September 2015

I have an announcement to make before I carry on with this blog - I've decided that from now on, my video blogs on YouTube will be private, and only viewable to my friends, and while I will not be making this text blog private, I will be more careful as to what I post in it. My reason for this is because I don't think displaying my personal life for the world to see is appropriate, because at the end of the day I don't know just who's watching my videos or viewing this blog. This is really how it should've been from the start, but of course I didn't know any better. Thanks for understanding.

I had a feeling that September would be an eventful month, and it certainly was - on the downbeat side of things, the lack of job situation remains the same, and I've also found myself becoming less motivated to do artwork. This is something I mentioned a few blogs back, and I think the main reason for it is everything going on in my life at this moment in time, but also because of the also previously mentioned gripes with DeviantArt - honestly, going there and just seeing pages of fanart, fanart, fetish art, fanart is enough to wonder what the point is anymore. There is no way I will ever leave DA though, I've been there too long and made too many friends through it for that to happen. At the end of the day, we all have our opinions and a choice to either acknowledge all the fanart etc, or to simply ignore it and carry on doing what you do. I know which option I'm choosing.

On the plus side of things, the change of season from Summer to Autumn isn't the only thing that's been happening this month. On the 8th, I took a 2 day trip down to London, my second visit there, met up with my good friend Mike (aka Dracorum-Order) and saw the city's sights and sounds, revisiting places we'd seen before and exploring new ones too. The trip was both for fun and business however, as I was also down there to have my medical checkup as part of the application for my US visa. It went very well indeed, and I very much enjoyed visiting London once again.
But wait, there's more - the London doctors wanted some extra information from me, which I had to get from my local doctors, and it ended up taking a week and a half longer than I'd have liked, but the US Embassy now has my documentation, and they will be contacting me within the next month and a half to schedule a visa interview, so it's all happening - exciting times.

My videos from the London trip are right here - and I'll leave you with this bit of cosmic artwork - my alien characters feeling right at home in Tomorrowland. 

Summer to Autumn

September - that time of year when the sunshine slowly starts to give way to falling leaves and that ominous wintry chill. Back in the day it would be a month I never looked forward to, because of the start of a new school term - nowadays I still approach it with trepidation, because it's the ending of my favourite time of year, and also the changing weather can really mess with the old mood. And relating to moods, this month has been up and down a bit (what month isn't like that?) - I'll get the downs out of the way first.

There's been days where I've made that mistake of thinking too much and it's gotten me all worried - but a big part of that is being aware of the rut I'm stuck in as far as trying to find a job goes, and I'm just tired of having a certain place on my back all the time to find a job. I wish I didn't have to deal with their you-know-what (something beginning with B), but unfortunately it's the only way I can get any income without having a job, so I have no choice. Anyone who's in the same situation will know what I mean. I'm just glad I have my drawing to keep me from going nuts.
Also, at the end of August into the start of this month, my grandma had to be taken to hospital, because she was complaining of sharp pains in her left arm - those pains were the onset of a major heart attack. Thankfully, she was in the right place at the right time, so the doctors were able to treat her before it had a chance to happen, which was a huge relief. I just don't even want to imagine what could've happened if she hadn't been.

This brings me onto the ups now - since the hospital visit, grandma is doing much better, she's getting out walking again and her heart rate is improving, and I know she won't let something like that keep her down. I'm just relieved she's on the mend now.
I had an unexpected gift this month - it was from my brother's girlfriend Jodie, who arrived back home after her 3 month stint over in the US working at a summer camp. She bought my brother a brand new smartphone, but he'd already gone and bought himself one, so she said I could have it. Needless to say, I'm quite happy with it, and I appreciate the thought too. I had been planning to upgrade from my old phone to a smartphone eventually, so this was a nice surprise.
I'm saving the best till last though - on the 28th, me and Nicole reached a milestone in our relationship...we celebrated our 1st anniversary. Neither of us have ever been a relationship for that long before, so that made the anniversary even more special. Too bad we couldn't actually physically be together on the day, but we did get to vid-chat over Skype. 
As I mentioned recently, we did exchange anniversary gifts in person, two months early, back in July - here's what I received:

 My 1st anniversary present from Nicole - a wristwatch

I loved it when she gave it to me, and I still love it now, vice versa with Nicole and the ring that I bought her - and it's the thought behind the gift that counts. I don't know where this past year has gone, but I know that I made the right decision to start dating Nicole, and at the risk of descending into slushiness, I'm grateful that we met and that we love each other, because we both mean a great deal to each other.

Last but not least, a bit of artwork - and this month also happened to mark 10 years since I created my two bug characters Bob & Flyer, more about that here.

"Bob & Flyer - Then and Now"

And that's that for September - wrap up warm, everyone.