Flowering tangles

After ignoring this account for a good half-year (shocker!  Given my track record) I now may actually be putting Stuff up here.  Like, possibly.  Significantly possibly.

Art stuff, that is.   I'm developing a graphic novel series.  I'd be less pretentious and just call it a comic book, but that makes people think I'm doing like FUNNY stuff.  Dude.  If I could, I would.  Nah, I'm doing the same snotty pseudo-intellectual quasi-literary examination of the human condition crap that I've always done.  (Even when I was writing Naruto fanfiction.  No, really.  You can actually inject a good chunk of metaphysics in there, given all the chakra jazz and stuff about demons.) 

Anyway, this Thingie is being developed.  So I'll probably be posting Bits of Such here.  I'll put it all behind cuts and stuff, so people's flists (I'm sure there's a DW term for this, but it's an effing flist regardless) won't be jammed up.  

Buuut, I just thought I'd give notice for people who might want to de-friend the journal.  

(Though before I get into that... wow, I should upload some icons already.)

ANYWAY.

I am working as a graphic designer now.  I actually kind of like this job.  It's a very good day job, it has flexible hours, two out of three of my bosses are hilariously crazy (in a good way), it's $$$$, it lets me use my visual arts and design skills.  I know that a job that didn't let me do this would SRSLY KILL ME.  I'm not even joking.  I couldn't stand to not do art all day.  I don't care how bad the recession gets, I am not taking a non-art job.  

Fortunately artsy things are everywhere and you just have to be kind of a lateral thinker to get your mitts on 'em.

But yeah, so here was the problem.

I am not entirely better!  I'm like... oh, maybe about 85% better.  My blood sugar behaves itself so no more fainting in public (thankfully!)  Whatever was wrong with my thyroid has chilled out so I'm no longer bleeding calcium and iron and having a hemoglobin count of about minus two million.  The emotional symptoms have eased off, and I appear to actually have some serotonin now, which is NICE because I don't know about you guys?  BUT ANXIETY SUCKS.  I do not enjoy having anxious freakouts over nothing!  I also don't enjoy having like, zero impulse control so I start 20384398 projects at once and finish none of them (plus feel anxious about it- NOT good times.)  I still am kind of a moody bitch, but the endorphin lows that create THAT are easing off.  Dopamine levels seem okay!  (Caffeine, unironically? Helps. LOTS.)

But I'm not 100% better.

So I've held off on finishing my design certification.  I don't have the energy yet to formally get my (formal) portfolio together.  And yeah, design (and in fact most art jobs) are weird in that you can actually start working before you get (all) your certification.  All they care about is your portfolio.

And I had this idea that I had to wait to be BETTER to finish.  But eff that.  I'll pick up my one last course, finish it, and get my certification.  

I have a job, I can wait on my portfolio for better!job later. 

I am also going to pick up a fine arts/illustration certification!  I do have a BA, but EH.  I was so busy fighting my illness that I feel like I didn't take advantage of the main benefit of art school- time to really nurture and develop your style and abilities.  So I'll do that now.  I have the $$$.  I have the time.  And I'll finish up with not ONE piece of paper, but TWO pieces of paper.

Plus, this will nudge me towards getting cracking on both my illustration and design portfolios.

PLUS, I get a discount as an ECIAD allumni (local art school, I'll squee about it in another entry).  I enjoy saving money.  I really enjoy killing like, four birds with one stone.