Cleaning Up My Life A Bit

For a long time, I've noticed some things don't add up in regards to my life and time. No, I'm not talking about still being mistaken a decade or more younger (or how perhaps mentally I still am a decade or more younger.) I'm talking about how I never seem to make a dent in my to-do lists. How my drawing output, despite having many ideas I wish to put to paper, is woefully small. And this is without a job. Or school. How my notebooks remain woefully blank. Despite playing scenarios and thoughts through my mind, so the only effort needed is writing it all down with a little editorial organization. Despite a love of organizing things!

Most people who know me have probably given up on the thought that my creative career will go anywhere. Maybe they see my list of projects as empty promises, aspirations that will remain in my mind. Any new project is probably secretly groaned at. I don't think these thoughts are just me being overcritical or down on myself. Indeed I've been told that I don't look like I'm going anywhere. That I'm wasting my education. That I won't finish NaNo (and it's true, I've never finished it.)

But this is something very important to me. I do love coming up with ideas. I do love sketching out said ideas to sharpen my mind's image of them. I like to then play with said creations, go on adventures with them. I like making myself laugh. I like making others laugh, maybe because it's the only time I feel socially accepted. I'm serious about working in fields of ideas, writing and drawing narratives, particularly silly narratives with fun characters. I don't want to give up. I'm stubborn like that. If I gave up the desire I've hard for over ten years, I'd be lost. Completely lost. And broken.

So that's why I have to get to the bottom of my failure to make scratches at my goals.

What do I do in an average day?

On a non-computer day, I may sleep in, unless I have to help with an errand or chore (even then, sometimes I still sleep in.) When I wake up, I get ready for the day. Besides normal chores/hygiene rituals, going poop, etc., this means stacking the work I want to get done on the floor or the edge of my twin-size bed. I don't sit at my desk because there are notebooks, sketchbooks, drawing papers, and novels stacked up on it. And on the chair  And all around the floor at the base. I intend to work my way through these stacks, but it's slow going. Put them back in the empty slots on the shelves from whence they came? Ridiculous! I need a visual reminder of what I need to get done.

So I lie down (or sit with my legs tucked under me) on my bed and try to get to work. But no words are coming out! The proportion or perspective in the drawing is off! I need a reference that happens to be buried under the stacks on my desk! At this point, I'll reach for a comfort - a book. And I'll read for awhile. At least it's better than laying down, full of thoughts, but not doing anything. That's torture.

But then there is the other distractions. My room does not have a door. I hear everything. Conversations particularly and sometimes television can be major distractions I can't tune out. For whatever reason, I seem to lack the ability to tune information out (the same thing that makes me a good listener and student is a curse as well.) High-pitched voices and noises are the worst. In such situations, unable to read or think outside the distraction  I start to get a headache if I don't put my head down. Then there's times I just take a nap because I'm tired or experiencing intestinal distress.

Between this and daily chores/routines, night is soon upon me with very little (or nothing) done. Some days  instead of a novel, I'll use a coloring book, puzzle book, or just go into despair mode, making to-do lists and charts  Or I'll watch the Saturday morning cartoons on the DVR. Surprisingly, I rarely play my beloved Pokemon, except on special occasions, particularly bad days, or little spurts where I have a mini-goal. I suppose I don't like leaving my DS plugged in or turning it on and off constantly, so it's easier to distract myself with analog entertainment that can be stopped at any time. If everything was completely digital, I imagine I'd be curled up in a ball when I'm not busy and having art/writing block.

On a computer day, though? I try to get up as early as possible so I can go to bed at a decent time and not annoy other people with my room's light or my keyboard-typing (no door, please remember.) But I get on once a week and the computer will often be on for sixteen to twenty-four hours (if I sleep in till ten or later, you can see how this can become a problem.)

I check my e-mail, try to keep up with my deviantART messages, check the latest hundred or two posts on my Tumblr dash and load up my queue for the week (so I appear active), check webcomics, try to watch various anime series on hulu and Crunchyroll, and then scan Twitter and various sites related to my hobbies and load up a thumb drive with a text file of articles to read later on a netbook that freezes just by going to Wikipedia. It's not a netbook, but a textbook! Har, har, har. After I've done all that, I go to YouTube to put videos from my subscription feed or go through a list of artists to check up on (because following a record label clogs the feed) and put their new videos into "Watch Later" playlists (yes, plural) that I may never get to watch unless I waste a lot of time some other day.  And I chat in Google Docs, maybe even getting stuff typed out. Maybe typing out blogs like this one. And trying to keep up with Google Reader, a losing battle. Oh yeah, and if I actually had artwork to scan, I do that at the beginning, along with editing and uploading said scans. After I stop rambling about idols and destroying my friend's kidneys, I turn off the computer and go to bed as the sun is coming up, more or less.

There! The computer day is fully of junk!

I cut my computer time to once a week, because I feared it was responsible for my lack of progress (due to sleeping in on the other days and feeling like I had a shorter time till the next scanning and getting discouraged... six days to get 'x' amount of art done isn't as bad as '1/2 x" amount to get done in two or three days, with one day wasted with sleep.) And I have improved in the amount I get done since using the computer weekly.

But I can't get rid of my computer days altogether. I wouldn't be able to scan and upload art or type blogs and stories. I would be irresponsible to my friends, whom I am working and collaborating with. And most of all, it's a beacon, a goal, a day of accountability. I have to work hard the rest of the week so I can have something to upload and/or type on The Computer Day. Without that day, there wouldn't be enough pressure to make constant progress. When I look at it from this perspective, what I NEED the computer for, my priorities become clear.

So here's what I'll be giving up. I want my friends (and anyone who checks up on my art/projects) to know I'm serious about my goals.

All online show I follow on hulu and Crunchyroll. That would be: Toriko, Puchim@s, Gin Tama, Magi, Love Live! school idol project, Ixion Saga DT, Senryu, and Cobra. That last is actually a backlog title I was trying to watch this year. Magi and Love Live were pretty average, maybe even getting a bit dull... they were not bad, but not super special. Though Love Live was just about to introduce the character I was most interested in (Nico.) I'll miss the others sorely, though. I have to keep reminding myself, "don't you dare give in and watch Cobra next week!" All the James Bond that's been playing lately is making me miss Cobra more, though...

I won't be giving up my DVR shows, though. But I'm coming close.

Pokemon is boring during tournaments, but there are hidden gems in the form of Cilan and cute Pokemon moments (Pants/Scraggy! Oshawott!) And the N arc will be coming soon after the League wraps up in the U.S.

Star War: The Clone Wars is hit and miss. I find it's at its best with scoundrels (I love Hondo!) or Anakin going nuts/Hulk mode and making angry faces (or as a friend says, looks like he's making a bowel movement.) The season's almost over and Anakin's making his lovely bowel movements in the season finale arc, so it's safe... for now. But I really dislike those clones. They take all the fun out of Star Wars.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic can't seem to follow its excellent second season. But the season is over for now.

Gravity Falls is fun, but a chore to find out when the next episode will air.

Doctor Who is fun... if I could hear it half the time.

But the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles... no! I can't miss my weekly dose of Donnie and wishing I was in April's place. And the Star Trek parody, ahaha.

Webcomics. They serve as inspiration, but they are taking up too much time, particularly when I try out new ones.

Tumblr. Wow, I think it was a mistake even getting one. Too much. It's just too much. It's for people who are online a lot, so it's just not for me.

Forums. I'll still check out Hello!Online for the Pocket Mornings, which are sometimes hilarious (like the recent cockroach one.) And their Twitter feed, which has info on releases. But forums take time and are redundant.

The anime news site I frequent. I won't be watching much anime for awhile, so why tempt myself?

Twitter. Besides Hello!Online's Twitter, I'll take a hiatus since it's also becoming too much.

A bunch of RSS feeds, mostly idol blogs. Maybe all the idol blogs, but Momo and Kanana's blogs are funny, Maachan and Zukki and Fukuchan make me smile, Haruka and Meimi surprise me and are some of my top favorites character-wise, and as long as Reina's in Morning Musume, I'll find her cranky side funny (especially when it involves Maachan.) I'll remove those feeds, too, if it comes down to it, though.

I won't use YouTube on the computer except for background music while typing.

So let's see how that works. I still can't see how some people can have school and/or jobs and still do all the things I'm giving up AND draw and write stories. It makes me jealous and I feel super slow. I wish I knew the secret, but for now I'll focus on my drawing and writing goals and my friends. My friends are more important than shows and idols. But if my progress and sleep schedule do improve a lot after this, you can bet I'll be celebrating with some Pokemon games!

2013 New Year Resolutions

Now for my New Year Resolutions! It's pretty much a carry-over from last year, but more compact and urgent. This year has to work out somehow!

Goal #1: Use up as much stuff as possible. Meaning art and office supplies, coloring and puzzle books, magazines, and the like. I need to have less stuff to worry about.

Goal #2: Get my Bare Minimum Planner done. I wouldn't make "progress" with entertainment (i.e. television, game, etc. goals.) I wouldn't color anything except commissions and a few traditional arts. I wouldn't even blog, except for The Dark Writers. But I'd get art, writing, and comics done. The important and prioritized stuff. I'd like to get the other Planners done, too, but the Bare Minimum is a start.

Goal #3: Get a job/helpful wage. If I don't get enough to take care of my share of living expenses and help my family out, I am screwed.

Goal #4: Be able to read the media I own in Japanese. I'm still sticking to this goal, but the books, magazines, pamphlets, and cards I own aren't that complex, so the goal this year is much more realistic.

Goal #5: Get happier. Again, this hinges on success. And getting enough sleep (no more past midnighters unless necessary!) And maybe meditation exercises. And plush therapy (caring for them really helps!) But I hate, hate, HATE being told I'll have to go on pills if my mood continues. I have reasons for being sad and upset and happiness from pills does not sound real.

I think that's it.

Happy New Year, everybody! Let's make our hopes real!!

Reflections of 2012 - The Year That Wasn't

I'm splitting this post into two posts. I want to get the depressing reflections out of the way and keep them separate from my bold hope. This is going to sound eerily like last year's New Year's post, just like the deja-vu posts I make to Studio Derrot every month...

The previous year feels like such a waste.

I shouldn't say that, though. I did get some things done. I just didn't get everything done. There is a disproportionate amount of work I didn't get done to the amount that was done.

This has plagued me ever since I began making lists in earnest, about eight years ago. I'm sure before my list-phase started I still didn't get everything done that I wanted to... it's just that seeing it on paper makes it more palpable. More depressing.

See, I've really come to enjoy making lists. At first it was just to keep track of art projects for school or count down pages in a book for school or levels in a video game while grinding. But it soon blossomed into multi-page lists and then eventually evolved into where I stand now: lists devoted to entire projects, big and small; grid-paper for word counts and comic pages and book and video game progress; a schedule for my blogs; and even allotments for the shows I watch (among other media.) It takes but a moment to write down a task, but much more time to complete the task. Soon I've made a list that requires a whole workshop of people to complete on time.

My lesson here should be that I shouldn't make lists anymore. But lists give me hope. And I don't fail in doing the things that need to be done, like commissions. Only something happening beyond my control, like technical issues or incapacitation, could get in the way of my stubbornness in that regard.

I wish that stubbornness would apply to my own work, too! Sometimes it seems like the stuff I anticipate doing the most, I hold myself back on. Like I'm scared of not doing it properly. Or I'll do it and the moment will end.

It's not just in creative projects. It took me over ten months to start my Pokemon SoulSilver game, even though I put monthly goals down for it.

I have to overcome this trepidation in the coming year!

So I did not:

#1) Update regularly. I updated in almost unpredictable spurts. The only predictable thing was my monthly post saying I accomplished nothing (or nearly nothing.)

#2) Get a graphic novel published. It's very hard to publish one when the few pages in existence don't  have their panels' contents fully drawn out.

#3) Finish Minervellas. I didn't even finish my 2012 NaNo, The Fart Eaters.

#4) Make decent money on my artwork. Except toward the end, where the pay got a lot better. But the rest of the year before things got better, I was a spineless creature that took a severe pay-cut after shooting itself in the foot. I still didn't make enough to require filing taxes.

#5) Get a real job. I'm a deadbeat and horrible person and I've hated myself many times this last year for that. Do I have a future?

#6) Clean my room. Clean? Yes. Organized? Pretty much. But I didn't use up a lot of the stuff I wanted to. I did throw out a lot of papers, but my mom still says I "don't throw anything away."

#7) Understand Japanese. I'm not much farther in reading kanji or speaking (forming sentences) than I was a year ago. And now I have recurring day-mares of an embarrassing incident at a seafood/sushi counter. I'm not confident yet.

#8) Catch up on media. I abandoned a lot of online stuff when my computer had to be re-imaged. I'm impossibly behind on streaming shows and didn't check out all the music groups I wanted to. I didn't watch my DVDs (except one) or play much of video games. And then I get frustrated by suggestions for shows I can't watch legally. Morals aside, if I don't have enough time to watch the shows I'm allowed to watch (i.e. shows on Crunchyroll, hulu, etc.)... why would I watch something illegally? I have other things to spend my computer time on. :P

#9) Get in shape. Still the same after more than a decade. At least I'm consistent?

#10) Get happier. Nah, I just got more and more stressed out and I wouldn't be surprised if the statistics for me breaking out in tears was at least once a day.

Okay, now with those dreary statements out of the way, I can truly begin the New Year with hope!

2012 Re-Assessment of Goals

So today marks the half way point of the year. Or close to it. Time to have a checkpoint where I see how far I've gone with those goals since the beginning of the year...

Goal #1: Update my blogs once a week, and The Dark Writers blog once a month. I've failed so far in that endeavor. Some weeks were actually full of updates. Some weeks were dry. My blogs lost the carefully planned structure in the first week and became out of control wild cards.

Re-Goal: Try to catch up, but mostly focus on having weekly or bi-weekly updates to the blogs, with the exception of my idol blog (small posts can potentially be made daily) and my deviantART journal (once a month is probably all it needs as long as I'm maintaining the other blogs.)

Goal #2: Get at least one graphic novel published this year. With part of a Hellhoney panel currently drawn and some more blocked in, I'm going to have to dedicate more energy to that one comic.

Re-Goal: I still plan to work some on the other comics, but only if I meet weekly goals for Hellhoney. I need to get that comic finished soon if I want it self-published by the end of the year. Unless by some miracle it gets picked up by a publisher.

Goal #3: Finish Minervellas. I've only touched it art-wise this year.

Re-Goal: Finish writing it. Get as much editing done as possible, but if it still needs work in 2013, so be it. I want to participate in NaNo 2012! (But with a new story.)

Goal #4: Make reasonable money off my art. Oops, nope. Still making the equivalent of 50 cents to a $1.50 an hour for my work and only one person has wanted to commission me this entire year (and I'm grateful they've been commissioning me often, though I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep that up. I'll get to that in a moment.) I actually need to be able to sell prints and copies of my comics to make any kind of decent "wage" from my art. Commissions just aren't cutting it right now (with the current prices, being commissioned for just lineart might be more fair? Since I can actually do those in an hour or so?)

Re-Goal: Consider stopping commissions until my services are actually worth minimum wage or more and focus on illustrations and promotion of my own personal brands. But I'll need something else if I do that...

Goal #5: Get a real job. I wouldn't have time for both commissions and my art anyway if I got a real job, so the freelance work would have to be put on hold while I power up and spend my free time with projects I hope to develop more. But jobs are scarce.

Re-Goal: Seriously, I need to get a job. I want to prove I can make it on my art, because that's what I got a degree in and it makes me sad that loved ones don't have faith in me anymore when it comes to working in the art field (art seems to have become a tense topic now.) But I also need enough money to help pay bills instead of being a poster (adult-)child for Generation Failure. I need a balance of paying to live and enjoy making art, and "real job" plus "working with my own projects" would be the best balance until I can actually work in the industry (my dream!) Besides, I need to afford a new computer because I hate being unreliable in my commissions. I never know when my laptop will go completely kaput.

Goal #6: Clean up my room. I was doing that, but entropy took effect when I laid out all I need to get done. So back to the stacks of books, notebooks, papers, and sketchbooks.

Re-Goal: Get stuff on my to-do list done, eating through the stacks one by one until my room is clean. Seems to be working so far.

Goal #7: Learn Japanese. I've gotten better at reading some characters thanks to reading Japanese Twitter feeds.

Re-Goal: Continue with more intensity. I'm still not at the level I want, but that's because I have't been reading the books and dictionaries as I had planned. I need to show more initiative than just listening to music and reading Twitter.

Goal #8: Catch up on media. Ahaha, nope. I haven't watched shows on the Internet since February, unless you count Nerdist YouTube shows and other random videos. But no Crunchyroll or hulu. Pretty much anything I watch these days are DVR'd cartoons from Saturday mornings or YouTube videos during breaks. The last time I actually sat down and played video games was January, then I turned on my DS last month to make sure it still worked. Music has also just been listening to music videos while working (unless I like the group, then I watch the video.)

Re-Goal: Forget the Internet shows for now, and focus on art and typing. Any computer day could be my last. Just watch Pokemon on Cartoon Network every weekend and wait for the new seasons of cartoons in the Fall (and Doctor Who.) Start playing video games again, but as a way to unwind before bed, to de-stress and encourage me with my projects. Probably won't finish any this year, since I play more than I finish. Keep doing what I'm doing with stalking official YouTube channels for stuff to listen to. Eventually I'll have a list of stuff to buy when I actually have disposable income.

Goal #9: Get in shape. I stay same. It's what my body is good at, I guess. Stubborn just like my mind. But this is a good thing since I'm healthy and not losing health.

Re-Goal: Just keep working out, like I have been. Keep taking breaks to stand when sitting down for awhile (I've been watching YouTube videos and reading magazines and books while standing.) Getting the "perfect" figure would probably mean starving myself anyway (because I have unrealistic expectations. Look at idols and you'll see what I mean.)

Goal #10: Get happier. On the contrary, there have been a lot of times I've felt like crap this year. Again, my happiness hinges on success of my other goals.

Re-Goal: Get the other goals done, and happiness will follow.

It's only the half-way mark of the year, so I still have time to make my goals pan out... I'll just have to work harder from here on out!

Opinions - The Telephone

I freely admit that I'm not a very social person, often to the point of being avoidant. I haven't been on Facebook in over two months (and the next time I actually do log in, I'm thinking of deactivating it.) I am so terrified of random conversations, that back when I did use Instant Messengers, I went invisible and only talked to the people I already planned to talk to. I'm a member of a forum, yet I mostly lurk, posting a handful of posts in a "good" year. And I don't answer the phone unless I know the caller.

Ah, the phone. I hate phones. If I had a choice in the matter, I wouldn't even have one. "But what if there's an emergency?" "The Internet can be unreliable or nonexistent for one or both parties." I understand these concerns. But right now it just seems like a waste. I hardly ever use my phone. At least not for its main purpose. I use my phone to take pictures, listen to music, or as an alarm. Communicating? Not so much.

Phone calls are just too awkward for me. Speaking is not one of my strong points, and my mouth often has trouble keeping up with my mind. I will lose my train of thought, mess up words, or everything will come out a mess that needs to be repeated. Which is horrifying after all that effort and humiliation. When I listen to recordings of my voice, I sound like a little boy with a tongue piercing. All of this is avoided with e-mail and other Internet messages (as for text messages, I'll get to that later.) It's embarrassing to have people watch me type in real time, since I have the same issues with speech, just with tons of typos. But most text based communication allows for proofreading, which really helps with communicating exactly what one wants to communicate. Okay, not perfect. But better.

Even talking face to face is more ideal, since at least through body language and facial expressions, I can see when there might be a misunderstanding. Or hopefully whomever I'm talking to can better understand me (I talk with my hands a lot.) Or maybe they just think I'm retarded and nod politely. But the point is, phone calls make me feel uncomfortable. Only talking in front of a bunch of people (mostly strangers) gives me more communication anxiety. In university, I would walk to people I needed to speak to, when e-mail wasn't an option. Just please don't make me pick up the phone!

Friends and family are the big exception to my phone phobia, as long as they are close. If I trust them enough not to be judgmental and I can speak my mind, along with my funny spacing out, then it doesn't matter how I'm communicating with them. E-mail, phone, ESP, whatever. But my first time talking on a phone with someone is always going to be awkward, at least for the first minute or two. And then there are three issues with phone calls that can even leave me running from friends...

• First, I hope I'm not annoying when I ask what time is good to call. I am not a surprise dialer. I wish I could say it's just because I hate being taken off guard myself and I'm treating the other person how I want to be treated. But it's not just that. I hate answering machines. I end up sounding really stupid or accidentally talking before the beep. And then there are the joke answering machine messages that actually sound like the other person is talking to you. I sputter when it's time to give the message. And for that reason, I often hang up the moment I get an answering machine. If it seems like I get an answering machine every time I call, I just stop calling. Period. Yes, fellow Dark Writers, answering machines can be added to the list of things that I'm afraid of, along with escalators, ceiling fans, and VCRs.

• Second, three-way calling is often an unpleasant experience when two of the three people don't know each other that well. One person will usually be left out while the other two talk about things the third wheel doesn't feel qualified jumping into. Or if the third wheel tries to get back into the conversation, there is silence from the other person instead. Instead of being a three-way conversation, it becomes two people waiting their turn to speak to the person they both know. And then there was the awful experience in middle school when a friend put me on a three-way call with a man many years older than us. The only information I received as to who he was? He was the boyfriend of another person I didn't know. Anyway, scary stranger man proceeded to ask me why I liked Pokemon (in a very condescending way, asking stupid questions and trying not to laugh), while my "friend" tittered in the background. Uggh. The only three-way call with a person I hardly knew that I think actually went completely well involved one of my best friends. (Just in case she's reading this: Pokemon League!) Her friend actually tried to include me in the conversation, and we were even able to have some fun when we discovered we both liked something that irritated our shared friend (Happy Tree Friends.)

• Finally, dead air. I am a person that usually focuses on one thing at a time. I might doodle while listening to someone, but they are still getting my full attention unless there's a good reason for otherwise. And then I ask them to repeat themselves, because I care about what they are saying. I think I'm a good listener with a knack for remembering conversations. So it hurts a bit when it's obvious the same consideration isn't being done for me. Like the TV is loud and the person on the other end is constantly laughing. Or I have to get their attention multiple times and they have no idea what I was talking about. Or I finish talking and there is just silence and it's obvious they are doing something else. Like sleeping. Why call me then?! It's a waste of both our times. And I find that the people who want to talk the most often are the ones with the least amount to say.

(And please, to all this applies to, if you talk to someone, after you finish talking about your life and then you ask about the other person's life, at least make it sound like you are listening. Or just bluntly say you aren't interested. It's a lot better than several dozen "I see"'s, "Uh-huh"'s, and inappropriate laughs. To me, fake copy-paste replies is not polite, but a betrayal of trust. Also, saying you aren't interested will save your time and make me feel less like an idiot. Thank you.)

Finally, finally, I have to touch on text messages. One of my pet peeves. I don't get text messages. They are expensive, and if I had the money to blow on a text message plan or text messages, I would blow it on something I actually care about. Like bills. Toys. Comics. Art supplies. Video Games. Not idiot speak. If how some people talk on the Internet is any indication, text messages bring out the worst in someone's grammar. It's very sad to see people that talk intelligently in person look so dumb in written words. If I didn't know some people except for how they talked online, I would have a very low opinion of them. I'm sure text messages have their uses, but not for me.

I hope I didn't offend anyone by this post. It's not meant to be rude, but an organized rant on why I don't like cell phones, or phones in general. But what do you think? Am I crazy? I know my generation is not very phone happy, but text and social networking happy (two things that I also despise or am not fond of.) I try to think of what the ideal communication aside from the old-fashioned way and letters/e-mails/forums would be, but I can't think of any better ways. Just don't get me started on video conferencing.

New Year Resolutions

As usual, I have a lot of New Year's resolutions that I'll probably break before the end of this month! I was a pretty terrible person last year, not very productive and pretty useless. My parents were nicer to me and spoiled me a lot more that I deserved. I have to be better this year. I always set really high, sometimes impossible goals for myself, but this is the year the world is going to end! I don't have much more time to prove myself. No more lazy days!

Goal #1: Update my four main blogs at least once a week! Whether it's just a piece of art, an essay, or just a little blurb, I really need to start writing more. As for my deviantART, at least three illustrations updated each week, not counting commissions or comic pages (I have to force myself to color, my dreaded nemesis!) There is a shared blog that one of my friends proposed that I'd like to update once a month (actually, two such blogs now!) Same with my dA journal, once a month. The point of this goal is to keep things updated.

Goal #2: Get at least one graphic novel published this year. Not a little one-shot comic (I do want to get Super Popcorn printed finally this year, too, though), but a full 160+ page book. Granted, I'd like to get a whole lot more drawn, but if I can at least get, say, Hellhoney Volume 1 out this year, that would be an accomplishment.

Goal #3: Get Minervellas finished, rewritten and edited, and ready to be taken around to publishers.

Goal #4: Actually make some reasonable money off of my art. One of my goals last year was to make at least enough money off my art to be required to do taxes. I didn't. This isn't the 1930's no matter how much you compare the recessions. I feel like a bum.

Goal #5: Get a real job. This may interfere with all the above goals, but if I can manage to get hired, then I can start helping out my kind parents, who have supported me all my life. I give them the little I get from commissions, but then they spoil me with that money and more, it seems. I have to make enough to think I'm actually helping out. And then I can actually set aside a small allowance for myself so I can import idol CDs! (And I really need a new laptop, tablet, and scanner. The current ones are not doing too hot after being heavily used for five and a half, four and a half, and six and a half years, respectively.)

Goal #6: Clean out my room. It's not that it's not clean. It's actually cleaner than 75% of the rooms out there. But I have a lot of stuff. When my mom gets mad at me, she calls me an "extreme hoarder" with a "a room full of junk that needs to be tossed." Now, obviously, if I was "extreme," my room wouldn't be as neat and organized as it is. But I do admit there is stuff that needs to go. I accumulated a lot of art supplies during college. I need to use up a lot of them. I have unread books on my packed shelves. Instead of going to the library, I should read them and donate or sell the ones I don't want to read again. Notebooks full of references, old stories, etc.? Type them out and chunk them. Old drawings? Toss or give away or sell them. Half-finished drawings that suck? Toss. Old magazines? Read, clip out DIRE references, then toss (better yet, scan the references, then toss those, too.) Coloring and puzzle books? Use them up or donate them. I think I have a little more leeway defending my plush, figurine, comic, card, CD/DVD/Video Game, and favorite book collections. (Gosh, I'm a nerd.) But a lot of that other stuff needs to go. Besides, I need to make room for more comics and CDs and toys, haha!

Goal #7: Get a basic but better understanding of Japanese. I want to be able to read stuff! I'm studying a kanji dictionary currently and reading books. I already listen to and watch Japanese entertainment, and from over a decade of self-study I have a basic grasp. But I want to be able to fully enjoy Japanese tweets, blog posts, livestreams, etc. It would be nice to be able to import games and comics and understand more than half of what is going on. I don't want to look like a complete fool when my dad tells Japanese people I'm learning Japanese and then they try to talk to me and I just freeze and blush. I also want to brush up on my French, German, and Spanish. I just feel like I'm missing out when I limit myself to just English. There's a lot of awesome people and entertainment out there and they don't all use English.

Goal #8: Catch up on media. I want to finish some of my video games (one a month), get my Pokedexes mostly complete, watch my small collection of DVDs over and keep up with the shows I'm following: Pokemon, My Little Pony, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Thundercats, Hello!Pro Time, Toriko, Gintama, Beelzebub, Doctor Who, and soon, Bodacious Space Pirates and AKB0048 (I hope, if the latter is legally streamed on Crunchyroll, hulu, etc.) I also want to try out some of the shows my friends have recommended and hit up the official YouTubes of music artists and groups I've been meaning to check out.

Goal #9: Get in shape. My cliched resolution of the year! I just sit around drawing, reading, and typing. I need to get more toned.

Goal #10: Get happier. My mood has been blah a lot this past year. I've been spazzing out more. I have nightmares often. Sometimes I wouldn't know the difference between the dreams and reality; they were so real, that I would wake up thinking people hated me or I would be amazed (and glad) that something catastrophic hadn't really happened. But to achieve this goal, I have to make good on the other goals, because I feel depressed when I feel useless and unable to get things done.

And thus, I start out this new year full of hope and ambition!

Onward to 2012!

I never got around to making a post about my birthday (NANO) and I didn't make a Christmas post. But they were pretty cool. My owl family grew in rank by three over the past two months (the hootlets now have a complete set of grandparents) and I got some other fluffy friends to give personalities to and cameos in my artworks. For my birthday, I got caught up on my Excel Saga graphic novels with volumes 21 and 22. For Christmas I got Pokemon SoulSilver. The Johto series give me lots of fond memories, so I'm glad I now have both versions. And now I can be a boy in this version! The boy is nostalgic and has a better design. I don't really like the bonnet and Mario-overalls on Lyra (her personality in the show is funny, though.) I only chose her on HeartGold because I always choose my gender on the first game of a set I get (since i don't know if I'll get the other one.) Now someday I need to get Pokemon Black, haha!

As for stuff I'm anticipating in the New Year, here's my list:

+ ART-WISE

I'm going to try to keep up with my comics and as many other projects as I can! I say this every year, but hopefully things will actually be mellow enough so as not to sidetrack me. See my art blog soon for my list of projects!

+ MUSIC-WISE

Morning Musume in chicken suits, oh yeah! H!P has become even more exciting to follow this past year. I also want to follow other idol groups more closely, from the cross-dressing Fudanjuku (I fell in love!) to groups I'd like to learn to like more (they haven't grabbed me completely yet, but I find them interesting) like Passpo, Alfia Saga East, and the Stardust groups. I want to follow AKB48 and Idoling!!! more, but the former is both overwhelming and somewhat boring to me right now (my interest rose when I was learning names and watching clips of AKBingo, but fell fast after that) and Idoling!!! is losing Yazapai, which makes me sad.

+ MOVIES-WISE

Phoenix Wright and The Hobbit. I really hope the former gets licensed and put on DVD over here. My mom won't play the games even though I try to assure her it's like a cartoon Perry Mason, hehe.

+ VIDEO GAMES-WISE

I want a reason to buy the 3DS. Sonic Generations isn't enough. Pokemon Grey or BurningRuby/RainingSapphire would be. Pokemon is always a deal breaker. I really wish the second Miles Edgeworth game made it to the U.S. and that Sonic CD was on the DS or 3DS. Looks like I'll miss that last one for another generation. I've wanted to play that game since 1997, when I think I saw it on a shelf at ToysRUs, but I was a poor little 9-year-old.

+ SHOWS-WISE

I'm still watching Pokemon and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. And Gintama, Toriko, and Beelzebub (the stupid-funny trio.) And Hello!Pro Time and My Little Pony. I'm looking forward to more Thundercats (Panthro, nooooo!) and also Doctor Who (thanks, Meshia!) As for new shows, Bodacious Space Pirates and AKB0048 are the ones I want to check out most. Maybe the latter will be on Crunchyroll like the former? Pleeease. Although I'm sure it will be hard to license with all the AKB48 songs and voices and likenesses...

+ STUFFED ANIMALS-WISE

I'm looking forward to playing with them! And then Jakks is coming out with a Victini plush... I want it so bad!

+ READING-WISE

The next Excel Saga graphic novel and the next Essential X-Men. I'm also looking forward to reading lots of blogs, webcomics, and stories, particularly those of my friends! *hint hint*

+ OTHER-WISE

I really hope I get to go to the zoo in 2012, too! I think it's been 8 years since I've last been to one.


I'll save more stuff for my list of New Year's Resolutions! Because I am looking forward to keeping those, too!