For the three days of LTUE I got up at 6am, made it to the symposium by 8am, and didn't make it home again in the evening until around 8pm or later. I never got a nap, and went to bed each night with my brain spinning, threatening me with insomnia. A little melatonin ensured that I actually SLEPT between midnight and 6am the next day, and a little diet Dr. Pepper ensured that I stayed awake while at the symposium.

I was going to whine about this, until I realized that this is what some people do every day of their lives, only without the accolades and the whole "I'm enjoying my work" bit. This is why I need to be able to remain a cartoonist for the rest of my life. A little three-day taste of actual WORK, with the long hours, the fast food, and the commute is all I think I can take. Force me back into the traditional workplace where there are meetings and office politics on top of it all, plus the "no-end-in-sight" bit and I think I would wither and die.

Monday I've got piles of cartooning and book prep to do. And I've got about a month before I tackle my next 12- to 18-hour-per-day convention, which sounds about right. I can do this again, as long as I've got a month's worth of daily naps and home-cooked food to shore me up.

--Howard

Tags: conventions
I feel: exhausted
Current Music: Voice Male - Lead, Kindly Light