...or paws or what ever the hell you wanna call'em. Not important right now.

Who here would be at all interested in watching me draw stuff on livestream?

After years of offering quality commissions for reasonable prices and getting nowhere with it, I'm just gonna give up and draw free pictures for anyone who asks! And what's more? I'm also doing away with my outdated concept of decency and making myself available for pR0n requests! So ask away, I'll say "Yes" to any request you have. No matter how complex, how NSFW, or how stupid it is!

EDIT: Ha-HA! I have made April Fools of you all! Honestly, I didn't think anyone would fall for it. I mean, c'mon! Free art? Pr0n?? ME?!? You all know damn well I don't do requests*. And I sure as hell don't draw pR0n. And that's never EVER going to change. I promise.

Just so there's no hard feelings, here's a consolation prize for being such good sports and letting me have a laugh at your expense. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaysTVcounI












*On occasion, I'll give a free commission to someone if it's their birthday or a holiday or something like that. But that's only when I feel like it.

I hereby announce that I have officially begun work on a webcomic! Check out my DA journal for more info. http://thebiggestidiotever.devianta.....rnal/35434154/

Now for the bad news: It's not furry.
I think I just heard 90% of my watchers lose interest. Just kidding! I know none of you are interested.

I saw this floating around and thought I'd give it a go. I'm genuinely curious as to what your answers may be since I've revealed so little info on my OC's. Just pick your favorite OC out of my gallery and have at it!

What do you think my character would have a job/career in?
What is unique about my character that you enjoy?
What are his/her flaws?
What are some changes you would like to see?
What would you like to see my character doing in future pictures?
How old does my character look?


COMPLETELY CHANGING THE SUBJECT! I'm calling the Iron Artist thing off due to lack of interest. Which is just fine because I totally didn't need money and didn't want to draw your stupid, sucky characters to begin with.
*single tear*

But I would like to hear your ideas for my 2nd annual Halloween OC cosplay pic. Who do you want to see dressed up as what? Difficulty: No Zombies. It's been *sunglasses* done to death.
YEEEAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!

I am an uncle to an 8 year old who loves Halo more than you love your family. I have only myself to blame, I taught him everything I know, including how to sell and trade old games at the Game stores. That's where he got the idea to use some money from his older games to put towards a pre-order for Halo: Reach last month. He put about 10 bucks on it and I told him I would cover the rest on the release date since I forgot his birthday.

Don't give me that look, I'm still a better uncle than you.

Fast forward to today: I mosey on up to the counter and demand the boy's copy of Reach. I tell the clerk my name, show her my ID, and she gets the copy from the back room. I'm reaching for my wallet when she tells me, "All paid up, here ya go!".

The following is a verbatim transcription of what happened next...

Me: [still rummaging through the bills in my wallet] How much again?
Clerk: Umm, nothing. The game's been paid off already.
Me: ...Wha-?
Clerk: You're Michael Ramos?
Me: [confused] Yeah.
Clerk: Phone number, XXX-XXXX?
Me: [still confused] Yuh-huh.
Clerk: It says here you paid off the game on the 11th.
Me: [Certain this is some crazy dream] I wasn't here the 11th. I haven't been here in weeks.
Other Clerk: Sir, are you married?
Me: No, what does that have to do with anything?
Other Clerk: I was here when that happened. Some lady came in a paid for it.
Me: Hang on a sec. [whips out cell phone, calls sister] Hey, did you come to Videogames Etc. and pay for Alijah's game on Saturday? No? 'Kay, Talk to ya later.
Me: Well, I'm out of explanations. How 'bout you two?
Clerk and Other Clerk: [Shoulder shrugs. Both likely wondering if this isn't one of their crazy dreams]
Me: Well, who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth? I'll be taking that! [ grabs game, waltzes out the door without paying]

Against my better judgment, I've decided to do the 100 theme Iron Artist Challenge. Why? Frankly, I need the cash.

So how does this work? I'll tell you! For the low, low price of $10, you can pick any one of these themes and I'll make a 3" x 5" sketch for you! One catch though: after you buy a theme slot and give me a reference/ description of your character YOU WALK AWAY. I get full artistic freedom, capiche? It only makes sense since I'm the artist, right?

1. Life
2. Youth
3. Content
4. Change
5. Dreams
6. Pessimistic
7. Pirate
8. Novel
9. Doom
10. Garden
11. Sadness
12. Confusion
13. Freedom
14. Inevitable
15. Idle
16. Vampires
17. Convention
18. Role-playing
19. Skull
20. Pain
21. Joy
22. Time
23. Warmth
24. Voodoo
25. Insomnia
26. Solitude
27. Zombies
28. Heaven
29. Evil --
30. Weary
31. Candyland
32. Robot
33. Old-school
34. Puppets
35. Flight
36. Movie
37. What if...
38. Batman
39. Dance
40. O RLY???
41. Play
42. Uh-oh...
43. Duel
44. Sound Effect
45. Caption
46. Photo
47. Pants
48. Red
49. Fiesta
50. Percent
51. Soap Opera
52. Underwear
53. Stress
54. Froof
55. Mutation
56. Skeleton
57. Rock
58. Lies
59. Ninja
60. Message
61. Bugs
62. Effort
63. Bandaid
64. WRYYYY
65. Imaginary
66. Fly Me to the Moon...
67. Discovery
68. What?
69. Adhesive
70. Underworld
71. KAWAII DESU
72. Mecha
73. Random
74. Video Game
75. Crisis
76. Insanity
77. Ice
78. Working Hard
79. Hardly Working
80. Sandwich
81. Clone
82. Clumsy
83. Keyboard
84. Hope
85. Song
86. Surprise
87. Cursed
88. Awesomeness
89. Internet
90. Fire
91. Orange
92. Love
93. Annoyance
94. Misunderstanding
95. Fantasia
96. Puppy
97. Lost
98. Pie
99. Fate
100. Death

And just to sweeten the deal, you buy two slots and the third is free! You can't get that kinda deal anywhere else!

Stolen from  Avencri who stole it from someone who probably stole it from someone else and so on and so on...

1 to 5 = Furry wannabe.
6 to 10 = Furry newbie.
11 to 15 = Furry.
16 to 20 = Hardened Furry.
21 to 25 = Hardcore Furry.


1. () Have you ever howled at the moon?
2. () Have you ever barked at someone?
3. (X) Have you ever found yourself drawing or scribbling furry art when you're supposed to be doing something else? (All the time!)
4. () Have you ever worn an animal costume or tail as a child and pretended to be an animal?
5. () Have you ever eaten out of a dog bowl? (Furries do that?)
6. () Have you been to at least one furry con?
7. () Do you like to look at furry porn all the time? (Furry pR0n isn't really my thing. If it's yours, more power to ya. I'm not here to judge.)
8. () Do you RP or play second life as a furry character?
9. () Do you own a fursuit or at least a tail?
10. () Do you know what all these words mean or have used them at least once? (What words?)
11. () Do you have at least 5 videos of you acting or doing something furry on youtube?
12. () Has your anthropersona/character been drawn in a furry porn type manner? (No, thank God.)
13. () Are you well known in the furry fandom? (I don't draw boobs, so no.)
14. () Do you dream furry while you sleep?
15. () Would you transform into your character/fursona if you were given the chance to live like that for the rest of your life?
16. () Have you ever worn a collar?
17. () Do you own more than 20 art badges of your fursonas or characters? (WTF's a badge?)
18. () Have you been to more than 20 furry cons in your lifetime?
19. () Do you think that deep down you have the spirit of an animal within you?
20. () Do you enjoy hanging out with other furries?
21. () Do you think we should have a furry run for president of the USA?
22. () If you ever became rich would you own a room in your house that was just to display your fursuits or furry art?
23. () Is your best friend furry?
24. () Do your furry friends call you by your furry name in public? (Don't have one.)
25. () Have you been in the furry fandom for at least 5 years?
Final score = 1/25

*Brushes off suit and adjusts tie*
I never really was on your side.

So I finish filing my taxes, and I got good news and bad news. The good news? My refund is more than enough to cover a round trip to Canada and more specifically, the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo! The bad news? I won't be getting it until AFTER the con starts. Now my poor buddy/ cruel webcomic taskmaster, Scud, is gonna be there all alone, pimping his website, and drinking to his heart's content while surrounded by cute cosplay girls. And me? I'll be stuck here in the states with only a giant check to keep me amused. So sad.
But I'm not gonna let my misfortunes get the best of me. I still hold out hope that someday, somehow, things will start going my way. ;)

Fill it out! You know you want to.

1. Your Name:
2. Age:
3. Single or Taken:
4. Favorite Film:
5. Favorite Song or Album:
6. Favorite Band/Artist:
7. Dirty or Clean:
8. Tattoos and/or Piercings:
9. Do we know each other outside of FA?
10. What's your philosophy on life?
11. Is the bottle half-full or half-empty?
12. Would you keep a secret from me if you thought it was in my best interest?
13. What is your favorite memory of us?
14. What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
15. Tell me one odd/interesting fact about you:
16. You can have three wishes (for yourself, so forget all the 'world peace etc' malarkey) - what are they?
17. Can we get together and make a cake?
18. Which country is your spiritual home?
19. What is your big weakness?
20. Do you think I'm a good person?
21. What was your best/favorite subject at school?
22. Describe your accent:
23. If you could change anything about me, would you?
24. What do you wear to sleep?
25. Trousers or skirts?
26. Cigarettes or alcohol?
27. If I only had one day to live, what would we do together?
28. Will you repost this so I can fill it out for you?

You've got one shot at getting some free art from me! You know how this works, boys and girls, the first one of you to send me a screencap of my 1000th page view will win a free commission!

Keep those eyes peeled and you might be the lucky winner!

EDIT: A winner is  KandiPanda!

February sure was fun wasn't it, kids? I think the main lesson I carried away from all that was that I have a definite comfort zone that I work in and I should really avoid that unless I want my art to get stale. I also work a hell of a lot faster than I did before, which means I must've earned enough EXP to level up!

But now that The Challenge is over and done with, it's time to focus back on Con Season, which now only three weeks away! I've been doing my best to save what I can to attend the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo these past two months. I need at least $500 to pay for a round trip to Canadia and I currently have... $120. Fuck.

That being said, I'd just like to remind those with excellent taste (which means you, since you watch me) and extra cash that commissions are open. It'd be really cool if you helped me out.

You're cool, right?

It's exactly what it sounds like, I'm gonna draw something every day this month and post it, or die trying. You can play along too, IF YOU'VE GOT THE BALLS!


I got the idea from this guy
http://traditionaldanimatio.deviant.....rnal/30055746/

I want to know what you think. Go on. Be honest, I can take it.

PRO:
1)I like when you draw _______________________.
2)I wish you drew more _______________________.
3)I wish you drew more fanart of these series/characters:
4)I wish you did more original art of these characters:
5)I love how you draw ________________________.
6)If you were to do a comic of/about I would be soooo happy!:
7)If I could get you to draw anything I'd get you to draw ___________________.
8)My favorite part of your work is __________________________.

CON:
9)I hate when you draw _________________.
10)I wish you drew less ___________________.
11)Stop drawing ________________!

OTHER:
13)When I think of your art I think ______________________.
14)If I had to describe your work I'd say _________________.

Before I get to meme-in', I'd like to announce that  Avencri's donation drive was a complete success, so give yourself a high five if you were kind enough to throw a buck or two his way! It's so refreshing to see that even in this day and age people are still willing to stick their necks out like altruistic turtles to help out those in need.

Secondly, in more self-centered news, I'm still scrimping and saving what I can to pay my way to the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, but you can help speed things along with a commission or donation if you'd like. Honestly, I'd prefer commissions so I won't feel like a bum begging for change, but I never forget a favor, capiche?

Now onto the meme!

0. What is your furry world like?
Steve, Amber, Courtney and all the others you haven't met yet hail from a little, blue planet called "Earth" in Universe-18 (Earth-18 from here on out), one of an infinite number of universes that exist parallel to our own Universe-1218. The two worlds are very similar in many aspects of their culture and history, but also very different because Earth-18 is home to two sentient species (homo sapien and anthro sapien), a multitude of super-powered beings, and a scientific community that still considers Pluto a planet.

1. Do humans exist in your furry world?
Yes. Humans and anthros of Earth-18 have co-existed since the day some bright fellow decided it would be a good idea to keep track of everything that happens and did so by inventing recorded history. But there is some controversy as to whether or not this was the case before that fateful day since fossil records of anthro sapiens don't appear until shortly after the appearance of humans. This, in addition to that fact that homo and anthro sapiens share up to 95% of their DNA, have lead some experts to speculate that the anthros are the descendants of humans. But no one can explain how or why one species would splinter off into such a vast multitude of sub-species in the blink of an evolutionary eye. Others theorize the existence of a possible common ancestor of the two races, but there has been no evidence so far to support such speculation. Still other, less reputable but far more entertaining figures of the scientific community theorize that anthro sapiens are the result of genetic experiments conducted on primitive humans by extraterrestrials millions of years ago.

The one key difference between Humans and Anthros on Earth-18 lies in their brains. While the average human is no smarter than the average anthro, they do seem to be more creative than their furry brethren. Throughout history, all of the great philosophers, inventors, and entertainers have been, for the most part, humans. But the human's ability to think outside the box comes at a price, as they are statistically more susceptible to mental illness than any other race on Earth-18.

2. Do non-morphic animals exist in your furry world? If so, how do they treat/how are they treated by the furries?
There are "normal" animals on Earth-18. But the anthros look at them the same way humans look at chimps: they're cute and delicious, but they're just animals. The people of Earth-18 don't acknowledge any sort of connection between the anthros and their respective feral counterparts- unless, of course, there's a joke to be made. Nobody thinks thinks there's anything strange about an anthro dog walking an actual dog down the street. An anthro cow can eat a steak, a sheep can chow down on some haggis, and a raccoon can enjoy a hot dog and not think anything of it. Unless of course they were vegans, then there might be some issues.

3. Do non-mammalian “furries” exist in your furry world? If so, how do they treat/how are they treated by the mammal-furries?
They do. But since they, like the mammals, share most of their physiology with humans the differences between them are largely aesthetic. They're all warm-blooded, have hair, and females have breasts that produce milk. (as opposed to what, exactly? Motor oil?)

- Reptilians are second most common race of anthro sapien, and also the longest lived. They have an average lifespan of 170 years. And while they are warm-blooded, they can lower their metabolisms to a certain degree, allowing them to survive on a meager diet when times get tough. Reptilians prefer to live in the world's warmer regions and reproduce by laying a single egg after a 3 month pregnancy. The egg is traditionally buried in sand for the remainder of it's 6 month gestation.

- Avians exist on Earth-18, but they were nearly wiped out by the horrific Asian bird flu pandemic of 2006. Only a population of penguins living in Antarctica remain, and they've adapted an overzealous isolationist mentality in order to prevent the virus from getting to them. Any unauthorized travel into Antarctica is guaranteed to get you a minimum sentence of no less than life in a quarantined prison.

- Insects share the least amount of their genetic make-up with humans than any other race on Earth-18 and it shows. In addition to an extra set of arms and up to two pairs of wings, the average insect can have anywhere from 2-5 eyes. They have a partial exoskeleton of chitin to go along with their internal bone skeleton which gives an insect's muscles more places to attach to; making them roughly four times stronger than a non-insect of equal size. Even more extraordinary is the insect mind. Insects share a collective sub-consciousness. It's not a "hive mind" like most people believe, individuals have their own desires and personalities, but rather a combined will that allows them to act as a single entity. The connection to "The Will", as they call it, depends largely on how many individuals are present and how close they are to one another. The more insects there are in one place, the stronger The Will becomes. Insects are small in stature, the tallest among them reaching no more than 5'3". The one exception to this rule are the beetles, who can grow to a whopping 8' and weigh nearly a half-ton. Insects, like the avians and reptilians, lay eggs. But unlike the the others, who can only lay one egg, insects can lay up to 6 at a time which hatch into grubs (they're pretty gross) that metamorphose into juveniles around the age of 3. After that they develop like any other child.

- Spiders are a myth. They exist only in folklore and bad horror movies. Honestly, how could a creature that has eight limbs and only comes out at night to feed on people it lures into traps be anything but a work of fiction? And that whole bit about them contorting their bodies to look like normal people? Ridiculous! There's no way something like that could be be real....Right?

- Sharks and their society are at best mildly unsettling and at worst outright horrifying to the sensibilities of "drylanders". This is primarily due to the fact that the practice of their faith involves a great deal of violence and ritualistic cannibalism. Central to the shark's religion is the belief that when they kill and eat someone, that person's soul, strength, and experience will continue to exist as a part of their own. As such a shark's "menu" is usually limited to their parents, elders, and those they deem worthy of the honor of continued existance as a part of them. Despite being perfectly capable of living on land, sharks prefer to live at sea; either on the ocean floor or on floating villages built from the remains of ships they've plundered. They live alone or in small family groups (referred to as tribes) that are never larger than a few dozen individuals led by the strongest and most capable of the group who got where they are by killing and eating the one who came before him/ her. They don't have gills like actual sharks, but their lungs are capable of breathing air and water. Shark reproduction is unique in the sense that they are the only race that consistently conceive multiple offspring. However females only give birth to a single child: the one who proved itself the strongest by eating it's siblings in the womb.

4. Do other mythological creatures (dragons, etc.) exist in your furry world? If so, how do they treat/how are they treated by the furries?
Unbeknownst to all but a handful of individuals, Earth-18 was once home to the Pangeans: a race of dragon-like people who ruled the world over 5 millenia before the modern human/anthro society ever crawled out of their caves. Time has erased all traces of their once great civilization, save for a handful of mysterious and powerful relics.

5. Does Magic operate in your furry world? If so, rate its frequency and power on a scale of 1 to 10. (The higher the rating the more common and/or powerful magic is.)
Frequency = 4, Power = 10. The people of Earth-18 are largely secular and therefore belief in magic and superstition is understandably low until they see a strange shadow out of the corner of their eye or the face of Jesus on a tortilla. But just because you don't believe in something doesn't mean it isn't there. In fact, many of the heroes and villains of the world don't know that their powers are supernatural in origin. There are also a small number of people on Earth-18 who have learned to use magic for both good and evil purposes, as well as many supernatural beings whose powers range anywhere from "Is this your card?" to "Choose the form of the Destructor!".

6. Describe the technology level of your furry world.
The tech of Earth-18, is a few years ahead of our own. Any remarkably advanced technology (A.I.'s, nanotechnology, mechs) will be found in the hands of those with the means to procure them; namely governments, military, and the preposterously wealthy. Everyone else has to make do with a slightly advanced version of the technology you see around you. It's a lot like the Marvel Universe, now that I think about it.

7. On a scale of 1 to 10, how animal-like are furries in your world? (The higher the rating, the more animalistic the furries in your world.)
3.5. As mentioned before, the similarities between anthros and animals are mostly cosmetic. They're more closely related to us than their feral counterparts.

8. How do the different furry “species” get along in your furry world?
Like our own world, the way the various races of Earth-18 treat one another depends on how each individual was raised. For example, the average shark is born into a harsh life in the open ocean, and is raised to value strength and ruthlessness. As such, they view the other races as weak and inferior and treat them as such. Insects almost never interact with non-insects, not because they're bigoted but rather because their collective Will makes their society so self sufficient that they rarely deem it necessary to reach out to others.

Help Steve get a date by going to  Mastergodai's DA poll and voting for my entry in his comic cameo contest!
http://www.mastergodai.deviantart.c.....l/poll/926008/
My piece is currently in second place by a slim...32 point margin so I need you and everyone you know to vote now for great justice! SPREAD THE WORD!!!

And speaking of great justice, go do  Avencri a solid and commission him or donate a few bucks. The only people who don't help support Avencri are the ones who eat puppies. DO YOU EAT PUPPIES?!

Okay, the holiday commission special didn't go as well as expected, but I still have hope that someone somewhere is willing to actually pay me to draw something. That being said, I'm keeping commissions open in order to help pay my way to the 2010 Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo.
www.calgaryexpo.com

I'm hoping to pay off half the cost of a round trip by bus ($400) or possibly by plane ($1600, first class. I don't fly coach).
No fancy gimmicks this time around, just my services as an artist for reasonable prices. Click the link below for rules and rates. I hope to hear from you soon, and happy New Year!


ONE MORE THING!
 Avencri needs cash badly! Go commission him, then commission me, then commission Avencri again.

My prices too rich for your blood? *sigh* Fine, I guess I could lower them a bit...or a lot!

2.5"x3.5" sketch card pencil portrait = $2

5"x8" pencil sketch = $5

5"x8" inked picture = $10

5"x8" full color pic = $20

Remember, commission me any time between now and Dec. 20th and I'll throw in a second commish of equal or lesser value absolutely free!

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!! The first person to order will get a free 5"x8" pencil sketch! That's three pictures for the price of one! Act now, slots are limited! Send that note today!

1:
2:
3:
4:
5:

I'll keep this brief since I know you're super busy doing your thing.
Thanks to a hospital stay a few months back, I don't have as much cash to throw around for my nieces and nephews this Ecksmas. So in order to maintain my title of Best Uncle EVER, I need your help. That's why I'm sweetening the deal on all commissions. From now until December 20th, when you order one commish you get a second one of equal or lesser value ABSOLUTELY FREE. I can guarantee that you won't get a deal like this anywhere else. And if you do, they probably copied me.

PRICES:
3"x5" Sketch card (traditionally drawn and inked) = $10

5" x 8" Pencil sketch ( digital) = $5
Lineart = $10
Cel-shades = $25

RULES:
Commission prices are for one character with minimal background.

If I've said it once, I've said it a bazillion times: If it's NSFW, I'm not doing it. I'm okay with drawing something suggestive, but any exposed naughty bits, weird fetishes, or gore is out of the question.

If you want me to draw an original character of yours, please have a reference of some sort ready.

If you're interested in commissioning me, send a note entitled COMMISSION and we'll hammer out the details from there.

...and I'm nearly done with my trade obligations here! I've had a lot of fun doing them, and I've gotten some kick-ass arts in return. It's been such a great experience for me that I almost regret drawing the line at seven. Almost.

But all is not well, for you see there is still one trade remaining. I had sent a message to the person in question as to whether or not he/she was still interested in doing a trade. That was three weeks ago, and I haven't had a hint of a reply, so I'm gonna take that as a "no".

This means one of you has to step up to the plate and fill in the final trade spot. Those of you I've already traded with should just stop reading and be on your merry way, you only get one. But if you know anyone awesome who might be interested, you could steer them my way maybe?

1.  Timitei- awaiting orders
2.  Tatsuyoujo- DONE!
3.  sashbandit- 50%
4.  ShadowEon- DONE!
5.  Panzermanathod-DONE!
6.  Atreo-DONE!
7.  Fourward-DONE!

I was feeling rather bored today, so I thought to myself, "Why not make on of those journals where you let your watchers satisfy their curiosity by asking you questions?"

To which I replied, "That's a great idea, voice in my head! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you suck and will never amount to anything!"

"Shut up, other voice in my head!"

"No, you shut up!"

"No, YOU!!!"

That went on for 20 goddamn minutes.

Anyway, where was I? Oh right, questions! You ask anything you want about me or my characters, and I'll answer with the God's honest truth, guaranteed.*





*not a guarantee.

I really needed to get rid of the last journal. Thinking about my time in the hospital is fucking depressing. So here's a meme journal to help you get to know me better. Everybody ready, 'cuz here we go!

1. I'm the worst Mexican ever. I don't speak spanish, I hate mexican food, and can't stand mexican music. If it weren't for the fact that I look exactly like my dad, I'd swear I was adopted.

2. This is probably a weird thing to admit on FA, but people in animal costumes CREEP ME OUT! Mall Easter bunnies and football mascots have been the stuff of my nightmares since I was a kid. It's the primary reason I don't identify myself as a furry.

3. I still live with my parents and that's just sad.

4. William Shatner is a sexy, sexy man. I'm secure enough in my masculinity to admit that.

5. I've only left my home state of Illinois once. That one time was a trip to my family's ancestral homeland of Texas and it was way too hot down there.

6. I like drinking. I'm not talking about alcohol, I'm talking about the act of pouring cold, refreshing liquids down my throat. It centers me.

7. I've never been able to tell the difference between sincerity and sarcasm. This is doubly true on internet. If you wanna get smart with me, you gotta lay it on real thick.

8. I like drinking. This time I AM talking about alcohol.

I should have warned you guys right off the bat about this: I won't be doing a whole lot of journaling here. It's nothing personal, it's just that I do all my blogging over at my Red vs Blue page, and I hate to repeat myself. So, just like my DA journal, I'm only going to use this journal for things that directly effect my activities here on FA.

With that being said, something happened recently that directly affected my activities here at FA: MY BODY TRIED TO DIE!

It all started April 29th, when I got a pretty nasty tummy ache. It hurt a bit, but I figured it was nothing I couldn't handle so I went about my business as usual thinking the pain would go away on it's own. It didn't.

On the 30th things got worse. Not only was I in pain, but I was also running a fever and puking my guts out. And then I realized that I couldn't poop. That was the last straw. I had to go to the emergency room.

That night after some questioning, CT scans, and about ten failed attempts to find a goddamned vein for the IV, the doctor tells me that I've been hobbling around for the past couple of days with a ruptured appendix. Not only that, but since I waited so long to get treated the surrounding guts all got infected and had swollen to the point that they had pretty much shut down. I needed surgery right away.

I guess "right away" in doctor speak means the next morning because I went under the knife at 6:30 AM on May 1st. The operation lasted about three hours and went off without a hitch, but I wasn't out of the woods yet. The offending appendix was gone, but there was still the matter of the infection to deal with. The only treatment? Antibiotics and waiting. Lots and lots of waiting. Also a horrible tube jutting out of my gut to drain all the septic sludge my infected guts kept making. And one more to go up my nose and into my stomach to pump more sickening goo out of me.

I was in there for nine days, and for those nine days I did nothing but watch TV and occasionally putz around the hallways because I was forbidden to do anything else by my doctor. "Anything else" included things eating and drinking. Sleeping was allowed but honestly, who can sleep in a noisy hospital with nurses taking your blood pressure and such every few hours?

Even after I was released back into the wild, wasn't able to do much except take it easy while my new scar healed. I tried to use my newfound free time away from work and school to catch up on my trades, but I couldn't sit comfortably at my desk. So that explains why I've been so slow at getting those done....yeah, that's the ticket. It certainly had nothing to do with Halo Wars, Animal Crossing, and Fable 2.

All that is in the past now. I'm feelin' 100% again and have returned to business as usual. All that's left now is the bill.

Have I mentioned that I do commissions?

My schedule just cleared up so I said to myself, "Why not do some art trades, a little quid quo pro never hurt anyone, right?" Of course not.
So check out my galleries and if you're interested in a trade, leave a comment here and we'll hammer out the details later. Cool?

Oh, before you do anything, I gotta lay down some rules.
#1. If it's NSFW, I'm won't draw it. NEVER! I know that won't make me very popular in some circles, but that's how I roll.

#2. Actually, that's my only rule.

One more thing: this is a one time deal. Once the slots are filled, that's it. No more freebies. Like a wise man once said, "If you're good at something, never do it for free."

1. Tartii
2. Nekoyoujo
3. sashbandit
4. ShadowEon
5. Panzermanathod
6. Atreo
7. Fourward