Every winter, I either get kept home for a day or two by snow or by illness, and this year it was a head cold that stealthed in looking like allergies and then took me down while I was confused. It was a weird one because my symptoms never got that bad. On Sunday I felt like I was losing my mind all day – my anxiety was off the charts and made me feel like I was really awkward company all day – and I had what I thought were just allergies. A stuffed up nose and itchy eyes. But I got a little chilled and achey on Monday, and then my sinuses got plugged up Monday night, and by Tuesday morning I felt ridiculously cold and tired, and aside from a stuffed up nose and a little cough, that cold and tired is primarily what did me in. I called in sick and slept off and on for almost sixteen hours total until the next morning, and every time I was awake in between I felt so monumentally stupid. I tried to write and couldn’t string three words together let alone five hundred of them. I gave up after twenty minutes and just went back to playing Animal Crossing (and even that was difficult; it’s a game that kids can play but I was struggling to concentrate).
At least today I feel better. I didn’t quite this morning, but now I’m okay. Still slightly dumb. A little tired still. I did write 300 words this morning, and I’ll take that. I’m falling behind on my goals for the year, but it’s only January and bad weeks happen.
I also haven’t been drawing much this week, but I can coast on two accomplishments. I added my art of Zazie to the gallery here, and I also put one of Henry that I was pretty proud of. This one:
Renee has me doing art challenges this year, as well, and while I haven’t posted this one online anywhere except a private Discord server, it was fairly good start, I think. The prompt was to paint a landscape – because I hate landscapes – and to add a touch of my own. So I snapped a photo of a tree in Banfield Park:
And I did a speedpaint of it on my iPad and slapped Bobbin Threadbare in there, instantly dating myself irrevocably:
The original idea was for me to do a new prompt every week, but we mutually decided that that was a little much, and considering I got knocked on my ass this week and then next week I have two fully booked evenings during my week that are going to kibosh all creativity, I’m thankful for our wisdom in hindsight. We’ll see if I can do at least one more landscape before Valentine’s Day. I’d love to try something more urban. I have photos of spots I walk past at the other end of my walk to work, near Alpha Street (the name of which and the fact that it’s industrial as hell does not go unappreciated by me).
Hopefully tomorrow and Friday I can get a little bit more back into my creative groove. The lack of doodles and proper writing is wearing on me a bit, but this weekend I shall be busy! We’re off to the big city across the water to see Markiplier’s Iron Lung.
Surreal that he made a theatre-worthy movie by sheer crazy willpower. I’ve been watching him since he was a nobody in the back room of his mother’s house, and I met him in person once at PAX (he’s a bonafide delight), which gives me extremely little cred in the grand scheme of things but still leaves me feeling weirdly proud. You go, little dude. You make your weird little movie that broke the world record for the most fake blood used in a film. Hell yeah. You do that thing.
Marianna at work said that someday maybe it’ll be me with my name up in lights, but I always say that I’d have to finish something first.
And so tomorrow: more words. Even a few moves the story forward.