Kawaii - a wonderful story! It lifted my spirits to read it.

kawaiidaigakusei wrote:
It is raining, so here is a story for a rainy day…

I was riding around town on public transportation with my friend, and it was not until we were off the bus that my friend realized their cell phone was missing, most likely still on the bus. The following hour was spent dialing a missing phone's number that would ring three times before going to voicemail. Eventually after an hour, and almost giving up, I made one last phone call and I was connected to a man's voice who had picked up the phone from the bus I was riding.

The stranger and I made plans to meet up a at a gas station at a busy intersection to make the phone exchange. He said he could be there in ten minutes, I asked if we could meet there in two hours, and he agreed.
(At this point the worst case scenarios of such an anonymous meeting had already run through my head, and I went through with it anyway.)
As planned, I made it to the intersection and dialed the number once again (no answer); a second time (no answer); and a final third time (he answered). I told him i was standing next to the propane containers at the gas station closest to the bus stop, he said he was on the bus and would be there shortly.

About three minutes later, a man wearing a straw hat, a broken plaid mask hanging by a single cord, and a weathered jacked started walking towards me. It looked like he had experienced a decade of hard years of living in inconsistent housing. I greeted him by his name, he greeted me by mine. He handed me the phone that had dropped on a bus three hours earlier and then he asked for a favor. He wanted me to get in contact with his sister, so she could load up his bus pass. I sent his sister a text followed by a photograph of his hand holding the bus pass.

I thanked him for his honesty and integrity and how difficult and rare it is to find these days. I am thankful for having had this experience it taught me a powerful life lesson: Treat everyone with dignity and respect.

Beautifully told too. It can't be left to languish at the foot of the previous page!

Ironscarf wrote:

kawaiidaigakusei wrote:
It is raining, so here is a story for a rainy day…

I was riding around town on public transportation with my friend, and it was not until we were off the bus that my friend realized their cell phone was missing, most likely still on the bus. The following hour was spent dialing a missing phone's number that would ring three times before going to voicemail. Eventually after an hour, and almost giving up, I made one last phone call and I was connected to a man's voice who had picked up the phone from the bus I was riding.

The stranger and I made plans to meet up a at a gas station at a busy intersection to make the phone exchange. He said he could be there in ten minutes, I asked if we could meet there in two hours, and he agreed.
(At this point the worst case scenarios of such an anonymous meeting had already run through my head, and I went through with it anyway.)
As planned, I made it to the intersection and dialed the number once again (no answer); a second time (no answer); and a final third time (he answered). I told him i was standing next to the propane containers at the gas station closest to the bus stop, he said he was on the bus and would be there shortly.

About three minutes later, a man wearing a straw hat, a broken plaid mask hanging by a single cord, and a weathered jacked started walking towards me. It looked like he had experienced a decade of hard years of living in inconsistent housing. I greeted him by his name, he greeted me by mine. He handed me the phone that had dropped on a bus three hours earlier and then he asked for a favor. He wanted me to get in contact with his sister, so she could load up his bus pass. I sent his sister a text followed by a photograph of his hand holding the bus pass.

I thanked him for his honesty and integrity and how difficult and rare it is to find these days. I am thankful for having had this experience it taught me a powerful life lesson: Treat everyone with dignity and respect.

Beautifully told too. It can't be left to languish at the foot of the previous page!

Lovely

Bloody hell! I got a shock today seeing Lite Bites in the top ten section of the front page. That's never happened before. So I checked the page views and again a bit of a shock. Over 3000 views yesterday. Far higher than normal.

kawaiidaigakusei wrote:
It is raining, so here is a story for a rainy day…

I was riding around town on public transportation with my friend, and it was not until we were off the bus that my friend realized their cell phone was missing, most likely still on the bus. The following hour was spent dialing a missing phone's number that would ring three times before going to voicemail. Eventually after an hour, and almost giving up, I made one last phone call and I was connected to a man's voice who had picked up the phone from the bus I was riding.

The stranger and I made plans to meet up a at a gas station at a busy intersection to make the phone exchange. He said he could be there in ten minutes, I asked if we could meet there in two hours, and he agreed.
(At this point the worst case scenarios of such an anonymous meeting had already run through my head, and I went through with it anyway.)
As planned, I made it to the intersection and dialed the number once again (no answer); a second time (no answer); and a final third time (he answered). I told him I was standing next to the propane containers at the gas station closest to the bus stop, he said he was on the bus and would be there shortly.

About three minutes later, a man wearing a straw hat, a broken plaid mask hanging by a single cord, and a weathered jacket started walking towards me. It looked like he had experienced a decade of hard years of living in inconsistent housing. I greeted him by his name, he greeted me by mine. He handed me the phone that had dropped on a bus three hours earlier and then he asked for a favor. He wanted me to get in contact with his sister, so she could load up his bus pass. I sent his sister a text followed by a photograph of his hand holding the bus pass.

I thanked him for his honesty and integrity and how difficult and rare it is to find these days. I am thankful for having had this experience it taught me a powerful life lesson: Treat everyone with dignity and respect.

I believe there was once an author, I don't remember which one, that once wrote that every human being is ruled by one of two base emotions: fear or love. You, kawaii, are a servant of love and I hope you take pride in that:)

Genejoke wrote:
Bloody hell! I got a shock today seeing Lite Bites in the top ten section of the front page. That's never happened before. So I checked the page views and again a bit of a shock. Over 3000 views yesterday. Far higher than normal.

Congratz! Congratz! Gotta get myself back to reading Lite Bites again soon. I've been falling behind in so much reading:P

Nice work Genejoke!

Andreas_Helixfinger wrote:

I believe there was once an author, I don't remember which one, that once wrote that every human being is ruled by one of two base emotions: fear or love.

I think that was Dolly Parton.

We're approaching the season when there will be tiny ducks swimming on the moat. Do I go every day because I love to see the little duckies, or because I'm afraid the ducklings will be eaten by a fox again? At this point I don't know if my actions are driven by love or fear.

That's awesome Genejoke! ^_^
Maybe you got a great link from somewhere?

Genejoke wrote:
Bloody hell! I got a shock today seeing Lite Bites in the top ten section of the front page. That's never happened before. So I checked the page views and again a bit of a shock. Over 3000 views yesterday. Far higher than normal.

Genejoke, I checked Lite Bites and I am certain the current bump is related to the hilarious “May the Fours Be with You” collaborative joke between you and Banes. That man never saw it coming, FOUR sure!

Will Smith slapped Genejoke in the face over that “fours” joke. It put a lot of new eyes on Lite Bites!

Ironscarf wrote:

I think that was Dolly Parton.

We're approaching the season when there will be tiny ducks swimming on the moat. Do I go every day because I love to see the little duckies, or because I'm afraid the ducklings will be eaten by a fox again? At this point I don't know if my actions are driven by love or fear.

It is something I question myself sometimes. I believe things we do can be out of either fear-driven love or love-driven fear. The question is always: which one is it this time?:P

Banes wrote:
Will Smith slapped Genejoke in the face over that “fours” joke. It put a lot of new eyes on Lite Bites!

get those fours out of your mother loving mouth!

I wonder what the new eyes might make of the next story…

Ozoneocean wrote:
That's awesome Genejoke! ^_^
Maybe you got a great link from somewhere?

That's what I wondered, maybe it's bad webcomics…

Genejoke wrote:
wrote:

That's what I wondered, maybe it's bad webcomics…

Oh shit! Lite Bites might be read by BWW right now! Better keep an eye on their site for a review^^

I've been mostly staying off Facebook since that Will Smith slapping thing and it's been really positive for my productivity! It's amazing O_O

I got really annoyed by people treating the situation as if it was justified for a grown man to get on stage and attack a working stand up comedian- trying to frame it in terms of women's rights, disability shaming, abelisim, teasing, bullying etc.

All terrible utter rubbish.
Chris Rock can be a dick but he was working, doing what he was paid to do and Will Smith (who I love as an actor) climbed on stage, assaulted him and verbally abused him.

There's no justification for attacking a comedian just for doing their job like that. Even if Jada's head had caught on fire just before the show that that had cause her hairstyle it still wouldn't be ok to attack him.

If we justify that sort of violence then that also makes it ok to attack comedians for other things- like a comedian saying something about abortion could get attacked for it, or a comedian making fun of the catholic church, or even just making fun of someone in an ugly T-shirt…

Besides Will and Jada are ultra rich and privileged people, they don't need anyone's defense.


I will stop ranting because this is why I'm staying off Facebook and I'm being hypocritical hahaha!

Genejoke wrote:
Bloody hell! I got a shock today seeing Lite Bites in the top ten section of the front page. That's never happened before. So I checked the page views and again a bit of a shock. Over 3000 views yesterday. Far higher than normal.

This posting must have put more eyes on it because Lite Bites is number one right now! Congrats!

Be a great time to push the community aspect of the comic. Anyone in the community can submit a story for it. It's a community project. Your short piece could be on there.

And that anthology approach would really challenge negative types like BWW. I mean they could submit their review and it could appear in Lite Bites. It is an ongoing community project.

Submit a story now! You know you have tgst five page short just moldering away on your laptop–

Oh and see the links down there for my comics? Read them now. (We need some more self promotion around here.)

Ozoneocean wrote:
I've been mostly staying off Facebook since that Will Smith slapping thing and it's been really positive for my productivity! It's amazing O_O

I was already tired of Facebook but the final nails in the coffin for me were the godawful homemade videos they started pushing in my direction. I mostly only go there now to see what friends are up to. Instagram is going the same way, with the same algorithmic abuse and Metacobblers.

Twitter became the place for artists to network some time ago and even that suffers form choking algoshite, but at least you can still discover new folks and their work.

bravo1102 wrote:

Genejoke wrote:
Bloody hell! I got a shock today seeing Lite Bites in the top ten section of the front page. That's never happened before. So I checked the page views and again a bit of a shock. Over 3000 views yesterday. Far higher than normal.

This posting must have put more eyes on it because Lite Bites is number one right now! Congrats!

Be a great time to push the community aspect of the comic. Anyone in the community can submit a story for it. It's a community project. Your short piece could be on there.

And that anthology approach would really challenge negative types like BWW. I mean they could submit their review and it could appear in Lite Bites. It is an ongoing community project.

Submit a story now! You know you have tgst five page short just moldering away on your laptop–

Oh and see the links down there for my comics? Read them now. (We need some more self promotion around here.)

Holy crap! I hadn't noticed that, checked the views again, doubled. Yep time for a fresh push.

Time to look at Pinky TA instead… I actually updated O_o
OMFG WOW!!!!

Now to do some bottomless Waitress work. Phew! I actually enjoyed making this page of Pinky TA.
Getting all painterly and using colours can be such a joy. So much better than simply colouring in. I hate colouring in.

Ozoneocean wrote:

… I actually updated O_o
OMFG WOW!!!!

'But when they seldom come, they wished-for come'

Bill Shakes

I too hated colouring in, but Clip Studio's flatting tools turn that arduous task into a joyful canter through a sun-dappled arboretum!
(other softwares are available)

Ironscarf wrote:
I too hated colouring in, but Clip Studio's flatting tools turn that arduous task into a joyful canter through a sun-dappled arboretum!
(other softwares are available)

I tried looking for Clip Studio Paint on Android but reading the comments scared me off- you need to pay a subscription for features, it doesn't autosave, and no pressure sensitivity unless you pay for a specific prescription model… So I'll stick with Artflo on Android for now.

———-

On the weekend I did a job I'd been planning on and thinking about for ages!
-My fave Bluetooth headphones for watching TV were breaking, the earpiece on one side had started to break off of the headband. I fixed it with tape but it was wonky and falling apart…
I worked out that only steel reinforcing could join it together and totally fix it, but it wouldn't be easy to do and I'd need stainless steel of the right thickness… or aluminium a bit thicker (both corrosion resistant, but aluminium isn't as strong).

Lucky I found some stainless that I'd saved for projects. When I took the tape off the headphones fell apart, the earpiece was only holding on by a wire…

I measured and designed the piece I'd need, then I cut it out and shaped it, drilled it and put it on the headphones.
It fitted perfectly and fixed them as good as new :D

So a big success!

I could've just bought new ones, these weren't expensive originally… but I love the look of them, I'm used to them, and they've always worked really well (their battery lasts ages and ages), so It was worth it.
Fixing them and shaping that steel was very hard. Harder than I thought it'd be and I couldn't use rivets like I planned because they were too short so I had to use a bolt… But it allw orked out well anyway :)

I'm coming back with bang. First the awards and now I actually made a page for one of my old comics. I'm really rusty but I'm glad I was able to do it.

What has really changed in my life and given me energy is that the company I worked at was bought out. My old boss was militant and authoritarian (and crazy). My new boss doesn't expect us to be robots. He has told us multiple times to put our family and health first. And time and time again he has put his money where is mouth is. Myself and a couple of coworkers have been made to go home (with pay) if he catches wind of us having a sick child at home or missing an important event. It has done wonders for my mental health.

Also I was worried when he bought the company because my job title had said Customer Service, I was doing more back end work with the database than actual customer service. I explained this to him when I met him. Imagine my surprise when my new business cards came in saying I.T. Manager, but the customer service team got a good laugh.

Niccea wrote:
I'm coming back with bang. First the awards and now I actually made a page for one of my old comics. I'm really rusty but I'm glad I was able to do it.

What has really changed in my life and given me energy is that the company I worked at was bought out. My old boss was militant and authoritarian (and crazy). My new boss doesn't expect us to be robots. He has told us multiple times to put our family and health first. And time and time again he has put his money where is mouth is. Myself and a couple of coworkers have been made to go home (with pay) if he catches wind of us having a sick child at home or missing an important event. It has done wonders for my mental health.

Also I was worried when he bought the company because my job title had said Customer Service, I was doing more back end work with the database than actual customer service. I explained this to him when I met him. Imagine my surprise when my new business cards came in saying I.T. Manager, but the customer service team got a good laugh.

Awesome! Really glad to hear that things are beginning to turn for the better for you, Niccea👍

That's great, Niccea, congrats!

I've heard so many stories about companies being bought out and turning much, much worse. Nice to hear an opposite-type story.

Ozoneocean wrote:

I tried looking for Clip Studio Paint on Android but reading the comments scared me off- you need to pay a subscription for features, it doesn't autosave, and no pressure sensitivity unless you pay for a specific prescription model… So I'll stick with Artflo on Android for now.

I'd forgotten some people don't always work traditionally any more (on desktop). My son uses Procreate on ipad instead of Clip Studio for the same reason. What a dystopian business model.

Ironscarf wrote:

Ozoneocean wrote:

I tried looking for Clip Studio Paint on Android but reading the comments scared me off- you need to pay a subscription for features, it doesn't autosave, and no pressure sensitivity unless you pay for a specific prescription model… So I'll stick with Artflo on Android for now.

I'd forgotten some people don't always work traditionally any more (on desktop). My son uses Procreate on ipad instead of Clip Studio for the same reason. What a dystopian business model.

So when he's on his ipad do you ask him if he's procreating?

pure dad joke madness.

I do not, but I most certainly will from now on LOL!

Actually we just got back from Forbidden Planet with a bag of art inspiration. He loves comics but doesn't draw them because it takes way too long. I blame myself.

well you never know where his creative inspiration may take him. Glad to be of service with inspiring you on the dad joke front.

Ironscarf wrote:
I'd forgotten some people don't always work traditionally any more (on desktop). My son uses Procreate on ipad instead of Clip Studio for the same reason. What a dystopian business model.

I honestly love that desktop digital art is now “traditional” :D
Especially when it comes from such a great artist ^_^

I'm having fun with my latest page of Bottomless Waitress, but I have to do another Friday Fashion Spotlight article T_T

I'm getting migraine headaches every week now, sometimes on multiple days, sometimes extremely bad ones.

This is annoying! I've changed my life around massively to avoid them! And it totally worked- I used to get weekend-ending attacks every week where I'd spend most of the weekend in bed. They'd last 3 or 4 days often. I'd spend week days fighting through a cotton-wool fug of codeine induced numbness.

I did everything I could to stop them- I get enough sleep every night, I eat right and enough, I exercise, I don't drink alcohol, I don't even drink coffee (unless I need it to kill a migraine), I gave up so many foods thinking they were a trigger, stopped being around chemicals that were triggers, had my wisdom teeth out, I take propanalol before bed as a migraine preventative, I never take codeine for pain, I live without almost any stress most of the time… I even make sure there's never more than one pillow under my neck when I sleep

And it all worked! I went from regular migraine attacks every week to months without any at all.


And now they're back. At random times too. Not regular. There are no triggers I can point to as possible causes :(
You're supposed to get migraines less as you age.