Zub Tales

I was going to send out a much different e-mail today. I have some really good news and was quite excited on my way to work today. I thought about typing up a big e-mail and letting all of you know about it. Of course, then I actually arrived at work and discovered that North America would never be the same again.

These are those days that everyone asks “Do you remember where you were when-“

Do you remember where you were on September 11th, 2001 when the World Trade Center fell and the American Pentagon was hit by terrorist attacks?

I’m sure everyone felt the same way I did when I saw it. It wasn’t even horror, I think it was this surreal denial of what you were watching. Every news report had at least one person say “It was like watching a movie.”

And it was…

You’d see that replay footage zipping over and over and you couldn’t help but sanitize it. Like it was a really bad Michael Bay movie called Armageddon 2 or something. But it wasn’t special effects. Everyone who saw it will remember it. It’s like the Challenger, or John Lennon or JFK or the Gulf War. Weird moments everyone remembers where they were. I wasn’t there for JFK, I barely remember the Challenger and I was too young to remember Lennon being shot. But this one is very real and very immediate.

Paranoia was the dish of the day, most understandably. False reports, misinformation and mass confusion. Once the dominoes started, I was waiting for every major US monument to take a tumble simultaneously. Like some Lex Luthor master plan or something. One disaster after another until the superheroes showed up to save the day. I know that sounds like I’m downplaying the tragedy. I’m just trying to quantify the degree of unreality it all had.

Tuesday morning, and the world tilts a little.

I’m not going to even attempt to figure out what comes next. No matter how many experts or reporters they have talking on CNN, none of them have any clue either. There’s no plan that accounts for this. There’s no precedent for what the US may or may not do. This isn’t Pearl Harbor and it’s not Oklahoma City. It’s all new territory we’re covering here. Some sort of high tech retribution from the super powers that be is in order.

I had a really positive e-mail planned. I even started typing it last night. I may actually finish it and send it to all of you. It’s not a denial of what is, but I think it’s important to still do what we do. Doom-sayers are going to be out in droves. I can understand that point of view, but it can’t change me too much. Even if things do get far worse, I’d rather enjoy what is than curl up in a ball and predict even worse.

More now than ever, take care. I don’t care what kind of sentimental drivel this may come off as. I care about each and every one of you that I send this to. There’s a reason why you’re on this list and why I send you these blurbs about my life. Don’t forget that.

The Labor Day long weekend, and the summer is slowly winding to an end. As always, it went by far too quickly. It was a good time of growth for me and I’m sure I’ll look back at this one fondly.

Class has been crazy, with students running around like mad getting their portfolios ready. No matter how many times I go through it, I can’t help but get a bit stressed as they find new and amazing ways to get themselves disorganized as they near the deadline. Mind you, I’ve been there. The feeling that school is over and you have to join the mighty rat race is pretty crazy stuff.

Bioware showed up on Friday and it went great. They’re probably hiring two of our boys and possibly up to four. Graeme and I went for lunch with them and it was a good chance to forge stronger contact with them. Considering how much they’ve grown, it’s a crucial employer for us to have ties with. They’ve got a new Dungeons & Dragons game as well as a Star Wars online game coming down the pipe, so there’s a lot more opportunities for future grads as well.

My webcomic stuff continues. I’m currently working on page 14 of my story. This way if I update 3 times a week, I’m already over a month ahead of schedule! I probably won’t have webspace for another week or two, so this is a great way to set up a nice buffer of material for when it all starts. I’m pretty damn giddy about it.

Unfortunately, even though I’m being incredibly productive with it, I’m not posting any of that art on my webpage at this point. I want to keep it under wraps until the comic’s own site starts. Wait for it… 🙂

I have to say, the webcomic stuff has kept me incredibly productive. I’m on a drawing and Photoshop kick like I haven’t been since, yeesh, I don’t even know. Each finished page is like a challenge to do the next one. It’s really exciting for me to have this kind of forward momentum.

I noticed a very strange thing a few days ago. My taste buds have changed. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always hated raw tomatoes. Ketchup and tomato sauce was fine, but raw tomatoes always tasted awful to me. I had some tomatoes in a fajita last week and they were great! Since then I’ve had them on hamburgers, salads and just diced on the side and they’ve all been really good. I know it sounds strange to make such a big deal out of this, but I really hated them before! My parents have had a garden since I was a kid, and they’d always be annoyed that we had fresh tomatoes and I wouldn’t even touch them. Weird. Next thing you know I’ll be loving pickles or something.

Otherwise, things are very good. Busy as always, but good good good.

Boiling hot days and freezing windy nights…it’s a typical late summer in Calgary. I’ll go to bed cooking on top of the sheets with the windows open and wake up in the middle of the night chattering while the wind blasts papers all over my room.

The other animation instructor Graeme is away at Siggraph, the world’s largest computer animation festival, so I’ve been busting my ass at school keeping the fort secure. All in all, it’s been pretty good. The September class is already full (the fastest we’ve ever filled a class) and there’s a decent sized waiting list to boot. Add in that several students are being snatched up before they graduate and that Bioware (makers of Baldur’s Gate) are coming at the end of the month to peruse the upcoming grads as well and we must be doing something right.

With Gala on nights, I’ve been doing a lot of drawing for myself. Once again, I’ve dived into a personal project. But, this time I think I’ve got some lockjaw on it and don’t want to stop. Bouncing story ideas around that I’ve had in my head for years, I’ve started doing a web comic.

Here’s the plan. There’s a website called Keenspot that posts web comics. They’ve got about 30 titles and pull in well over a million hits a day. They also have a hosting site called Keenspace where you can get webspace for free to host your own web comic. You keep the rights to everything and you post away, trying to build an audience. Once you’ve reached a certain amount of hits and have built an audience, they invite you to join the main Keenspot site. There’s the potential to make a bit of money, but more importantly, it’s a quantifiable goal that I can work on and meet in my spare time.

I’ve signed up for Keenspace and am waiting for webspace. Because of a backlog of requests, it’ll probably take about a month to get that for me. In the meantime, I’ve got a site designed for the web comic and am working ahead on pages. I hope to have at least 15-20 done by the time I start the site. If I post 3 pages a week (Mon, Wed, Fri), that’ll put me 5-6 weeks head of schedule and enable me to do a really decent job of it.

I did quite a bit of research on this and am now getting pretty excited. It’ll be a good hobby-type goal and of course, allow me to keep pushing my drawing along too. When it finally comes together, obviously, you guys will be the first to know. I’ve already got 6 pages done and they’re looking good.

Anyways, what else is new…

I’ve been reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. It’s a weird book about the old gods (Egyptian, Greek, Norse) down on their luck in modern times. A good read, but also quite odd and occasionally explicit. Admittedly though I have been enjoying the characters and what-not. I was so engrossed in reading it earlier in the week that I missed my train stop and had to double back.

Computer component prices have dropped and I upgraded my machine. Last year a dollar per meg of RAM was a deal. Last week I bought another 512 megs for $140.00 (plus I already had 128 megs)! Add in a new 40 gig hard drive and I must say that it’s running really sweetly. If I can fill 60 gigs of hard drive space, I have serious problems.

That digital camera I bought is incredible. I bought it a month ago and still haven’t changed the batteries. I must have taken a few hundred shots. I love this thing. It’s the greatest for gathering drawing reference or sending wacky photos to my friends. Worth every penny.

With all the wandering, photographing and exploring I’ve been doing, I’m actually in great shape. I was putting on some jeans yesterday and discovered that I had to wear a belt with them. Last year I occasionally undid the top button to feel comfortable in the same pair. It’s not like I’m going just thin either, there’s muscles there, dammit! Needless to say, I’m quite pleased.

Rereading what I’ve typed, that’s a whole lot of positives going on. Good, good, good.

Anyways, that’s the update for now. I hope to hear from you guys later.

A 3-day weekend at the start of August is just what I needed to recharge my batteries. Work has been extra busy and it seems like there’s always tons of little things to do.

I woke up this morning and snuck around the house. Gala’s working nights, so I’ve been doing my best to stay quiet while she crashes out. I figured I would circumvent noise problems even easier if I went out wandering and enjoy the weather. With that in mind, I grabbed my digital camera and shot some photos to show all of you as well.

Walking and exploring was a good way to clear my head, in more ways then one. The first head clearing came from the barber shop. I’ve needed a haircut for several weeks and finally took care of the mop top mess I had created. The second head clearing was just traveling around town, shopping here and there and doing quite a bit of thinking. It was a good time to relax, reflect and see things on no fixed schedule.

I stopped for lunch at a juice bar/health food kind of place. They’ve got this stuff there called Wheatgrass juice. Apparently drinking an ounce of it is the equivalent to eating 3 pounds of leafy green vegetables. One ounce and you’re set with your vegetable quotient this week. The whole thing sounds like sci-fi stuff. Some miracle green liquid that repairs, heals and makes the universe align itself or something.

Of course, I had to try the damn thing. It didn’t taste too bad actually. Kind of like drinking Kool-Aid with a hint of snow peas, if that makes any sense. It smells like cut grass and tastes like snow peas, must be healthy for you. They’ll probably discover that it overloads your system with too much vegetables or something crazy like that. I’ll turn all green like the Incredible Hulk and start fighting a war against humans for my newfound plant brothers and sisters.

Life drawing on Friday went quite well. I can’t believe the confidence that comes with doing life drawing on a regular basis. My animation, design and understanding has really solidified with the strength of my life drawing. Each session usually yields a few decent pieces and looking back and comparing to last year, it’s getting better still. The ability to just lay down a confident line in a short amount of time makes all the difference. I used to slowly and hesitantly grind my way through a drawing. I’d watch people zip through a sketch with energy and gesture and be so jealous. It’s not like I know it all now or anything, I’m still a grasshopper in the martial arts sense of the whole thing, but I can see so much more.

That’s all for this week. It’s just some little musings from the Jimmy.

The summer rolls on here in Calgary. The weather’s been quite nice here, which has given many of the staff at the school ample reason to take some time off. With that, and students having erratic attendance on the nicest days, it’s been relatively quiet at school.

With Gala back and multiple assignments to mark, I’ve been slowly returning to a normal routine. With just over a month before a new class begins, I’ve got lots of little things to get prepared again. The four month semesters are rapid and just as I get used to one group, they move on to the next component of the course. It feels strange.

I was surfing along the web and found a website with hundreds of thousands of name definitions. Looking up James, I was actually surprised how much it said. I don’t normally put any stock in this stuff, but some of the points in the definition were eerily like my personality:

‘As James, you are responsible and generous, although somewhat scattering and disorganized at times. Any jobs requiring systematic and conscientious effort, or involving any form of drudgery, dismay you. In your work, you would seek a position offering self-expression through contact with people, such as sales or teaching, or a position giving scope to your creative, artistic talents.

You are good-natured and likeable, and people tend to confide in you and seek your advice in personal problems. Others sense your sincere interest and desire to help, and you can always be counted on to see the bright side of any problem. You enjoy making others happy and you never let your own problems “get you down” for any length of time, even though you do tend to worry too much at times. Your optimism can be a source of inspiration to others as well as yourself. In close personal relationships you are usually thoughtful and considerate. However, your natural interest in others, coupled with your sympathetic reaction to problems, could draw you into emotional situations which may be difficult.’

I thought you guys would get a kick out of that. Looks like all the James of the world are trouble…

Not too much to say at this point. Things here are pretty good and I’m just rumbling along as usual. Hope you’re all doing well too.

It’s just me and the cat here.

My cousin Lisa left early this afternoon and Gala’s gone on vacation to Seattle until Thursday night. It’s the first time I’ve been at the apartment alone for more than a few hours. It’s a strange feeling, with pangs of loneliness thrown in for good measure.

I’ve been so overloaded with having people around me at school and at home that I can hardly believe that there’s no one else here to share time with.

Showing Lisa around Calgary was quite fun. We rented a car last weekend and headed out to Banff and Lake Louise for some hiking. Every time I head up there I’m amazed at the beauty of the scenery around me. One look around the mountains and thousands of trees and you’re awestruck by the power of nature all around you.

The great thing about that was also that I got tons of photos. Actually, I’m gonna have tons of photos all the time now. I finally bought myself a digital camera. It completely kicks ass! High quality photos instantly that I can easily download to my machine. It’s a great tool for reference and, of course, showing you all my adventures more so than ever before.

I was worried we wouldn’t have enough to do to fill her time here, but it worked out okay. Exploring during the day, taking it easy in the evenings. Watching some movies, playing some cards, just visiting and talking.

Wednesday we went to check out the Final Fantasy movie. I had read some brutal reviews of it and went in expecting the worst. Actually, it was pretty good. Some of the acting was stiff and the dialogue was cliché ridden, but it was visually stunning and had a nice ending. In fact, I thought the ending saved it from being Hollywood typical and was quite pleased with that. It’s definitely worth a look if you’re searching for some summertime entertainment.

Yesterday, Lisa and I went to the Stampede grounds. This is the first time I’ve ever been to the actual Stampede. I’ve always avoided it because of the prevailing “Yeehaw” attitude and country music. “So” you say, “what’s the verdict?”

Stampede is, for the most part, a lot like The Ex in Toronto on steroids. More country stuff and cowboy hats, but all the same types of rides and food stands. Overpriced and too many kids just like The Ex, but with the added bonus of horseshit on the ground for you to step in if you’re not careful. It wasn’t all bad, mind you, just not my type of thing. I definitely wouldn’t have wanted to go on my own. Having someone else to explore it with made it worthwhile.

But that’s all done now and it’s just me and the cat. Weird.

I know that originally I was intending to go solo on this apartment thing. It’s strange now that I’m used to having Gala here. I wonder how much of a hermit I would have become if I would have gotten my own place.

I’m hoping to buckle down and get some personal art done in the next couple days as well as do some major cleaning around here.

That’s the week. Okay, time to stop vegging on the computer. I’ve been invited out for a beer tonight, so I should get cleaned up and ready. And chase the cat around the house…:)

Summer is blazing here in Calgary and the Stampede is in full swing. Now that the city’s gone crazy again, I get some much needed time off and can enjoy the weather, if not the mad country yeehaw bullcrap.

My cousin Lisa has made the trek out to see me during Stampede and it’s amazing having her here. There’s a 10 year gap between us, but it doesn’t hinder things in the slightest. Just like when I was in Toronto, we should be doing all sorts of exploring and shopping around town. If I can arrange it, maybe we’ll head to Banff for a day and take in the site of the mountains.

She commented yesterday while we were downtown that the air seemed a bit cleaner here than back in Ontario. I guess I’ve taking that for granted. If she thinks that’s clear, the Banff air should make her practically dizzy.

Back at Father’s Day, I asked my Dad what he needed for a gift. Just buying trinkets or knick knacks seems silly at his age, so it’s better to ask him what he wants. This year he asked me to buy one of those disposable cameras and take a roll of photos around the new apartment so that him and my Mom would know where the heck I was living and how it looked.

Jim enjoying the view from his balcony.

I’m going on the look out for a digital camera when Lisa and I go shopping today, so I may finally have an easy way to record the weird and wonderful adventures in Calgary with photos attached to each Newsletter.

The weather here is almost too warm with intense heat and glaring sunlight, nary a cloud in the sky. The city is a sea of people wearing cowboy hats and disturbing country style clothing, but the economic boost it provides is a good thing too.

Otherwise, things are great. A little bit of relaxing, a whole lot of exploring and enjoyment as per the norm as of late. No complaints, only adventures 🙂

Well, it’s been another two weeks, and I thought I should let you know how things are faring in Calgary for the ol’ Jimbolia. If you’ve e-mailed me in the past few days and I haven’t responded, I’m sorry. It’s been hectic…

Rain’s pouring down outside and it’s a murky humidity in the school today. With the dim gray sky and the sticky heat inside, I’m feeling a bit groggy. The weeks are going by incredibly fast and each Friday I look back and wonder where the previous week went. It feels like I just started the new class, but now we’re approaching the sixth week of lectures. Where did that time go?

Each day is a blur of things to do at work followed by a quick rest in the evening and then collapsing to sleep to get ready for the next day. Work and things are great, I’m just stunned how rapidly it’s all going on around me.

I pulled a muscle in my back on Sunday. It wasn’t half as bad when I was laid up in bed for four or five days last year, but it was still quite painful. It took all week to shake the last few twinges of it, but I feel 99% back to normal now. I’m glad I have my flexibility back before the weekend starts.

Things at the apartment are also going great. Gala’s nailed down a full-time job for the summer, which makes everything go a lot better. I know what it’s like not to have that financial assurance, so it makes me happy to see her take care of that for now. When she gets home from work, we usually have an actual dinner sitting at the table and getting caught up on the day’s events. Compared to munching badly cooked dinners alone in front of my computer, it’s really wonderful. My Mom would be shocked that I’m cooking up full and tasty meals. Imagine the Jimbo with some cooking skill. It’s a lot easier then cooking for one. You actually have to think about taste and what things can go together instead of just mixing whatever’s in the fridge and getting it past the gag reflex. Who’d have thunk it? 🙂

I’m going to see Atlantis tonight. The movies of the summer so far haven’t been worth checking out and I’m hoping Disney’s latest is decent. The reviews of Tomb Raider and Pearl Harbor have been beyond foul, so I figure I’ll save my money by avoiding those. Most movie reviewers may be full of shit, but when they almost universally agree that something’s bad, at least some of them have to be right.

That’s about it for now. All is quiet out here otherwise. Unlike the last few gaps, I’ll have more for everyone next week.

With the long weekend passed, I’m a ripe old 25 year old now. Thanks to everyone who sent me Birthday greetings, cards, phone calls or photos. I can’t tell you how great it is hearing from all of you and knowing how many great people I’ve got in my life.

Friday was not what I expected, but not bad either. I had invited a bunch of people to meet me at one of the local pubs at around 7:00. I arrived there at 6:30 with Gala, had a pint or two and waited for the chaos to begin. By 8:30, 4 people had stopped by to make an appearance, and they left with previous engagements. I was a bit annoyed that people hadn’t shown up and figured I’d just have another pint or two and head home around 9:30 feeling a little birthday buzz. Instead, by 9:30, everyone showed up and the twenty odd people started feeding me drinks as if we were starting fresh…it doesn’t take a genius to figure out where this was headed.

I hadn’t planned on being extremely drunk. The good side was that I did have fun and everyone enjoyed hanging out and celebrating the start of the long weekend. The bad side was that, for one of the only times in my life, I actually blacked out at the bar. Chalk it up to not drinking heavy since New Years Eve or the old “you must be getting old” side of things, but the live band at the pub was playing Happy Birthday for me and I totally blacked out in the midst of it. Looking back, it was hilarious to everyone there.

I woke up down the road from the pub, being carried by Gala and Allister. The birthday bash may not have been what I planned, but it was entertaining nonetheless. Like everything else, it’s silliness in moderation. Compared to the drinking binges of college, I figure this is relatively harmless. No one was hurt, we all laughed, had a good time and another Zub Tale is born. Consider it responsible-stupid drinking as opposed to stupid-stupid drinking. Having that many of the people in Calgary that I like all hanging out together was amazing and knowing they were there to see me have a good time is really cool. It reminded me of the best times in Toronto with the friends I have there.

The rest of the long weekend was just relaxing with no schedule whatsoever. It was great. I bought the third Myst game and have been slowly working my way through the puzzles with Gala. The environments are great and it was a nice way to kill some time. I’m used to having a Lazy Sunday, but having that and a Lazy Monday too was even better.

Now, it’s a shorter work week after the holiday Monday. I can’t really complain. The new class is chugging away, the weather in Calgary is finally hitting summer warmth and things are great overall.

I hope everyone’s holiday weekend went well. Until next week, everyone take care.

Busy, busy, busy…But, I have to admit, it’s a good kind of busy and I don’t really mind.

My new class started on Monday and as always, it’s exhausting and wonderful at the same time. It’s new students with fresh energy and enthusiasm. In fact, the summer course had a waiting list for the first time ever. Normally, we have trouble filling a course that starts in the summer. Students tend to want to wait until the fall and work or play their summer away. This time, the school’s had a great turn out from people interested in the course and the summer course is packed. The fall program is already filling up as well, the quality of student work is increasing rapidly and the management seems really pleased with what I’m doing here.

Last weekend kicked ass. On Saturday I finally got my damage deposit back from the old house. I had waited so long and wondered if I would ever get it. In fact, I’d pretty much budgeted around it and when I finally received it, I got a giddy idea. I’ve been pretty responsible with my money lately and decided to spoil myself a bit. So, I went on a clothing shopping spree! New wardrobe for the Jim!

I went through my closet and got rid of stuff I’ve been holding onto for years. You know, those clothes you have but never ever actually wear anymore? I donated them to the Salvation Army and hit the malls with Gala and my friend Allister for a new summer wardrobe. It was a riot hanging out, trying all kinds of clothes and joking around. The day went by perfectly and by the end of it I had a blitz of new stuff.

Meanwhile back in Ontario, adding to the domestic chaos is my cousin Tammy. Tammy and Andy gave birth to little Justin on Monday May 7th. That’s two kids in two months for our family! With grandchildren all over the place, that should take the heat off me to add to the pool.

It feels so strange thinking of my brother and cousin raising kids. Maybe it’s the nature of the animation industry, but I usually feel like a big kid running around with too much responsibility. I can’t imagine having kids myself with all the other stuff going on in my life. I know they’ll be happy and I’m excited to see the tikes growing up, I just don’t think I could take that on. Besides, this way I can spoil them, teach them funny stuff and not have to change diapers. All the benefits, none of the mess 🙂

Everyone’s growing up and as their priorities change, we’re all becoming such different people. Looking in the mirror lately, it’s tough remembering the insecurities and fears that I had in high school and early on in college. I read older e-mails and letters I wrote to people and I can’t believe how frightened I was of everything. I put so much stock in what other people thought instead of what I felt was right. Now, I have no problem listening to other people, but I know what I feel and am doing what’s right for me. Due to that, I’m feeling great and things are pretty balanced over all.

This weekend should be another chunk of entertainment. The May long weekend and Friday’s my birthday. It’s a good time to take a look at the year that’s passed and what’s coming down the pipe. Of course, it’s also a great chance to party with my friends in Calgary and tear up Kensington a bit. If you’re out on Friday, raise a glass for the ol’ Jimbo turning 25. I’ll have a full report of the festivities next week.