Stage 1: Originally stage XYZ

So I've decided to initiate my Facebook profile again. I did this for several reasons, weighing the pros and cons of interaction with friends and family with the potential harm of internet drama, though I believe I've been able abolish most of it....a little drama isn't bad every now and again.

Truth be told, I've missed everyone. I'm not a social butterfly to begin (to compare, I'm probably more of a social ant or maybe dung beetle) and getting rid of my Facebook profile just caused that rift between everyone an myself to grow larger and larger. I still interacted with a lot of you pretty frequently throughout the last half of 2010, but greedy me needs more! So welcome back, haZA! I imagine there will be cake and pointy hats with cartoon animals involved?

With the new year upon me, I've also decided to begin this blog once more. I think...I tend to get wrapped into my head so much and it's very easy for me to get lost therein; a place to hold at least one of the thousands of speeding trains of thought racing around my mind would be nice. This is also a step to me becoming more focused with my art, one of my two new year resolutions.

I have a few new projects that I am very excited to continue at the start of this year. I'm helping to create a comic book for an eventual show to be pitched to HBO. The writer I'm working with has quite a gift and the musical composer (Greg, the one who got me into this all) is also a genius to his craft and one of my closest friends. I only hope that I can bring an equal contribution with my art. The challenge of creating a visual world based entirely out of written word is a a dream I've had for quite awhile as most of my friends know. While the descriptions are written, I get to be the man who brings these people--this world to a visual state. Now, my current struggle is getting myself to create all the images I want to. I began this project in October and got some characters done, some I want to redo and others that still need creating, but all-in-all I feel its coming along alright....a little slow, but that is okay since I got these right before the holidays...Time to get back in action (Damn you World of Warcraft and not my own ability to procrastinate. Never)

Another awesome project is working with my great friend Dan to create some amazing techno-industrial/ revolutionary (by all accounts, this is how I've interpreted it) t-shirts for his band, Lunch Line Jones, to get out. I helped them to create their logo about a year ago, which still holds up strongly and is truly awesome, in my personal opinion.

Dan ran into a man (haha with the rhyming) who has a t-shirt line and wants to help Dan get the name of his band out, which, how could he not want to help? LLJ (Lunch Line Jones) has a great sound to them and its constantly evolving into new and different things. If you have the opportunity check them out. Your ears will be pleasantly surprised.

Last year was long and this year is going to be just as long--actually it will be like .251556 milliseconds shorter or something like that. In the past I seem to struggle in the focus department when it came to my art. There are admittedly a lot of distractions out there especially for a 25 year old male. I decided to make more of a conscious effort to ignore those this year. I have a new computer, Corel Painter 11 (one of the two really expensive programs I needed), my hand, pencil, paper...etc. No more excuses.

The second resolution is a lot simpler, but a gillion times more complicated to pull off: get a new job. I've been at The Walton Company for just over two years now and it has become something like that really annoying razor burn I get after shaving my neck. I can cool it off temporarily redness is going last awhile. By all means, my Boss and his "wife," are very nice people and have an obvious goal in mind, just not one I find realistic anymore...In addition, to say they are nice is to say that a rabid dog can be pleasant during its brief lucid moments.

Don, 78, has a constant knack for picking on me, putting me down and belittling any means of work I do--being here for two years, I figured that I must be doing something he likes or else I would no longer be here. I pursued him for a raise (I believe back in october), a FIRST raise that I was supposed to get 9 months after I began working here and he told me, "I don't feel like you've earned a raise." Needless to say, I was offended, but remained professional. For the week following this event, I decided to show him what work with Zack would be like if I did absolutely everything in as timely a manor he wanted (which is pretty damn fast for an old man)....yeeeaaah. I was out of work to do on Tuesday. Although, this did get him to realize that I was full deserving of a raise with a comment "I believe you deserve a raise now, I enjoy your attitude and we appreciate everything you do here. I have to talk to Laveta, but we will review you next week".

Liars and thieves. They're liar and thieves. I waited until the end of October, no raise. They went to a convention in butt-f*ck Tennessee (almost quite literally) and told me I would get my review upon return, no raise. Christmas came, no raise (however! I did get a nice bonus in lieu of said raise, with the promise of a review at the beginning of the year). It's January, 2011. My student loans have increased and my self-esteem has not thanks to this company--well not just thanks to them. My own procrastination helped to dig this hole too.

I feel a change coming, like the wind and I just have open my sail and coast with it. There are other side goals to accomplish, parallel these resolutions. I want to tighten knots of those friendships I let come undone, grow closer and be more open with my immediate family, get into shape (generic American response here)...Go to my first Burning Man, Include more of my friends into JuicyVille at Elysium, start a vegetable garden (or a tomato plant will suffice), get my tattoo gun working and start practicing, venture to Six Flags at least once, try to eat more cheese in attempt to open my very picky palette and Love. Love more.

I see what just the concept of love does for a lot of people and the glow it gives my friends and family when they feel/know that you love them. I don't mind if it is cheesy, or lame or even if one day I find out it never existed at all. The idea is what I want to share with everyone and be shared with. I've never been the most upbeat or positive person; I can thank my narcotic tendencies to my parents...I don't think it was until I met

t this group of friends that I've almost known for 3 years now that I really grasped the idea of love being all anyone one person or group of friends or family need to have a good time. Sad that it took me this long to come to such a simple realization ( I don't mean to offend any of my old friends, you know I love you, but you also knew how I was a long time ago), but I'm glad I got to realize it nonetheless.

In concluding this very long post for everyone (probably just myself, seeing as how I have one follower currently, haha) This year is about Growth and Appreciation...and Love.