In case you can't tell, this site is on a holiday hiatus. But its not forever or anything. Just till I'm not being so BLAH. By the way, my sister's cat Miko is missing. We've handed out the flyers and turned the house upside down... the only thing left to do now is wait and pray. Do you think, if cats worshiped, they'd all follow Isis? You don't have to follow Isis, but maybe you could ask your intervening deity to... well... intervene.

UPDATE: Well, it worked! Whatever you prayed to is directly responsible for the Return of MIKO!!! YAY!!! Of course, she was gone for 3 days, which means she's almost certainly pregnant. If she is... well... kittens anyone? (Yes, yes, I know she should have been fixed like a year ago.)
  ¶ 23:17

Merry Christmas, all!

On this day, I wait with family until everyone arrives and we are allowed to open gifts. And during this extremely long interval (Mom woke US up at 8 for some reason), these Christmas Thoughts have occurred to me:

1) If a child is truly "NAUGHTY", then a lump of coal is probably not enough to deter them from mischief. In fact, if said child received a lump of coal, his or her first thoughts would probably include the words "sweet!" and "matches...?" Coal and sticks would encourage the kid to start a fire. Even when children are bad, Santa is giving them what they really want. How could we have not seen this until now??

2) There is a debate on how presents are to be opened. Should all rush in a scrum and rend the paper immediately, showing off gifts only after the air has cleared? Or should presents be opened one at a time, in turn? I once thought that taking turns was good; it prolongs the gift-giving part of the morning. But now I think that some people have other reasons to rush the tree than greediness. Taking turns calls attention to all lame presents given and received... not to mention that Christmas underwear and socks. Am I the only one who gets Christmas panties from Victoria Secret? I think not! But that doesn't mean I have to be indiscreet about opening them.

3) I wonder if anyone has ever wished for a mole for Christmas? Not the creature, but the dot on your face. Like Natalie Portman. I wonder if anyone has received plastic surgery to have a mole, or has tattooed one on?
Or maybe, has anyone ever wished for Natalie Portman's mole? Eww.

4) Lastly, this is the letter my sister and I left for Santa:

Dear Santa,
You are the coolest. You are also a strange cultural remnant of ancient pagan deity. We leave this cookie offering, Oh Santa, in the spirit of our long-dead ancestors. May it appease your mighty wrath, and give to you great strength. We thank you for your bountiful blessings.
Merry Christmas Great Santaman,
Heather and Lara

Tell me what you got for Christmas!
  ¶ 06:34

AHHH OMG BLOGGER ATE MY POST THIS NEVER HAPPENS TO ME IM SO ANGRY!!!
Well, here we go again....

Comic 58 up. But, before you read, lets get some things straight.
1) This is Chapter 3. IT IS A FLASHBACK. All this takes place on Elo roughly 10 years ago. (Yes, that makes Esuna older than you thought she was... but time flows more slowly in gifted streams, so her apparent age is still close to Lian's)
2) Rayne has brown hair. Sulie has red hair. They are the same character.
3) The Sulie you've read sofar never had any of these memories. Esuna does.
4) Like I said, its a flashback. The characters aren't going to be the same as they are 10 years from now. Esuna hasn't trekked across the universe. Rayne hasn't died. Elo isn't at war.
5) The backgrounds in this one are very minimalistic. I will draw in more detail after the break, but for now, let the dark squares set the mood. Elo is a very gray place.

That said:I'm trying to think of a way to make this story make more sense. If I were a talented storyteller, you guys wouldn't be so confused. But I leave a lot out, and to be honest, after rereading it, I've been too vague. Its what happens when you draw, color, and try to cram all this thought and emotion into a tiny canvas. Economy becomes ambiguity.
So, my idea was to create a little "Guide to Elo" space on the site so I could fill in some of the holes and history I'm skipping over. Better explain characters, world, plot, whatever. I have always worked better when I just sit and write. So maybe its time to add to the comic a little. What do you think?I had more to this post before Blogger ate it, and I think it was actually funny for once. But I'm too tired to retype it, got work in the morning. So instead I'm just going to wish you a very happy Christmas/Solstice/Hanukkah thing. But not a Happy Kwanzaa, because that just doesn't freaking count.

  ¶ 21:49

So... I'm thinking that I'm going to have to reduce my comic schedule somehow while I'm working 2 jobs. I go up to the campus all day, from like 9-6 or whatever, then come home and do photo work from 7-11. I just don't have time to do comic. If I do, I should be doing something else instead. Laundry? No, not that. Even though I have a pile sitting in the corner full of very wearable things, I don't feel motivated to wash them yet. I'm not out of clean stuff.

At work yesterday, they told me that I was very efficient. I can put together 6 computers in the time it takes a boy to do 4. Woot. Also, the bosses were wiring up a switchboard thing by using radios (and taking 3.5 hours to do it), so I suggested doing things a different way and the next board only took 45 minutes. Woot again.
I don't particularly like crawling around in the dirt, and some of my coworkers are a liiiiiiittle odd. But I like being efficient. Making money is great. But when you're making money at something you're doing well, its almost like you're touching the Good. Its all about Quality, man. With a capital Q. Doing a job with the highest of Quality is part of that pathway to "ultimate reality" or whatever. Or at least the pathway to living a good life. Or at the VERY least the pathway to getting more money.

Don't tell me girls can't do computers. And don't tell me girls can't lift monitors and boxes and desks. I'm all over it. "Are you sure you can get that, Heather?" "YES!!"

Brian and Rachel graduate on Saturday. Brian sent me his game he made for his final, and I like it very much. It took me a long time to beat it because I am retarded. But its something I will KEEP playing, and I think that really says something. It was his homework. His school project. But I've played it more than I have Final Fantasy lately. Go Brian. Would you like me to host it here? I could handle it if you want to save yourself 1000000 CDs. Just re-send me the exe and stuff. I kinda deleted it after I installed the game.

Well, bedtime. Started meditating before bed again. First time in over 1.5 years. I don't have a proper zafu so I just roll a bunch of towels into a ball and sit on them. Afterward I stretch my legs and back. It's a great way to relax before bed.

If you read, you should leave a comment. Even if you have nothing to say. Just so I can know you read. I am narcissistic that way. (If that's the best word...)
  ¶ 22:00

Here is a comic. In WIDESCREEN. The words are all part of Elo's Holy Book. Bible, whatever. I think it should be obvious what is going on, even without any kind of dialog. If not, then provide dialog for each frame in the comments. Boy, you guys will have fun with that one.

Hey, while I was looking for verses for that big white space, I came across this Bible verse. "For in death there is no remembrance of thee; in Sheol who can give thee praise?" Psa 6:5. Hmm.

As for current events: the BPCC job is boring but pays well. The portrait job doesn't pay enough but is fun. It's kinda funny; at my BPCC job the leaders are all like "Slow down. We want you to have enough hours to get good money for Christmas." That's very cool of them. Only thing is, they're SUPER disorganized with their people. They have this awesome system in place for moving and keeping track of computer parts. But they can't give me a solid schedule for when I'll be working. I went up there today and no one was there. No one called anyone. Go figure. Later on, I hear we'll be pulling 12 hour days just before school starts. No video game time me ;_;

We seriously need to decorate our tree. It's in there half naked. I guess I just don't have the spirit yet. But I never do get the spirit until someone puts on Billboard Christmas hits.



  ¶ 23:14

Comic will be up late because I just finished finals and I just started work. These are stressful things. I'm sure you are all in the same situation. Rachel and Brian are getting real jobs and a real apartment, for goodness sake!
I am very excited that so many of you will be returning home for the holidays. I know I'll see you at Sarah's birthday, right? Right. (Oh, by the way Sarah, think up a character name for yourself.) Hopefully I'll also see some of you at Christmas Eve Mass, which I plan to sing at again this year (not that my voice is really that great/necessary, I just like the excuse to see friends).
I guess I'll edit this post when there is a comic up, add more...
What do you want for Christmas? COMMENT, I COMMAND THEE!
  ¶ 00:01

Comic 56 is up. The end of chapter 2. Something happens in this comic. Other comics of mine, not so much happens. But this one, this one is different. I'm excited to start chapter 3, which is a huge flashback. But first... I'll have to do a small set of interlude strips I think. Probably. Maybe. We'll see. Look at my previous post too. I posted in the middle of the week, so you probably didn't notice it until now.
  ¶ 23:17

Just a quick blog to let you all know I've moved the comic over from my site to Keenspace. That means you finally have navigation buttons, and an archive menu, and calendar links. All automated, so I don't have to mess with any code! Wee! Only downside is the fact that I have an ugly banner ad across the top of those pages. Hopefully, one day, I'll even get rid of that. But for now, enjoy!I feel the need to repost these links from a previous comment, because they pleased me so much: Sheldon K and Killing the Buddha. Both very short pages, about a screen long. Worth your time. If you've never heard of this idea before, comment on what you think of the concept. Or, heaven forbid, how such concepts apply to Western thought?

(I like Rabbi story from that first one a lot. A lot lot.)
  ¶ 23:55

El comic #55.
So, I'm going to apologize for the art style in this one. It was an experiment. I am using a borrowed Wacom tablet. Everything in today's issue was drawn directly into the machine. No paper copies! I'm already spoiled rotten with this tablet after using that brick of a mouse for months on end. I've decided that the best art is probably going to come from a mixture of two mediums. But yay for playing with my new toy!

Anyway, this isn't my Wacom, as I've said. Where did I get it? Who did I have to kill? The answer is: I got it from work! That's right, I've got TWO jobs now. The first is the BPCC computer move, which starts tomorrow and runs intensely over the next month (paying very well). The second one is my new dream job. I'm working for Heritage Portraits doing retouch work on the photos! I get to take the pimples off of senior portraits and give everyone a soft glowy look! Mr. Chitty has a beautiful Cintiq to draw on (you draw directly on the screen) and I have this Graphire tablet on loan until I get my own. You can imagine how much I like this job. I spend so much time messin with Photoshop, I might as well get paid for it.
And, you can probably deduce that I'll be very busy over break. VERY. But I do hope that I have the chance to visit with everyone, especially those of you I haven't seen in a while! (Please be patient and give me tons of warning on get-togethers; I'll do everything in my power to hang out with you.)

I want to take time to tell you about my favorite new game. Its called "Stare at the Sky". To play, you do exactly what it says: stare at the sky. However, the object isn't simply to "stare well", but instead to see how many other people come up and start staring too. At Thanksgiving, my sister and cousins stood out in this courtyard and stared intensely. And all the passers would glance upward as they strolled by. Some stopped and looked up intently, confused looks on their faces. I've heard of this thing drawing small crowds in some places. Its more effective if you have several people doing it, and is more funny if you get to watch someone else doing it (laughing from the sidewalk several feet away). Its an interesting psychological phenomenon. Try it sometime. (But don't try it often, or anywhere close to home. Then you'll get labeled as a crazy.)

Hey, know what? You need to get yourself a blog. And update it regularly. Like twice a week, no matter what. Don't think no one will read it. I will. But only if you update often enough where it matters. You'd be amazed at the things you can find to talk about.

Leave comments. And if you can't think of anything to say, then tell me about your favorite websites. The ones we don't know about or visit.
  ¶ 22:15