Trying to Blog More Often....

Nothing too crazy going on at the moment, although I did apply for a job today (Monday) that I think I've got a decent shot at. I actually applied and interviewed for the same job a few months ago, and was in the running for it, but apparently it's open again so I figured I should go for it. It's part-time at the library, and seems perfect for me, so I've got my fingers crossed.

Jenny was feeling sick today, and her throat was really sore, so she called out for both of her jobs to rest up. I stayed up really late last night getting my application ready, and then went to turn it in first thing this morning, so I was pretty exhausted too, so we both spent a good chunk of the day asleep. Exciting, I know. ;)

Yesterday was our monthly artist meeting, and this time it was a BBQ hosted by one of the members (Erik Thompson, who doesn't have a website yet, or I'd link to it because he's an awesome artist). The BBQ was a ton of fun with a lot of great food, and we ended up staying there pretty late (hence me not getting started on my application till even later).

Our group was also out at the Spokane Main Street Fair last weekend. We've got a couple of photos of us up over at our blog: Spokane Comicsmiths' Guild Blog!

The next big event for the Guild is the annual 24 Hour Comic Book Challenge, which is on October 3rd. Last year's challenge was actually what got us all together in the first place and sparked the formation of our group. Hopefully we'll end up with even more members, since we're expecting our biggest turn-out yet this year.

Otherwise, things have been going all right. The weather has been pleasant, not too hot and occasionally rainy. Us both being sick off and on is annoying, of course, but we've still been keeping busy with art & crafts stuff.

Plus the Fall TV season is starting, so we're getting all of our favorite shows back, plus a couple of potentially good new ones. Maybe I'll use an entry to just run through all the shows we're watching now, which is probably too many. But at least we don't have cable or we'd most likely be glued to the couch...

Blogging Catch Up

I haven't blogged (or even Twittered) in a while, so just wanted to start remedying that:

Jenny and I have both been sick off and on the past few days - sinus stuff and head aches, but thankfully no real flu. I also did something to my back last week which I'm still slowly working out. Probably wouldn't have seemed as bad if I hadn't got sick at the same time.

It seems Summer has arrived. It's been blue skies and sunny, and in the 70s the past few days. Still pleasant and not horribly hot yet. Just a matter of time, though...

I might have some temp work lined up at Borders next month. They're apparently doing a big re-organization of the store and will need some people to do overnight work for a while, moving stuff around, which would be perfect. I'd love to get back on with them, if even part-time, but they haven't had any regular hours to spare. I'm friends with the store manager, though, so if something opens up I'm sure I'll hear about it (which is how the temp job came up).

In the meantime, I've been trying to throw myself into art and also starting to write again. I want to get my superhero comic back on track soon, so I can start it up as a web-comic. I'm also working on a second, completely separate, project which I'm hoping to do something similar with.

We're still way behind on TV shows from this season, with the last few episodes of a few of our favorite shows still taped and waiting to be watched. We have been watching a lot more movies than normal, as Jenny's dad has been taking us out to see some of the big summer blockbusters he also wants to see. Besides Wolverine and Star Trek, we saw Angels & Demons last wednesday and are looking forward to the new Terminator movie this week. I wasn't really impressed by The Da Vinci Code, and mainly just wanted to see Angels & Demons for all the art and architecture that's shown, but I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. It was incredibly rediculous, but entertaining.

Also, both of our birthdays are coming up relatively soon, although we don't really have any plans or ideas for what to do. Probably nothing too exciting, due to lack of money, but I'm sure there will be cake involved. :)

Weekend Wrap-Up

Today was our monthly local artist meet-up; not a huge turn out, but quite a few people had other understandably pressing matters that kept them away. Still, we all produced some art, discussed some new projects we had started working on, and squared away our plans for Free Comic Book Day.

For any who are going to be in Spokane on May 2nd - a few of us will be at Merlyn's from 11-3 (the store opens at 10 am) doing free sketches for any kids 10 and under. Even if you're not a kid, please swing by and pick up some free comics and check out everything else the shop has to offer.

Also, the 3rd annual Spokane Comic-Con is rapidly approaching. This year it will be at the Spokane Falls Community College on May 30th from 10-5. Jenny was actually able to get the time requested off from work, and we'll both be there, but only as fans, hanging out and having geeky fun. I'm planning on getting a table next year, as I'll (hopefully) have something to showcase. Guess we'll just see what I can get done between now and then...

Otherwise, the weekend was good, and mostly relaxing. We were supposed to hang out with our friend Jamie on Friday, but it was his mom's birthday. So maybe we'll see him later this week. We ended up going over to CdA to take the car in for an oil change, and going out to lunch with Jenny's parents, so everything worked out OK anyway.

I've been sketching some, but mostly just doing research and some writing for a new project, and I really need to get some actual artwork done this week. I got knocked out of the AFL competition over on deviantArt, but I haven't actually finished my last entry. I need to do that, and I also wanted to do some fan-art for a few characters that I didn't get to face. The un-ending hunt for a day-job continues as well.

Also, I wanted to wish "Happy Birthday!" to our good friends Alex (on the 19th) and Shannon (on the 20th)!

Updating

It definately seemed like Spring today - it was in the 60s, the sun was shining, and I opened up some windows to let the fresh air in. Felt great. We've been getting back to taking regular walks in the evening (easing back into some much needed exercise), and the nice weather is a great incentive.

Job hunting continues. Another spot opened up at the library which I applied for, as well as some other jobs I found online. Guess we'll see how that goes.

Other than lacking in money, things are going alright, I guess. Besides job hunting, mostly just trying to work on art inbetween keeping the apartment clean. Can't really complain, considering the state of the economy and how hard it's hit some people.

Oh, and our new neighbors seem OK so far. They're an older couple with a teenage daughter, and they seem fairly normal. Hopefully normal = quiet.

Update

Well, my interview on Monday went as well as possible, I guess. But I still didn't get the job... though they did call me to tell me, instead of sending out the normal library form letter, so I suppose that's a sign they still liked me. I had a lot of experience from very closely related jobs, but apparently it went to another guy who had 2 years of experience in exactly this one. Oh well....

Patty's been doing OK so far, the past couple of days, with no more seizures or anything. But I think they're still waiting to get the results back from the EEG on Wednesday, so we'll see if that says something new.

It's been fairly warm here, although I see that it's actually warmer in Fairbanks right now than in Spokane. Crazy!

And I'll leave you with something from my sketchbook - I've got an idea for a kind of funny animal / superhero comic, and this is a Golden Age vigilante type of character named.... Awesome Possum!

One Week In

Well, we're a few days into the New Year, and things seem to be going OK so far. Nothing too exciting, but no catastrophes either.

The snow has slowed down here - it's warmed up some, and along with the melting snow we've even got some rain the past couple of days. No major flooding here like over on the western side of the state, and I expect we'll most likely get some more snow before too long.

Still don't have a big list of resolutions for the year, but I've never really been one to do that sort of thing. I mainly want to start following through on more things that I start, or just have ideas/plans for but never get done. More art, obviously - just more work in general, and a couple of web-comics I'd like to get off the ground.

The other thing is just to be more social, both in real life and on-line. I've become a bit too much of a hermit, and even too much of my time on-line is wasted reading useless stuff and not actually interacting with people. So I guess some time-management improvements should also be part of that goal as well, though I think I might be getting slightly better there....

And I do have an interview on Monday for a part-time job at the library which looks promising. Hopefully that'll go well - so wish me luck!

December

So, it's officially December, let's see where we're at.

I'm still jobless, which isn't helped by the now "official" economic status of recession and the ever-dwindling job market. With that lack of job comes a lack of money. We're just getting by, with not much left over after bills and what-not. Normally I love Christmas time, but I love it more when I can actually afford to buy presents for people. Oh, well.

And speaking of lack of money, both our Flickr account and my deviantArt account subscriptions are up in just shy of a week. I don't know if we should really spare the cash to re-up them right now, when the money could go to more "important" things, but I don't really want them to lapse either. Hmmm.....

November has come and gone, and I'm now quite convinced that apparently writing a novel in a month is not for me. I've ended up with some great ideas each year, but that's about it. This year saw considerable progress in the amount of words written over previous attempts, and I atleast got a decent outline done. But I'll need to do an immense amount of research before I can get any real work done. But I guess that's what I get for only being interested in crazy semi-historical concepts.

Hopefully I'll take some time in the coming year to dive into that research, for atleast one of the ideas, if not all of them. There's also Script Frenzy - NaNoWriMo's sister event, which may be more my cup of tea. I might be able to use it as an excuse to do some serious work on my various comic ideas. We'll see, I guess.

So, this week's agenda should include:

• Job hunting.


• Some overdue art projects/commissions and possibly work on some new projects which are only in the planning or pre-planning stages.


• A super-secret project involving much heavy lifting over a couple of days.


• The apartment really needs to be cleaned. I mean, really needs to be cleaned....


• A hair cut appointment (exciting, I know - but definately necessary).

I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of at the moment, with the NyQuil starting to kick in and do it's thing,

I hope everybody had a Happy Thanksgiving, and the rest of your coming holidays are shaping up to be appropriately festive. Also, a happy beginning of summer to those of you in the Southern hemisphere... :D

Some Movies & Other Stuff

The job hunt continues, but it's getting frustrating. Especially when I don't even get called for an interview for jobs I know I'm qualified (or over qualified) for. Yeah, frustrating.... but I'm still looking. I don't want to go back to retail, though. Specifically now, since the holiday shopping season is starting, and I don't want to have deal with that if I can help it.

Tomorrow is Jenny's day off, so we'll be heading over to CdA to go see the new Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, with her Dad. Should be fun. With money tight as it is, we don't see many films in the theatre anymore. I think the last one was The Dark Knight.

I do want to see the new Star Trek movie when it comes out. It's kind of a re-boot, but also a sequel (since Nimoy is playing an older Spock from the future and they're supposedly keeping the timeline of the movies intact), so it'll be interesting to see how much they'll end up changing. Still, I'm hesitantly optimistic. The trailer is available by clicking here.

I also just watched Beowulf & Grendel today, after borrowing it from Jenny's dad. I really liked it (other than Sarah Polley's surprisingly wooden acting), and it was sooooo much better than that horrible CGI Beowulf movie that came out last year.

Otherwise, we're trying to get in the holiday cheer, even if we don't have much in the way of money. But we did already put our tree up and decorate, so that's something. Still need to get out our Christmas cards. Just as long as we get them out a little earlier than the last couple of years....

Vote!

Whoever you are, whoever you vote for, just get out there and do your part if you haven't already. And remember, it's not just the Presidential race - there's plenty of other important jobs up for grabs and initiatives on your local ballots to be aware of.

We cast our votes today. I also turned in my application for the library job. It closes on Friday, so hopefully I'll hear from them soon after.

Head was still hurting too much to do anything creative, so I cleaned the apartment instead - it certainly needed it. I think I'm feeling a tiny bit better, although Jenny might be getting the same thing now. Yay. But I figure a clean apartment, clean dishes and clean laundry is always a good step towards getting healthy.

Tomorrow may involve writing and drawing, if I'm up for it. Or maybe just sleeping. Got to stay up late for election coverage and watch the results come in....

Post-Halloween

Halloween was, not surprisingly, very low-key. Tigger took Christopher and one of his friends out trick-or-treating, and when they got back we (her, Lincoln, Jenny & I) watched Dracula, since Jenny hadn't seen it yet. Ate some pizza; got some early Christmas presents (thanks, guys!); were home around mid-night.

I've got plenty on my plate for November that I want to get done - some projects to get back on schedule and finish, some projects I need to get started. My NaNoWriMo novel is in there, of course - and Jenny is going to be continuing work on her NaNo novel from last year.

Also need to find a job (or, y'know, rob a bank - whichever is easier). The library branch Jenny used to work for is hiring for a page again, so I'm going to try for that. It'd be part-time, and I actually know my way around that branch somewhat, from hanging out there. Plus I'd get to work with her ex-coworkers, who were all pretty cool, and maybe even work with her once in a while if she had to fill in over there. :)

Road Construction and Job Updates

We just got a notice from the apartment office that starting tomorrow, the 18th, and running till next Tuesday, the 23rd, that no one can use the front entrance to the apt complex since they'll be repaving. Luckily, there's a super secret back entrance to the complex that's usually fenced and chained shut, and leads out onto an overgrown road that leads to... Mansfield. Oh wait, that road is being torn up right now, and is completely blocked off by Wilbur (traffic circle), so we'll all have to go the other direction which leads to... Pines! Which is also being torn up right now and 1/2 of it is blocked off as well! Aaagh!

I guess the real question is, how early will I have to leave the apt to get to either of my jobs on time? I HAVE NO IDEA. But I guess I'll be finding out tomorrow! >:(

Oh, and law firm job told me not to come in today, since they didn't have anything for me to do. I can come in Thursday though. Assuming I can GET there of course.

The apt office is also replacing all the windows and sliding doors of all the apts for better insulation. Our apt is coming up soonish. Hard to say when. The note said they were starting on the B buildings this week, of which there are 8 and we live in #4. I don't know how long it takes them per window, and if they're really doing every window. Anyways, they left notes on everyone's doors to move all our stuff away from the windows so the people can work, and of course Peter and I have something hard to move by every window. Luckily, Peter's been busy and has rearanged the office and studio areas again, so now the computer desk is away from the window, and just about everything has found a new home (or will find itself in the garage till we get a bigger place). My plant stand is on carpet slider things which are very helpful, so they can stay in the window till the guys actually get here. The futon is likewise moveable, but since we lined the walls with bookshelves, there isn't really anywhere to put it. Hmmm.

And the poor bed. We have a queen sized bed, under the window, with a huge stack of mostly full comic boxes between the foot of the bed and the closet. So there is really NO place to put the bed at the moment. Peter has a plan though to rearange the bedroom that should work, so we'll be able to move the bed down to the closet, freeing up the window. What a pain!

The office also said they'd be replacing old appliances too, and boy do I need a new stove/oven!!! But who knows if all appliances will be replaced, or only the worst... Sigh. I'm happy that they are sprucing up the place and making some things more modern (green), but it's still an apt complex, and we'd still be happier living in a house, with no one on the other side of the walls.

Oh, speaking of the other people on the other side of the wall... Some or all of the obnoxious neighbors next to us have moved out! No more skanky teenagers and their "thug" boyfriends! No more people smoking outside the door and leaving sunflower seed shells on the stairs attracting birds and who knows what! No more people stomping up and down the stairs and having conversations/yelling matches in the stairwell or just in front of the building!!! Whooo! Maybe. I don't know which ones left, and if it was all of them, who knows who/what could move in next...

I have a job interview on Monday for a circulation position that's split between 2 different libraries, both of which are closer then the one I currently work at. It's the same library system, County vs City, so if I got the job, it would be a transfer and promotion, not quiting one and starting new at another. I like being a page, and I was feeling bad about leaving the library I currently work at (again, assuming I GET the job), but with the law firm starting to run out of things for me to do, and finding out that the circ job comes with benefits, I don't feel bad at all now. And it's not like I'll never see the people I work with now ever again. Most of them also rotate between the different libraries. Because of working at the public library up in Fairbanks, even though it was a page position, there were more duties attached to that position that are considered circ duties down here, plus it was a larger library with lots of people using it. And, having worked in this library system for about 7 months now, I already know the policies, so if I were hired, I'd really only need to be trained on the computer system! I'm excited! I'm sure it will go well, and I'll leave extra early to be sure to make it through the construction so I can get to the interview on time. Peter or I will post if I got the job or not.

That's all the updates I can think of for now. Hope anyone reading this is having a great day!

Family Reunions and Job Prospects

My Uncle Jim and Aunt Susie came through town on their big vacation trip, and we got to see them this last Thursday. They had us over to their RV for dinner (which was delicious, by the way) and we spent a long while talking and getting caught up, which was a lot of fun. It's been years since I've seen them, and this was Jenny's first time meeting them. We even remembered to get a picture of all four of us before we left.

Another job opened up at the library which Jenny is going to try for - it'll mean an increase in both hours and pay, and it would be split between two closer libraries, so much less of a commute. So, that sounds promising....

I'm still job hunting (of course), and am getting afraid that I'm going to have to lower my standards, just so I can find something for the time being and get some more money coming in. I haven't had any luck so far with the few jobs I've found to apply for, but I'm not giving up hope quite yet.

In the meantime, I've been trying to work on some art projects, with the goal of getting my portfolio updated and looking for commission work. I've also got some ideas for projects of my own - a couple of different web-comic possibilities and a series of illustrations I'm starting to do research for. Got to keep working!

Update

Well, haven't blogged in a while, so what's been going on....

Still unemployed, but that's not too surprising, considering how things are going right now with so many people being out of work. I'm looking, and applying sporadically, but really I've found very few prospects that even interest me. And the last thing I want to do right now is just take "a job", and end up working somewhere I don't want to for longer than I intend....

I had planned on filing for unemployment, since it'd been a couple of months and I hadn't found anything yet. Unfortunately I've discovered that Washington's rules are far more prohibitive than Alaska's (which I'm used to). After much web-browsing, downloading, printing and reading, I've learned that there is no chance of me being approved for unemployment benefits, since I voluntarily quit and it wasn't because I was being discriminated against, harassed, or anything else like that.

Great. So, it's back to looking for a job, I guess....

I have had more time to work on art, and am finally getting back into the swing of things. The Upper Deck card company just put out an open call for artists to draw sketch cards to be included in the upcoming Marvel masterpiece set, so I worked up some Marvel sketch card samples and emailed those today. I don't know if I'll make the cut, but I've got my fingers crossed. :)

The other idea that I've been kicking around is the prospect of going back to school and actually getting my degree, either in fine art or graphic design. I've been doing a little research online regarding scholarships and other financial aid, since realistically that'd be the only way I'd be able to afford it at this point. I'd probably just go to the local community college, which seems to have a pretty good art program, and would be fairly convenient (I could take the bus, save gas money). No idea if/when this is going to occur, but Jenny thinks it'd be a really good thing for me, so we'll see what happens....

Summer's pretty much here in full force, and I really wasn't prepared for it. Other than a huge thunderstorm last week, it's been predominantly hot and sunny and we've had the A/C on the past few days. It's going to be a long summer.

Otherwise, pretty normal. I was going to run down the list of all the movies we've seen lately (since renting DVDs is a lot cheaper than going out, we've been doing it more than normal), but I think I'll leave that for next time. I'm sure I'm forgetting something else I was going to mention, but oh well.... next time as well, I guess. :)

Quick-ish Update

I guess things are pretty much going allright, all things considered.

I'm still unemployed. I am looking for a job, but I really want to find something good, not just "a job". And I'm definitely enjoying my time off....

Jenny's enjoying her library job, and is going to start a second, temporary, part time job next week at Eric's (her best friend Jenni's husband) law firm. It's a temp data entry job, which may last a month, maybe two, basically however long it takes to get the job done. And she can pretty much make her own schedule, which is always nice.

So, with her job(s) we've got some decent income for the time being. And I've got some time to look for a job without the "I Have To Find A Job Now!" shadow hanging over my head.

We of course waited till the last minute (again) to file our taxes. We decided to file online to speed up our refund, and in the hopes of it being "easier". Yeah, right... I think it was about 6 hours, from start to finish, of hair-pulling-out frustration, and then I had to resubmit it the next day when the IRS rejected it due to one of the numbers being off. Hopefully they won't ding us with any late fees or service charges.

Oh, and on top of that, all of the cartridges on our monster of a printer decided to give out at once, right when we were trying to print out the tax forms we needed. Then the printer kept saying that one of the new cartidges was empty! So, had to figure out how to override it and make it accept the cartridge - now it works, but it still thinks the blue ink is dead and all the lights keep flashing....

The Emerald City Comic-Con in Seattle is coming up next month and we're planning on going to that, and hopefully taking a few extra days over there to wander around and see people in addition to spending time at the Con. Should be fun.

Oh, and winter refuses to give up the ghost around here. It keeps warming up to throw us off, and then it'll snow (like it did this morning, while the sun was still shining). Looks gorgeous outside right now, but you can't rely on it staying that way....

Happily Unemployed....

Well, yesterday was my last day at work. I'm in the process of looking for something new, but it'll be nice to have a few days off before I start into whatever I end up getting. The new girl (my replacement) started on Monday, and was working out fine until yesterday, when she left for lunch and didn't come back. Once we realized she hadn't returned, we thought maybe she had just up and quit, and were trying to figure out what we might have done to make her walk out...

Then, an hour or two later, her boyfriend called and informed us she had been in a car accident and was in the hospital! Thankfully she was (relatively) OK. She called at the end of the day to let us know she had been released, but was really banged up and didn't know when she'd be able to return to work. Guess they'll have to start looking for a new-new person.

Jenny's loving her job - hopefully they'll promote her or give her a raise or something soon. :)

We've got new neighbors again. They were moving in this morning, although we haven't met anybody yet, just saw them out the window when they were unloading furniture. Well, so far we haven't heard any shouting or booming rap music through the walls, so that's a good sign, I suppose.

Other than job hunting, not a lot else going on - Just drawing a little, and trying to get back into miniature painting again. Jenny's been spending a lot of time playing a new computer game and reading (I guess being surrounded by books all day will do that). Still haven't filed our taxes, so I guess that and a new job are top priority right now....

A Couple of Things....

So, I put my notice in at work this last Monday. I'll probably be sticking around until the end of the month instead of just 2 weeks, to give them some extra time to find a replacement, and to make payroll easier on everyone involved. I don't have anything lined up yet, but it was definately way past time to move on, and I've got several applications out with more to follow this week. I'm hoping I can either find something part time that pays decent but will allow me some time to focus on working at art at home, or (more likely) a full time job that's more in my interests, preferably with benefits and more room for advancement. I'm mainly looking at office/administrative positions, but I'm also keeping an eye out for entry level graphic related jobs (copy shops, print houses, etc.).

In other news, our hot water heater decided to give up the ghost today. I'd noticed my shower yesterday wasn't nearly as hot as normal, but it hadn't gotten cold yet. Jenny took a shower this morning and kept having to turn up the temperature, and at one point it got really cold. Afterwards, we checked the heater and it was cold to the touch. Not only that, but there was a small amount of standing water on the floor of the closet it's in. We've got a call in to maintenance, and they're supposed to be here tomorrow, either to fix or replace it. Knowing how our management operates, I'm sure they'll try to fix it if possible, even if it probably should be replaced....

Nope

The library called a little earlier this morning, and I didn't get the job. Also, the museum has apparently been calling the "selected candidates" since this Monday, and would eventually get back to everyone who applied, which seems to put me in the everyone else category. And I haven't heard from the other places I applied yet either, so I'm bummed today. Bleh.

But this weekend I have a couple hour class with Dad, so that should cheer me up. The class is called "making holes in rocks", with the intent of using the "rock" for jewelry. Dad said that the same process could be used to drill holes in the silver things from our PMC classes. You can make a hole in the clay obviously, but when the clay burns out and the silver bonds together, sometimes the whole piece shrinks, and then a necklace won't fit through. So, instead of filing the crap out of it, we'll be proficeint with using the drillpress, so can widen the hole with that without damaging it. Not THAT exciting I know, but it's useful in some ways, and it's fun, so that's Saturday. No other plans that I know of yet.

Some Miscellaneous Going-Ons....

Jenny has an interview next week with the library! Fingers crossed! She's also got an application out to the museum that's she hoping she'll get called for. Oh, and she's also got a hair cut appointment next week (she wanted me to add that one). :)

Happy Birthday to a whole bunch of our friends this week! My on-line bud Ron's birthday was a couple of days ago, and our friend Tigger's birthday was today. She's getting to celebrate this one with her dad, who came down to visit for the week for her present. My old friend Andy is having his birthday tomorrow and our buddy Jason's is on the 13th. Cake for everybody!

We did finally get all of the Christmas decorations put away, although it involved buying some more plastic storage tubs and some rearranging. Of course, the house is still a relative disaster, since it hasn't been really cleaned since before Christmas. But we have been sick for a while, so I guess I'll stick to that excuse for now.

There's a new comic shop that just opened in Coeur d'Alene called Lightning Comics. We swung by on our way out of CDA on Saturday - they were already closed, but we did peek in the windows and look a round. The place looks really nice - clean, all new fixtures, it really reminded me of Revolution (the shop that my friend Chris and I owned and ran for a couple of years, for those who might not know). It even had a TV up on the wall, just like we did.

We should get back there this weekend to check it out. I wish them the best of luck, and we'll probably feel obliged to buy stuff there to support them. Although I have my doubts that a city that size is big enough to support it's own comic shop, especially with an awesome place like The Comic Shop over here in Spokane and a well stocked trade paperback and manga section at the CdA Borders. Guess we'll see....

Happy Holidays

We finally got our Christmas tree and decorations up this weekend. I actually wanted to get all that done last weekend but, oh well....

Also (finally) started our Christmas shopping. Jenny did some running around on her own and I went out with Tigger yesterday. We've kinda made it tradition now to go out shopping together, so I can look for Jenny's gifts and and she can shop for Lincoln. We didn't make much headway, mostly just getting ideas, but we'll head back out next Saturday to try again.

Next year I really want to do our shopping through the rest of the year, so we won't be going into December with no idea what we're doing. I'd like to have some sort of list to keep track of gift ideas for everyone, and I'm thinking about adding a "Wish List" to the blog (since we can never think of anything when people ask "what do you want?"). We also picked up one of those huge planner calendars at Office Depot, so we can go into next year with everyone's birthdays, anniversaries, etc. all on one list. I don't know if it will really help, but we'll give it a shot. Best laid plans, and all that. :)

I also did a little cleaning around the house today while Jenny was in CdA - laundry and dishes as well. Otherwise, not a whole lot going on around here... Jenny's back on the search for a new job, but I don't know if she'll have much luck, since we're right in the middle of the holidays, other than temporary/seasonal work. Hopefully that'll change once the first of the year rolls around.

Edit - Wish Lists (works in progress) are up in the sidebar!

Media-riffic

Meanwhile, In TV land:

Heroes continues to rock. We've been making a ritual of watching it with Shannan and Scott and this week they treated us to barbeque. otherwise we're still enjoying Prisonbreak, Bones, Supernatural, Ghost Whisperer, Numbers and all of the various comedies on NBC Thursday nights. Not a lot of new shows this season that we've warmed up to, but Reaper is hilarious and Beauty & the Geek and Moonlight are a couple of guilty pleasures we've been enjoying. Medium and Jericho are coming back eventually and I think there are a couple of new mid-season shows with potential that I'm forgetting.

We spent most of this weekend relaxing and catching up on the week's TV, as well getting the computer cleaned up a little. We finally got some more RAM for the ol' PC as well as a shiny new video card - Jenny's dad was nice enough to come over and install them for us. We were way overdue to back up everything on the hard drives, so I went ahead and did that as well as uninstalling/deleting a bunch of useless programs that were still on the machine and defragged both drives. Fun, fun, fun... but it needed to be done.

November's fast approaching, and with it National Novel Writing Month. We're going to attempt to participate again, hopefully with more success than last year. Actually Jenny got quite a lot done on her novel, but mine was a bust. This year we've both already got ideas, and this time I'll try not to change my mind at the last minute and come up with something completely different. :) Oh, and we're both going to write super-hero stories this year...

Jenny's had some promising interviews, and we're really hoping for one job at a local gallery that she's been going for. We've got a new guy at my job (3rd new employee in 3 months...), who I think is going to work out OK, or atleast better than the last two.

Edit: I (Jenny) had an interview with a local library yesterday, that went well. However, it's only 5 hours a day Tuesday through Saturday, so I'd need a 2nd job even if I got the position. But I know libraries, so that part would be fine. However, I just now got off the phone with the art gallery, and they want a 2nd interview (technically the 4th interview if I count the mini phone chats) today. So, of course I said yes, today is great! The interview is at their house. And when I talked to one of the owners of the gallery, she said she was trying to coordinate the interview with another woman that they "want to hire too." I don't think I'm competing with the other woman, I think she might be the hire for the position they actually put an ad in the paper for, and I'm the lucky framer who caught their attention and made my OWN position. So that's good. I got the feeling they might want us to meet each other, as well as have another interview. I REALLY REALLY hope they hire me. I want to work there. And I hope the hours and pay are good too. I'll keep you posted! -J