Yesterday was great.

My work-day at Novell flew by, and it was a productive one. Then at home I cranked out another four days worth of strips.

I’m pretty sure it’s just diet and exercise. I haven’t been dieting, per se, but I’ve been trying to fill up on healthy stuff before caving to cravings and having Shrek Cereal or pieces of chocolate that came home with me from Holland. The result? I dropped from a high of 186.5 lbs to 181 pounds (Sat 11pm to Wed at 6am), and I just plain FEEL BETTER.

There were a couple of problematic moments, like the part where I was at home and a guy at work IM’d me about my committment to attend a July 21st conference in Chicago. I IM’d him back and said “I don’t remember committing to that,” frankly terrified at the thought of having to travel again in just three weeks. I need more recovery time. Well, it turns out he was bluffing. I HAVEN’T committed to it yet, and he wanted me to.

Meh. I’ll delegate that trip to one of the five talented people who report to me. Oh, and bite me right here.

Anyway… I’m back. I drew four strips last night, and it felt good.

–Howard

It’s official. Schlock Mercenary is not representative of the best work I can do.

(Okay, okay… my definition of “official” is admittedly lax. I don’t have a certificate or anything, but I suppose I could print one up.)

I’ve been reviewing my recent non-Schlock artwork, and carefully examining the line-art. I’ve been working to “draw something every day” for the last few weeks, and my ability to show volume and shape has improved dramatically.

That ability, however, is not getting reflected in the strips I draw. There’s just no time for it. If I had more time, I’d spend more of it on the artwork I put into the strip, but these days time is tight, and I’m consciously (CONSCIOUSLY!) cutting back on the amount of time I put into each strip.

That’s not to say I’m spending LESS time than I used to. No, I’m spending the SAME AMOUNT of time, by opting to NOT USE techniques that would make the line-art much better.

I’m still wondering how I feel about this. Does the old saw “anything worth doing is worth doing well” have corollaries like “you can’t do something well without doing your best?” Or are there valid antitheses to be found in phrases like “leave ’em wanting more” or “good enough for government work?”

Ponder, ponder, ponder.

I’ve been feeling pretty low today (you’ve already got the details.) So… there’s the frame of mind. While woolgathering in Sunday School I drew this:

The caption came later.

–Howard
(p.s. Why use an LJ-CUT tag when I can burn disturbing images onto hundreds of retinas? Misery loves company, right?)

I’m depressed.

Sure, sure, I’m back home with my family, and that’s pretty nice, but my body’s chemistry is not supporting a state of “joy” right now.

I can analyze it pretty easily. My diet has been way off for a week or more, and I’m both tired AND jet-lagged. I’ve not gotten much exercise, nor a significant amount of outdoor activity in the last 10 days. These individual elements conspire to produce torpor, and leave me more susceptible to illness, allergic response, and that weird macroeffect known as a “mood swing.”
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