January 2018

LoNot really sure how to begin talking about this month. I really wanted to say that 2018 got off to a great start, but for me personally, this past month has been canny rough to say the least.
Me and my wife had some upsetting news regarding one of our pets. If I haven't mentioned before, we have three pets - a turtle named Chief, and two ferrets named Apollo and Luna. Early on in January, Luna had some trouble with her walking, which turned out to have been caused by a back injury. She is doing better now thanks to medication, but around the same time she got sick, Apollo also became very ill. We got him checked out at the vet, and they found that he had a mass on his spleen, which was then found to be cancerous. Both me and my wife were understandably shocked by this, and since then we have been trying to keep Apollo as comfortable as possible, feeding him liquid foods and giving him medication.
It has been really difficult adjusting to this news. When I first moved to the US, I never thought I would be able to look after any type of animal, let alone ferrets, but in the time I have known them I have gotten used to looking after Apollo and Luna, and I have grown to love them. To see Apollo looking weak and almost lifeless has been horrible, and even more so for my wife, who loves both ferrets as if they were our kids.
This situation was just one of a few reasons why this month, in all honesty, I haven't been myself. A lot of things had been brewing up for some time, and I was generally feeling overwhelmed. There was one day where I just felt like giving up on everything, I ended up doing something very stupid, and my thoughts travelled to a really dark place. It was a moment of madness, but my wife helped me pull out of the nosedive. I just need to get better at speaking up instead of bottling everything up.

There has been some light through the clouds however. Apollo has begun to recover somewhat, he is eating solid foods again and is a little more energetic. Despite what he is going through, he isn't giving up, and we are hoping that he will be with us for a lot longer than we originally thought.

I am also feeling better about things. I will never be perfect and will always have my moments of doubt, but I just need to handle those moments better. Me and my wife have also begun planning our next holiday - for a week in June, we are planning to fly back over to England to see my family. It has been too long since either of us saw them last, and seeing them again would mean the world to me, so needless to say, neither of us can't wait.

This month was also my birthday - I can't say I was able to enjoy it as much as I would have liked, because I was working for most of it, and I can't say that I was thrilled about the idea of turning 32. However my wife and her family threw a small party for me, and I really appreciated it. 

As always, I will leave you with some artwork, and I'll keep it winter themed, what with all the snow we've had this month. Hoping that February will be a better month for us all.

January 2017

One month of 2017 down, 11 to go, and it's been off to a very mixed start.

I'll get the bad stuff out of the way first - I'm sure that most people who are reading this will be aware of what's been happening in the news, especially in the last week of this month. I'm not going to dwell on it, but I will say that as a legal immigrant myself, it really hits home, and what is happening is really disturbing.
There was something else happened this month that was, well, words can't describe it. Again, I'm not going to go into details about it, but my brother found himself in a very dark place, and almost made an unthinkable choice - thankfully, he didn't make that choice, and I'm just beyond relieved that he's safe and sound now. This is something that no-one should have to go through, because as much as life can test us sometimes, taking that unthinkable choice is never the answer.
There was some light in this month though - there was some great news for my lovely wife Nicole's family on the jobs front, her dad is now back in full-time employment, and our close family friend has also landed a new chemist job, and Nicole's mam will also be starting there too. They've had a rough time over the last few months, so it's great that things are now picking up for them. Now if only I could get a job, then we'd be all sorted.
I celebrated surviving another year on January 7, my mind's boggled that I've been on this mortal coil for 31 years now. It snowed heavy that day, but me and Nicole still made the most of it with a nice low-key stay-in day. The in-laws also took us to see an ice show the following day, which was a lot of fun. Thanks to everyone for all the birthday wishes. :)

I find getting older to be a strange sensation - I feel older, yet I also feel like I'm not. I'm sure it's different for everyone, but that's how it feels for me. I guess it's what you do with the time you have that matters.
On the artwork front, me and my wife had a discussion about that - I really want to be able to actually publish some of my work, to the point where I'm considering a couple of changes:
1) Going back to some of my older short comics and re-doing them, then compiling them in a book;
2) No longer posting feature-length comics to DeviantArt, only publishing them.
Now don't get me wrong, I have no intention of ever leaving DeviantArt, I still want to post artwork there, and I still want you all to see my comics and longer story comics, but someday I really do want to try and make a living out of what I enjoy doing.
I'll leave you with this piece to mark Chinese New Year. With all that's happened this month, I really can only wonder what February will bring, though I can say there will be a very important milestone coming up.

Peace out.  

January 2016

It's safe to say that I never thought I'd be celebrating my 30th birthday living in a different country - but that's exactly what happened this month.
January '16 has been a time of major adjustment - I would say I'm pretty much used to being Stateside now, mine and Nicole's flat feels like home now. I would say the only part of living in the US that I'm still getting to grips with is the getting around, most of my travel has been Nicole driving me places, I've barely dared to venture out on my own. The cold weather hasn't really helped either, especially the winter storm Jonas that hit in the middle of this month - me and Nicole had a very memorable trip to Rhode Island to escape the worst of it (we ended up spending an extra night there because of car trouble).
So I'm sure some of you are wondering, "how does it feel to be 30?" I can say that it feels pretty much the same as my 20s so far. Some say that turning 30 is when the rot sets in, but others say that life begins at 30 - I would say that it's different for everyone.
It was a little strange not getting to celebrate my birthday with taking on my brother in a bowling match, but I was still able to wish him well via Skype - I also ended up getting a couple of half-unexpeected birthday presents from Nicole and her family, for the first time in years I have a bike of my own once again, and also I got a top-of-the-range Canon camera, so expect to see a lot of photography.
Me and Nicole also celebrated the occasion with a trip to Rhode Island and to Foxwoods Casino, where we had that game of slightly-sloshed birthday bowling - it was a blast, and I can't thank Nicole and her family enough for everything.
Keeping with the birthday theme, on the art front I hosted an art jam on DeviantArt - I was born in the 80s, so it was only fitting to host a jam themed around everything from that crazy decade, "Back To The 80s". I have very vague memories of living in the 80s as I was only a baby at the time, but I do remember some of the music, and 1980s music is something I enjoy listening to as well.
Unrelated to the jam, I've also been experimenting a little with my artwork - I recently purchased some Copic markers, and while they're expensive, they're really high quality, the ink doesn't bleed through the paper, and it also enables me to make pictures at much higher resolution. I'm hoping making my drawings this way will also reduce the amount of time I spend working on a drawing, while still keeping it high quality.
That was my January, and quite a way to start the new year it was - and by the time of the next blog, I'll be a married man, all being well.

I'll leave you with some artwork as always, one of my own entries to the 80s art jam, my homage to the classic animation "The Snowman".
In fact, I'll leave some music this time, too - one of my favourite songs from the 80s, and also the song that was the UK no. 1 when I was born : "West End Girls" by the Pet Shop Boys.

January 2015

New Year, old routines, old gripes, but new memories to cherish too - that's what sums up this month for me - I'll get the bad stuff out of the way first.

Obviously, I'm back in the UK now, my winter US trip came to an end on the 11th, and it was a very bittersweet moment indeed, perhaps more bitter than sweet. With all the jetlag it felt really weird coming back home and barely recognising the place, and it took me about a week to completely recover.
Being back home meant getting back into old routines, namely that of my work placement, and that was fine, it was pretty much like I'd never been away, really. What I didn't enjoy coming back to was the jobsearch and pressure side of it, from that certain place I won't name. It's just making me realise how much I need to sever my ties with them, because they just seem to get worse as every year passes. I wasn't put on this earth to be a pawn in their stupid game.
This month was also my birthday of course (29 already?), and while I enjoyed the day very much (more on that in a bit), I just found myself feeling let down by a few people on DeviantArt - you see, every year I make birthday giftarts for friends on DA, I put a lot of time and thought into them, and I don't ask for any giftart in return, just a somple greeting when my birthday comes round - however I end up feeling frustrated year in year out because there are always some of these "friends" who fail to give me a greeting in return. Now some of them may have a genuine reason that they forgot, but unless told otherwise, I have to assume that they just want free art from me and that they couldn't give a crap about my own birthday. It sounds harsh and selfish, but that's how I feel about it. So if I draw you birthday giftart and you don't give me a greeting in return, you won't be getting any more giftart from me, simple as that.
And finally with the bad stuff, I feel like this last week of January I've had a slight touch of the January blues, and possibly post-holiday blues by extension. The cold weather and the snow that we've had (no snow-free winter this time, unlike last winter) haven't helped either, but it'll pass.

Now onto the good stuff, and back to my US trip - again, I just can't put into words how much of a brilliant time I had. I got to ring in the New Year with my lovely Nicole and her family, as well as celebrate my birthday with a stay at a very nice hotel and bowling at a very fancy bowling alley - and on both occasion a lot of drinks were involved too. However, there was one little thing that happened right before New Year that I deliberately forgot to mention - you see, I wanted to get back home and tell my family in person before going viral with it.
On 30 December, I took Nicole to our favourite spot in Branford Point - a hill overlooking the beach and coastline. It was freezing cold, but there was a beautiful sunset in the background, and it just felt like the right moment to finally do something that I'd been plucking up the courage to do for quite a long time (I can hear you saying "Get on with it Mark!" at the back there...)...

I got down on one knee and asked Nicole to be my fiancée...and I think you can guess what her answer was. :)

So there it is - we're engaged. And right now, it's still very much sinking in for me, because this is without a doubt a huge step to make. This also means that 2015, if all works out, will be my last year living in the UK - me and Nicole are going to apply for a fiancée visa, and are hoping to have me move over to the US in October, with a view to signing our marriage licence in early 2016 (it's just signing a bit of paper, we plan to have a proper ceremony at a later date). This has all been in the works for months, and I've been chomping at the bit to let you all know - well, now you know.
It's not going to be easy - saying goodbye to my family, when that day comes, will be one of the hardest things that I will ever have to do in my life, and I'll miss all the familiar places that I know - but unless I do this, I'll spend the rest of my life regretting what could've been. I feel like I'm stuck in a rut in my current situation, and something, for the longest time, has needed to change, and maybe starting a new life in the States with the girl I love is that change that needs to be made.

So, there you have it - what a month indeed. After all that, I think I should probably leave you with some futuristic Flyer artwork. All the best for the rest of this New Year.

January 2014

...and just like that, 2013 was gone. Aye, it really felt like it just went in a flash. Now it's that time of year where the high of the festive season is slowly replaced by the onset of normality and routine, and the realisation that the only thing that's changed is the two numbers at the end of the year.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy my New Year's Eve/Day though - me and my brother Chris had a small party at our place, complete with food, Scrabble, Rock Band, music, table football, and plenty of drinks. I did get a little tipsy but it didn't last. Chris, on the other hand...
We weren't alone, either - Chris' girlfriend and one of his friends popped round, but the best part was that I got to ring in the New Year not just with them, but with my lovely Nicole too. The past couple of years, I had to settle for a half-drunk Skype chat with her, but this time that wasn't necessary, and I'm glad we were able to be together properly for the occasion.

You can watch the New Year's Eve video here.

Nicole's visit - continued

My first week of 2014 was, to say the least, bittersweet - sweet because myself and Nicole spent more quality time together, but bitter because it wouldn't be long before she had to fly back to the States. We definitely made the most of the time we had left though - just like on Nicole's previous trip in 2012, we joined Chris and friends for a blast on the laser quasar at South Shields (Chris schooled us all that time), it was a lot of fun as always. We also paid one last visit to my family before we headed off for our last hurrah of the trip - a "romantic getaway" to the DoubleTree hotel at Newcastle Airport.
This was my second stay at the hotel, the first of course was in June, just before my most recent US trip (more about that later), and the hotel was just as good as it was then, our room was nice and comfy, with a shower, telly and fridge, and we both got the hotel's trademark free cookie each.
We headed to the Metrocentre in Gateshead to go and see a film, and it was on me, too - Frozen, the latest Disney film. Aye, it was cheesy to the max, with slushy romance and big musical numbers, and maybe the story could've had a little more clout to it especially as far as the character development goes - but the animation was very well done, and for the whole time we were watching the film, I just forgot about real life for a while. Any film that can do that, for me, is a good one. And it won't surprise you to hear that my favourite character from Frozen was Olaf, the snowman, though maybe I'm biased because I have my own snowman character. Much more important though is that it was the first time I'd ever had a date at the flicks, that I got to watch it with Nicky, and she enjoyed it too. That made it all the more special.
After Frozen, we checked out some of the shops in the Metro and saw all of the impressive Christmas decorations they had on display, before we hot-footed it back to the hotel to have a romantic meal for two at the Italian restaurant there - and funny enough, in a case of déja vu, we ended up having the same meal that I had there back in June, cheese pizza and garlic bread pizza, plus chips and orange juice. Because it was split between us, I managed to eat more or less all of my share this time, although it was still very filling of course. It was all just sweet too, me and Nicole having a meal together with the ambience of the restaurant. I didn't want the night to end, and neither did Nicole.
We finished up with some late night telly and some quality time, and it was quite late by the time we got to sleep - however, this was the only minus point of our stay at the hotel, much like the first time, I didn't get a lot of sleep, and neither did Nicole, because of a mix of this whirring noise that kept going on and off through the night, sleeping in a bed different than at home, and the anticipation of the next day.
We refreshed ourselves the next morning with a shower each and a nice breakfast at the restaurant, with cereal, coffee and croissants. It didn't seem like it was long until we had to check out and head over to the airport, knowing that the moment we were both dreading was fast approaching.
You don't need me to tell you that saying goodbye to someone you love always, always sucks - it was somewhat worse this time, because I ended up having to say goodbye to Nicole twice, because the first time she tried to go through to security, she got told that she needed a boarding pass printed off, so she had to go back to check-in and get one, which meant that we got to go through the goodbyes once more. Of course, I had to stick around and watch her plane fly off.
I was upset of course, but I don't think it really hit me until I got back home to my empty flat and realised that she wasn't there anymore. I was happy too, though - because the fortnight Nicole was here just made the festive season that more special than how it usually is, and I'm glad that we got to spend it together...and I know it won't be long before we see each other again.

You can watch all the videos from Nicole's visit here.

Now for the rest of this month - weather-wise, I was surprised that there was little to no snowfall in December, and this month's been the same. We normally have some snowfall round about now, so it seems very unusual. I've seen in the news and heard from Nicole about all the snowfall in the US though, it's almost as if the snow that was meant for the UK was dumped there instead, on top of the snowfall they normally get. I'm sure there'll be some snowfall here in February or March though - I haven't forgotten the "great Spring whiteout" of last year.
Same old story on the never-ending search for a job - I'm still looking and applying for them, and still jumping through the hoops that a certain place makes me do. I just want the day to come where I'm not under their thumb anymore.
Oh, that's right - Mark #27 has left the building. Me and Chris turned 28 on the 7th, and like we have done since our 20th birthday in 2006, we had our birthday bowling session at the Metrocentre, joined by Chris' girlfriend - without bragging too much, I destroyed them both. To everyone who wished us well, be it with a gift or a greeting, many thanks to you all. :)
There's also one small little thing I have to mention, which I hinted at before - I know it's not gonna be long till I see Nicole again, because I'm flying back over to Connecticut again in April, for 2 weeks, and it's thanks to Nicole and her parents, they chipped in half of the airfare as part of Nicole's birthday present (her birthday is on 23 April). Definitely looking forward to that, and to seeing her again.

I'll leave you with some slightly old but new music and some artwork - and on that note, I'll bid you all ciao for now and a Happy Chinese New Year...try not to horse around too much. ;)

January 2013

Well, here we are in 2013 - new year indeed, but so far it's been more or less business as usual, apart from the recent deluge of snow here in the UK - last winter was much milder compared to this one, that's for sure.
I want to apologise for last month's blog, I was in a low place when I wrote it, thinking too much about stuff, which is a bad habit of mine. I won't lie though, I'm still worried about stuff, but I've tried my best to not dwell on it - those hurdles I'll have to deal with once I get to them.
January, of course, is my birthday month - turned 27 on the 7th, and so far it feels about the same. Then again, I say that pretty much every birthday. Me and my brother (who also turned 27 the same day) celebrated with our annual "Birthday Bowling" match at the Metrocentre - neither of us won, our friend Sean came from nowhere and took the match right at the death.
Bought a bit of music as well - the albums "www.pitchshifter.com" by Pitchshifter, "Dysfunction" by Staind, "Finelines" by My Vitriol and the much-awaited new album by Biffy Clyro, "Opposites" - however if I had to pick a favourite out of those, it would be "Finelines".
Aside from my birthday, another big thing happened for me this month - I booked my flights for this summer's trip to the US. They cost me £565, but it could have ended up more expensive than that. It'll be worth it though - I'll be flying out on June 23, and coming back on August 5. The next 5 months need to just fly by in a flash.

As always, here's a bit of artwork to end proceedings: 

"Cereal Killers: Nectar Nuggets" - my entry for TopperHay's art jam on deviantART.