Sang as it Ever Was

MST3K Rewatch & Review: Try out rewatching and reviewing all of the MST3K episodes in order in the hopes of brushing up writing and artistic observational skills. Although I could get it all done in one year, I want to get through at least half/the Joel seasons.

Garden 2: Garden Hardener: Last year was packed with a lot of lessons, and this year I want an even better garden. In January and February I want to do more reading and research - not sure where to start, but given how shit the Internet is it'll probably be the library. Want to learn more about fertilizers, trellising, pruning and plant care, a way of dealing with mildew and disease, and for real how to deal with downy mildew it sucks so much here. I have four new beds to put in, plus I want to put wood chips between the beds to keep down weeds, and if I'm flush with enough cash put up a really nice fence to keep out the buns.

Visit My Girlfriend! Not sure if it'll be meeting up in the US or maybe going over there, but it's a must!

Attend a Printmaking Conference: A friend from college emailed me to see if I was interested in attending the SGCI in Rhode Island next year, and I think I'm going to make it happen somehow. I can volunteer to lower the cost of the ticket, and we're going to split the room. I really want to get immersed in art again, to bring more balance to my life.

Learn New Skills: I would like to pick up two of the following programs/skills in the new year: DaVinci Resolve/basic video editing, basic animation/animatics, maybe Blender?, website coding, pixel art.

Start Doing Art For Me: Even at the new job I'm starting to fall back into the old patterns of "I need to get other people's projects done before I can work on my own", but I know that's a trap. There's always going to be more in house and client design work to get done, so I need to place more importance in my own work. It'll make all the difference in making me a stronger and more resilient artist. Comics, printmaking, writing, wood burning, painting, nalbinding because this post is bookended by Sedge's cool work, all of them or something else. Who knows.

Visit New Mexico: Want to scout out the state and ABQ in particular. Plus I have a lot of Internet friends and coworkers there! And I can take a trip to Mexico to get my wisdom teeth ripped out of I'm feeling flush/in pain.

Start Reading Again: Nothing super intense, just a gentle dip back into reading. Some gardening books, that Polysecure book I've been putting off for ages. Even more comic books would be good with me.

Find Out What I Want: If this one feels vague, that's because it's incredibly vague to me too. Ever since I got back from Minneapolis, I have wanted nothing and deep down I wonder if I would be content to rot until I die. I'd rather not turn out like my dad, so this year is about finding out what I do want by doing a lot of the above - learning new things, taking up printmaking again, visiting places and friends, reading, just experiencing in general! The life I planned out has fallen through, and clearly doing things the 'right' way isn't going to work for me - time to start laying the foundations for the next thirty years.