Latté in the Park

It kind of sounds like a title to a Meg Ryan movie huh?



I had the most relaxing day today. There is a park that I having driving by almost everyday since I moved into my new place, and every time I pass it I say to my self, "self... lets go to that park." So today I finally did. Its in this little valley thing behind a little strip mall and below street level, so its nicely tucked away. When you drive by you can only a little slice of it for a few seconds due to the amount of foliage and because its in that little valley. I got on my bike and I rode down there. While there I enjoyed my lunch under a tree [while having some pellegrino as well] and read my Bible. It was beautiful. If you haven't made time to sit under a tree and just relax do it. I was able to just take it the whole park in. There were birds singing and hopping about, butterflies wafting in the gentle breeze, ducks waddling in the grass, and squirrels running a muck.

And the best part is about my latté. I got too hot riding my bike to enjoy it, so I just wrote it off and figured I would drink it later. But after sitting and eating lunch in the shade the breeze picked up and the clouds masked the sky and lo and behold I got chilly! So after enjoying a sunny ride in the park with a cool breeze I also got to enjoy my warm latté while reading under a tree. God hooked me up today! To quote U2, "...it was a beautiful day..."

Tattiversary

One year ago today I got my Tattoo. Happy Birthday tattoo!

I am glad that I got you, and even more so I am glad that I got you in Israel! Below are some pictures of me getting my tattoo, no one was allowed in the back with me while I got it so I took the pictures myself. The last picture of me prior to my getting some "ink" done.

click the pics to enlarge


And then the finished peice! Wa LA!

It says "grace" in an old script of Hebrew.

And below are some pictures of the tattoo parlor and I the drawing I gave Poko (the guy who gave me my tattoo) that I drew while waiting for my friend Jeremy to get his. We were the only two out of a group of 6ish people who said they were gonna get tattoos too! The men were separated from the boys that day I tell ya.

It was this time last year I was in Israel, and it was a trip of a life time! If anyone has the opportunity to go to Israel take it! It was so beautiful, not at all as I imagined it. Green lush and full of flowers! OH!!! The coffee and ice cream were to die for! and /swoon I would put up with the 17 hour flight for some right now...

Looking over this past year a lot has happened. A lot! Blessings, opportunities, encouragements, tragedies, disappointments, friendships strengthened, friendships lost, steps of faith and so forth. Some examples being that I moved out, my dad's best friend passed away from cancer, my younger brother got engaged, I preformed my cousins wedding... it was a very skewed year, major ups and major downs. Throughout this year my walk and relationship with Christ had its up and downs, and even in the moments of weakness and shadow I am still thankful for the lessons I learned. I learned a lot about my faith and daily walk with Christ this past year. I was challenged on some of my more biased personal beliefs and encouraged with scripture with ones I was faltering with. Realizing in a deeper and more potent level that it is the quality of your walk and your devotional life that really helps you battle your demons, and its just that, your walk and devotional life, that will give you any hope of one day slaying them. It's not what you do on the outside or what church denomination you are or aren't. I have known this for many years now, but this year I think I finally understood it. I don't know how to really explain it other than differentiating between knowing and understanding. I look forward to see what the Lord has for me this year, and am curious what I will post about on March 20, 2008.

Oh and this is something else I got from Israel...

... my very own curse scar.

P.S. I wanna go back...

That Lance is Totally Free!!

I just finished my second week as a consultant for my firm. I am enjoying freelance as much as I expected. This week was really busy thought. I was in the office all week except for Wednesday, where I was home all day polishing off 3 comic pages I started on Sunday. And then after work on Thursday I had DDT [dedicated drawing time] with my 2 most favorite coworkers where I drew a 4th comic page. Who knew I had it in me? 4 Pages in one week and working 30 hours in the office ta boot. Brings me comfort to know that I can pull this off.

I have been keeping this quiet, but I have been working on a movie pitch with from friends from school. We have been in talks with Darkhorse Independent for over 6 months now. I have been part of the developmental stags with artwork and such. And the comic pages I mentioned earlier were for this pitch, and word on the street is they really liked my pages. NICE! A comic company liked my comic pages! Ill post more details when I can.
Oh it looks like they wanna make the movie! WOOO!

March Madness

Page 4 of 3 comic pages I drew this week for a project I am working on.
The others will soon be posted... when I scan them.