04 / JUL / 07 - 2235 CST : Regaining equilibrium...

Hey folks.

I'll cut right to the chase here and let y'all know that Geek Tragedy will be going on semi-hiatus till August 1st.  Now let me explain both why I'm doing this, and what exactly the "semi" part of that means.

I'm sure I'm not telling you guys anything you don't already know when I say that life is a balancing act.  We all have various things that require our attention each and every day, and all of us attach varying degrees of importance to these daily events.  Some people live for their jobs, while others focus more of their attention on what happens when the work day is done.  Still others live for their cats (aka: crazy people).  Now while I do appreciate the job I'm lucky enough to have, and the fact that it allows me to afford to...well, eat on a fairly regular basis, I am definitely someone who lives for what I do after quitting time.

Which, as you might have guessed, is working on both Geek Tragedy and art in general.  Now I'll be getting back to the "balance" aspect of my life in a bit, but first I need to explain something that some of you may or may not already know.

School is now in session...

I started doing GT to try and get back into drawing and rebuild my skills after a seven year break from putting pencil to paper.  And when I look back to the very first strip, and then compare it to some of my more current work, I think I've been rather successful in that regard so far.  Since starting the strip just over two years ago I've come to think of this endeavor not like a second job, but more like I'm going back to university.  

The reason I make this distinction between the two is;

a) It's hard to think of something that actually costs you more money than you make from it as a "job", as I consider a "job", regardless of whether it's a second one or not, is largely defined by it's ability to earn someone a paycheck (otherwise I see it as charity or perhaps court enforced community service).

and b) I feel this is more like a learning experience, which is hopefully leading to a "graduation day" of sorts, that will in turn lead to a career one day.  Who knows, maybe that career will directly involve the site, but given disproportionate ratio of webcomics out there compared to the lucky few creators making a living from doing them, I feel it's more likely that it will be based around some kind of freelance and / or commission work. 

Regardless of whether or not Noname, Frank and the boys start paying the bills around here though, GT has now become such a huge part of my life that I can't ever imagine not doing it.  And because it's such an important part of my life I don't want to half ass it. So in an effort to stick to my "full ass" ideals as far as the site goes, I try my absolute best to put as much time into it as humanly possible.  Which brings me back to the balancing act part of this post.

Taking a step back...

Lately I've been doing everything I can to juggle all the chainsaws life has been tossing my way, and to be honest, I'm starting to feel like I'm dropping more of them than I'm managing to keep up in the air and losing some limbs in the process.  E-mails that have gone unanswered for weeks.  There are prints I've yet to finish printing up and mail out.  I've got home repairs that are starting to cause me more and more grief the longer I leave them.  And my car...well lets just say that it has recently helped to put the last nail in the coffin of any hope I had of making it out to Wizard World Chicago this year.  

Worst of all though, there is artwork that I've promised to do up for friends that I haven't had a chance to touch in weeks.  Months and in some cases.  Granted this work isn't of the "paid for" variety, but it's still something that I committed myself to.  And while one does have a lot more leeway when dealing with friends as apposed to clients, there comes a point where "leeway" becomes "taking advantage of my friend's kindness and understanding", and can really start straining a friendship.

Now, I'm well aware nothing worth doing comes without a certain amount of sacrifice, and I am perfectly willing to make those sacrifices to keep the strip going, but I'd rather try to put a limit on how much others suffer for my sacrifices. Besides, lately I've barely been managing to keep the strip going despite those sacrifices, which kinda defeats the purpose of making them in the first place.  So I think it's time for me to take a bit of a break and think about what it is I need to do to correct this problem.  

I thought, or perhaps hoped is a better term, that the week off I took last month would be enough time for me to do this, but it just acted as more of a band-aid over a bullet wound.  Granted I'm still a while away from becoming burnt out, but I don't much fancy allowing myself to reach that point before I put the brakes on for a spell.  And given the fact that I've been doing this pretty much non-stop for the past couple years, I don't think needing to take a month off is that unusual or surprising.

So yes, Geek Tragedy will be going on semi-hiatus till August 1st.  During which time I will be posting news updates, and some artwork on no set schedule (which is where the "semi" part of the hiatus comes in) to give y'all something to see when you drop by the site (and I do hope that you folks out there keep dropping by).  But mostly though I will be trying to work out a much more effective work schedule for myself, and possibly a change to both the format of the strip as well as the days on which it's updated.

Also, once I get back from Connecticut next week, I'll be doing my best to try and get my non-GT related projects / obligations back on track.  And more importantly, reconnect with some of the people in my life who I feel have been given the short end of the stick as of late.  Speaking of which, I'd also like to apologize to those same people, my family, friends, and loved ones for being a ghost for the past few months, and thank them for their seemingly endless patience.

So there you go folks.  I know this announcement seems kinda sudden, but trust me when I say it was a long time coming.  But let me just make one thing perfectly clear before I take off to get ready for work;

Geek Tragedy will definitely be back come August 1st!  Just figured I'd say that in case some of you thought that this was the first step towards the end, 'cause I assure you it isn't it.

Okay, enough of this Chatty Cathy nonsense.  I've gotta go put some pants on.

Later,

-Ed