Our first Tree.

With stockings hung from the chimney with care,
my heart will grow 3 sizes this Christmas, I SWEAR!

It's true, Christmas spirit has been in low supply the last few years, something I plan to remedy this year if it kills me. Presents have been purchased, even the boys have a stocking.

There will be things to do on Christmas day. Things other than shuffling from here and there, mustering up just enough emotion to convince myself I'm still a human being.

I remember a post I wrote about Christmas being different when you're older. Like looking at a bicycle when you're nine-years-old, and looking at a bicycle now, at thirty-one. How it's smaller and serves a different purpose. Yeah... let's see if we can change that, at least for a few days.

Christmas is going to be new again. So if you run into me, and for some reason I'm more annoying than usual, well -- at least you'll know why.

Oh, and I just checked my watch (computer), and yes -- I'm overdue for my annual viewing of Scrooged.

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Finished Illustrations

Here they all are in their finished glory! It feels good to have completed something. Now Jess and I have the task of wiring our condo for ethernet! MY LIFE IS SO EXCITING!

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More More Illustration

I went a different route with this one. A route that is proving more affective and one which I like exponentially. I guess I'll be redoing the first one in this style. My only hope is that -- having created this piece -- I haven't essentially "willed" this gollem into being. I hope that the fragile tether that binds it to it's world hasn't been ripped in twain by my actions. If so: I'M SORRY WORLD!

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Living Space

So, Jess and I are moving. We signed a lease on a nice two bedroom, two bath open floor-plan condo in Crofton. It's about 8 minutes closer to our jobs.

Here are some gratuitous shots of our soon to be new kitchen:





If you've been over to our current apartment at North Forest, you'll know that this is a HUGE upgrade for us. (Please disregard all the crap on the island, we were cleaning half the day yesterday.)

The carpet could stand to be steam cleaned so we borrowed Rick and Jacy's cleaner and are going to give that a shot this coming weekend. We also plan to paint before we move in.

All in all, we couldn't be more excited about it. Expect a full-on house warming party sometime in January!

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The emasculating affair...

of the cat birthday.

OR: How I learned to celebrate Twisp and Pino's First Litterday.

Anyways, the boys turned one-year-old yesterday and we celebrated in high fashion as you'll see in the gallery below. We made party hats, wrapped and unwrapped presents and had cake and ice-cream. Kitty-Grandma came over for the celebration and was met with meows and headbutts.

All in all it was a good evening, even if I can't freaking believe I'm typing and posting this humiliation to the world.

Next year, I vote we have it in a bowling alley.

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Also

This picture is awesome. Like, so awesome. At this point, I think we were very hot and tired. I could be wrong though, this could have been in the morning, we rode the subway all damn day. Wouldn't change it for anything though.

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Shinjuku Arcades + Pics

Slapped this one together last week. Arcades from the 2008 trip. NEW FOOTAGE! I'll be working on a few more of these.

Street Fighter 4 is EPIC! I should have played that more. That Silent Hill light-gun game was pretty fun too, though, it took all the creepiness out of what makes Silent Hill, you know... Silent Hill.


ALSO: Here's a TON of images from our trip mostly taken by Jacy and Jess. I was busy filming and Rick was busy being an unhelpful mustard-hating dumbass-american.

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Building an Illustration

So I'm doing an illustration to be placed in a friend's book. Jess and I have been building the "set" since last weekend. I took a few shots of it as it is now. We're almost done and the mood is starting to become very apparent.

The last time I did anything like this, I was in college, illustrating a short story my mom wrote. It's exciting to get back into it. I'm enjoying it, even though Jess would argue it's like pulling teeth getting me to work on it.

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Kyoto Vignette

Here's the first, in hopefully a few, small video vignettes of our trips to Japan.

I've built a new PC and during which I had my primary video hard drive start making the clicking noise of eminent death. It's being RMA'd as I type this. Anyways, I got everything off of it before it died but unfortunately, I have no room to ingest (a Jess word) any of the video from this past trip until the new drive arrives. So, essentially, the short of it is, this is from last year's trip. Deal with it, Ricky.

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I ate that thing.

Oh and also, I went to Japan again, which is where Jess took this:



I think it's safe to say we all had a blast. It's a little disorienting to be home, at least for me. It seems to take a lot of adjusting. I'll write a blog proper here soon about the experience. Needless to say, we did it up bigger and better this time.

In other news: I have a computer ordered that I need to build and a shit ton of video to edit.

...

Seriously though, I ate that thing. And looking at it again, in that picture up there, makes me want another one SO BAD! WTF is wrong with me? Chicago, your airport sucks ass-nards but your hot-dogs are from another dimension!

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TWO DAYS!

It feels like it's been forever getting to this day and finally, it is upon us. As I've stated before, the stage is set, we all know our lines. We're ready to go.

I must confess, I'm feeling the pre-flight jitters pretty hard at the moment. I want it to hurry up and get here. I want to look out the window of our 757 and see a thousand tiny cars and houses below, fading into the gray of low hanging clouds.

Tonight Jess and I will pack and do a quick clean of the apartment so we have something nice to come home to. Tomorrow we drop the boys off for 10 days. I'm going to miss them. Jess will miss her early morning love sessions from Baby Pino. :( They will be in good hands.

Wednesday we fly.

I can only imagine an adventure awaits.

EDIT: It's getting overwhelming as the day goes on. I'm pretty much useless here. I mean, I'm working, but my head isn't in it. It's across an ocean.

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Some photos of the cats.

Here are some images of our cats for the internet. The internet is neither better or worse for it. Please move along. :)

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Design

So I've got this new job. Been here for about 8 months now. So far, so good. It's a lot more creative than my last job and I get to do some pretty cool stuff. For starters, I'm currently drawing a coloring book. Can't really do that in the liquor industry.

Anyways, I'm posting something I've been working on this last week because I think it's pretty cool. Here are the two versions I came up with for a campaign aimed at the college crowd, advertising the local bus 11 that runs from Towson to Canton/Fells Point. Ultimately they ended up going with the second version but, personally, I like the first. What says you?

Version A:







Version B:

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FILET MIGNON!!

So yeah, I'm getting a little better at this cooking thing. The last few weeks Jess and I have been trying to cook different things so that we can break out of our Macaroni and Cheese, Tacos, and Spaghetti routine. I've tried my hand at Veggie Fried Rice with good results, also Chicken Fried Rice I'm pretty good at. Jon introduced us to home-made guacamole and Toquitos by grilling up some flank steak, rolling it up in a flour tortilla with pico-de-gio and french fries -- then dipping then frying them in veggie oil. Yeah, those are pretty amazing.

But anyways, here is our latest adventure: Filet Mignon. Jess does the potatoes and I cook the Asparagus and Meat on the grill. Last night, we nailed it, it was PERFECT. Buttery and tender with potatoes broiled in olive oil in a modest presentation.



I hope I just made someone hungry.

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Destination: Japan

Image up top is a shot Jess took from our first trip.

We're going back.

We couldn't NOT go back.

In a few weeks we'll be on a plane over an ocean. With nothing but a few suitcases between us, our DSs in tow -- the flight will be an eternity. However, we're not going alone this time. No, we've arranged for reinforcements.

Load up: Ricky, Jacy, Jess and Paul!
Form of: SUPER MEGA-GAIJIN!

We're a Voltron of volition. The Captain Planet of... um, nevermind. Captain planet sucked.

We're going to meet up with Tbor, the Heavy Metal Chef Jess and I met last year. He's going to show us the Tokyo night-life and possibly host a BBQ. We're going to some Shinto shrines and to a place called "Joypolis."

I do not expect to come back the same man.

I need this. I've come to a conclusion in my life, where hours blend into days, blend into weeks, blend into months -- there's just something peaceful about being in a place where you don't speak the native language. Everything slows down. The little things don't matter. You disappear. To me, I've never felt so free in my life.

Yes, we're going back. Escaping the maze, together.

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Posting some pics...

So here goes. These are from a while ago.


The boys! Twisp in the foreground, Pino in the background.



The JoCo Show with Paul and Storm! \m/



My wicked-ass Easter basket that the Easter bunny (Jess) brought me!




THE END!

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A champion of companiez!

So, today, the CEO of the company Jess works for announced that after firing 50+ employees, they would be buying a Wii to boost morale.

It makes perfect sense.

Hello, Stacey? Hi, this is Steve, from accounting? Yeah, hi. I'm fine. Listen, my Mii isn't mingling with Barbara's Mii. You know, Barbara, our receptionist? Right, I know, but it's upsetting and making for a very hostile work environment. Yes, I realize that. Isn't there anything you can do though? No, I haven't checked my network settings, what would that have to do with it? Yes, I've tried turning it off and on again. LOOK! I've ALREADY called I.T., they told me this was an H.R. problem!

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In the future.

In the future I envision, there's a vast wasteland of abandoned blogs. Words written in the throws of emotion and too soon forgotten. Empty. The way we think of a wild-west ghost-town in an old spaghetti western. A dried husk, haunted with old, dark, whispered secrets.

The clack of thunder and the smell of an electric-storm heavy on the horizon.

I am here.

I will write soon.

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