[8-bit Konami noise] (Patreon)

Hello O^o/

The short version: I've paused Patreon's billing cycle. This should effectively make the next month free to all but there'll still be updates. It just doesn't feel right to receive money when I'm still trying to catch up.

The longer version: Back in late September, early October, I had noticed a letter from HR at my job indicating that they consider full time employees as people working 30+ hours a week. I hate my job but there's very little available where I live, and it would be fantastic to have 1 less day of being totally drained to be able to work more on artstuff again. So I asked my boss about cutting my hours down to 4 days. It would work for them, because one of the drawbacks of the position is that for a big chunk of the year we're constantly running out of work to do, which means time wasted just standing around while being expected to 'keep up your numbers' for their measures of productivity (which, according to a report they handed me last week, I've been giving them A LOT OF for the past few years—an average of over 15 hours worth of work over what's expected of us per pay period.) 

All the while he sounded supportive of the idea and kept saying he'll get right on it. And... this is how it played out.

- Late September/Early October: Request made
- Mid October: Follow-up sent, boss has not taken action.
- Late October: I ask HR myself. They reply 2 days later and say it's doable but requires manager action. I forward this to my boss and he calls me in to a meeting asking if I could wait for 2019 so that we will have coverage for the hectic end-of-year season, still saying 'sure I'll ask about this then'. That's fair. Agreed.
- Beginning of January, scheduled regular monthly meeting with boss. Boss 'has emailed HR' but hasn't heard back.
- Yesterday, I ask if he's heard from them yet or if he needs any action from me. He calls me in to a meeting with him, saying he still hasn't heard anything, then berates me for a lack of willingness to try new things and take on other people's work. I've been on the job for 5 years and it's the first negative thing I've been told and it's not even true since they've put me on assignment in other areas before. His examples include when I was put in a cramped tiny desk that hurt my back too much. I saw a chiropractor earlier last year to deal with that for $60 a pop and not only was that not worth it, but he was screwing up my hips too and I started faltering and falling down :T He asks if I'll start working on something I actually *haven't* been willing to try because the last time I was in the position the stress permanently fucked up my stomach and I had to take prescription drugs to stop being burned around the clock. If I say 'no', it affirms his claim. If I say 'yes', the job'll get a lot worse, it's a field where lazy housewives bypass protocol to take the easiest work available and leave the difficult responsibilities for some sucker. It's absolutely safe to say he's been screwing with me. 

Well... the point is, I've continued operating this patreon with the hope that by now I'd have more time to work on things and deal with my physical issues by now, but it looks like that probably isn't going to happen. My plan going forward is to pause every other month until things improve and/or I complete the commission I've been working on for the past year, which is nearly done but still has many hours left to put into it :X

Sorry for sucking, I'll do my best to make it right sooner rather than later ;^;