There are so many trite catch phrases that get casually tossed around the verbal playing field and, usually, at the most inappropriate of times. I've heard it said that there has to be some type of Murphy's Law that states when one area of your life is going well, another inevitably begins to unravel like so much fragile thread. This is one phrase that I’m bound to agree with – experience has taught me to always keep your eyes open, but, even so, sometimes you still get blindsided.

Things had been going so well for me in both my personal and professional life that when my mother went to the doctor one evening for a few tests, I didn’t think too much of it. The previous doctor she had seen had already mentioned that my mother was most likely suffering from an ulcer in her throat from her acid reflux. Why worry, I asked myself as I sat outside at her house watching her dogs since she would be gone for the entire day. She was already on medication for acid reflux and, honestly, if that’s what the doctor said it was…

A little after one o’clock I got the phone call from my father that I had been anticipating – he was going to call when they were leaving the doctor’s office so that I would know when they were coming home. Instead of this news, I was instead greeted with something far worse – cancer. It wasn’t an ulcer like the previous physician had suspected. It was tumor so large that my mother could barely swallow solid foods.

Have you ever wondered how you would react to some dire situation? Would you be the hero? Would you be the weeping maiden, falling to your knees and sobbing your heart out in some Gone with the Wind dramatic rip-off? I always thought I would wind up being the person to curse and rant, glower at the heavens and demand an answer. Why? I have no idea. Perhaps because I have a temper the size of the Grand Canyon, but it gets unearthed so rarely that when I finally get angry it’s a doozy of a scene. I didn’t do any of these things as I hung up the phone. Instead, I sat down on the white lawn chair outside in the back yard with my mother’s two dogs at my feet and looked at the grass and trees. The sun was so bright out and everything was a brilliant green. So much so that I expected the grass tips to sparkle like diamonds. How could everything be so very green and dazzling when only a moment ago it looked like a normal day to me?

The next few weeks were a jumble of doctor visits and rearranging work schedules. Out of all this chaos, my mother was the most (and still is the most) serene. I remember coming over to visit one afternoon and sitting on the back porch steps with her. It couldn’t have been any later than seven in the morning. The early dew was still coating the wooden planks and thus soaking through the seat of our jeans. We sipped coffee and watched the dogs go about their sleepy meanderings in the yard.



My mother said to me that she had always wanted her house to feel like her grandmother’s – my great grandmother whom we called Maw Maw. Maw Maw’s house, my mother explained, was a place of peace and memories. It felt like home – both ours and God’s. Mom said she had always wanted people to be able to walk into her house and feel God just like you could when visiting Maw Maw. I assured her that our family home was indeed like that. There is a settled peace between those walls that I have not found anywhere else. Perhaps that is the case for most children in their mother’s house – if they have good relations, of course. I’m not for certain.

My mother said to me, perhaps because I looked worried or concerned, that she was fine. She had her faith in God and that whatever He planned for her, she would follow and do.

This was at the end of July and her chemo and radiation therapy were just around the corner. She finished the treatment at the end of last month – it’s not something I will go into detail on. She has lost so much weight from the intensity of it. I am not a large woman and never have been. I barely exceed five feet and three inches. I weigh in at a hundred and ten when I step up on the scale. But, when I hug my mother now, I feel like a giant and it’s a horrible feeling to be bigger than someone that was once the center of your life – that could, in your child’s mind, move mountains with her fingertips.

It's July already? Wow. I've been a busy bug as of late. I started running again. I'm trying to get up to 5k by the end of the month. I want to run a marathon (26k) by the end of this year. My goal is September.

"This is a...fuck!"

It's difficult. My legs are tired. I can sprint a mile and jog two at the moment. By the end of next week I hope to be able to jog four miles and sprint for two. So far, everyone thinks I'm insane.

"How dare you judge me? Look at you. You're just some penny-stealing... criminal... man."

"Well that may be, but at least I never slept with Lumbergh."

I'm still trudging along at work. The printer jams even if there isn't any paper in it. My monitor blew up and, for some half-asleep insane reason, I wasn't paying attention and sat a magnet on top of my CPU the other day while I was reorganizing the desk. I'm pretty sure that's a sign that I need to drink some coffee before sitting down at that desk in the morning.

If we get caught, we're not going to white-collar resort prison. No, no, no. We're going to federal POUND ME IN THE ASS prison."

Ugh. What a month already. At least I got a 4.0 last semester. Hurrah and etc, etc, etc with the cheering and the flag waving. ^_~

Art? Doodles? I have absolutely nothing. I'll scan in an image I did of my dog from April when I get the chance. I've been up to my eyeballs with exams, work deadlines, personal drama and the rest. I haven't even (gasp) gone to see Super-man yet. I know, I know. It's a tragedy. And I call myself a fan of comics.

"Looks like you've been missing a lot of work lately."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say I've been *missing* it, Bob."

Whew! What a hectic time it has been lately. I haven't even had a chance to draw. I'll try and scan some of my older stuff in this weekend and post it if you guys want.

Well, summer semester is drawing to a close. I could only afford one class (I pay tuition out of pocket), but I have straight A's in it. Woot! Excuse me while I dance for a moment. Okay, enough of that. I'm biting the bullet and getting a student loan. Dun, dun, dun.

I drove to Canada in May. That was an interesting trip - fourteen hours of driving one way in the new Nissan that I bought. New Nissan! Yay! More debt. Boo. But, it was necessary. The Ion was dying - could it be the amount of times I ran over curbs in the past? *innocent whistling* No, no, of course not.

Drama, drama and more drama at work. I didn't get the promotion because I didn't have a bachelor's degree. It was listed as a preference, not a requirement. But, that's the reason they gave me when I was turned down. *pout* Of course, the company policy nationwide is that the position does NOT require a bachelor's degree so the office personnel are (understandably) quite upset at the moment. I've determined (after coming close to breaking my teeth from gritting them together so hard!) that I'll just ignore it all. I have school to focus on. I should graduate one of these days after I start taking more classes thanks to the wonderful world of Student Loans and debt for the remainder of my natural and working life.



Anything funny happen lately? If it has, I can't think of it. My brain is still scrambling trying to study for my final exam on Friday.

But, here's a funny joke: TA DA!!!!!

Two women friends were out for a Saturday stroll with their dogs.
One had a doberman pinscher and the other had a chihuahua. As
they sauntered down the street, the one with the doberman said to
her friend, "Let's go over to that bar and get something to drink."
The one with the chihuahua said, "We can't go in there. We've got
dogs with us."
The one with the doberman said, "Just follow my lead."
They walked over to the bar and the one with the doberman put on a
pair of dark glasses and started to walk in.
The bouncer at the door said, "Sorry, Lady, no pets allowed."
The woman with the doberman said, "You don't understand. This is
my seeing-eye dog."
The bouncer said, "A doberman pinscher?"
The woman said, "Yes, they're using them now. They're very good."
The bouncer said, "OK, come on in."
The lady with the chihuahua figured convincing him a chihuahua was
a seeing-eye dog may be too far fetched, but thought 'what the
heck,' so she put on a pair of dark glasses and started to walk in.
Once again, the bouncer said, "Sorry, lady, no pets allowed." The
one with the chihuahua said, "You don't understand. This is my
seeing-eye dog." The bouncer said, "A chihuahua?"

The woman with the chihuahua said, "A chihuahua? You mean they gave
me a f-----g chihuahua???!!"

I got bored and doodled the following picture at the coffee shop yesterday. Unfortunately, the scanner I'm using isn't good enough to pick up ANY of my shading so it's only showing the ink job. Which, of course, means it looks a lot worse than it actually is.

As I was drawing, I was approached by a lot of interesting people. One of which said he was a Spanish artisan and he told me that if I had better self esteem it would improve my art. Me? Low self esteem?

I was then summarily chastised by this gentleman for not sculpting or painting. He was quite upset that I did not intend to go to school for art. I chugged my coffee and looked around for a rescuer(s), but, alas, there were none to be found.

I managed to upload a picture I drew this past December on a commission job. I'll post it below for review. Let me know guys. I'll post more when I have the chance for my art.

DISCLAIMER: This piece is copywritten. Do not attempt to use it as your own - not that you guys would, I just have to post that as an FYI out there.



And then there is this one. I did this in about half an hour at work the other day for a White Wolf game that's being ran locally.