Carey and I have set a moving date. It's officially July the 23rd, mateys, so mark it down.

Apparently a move to southern California is about 20 times more complicated than moving anywhere else in the continental United States, with the possible exception of New York City. Everything is a big, flaming ordeal, from finding an apartment all the way down to finding an apartment. To be fair, most renters have been very sweet with us, with a few glaring exceptions. The more we converse with the West Coast, the more it seems that Ohio is some sort of big inside joke that the rest of the country shares. It's a shame, really. "I promise, I didn't mean to be born here! Really! Please forgive me and allow me to live in your hip little state! I'll try extra hard not to infect it with Midwestern Bible-Belt germies! I beg of you... make us Californians!"

Doing some very exciting work on the freelance illustration end. Bible jigsaw-puzzles, a Christmas storybook... and a very enjoyable comic-book-style ad that I'm working on with Spaner Marketing in Canton. Unforntunately, it's rare that I get to work on projects that are exactly what I'd want to draw... thanks, Spaner.

I also must take this opportunity to thank Steve Harpster, illustrator extraordinaire, who has done more to help me with my illustration career in the past few months than I could have ever expected. You're one in a million, buddy. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Steve's work to anyone looking for a very tight, cartoony, commercial style. Very nice stuff indeed.