Woo-hoo! Walt Disney World Vacay booked!

We booked our first family vacation for this summer, and I am really excited. We are going to walt Disney World in Orlando! I have never been anywhere like this growing up. Ollie will be 10 months old at the time of the trip, so he won't get quite as much out of it as my wife and I, but it will be cute seeing how he reacts to the characters (I hope..LOL)

We booked made advanced dining reservations for most of our meals, and have a few left. I think Animal Kingdom and MGM are going to be awesome. We are staying at the Polynesian resort. It is still a ways off, but I can't wait!

First day on the new job...

And I get in a horrible car accident on my way in. I was making a left turn at an intersection, and there was an oncoming car turning right onto the same street. A car whipped around them into the other lane to beat the light and hit me. I think my car is totalled. My wrist kind of hurts and I have general aches and pains, but I think it could have been much worse. I am not sure what the condition of the other people are. The police said they were fine, just shaken up. They went to the hospital in an ambulance. I had 1 car payment left on my car, so luckily I had full coverage. I just hope the other driver isn't an "opportunist" since I was the only one cited, which really cheeses me off, because a) it is illegal to change lanes so many feet before an intersection and b) they were speeding to make the light. Here are the pics of my "car" So sad.

Second finished commission!

Wow, two awesome commissions completed in one week. What more could a guy ask for???!
This piece is by Chris Staggs, whose art I saw in an issue of Deadpool Team-Up. I really like his style. a tad cartoony but chock full of action. Chris was great to work with. He told me he'd send a couple thumbnails for mt to pick from (which I love it when artists do)but he sent me 5 thumbnails to choose from. They can be seen below. I chose #3 and Chris did an awesome job on the finished piece. Check out his Deviant art page here: http://bolognafingers.deviantart.com/
He kept me updated and the turnaround was pretty fast. A terrific commission experience.

My first completed commission of 2010

This past year I hadn't been able to buy much new art. Once I got my severance and unemployment and started looking for a job I was in a position I could buy a few things. I have really been enjoying the Spidey books ever since the Brand New Day storyline, so I started buying Spidey related commissions. This first piece is by John Watson. (www.johnwatsonart.com) Mr. Watson was a joy to work with on this commission. He has done many cover paintings for DC (Hawkman, JSA and others) and Marvel (Marvel Apes, Silent War, Uncanny X-Men and more) and more recently Buck Rogers covers for Dynamite Entertainment. Without further ado, here is Spider-Man trying to rescue Norah Winters (a spunky reporter that works with Peter Parker for Front Line) from menace! I don't have the art in hand yet, but I got the scan this morning. I love it!

I am soon to be employed again!

I was laid off the week before Christmas. I knew it was coming for a long time, and I was blessed that I kept getting extended as long as I did. I took a week off to enjoy the holidays before I really started looking hard. I started sending out resumes and contacting companies about openings. I had a couple telephone interviews and a couple in person interviews. Back in early January I sent my resume for a position opening for a local company. I received a response to fill out a questionnaire. Now, I had been taking care of my son this whole time I have been unemployed so my time spent online has been minimal, so I didn't see the questionnaire for a few days. i filled it out and was asked to come in for an interview. I thought it went really well. I interviewed with 5 of my would-be peers. While I was talking with them, I felt I would fit in with the group rather well. i felt a good camaraderie with them. A week after the interview I was called to come back in for a second interview. This one was much more grueling. It lasted 2 hours. I thought it went well. I was told to contact them Friday February 12th for an update. Well, they called me Thursday and offered me the position.
The company is a pretty large business. The benefits and hours seem pretty good. I hope I am there for many years. Finally, after everything my family has been through the last few months, we get some good news. :-)

New shelf is up! and other basement pics

I need some new storage boxes for my comics....
This new shelf is so much nicer than what I had...

New Bookshelf will be here today!

I have been needing (and wanting) a new bookshelf for my graphic novels and tradepaperbacks for a long time now. I am talking like 2 years. I bought one over the weekend and it should arrive today. Here is a photo of my old one. I can't wait to get the new one put together. :-)