Decisions, Decisions

How far back do decisions you made, even unwittingly, affect you to this day? Was there one big decision that has made a world of difference or is it a constant array of small decisions?

I feel like you make small decisions every day, of course - which way do I head home, do I go my usual route or try to shave a few extra minutes off my commute by going the back route and oh, shit, the back route is backed up and now it took me twice as long to get home, so I get dinner started late and it took a bit longer than I thought so now I'm not going to have time to watch that DVD before I go to bed so instead I'll maybe read this book that I've been meaning to and wow, this book is actually really good so I'll just stay up a few more minutes, half an hour, two hours and now its way past my bed time, way later than I would have stayed up if I watched the DVD instead, but its okay except the next morning I overslept because I stayed up so late and got in to work late and missed the morning meeting by a few minutes, etc...

You get the idea - a minuscule decision has now created large ramifications in this scenario. Not everything is so life-or-death, but a domino effect in your life can be set off by the smallest decision and that's pretty crazy.

For me personally, I feel like the decision that has affected my life most was the decision to open The Comic Stop. I can, in a way, trace everything I'm doing now back to that decision almost nine years ago. Which is nothing I could have ever predicted at that point. Who knew it was such a momentous decision? Not me, that's for sure...

I don't have any deep insight regarding this, it's just something that was on my mind today as I was looking forward to 2009 and what it may bring, and what decisions I will make (or maybe have already made?) that will continue to change my life. So I thought I'd share my thoughts.

Because sharing is caring.

Silence

Just got this in my inbox and thought I'd share, it is the color mock-up of the cover to mine & Mark's graphic novel "The Silence of Our Friends" I mentioned a couple posts ago. The art is by Nate Powell. Enjoy:

Snowventure

I had long-standing plans with Chris Rangel yesterday to go see Brett Favre and the Jets play the last home game of the season vs. the Seahawks. As it turns out, the weather made the plan a bit more complicated.

Originally, I was going to meet Chris at his place and then we were going to catch the train from Everett down to the stadium. Unfortunately, not only did my car not get out of my driveway, I couldn't get it back in to the garage it was so stuck!

I called Chris and we decided to go to our nearest park-n-rides and take the bus down to Seattle. So I walked about a mile downhill, in the snow, to the Lynnwood park-n-ride and got myself downtown.

My buddy Jason was tailgating in the 22 degree cold, so naturally I went over to join him. Here's a shot of the tailgaters:



and here is Jason & I around the barbecue:



Soon after, I headed in to the game and Chris showed up shortly thereafter. It was a fun game, pretty cool to actually see a game in the snow, which did not let up the entire time:



Here's a shot of our bundled-up selves:



This was also Mike Holmgren's last game as coach of the Hawks, so he did a lap around the stadium to thank the fans:



After the game, we headed to the bus stop, where not shockingly, it was still crazy snowing:



Our bus was over an hour late and standing-room-only, but it got us back so no complaints. Then I had to walk up the hill back to my place, which I still won't complain about, but I can't say that I was a fan of that part of the day... :)

Looking ahead

I'm pretty excited for 2009. I felt like 2008 was a "building" year, getting things in place for next year. One of the reasons I've not been blogging, just keeping crazy busy. A ton of stuff is already on my plate:

1 - Super secret video game thing is looking 95% that it's going to happen. If the trigger is pulled, the game will hit stands by Christmas '09.

2 - The graphic novel I co-wrote is done. It takes place during the civil rights movement of the late 60's in Texas. Working with an artist now, also looking at a late '09 pub date.

3 - Kirby Krackle's first CD is done, actually dropping it off today at the manufacturer to have the discs printed! We're also hitting up NYCC as our first show as exhibitors, which should be a pretty interesting experience!

4 - Shrapnel, which I've been working on since '07, finally drops in January and will be out every month for 5 months in a row from Radical.

5 - The Emerald City ComiCon - the '09 show is shaping up to be our best yet and I'm excited about our "Monsters & Dames" art book... more on that soon.

6 - A handful of other projects, including another graphic novel, a couple video game things and more, are all in the works too. Too much good stuff!

I'm jazzed to put some more awesome out in to the world... :)

T-shirt design

Quiana and Paul volunteer coach a couple of robotics teams for a local school. Q asked me if I could design logos for the teams, with the theme for the robots being the use of technology and its effect on the environment.

It was fun to design and draw, and the shirt turned out great (I don't have a picture of the other design, unfortunately, though this one is the stronger of the two), so I thought I'd share: