Remember a while ago when I had everyone vote for their favorite work sketch? And then the dragon horse thing won and I said I'd paint it? Well I finally got around to that!

I got up super early today for some reason so I decided to paint something just for fun. I remembered this dragon and got to work on my wacom while I the second season of Dexter played on my other monitor (that show is bananas!). By the time Brooke got up I was almost done. It's funny how fast I can work and how quickly the time flies when I'm doing something just for fun, I should do it more often. Anyways, here's the result of my morning paint session.

Fun huh? I have some other sketches I might try painting, just have to figure out which one.

In my last post I mentioned that I wanted to get back to unplugging on Wednesdays. It's something I started back in the spring and I haven't been as strict about it as I used to be. I've got more work coming down the pipeline, plus the stresses the holidays can bring, so I thought it would be good to make it a goal this month. That goal seemed to resonate with a number of people, so I thought I might expand on it a bit.

Why I unplugged
Last March I was illustrating Fuddle Learns to Cuddle. I was under a tight deadline and I had a lot of work to do. I would do the day job from 8 to 5 and then come home and illustrate 6 to 11:30, then on the weekends I would put in another 8 to 10 hours. I was also doing some freelance writing with Gamespot (somehow), and training for the Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston. Oh yeah, and I was trying to not neglect my wife and bulldog. It was a rough period, but we needed the money and we knew the work would lead to better things (it has), but I couldn't keep it up.

After a few weeks, I had to reassess my priorities. I was under contract to finish the book and I already paid to run the race, so I told my editor at Gamespot I needed a break--after the terrible review I turned in, I think he could tell I was spreading myself too thin--and he was cool with that. So I took off a bit of responsibility, but that wasn't enough. Brooke suggested that one night a week I "unplug." Just stop working, don't even go near the computer. I chose Wednesdays because that's when Lost came on, and it would be nice to watch it together. That little break was exactly what I needed.

But--I'm about to get all Levar Burton on you--You don't have to take my word for it!

Starting fires without burning out
After I finished the book I started a digital painting cIass at Schoolism.com with Bobby Chiu. If you've never heard of Bobby Chiu, you may have seen his work (he did the concept art for Tim Burton's upcoming Alice in Wonderland film). He's an incredible artist, excellent teacher, and he's got an inspiring story. Working his way from nothing to having his own studio, he chased his dream and caught it, and he's all about helping other people do the same.

I was watching my cIassmate's critiques and noticed a fellow cIassmate asked Bobby about his success and how he could duplicate it. Bobby said it was all about momentum.

"It's like making a fire with two sticks," he said. "You keep rubbing them together, faster and faster, and soon you'll get fire."

Bobby is a big believer in hard work over raw talent. If you really want that dream job, you've got to hustle. That whole momentum thing struck a chord with me. It was validation for my constant work in March, and my feverish pursuit of my dream job--to write and illustrate books full-time. If Bobby could do it, I could too. I turned 25 on June 25th and decided this would be the year of the grind, the year I pull my kindling together, the year I make fire.

So I dove into my cIass with Bobby, pushing myself to improve, soaking in every word on his assignment critiques. I also got back to reviewing games for Gamespot, started editing my own children's book I'd finished in the winter, and picked up some work from the people I met while illustrating Fuddle. I let the whole unplug thing slip away, and I started to feel it again by August. My cIass with Bobby ended, but instead of taking a break, I immediately filled the space his cIass occupied with more work, bad idea. I was getting tired, frustrated and my motivation to actually do my work (and that whole day job thing) was at an all time low. I asked Bobby how I could keep my fire burning without burning out.

"Master your on/off switch," he told me. "You master that and you'll never be unmotivated."

On/Off switch? Sounds a bit like unplugging to me. If you take those breaks, and more importantly know when your body and mind need those breaks, you'll be much better off. Give yourself some time away from the computer, your work, your nightly pursuits, Twitter, Facebook, blogging, whatever. I took his advice an got back to my unplugging, and he was right! I finished my children's book, pumped out a ton of freelance work, and most importantly, spent some quality time with my family.

I don't know if you've ever tried it, but when you're rubbing two sticks together to make fire, occasionally you have to stop to blow on it.

What does unplugging look like?
So what do you do once you unplug? Whatever you want! While it was on, I would watch Lost with Brooke. During the summer, I would read a book, play a game (for fun, not to review), take my dog out, let Brooke use the "good computer," get in some exercise, or sometimes just zone out in front of the TV. To me unplugging just means no keyboards, no work. I sit in front of a monitor all day, sometimes it's nice to sit somewhere else.

For those of you that chose to add unplugging to your goals this month, I hope it does as much for you as it has for me. If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it. Your Facebook friends will be there tomorrow, and your emails can go unchecked for an evening. If you don't let the spark get some air, it will never be more than a spark.

Happy Halloween everyone! We're not doing much this year, just hanging out at home, we're big scaredies so this isn't really our holiday. Before I get on with my Killzone 2 impressions, let me remind you that it's time for a new month, which means new goals. I decided not to post my goal report here--not sure how you guys been feeling about my blog lately. Do you like the more personal stuff? If so, you can read my goals here, if not, then keep on going, I've got some game related content just for you.

So I got Killzone 2 in from Gamefly like a month ago. I started playing it but lost interest quickly mainly because the PS3 controller was driving me crazy. This weekend I beat Prototype on 360 (mindless, sometimes frustrating fun) and my Gioteck controller triggers came in, so I decided to go back to Killzone 2. I lasted about three hours total.

Why did I leave? To put it simply, the game was boring. Yes it was absolutely gorgeous, but even the visuals felt tired and recycled. Everything about the game screamed cliche. From the predictable mission structure--Clear that building! Defend that area! Snipe the guys attacking your teammates! Mount that turret! Blow up those important structures!--to the melodramatic, cookie-cutter characters--The smart mouth guy, the serious guy, the black guy, the dude with a country accent that loves his country. Bleh!

It's certainly a technically impressive game, and the visuals are amazing, even if they are gray, gritty and played out. The gameplay is serviceable; the guns punch hard, the cover system works decently and the enemies are aggressive. It's a thoroughly decent shooter, but it's not a very compelling one. Also, I hate how your character seems to shrink two feet after a cutscene. Is he fighting this war on his knees?

Halfway through the defense of yet another choke point I shut the game off, then I went and did the dishes...not any more fun, mind you, but the game just couldn't hold me. Monday I'll send it back to Gamefly and hopefully get something that grips me, maybe Batman or the first Uncharted.

The Gioteck triggers are awesome by the way. When I first started playing Killzone 2 my finger kept slipping off the L2 and R2 buttons. Now I have actual triggers and they work great. I ordered mine from Amazon, but I noticed they had them in GameStop too. If you play a lot of PS3, I recommend picking some up, they're only five bucks and they snap on and off, so you can toss them if you don't like them.

Speaking of playing PS3, a curious thing has happened now that I own all the systems; I no longer care about achievement points (gasp!). It's a refreshing thing to be free of those things! I'm not sure if it's because I could care less about trophies, or if it's because I have more systems but not more time, probably a combination of both. It's great to play a game just to play it, to not search every nook and cranny, not repeat a certain combo because I know it will get more points, and not play every side mission available. I admit, the old desire still lurks deep within, it's something all former point addicts have to deal with, but I just have to take it one game at a time.

Of course, if I set a precedent in achieving all 1000 points in a game series, I'll have to keep that up (looking at you Assassins Creed 2 and Modern Warfare 2), but I think this will help my rental turnover!

I've finally decided to get in on the shirt.woot derbies! I've been meaning to do one for a while, as the shirts that win are often right up my alley. If you've never heard of shirt.woot, allow me to explain; it's a daily shirt auction site, and the shirts come from derbies that they hold every week. Each derby has a different theme, and each week features winners from the previous derby, as well as some shirt.woot classics. This week the derby was visual puns. I sketched up some ideas, and this is the one I ended up going with.

Haha, get it? Vampire bat! If you've bought something from Woot before, you can vote for my shirt. The winner gets $1,000 and your shirt printed for all to wear. I think I might do these things more often, so if you can't vote now, go buy something from Woot so you can vote next time!

Here are the concepts I rejected for this one, still fun pics though.

Ice Cream

Waterfall

I'm working on a blog on video game pricing (seems to be a hot topic among game bloggers right now), but it's not finished yet and I'm tired of sitting in front of a computer screen. So instead you'll get this video I shot today. It's a bunch of little clips put together that show what it's like living with Berkeley.

Go here to watch the video (wouldn't it be cool if we could embed video on GS?)

While you're there, take a look at the sample art for my new children's book. I'm sending it out to publishers this week. Wish me luck!

I know I said I'd put a blog yesterday, but we're approaching the end of October and I still have some goals to cross off my list, so that took top priority. I did have some thoughts I'd like to share on work. I've met a lot of people recently that have found new jobs, are looking for new jobs, or are considering changing careers and I thought this might help out.

My mom once told me that the stuff you don't like at your job shouldn't outweigh the stuff you do. She said if it ever gets to where more than 40 percent of your job is stuff you don't like, you might want to consider moving on. That's some wisdom from a Navy wife, who worked a lot of different jobs in a lot of different places, so I've always thought that little tidbit is a keeper. I frequently examine that ratio in my own work life, just to make sure it isn't out of balance.

I don't care what you do; everyone has parts of their job that they don't like. Does the good outweigh the bad? Take a look at the ratios below and see where you fit in.

90/10, 80/20—You love this job, and you can see yourself staying here for a long time, possibly making a career out of it. This is your dream job (or close to it) and the downsides are trivial at best. You're getting paid to do something you love, and you love that.

70/30—You really like working here and you'll definitely put some good time in with the company, you might even move up to a higher position (creating a new like/dislike ratio). It's not exactly your dream job, but you certainly don't mind going in everyday; if you made this your career, you wouldn't have any regrets.

60/40—There are parts of this job you really like, but the parts you don't like can be pretty infuriating, and they seem to come around with an annoyingly consistent frequency. Overall you're happy here—it pays the bills, has decent benefits, and you get along with most of your coworkers—but if a job better or equal to this were to present itself elsewhere, you'd probably go for it.

50/50—Half the time you like your job, the other half you hate it, and you never know which way it will go. You're probably thinking about moving on, and you might do some casual job searching, but there's still a part of you that thinks things can turn around if you stick with it. Overall, you're not thrilled to be here, but something—the people, the benefits, the hours—is good enough to keep you in your cube.

40/60—You don't like this place and you'd gladly leave if something was available. Things might have been good once, but circumstances have changed and now you're ready to move on. At this ratio, you're probably actively searching for something new by night, if not at your desk during the day.

30/70—At this point you'd take any job to get out of your current situation, even if it means a pay cut or switching careers. The few bright spots can't make up for the load of crap you have to shovel everyday to see them. You spend much of your time dreaming of a better career, or asking yourself what the hell happened to get you to this point, neither of which is very productive.

80/20, 90/10—What are you still doing here? This job is affecting your health now. You're too stressed and you're never happy, and people around you can tell. It might be time to throw in the towel and take a leap of faith into the job market. Whatever you do, do something soon, because you're dangerously close to going bananas on the receptionist.

So where are you at? I think the economy has pressured some people to stay at a job they don't like because they think there's nothing else out there, and they feel guilty for not liking their job when others are unemployed. Don't worry about that, it's okay to not like your job all the time, but I would advise taking a very critical look at your like/dislike ratio. Why does it look the way it does? Talk to some people outside of your office, share your pros and cons and compare them to others (both in your field and out of it)—a little perspective can go a long way, and you might find that your numbers were a bit skewed.

In a perfect world, we'd all get paid to do whatever we want to do, but that's not the case. Sometimes we have to work jobs we don't like, and sometimes we get lucky and find that dream job, you never know. Just remember that you're not defined by what you do, but who you are, so don't let a job shape your character, there are things far more important in life than what you do between 8:00 and 5:00.

I just got back from seeing Where The Wild Things Are, and it was incredible, a window to my childhood. I'm not talking about a window like Transformers was, this had nothing to do with nostalgia, though I did love the book as a kid. No this movie grabbed me from the opening credits, peeled me open and said, "Remember this? Remember when you felt this way? Remember these emotions? Yeah, I thought you would."

I was Max in this movie. His creativity, his emotion, even his uncontrollable anger (got a better handle on that now), his name might as well have been Austin. Some of the scenes mirrored moments in my own life, like when he breaks something intending to hurt someone close to him, but ends up only hurting himself, or when he runs away in anger, but comes back with a clear head, sorry and thankful.

As Brooke and I were walking out, I asked her what she thought and she said it was a great insight to what I was like as a child. Brooke didn't know me as a kid (well, we did meet at 16), but she said she could still see some of those traits Max displayed in the movie in me, only matured, controlled. Now I've seen a lot of touching movies, some emotional roller coasters that soften even the hardest of hearts, but I've never connected with a movie like this. It almost feels silly, it was just a movie! But it pegged me so well that I felt raw afterwords, like I didn't watch it, but lived it. Because of that, I can't say it's a movie I'd watch over and over again, despite my obvious love for it. I knew I was going to like this movie, I was sold the second I saw the foggy still images of the dense creatures and the inquisitive boy in a wolf costume, I just didn't expect to connect with it like that.

Aside from the whole soul-connecting-emotion of Max thing, the movie was pretty good. Every word in the movie felt deliberate, what needed to be said was said, and that was it, which worked most of the time, but some of the wild things could have been a little more fleshed out, a little more talkative. They asked you to read between the lines a lot, which was fine by me, but I'm sure left many of the kids in the audience scratching their heads. Much like the way Alice in Wonderland (the book) captured the imagination of an 8 year-old girl, Where The Wild Things Are sums up what it's like to be and feel like a 9-year-old boy. The way the wild things emotions flip from fun to ferocious in just seconds mimics the emotional ups and downs of childhood, where everything is happening right now, and nothing is as important as what you're feeling. The wild things themselves look great, like they stepped right out of the book. I think having actual costumes with just CG faces was a great choice as it gave Max something real to touch. Speaking of Max, the kid playing him (also conveniently named Max) was incredible, though I might be biased since I felt like I connected with him--which was either a testament to his talent, or the accurate-to-my-life writing, or a combination. Whatever it was, he was a joy to watch and he carried the movie on his little shoulders.

I'll stop gushing about the movie now and just go ahead and recommend that you see it. Maybe you'll connect with Max too. Even if he wasn't exactly like you, I'm certain parts of him are, there's a wild thing in all of us after all.

We got back from our vacation very early Monday morning and I am so happy to be back. The day we left marked our one year anniversary of moving to Charlotte. I had my doubts about the move when we first got here and couldn't secure jobs. Then when we both found jobs, we had our doubts about leaving our last ones for the ones we had here. Now though, a year later, we're finally stabilized, have great jobs and things are going well. I'm so happy we came to Charlotte, it's a perfect fit for us. We loved it before, but that vacation gave me a bit of perspective and helped me realize that it really is the place we should be right now.

Anyways, the vacation itself was great. It was really nice to see the family and my new nephew is way cool. He doesn't do much besides squirm around and poop, but he's really cute while he does it. I can't wait to watch him grow.

While on the trip I did some sketches just for fun. I tried to just start drawing and just let the picture happen. I've found that I have a lot more fun that way, and that's what it's all about. Here's what I did while I was away. the last two are actually pictures done by Brooke. The first one she calls "Phil, an eclectic mix," and the second is "Fall Wonderland." My favorite is the nursing home bat, and the lizard rampage. I kind of like drawing silly animals...Visit my other blog for the gallery.

I got a new game in to review today. It's called Naruto Shippuden Ninja Destiny 2...yeah. I don't know anything about Naruto, but that doesn't really matter, as I'm judging this game based on how good it is as a game, not as a service to anime fans, because I am certainly no fan of anime (by the way, why is it when you tell other gamers you don't like anime, they look at you like you're racist? Like anime love is a requirement if you are serious about video games. I respect what anime has done and what it continues to do in animation, but I do not like it. I feel the same way about U2, Michael Moore films, and broccoli, among other things). I'll start that game tonight before bed and let you know how it is.

I feel like I have so many topics I want to blog about, but when I sit down to write them, I find myself typing out these random life updates. I write structured, thought out stories all day long, sometimes it's nice to just go with the flow. I do have some ideas though and I'd like to get them out there for discussion. Perhaps I should set a date for completion to hold myself accountable. Let's say go with Monday. Yeah, on Monday I'll get an editorial up here. I'm thinking about blogging and conflict, or pricing and games, or maybe some office communication dos and don'ts. We'll see how I feel on Sunday night.

Tomorrow (Thursday) is going to be a busy day for me, and it has the potential to be a very important one too. I'm not at liberty to say why just yet, but I can say that I wish I didn't waste my compliment shirt on Wednesday. It would have served me better tomorrow (that pic is for you @minimumfailure)

Oh and this has nothing to do with this post really, but I took this picture the other night after we got Berkeley back from being boarded at the vet and I really like it. He loves to nap right where I sleep while Brooke reads and I work on the computer.

We leave early tomorrow morning! Cole and Tori (younger bro and his wife) will be here any minute from Newport News, then we'll all leave Charlotte together in one car. We'll be in Arkansas that night, visit with our nephew and my parents (in from Italy) four a couple of days and then we'll go up to Kansas City to see Brooke's dad and retrieve the 1994 Thunderbird her grandma left us. Cole and I will ride in that on the way back, while Brooke and Tori listen to Twilight or something in the other vehicle.

Things have been very interesting at work lately. I don't really have the time or liberty to go into everything, but I can say that I've learned a lot. The corporate writing coach was in last week and he was pretty amazing. I think he was a bit old school in spots, but he was up front about the fact that he could be wrong.

"I could be wrong," he told us on the first day. "I've been doing this a long time so I'm right 99.9 percent of the time though."

For a man whose job description boils down to travel throughout the company, pinpoint writer's shortcomings and tell them how to improve, he's an all right guy. He talked a lot about seeing the conflict in news, and how a lot of business publications spend too much time dispensing information, not uncovering conflict.

"We're not pro business here," he said. "We're pro news."

I really did learn a lot from him being there, and my writing improved a lot because of it. He also helped me realize some things that people my age are doing on the internet that I think should be addressed. Again, I can't go into it now, but I'll probably craft an editorial (online) soon about the lack of conflict in online writing. That kind of makes me sound like I've become a "true believer." Fear not, I have not been baptized into the rigid print news writing religion, I'm just a member of the congregation.

One last thing. I told my brother that I planned on painting him a picture for his son, but something came up and I couldn't finish it this weekend. Instead I'll have to mail it to him. I thought it might be nice to show him a little preview. I've changed a lot since this initial sketch, but I think the spirit is the same.

That title is actually a tweet from Jack Shock, former colleague and professor at Harding University. Jack doesn't tweet often, but when he does, it's usually hilarious.

The first thing I do when I get to work in the morning is make a list of the things I want to get done that day. It's nothing too official, just a bunch of items I either need to have done, or would like to get done scribbled on a sticky note pad that sits at the base of my monitor. Since I'm always juggling a bunch of stories it really helps to keep my organized.

So naturally, after discovering the monthly goal thing at Modite, I had to give it a shot. So here are the things I'd like to get done in October.

-Finish my sample pictures and get my children's book out to at least one publisher
-Figure out why I'm getting the pain in my right foot so I can get back to regular running
-Write at least 15,000 words in my young adult novel
-Go to as many of my wife's community flag football games as possible (did I mention she's doing that? Her brother got her into it. I still can't believe she said yes when he asked, but she's having a great time so far).
-Indulge my wife on something Twilight related once or twice
-Pay off our projected 2009 taxes
-Figure out what we're going to do with the 1992 Thunderbird Brooke's grandma left us
-Build up my design portfolio (more on that later)
-Save some money
-Cut down on diet soda and coffee, increase juice intake
-Get my dog neutered--sorry Berkeley, you're way overdue.

I think I'll put a cap on it there. I don't want to get too ambitious. I love the days when I can throw my list away before I leave work because I crossed everything off. Hopefully I can do the same with this one.

This past week I bought Little Big Planet (the game of the year edition) and I got Killzone 2 in from Gamefly. Brooke played LBP with me Friday night and we had fun. I haven't even touched the level editor yet, so I'm looking forward to that. Up until this weekend all I had seen from my PS3 was Mini Ninjas, a handful of demos, and one Blu Ray movie. Now that I've spent some more time with it, here are a few things that have stood out to me, some pros, some cons.

-I hate the PS3 motion control. It's awful. In the games and demos I've played that use it, not a single one has felt like it needed to be there. Sure it's kind of neat in Little Big Planet, but everything else is useless. Shaking a Wii Remote is annoying, but it's at least more comfortable. Shaking your PS3 controller up and down is a pain, and it totally pulls you out of the experience. Epic fail on this one Sony.

-While I'm talking about the controller, I have to say that I'm not crazy about this one. I didn't mind the controller with my PS2, so maybe it's just that I've been playing with the ergonomic perfection that is a 360 controller for too long. I'm thinking about picking up this controller, but I'm not sure if I should, since some games require motion control, which means I would have to switch controllers every time it was used. Still, the shape and layout of the Sony controller is just plain uncomfortable. It's fine for LBP, but playing a shooter isn't fun. My thumbs keep hitting each other because the sticks are too close and my fingers keep sliding off the rounded L2 and R2 "triggers."

-It fits my TV. The display options seem to be better on the PS3, as it recognizes that my TV is high def but not wide screen (that's what happens when you're an early adopter folks). As a result, I'm not losing an inch on either side of my game screen like I sometimes did with my 360.

-Blu Ray movies and upscaled DVDs look fantastic. I hate using the controller for movie playback, but I might remedy that after Thanksgiving. If I can find a good deal on a Sony Bravia I'll pick one up--with a patch you can control your PS3 with a Bravia remote.

-Why does the system need to download and install a demo? Shouldn't it just assume that if I'm downloading it, I want to install it? That's a stupid extra step.

-The XMB seems to allow more customization than the 360 dashboard if you're in to that sort of thing. I love that I can upgrade the storage if I need to.

-The PSN store charges real money, not points! I know that a PSP game (also, love that you can buy PSP games) will cost me $4.99 for example.

That's it for now. Overall, I really like my PS3, but my 360 is still my main machine, especially for multiplayer. I don't have a headset yet for PS3, and I probably wouldn't buy one if I didn't do work for Gamespot. I'll eventually have to pick one up in case I review a game that utilizes chat. I think I'll kill two birds with one stone and get a headset that is also compatible with my phone.

Well those are my goals and my thoughts on my new system. Got any goals for the month? Share them below or link to your own post about them.

It's been a long and productive weekend at the Light house. We paused our unpacking efforts on Saturday to paint our living room and dining area. As you can see from the before and after we went with some blue shades, which if you've ever been in a place we've lived before, you know it fits our beachy style. The blue on the fireplace wall and behind the TV is a grayish blue, and the lighter one in the dining area and wall to the right of the door is a very light--almost white--blue. It took all day (and some touch ups the next day), but I really like it.

Here it is before

and after.

We put our favorite painting above the fireplace and it really helps pull the room together. We still have more pictures to hang, and a couch to replace, but things are coming along nicely.

Now for my amazing desk! It's called the galant, I got it at Ikea and it was pretty easy to assemble. I was working at a tiny little table with two TV trays set up next to it in an L shape; one to hold my printer, the other for my Wacom. Not only was that set up ghetto, it was also uncomfortable and cramped. Now I have plenty of room to draw (you might be able to see the painting I'm working on) just by spinning my chair to the right.

You also might have noticed my Xbox on the desk. When I got my PS3, I put it next to the Wii where my Xbox was and was going to put the Xbox on the other side and the cable box on top of the TV, but it didn't work out. I thought I was going to have to keep the Xbox standing beside the TV, and I really didn't like that. As I was playing Mini Ninjas on PC (using a wired Xbox controller) I thought how great it would be to be able to play my Xbox on my amazing computer screen. I already have the VGA hookup but with my Wacom plugged into the computer I didn't know how I would get it all set up, and I wasn't about to switch plugs every time I play.

I checked my monitor and turns out it has multiple ports. The DVI was connected to the computer, so I plugged the 360 into the VGA port and now I can switch between my Xbox and computer with the press of a button on the side of my monitor. Sweet!

My PS3 has taken over as my movie viewing device (rented my first Blu Ray, Coraline, this weekend--it looked incredible, even in 1080i), so it's not a big deal that it no longer resides in the living room. I think when I eventually get that 40 inch Sony Bravia I've had my eye on, I'll move it back out there to take advantage of the bigger screen and Netflix streaming, but for now, I'm loving how great it looks on my monitor.

Yep, that's my wife in the background

Oh yeah, in case you didn't notice, I have a PS3 now!

I now own all the major platforms (my PSP is not pictured, it's still in a box somewhere). I was holding out on the PS3 for the price drop and/or the slim. If it didn't come this fall, I would have bought one anyways--I had to pass up on a number of multiplatform games for review last fall. But now I can play them all! Which means I get to do things like play Mini Ninjas three times. Hooray! Let this be a lesson to you kids, dreams really do come true.

He knows he's not supposed to be on the guest bed

The dragon-horse-goat thing drinking beer! The ugly duck came in at a close second, so I might do that one too. Sorry Scott, no love for Frankenteen, though I appreciate that you understand his inner turmoil. He doesn't want to eat cats anymore, the kids at school make fun of him, but they're so delicious!

I'm knee deep in Mini Ninjas (reviewing it for PS3, 360 and PC) right now, plus I have a special painting I'm working on, but I'll try to get to the dragon-horse-goat thing before I leave for Arkansas on Oct 7. I'll make sure to bring a sketch book with me on my travels (no lines on that one, Carmella). Anyone have a doodle request?

Packing, moving and unpacking has taken up more of my time than I thought it would, so I haven't been able to stick with my MWF post schedule (I'm honestly working on it though. I have a ton of blog ideas ready and waiting). When I do have free time, I'm playing one of the three versions of Mini Ninjas I'm reviewing. Still, it's Wednesday so I thought I'd put something up.

I'll warn you now, this post has absolutely nothing to do with video games and it might make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Click over to my blog to read about the birth of my nephew from his father's perspective. It's a great story and a wonderful mood lifter, but if you're looking for some gaming related stuff, I suggest you click some of those links at the top of the page.

I'll be back Friday for a proper post--the winner of the work sketches, losing my PS3 virginity, my awesome new desk from Ikea, and more.

I'm trying to make sure my entries aren't too long, but I want them to be interesting and fun to read as well. If there is anything you guys would like to see from me, let me know. I don't blog for an audience, but I'm all about stretching my creativity and trying new things/entries, plus I appreciate the feedback. Thanks for stopping by folks, see you Friday!

As I've already mentioned, I almost always have a notebook with me, and when I'm not writing in it, I'm probably doodling. Here are some recent sketches from work. These were done during various meetings. I try to push my imagination with these. The way I see it, if I'm going to doodle something, it might as well be an entertaining endeavor. I'd like to take all of these a bit further and put some of my digital painting lessons to the test, but I don't have time for them all. So I'll leave it up to a vote. Whichever one wins I'll do.

Head over to the other blog to view the sketches, you can vote in the comments there or here.

I probably won't be making my Friday post because my computer will be in a box. We're moving this weekend to a new apartment, hooray for more space! If I post anything it will be the winner of this little vote. Also, I'm picking up a PS3 slim this weekend. I've been waiting to get a PS3 until the price dropped. Now I can finally review PS3 games (I had to pass on a bunch in the past), starting with Mini Ninjas. I'll have to fight the temptation to unbox my new system ahead of everything else.

So I was sitting at my desk this morning, doing a bit of research for a story I planned to write when our receptionist came and poked her head over my cube.

"There's an irate lady that wants to talk to a reporter about running for city council," she said.

"Uh...okay. The primary is tomorrow, so..." I trailed off.

"She wants to be a write-in or something."

"All right," I said, following her toward the front of the office, a notebook in hand.

Up front I met a thin woman with large sunglasses and poofy hair. I introduced myself and then I pointed to the leather chairs in the reception area and asked her if she'd like to chat. We sat down and, without removing her sunglasses, she started her story--a tale of intrigue, mystery, conspiracy, and even attempted murder.

This woman lived (or so she said) in or around Huntersville, which is north of Charlotte. She told me that the electric company up there destroyed her house by "amping" it--sending a surge of electricity through it to blow every electric gizmo all at once. Her house was destroyed, and she lost her job, which she sort of indicated was in the teaching field. She did not say how the destruction of her house and the loss of her job related.

"I have multiple attorneys that have told me I could win if I sued, but everyone is afraid to take them on because they have so much money, and power," she said.

At this point, I wasn't sure if she was crazy. She could have just been an upset homeowner, angry at an unfortunate incident. So I gestured for her to continue, asking her about the city council.

"I want to run for city council because I think I could do a better job of running this city," she said. "There is no civic justice in this city, only criminal justice. Nothing can be done if you've been wronged."

I thought it was odd that she wanted to run for city council in Charlotte, when her problem was in Huntersville, but I kept that concern to myself. She went on to tell me about how she tried to pick up a candidate packet from the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, but she was denied. So she went to the capitol in Raleigh, and naturally they told her they couldn't do anything about Meck County. This is where the crazy started to seep out.

"They don't want me to run, because [a school principal in Huntersville] doesn't want people to know he put out a contract hit on me through the electric company."

"Hmm," I replied, fighting the smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

"I have had three attempts on my life," she continued. "My car windows were shot out...then they hired teamsters--they have these hit teams that drive the roads with cell phones where you have to hold down buttons--and they tried to run me off the road."

I nodded and kept writing. She seemed to be coming to a close, and I really didn't know what to say to her.

"We have an editorial meeting later. I'll...talk with my editor. Do you have a phone number?"

"Yes, it's 704-32--wait, that one is probably monitored by the fire marshal."

What!? I brought my hand to my face and roughly cleared my throat, hoping to stifle my chuckling. She gave me a different number and I wrote it down. Then I asked her for her email address.

"I had one, but not now. I drove out to Yahoo's headquarters in Silicon Valley and set it up. Then the next day, I found out the computer I used to set it up exploded."

"Oh," I said. "That's unfortunate."

We stood, and I shook her hand and told her I'd contact her if her story was something we wanted to pursue. She scooped up an issue of the paper (without paying) and left the office. As soon as the door closed I turned to Anna our receptionist, who saw the whole thing, and her eyes were as wide as mine.

"Holy crap!" I said.

Shortly after my run in with the conspiracy theorist, I heard about another. This one was brought to me by Charlotte Blog. I'm really not sure what to say about it. I've had to cover city council meetings, and they can be insanely boring. Sometimes though, we get lucky, and get someone like this guy.

--UPDATE--

Today I was getting ready to step out of the office to run to Subway when I saw the woman approaching the building from the window. She was carrying a small dog with her. I was really hungry and I didn't want to deal with her, so I slipped out the side door and got in my car. I called Anna from the car and asked her to tell call me and let me know what the woman wanted if she left before I returned (and I sincerley hoped she would).

I got back and Anna gave me some "documents" addressed to "Dustin."

"She thinks your name is Dustin," Anna said. "I didn't correct her."

"Thanks, I'll read over these," I said.

This document she left me was a three page rant about some crazy conspiracy. I thought about scanning it in and posting it, but it's not worth the trouble. She talked about over powered wi-fi signals that destroyed cell phones, sent blasts of jelly-like substances toward her house, and tried to hack in to her TV. She called for the life long incarceration of a number of people, including the mayor of Huntersville (she suggested herself as his replacement).

That document was frightening, entertaining, perplexing, and a bit scary. Most people in the office skimmed over it and scoffed at this woman's delusion.

A couple of hours later she returned. I was just picking up the phone to call a source for a real story I was working on. Alison, who was filling in at the desk came back to get me and said she wanted to speak with Dustin, who she described as having eye-level bangs and glasses (so, not me at all). Alison told her I was the only man in the building and I certainly didn't look like that, but the woman was insisted that she talked to someone matching that description the day before.

Eventually the business manager came, took her concern and told her that she would be called if we needed her to come back. She asked for her document back (good thing I made a copy of it) so she could make some edits and bring it back. I was on the phone for this but I did hear her ranting about something as she left. Yikes.

After the race we took Berkeley to a little beach in Yorktown. We've been told that bulldogs can't swim, but Berkeley has always loved the water. When we give him baths he often tries to jump back in when he's done. We had a lot of fun watching him romp around. We might get one of those tiny little $10 kiddie pools for him some day.

The first pic is of him on the car ride to Newport News where my brother lives. His cuteness almost makes up for the fact that when I got home from work the other day I found him and his cage (which is in our closet) covered in diarrhea. Poor guy had a bad reaction to the medicine the vet cave him for his allergies. Poor me had a bad reaction to the smell.

I was going to post all the pictures here, but GS is giving me troubles. So you can see them here.

Also, I just reviewed Yo-Ho Kablammo. Here's the short version: meh...

So this past weekend I was up in Virginia Beach for the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon. This was my second half marathon, my first being here in Charlotte back in March. I was hoping for a 2:15 finish time, but as the title of this post implies, things didn't go as planned.

Last Wednesday I noticed a dull pain in my foot running down the top on the outside. It spooked me a bit and I didn't want to injure anything before the race so I took Thursday and Friday off. I ran a bit on Saturday and things felt fine.

I got up at 4:00 AM on Sunday so that we could get from my brother's place in Newport News to the starting line in time. I got there and jumped out of the car without my gum. I hate running without gum in my mouth, I just can't do it. So I called my wife and my brother got as close to the starting line as he could (many of the surrounding streets were closed) and he brought me my gum. He stayed with me till I headed for my coral. Since there were more than 20,000 people running we were put in corals based on the projected finish time we provided during registration. When the race started they waited 30 to 60 seconds to release each coral in waves. Since I was snuggly in the middle of coral 15 (I think there were about 26, maybe more), I had to wait quite a while before I actually crossed the starting line.

Things started out well and I was enjoying the run. This race is different than most half marathons--not only are there tens of thousands of participants (many half marathons cap out around 2,000), but there are also bands and cheer squads placed throughout the 13 mile course. The pictures you see below are after the first mile. My wife and sister-in-law were standing by the stage of the first band.

Unfortunately, it wasn't all smiles for me. Around mile six I started feeling that pain in my foot, and my breathing got strained. I was only halfway through the race and yet I felt like I was on mile 10. I decided to push past the pain and I kept running. I was halfway through mile seven when all of my skin went cold, my head felt light and airy, and my foot was pounding. I tried to keep going but my body didn't agree and I just stopped. It was like my body was tired of taking orders from my brain and made the decision itself.

Of course I was really angry and upset. I knew if I walked at all I wouldn't make my time. Brooke called me shortly after I started walking and since I had my iPod low I could hear the phone in my pouch. I answered and told her that my foot was hurt, and that it would take me longer than expected. I didn't realize that she was looking at the overall race clock, which said 2:30 at this point. She was calling because I was 15 minutes late, not knowing that I didn't actually get to start running till the clock read 30 or 40.

At this point I seriously considered quitting. I was so upset I spent the money on the race and spent months training, getting up at 5:00 AM to run before work. The anger pushed me to run again, and I pressed on till I had to walk. I did the walk-run cycle for the remainder of the race. I was running at mile 11 when my younger bro came up beside me with some pain reliever (my parents had called from Italy, heard I was in pain and instructed him to find me and give me some). I told him it wouldn't do any good because I only had two more miles. So he ran beside me on the sidewalk as we approached the final stretch. He left me to cut through the street before mile 12 so he could run by me outside the barrier on the boardwalk. I wanted to run the entire last mile, but I didn't make it. My shoulders and back hurt from running differently to keep my foot from hurting too much, and I couldn't feel any of my toes on my right foot. I slowed to a painful walk, and my brother shouted at me, true to his Army training, and told me I wasn't going to walk across that finish line. I agreed and picked up the pace, running the last quarter mile or so and crossing the finish line in a grimace of pain.

I stumbled through the long corridor of drinks, cold towels, completion medals, and free carb-filled snacks and met my wife, brother and sister-in-law on the other side. I was ready to collapse, so we walked down the street out of the crowd. I sat down in the grass concentrating on not breaking my 13 year no-vomit streak, while my brother got the car.

I felt very conflicted about the run. On one hand I was so mad that I had to walk and that my body didn't cooperate. On the other hand, I knew that all runners have their "off" races, and I was proud of myself for pushing through mine. When I got home, I looked up my time online (I was too tired to do it at the race). Turns out I finished only 9 minutes behind the time of my first half marathon! That was some reassuring news. Without the walking, I might have made my original time, or at least set a new personal record.

As for my injury, I'm pretty sure it was my shoes. If you're doing serious running, you're supposed to replace your shoes every six months. My shoes are a year and a half old, and since I tend to run on the outside of my feet, that pain makes sense. I'm taking a short break from running, and then I'm going to get some new shoes and I'm going to hit the pavement again. There are two half marathons in Charlotte coming up, one on Nov 7 and the other on Dec 12. I think I might run one or both. If I do both I get a special medal at the end of the second one--achievement unlocked!

The rest of the trip to Virginia was a lot of fun. It was great visiting with my bro and his wife. We took Berkeley to the beach and let him run about in the water for the first time. I'll have those pictures for you on Friday. See you then!

It's September! Isn't that great? I love September because it heralds in the fall, which is my favorite season. Last September we made the decision to move to Charlotte. We officially got here October 8th. I can't believe I've been here 11 months. It's been an amazing and educational year.

I'm trying to stick to a regular posting schedule of Monday-Wednesday-Friday, but I've been a little busy as of late. Here's what I've had going on:

-Last Friday I walked out to the parking lot after work and found my driver side window down, and it was raining. I thought someone broke in to my car, but nothing was missing. Turns out the motor for the power windows gave out and the window slid down. I rushed home and Brooke and I taped up the window with garbage bags, redneck styIe. My older brother was in town on Sunday and he helped me take the panel off and attempt to fix it. Once we discovered it was the motor, I had to take in to the shop, where they charged me a fortune to have it fixed.

-After a few weeks of searching we found a new apartment. We looked at houses to rent, but the ones available in the area we like are way too expensive, and we really want to stay in south Charlotte. We ended up finding a place just three miles away that will cost less than our current place and has way more room, plus it is on the bottom floor, which is good for Berkeley. We are moving in about three weeks.

-This weekend I will be in Virginia Beach for the Rock and Roll Half-Marathon. This is my second half-marathon (and my second this year) and I am so excited for it. This course is much flatter and much more exciting than the Charlotte race so I'm expecting to set a personal record of 2:15, which is about 15 minutes faster than my first one. I lived in Virginia Beach when I was younger and my younger bro is currently stationed in Newport News with the Army. It will be fun to visit with him and his wife and relax before the moving and traveling starts.

-The traveling will be in the first week of October. My older brother and his wife are having a baby in late September. He will be the first grandchild of our family and my first nephew. We'll be driving out to Arkansas to see him, and we'll also get to visit with my parents who will be in from Modena Italy, where they have been living since March for my dad's job.

After Arkansas, we'll have to swing up to Missouri to see Brooke's dad in Kansas City. When Brooke's grandma died last year, she left us her 1994 Ford Thunderbird. It's an old car, but it only has 43,000 miles on it. All it needs is some new tires and an oil change. So we will pick that up and then drive 15 hours back to Charlotte—it's a good thing our dog likes to ride in the car. The Thunderbird isn't worth much, but I think it might be in better condition than my recently repaired Impala. We'll be letting one of them go to that great car place in the sky soon.

Vroom! 1994 in the house!

-After a short break I'm back to doing some review work for Gamespot. I'm playing the XBLA title Yo-Ho Kablammo, a pirate deathmatch game. The best comparison I can make is Mario Kart battles at sea. So far it's not too bad.

I've got more updates, but this is probably enough for one post. As soon as the busy month of September is over I'll return to regularly scheduled blog posts. Until then, I'll get em in when I can.

Before I go, just thought I'd ask if any of you are on Twitter? I am and I love it. It has proven to be a very valuable tool for work, giving me leads for stories and some great contacts. If you're a tweeter, look me up @austindlight.

I said I would post here whenever I couldn't replicate my posts at my site so here it is: http://austinlight.wordpress.com/ my final digital painting assignment. This assignment was split over two lessons and we had about month to turn it all in. I'm proud of what I turned in, and a little sad that it's all over, it was a great cIass. Head on over to the site to check it out.