Last week I finished reading a trilogy of Anne books - Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea and Anne's House of Dreams. It was really good, and I highly recommend the books (especially Anne's House of Dreams) to anyone with a taste for slice-of-life stories. I've also recently been playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which initially felt like a disappointing upgrade to Smash Bros. Melee, but has surprisingly turned out to be a pretty fun game. I've decided to temporarily switch from Marth to Meta-Knight for a bit, to try and learn a new character instead of sticking with the same-old same-old (and also because Meta-Knight kicks ass! XD). I haven't been watching too much anime recently (except One Piece, y'all definitely ought to be watching that!), but I have seen quite a number of Korean Dramas. In particular, I highly recommend Couple or Trouble and Bad Housewife for comedy, and Legend for fantasy/adventure. For manga I've been reading quite a number of the Slayers series of manga (in no particular order), and re-reads of Dr. Slump and Sgt. Frog have been fun recently too.

And I finally got to play in the snow! =D I went on a short road-trip to Lake Tahoe up in the mountains to the Northeast of Sacramento. The drive was really beautiful, with huge mountains and tall pine trees all along the way, and it was a really sunny day to boot. There was still snow surrounding the lake when we got there, and I had the chance to run around in it a bit, make snowballs and throw them into the lake (I even juggled some of them, that was pretty funny-looking, haha! XD). There were kids on sleds and all sorts of people from different walks of life enjoying the mountain and the view of the lake. It was really great, and reminded me of my childhood immensely. Score!! XD Up ahead!! - to the lighthouse of San Francisco! ( '_')7 *gazes to the horizon*

With the changing of the seasons of course comes the changing of the theme, and so I've at last decided to return the site's theme to its original autumnal glory. A lot has happened since the last update, and I've not much to show for it. The manga has been on hold for the past month, what with the move of my work-center combined with the move out of my apartment. More surprisingly, I'm soon to head out on a business trip to Sacramento for 6 to 10 months. It's been such a hustle and bustle time for me, but I still wanted to go through with my plans of keeping the site changing with the seasons, and so I've returned (though briefly) to do just that.

That's not the only news, however! I'd been thinking of getting myself a tablet pc for a long time, and with the business trip looming on the near horizon I finally buckled down and purchased a Fujitsu T2240 (on which, I'm currently creating this particular update!). My thought process was that it would be really convenient to have on my trip, but the real draw was that it might be a suitable replacement for the wacom tablet I've used (somwhat unsuccessfully I might add) these past 5-6 years. The problem I'd always had with the external tablet was the disconnect between the screen and my hand, and though I could compensate well enough it simply made digital artwork immensely frustrating for me. And of course, the problem I've always had with real media is the inability to undo mistakes in my art, at least in colored/finalized art anyways. I can undoubtedly say, however, that the tablet PC is something of a godsent for me, as it's exactly the type of free-form digital art tool I've always wanted. The update picture to the right is the first such piece of art I've created on the tablet PC so far, and each subsequent picture I've made has only gotten better and better. In conjunction with the tablet pc I've also purchased a really inexpensive but amazing program called Art Rage which attempts to simulate real media as much as possible. It's a great program for someone like me who's more accustomed to real media, so my purchase (though unimaginably expensive) has well been worth the investment.

So what have I done since my last update, besides practing my art? Working on a manga, of course! Not for any special competition, but just for practice and to increase my skills. I've been keeping a daily journal as well, to keep track of my progress towards my personal goals, as well as on the manga I've been working on. Can you believe it's taken me close to a month just to finish the first 5 pages? And that's not including the time it took to draft the comic itself. It's frustrating when I think about it, but I'm sure over time I'll get accustomed enough to my style and the basics of proportion/anatomy/etc. that it won't take nearly as long. In any case, I do think it's coming along nicely, and it will certainly be something for all those who frequent the site to anticipate. Please look forward to it!

Come to think of it, another aspect of my life that's eating into my drawing time is my exercise schedule. I've spent the past month exercising 30 minutes a day, pushups, sit-ups and walks around my neighborhood. It's tiring but I certainly feel and look a lot better because of it, so I'm glad I bit the bullet and started taking my personal health seriously. My family also just recently returned from a trip to Florida and Puerto Rico, which they seem to have thoroughly enjoyed. In the aftermath, I made off with some neat souvenirs and various interesting stories that happened during their vacation.

As far as entertainment news, I recommend the Yakitate! Japan manga. It's very funny (for me anyways, as my brother doesn't seem to find it quite so humorous), and the art is really fantastic. Fantastic Children, the animated series I've mentioned previously, hasn't disappointed so far, and I'm looking forward to what direction it heads in next. The Et Cetera manga is also an excellent purchase, and a lot better than I had initially expected. Great for reading when eating a microwave/takeout dinner!

Almost two years ago, I had the chance to actually make a great number of friends at the University that I used to attend, an experience that was altogether new to me given my general abandonment of friendship since middle school long, long ago. Until that point, I really had only two friends that I spent much time with, and the discovery of so many people who shared similar interests with myself and that had a pleasant attitude and approach to life made me very happy. When I was young, my family used to move from place to place, and although it opened my eyes to all sorts of different cultures, places and people around the world, it didn't at all lend itself to allowing for any type of long-lasting friendships. I suppose in many ways I never had the chance to really develop the social skills to maintain any proper friendships, which is why it's difficult even now for me to make friends. But here, at the University at least, was a group of people who seemed open to making friendship with me, and the more time I spent enjoying their company the more I felt as though I would need to change my life plans in order to accomodate this new wonderful experience.

As tensions grew stronger at my household, however, I made the difficult choice of leaving my home and beginning the journey to chase my dreams, as far as I could make it by myself, at least. Among the many sacrifices I made was the very difficult choice of not seeing my friends for almost half-a-year, as I struggled into the world to stand alone and on my own two feet. For months I've spent 10-12 hour days working as diligently as I could and returning to my apartment, alone with no one to accompany me but my books, my art and my imagination. Strangely enough, I eventually found that I didn't feel half as lonely as I thought I ought to under the circumstances, and soon realized that I was actually refreshed by the new experiences I was having and the calm and quiet atmosphere I had to myself. Over time, with only myself to listen to and only my passion for art to guide me, I've slowly come to understand more and more about myself as a person, and of the experiences I want to have out of life. The nostalgia of my childhood, the freedom of imagination, and an overwhelming sense for adventure - these are qualities that define how I'd like to live my life, and the kind of person that I want myself to be.

Last night, after many months of absence and hermitage, I at last had a chance to meet with all my friends once again, to enjoy the same activities and banter as I was once accustomed to. At first, I was very pleased to meet them once again, considering that I hadn't seen them for so long. But it didn't take very long for me to realize that almost everything, from the way they talked, to the jokes they made, even to the daily routines that they were experiencing in school and with their families, had remained the same - except for me. I felt much like an outsider, in the same way I always had when I was a child, and a feeling of loneliness swept over me. But it wasn't the feeling of being an outsider that made me feel so lonely - actually, it was the confirmation of a growing thought I had pondered over from time to time in my leave of absence - the thought (and at that moment, the realization) that I barely knew them - and that they barely knew me. And strangely, looking back, I suppose the feeling had always been there, though I didn't want to admit it, and perhaps also in part to having been overwhelmed by the experience of having so many new friends.

And so, what constitutes a friend? Well, I'm sure it's whatever you make of it, and however you imagine or want for it to be. So then, the question to ask really is, what do I think constitutes a friend? And it's not a very difficult question, I think, given a little thought and imagination. For me, it's someone you could sit with in a ski lodge, warmed by a fireplace during a winter snowstorm while playing an old, wooden board game and drinking hot cocoa. A person you could walk with in the park during the cool autumn twilight, discussing wonderful and strange ideas and imaginings of pirates and airships, castles and time travel, adventure, mystery and other sundry, colorful tales and stories. A friend that you could sit with on a log during an autumn festival, talking about the stars while drinking a swig of ginger beer. And, perhaps, I'm letting my imagination get carried away with me - but that feeling of warmth, mutual understanding, camaraderie and companionship - well, I strongly feel that that's the essence of what a good friendship should be.

But my friends and I don't really have this. We share similar interests, true enough - play games with one another, make jokes and have a good time- but do we really understand each other? Do I know their dreams and outlook on life, and do they know mine? Could we ever sit by a river and play ocarinas and pan flutes with one another to pass the time? Journey through a European town in the countryside to the top of a medieval castle? Lay down on a grassy knoll and watch the clouds slowly roll by? As I sat amongst them throughout the day, laughing and making merry, I couldn't help but feel the thickness of some gelatinous substance that held us together only on the most superficial of levels, while at the same time keeping us apart from knowing each other very well. Perhaps it's my general inexperience with friendships, or maybe even my narrow perspective since I've been alone so long, but there was an empty, lonely feeling to that evening, and I drove back to my apartment in the heavy night-time rain with an inexplicable sense of loss.

Knowing that the world is not always nearly as dark as situations and my narrow point of view tend to paint them, I let myself take the night to rest and soundly sleep, with the hope of recollecting my thoughts the following morning. Sure enough, the joys of the world and the perspective developed in my solitude brought my thoughts back into focus, and certainly gave me a more uplifting way of looking at the situation. In many ways, that feeling of not being able to convey one's true self and fully understand one another is a lot like not being able to draw a picture the way you see it in your head, or the difficulty of writing a story with a vision as your only inspirtation. Which makes me wonder, really, if it's all just a matter of inexperience and practice that I need to gain as time goes by. I do sincerely like all of the people I met at the University almost two years ago, and in spite of my realization of how little I know them I do so continue to want to be their friend. In my mind, I feel as though the layers that separate us may slowly be peeled away as time goes by, and perhaps I need to do more on my part to foster the kind of friendship I would like to have with them. If I plant the seeds for those kinds of relationships to grow, perhaps someday I'll see a blossoming of the kind I can now only imagine. I may have to take that ever-so-frightening step of peeling back my own layers of reclusiveness, but it's very important for growing into the kind of person I would someday like to be.

The only thing new to the site so far is the update picture up above, which actually predates the prior month's illustration. Lately, I've not been focusing on coloring as nearly as much as I'd like to, but instead on drawing (which I feel as though I'm improving on the more and more I practice). Right now I'm watching an absolutely fantastic (haha) animation called "Fantastic Children," which I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys fantasy adventures or tales of suspense and intrigue. I've not bought any manga in a long while, but I did buy several weeks ago "The Art of Kiki's Delivery Service," which I can whole-heartedly say was an excellent investment. For the first time in a very, very long while I was able to look at art that clearly resounds with the same sense of charming warmth that only nostalgic childhood memories are often able to produce. In a way (as Anne Shirley would put it) I felt a certain kinsmanship with the artists, and an immense feeling of appreciation, as well as a sort of relief, that there are others in the world that imagine things in much the same way I do.