Have Fun in Jail!

Back in college, when Stef and I were living in the same dormitory, a fellow used to come around named Alan. Alan was a tenacious visitor, insomuch as he never left once he got into the room. Add to the fact that he smelled bad and you can see why protracted visits were unwelcome. To give you an idea of the smell, one day he came over and sat in a chair that Stef had thrown her coat over. Alan sitting on the collar of her jacket for a half hour made the jacket unwearable, and it had to be dry cleaned to remove the smell. The group of us that hung out together created a secret knock as a way to not let Alan in.

Later, when Stef was manager of the movie theater, Alan took a job there. Having dropped out of college and now living in his car did not help the odor situation much. His poor coworkers were forced to work shifts with him confined to a small box office at times. A few years after we left the theater we ran into Alan again, this time as a salesman at Sears. He was very proud of the fact that he had been in New York city at the time of 9/11, but on further questioning he admitted that he had been in the city about two weeks prior to 9/11.

Well, last night we had another Alan sighting. I was cleaning up my paints when Stef called me from the bedroom, "Oh my Gosh, Mike! Come here and see this!" A come here and see this isn't always of earth shattering importance, but the added oh my gosh added some urgency. I rushed in, not sure what to expect. Stef looked up at the TV and pressed 'play' on the DVR (side note: I love modern DVR functionality), where she had paused the local news. There on the screen was Alan, now 34 years old, who had been arrested for soliciting a 14 year old on the internet. The news report mentioned that similarly condemning material had been found on his computer. Let me take this opportunity to wish Alan a fun time in prison. My advice to him is to use the opportunity to shower regularly.

Apparently 12 Years is PB&J

Yesterday was our 12th wedding anniversary. Stef and I are both suffering colds, she at the end of one and I at the beginning, so we're both feeling a bit listless. We went to church in the morning, dropped the girls off with my mom a couple hours later (to spend two nights) and then searched fruitlessly for a place to get Jay a haircut. We gave up after two or three closed places and went home. I did some laundry in preparation for my 8:00 PM departure for Grand Rapids and played with Jay a little (dinosaurs and race cars, in combinations of one, the other, or both.) At about 6:30 PM I figured Jay would be hungry so I made him and me a PB&J. We had leftover Chinese, but I figured that Stef could use it for lunch/dinner tomorrow. After making a sandwich for Jay, Stef realized that she was hungry (after having passed the first time around for one) so all three of us sat around eating PB&J.

I didn't expect to be quite so penniless at this point in my marriage. I expected to be going to nice restaraunts or weekend getaways by this point. We really couldn't afford to do anything special because I had to pay for my own meals on this week's trip (before per diem payment when I get back.) Despite my shattered expectations of being able to take my wife on romantic shindigs, I can't say I'm disappointed. I feel unabashedly thankful for Stef putting up with me for these years. She makes my life better, and I look forward to many more years of trying to do the same for her. Prime rib or PB&J, as long as it's with her.

She'll Have to Wait

Ashlynn is sitting on the shelf at home for the next four days while I'm off at training. I didn't want to bring her along and risk damaging her, since she's heading for eBay. Granted, I did actually bring paints and minis along, and plan to spend the next three nights painting something (although I am undecided as to what yet.)

Grace of my H-yawn-eart

Travel back with me now to a more innocent time... 1989 or so. I walked into a tiny CD shop in Brighton after hearing two songs by Kristen Vigard on the local public radio station, and I wanted to buy her album. The clerk there was able to order it for me after some searching through books. A week or so later I had the album, and have listened to it ever since. Note: using the word "album" makes me old.

Fast forward to 1996. I hear, again on public radio, that Kristen Vigard is doing the singing voice in the new movie Grace of my Heart. I am interested, but not enough so to seek out and see the film.

Fast forward again to about two months ago. I purchased Kristen Vigard's new (read: second) album, and it included the song "God Give Me Strength" from Grace of my Heart. I decide I'd like to see the movie now. Please also note that my use of quotes, italics and capitalization in titles is entirely arbitrary.

Saturday night, Stef and I sat down and watched the nearly two hours of Grace of my Heart, and it was tedious. It chronicles the life of a young heiress-who-would-be-singer/songwriter as she tackles (and succeeds in) various eras of music, while simultaneously marrying everyone with whom she collaborates. Her ambition is to be a singer, but it never really pans out until the end. Even the song for which I rented the movie is a commercial flop in the movie's plot. The problem is that the movie tries to be epic, and it really should have been a small story. Stef and I were bored silly by the end. Was it worth it? Meh. It was interesting to hear Kristen Vigard singing, but I wouldn't say it was worth the time investment.

Anime style?

My latest mini WIP is Warmachine Mercenary Warcaster Ashlynn D'Elyse. I don't play mercs in Warmachine, so this is probably an eBay item eventually.

After doing the face, it appears I now paint anime.

...and they're gone!

The Tau have shipped, and I have been paid... well, almost. I received about 20% less than originally mentioned, but with the promise that whatever the total minus shipping was I would get, so there still may be some money coming my way. It's a learning experience for both of us, so I'm willing to be flexible this time. Next time I'll get a hard number.


CoolMiniOrNot link: >>here<<

I was especially happy with how the Piranhas and Hammerhead turned out. Considering I had built/painted exactly ZERO vehicles before this commission I am fairly pleased with myself. The Hammerhead (top pic) has two choices for main cannon, and I contrived a way to change out the gun; nothing particularly complex, but a nice touch for the customer on a kit that normally forces you to glue one cannon or the other in place when you build it.

They Leave Tomorrow

Another bleary night painting Tau...

Except for one single figure holding binoculars, they are done. At long last.
All WIP photos here: http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/viewthread.php?tid=16520

Mark suggested that next week we designate an "opposite night" wherein he would come over and (finally) paint that Skorne box for Angelos, and I would ignore all outstanding commission work and paint something of my own. I like that idea.

Three Weeks of Painting in One Post

I mentioned that "Tau continue" in my last post, but I don't think I've mentioned what Tau actually are. I am doing a commission army for a fellow in Italy of Warhammer 40k figures. The faction in question is Tau, an anime inspired army, who battle for "the greater good."




























Sorry, but I don't have a clue how to format multiple photos in this interface.

The Inevitable

Last night our cat Mabel died. For about a year she had been developing tumors, the largest of which was on the right side of her face. Add to that the fact that she was 16 years old and really fat and you'll see why her death was no real surprise. It lessens the blow, but it's still sad. It was pretty clear by 10:30 PM that she was headed downhill, and we chose to wake the girls to say their goodbyes to her. We were going to take her to a 24-hour vet just to prevent her from suffering for hours upon hours, but she died before we could leave. I have heard about people or animals passing "peacefully" but have never experienced it. It always seems painful and wretched at the moment. I'm glad I was out of the room when my friend Monty died; if he had died in the same manner as the animals I have been with it would have been a haunting memory indeed.

Mark was over painting with me when Stef found Mabel. He hasn't been over in ages to paint, and was able to watch the kids while Stef and I took Mabel to the vet. (I really couldn't bury her in our backyard.) It's comforting to know that God watches out for us in little ways like that... neither Stef nor had to make the solo journey to drop Mabel off, and we got to commiserate and remember her during the trip.

In other news, Tau continue. Not much progress last night obviously.

Old Friend, New Success

This post has no other purpose than to congratulate the one and only Tim Eldred on his accomplishment. His book "Grease Monkey" has been nominated by the American Library Association in the category of Best Book for Young Adults!

Apparently the nomination won't be on their site until October 1, but here's the link:
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/bestbooksya/bestbooksyoung.htm

When I think of people living out their dreams, I know two guys named Tim who have done it. (The other one is artist Tim Albee, in case you wonder, care, or have arrived here by searching on Tim Albee's name... Hi, Tim!) You, Tim Eldred, are an inspiration.

Done and Started

The standard bearer is done and shipped to the owner. The thing that torques me is now that it's gone I can see flaws in the picture that I really want to fix. The globby things near the top of the standard, for example. I have a quote in to the customer for a squad, so if I get that job I'll ask him to return the standard bearer to me for repairs.

I'm now working on another mini for Aether Drip, a Hordes mini. This fellow is a "Titan Cannoneer" from the Skorne faction. The normal mini has the cannon pointing down, so this is a bit of a conversion. Titans look big and dumb to me, so having his tongue sneaking out while aiming appeals to me.

I feel like I have something deep and meaningful that I should be posting here tonight, but I really can't think of it.... oh, well.

Aether Drip

I am now semi-officially a member of Aether Drip Painting Studio. My first piece, the aforementioned Circle of Orboros box, is now listed in Plainswalker's Magic Bag eBay store. I already have some Skorne (a Titan Cannoneer, a unit of Praetorians and Archdomina Makeda) that Angelos gave me to paint up in addition to all my other work. I'm going to be busy, but hopefully it will be a nice income supplement.

The "Legion of the Damned" standard bearer commission is coming along well. Obviously the hardest part will be the freehand on the standard. I like the way the black armor is coming along. Doing black that doesn't just suck the light out of the room is challenging.

Forecast for Today: Rain

Last night the EMU faculty union decided to give up the strike and go back to the bargaining table with the administraiton. I would defer to http://weather.com for some insight on why. My prediction is that we will have a few days of faculty in classrooms, but if nothing is resolved by the time the rain clears up they'll be back on the picket line. At least until it gets cold.

I used to think the faculty contract expired just as the school year starts so that the faculty could have extra bargaining power. Now, I just think it expires then so that it won't ruin faculty summer vacations to strike.

Many of the striking faculty were carrying signs reading "I'd rather teach." Yeah, for $80k with summers off, I'd rather teach, too.

Heartwarming

Each night my wife sings "Good Night, My Someone" to my 2-year old son while he rests his head on her shoulder. He sings back, mostly in sounds rather than words.

It is absolutely the sweetest thing.

---

The Circle of Orboros box has a 7.1 on CMON, tying for the best mini I've done. I'm pleased.

Fire and Forget

So apparently a new game store is opening around here called "Planeswalker's Magic Bag." Mark talked to the owner, and he gave Mark two Hordes starter boxes for me and him to paint up for sale. I put the finishing touches on mine tonight. >>CMON link<<

I've got to hand it to the guy, trusting someone he's never met with $80 worth of merchandise won him a few points with me. Apparently the deal is that he sells the painted figures somehow, and gives the painter the sale price minus the retail price of the minis. For him it's no different than selling an unopened box, so I'm not really sure what the benefit is for him other than to have painted minis to display. I'm not even sure he has a site for the new store yet! Well, he trusted me with merchandise, so I'll trust him to pay me for whatever the painted minis sell for. If all goes well, I'll hand him minis and later he'll hand me cash.

Next up for painting: Space Marine Standard Bearer commission job. After that, in no particular order, a Usagi Yojimbo "Gen" mini, lots more dwarfs, a Skorne starter box, and finally my own Menoth minis if I get some time. And I really should get around to painting the minis that the very generous Naukhel sent me for Mini Exchange 8.

The faculty are still on strike here. Their proposed compensation changes are outrageous, in my not-so-humble opinion. So now they walk a picket line in front of the classroom buildings, but classes go on anyway (not all faculty are represented by the local apparently.)

Miscellany 2

Yesterday was a beautiful, cool, relaxing summer day. If 3pm on a clear, low-70's Labor Day isn't the perfect time for a nap, I don't know what is.

The faculty here at EMU is on strike, and classes start tomorrow. Considering all the problems we've had recently I am irritated at both sides, since a strike can only hurt enrollment. Enrollment is what we need to build to flourish here. (shakes head) Our local negotiates after the faculty, so they shape our contract a great deal. Anything they concede we are forced to concede, for all intents and purposes. Anything they get affects how much is available for us to get.

Sunday was Sarah's last day in children's church. From now on, she's in regular church with us, unless Stef and I are in nursery (which is probably 3 Sundays in 5.) I'm a little pensive of her ability to sit somewhat still for 40 minutes, but hoping for the best.

I don't typically take celebrity deaths with any level of personal involvement, but Steve Irwin makes me feel a bit of loss. He was just some likeable guy who loved his job, and happened to ride the zeitgeist for 8 seconds and win the rodeo while doing it. Somehow he made being a TV-average looking (much better than non-TV average looking) alligator wrestler seem like an everyday guy. Go figure. And anyone who says "he died doing what he loved" has never been killed doing what they loved... I'm sure it sucks.

Saturday, Stef called me over to the front porch to see what she thought was a hummingbird. "If that's a hummingbird, it's the smallest bird that I've ever seen," she said. It was flying exactly like a hummingbird, hovering as it went from flower to flower. Upon close inspection, it appeared to be more like a little lobster with hummingbird wings. Stef caught it in a little bug net, and we put it in a jar for observation. It was indeed some sort of moth, with membranous wings like a fly or a cicada. After releasing it from the jar, it alighted on Stef's hand, and Stef and Sarah both petted it for a minute before it flew off to feed again. A quick google on the words "hummingbird" and "moth" yielded the animal's name: Hummingbird Moth. Go figure. How cool. The picture attached is the spit and image of what we saw; just imagine the wings as a blur.

Back in Stride

I have been having trouble painting lately. For more than a week now it has been work to pick up a brush, so much so that I've set my painting supplies a couple times this week and then just did nothing.

Last night changed that.

I started by doing some touch up work on the Argus models (the two headed wolves) that came with the Cirlce of Orboros box that had been so much work for me lately. I then started highlighting the WarpWolf (the larger wolf model) and things just started... I dunno... flowing. It was dark in the house, and silent except for an occassional sigh or cough from my wretched dogs, and I sat under the unnaturally bright Ott light and just painted. I went to bed actually a little excited to wake up and see what the models look like in more natural light. I'll probably have all four models completed sometime tonight, and then move on to the next commission piece, a Space Marine Stardard Bearer.

Miscellany

I made steak tacos for dinner tonight.

A local hobby shop is opening, and the owner gave me a Circle of Oboros box to paint for display and sale in the store.

A new fellow, Kyle, played Warmachine with Brian and me last night. Both Brian's Khador and Kyle's Grundback mercenaries pounded my Menites into the ground.

Yesterday was our department's picnic and the cold cuts were swarmed by what looked like bees. Based on their interest in meat, I'm guessing they are some sort of wasp.

My truck is still out of commission, so I've been borrowing Sheena's car. It is quite girly in decoration, a fact that has been no end of amusement to my coworkers.

My children are, at this moment, lying in the dark watching "The Secret of NIMH."

Family Camp this year had some of the most authentic teaching I've experienced.

I am signing up for a new life insurance policy and a nurse came to the house to take various data, including blood samples and my height and weight. We don't have a scale in the house, and I was surprised by how much I weighed. I have a goal now of losing (brace yourself) 37 pounds in the coming months. The plan is basically to eat normal human sized portions at meals and avoid snacks. It pretty much means I'm hungry all the time now, but I assume my stomach needs to adjust to a more normal meal size, as opposed to the metric ton of food I normally eat.

A Tale of Greed

For just a moment, let me take you back to July 6, 2004. John Kerry had just announced John Edwards as his running mate, and the owner of a little personal web site assumed that he was sitting on a gold mine. Mr. Kerry Edwards, owner of KerryEdwards.com, must have had sugarplum visions of the powerful Dems backing dumptrucks full of cash to his house in return for such a clearly valuable domain name.

Now, the site is just a squatted advertising page. I'm guessing Mr. Edwards regrets his decision.

The Self-Sustaining Hobby

The sale of High Paladin Vilmon this weekend brought my Paypal account to >$100, which is enough evidence to show that my hobby can be self-sustaining. I got my first commission job from an eBay contact this weekend too, which is exciting. All my commission work has been from friends up until now. It's funny.... Brushworkz began life as a commission painting service but quickly morphed into a wargaming accessory business and lost a lot of (my) money. Now I'm selling painted minis on my own. Go figure.