2022, Over

So 2022 is over, although it really just felt like a continuation of 2021, which itself felt like an extension of 2020 so… here we are again.

The neverending pandemic

The pandemic is "over" but not over. China has adopted the capitalist-friendly "open everything, abandon all mitigations, and let illness & death reign supreme" approach that most of the rest of the world already has been trying to force down our throats. Plus, the subvariant of Omicron they have in China is the most infectious and deadly yet. I guess in a couple months it'll be here too?

I'm still wearing my N95 absolutely everywhere I go, plus I have my elastomeric mask from PrescientX ready to go if (probably when) things get even worse (hello XBB.1.5 aka "Kraken"), and especially for any flights I may need to take in the near future (primarily thinking of my folks, whose health has not been great and they live way back east near Ottawa). Our two HEPA units are running 24/7, I've gotten all my shots and boosters and was happy that my most recent one was the Novavax vaccine instead of the less effective mRNA vaccines. I'm still going to try to get our granddaughter's school to let us install Corsi-Rosenthall Boxes. Here's one she and I built together:

Work

Work has been very good to me the past three years, I've been extremely fortunate and grateful that I've been able to work from home the entire time. It started with storyboards on Addams Family II (uh, don't bother watching, it's... bad), followed by about two years of storyboards on Middlemost Post (with an amaaazing team at Nickelodeon), then five months of design and boards on Face's Music Party, and finally just under three months on A Project I Cannot Name Because Of The NDA I Signed (it has something to do with lasagna & Mondays). Recently I've been enjoying a relaxing month of downtime after that, and now I'm job hunting again. Always a shitty thing to do right after the holidays, but not unfamiliar. It'll be fine.

And look at this sweet gift the showrunners from MMP got for the whole crew!

Frank Bottom

I continue to fiddle with my Frank Bottom project, thought I admit I haven't been trying very hard. I'm letting myself be lazy and relaxed, but I do want to keep it going. My plan is to have one big story told in three parts, told entirely through 4-panel strips. Each strip would be self-contained, but will also contribute to an overall story. When it's all done I'd like to publish them in a book (or three?), plus I hope to include short animated clips that either add to the story, or just exist for fun.

PORK-PIE t-shirts

I've fallen off the wagon relative to this. I am not sure what to do with my t-shirts moving forward. I have a few sketchbooks filled with possible ideas, a slight change in direction. I hope to post new designs in 2023. Don't quote me.

That's it. Was this post worth it? Meh. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Best of luck to us all in 2023.