6-10/365 in 2011 (Patreon)

The picture looks more depressed than I actually feel- which is tired and teetering on the edge of sick. It's like my throat has a skinned knee. Y'know, when you skin your knee and it's so totally irritating and annoying and it's all you can think about but it's not actually bad enough to count as being injured? You know. 

I'm excited for this year. This is the year I get back to comics. All of last year I kept putting comics on the backburner, kept having "more important" things come up and the result was... I have no comics to show for it. Well, yes, a few. But not 12 months worth. 

I'm already off to a good start. I think. Gotta stay disciplined. Gotta stay focused on my goals. Gotta be a Goddamn Professional. 

(my throooooooat huuuuuuuuurts)

7/365 - January 7, 2011

Feeling rough. 

Can't sleep because of the sore throat, but still not sick enough to count as sick-sick.

:(

8/365 - January 8, 2011

"Slept in" until 6am today! That is my latest record so far since coming back to the states. Finally starting to feel healthy again. 

Healthy enough, finally, to fool around with the husband. Wait, should I even be sharing that? I'm sorry, I shouldn't tell you that. 

(...Fucking cum shot straight into my nose. Both nostrils. It was completely accidental, he had no idea it'd even happened until afterward. I had to blow my nose in order to breathe through it again.)

Sorry, I shouldn't have told you that part either. 

(...But it's true. I couldn't believe it happened.)

I love that sex can be hilarious.

I love that Matt's the person I get to share it with. 

That last line should read "I love that Matt's the person with whom I share it" because you're not supposed to leave dangling participles at the end of your sentences, but the correct way just looks so pretentious to me. And when you're writing about sperm in your nose, I think you're allowed to drop pretentions. I mean, really.

9/365 - January 9, 2011

Growing up, I was a voracious reader. My parents would actively have to take my book away from me at social gatherings so I wouldn't tune out everyone in favor of being lost in my reading. It was a source of great pride for me in 4th grade that test results showed I was reading at a 12th grade level. Books were my world and to this day there's no place I feel more comfortable than in a book store. 

But sometime around... college? I stopped reading for pleasure. With very few exceptions, the only books I was reading were for classes. Maybe I just didn't have time any more? No, that's not true, I was devouring comics at every free moment so it couldn't have been a matter of time. Honestly I don't know how it happened.

Soon I'll have been graduated from college for, oh my goodness, six years and in that time I have hardly read any books at all. Everything you see on those shelves is comics and art books. The "regular" books are segregated onto two very small shelves on the other side of the room. Only two, short shelves of picture-less books in our house. That's... sad. 

Don't get me wrong, I don't regret having spent all that time reading comics! Comics are my passion, they light up my brain and engage me in a wonderful way. 

But I miss books. 

Which is why I've resolved that 2011 will be my Year of Literacy. I'm keeping a list of every book I read in the next twelve months and another list of books I want to look up. Right now, I've already got two novels (One fiction and one non-fiction) on the "Finished Reading" list! I'm so excited! 

I can't wait to see how many titles are on there by the end of the year. I'm going to make 4th Grade Erika proud.

10/365 - January 10, 2011

Me and my sweet ride. 

And my sweet bike-ridin' wardrobe. 

On my head: a kerchief tied over my ears (they're super susceptible to earaches when the wind blows in them), little rimmed cap (to keep the sun/rain from getting in my eyes) and helmet. Always the helmet. It fills me with anger when I see bicyclists swooping by on busy roads without a goddamn fucking helmet on.

1st Layer: sports tank top with built-in boob holder so I don't have to get my nice bra all sweaty.

2nd Layer: Thin hoody

3rd Layer: Heavier Hoody

4th Layer: Grubby lookin', second hand rain jacket/wind breaker

5th Layer: High visibility jacket with reflective stripes. Sized XXL, so I have to tie the front corners together in a knot to keep it closed. Because it's so huge, I can easily fit my grubby backpack underneath. If this picture had been shot in profile, I would look like a neon colored hunchback.

Over the top of my jeans I'm wearing my indispensable rain pants. They're stupid expensive (all rain paints are, not just mine. No idea why), so every time a new hole emerges I cover it with black duct tape rather than buying a new pair. Even though it's not actually wet outside, it is bitingly, stingingly cold and I wanted any extra layers to help dull the pain of those icy winds. 

Toping it all off with my super warm and cozy gloves that I wrapped reflective orange safety tape around. 

The bike I bought in... 2007? with the couple hundred bucks Bush gave everyone for free that one year to "stimulate the economy". 

Not Pictured: My totally bitchin' bike trailer that I use to haul in boxes of my books or shipping supplies to the office. 

Awww yeh, who wants to be seen in public with me? Line right up.

Every day I ride my bike to (30ish minutes, downhill) and from (40-50ish minutes, up hill) work. Rain or shine, I gotta do it otherwise I go kinda crazy. Biking: It's cheaper than anti-depressants!

(Photo by Matt)