Creating a daily comic strip is not boring like the graveyard shift at a 7-11 in a ghost town. It’s not as dangerous as operating as a double-agent for SD-6. And it doesn’t require nearly the patience needed to manage a room filled with twenty-two sleep deprived kindergartners. But it has its share of annoyances. The last few days have left me a bit under the weather. (Another by-product associated with being married to a Kindergarten teacher who deals with kids that don’t fully grasp the social faux pas of coughing directly in one’s face.) I took a “sick day” that still included a morning of writing, drawing, inking, scanning, and digitally enhancing. In the life of a cartoonist, there are no days off. For a guy who likes to make to-do lists for the sole enjoyment of crossing things off of it, this is oddly reminiscent of the whack-a-mole game: you knock out one strip, another one emerges on the list. Since I’m not yet syndicated, all of this pressure is mostly self-inflicted. The world will not end if Kim & Jason doesn’t get updated for a day. But I look at it as professional training, and I’m proud to say that I haven’t missed a day in over two years. Not Cal Ripken numbers, mind you, but one has to start somewhere. And another thing. I hate it that the malls have all their Christmas stuff up the day after Halloween. But they might as well keep on with the tradition, because it helps me come up with ideas. Since I am usually about a month or two ahead on writing, I too, have to start thinking about Christmas before all the Halloween candy is digested. Right now, I’m working on a Christmas episode where Kim is in search of the true meaning of Christmas. During seasonal changes, it’s a challenge to try and think ahead to what the weather will be like. I have to remind myself that in November, Kim and Jason should be wearing long pants and coats when I myself am donned in khaki shorts as I write the strip in the middle of September. Lest anyone thinks I’m complaining, let me say how much I love my job and feel fortunate to be able to wake up everyday drawing funny pictures. But can someone e-mail me some great swimming pool ideas around March or so?
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