The weeks are tearing by, but in a good way. I woke up feeling great today. I’ve finally fought off my typical season-changing cold and the weather’s steadily improving out here.

On top of that, my work week is extra short with a Monday provincial holiday and a trip to the zoo tomorrow to draw the animals. I’m not complaining.

It’s scary to think I’m heading into a routine, but I’m trying to keep things interesting. My evenings have been productive, which is nice. I’ve been doing life drawing, sketching on my personal projects or learning Adobe Photoshop in depth. All in all, very good.

I want to buy a disposable camera and take some photos of my new place. I think I’ll go on my lunch break and pick one up. I found that I don’t have enough photos from the last couple of years and I wish I had more to look back at. Besides, the photo of me at my website is way out of date. I don’t have a goatee or moustache anymore and my hair’s quite a bit different. It took a bit to get used to, but I like the clean shaven look now (it’s quite a change from when I was at Sheridan with Neon Orange hair).

Work’s been great. One of my classes is finishing up their final films and a couple of the students are producing the best footage I’ve seen since I started here. Very top notch stuff. It was a rush putting together the new ads for the course with really high quality student artwork. Even before we’ve run the ads, interest in the course is at an all-time high.

READING:
My friend Heather has insisted that I read the Harry Potter series. They’re kid’s books, but actually pretty enjoyable. Really light reading. They remind me of the kind of prose that’s in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I’m thinking about doing some sketches of the main characters as a little exercise for myself.

WATCHING:
I finally bought the Shawshank Redemption yesterday. I love that movie. Incredible storytelling. If you haven’t seen it, go out and rent it. You won’t be disappointed.

Otherwise, all’s quiet out here. Plan your summer trips to Calgary and stay in touch.

It’s Valentine’s Day.

Admittedly, my life’s been a little too busy for relationships. The job and new place have kept me busy enough. Weirdly enough, I’m not too blue about this Valentine’s Day. Normally, I’m a real jerk on the 14th.

When I was in residence, getting into a relationship seemed so important. Now, I like to think I’m confident enough to not let it get to me. The career aspect of my life is pretty overwhelming, so I don’t have much time to worry.

The housewarming party went pretty good. We actually had too much food, which was a nice surprise. The house is kicking butt now.

So., just a little note to let you all know that I’m doing well. And to all the girls I’ve loved (just as friends or as lovers):

Happy Valentine’s Day. The times we’ve shared make me smile, especially today.

Finally moved in to my new place.

We actually got the keys early, so my roommate and I had several days to bring all of his stuff over. It made the whole move relatively painless.

Although the majority of my stuff doesn’t arrive from Toronto until later this week, I’m actually settling in pretty quick. It’s a good feeling. I can’t wait until I set up my studio and draw more often in the evenings.

As far as the weekend went, we were supposed to go to the local art house theatre Friday night and see Monty Python and The Holy Grail at midnight, but the person organizing the whole thing messed it up and we went to the pub to get drunk instead.

And scariest of all, I bought groceries and cooked last night. Those of you that know my school meals or eating habits from Aurenya know that I used to eat restaurant food like it was all 5 food groups. Unbelievably, I’m breaking myself of this habit (but I’ll still head out for the occasional sushi). I cooked for myself and it was damn good.

So, I guess this e-mail’s short but simple. I’m slowly getting a social life, work has been great and the new house is looking good, too.

I could feel myself getting miserably sick yesterday. I was insanely tired, my mouth was drying out and my joints were sore. According to everyone around the school, I was due for that nasty flu that’s been incapacitating people.

Today, I’m healthy again. I wouldn’t run a marathon, but I’m doing much better. And it’s all because of Mike and his crazy Chinese cures. I’ll explain…

I’ve been staying at several different places until I move into the new house. One of them is the head instructor of the school. When I was at Mike’s place yesterday, he gave me some of these Chinese herbal pills that he swears by. They look kind of like little yellow candies or something. When Mike explained to me that he goes to a Chinese herbal doctor in addition to his regular doctor, I couldn’t help but visualize some old shop like in Gremlins or something. I told Mike I’d probably have “Chinese Dragon nightmares” screaming and performing martial arts maneuvers in my sleep. Anyways… took the pills, feel better today, end of story.

I’ve been doing Life Drawing in the evening once or twice a week since I got back. Although it’s been painful getting back into it, I’m glad I’m doing it. The results have been slow and I’m still not where I was when I left Sheridan, but the progress is not bad, all things considered.

I’m hoping to get back to where I was soon and then push beyond with more practice. I guess Werner (my old Life Drawing teacher) would be pleased. I know too many people who stopped Life Drawing after they got out of school.

Otherwise, things are good. I’m excited about moving in to the new place and setting up all my crap. With the money I’m saving by having easy access to the transit system instead of buying a car, I’m planning to buy a kick-ass computer.

I can’t believe January will be wrapping up soon. The daylight’s getting longer here and I can’t wait until summer.

That’s all for now.

Searching for somewhere to live is a frustrating experience. Ideally, I wanted to find a house I could rent in near the C-Train (streetcar system in Calgary). That way I could save up money for a car for the summer instead of buying a crappy car now and praying it lasted through winter.

I ended up seeing a whole pile of houses over the last week. They fell into several categories:
• ungodly expensive
• horribly destroyed in crappy neighborhoods
• the weird

The weird took me to places like a really clean house with a nice property. The landlady, however, was a clean freak (read- obsessive/compulsive). She insisted that we would have to trim the bushes and manicure the lawn every week as well as keep a flower garden. I am the farthest thing from a gardener.

Then, she mentioned that we had to be relatively quiet people because her father lived next door. At that moment (no lie) the old father bursts out the door and starts screaming at us from his porch next door. His senile ramblings about parking continued while he waved his arm (he had a hook for a hand) at us. Not a good sign…we passed on that one.

Other ads in the paper that said “walking distance from downtown” should have read “marathon run to the outskirts of downtown” or “commute through heavy traffic and pray you’ll reach downtown”. Not good. I really wanted to snag a house instead of an apartment. Ideally, I want to set up my art stuff and work away on my own projects in the evenings.

However, after much frustration and searching, I’ve found a perfect place. A little house in Kensington/ Sunnyside (the young, single, artsy district) right by the C-Train. Within 3 blocks of my house are:
• a cool comic store
• an art store
• a grocery store
• some great pubs and restaurants (sushi!)
• my bank

Needless to say, I’m excited. I should be moving in February 1st. Once I have the mailing address and phone number, I’ll send it to all of you. I want to have a house warming party and get together with friends, but I don’t know how soon I’ll be settled in.

In other news, work is good, but very busy. We had a massive staff meeting today and found out that the Head Director and his brother have been let go from the parent company that owns our school. Scary at first, but actually very good. A lot of changes weren’t being made because things were stagnant with the upper management. Things look like they’ll be smoothing out more now that there’s closer communication. The announcement caught me off guard and I was worried they were telling us that the school was closing, but that’s not the case.

Lastly, thanks to everyone who e-mailed me about the whole Christmas/New Years thing. I know many of you were surprised by the sudden move (or re-move) and I really appreciate the love and support you’ve shown me.

Here is the story of my strange and wonderful New Years Eve. Get ready for it-

On the flight back to Calgary I realized that I had no real plans for New Year’s Eve. I was back in Calgary with no idea of what I would be doing as the year 2000 swept in. Years from now, kids would ask me what I did for the year 2000 and I would have to say “Uh, I just sat around and watched fireworks on TV.” Not acceptable.

Then, the weirdness began. As the announcements on the plane came on for our in-flight meal, they asked specific people who had ordered a vegetarian meal to raise their hands. The names they called included “Phil Zeller”. Phil was a friend of mine when I was growing up who lived just down the street from me. Our parents were friends and our older brothers hung out together too. I hadn’t seen Phil since I was about 15 or 16 years old. Now he was sitting two rows in front of me, on a flight through to Calgary.

Once we started talking and got over the initial strangeness of the whole thing, he let me know that he was in a punk band called Scratching Post that would be the opening act for Big Sugar on New Years Eve in Edmonton. If I wanted, he could put me on the guest list and we could party. Tah dah, a plan was now in effect.

Calling up my friend Jean, our plans fell into place. Jean has friends in Edmonton we could stay with and grew up there so we’d be able to easily get around town. We made the 3 hour drive up, had a kick ass sushi dinner and then rocked out New Years Eve at the Shaw Conference Center. When the moment hit, balloons fell from the ceiling while Big Sugar blasted out Auld Lang Syne.

I just hoped I would be on the guest list and get in for free, but we got a hell of a lot more. Backstage passes, lots of free drinks and we got to meet some great people in both bands. Considering how little I ended up spending, we did a hell of a lot.

The whole thing was pretty surreal. Two days ago I had been in Toronto and there I was in Edmonton with my friend from Oshawa that I hadn’t seen in 8 years drinking and partying while a guy from the University Radio Station interviewed the band. It was something I won’t forget. I guess I should have figured my New Years wouldn’t be normal, but when I’m in the middle of these adventures, it’s kind of hard to believe it’s all happening.

I hope everyone else’s New Years ceremony was entertaining. Best of luck to everyone in 2000.

Looking back on the last month, it’s been bizarre and adventurous as always. I’ll do my best to describe the Christmas Holidays and my direction for the new year.

Seeing family was wonderful. It’s one of those things you take for granted until you realize how long it’s been since you’ve seen them. My parents are doing great. They had a vacation in St. Lucia earlier this year. Seeing them happy in their retirement is one of the greatest things. My mother used to be so immobile when I was in high school due to lower back problems. Now, there’s pictures of her doing archery and hiking. It couldn’t be better for them.

Last minute Christmas shopping with my cousin Lisa was great (even if we didn’t get as much done as we’d intended). She’s growing up WAY too fast and is firmly entrenched in her teenage years. She seems to be enjoying high school a hell of a lot more than I did at her age.

Seeing Sheridan changing was neat and made me long for class again. It’s weird that I’d want to inflict those deadlines and lack of sleep on myself again, but the camaraderie was the best.

My biggest problem was getting in touch with friends. Many of them had moved away, vanished off for the holidays or were working like crazy, limiting my ability to see people. Not having a car didn’t make it any easier.

The few people I did see or phone was time well spent catching up and realizing how much has changed. The old Residence crew is spreading out and our occupations are as varied as ever. Cornflake and Julie (his real name’s Greg) are doing great and filed their taxes as Common Law marriage last year. Two other friends are fathers now and that freaks me right out. Proud poppas showing their baby photos at age 21 and 24 respectively. Unbelievable…

To add to the baby-dom, my brother and his wife announced that they’re expecting a baby in June. Uncle Jim…a scary thought indeed.

Christmas Eve and day went really well. A little bit of drinking and lots of jokes. I amused the family with my Russian accent that I can slap on at a moment’s notice. I thought my Grandmother was going to pee herself when she heard it.

Jim and Joe playing video games at Grandma’s on Christmas Eve.
Note Jim’s classy sideburns.
Home cooked meals are incredible. After a year of my own cooking and fast food, the sit down meals with the family were a blessing. Of course coming home means you’ll get your favorites, so that’s nice too.

Job leads were starting to pop up over the holidays even though I hadn’t put my head to the grindstone and wasn’t planning to until January. Some small possibilities in comics have popped up as well as writing for role-playing games and a part-time teaching opportunity at Sheridan. All of them exciting, but not good enough to pay the bills. I was getting worried about my ability to survive on my own. Even if all those opportunities came through… I’d be driving around Toronto like crazy and I can’t afford a car.

Then, like usual, my life threw me a curve ball and I’m off doing the unexpected…

How do I start?

Applied Multimedia, the school where I taught back in Calgary phoned me up and made me an offer. They wanted me to come back and teach full-time. It was nice, but I turned them down.

Then, my brain started churning away. I could set up a small studio space, get my own place, have a car and still do some freelance projects or my own projects in the evenings and weekends. Not too shabby.

But I’d be leaving Ontario again. Just when I was testing the soil and getting ready to re-root myself.

Regretting doing something isn’t as bad as regretting never doing it at all. At least you took the initiative, at least you tried.

I enjoyed being in Calgary. The only problems I had in Calgary were a lack of social life (mostly self-inflicted) and the financial difficulties of starting a new life halfway across Canada. And of course, not having many of you here.

I tried not to think about it and dug into holiday festivities.

When the second phone call came from the school in Calgary, the offer was better and my brain was hurting. I had to give Brian Lemay a proposal to teach Animation History once a week at Sheridan and I couldn’t leave him hanging. I had to decide.

I guess courage overcomes intelligence and I want to make this work. I’m going back to teach full-time and build up my freelance work without the fear of living hand-to-mouth. No matter what you can imagine, you probably don’t know how hard it was for me to come to this decision.

I hope you all can understand and support me heading west once again. You may not understand, but I hope you can wish me well.

There were no flights leaving on January 2nd, so I had to fly out on December 30th at the last minute. Yesterday. I’m in Calgary now. I tried phoning people and getting in touch to tell people personally, but many of you are hearing about this for the first time in this e-mail. I’m very sorry for that.

I will do my best to send PERSONAL e-mails and stay in touch. Call it a 2000 resolution if you will. As sad as I make it sound, I’m actually really excited and the opportunities for me now are wider than ever. I can’t believe things change so fast, but I’m gearing up for the new year with confidence.

New Years Eve should be a blast (unplanned as of yet, but flying by the seat of my pants seems to be my specialty right now).

To everyone, have a great New Years Eve and all the best to you and your families in the coming year.

So you hadn’t received a newsletter from me in a couple weeks and figured I’d given up on them. Ha! Guess again…

As usual, I apologize for not writing personal e-mails. My ability to access my e-mail right now is pretty limited and I just wanted to keep everyone up to date with what’s new in my world. I get a lot of flack for the impersonal newsletter thingee (“you’re not important enough to have a newsletter”, “I wish you’d write me personal e-mails”, “why don’t you call me”) but this is the cheapest, fastest way for me to tell everyone what’s up.

I’m back in Toronto (well, right now, Mississauga). I haven’t called very many of you because I’ve been unpacking and reorganizing my life. I’ve been clearing my head, too. Not having a car doesn’t help either. In any case, it’s not personal, honest!

My first priority is settling in and following up a few leads as far as jobs go. If I could secure a job before Christmas and actually like what I do, that would be incredible. I’m not assuming that’ll be the case, but anything’s possible.

There’s a few possibilities peeking at me and I’m looking into them. I don’t want to brag about any of them until something goes through. No point in setting myself up for disappointment.

So, in the meantime, I’m staying at my brother’s place if you want/need to get in touch with me.

Later, happy holidays.

Let’s see…

As you all can see, this e-mail is going out to a heck of a lot of people. I figured it would be easier to just send it out in one mighty swath.

There’s some changes in the world of Zub and that’s why I haven’t been in touch with anybody. The roller coaster ride continues and…

I’m back in Ontario to stay.

I learned a hell of a lot in Calgary and made some great friends. I’ve gained experience I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else and it’s definitely set me on a different path. Whatever job I get in January, I know what I’m aiming for now.

The majority of you are on this newsletter list to stay in touch with me and find out what’s happening in my life. Now, that should be a little bit easier since I’ll be living in Toronto again 🙂

My year and 7 month quest in Calgary is over and the New Year is starting with new opportunities. I’m going to take a little quiet time for myself before the holidays. If I haven’t been in touch with you on an individual basis, don’t take it personally, I’ve been really busy with the move and everything. Honestly, this is the first time I’ve been in touch with almost everybody in the last week.

I’ll have a new snail mail address forthcoming as well as a phone number. If you really need to mail me something, my parent’s address is a safe one and anything for me will make it’s way into my hands.

So, to the people I’m coming back to: HI!
And to the people I’ve left: I’ll be in touch.

I’m in a great mood. I walked to the office today. It’s one of those nicely cool winter days that you can wear a jacket open and not feel the chill. It’s good thinking weather.

This morning I lazed around my apartment waiting for my laundry to dry. The whole time I was flipping through channels on TV. I happily stumbled across Big, the 80’s movie with Tom Hanks. I love that movie. It really embodies a lot of things for me. Growing up, but staying attached to the important parts of being a kid. It’s a Hollywood movie, but it’s the best kind of Hollywood movie: the kind with real heart.

Anyone who knows me well knows I’m a monstrous wuss. I cry all the time at movies. I can’t help it. I love stories that tap into emotions and I get all swept up into them.

Think about it. I’m always telling people silly stories about my life and what I’m feeling. All those overly-dramatic moments that entertain. When I lived in Toronto, I joined a theatre group (nice way of putting it, I know) so I could tell stories and be a little wild. Even these weekly e-mails describing my life are just little stories with a selected audience of people who know me. Always stories…

A lot of people think their life is a soap opera. I’m starting to accept the fact that my life is an ongoing sit-com. But if I can’t control it, I might as well entertain and get good ratings 🙂

Hope you like the show.