Well, I've hardly contributed here much at all in a loooong time. But if anyone's still watching and interested, I'll be at Furry Fiesta this weekend. Wheeee!

Boy, I don't post much, do I? Hehe. Well, for those that are interested in knowing, it's that time again! :)

I've never been particularly good at locating people to be with in the first place. Now that I'm back in tiny, remote, Van, TX, the problem is multiplied. There are surely worse places to be, but there are times (such as right now) when I acutely feel my isolation, and have no idea how to resolve it. Even the nearest reasonably large population centers seem much too far away, both psychologically and practically, as I don't really have an income and can't afford to buy gas to go "out" anywhere more than a few miles away.

And for the next 24 hours. That is all, I suppose. :)

Calling all cubs, it's school picture day!

I've done a few of these pics so far, and I really like the concept. I thought I'd offer up commissions to do more of them. Like the examples linked to below, these are meant to be straightforward "look at the camera and smile" sort of pics, the sort that your parents used to get guilted into paying obscene amounts of money for.

However, these pics will only run you $15! I can probably get one done before Christmas still, if you want to give one as a gift, but hurry.

Unless requested otherwise, your character will be dressed in the "United School District" uniform polo shirt seen in some of the examples. If you want something different, let me know, but it should still be a school or school-appropriate uniform of some sort. I'm hoping to keep to a theme, so no street clothes. If you want something custom and complex, I may charge extra.

Just a note: I need character reference art to do these. If you don't have any character art for me to work from, I'm afraid I'll need to pass. If you want me to design your character, it's an option, but it'll cost more.

ANYWAY.

Please drop me a note if you're interested! I take money over paypal, and I'll send you a detailed "Terms of Service" so you know just what you'll be getting.


EXAMPLE LINKS:
Trip Hazard (School polo) - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6173695/
Xids (School polo) - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/7058354/
KitCoon (Custom, scout uniform) - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6976150/

Well, after a crazy time packing the truck, and a long, LONG drive, I am now back in Texas and living with my parents again. Who knows what it'll be like. At least I missed the summer for the most part, whew!

Biggest issue so far is the TERRIBLE slow internet. After the awesome Comcast cable internet I had, anything would seem slow, and the stuff here is just a small fraction of the speed. But really, worse, is the fact that it's inconsistent and unreliable, and doesn't have the capacity to actually serve the number of customers they have. I foresee a lot less Netflix in my future.

The lack of freedom to act as I see fit is going to be frustrating, too. My parents are not broad-minded people.

Oh well. Anybody got any reasons for me to be happy to be back here? I could use a few. :)

October 23rd. That's the last day.

-- The situation. Skip down a bit to the important part below if you need to. --

I had some ups, immediately followed by downs. First I thought my roommate would be able to hold on to our apartment for an extra month, giving me more time to hunt for a job and a new living situation, plus allow me to get in to a better position with my classes to handle a move. Turned out, no, it was too late to do that, because he'd already signed a contract for a new place in this same complex. Apparently this was immutable.

Then he agreed to let me crash on his couch in the new place for a while, for the same reasons. It wasn't ideal, but it definitely would have given me an even greater push to get out ASAP, plus It would have been reasonably stable and easy to handle, and for a few days I felt pretty confident in the immediate future. Today I discovered that he was apparently too drunk at the time to remember the conversation at all, and seems pretty dead against the idea now that he's sober.

So now I'm down to just over a week, with no solutions in sight.

My plan in the "couch crashing" scenario was to put all my stuff except for the essentials in to storage. Clothes, computer, a handful of other things. I have money I can use to pay for the storage space if needed. I've been putting out resumes and job applications, but no responses on anything yet. At this point, if I don't have anything in the pipeline by the 23rd, I'll have no choice but to drive myself back to Texas, with as much of my stuff as I can fit in the car, and mailing the rest to myself before I leave. It's going to really suck, because I'll probably never be able to make my way back to the Seattle area again. Plus I'll be living with my parents again. Plus I'll be on really terrible Internet. That last one is the least of my worries for my immediate future, but considering how much of what I do is Internet based, it's no small thing.

I really, really don't want to go. :(

-- IMPORTANT PART HERE --

So once again I have to ask: If anyone in the Seattle area has room for a friendly, helpful guy in need of a place to stay, I could really use your help. I'm unemployed right now, but I have a food stamps card and a car, and I'm looking for work. I'm just looking for somewhere to sleep and set up my computer, and some bandwidth to use it on. I'm in classes online, so it's pretty important that I stay connected.

Barring that, I could also use some cash to help cover my upcoming expenses, whatever they turn out to be. Gas and postage for large boxes are expensive. I'll happily draw a sketch or two in exchange if you like!

Many, MANY thanks to anyone who can help me.

Due to circumstances I won't go in to here, I'm losing my apartment on the 23rd of this month. I'm an unemployed student (doing classes online), and I don't really have anywhere to go, aside from moving back in with my parents in Texas, which has its own set of problems associated with it. I'd much rather stay somewhere near where I am here in Washington. Unfortunately, as I said, I'm unemployed and can't afford to rent a place myself.

I am looking for work right now in the hope of getting a place, but there's not a lot of time left and the market isn't great for that sort of thing.

If anyone out there can help me out with a place to stay in the general Seattle area, I'd be grateful. I can't offer a whole lot. Certainly not rent. I have a food stamps card to cover my food, and I own a car, so I can offer use of that. For my own needs, at very least I'd need a place to set up my computer and a halfway-decent internet connection, so I can do my school work. I don't drink, smoke, or do any drugs, and I can be a good housemate.

If you want a reference for me, feel free to ask  OzzieKitSkunk about me. We lived together for several years, and he knows me probably better than just about anybody.

In the meantime, I could really use some cash to cover expenses that are bound to come up in all this. I would be happy to do cheap commission sketches for anyone. :)

I deeply appreciate any help or support anybody out there can send my way.

Lovely fluffy puffy snow! Forgive my enthusiasm, but I've really never seen it like this. Back in Texas the stuff we usually call snow was not only rare, but was mostly sleet. This is the real stuff, and a whole bunch of it, though I don't imagine it will stick around. I took a bunch of pictures. Might put one or two in my scraps to share when I've had some sleep. :)

I went and saw Inception last night. What an amazing film! It had an intensity to it that I've rarely encountered. It's basically a heist film, but one unlike anything I've ever seen. Due to the way the story is laid out, you feel like you've watched 3 or 4 movies instead of just one, yet it all works together and makes sense. And the fact that much of it involves navigating peoples' dream states (only a spoiler if you haven't seen any of the promotional material) means they get to play some creative and innovative games with physics and perspective.

People who dismiss complaints and criticisms by accusing the person in question of whining, crying, or whatever ridiculous netspeak slang equivalent culled from the depths of 4chan and SomethingAwful is currently en vogue. It disgusts me just how much people think it's appropriate to verbally bully people into shutting up and going along with the party line. If you have a problem with someone's issues, come up with a well reasoned counterargument instead of slapping them around and telling them to shut up.

And since I'm bitching here, I'm also sick of seeing peoples' emotional problems getting dismissed as being "emo" or whatever. I've let that get to me over the years, to the point where whenever I start feeling depressed or sad, I feel like I can't actually say anything about it for fear of getting beaten down for daring to speak.

And you know what? I hate Facebook. Just the whole damn thing. It's like some kind of social blackmail getting you to join, and then suddenly you're being spammed by all your friends and loved ones, except its all stuff you're supposed to pay attention to because it's their life and thoughts and life details. I love my family and treasure my friends, but feeling like I'm supposed to have them blaring in my face all day, every day stresses me out.

....

I like Twitter though. It's like Facebook sans the baggage. Go figure.

I'm out of the hospital and back home. I'm feeling wayyyy out of it, but everything seems to be going well so far. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes!

The surgery went well, and I'm convalesing on the hospital now. I'm here overnight, but at least I have my smartphone to keep me entertained.

I'm just sending a little note around to everyone that might be interested that I am due to undergo surgery on my spine this Friday (the 28th). If all goes well, I should be able to walk out the same day, possibly the next, depending on when the surgery ends up being scheduled for the day. I'm having what's called an "anterior cervical diskectomy and joint fusion". Basically, they go in through the front of my neck, remove a herniated disc from my spine, insert some donor bone between the two vertebra, and then install a metal plate to hold it all together. It's supposed to be minimally invasive, and have minor impact on my function. However, if it all goes as I hope, it could end or diminish the constant nerve pain, insensitivity, and weakness I've been suffering for the past few years.

I will post again when I am recovered enough to use the computer, which should be soon by all accounts. I'm pretty nervous, especially since it's so near my spinal column, but I'm also hopeful.

On May 28th, I'll be going in for surgery on my spine, to remove a herniated disk that's been causing me pain and other issues for a long time now. It's got me extremely nervous, I must say.

Is anyone going? I am. It'd be generally cool to meet local people. :)

Hooray, I'm old! :D

I've moved away from Texas. Far, faaaar away. I now reside in Seattle and, after a long wait, so does all my stuff. Woohoo!

I am a tad sad to move so far away from people I loved, knew, or wanted to know better, but I think it will all be worth it.

And hey, just three days to my next birthday, too!

It's snowing! It was near 70 yesterday! I think I may miss Texas weather patterns when I go. XD

Shaking hands make it very hard to paint details.

In case I wasn't clear before, I am taking commissions, cheap, for a short time. I've got the week off, and could use something fun to fill my time. I'm not setting any solid prices, but maybe $5 for a simple single character sketch? More if you want more complex, less if you don't mind extremely fast and dirty crap, heh.

G to X rated, I'm pretty open minded. I may also write a short blurb or story to go with it if requested and you can give me a good prompt.

Just to give some idea if my gallery isn't enough...

I will draw:
Cute, porn, male, gay, transformation, sex, tentacles, latex, bondage, "cub", diapers, spooge, and more I couldn't think of.

I am reluctant to draw, but will consider (because I doubt my skill or just don't particularly care for):
Female, herm, straight, feral, beast, large numbers of characters, elaborate outfits (though I will strongly consider them), and probably other things.

I will not draw:
Poo, vomit, blood, gore, vore, dead things. Just because it's not on this list doesn't mean I will agree to it.

Oh, and I am also open to doing age regression photomorphs if you're interested. It's something I've done now and then and is fun!

Not that I'm looking to get all loaded down, but if anyone would like to commission me, I'm open to it.

I had a cavity filled today. That's never fun. A few hours later, and I realize part of my face is actually paralyzed. Not particularly numb anymore, but actually paralyzed. I called and they said it happens sometimes as an effect of the anesthetic, and it should wear off in a while. They were somewhat fuzzy on "a while". It damn well better be soon.

ETA:
A few hours later, and it's almost all worn off. Not 100%, but getting there. Thank goodness.

At http://twitter.com/triphazard1000

Figured it was kind of silly to have if noone knew about it.

My school break is almost over, so if anyone wants a cheapy sketch ($5! See last journal), time is running out.