Who got absorbed into the maw of academia? That’s right! Moi!
Time flew so fast I didn’t realise 4 months had passed since my last blogging. Not that I hadn’t been… There are a handful of half-baked essays and ramblings in the drafts that I started and stopped. Fingers crossed I am able to pursue posting some of them, if not all.
Anyway, the Masters are fine. This was my first semester, and the only one (?? Maybe) with a 3 subject load. After 5 years of self-directing my life’s schedule, it was a bit of a struggle to squeeze 3 days of attending lectures, 3 hours of commute and hours of assignments — on top of juggling my day job, life’s worries and social obligations.
I hadn’t actually drawn or written much in the rush of it all, though that has more to do with being in a fallow creative period after many years of constant hustling.
I am not quite sure if it’s burnout. The candle is still there, but I don’t have the fuel to start a flame. ATM, it’s simply very hard to locate the flow, the spark, the drive to facilitate a story to its realisation. As mentioned in previous blog posts, I don’t force my process or my mental/physical capacities when at an impasse, which only seemed to emphasise the fallowness of the situation.
This doesn’t mean nothing is happening. A month ago, I may have found a solution for unclogging the 4 years writer’s block plaguing Alexander Book 2 (TBD?). Two months ago, I finally made the leap to publicise and formalise my somewhat-secret study on comics taxonomy (will speak more, this is part of the Drafts Pile). Those are significant things……. now if I can only get the energy to keep at them!!
I am currently travelling the US, coast to coast. LA, Portland, Boston and NYC. The real reason is incredibly ridiculously self-indulgent… but I deserve it. Why am I juggling a thousand things if not for the ability to see Josh Groban singing about killing people with a barber knife on stage?? The Me of Many Years Ago missed out on those opportunities, either because of finances and/or school. This certainly won’t be the fate of Me of This Year and The Foreseeable Future!
Regardless, it’s given me a good excuse to catch up and see some friends in person. Can’t say how I feel yet since I am just in my second day.
But yeah, a quick post here to say: hello, this blog isn’t dead. It isn’t ever gonna be. Life may throw some lemons but the best thing about keeping a blog is that it doesn’t matter if I get smacked by them. There is no algorithm! There is no obligation! And with the collapse of social media, all the better!
