GOODBYE, 2005…..
The year 2005 comes to a close tomorrow. It’s been a very interesting year for me– a very good year in many ways… and in some ways, not so much.
THE GOOD: This year, I went from working on ONE set of Marvel icons– THE FANTASTIC FOUR– to working on ANOTHER icon in SPIDER-MAN. In fact, FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN was my first experience in being on the ground floor of launching a new ongoing title for a major comic book company. I made a lot of contacts and budding friendships through the magic that is the internet this year. I ‘met’ folks like Mike Bullock and Jack Lawrence from LIONS, TIGERS AND BEARS, Larry Young of AIT/PLANET LAR, and perhaps most importantly and interestingly for me– lots of folks from Belgium, France and Italy. Through the web, I’ve been able to correspond and in small ways work creatively with many wonderful and generous folks from across the ocean. I sincerely hope that these relationships continue to grow and that I can expand my ‘playground’ (so to speak) and do more work in Europe one day. That would be marvelous. Early in 2005 I was forced by the slow agonizing death of my Mac G4 tower to buy a new system as well as updating my scanners and printers. It was expensive, but the enhanced power of my new iMac G5 and the new peripherals and various software and programs have made my computer and online experiences much more enjoyable– and thus very worth it. My fuzzy buddy Charlie reached his 1st birthday this year…. and he continues to delight me. He’s a hilarious cat…. and he not only gets more funny and entertaining every day, he gets sweeter as well. He seems to get more affectionate as time goes by, and he’s a true treasure in my life. This year, I decided to visit a chiropractor to try to get relief from my constant, agonizing back pain. And Dr. Krasnov (my chiropractor) has made an amazing change in the level of my pain levels. Going to see him was probably the BEST thing I did this year. So– THANKS, Dr. Krasnov.
THE BAD: Not much– but there’s been some. I’ve been to the doctor more times this year than I have in the past decade. From bladder infections to heart palpitations, it seemed as though my 42nd year of life has been the beginning of the end of a problem-free life, health-wise. I’ve never, beyond having the occasional sprain or twisted ankle, had any health problems at all. I KNEW that it wouldn’t last forever… and I hope the hiccups I’ve had in 2005 aren’t the herald of a continuing decline in my health. I’ve been very lucky… I hope that holds. I also had to get glasses this year– it turns out I’m far-sighted. I’d rather be far-sighted than near-sighted…. but I’d rather have my old 20/20 vision back. My old Mac G4 dying was frustrating…. but as I pointed out above, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Other than those few things, though– I’ve been pretty lucky. There are so many people that have experienced so much heartbreak and disaster in their lives this year that these things seem very trivial.
And so with 2005 coming to an end (WAY TOO FAST…. every year goes by faster as I get older….)– I hope everyone had a wonderful year… and I hope that your 2006 (and mine) is even better.
This morning, NEWSARAMA had the completed SPIDER-HAM variant posted… so I thought I’d post it here for those of you who haven’t seen it yet. I thought it turned out well…..!
OK… that’s it for today– and for 2005. See you next year…!
This is Entry 178.
Mike