Last blog post of 2022; I’ll try to keep it short and sweet.
The end of the year rolls towards us like an inevitable… big… rolling… thing, and it is customary to take stock of one’s past 365 days. Mine, in short, have been a super mixed bag. The majority of the year has been a slow recovery from a creative slump, and overcoming the paranoia that my job might have been on the line at any moment. I don’t know if I can point at any particular day before August/September that I did anything of note. Plenty of other things were happening around me with my friends and loved ones, but I was more or less cruising through life in the slow lane, listening to the weird grinding sounds coming from my car and praying that it wouldn’t explode; I wish that was only a metaphor.
It’s only now, at the end of the year, that my car has been both literally and figuratively repaired. My relationship with my art has greatly improved, I’ve revitalised this website, and I’m maintaining my creative headspace better than ever before. I’m aware of what it’s like to burn out, and I’m keeping a close eye for any signs of doing so; all good so far. That said, it’s time for a break.
Like I said, this will be the last Bottom of the Deck post for the year, and tomorrow will be the final Fifth Ace Showcase page of both the current story, and the month of December. I’m going to be spending the next week kicking back and relaxing, doing as little as possible and appreciating a nice breath of fresh air as we go into 2023; I’ve been working hard the past few months, I think I deserve it.
Coming in January, I’ll be leaping back into action from Wednesday the 4th, when the next Showcase story will have its first page uploaded. Bottom of the Deck posts will continue as usual on Thursdays, uninterrupted; I’ll give a proper breakdown on upcoming stuff then. Finally, Magic Beans will continue the following week from the 10th, in a new update slot on Tuesdays; now that the Showcase has picked up again, shifting Magic Beans to Tuesdays will mean that I’ll be posting something every weekday moving forward.
That’s all for this year; if I come up with any notable resolutions, you’ll hear about them next week. For now, the only thing I’m resolving to do is relax and spend some time with my friends, family, and fiancee.
Ciao for now, and Happy New Year!