LaurasComics Musings

it’s been a long time now… but i guess i should catch up any readers that are still hanging around the site wondering if i’ll ever come back.

so i never told you guys this, though you might have guessed it, but i’m a married woman. that’s right, i speak often of derek in this comic because he’s my hubby, not just a great guy. i’ve been married for a while now, but i didn’t want my life to disturb the theme of the comic, so i kept up with the single-girl-finishing-college routine for the sake of the strip. however, being married has led to a much larger event in my life that i’m having a bit more trouble avoiding in my creative endeavors… you see, i’ve got a bun in the oven.

i found out late in january, after i had submitted some applications for part-time work. needless to say, all of that has taken a back seat to my present situation. the little one is due in september, and i don’t know much about it yet except that it’s healthy and apparently the size of a lime. i’ve been delaying announcing all of this here on the site for a couple of reasons: 1) i wasn’t entirely sure the pregnancy would stick, but now that i’m a week or so from my second trimester i think it’s more than an idea, and 2) i wasn’t sure if this was something that would affect the web page and/or any readers of laura’s comics anyways… but i think the way my life is taking shape around it leaves me little question as to what impact this will ultimately have on my creative outlets. this is why i haven’t posted anything new… not because i’ve forgotten the site or i’m too busy looking for jobs, but because i am dealing for the first time in a LONG TIME with something totally life changing. i mean, i can’t even have a vodka sour for at least six or seven more months! talk about a reality check.

for the record: i’ve been interested in the idea of having a baby for a while now, but i didn’t think it would happen to me so fast. i figured i’d be trying for about two years before anything tangible happened, but it seems that the powers that be had a different plan for me. i’m happy to be here already, but obviously i’m a little scared and clueless about the whole process.

as far as the website is concerned, i’m not sure i’m done with it yet, even if this whole “child-rearing” thing does throw a twist in the story. i PROMISE i’ll never end up doing a cathy or family circus comic… i’ve hated that kind of stuff for way too long to end up aping it. i’ve been tossing around the idea of doing a comic about the horrors of pregnancy thus far for a twenty-something, lazy, video-game addicted post-college student, but i’m not sure you guys are the audience for that. i’m hoping when i get more energy later this month i’ll be able to continue leftovers, i’ve had the plot line ironed out for so long i hate to leave it unfinished. but any feedback you guys can give me will be much appreciated. do you think i should take a different direction? should i start cataloguing my experiences at the moment or should i take on a new plot-centered comic concept? …any suggestions for baby names?

it’s amazing how intense the drop off is after graduation. i feel a bit lost about what to do next. after much thought, i realized that i didn’t want to apply for just any job. if i’m going to join the working world, i want to enjoy it. i want to love the tedium i’m involved in for a change. so i put in an application at a local cd/record store for a part-time job. but they haven’t called me back in about two weeks now. i suppose they don’t like the idea of someone with a degree in applied mathematics stocking shelves and the like. perhaps the manager was intimidated that in spite of my overqualifications, i just want a part time job. who knows.

there are a lot of things going on with me right now, none of which i should go into in detail. i do intend to pick up leftovers again when the timing seems right, but god only knows how long i’ll be able to keep up with the website even so. yeah, i know. i’m a bum. but i gotta do something with my life…. apparently.

it’s past midnight now, and i’m packing like a madwoman in preparation for the cruise my parents have planned for my entire family to the eastern caribbean. tomorrow i’ll be driving to florida all day. originally, i had hoped that i’d be done packing by now, but yesterday i had to visit the doctor with my 101.5 degree fever in hopes that they had a magic pill that would fix me in time to go on this trip. they didn’t have such a medicine, but they gave me the next best thing… an antibiotic to kick my butt around for five days until i’m healthy. and so i pack. sick or not, i’m going on a cruise. i may be doped up the whole time, but i’m going on a cruise.

the spam on this site is getting out of control. i have the craziest people and companies posting their links all over the place. i thought i’d disable the comment sections while away on my trip, but i don’t think i’ll be able to get around to it. so when i get back, i’m estimating that i’ll have around three or four thousand spam posts/emails to deal with. i won’t be a happy camper. but this is all just a small note so that if the site gets lost in a sea of hacked and spammed cybermess, you’ll have an idea of what’s going on.

happy holidays to everyone!! (…except you lousy spammers who i know will not be taking even one day off from pestering my site.)

finally. lucky number 200!

it’s been a long run. i haven’t decided yet if i’ll keep iqp going, but either way i’m going to take a break from comic-ing for a while. i plan to get back to it by late january, but i’ll keep you guys posted if there are any developments otherwise. at that point, i’m going to try to pick up and finish off leftovers for a while, and then we’ll see where it all goes.

i thoroughly enjoyed the university showing interest in my little comic webpage. i should probably do what they tell me to do, since it’s out of the goodness of their hearts that i’m receiving a diploma. har har! you guys are awesome, i always love the comments.

another new iqp.

so now i am sitting and waiting. i’m wondering if someone over at that math department will tell me when i’ve officially qualified for graduation or if i’ll just sit around wondering forever. it’s nice to have no assignments due anywhere in my near or even distant future. however, the down side is a vague sense of purposelessness. who knows what i’ll end up doing with my free time. but i don’t plan to do anything for at least a month. it will be the first real break i’ve had in a long time, i’ve been too busy with december exams and summer courses since sophomore year to have gotten anything more than an isolated weekend of bliss at a time.

so my sentiment is as detailed in today’s comic: aaaaahhhhhhh.

new iqp.

so here i am on a lovely monday morning, finished with all of the work required for a person who desires a degree in applied mathematics from north carolina state university. now i get to wait. was it enough? were they lying to me about this being my final semester? is there some way for me to acquire my diploma without having to talk to anyone else in the deparment ever again? these questions and more will be answered… at some time… in the future. i hope.

two new iqp comics left, people. then the great unknown is upon me.

yes, i’m posting a new iqp on a saturday. bear with me, people, i’m trying to fit the comic into my real life schedule. by my calculations, i’ll hit number 200 (and also potentially the last comic posting of iqp ever) next friday, then i can take a short break from it to celebrate my gradu-ma-cation. i’ll probably try to continue and/or finish off leftovers during the first half of next year… and i’ve also got a few new comic ideas rattling around upstairs. but this could all come to no fruition, as burn out is imminent.

not quite a graduate yet, one more (relatively large) project to go…

yet another new iqp.

so tomorrow i will be presenting my final project for one of my classes. it won’t be pretty. but a bunch of people presented theirs on tuesday and those were downright ugly. so i guess it makes sense for us to follow suit. but if anyone asks us any questions about the material we had to learn in order to put this lame powerpoint together, we’ll be in deep poo. but you know, i only need to not fail this in order to graduate, so i’m far less invested than my fellow group members. either way, wish me luck.

new iqp.

my group project wasn’t supposed to be due until thursday. but wouldn’t you know it, our prof. wants us to have it ready to go by tomorrow. i figured this whole graduating thing seemed a little too easy. now it’s more like the plot of an 80’s film. the illness scene is over, however, as i’m halfway done with my sinus infection antibiotics and don’t feel like i’m going to die anymore (at least not of any physical ailment). however, the sudden project stress will probably bring on a small ulcer in the next 24 hours, creating yet another plot twist for everyone to sweat through. will she make it? you’ll just have to wait and see.

new iqp up!

ugh. i have a horrible head cold. i’m worried i won’t be able to participate in thanksgiving. stupid cold weather. i’m so tired of always coming down with some kind of illness every time the first frost hits. boo.

now i shall go out into the world and spread it to everyone i know so that i might have some company in my misery… -cough- -cough-