kirabug’s idea files

Die-hard knitters prepare for sock battle. There can be only one!

Someone asked me the other day what I do when I say I didn’t do anything a given weekend or evening. Well, there’s…

• writing or drawing the comic
• working on the Online Comics Day 2007 site
• working on this site
• reading comics
• reading books about drawing comics
• knitting
• playing Final Fantasy 12
• cursing at the laptop because it froze up
• taking walks with my husband
• date night
• playing Final Fantasy 3
• reading my email
• hanging out on the forum
• playing with the pudge dog
• playing Solitare Til Dawn
• watching Nighthawk play Oblivion
• baseball!
• and I’m sure a bunch of other stuff I’ve forgotten.

So my apologies that I haven’t been around much… some of this stuff will be dropping off the list as I either finish it or lose interest again. The comic and the blog aren’t going away, just sometimes I get quiet.

So I’ve been pretty busy. Working hard at work, and resting hard at home. We spent the first half of the weekend with family, celebrating birthdays and fixing computers. We spent the second half of the weekend with appliances - dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, etc. Right now is computer time: I’m trying to fix some new problems in the forum, and Nighthawk is trying to learn all the patterns to beat Pac Man.

Yeah, I don’t even ask anymore.

Anyway, it looks like one of the bb plugins I’d added prevented everyones’ signatures from displaying on the bulletin boards. I’m still trying to hunt out why but suspect I’ll be doing a lot of code rewriting in the near future. Ah well, that’s how you learn, right?

It’s been, well, quiet lately. A lot of people seem to be off doing there own thing. The forums have been quiet, friends have been out of touch, even the comic community seems to be quieter than usual. Or maybe it’s just me - I’ve been so busy I haven’t been around to cause my usual level of trouble.

Oh, I did have some fun participating in some Fark Photoshop contests. They’re here and here and as long as you heed the “NSFW” warnings on some pics, they’re safe for work

I’m staying about a week ahead on comics and have more stuff to add shortly. I think. I’m still knitting and working on my Mother’s Day gift too.

That’s all that’s new here. How’re you all?

So much to tell you, so tired, this’ll be quick.

On the plus side:

There are comics in the queue, and more on the way, and lots of ideas firing off in the brain cabinet.

Also, everyone is healthy, the diabetes thing is progressing without major incidents, we’re all good.

Plus, I’ve been coding again (more on that in next post) which makes me happy. Tired, but happy. The project itself looked like it was going to be a lot rockier than it turned out to be, and success is iminient.

On the minus side:

I’m on Day 2 of a headache that may be sinus, may be migraine, but is definitely HURT. It’s much better than it was thanks to the care provided by my totally awesome husband, but still lots of hurt.

The coding and the headache have set me way behind on a knitting project for which I was way behind anyway.

I haven’t heard from my sister on what’s going on this weekend yet. (HINT HINT!!)

And, oddest of all, we found out today that Nighthawk’s primary specialist passed away suddenly on the 23rd. He was a good doctor, and a good man, and it’s going to be very strange to go to the office and see someone else after over five years of care.

So, as always, we’re riding the rollercoaster of human existance. But you knew that.

Woof.

Now that tax season is done (for everyone except six lunatic states that are ending it today), there’s the gradual slowdown at work, and a chance to breathe. Less overtime means more comic. Got one up on time today - and a fairly lame-duck one up for Saturday. (You’ll either love it or hate it. Probably hate it. I think it’s hilarious.) Scripts are starting to flow inside my pathetic brain as well. It’d be nice to build a buffer again.

Still have some knitting to finish — and fast — but I’m trying to limit my knitting to during the Phillies games, since I won’t be drawing comics during that timeframe anyway.

Of course, catching up on my sleep and eating healthy and all that play a role in the grand scheme of things too, so I’m starting to do all that again.

News: all JessieDog’s blood work came out normal, so for now we’re going with a diagnosis of “old dog”. I can live with that. Little runt better not wake me at 7 am tomorrow because she’s thirsty and can’t open the bedroom door though.

Speaking of sleep, I’m off to do just that.

We’re lacking comics, sorely.

Fortunately, there are so few people reading this thing anyway, that I haven’t heard any complaints. You’re welcome to complain if you’d like. It won’t get you far, but it’s nice to hear another voice in the wilderness.

Nighthawk’s been diagnosed with diabetes, which was a bit more than either of us were ready to handle. It’s led to a bit more silence on the ‘net than I usually exercise. Some days a person just doesn’t feel like reading half the internet and commenting on it. I prefer to do my worrying in private and wait until I have something concrete to report before worrying everyone else.

It’s also led to doctor’s appointments, researching, asking around, gathering information, and most of all being there for each other — all of which takes precious time.

In addition, it’s tax season, which means almost nothing to you if you don’t work in the financial industry. But where I work, tax season is the functional equivalent of the Christmas shopping season for retail, with tax weekend playing the role of Black Friday. The metaphor is especially fitting this year because Easter and Passover are layered on top of April 15th (17th this year) and that means work, work, and more work. So interspersed among the medical appointments and research and general freakiness have been tickets and calls and overtime, and more overtime, and oh, some overtime.

Case in point: our department was open today, from 8 to 7, despite the fact that it’s a company holiday. I’ll be a member of the skeleton staff working tomorrow as well. (Had I known about the health circus, I wouldn’t have volunteered months ago, but alas, my crystal ball is still waiting to be RMA‘d back to the manufacturer.)

Speaking of hardware returns, did I mention that the file server has been nothing but one big technical glitch for close to a month? Fortunately, I don’t use it to produce the comic or the blog. Unfortunately, it is where I run all my backups, and where I pay all the bills, so life is interesting, as usual.

But at least the dog’s healthy, right? Well, no. She was shipped to the vet for day camp today while I worked because she’s sleeping a lot. A whole lot. Like when we came home on Wednesday at noon she didn’t bother coming downstairs to greet us until 7 pm. And any time I have to ask my husband to go find out if the dog has died twice in one day, it’s time to worry. The x-rays of her lungs and heart came back clean so now we’re waiting on the blood test results to determine if she’s sick or just really old and really lazy.

Oh, and I still have that knitting project to finish.

There are rays of sunshine throughout all of this, mind. The hardware repairs have prompted some upgrades. The diabetes explains a lot, and means Nighthawk will feel better than ever once it’s treated. Seven hours of overtime tomorrow mean I get to work in relative peace and quiet. Tax season is almost over. I get to dye eggs tomorrow. The Phillies look like they’re going to win 3 in a row after sucking like a giant Electrolux when the season began. And when it’s all said and done, I should have a chance to just sit back and relax.

It’s April, and we’re having one hell of a thunderstorm outside. Odd.

Even odder is the deja vu. I’m sitting on the sofa knitting a blanket as a gift for some friends. (The blanket, by the way, is responsible for the lack of comic tomorrow. I’m trying to finish the blanket before they finish the baby.)

I don’t have a visual memory stored of my grandmother knitting, but we lived with her until I was 11, so I’m sure I saw her do so at some point. She’s the reason I wanted to learn to knit. Somehow I feel closer to her when I’m working with my hands. And she was an avid storm watcher, sitting on the porch watching the lightening and listening to the thunder.

So I’m sitting on the sofa watching the storm through our sliding doors, knitting, and thinking of her. I feel like I’ve been here before - or maybe it’s just that I feel like I’ve come home.