So… it’s been nearly two months since the last time I blogged! What’s up with that? I guess that what was up with that is that Standard Iron was kicking my butt. Which is why I went and asked for a new part-time post, and now I have that. It’s actually more work than Standard Iron was, but it’s less hours and more money… at least in theory, it is. This week it wasn’t less hours at all. In fact, technically, it was thirty minutes more this week… but I don’t intend on letting that happen again. I asked for a part-time job and a part-time job I shall have… one way or another.

I did this so that I can get back to my favorite sometimes part-time, sometimes full-time job of keeping you all entertained on youdontknow.net. Now that the hours are somewhat more agreeable to helping me get stuff done, ydk is back as a top priority for me. We’ve already returned to regular Tuesday and Thursday updates on Adventures of Ak, and it’s only a matter of time before our other features are updated again as well.

Now, of course: Mousekitty insists that Episode 10 is a unicorn. Which is to say: it’s a mythical creature, and we’re probably fools for believing that it could be real. And it’s occured to me that it would probably be easier if this were true. I mean, if Episode 10 WERE a unicorn, then any episode that came thereafter would also be a myth. It would be easier because then I would have no webisodes to produce, and doing nothing does tend to make for the easier path. But no. I fully intend on provoing Episode 10 to be a reality. Not only that, but if all goes according to plan (and it would be nice if something finally did), then Episode 10 should mark the beginning of much more regular updates of videos in general. We have a limited series that will begin soon that I can’t tell you too much about (it’s all very hush-hush), the first three episodes of which should premiere in the time between Episode 10 and 11. Not to mention the Volume 1.5 Bloopers!

As for LoA… the only reason really I haven’t dug back into that yet is because I decided that I needed to first make it my mission to do some much-needed cleaning…

Once upon a time I was something of a neatfreak. Not necessarily the worst neatfreak in the world, but mainly, it was just that I was pretty particular about where things needed to be. I didn’t really freak out at a mess, so long as that mess was in the right place. (You don’t need to tell me I’m certifiable; I already know.) Well, about two years ago, that particular obsession of mine got pushed to the limits when it came about that my sister, neice, and (once he was born) newborn nephew would be coming to stay for several months. This would mean lots of extra stuff everywhere, including a vast amount of toys and baby stuff that could simply never be completely cleaned. In order to deal with this, I had to eventually come to a point where I could either just lose my mind completely, or try to shut off the neatness compulsion of mine. I more or less managed to shut it off. And so for the past two years, that compulsion has been pretty much in sleep mode. In sleep mode, it could still have minor flare-ups, but it wasn’t really a thing like it was before. As a result, I became decidedly messier in that time.

I think my time at Standard Iron may have woken the beast, though. I always came home dirty from Standard Iron, with very dirty clothes, and got my bedroom a little extra dirty in so doing. Also, we all know how it occupied so much of my time so that the papers and junk on my desk or in the floor or wherever else started to pile up more and more and I just didn’t have the energy or care to clean it. But the first moment I started to get the time where I could clean it, that old urge to do so started rising back up inside me, and now, with the new job, I knew I not only could clean up, but I really wanted to.

And so that’s what I did today. I cleaned. I moved stuff around. It’s not perfect and it’s not even done, but it was the first step. If I can devote another day to it next week I may actually have stuff cleaner and neater than they’ve been in many, many years. This thought pleases me. And although I can’t explain exactly why, but it also helps with my writing. When my desk is piled high and cluttered, and my bedroom is a mess… it doesn’t even matter if I’m in there when I’m writing or in another room. The mess in my bedroom seems to create a reflection in my mind, and I just can’t think as clearly. Again: I know: certifiable. Maybe it’s a feng shui thing… I don’t know. All I know is that I do better; I’m more efficient and more work-oriented when things are neat and clean. So hopefully, that’s going to help my writing…

The main thing is that I need to make certain that I don’t get hoodwinked into working any extra next week. My schedule cannot abide it (and neither can my sanity; I’ll spare you the details right now of just how working on Tuesday when it was supposed to be my day off really frakked me over this week but only because I’m gonna use that blog for myspace). I have a LOT to get done next week in order to prepare for the big return to form after Labor Day. So… yeah… that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Be sure to come back for more new comics next week, plus a new blog, a new poll, and maybe a new T-shirt or something (I’m saving the big surprises for the return to form, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have stuff to look forward to next week). And especially come back the day after Labor Day. There’s going to be a LOT to look forward to that week!