these authors are HIGHLY capable of writing stories without sexual content as well.

1.)  Leo_Todrius Leo typically has a few folks in his queue waiting for commissions to be done, but he seems to be really good at working his way through them in a consistent and organized way. He's generally fun and friendly to work with, and I've had a great time working with him on four commissioned stories so far. If you haven't got a specific story idea in mind but have something you'd like to see in one of his stories, he's also got a grab-bag list of ideas and/or ongoing series that he'd like to write about and will work cooperatively with you to develop a story or chapter.

2.)  Nex_Anima_Canis Nex has been one of my favorite furry authors since I stumbled onto his work about a year ago. He's made a New Year resolution to try out taking story commissions, and I got lucky enough to catch one of his very limited number of slots. He's likely all booked up right now, but if you keep an eye on him he'll probably open up more slots in the future, provided he likes the way these work out. I don't know what his average turnaround time is like, as he's still new to doing commissions, but he's worth watching!

Yeah, I know that artists are typically in need of commissions, but a friend that I've known for a few years is particularly hurting for income at the moment, since one of our biggest networking tools (a social/roleplaying forum) shut down last summer.

Go take a look at  Quaidis . She's friendly, and just keeps on getting better at her art. She's got a style that straddles the line between being cute and being incredibly detailed (or pleasantly sketchy, if you like that).

FYI: the woman also has musical talent! Ask about her piano pieces.

Just to prove I'm still alive and out here, I figured I should post a bit of a journal post. I don't think I've actually got many folks here paying attention to my profile, but a little update can't hurt...much.

Life: I'm still in grad school, working on my thesis (blast it!), but I AM employed in my chosen profession. I may be in a poorly paid intern-ish type thing, but getting any kind of paycheck at all is a pleasant change. With any luck, I'll be done with the whole "student" thing this May and ready to start working on getting my professional certifications and licenses underway.

Meme: I found this "forced species" meme on somebody else's profile (joelthelemur) and figured it was just enough fun to fill out...

1. If your fursona had to be a primate, it'd be...
A rather generic monkey, because I haven't taken the time to do much research on simian species. I know this much, though: a fez and a prehensile tail would be required.

2. If your fursona had to be a feline, it'd be...
My fursona is already a feline...a domestic feline. No specific breed, so figure I'm a good old American Mixed.

3. If your fursona had to be a canine, it'd be...
Pembroke Welsh Corgi

4. If your fursona had to be a hoofed animal, it'd be...
Stag... If I have to pin down a species, Whitetail Deer.

5. If your fursona had to be a cetacean, it'd be...
Bottlenose Dolphin. I watched too much Flipper as a kid.

6. If your fursona had to be a rodent, it'd be...
Gerbil, or possibly a Rat

7. If your fursona had to be reptile, it'd be...
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake.

8. If your fursona had to be a marsupial, it'd be...
A Kangaroo. Yeah, I know they're overused, but I like them.

9. If your fursona had to be a fully aquatic animal, it'd be...
Catfish.

10. If your fursona had to be an amphibian animal it'd be...
??? Gotta think on this one...

11. If your fursona had to be an avian/bird, it'd be...
Raven...or maybe a falcon?

12. If your fursona had to be a creepy crawly, it'd be...
Orb weaver spider, female. They get the nifty web tricks.

13. If your fursona had to be a real or unreal hybrid, it'd be...
Cat + Wings = Win!

14. If your fursona had to be a mythical creature, it'd be...
Gryphon

15. If your fursona had to be a Pokemon/Digimon , it'd be...
I honestly don't know enough about the critters to pick one.

16. If your fursona had to be a vehicle, it'd be...
2008 Chevrolet Malibu (V6 engine): Sensible, comfortable, with a bit of flair and enough power to get the job done.

I can't believe nobody's added "mustelid" to this one, as they're relatively popular.
Ferret, or perhaps a River Otter.

I'm so VERY behind on my watched artists. *sigh*

Ah well, I'll get to them when I get to them. Still, that attitude has gotten me in trouble before. Case-in-point: I just found out that my first online roleplaying community (Napping Cat's Dream), the one that helped get me INTO the furry fandom, has closed. Furthermore, it closed a month ago, and I didn't even know it because I was busy and told myself I'd "get around" to checking in and posting again eventually.

Talk about reaping the harvest of procrastination! I guess I need to work a little more on time management even in my leisure pursuits. With that in mind, I'm uploading some more character art that I've hoarded over the years. Enjoy!

Okay, folks. Seriously, are you going to let the opportunity to have a custom comic of up to 10 pages with up to 10 characters by  jonas pass you by?

http://www.furbuy.com/auctions/1009470.html

The auction ends in about two hours, so get your backsides in gear, people, and go bid!

 Jonas is holding an auction over on FurBuy for a furry comic commission. Yeah, you read that right, a furry comic commission. Win the auction and he'll draw you a multi-character comic of up to ten pages (last time I checked). Go check out his user page and journal for details. Go, go, go!

No, that's not my power level. That's the number of submissions I have in my backlog. Good grief! I seriously ought to spend more time keeping up with what's new on FA, but I just keep on getting sidetracked. At least I know I'll have plenty of good artwork to occupy my time when I get around to reducing my backlog. Hmmm... I wonder how high that counter goes, anyway?

Well, I'm finally blowing the dust off of this journal's buttons and giving it a go. So what if I'm not feeling like submitting any work of my own right now! I've got journaling rights too, dang it!

Note that I said "not submitting any work of my own" up there. That's right, I've decided to start uploading artwork that I've commissioned from others. While I dearly love sifting through my personal gallery and admiring the combined fruits of my imagination and others' artistic skills, I think I'll get much more fun out of a chance to show them off! There are a couple of pieces that I commissioned that can be found in the original artists' galleries here on FA. Look through my favorite images and you should be able to spot them. (Hint: they're by  Quaidis and  KaputOtter )