Comic Cuts - 18 December

The end of another week and I have to say it has been a very productive one. I mentioned last week that I was in the middle of writing five long pieces for a Spanish book on comics... well, I'm nearly finished. And on schedule. I still need to tidy up all five pieces and give them a cold, hard Paddington stare to see if there's any re-writing required, but I'm happy with the way they've turned out. A fair amount of new research went into them, which will, I'm sure, trickle through to various other things I'm working on, or onto Bear Alley.

With only a week to go, I've managed to wrap one present and write one card... not that I write many. About thirteen years ago my Christmas card list got to such a ridiculous size that I decided to prune it drastically to immediate family and the people I live with only. A purely financial decision and not one I took for any anti-Christmas, "Bah, humbug!" sentiments. I love Christmas and I love receiving Christmas cards. I also love working for myself, which these days means living a financially perilous existence. Advantages outweigh the negatives nine days out of ten, so I'm still 90% happy with my lifestyle choice, which I think is pretty damn good.

One positive I take from working here at home is: no trudging through the snow to work. Mind you, if you're a glass-half-empty type, I don't have any excuse to skive off. So I'm going to get back to it.

(* The column header photo was taken just before midnight last night from the front door, the second around seven and the third at eight o'clock this morning of the back garden. As I look out the window there's not a car to be seen and the neighbourhood has turned into a bit of a winter wonderland. I think I might take advantage of this festive mood and to put the decorations up. Can't do that if you're a nine-to-fiver!)