Moving Day

So the thing that I have noticed is that you never really realize how much stuff you have… until you have to move it all. There’s a comment from Jerry Seinfeld talking about that when you are moving, your entire life becomes boxes. That what my life has been for the last week or so.

Yes, my little girl is growing up and outgrew her room, so we made the decision to change out her room and the comic book room. For those that have found this blog at random and are just getting addicted to my rants and ramblings, I have a comic book room. That is the level of my addiction. Hey, I’ve been collecting since I was fourteen years old. I’m thirty one now. So multiply that by about twenty dollars a week. That’s a lot of books!
Now that Lauren is getting older (she’s three), has a lot of stuffed animals and needs a closet for all her little girl clothes, it was time to make the shift. So it involved emptying out her room, painting over the girly purples with more manly colors, and shifting everything between the two rooms.
This leaves the living room as the middle ground where everything is stored as the contents are being shifted and the rooms are painted. And you just don’t realize how much stuff you have until you have to box it all up.
But I think it will be good in the long run. Lauren gets a lot more room, she gets a closet, and hopefully her toys will stay in her room keeping other sections of the house cleaner. I lose about half the space for my comics and action figures but the comic room was also used for some storage, hiding Christmas presents, and was often a temporary storage area for miscellanea. With the comic room being smaller, I should have room for comics… and only comics. This should mean that the area will always be kept neat and organized. At least in theory. Hey one room out of ten isn’t bad.
But with Jason’s birthday party on Saturday (meaning all sorts of people over to the house), Amy and I are scrambling to get the house picked back up before this weekend. Tough to do working a closing schedule everyday until the weekend, Amy having night classes twice this week, and Halloween this week. There’s an expression… something about not enough hours in the day?

Oh well, if I wasn’t goin’ 90-to-nothing, I probably would be bored out of my mind.

What’s This Year’s Worst Halloween Candy?

What’s This Year’s Worst Halloween Candy?
(according to ToyFare Magazine):

• Mary Janes
• Mike N’ Ike N’ Ike’s “Friend” Pierre
• Sudz—the Best Soap and Pressboard Candy from Peru
• Circus Peanuts
• Those candy dots on paper sheets that are probably laced with poison
• Factory Second Snickers
• Nerd-flavored Nerds
• Chocolate-covered Pennies

Quote of the Week

All around is anger, Automatic guns.

It’s death in large numbers.

No respect for women or our little ones.

I tried talking to Jesus, but He just put me on hold.

Said He’d been swamped by calls this week

and He couldn’t shake His cold.

And still this emptiness persists.

Perhaps this is as good as it gets.

When you’ve given up the drink and those nasty cigarettes.

Now I leave the party early at least with no regrets.

I watch the sun as it comes up I watch it as it sets.

Yeah this is as good as it gets.

Colin Hay, Beautiful World

Monster Giants & Giant Monsters

It’s gonna be good day, tater. First, on Monday, the New York Football Giants kicked the crap out of the Cowboys in Dallas. (Sorry Mom.) Michael Strahan tied Lawrence Taylor’s sack record for most sacks by a Giant, Tiki Barber gained 2,000 rushes in his career, and Eli Manning continues to improve. It was a good game. Plus with the win and Philly’s loss, the Giants are back on top of the NFC East.
I have a friendly rivalry with my boss at work since he is a Cowboys fan. It is nothing malicious but we both love to tease each other about it and that makes it really fun days after big games.

I got to see a sneak preview of Monster House on DVD. I really liked the movie and if I would have been 12 years old, I would have loved it.
When I was growing up, I loved the Richard Donner film The Goonies. It was smart enough for kids but nothing overly mature and you wanted to desperately find a hidden treasure map in your attic or garage.
Monster House sticks along the same lines. It is CGI animated but there are no musical numbers, no talking animals, and no kiddie stuff. It is smart and not filled with saccharine so it keeps the attention of the adults but it is not too scary or mature for little kids. Especially with Halloween right around the corner, this is a great time of the year to watch a movie like this. It’s about time to break out some scary movies this weekend for a fright marathon anyway. Add this one to your list.

Not Enough Hours In The Day...

Man, food poisoning—even a minor case—is a real pain in the gut. Pun intended. Whew, man, I’m trying to recover from a small case of the gut ache. Flat out, I just hate being sick. I mean, I’m sure no one out there actually enjoys being sick but I just hate it. And it is not like I’m carrying around a bunch of symptoms, just that sharp stabbing pain in the top of your stomach. I’m just hoping my metabolism kicks into overdrive and gets this flushed out of my system.
So other than that, things are advancing for me. For those new to the blog or don’t know me that well, or are maybe just finding this blog at random, I am attempting to establish my career as a professional comic book writer. I’ve had moderate success in the past but I’ve turned a major corner in that I had my first issue published, two comics about to be published, and my first contracted mini-series in the hands of the art team.
Without going into specific details (because I’m not sure if I can), I’ve been contracted to write another mini-series for a well established comic book outfit. This time around, it is a six issue mini-series, bringing my future total of published books to eleven. Not too shabby but it’s still not enough to draw the attention of an outfit like Marvel Comics.
But through the same company, I am presenting more series concepts and I’m hoping to land this major project that I have been working on for the better part of the year. And I’m hoping that if things go well, I might be able to submit a few 100% original story ideas—something I don’t have to pay a licensing fee for or a project that is totally my own. I have a few ideas that I might start kicking around. Time will tell. I just want to prove to the industry that I can put out a quality product, month in and month out, under a deadline. Comic professionals tell me that if I can prove that I can do that, the big companies will start calling.

It seems that I have been lucky in my life that when bad things happen, I have the resources to fend off such enemies. I get a little ahead in a paycheck, so I have the money to fix my car when it breaks down. Things like that. Well now, I’m fighting like hell to keep my head above water.
For the last five years or so, I’ve been a full time father. (Best job in the world with the worst possible pay.) So, I took care of the kids, maintained the house, cooked the meals, did the laundry, etc. After doing that job for a year or so, I had my system down. Everything was a science. And by being a well-oiled machine, it allowed me to write for several hours every day and really make headway with my burgeoning comic career.
Well now, things have changed a bit. (If you’ve been reading the blog) You know that I am now back to working an average of about 35 hours a week and supporting the family as the only source of income while Amy is in school. Because of her heavy class load and homework, I’m helping pick up the slack around the house.
So let’s see, 35 hours a week, house work, trying to still write on a part time basis… care the one, denominator… Yeah, it doesn’t leave a whole lot of hours in the week. Talk about burning the candle at both ends. (I’m writing this blog on my work break to save time.)
Still, I don’t want you to think I’m complaining. I could not be working at all (no money), I could not have a house to keep maintained (homeless), and I could not be writing anything at all (no joy). When that happens, then I’ll really have something to complain about.

Until then, I’m headed back to put my nose to the grindstone…

Ah Sunday. A Time for Movies & Football...

It’s been a pretty good weekend. I only had to work a half day on Saturday and had Sunday off. The Giants won (and the ‘Skins & the Eagles lost which helps us in the division). The Cowboys won but every silver lining has to have a cloud.

Went to go see The Marine starring John Cena. He’s my favorite wrestler in the WWE with The Rock retired. Not a bad first movie. Humor was kind of corny in parts and they should have focused on Cena more. It was one of those films that will do okay but then disappear. There were just little things that if they had tweaked it here and there and made a few changes, it would break $100 million because of the word of mouth. Maybe I’m cynical because I watch so many movies. You hear me WWE? Hire me as a consultant and I’ll boost your revenue a guaranteed 10%!
Still, it was a good first outing for a man that is starring in a film genre that is really deficient when it comes to action stars right now. No one has really stepped up to replace the Schwarzeneggers or the Stallones or even, dare I say, the Van Dammes. With WWE starting their own film company, there is a chance that we could see some real action stars come to light.

Saw The Break-Up with Vince Vaughn & Jennifer Aniston. For “one of the best American comedies in years,” it wasn’t very funny. Vaughn was really good but he always is. Saw Adam Sandler’s Click. It’s a modern version of A Christmas Carol. Not your typical Sandler film but still pretty good.

Finished a pretty big craft project this weekend but I am not quite ready to post pictures about it. Expect more on that next time. Stay tuned. Same bat-time. Same bat-channel.

Happy Birthday Alex & Friday the 13th!

Stephen Colbert on Living at Home After College: “Your parents paid for college, the least you can do is reward them with a few more years of your college-educated presence. Show them how enlightened you are by rejecting society’s demands that you ‘get your own place.’ Plus free food and plenty of time to play HALO.”

Oooh… Friday the 13th! Spooky.
I took some time out this morning and smashed seven mirrors while walking under ladders and crossing the path of a bunch o’ black cats. Nothing!
If you believe Dan Brown, Friday the 13th was the date when the Catholic Church enacted their plan and eliminated the Templar Knights. The executions were so quick and so bloody that the day was held in infamy and is the reason for the “superstitious day” even to this day. I wonder if that is true.
I also need to take some time out to wish my oldest son a happy birthday here on the Internet. It is sometimes hard for me to believe but Alex is 10 years old! Ten! He turned 10 back on 10-10-06. The birthdays that end in a zero always seem to be the big deals. And we like to celebrate the fact that his sister, his mom, myself, his grandmother (my mom), and his grandfather (Amy’s dad) all share a “10” somewhere in their birthdays.
And I know, you are saying, “Gee, Ryan, didn’t you wish Lauren a happy birthday on the 2nd?” Yes, I did. And I’ll be on here on November 3rd to wish happy eighth birthday to Jason. So I don’t know what the deal is with February. It’s cold. The days are shorter. You want to snuggle together for warmth. Technically it is a month for romance what with Valentine’s Day and all. One thing leads to another… So for what ever reason, there must be something in either the water or the air. But I digress…

I wish I could say that there has been a wealth of information coming forth from Ryanland but I am afraid that is not the case. I’ve been working quite a bit (I’m actually writing this on my lunch break). Now if I could write this while I was on the clock… Hey, that would be pretty cool. Still, I’m just plodding along. I think there is a quote about Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans. That’s kind of how I feel lately. I feel like I’m just treading water right now when I should be doing things to make the world my oyster. I’m hoping to announce more comic book news pretty soon but I don’t want to talk about it prematurely. Maybe that will put me in a better mood.

Got to see my Dad last Monday (the ninth) which is really cool considering I only get to see him once every three months or so. It is one of those things that when you are a kid, you can’t wait to get out of the house, Then, as you get older, you start to separate from your parents and begin living your own life. And sometimes you get so wrapped up in your own life that weeks pass when you don’t go out and see Mom & Dad even though they only live about ten minutes away… But now I am experiencing a thing where my dad lives about five-and-a-half hours away so I can’t see him every time I want.
So you have something that is ten minutes away and you don’t go out to see it because you know, “Hey, it’s just 10 minutes away.” And then it moves five hours away and you realized that you should have spent more time out there. I really hate to sound cliché but it is one of those “don’t know what you’ve got” type situations.

Well, back to the grind.

The Red River Shootout

Stephen Colbert on Women & Sporting Events: “Women don’t belong at sporting events. When a man’s team wins a game, he gets a rush of testosterone, and when it loses he feels like the world has ended. That’s why we have to get drunk, run out onto the field and get dragged away by security. Ladies, you’ll never understand.”

Well, the University of Oklahoma was beaten by Texas. The Red River Shootout is always a big deal here in Oklahoma. (I’ve never seen more OU clothes worn by people in a single day at the store.) It’s always a shame when the Sooners lose to the Longhorns because that is the week where everyone is an OU fan.
I think it is strange that Bedlam (OU vs. OSU) divides the state. Then OU plays Texas and everyone becomes OU fans. Then the conference championships happen and you say, “At least it was someone from the Big 12.” And then the Olympics happen and you root for the guy from USA even though you jeered him when he performed well wearing that hideous orange-brown Texas color. Strange how clothes can change your opinion of someone...
If people really wanted to obtain racial harmony, what we need to do is have an interstellar Olympics where our athletes compete against the athletes of Omicron Persei 8. Then everyone would be cheering, “Go Earth!” and rooting for the same team.
That’s it, people! I’ve discovered the path to racial harmony. Now all the governments have to do is build the lightspeed spacecraft, discover alien life forms, and work out the contest rules and hire the caterers for the Interstellar Olympics and we will discover world peace!! And I’m not even going to charge you for this idea. Free ride. Get to work, Government.

Well, it’s October. That means the Foley household is all decorated up in glowing foam Jack O’ Lanterns, spooky skeletons, and those flickering nightlights that are supposed to look like candles. I love Halloween and all the decorations. Behind Christmas, it is my favorite. I love to see the carved faces of the Jack O’ Lanterns in the windows in the evening. I wish they made solid versions of those foam pumpkins so you could carve out your own designs.
And Amy and I always hit the Wal-Mart on November 1st when everything is marked down. We load up on the cheap, store the decorations away, and break them out for next year. (We do the same thing with Christmas stuff too.)
But now that it is October, the days are getting shorter. The Air Conditioning is turned off. Football is on Sundays. It’s cold in the morning but comfortable in the afternoon. Man, it’s getting into my favorite time of the year.

I'm now going to enjoy two days off in a row. Maybe that means I'll post some more blogs. Have a great day, everyone.

Happy Birthday Lauren!

Wow. Seems hard to believe that three years ago today I awoke from a short night of little sleep to spend my first full day of having my little girl in the world. My daughter Lauren Denise had her third birthday yesterday. Seems like just yesterday that she was born. I know everyone says, “They grow up so fast.” I’ll admit it. I’ll put it out there. I’m glad Lauren is growing up fast. Now that we are out of the formula stage and the diaper stage, this is the one of the best times to be a parent.

Lauren is really becoming her own person. She is independent (but still needs your help) and if something is wrong, she can tell me what she needs. She goes potty all by herself (big plus!), eats normal food, and after she can control the spills and graduate from her sippy-cup, she officially shifts from being a baby to a kid.

Yep, seems like Lauren was born yesterday and a lifetime ago… and I couldn’t be happier!