About sixteen years ago, I met him for the first time. My trainwreck sibling brought home this adorable puppy he had no business adopting because he had not one thing in his life that wasn’t a mess. I was furious at my sibling – he didn’t even take care of himself, how could he drag
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September 9, 2010
As I write this, the neighborhoods two miles away are ablaze. I had nothing to do with it.
Do you all read forewords? Back in high school, we were made to read the introductions and forewords like medicine. These days, I read them in comics to sniff out new authors to follow. If you can hook me in the 400 words or 1000 words allotted to introduce a trade paperback, if you’re really that entertaining or well spoken, you’re probably someone I’d be pretty happy reading.
The line-up for the six volumes of Scalped would be a perfect example, except they’re all big enough names and big enough entertainers that I’m already well aware of their writing.
Take, for example, Matt Fraction. The man knows his way around a story. He weaves, like any good yarn deserves, twists and turns, colors and spikes into his writing that has you Not Breathing for extended periods before you realize what he’s just done to you.
He’s not just a good writer, though. He’s fantastic on his feet. As witness, his participation in w00tstock (go, go, Google or YouTube “Matt Fraction w00tstock 2010” and revel in the geekery, I’ll be here when you get back).
And he’s generally a pretty cool guy. My Con BFF texted me on the Sunday I was flying away from my beloved SDCC: In line for the Fraction panel, he just worked the line. We just talked cancer.
Me: … what?
Con BFF: A girl in line had a cast on her ankle and he told her she needed a more heroic story for the injury. We brainstormed: kicking cancer in the face.
If that wasn’t enough, his answer to the question “Why do you write strong female characters?” was “I’m married to a very strong woman. And I have a daughter. I know my wife, and I know that she’s going to raise my daughter so that, one day, my daughter is going to look me in the eye and I’m going to have to explain to her my involvement in this world in which I work. So I’d better do the right thing now.”
If I didn’t know all that, his introduction to Jason Aaron’s 4th Volume of Scalped in which he shared the Legend of the Alabama Corn Snake would have clinched it.
I’d reproduce it here but I don’t want to steal, it’s not nearly so tasty in excerpted form, and really, I want you to read all the way up to Volume 4 of Scalped to revel in the goodness of the foreword, marvel in the comic and support the industry. But mostly, it’s really late, I’m tired, and maybe I’ll do some of it later.
In the meanwhiles, I heartily endorse the reading of introductions. At least for comic books – there’s some excellent footage to be had.
September 8, 2010
Of Mine Own:
Mice Templar (Vol 1), by Bryan Glass and Michael Avon Oeming
Usagi Yojimbo (Vol 1-2), by Stan Sakai**
Alan Moore’s Complete WILDC.A.T.S.
Sam and Twitch (Vol 1-2), by Brian Michael Bendis
Wolverine, by Jason Aaron
100 Bullets (Vols 12-13), by Brian Azzarello and Edward Risso**
Of the Borrowed Variety:
The Umbrella Academy (Vols 1-2), by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba
Scalped (Vols 1-6), by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera
The Boys (Vols 1-4), by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson**
Of the Gifting Sort:
Daredevil: Return of the King, by Ed Brubaker and David Aja
Batman: Private Casebook, by Paul Dini
**Still waiting to be read
~~~~~~~~~
I cannot proclaim enough how incredibly creative The Umbrella Academy is, or how gutwrenchingly compelling Scalped is. I try, I really do, but I feel like it’s just not good enough. Just to give you an idea: I’m pretty sure that I’m an adult now. I’ve got some incredible impulse control. I can make a package of Oreos last a MONTH. Girl scout cookies, TWO. My birthday gift has been sitting in this house for over a week and I haven’t rent the packaging to particle bits despite knowing what joys await me.
But I tore through all six volumes of Scalped, cover to cover, in less than 72 hours. It’s no feel good comic, but it grabs hold of your intestines and doesn’t let go. And now I have to wait until March 2011 for the next trade to ship. It’s already preordered, I’ll tell you what.
Oh. I’ve got an 8 am meeting and just got the EYE from PiC so further exultation must wait.
September 7, 2010
PiC insists he’s fully on board, being with me, but I have got to be trying his patience. Heaven knows I’ve worn through my own patience with this state of affairs.
This past week was one of the rougher, tougher ones in which I was barely good for anything in private and not much more than that in public.
I made it to work each day, drugged up to my eyeballs, or in so much pain that I was well beyond wishing for the sweet release of death. You bet your sweet bippy I took the time to make the right calls, but that left my willpower to deal with anything beyond the core necessities drained to the last dribs. By Thursday, all I could think was: I’m not cooking a darn thing tonight. By darn, someone is going to feed me!
Through the weekend, we hosted an old friend who has been nomadic for quite a few years of her high-powered career. As we missed her birthday last weekend, I felt obligated to be present for her so I tried to hide the pain behind normalcy. I didn’t do a good job of it but my next best shot was to sacrifice PiC’s support and continue to struggle behind the facade of maintaining even at home where I would normally collapse and stop pretending.
It was exhausting.
As much as I care about my friends, I was intensely grateful to stop pretending when she left on Sunday and for the day of rest on Monday to enjoy PiC’s company. With any luck, I can slowly lay off some of the pain meds so that this week isn’t a complete fog.
Living in a haze of pain isn’t just draining, it’s expensive!
The painkillers cost money, the eating out costs money, the being waited on hand and foot costs … one heck of a lot of good will! And that’s the most worrisome bit of course. How long can someone keep up the caretaker role before burning out?
But you know what? I’m tired of all that. Forget honesty – I think you could all stand a good solid blast of uplifting, happy geekery, could you not? If not, bear with me, it can’t possibly be worse than the me even I was sick of! (And as I assured my ever so flamboyant friend, even if it was only the “me” in the abstract.)
I declare this: Week of the Geek!
September 4, 2010
Our houseguest just got a new job with a hefty salary in a low COL and so when I introduced her to Shabby Apple, she filled their coffers with nearly four hundred dollars in exchange for, among other things, my favorite dress. Finally I can see it on someone in real life! It’s pretty fun to watching people with zero budget problems shop like there’s no tomorrow.
And in the spirit of spending freely, free money for two people!
Out of 51 entries, including comments, tweets, and a hilarious arm-twisting referral, my first winner is entrant #46: Elaine of Clothed Much and my second winner is entrant #25: Kay Lynn of Bucksome Boomer!
Congratulations, ladies!
August 31, 2010
I definitely waited for the last paycheck of the month before putting this month’s snapshot together because I’ve already paid up September’s rent and paid down a 4-digit bill for the start of the Dental Bills (deep breath).
The expense account took a hit for quite a number of reasons and as we gear up for the fall, I’ve got a ton going on, so it’s only going to get worse. The medical bills are going to almost immediately drain the rest of the Parental Medical Fund so the balance will have to come out of the Expense fund. Remember, I use that to pay all bills and try to keep a few months’ worth in there at any given time so I’m not living paycheck to paycheck. I still worry quite easily when that number drops drastically, though.
A really old pension account finally rolled over into my Vanguard account, that huge uptick in retirement accounts has nothing to do with gains in the market.
I’m going to be traveling for a three day weekend in September, and I’ve got a ton of guests in town another weekend of the same month. PiC will be traveling yet another weekend, and then I’ve got to prep for a business trip in October. Before you know it, November and December are lined up right behind that with their thumbs out for a lift of multiple birthdays and holidays. Whoo! This is why planning is so very important.
As for generating extra income, I’ve been rather dismal at that. Any number of excuses really, but regardless, the end result is feeling (quite) a bit pinched after Hometown Expenses are paid, to the tune of 70-80% of my income. This most certainly needs to change!
I have been talking about second jobs (part-time or freelance) but I always get the evil eye from PiC who thinks I already work too hard. That may be, but I’ve still got bills to pay, and savings to pile up! Truthfully, there has to be a way to generate more income without unduly stressing my own health. I ought to have learned that lesson by now.
In the meantime, I’m reverting to an old method of keeping calm: noting everything financial in a notebook. That’ll help me keep track of reimbursements and other “hidden” money moving around in my system.
How goes the month for you, friends?
August 30, 2010
I actually wasn’t interested in participating in Funny About Money‘s Half Off Diet for the purpose of weight loss, but I do want to share how my version of it is a money-saver.
As a kid, the only time we ate out was, ironically enough, at Vietnamese restaurants.
My parents were great cooks but there are a couple things that were always more economical in a time v. money aspect to eat out: beef noodles (pho) and the 7 courses of beef. Go figure, the typically expensive red meat, right?
The interesting thing about Vietnamese food is that it’s really so cheap and easy to prepare most foods that it would seem like you’d always save money by eating in. That hasn’t been the case for many years, though. A bowl of good noodle soup cost less than $5, and it was hard to make the argument that it was worth your time making that broth from scratch and preparing all the side veggies and thinly sliced beef to save, basically, a few cents.
So if you were truly in the mood for pho, it wasn’t that costly a splurge. And honestly, we never ate out so that was definitely a special occasion for us kids.
These days, though, the price of a bowl has me staggering. In the Bay Area, a single regular sized bowl runs you between $6.50 and $7.50. That’s a 50% increase!
I can still afford it as take out, though. Always make sure to ask them not to cook the noodles, and order a single bowl to go: that single bowl can serve both PiC and me two meals – and we are big eaters!
PiC claims it’s because I order in the mother tongue, but I sincerely doubt it. Let me know if you think that’s the case, though, and I’ll be happy to call in your order for you! 😉
August 28, 2010
Test!
