1/13/18

Hope that all of you are happy, healthy, and prospering so far this year.

I'm wondering, have you been up staying up to speed with me on Tumblr? I hadn't really received any feedback and I am curious as to whether the work is impactful. Good, bad, indifferent; do let me know. Is it difficult for you to access the blog? Should I change up the platform altogether?

Another thing regarding Patreon.
This month, two of my patrons' cards were declined. One of them was a new client, and was declined after receiving a substantial patron package. I have sent emails to the respective individuals, (and received no response) as well as Patreon, but to no avail. Patreon will not allow me to have the "charge up front" feature.

Therefore; this week there will unfortunately be yet another password change. Also, I am not shipping out packages until after the first of the month. This situation has me thinking that I may have to have a regular schedule so that I can make sure the payments are all valid before I make the first post of a new month. I do not want to have to do monthly password changes. That's just beyond ridiculous. Thoughts?

Anyway, here's what's happening in Jersey.
It's cold here. Real cold. Except for yesterday, when it was 60 degrees and raining. Almost like Mother Earth wanted to tell a certain someone where he can put his two cents on "global warming..." Hm 🤔

My pipes have been frozen solid for 12 days now. No running water. A plumber is finally coming on Monday. I'm certainly looking forward to taking a shower in my own house. It's been a mess of inconvenience, but I haven't minded camping in my house so much. The solitude has been good for my brain, although if I'm being honest, I haven't been very productive with the time and space. When I am not with my grandfather or doing drawing gigs, I've been fueling on caffeine and sugar, abusively, and then sitting at my table staring blankly at my computer. I get up, pace around, sit back down, repeat. I do a little yoga, I read in bed, but I can't focus long. I turn off the light to sleep, then I'm awake for hours. My body wants to believe the caffeine and sugar are necessary to stay alive during the day, but refuses to get the hint that it's current state is just a foggy, cyclical distraction from the overwhelm. Hypnosis, if you will. I'm working on it ;)

My grandfather starts radiation on Monday. He will undergo 5 back to back treatments. Please keep him in your thoughts during the intense week ahead.

It seems as though he's improving every day. But then again, I have to remember that he is 83, and his existence grows more fragile every day. He's got a doctor for every condition, every organ. Every day is a different story, a different diagnosis, a different list of do's and don'ts. While I want to accept the optimistic outlook of his cancer treatment, I've got the sober and morbid understanding of the imminent in the back of my mind. I am glad that I can be here to comfort and support him, and I'm also glad that I have this time to share this experience with him, and also to brace myself for the inevitable.

So here is a photo from last year, when I was on tour and my mother, who was visiting my grandfather, connected us on FaceTime. I'm looking forward to seeing him regain his rosiness in the coming days.

xo