Went for a jog at 5 am this morning! It felt pretty good. I've had a lot on my mind lately that I needed to blow off some of that stress. Not to mention, I've been pretty much strapped to my drawing table for the last week. Kinda gettin' stir crazy? Yeah. So, had a quick jog and came back to a sports drink called Aquarius. It's pretty good. My favourite is Pocari Sweat though. I dunno what it is since they look identical but there's more flavour to Pocari? More salt maybe? Btw, sports drinks are not coloured here. They all look milky and mirky but are refreshing nonetheless. It's actually pretty funny when mentioning to j-friends that Gatorade and other drinks in that vein back home come multi-neon coloured. It seems to blow their minds. They're all, like, "that can't be healthy!?". When you think about it, probably, yeah.

So, to get over my work boredom I watched Total Recall last night. Yeah, that's right. "Cohaagan! Give dem di aaiiirrr!". I did a wiki search and was surprised to read that it was filmed mostly in Mexico City. Like, the futuristic subway system and stuff. The set pieces still hold up today and it was filmed at the end of the 80s. That's pretty cool considering they didn't have access to CG or anything. My favourite scene? Watching Michael Ironside's arms being torn off during that elevator scene followed by the one liner "See you at the party". Bwahaha!

Goin' home next month. Kinda mixed about it. I wish I had more things to brag about to family and friends but I've been running a slow and steady race every since the new year. I think I mentioned I was being too eager last year in an earlier post? Well, yeah. I've been doing a lot of thinking and, uh, absorbing. Manga psychology or whatever. Sorry to be vague about all this every time but it's the best way I can describe it all. I have a sinking feeling I'm just thinking too much like a girl. Anyway, once August hits in a few days I'm sure I'll be more excited about seeing Canada again. Even for a short while. The first thing I'm gonna do is pig out on a big fat bowl of pho. I've decided. Then a big fat burger at Harvey's. Shit, man. It's gonna be gastronomously awesome. If that's even a word.

TAK

So, I've never really been a hair kinda guy. While I was growing up, I'd get my dad or mom to cut it and the first time I went to a real barber was once I hit university. I had it embarassingly long for a bit in high school but after I got over the whole "grunge" thing I opted to keep it short ever since. It's just easier that way and if it looks like shit I just wear a hat. Anyway, I've been going to this place close to my uncle's that cuts for 1000 yen or roughly 10 bucks ever since moving here. It's a mom and pop shop and they have a rotating staff of about 4 people. 1 really young guy who sucks, 1 middle-aged guy that also sucks and smells of liquor or cigarettes and 2 ladies that do a nice job but are lazy so they pass me off to either of the 2 guys whenever they get the chance. I went today and got the middle-aged guy (yaaay...) who gave me the wierdest cut so, yeah, hat for a week. I even had to trim hairs he missed once I got home. It's fucked! Anyway, the point of this post is that I've decided (next time) I need to dish out a bit and get a real haircut for once in my life.

TAK

Managed to finish that issue of Secret Invasion last week. I've already started on the 3rd and last installment. After that, it's a trip home and then back here to concentrate on Japan again. I've been kinda gestating ideas on characters and plot for the last few months. The psychology behind all this has been, uh, complicated and way too cheese to put in words so I won't. haha.

Anyway, I rarely see angry people in Japan. Everyone is pretty careful about not openly showing their emotions so even when there's an argument happening it's hard to tell. The other day, tho, like, whoa. I was on my local train platform and this dude was just goin' OFF on his phone. It's all the more shocking to see since it practically never happens. But, yeah. He's all, like, "I'm gonna sue your ass this and sue your ass that". It was rather entertaining after I got over the initial surprise. Actually, it was all the more entertaining since the security people who's job it is to keep the peace didn't want anything to do with this irate maniac and kept well away from him during the entire show. Good job, guys.

Also in the news. It's hot. Like, freakin' hot.

Oh, that MJ piece I did for the comic store in Chicago called Challengers has been printed and is hanging in their window. Yay! I even got the best spot so I feel special. Store owners Patrick and Dal sent me pics so I'll share them with you all here. If you live in their area please go and spend lots and lots of money.

TAK

Sorry for the absence. I've had a lot to deal with the past few weeks. I had another cockroach outbreak a few days ago which prompted an entire gutting of my apartment and a thrice over with a new vacuum I felt I should buy. I really don't understand where they come from since I've been free of problems for the past 7-8 months. I suspect they come through cracks in my window screen since I sleep with an open window? I dunno. I'll be monitoring things for the next week.

The hose that drains water from my washing machine also burst, resulting in a major flood of my bathroom area. Now, THAT was a pain in the ass. Especially since I was right in the middle of a wash. I used every towel I had in my place for clean up and now I have water damage on my walls. Geez. Zero return on my deposit for sure...

I'm also inking like a madman right now. The current issue has a lot of characters and complicated backgrounds so it's been taking me a bit longer to finish pages.

Anyway, a pretty stressful week. I decided to watch Evangelion from the top again for kicks since it's been about 10 years since I last saw it and, shit, it's freakin' depressing, man. Not something to watch at a time like this!

TAK