{An Unexpected Stop}

 

Hi guys!

I have some happy and sad news. I’m really sorry to say, that after almost a year and a half of writing the Blob blog, I have to put the blog on hiatus for what might be some time. That might sound very sad, but I have a very good reason: I will be starting graduate school this summer! Actually, like, three weeks from now.

That seems fast, but keep reading:

Some of you know my story with graduate school applying. I applied to ten MFA programs all over the country. This application process spanned from late July to early January. So, you’ll understand the heartache when I say I didn’t get into any. I sweat over those applications and when faced with ten rejections, I wept for an hour. I keened. And, most importantly, I facebook grieved.

I’m glad I did, because the next day, I awoke to a message from Laura Hope-Gill, a woman I had interviewed for Prick of the Spindle, and am facebook-friends with. She told me about her program at this small, but excellent school that emphasizes kindness and narrative and the importance of a writer’s story. The program does not limit my specific genre, and is cheaper than my MFA. I can take classes online this summer! I can write poetry and learn about publishing! It sounds like something I’d love! It sounds like me! I was… skeptical. Because I was heartbroken. Because I’d just been told “NO” nine times in a row.

So I applied, not really convinced. Sure sure yeah yeah okay, here’s my resume. Yes, I put effort into the application, but mostly because I try to put effort into everything.

And then, I got excited. And then, I started, slowly, to tell people. And then, I turned in the application. And then, I started to get little emails from the Graduate Coordinator. Finally, I got the call. I got the call that I got in. I cried and jumped and did a white girl dance. I’m still overwhelmed, and I’m still a little dizzy.

I apologize to all my readers that you had no warning, but, really, neither did I! This is all really sudden (aka: the last two-and-a-half weeks). I’m scared and excited and seriously confused. But, this is the most beautiful thing about life. I really have never felt like any big changes in my life have been predictable. This came out of nowhere and I’m happy.

I will absolutely keep updating, just nowhere near as often, and not on a predictable schedule. I am doing this for my sanity. I have to make time for my classes and I have to keep up my work life and personal life still, so some things do need to go, time wise. I love all you guys so much and have really enjoyed providing art and fun and comics for you on a twice-a-week basis, but I’m doing this for me and my future. Please feel free to subscribe: this way, you guys will receive an email every time I do a random update.

Thank you so much for making this time a wonderful season in my life. I love you all so much.

Thank you. For everything.

{France Part Two: A PILE OF GLUTEN}

 

 

Hi Guys! Happy Monday!

So, snob alert, this is about to sound terrible, but I miss just-made bread. It’s EVERYWHERE in France, and we have so many preservatives in our food. Luckily, I have an amazing farmer’s market not too far that I frequent and it is so good; their bread booth has the most delicious rolls. So I win, the end, it’s just not on every corner and I’m being a snob and not being grateful, sorry guys.

Enjoy your day!

{France Part One: BERETS ARE A THING}

Hiya guys! Happy Friday!

I know, I know you’re probably sick of me talking about this vacation. I know, you’re jealous and want my life (teehee, sorry, had to throw that in there). But my creative juices just get flowing in beautiful places and there were so many places where I thought: “I can just see the Blob doing. . .” So, please deal with me for maybe six or so more entries. Then it will be back to comics about my cat withdraws (my kitty is moving away and by my cat, I mean the-roommate-who-is-moving-to-Georgia-with-her-cat-who-has-grown-on-me) and weird stuff my roommates and I discuss.

So: berets. Totally a thing! I know right? I was so expecting them to be this weird Americans-think-we-do-this-but-we-totally-don’t thing, but then, during a game of “French or Foreign” with the lovely Miss Queen DPerk, I spotted a man wearing a beret. AND THEN he spoke French. Fluently, you guys, not some crappy tourist French like the French I was blatantly attempting to speak.

And then I got super excited.

Jacqui was not excited or convinced but whatever. Jacqui’s always not excited or convinced. :p

Enjoy your day and your weekend, my lovelies. Remember to have some of your own adventures!

{Adjusting to the States Again Part Two}

Hi there, everybody! Happy Monday!

Adjusting back to the time zone never takes me too long and this time was no real exception, even though the difference was six hours. I never had a day where I was just zonked out…

except that one time I just randomly fell asleep at a brunch…

…oh, and the time that I woke up at 5:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep…

…and that time I nursed a small caffeine addiction…

…and how I couldn’t stay up past nine-thirty…

Okay, okay. Maybe it wasn’t as easy as I thought.

 

Enjoy your day, my loves!

{Adjusting to the States Again Part One}

 

Hi guys!

I wanted to say thank you for being so understanding as I get back on this time zone and get readjusted to everyday life back in the states. It’s very surreal. Being back in America felt very weird for about a week. Like, the most daily of things felt so very strange.

Also, do you guys know how BIG everything is over here? You guys, you guys, you guys, our streets are HUGE. Our airports are GIANT. I have room to walk and not bump into everyone. It is the most odd thing.

And everything’s clean. The Mister picked me up from the airport and the first thing we did was do to Steak and Shake, which is what you want when you haven’t slept in twenty one hours. And the table was so sparkling. Not that France is dirty, not at all. It’s a very nice city. But it’s not antiseptically, antibacterially, obsessively clean like the States seem when you first get back into them.

 

Missed you all! Have a very lovely weekend.

{Home from France}

 

Hiya guys! Welcome back to Blobiness as I welcome myself back to the good ole’ US of A. I had a blast, but not going to lie, it’s AWESOME to sleep in my own bed. There’s no place like home, right?

That said, I’m completely exhausted and my body may or may not know what time zone I am on. Therefore, it’s flashback Friday. Enjoy seeing the Blob reference this silly video that was popular back when I was in high school.

Please have a lovely weekend!

{Exploring}

There’s no comic today, as I am busy exploring today!

For those of you who don’t know, I’m on vacation right now! Wooo.

Please enjoy below photo of my travels.

{Fancy Night}

Oh, hipsters.

French fries aren’t fancy.

That said, French food? Delicious.

Almost as delicious as French fries.

{On “French Price”}

 

Hi from France!

So, one of the most annoying things about being a lady is the assumption you need a guy to have an adventure or be fulfilled. People, mostly coworkers for some reason, seem to constantly be asking when you’re getting married or how your romantic life is or some other nonsense. Which is annoying exactly because my relationship does not define me.

Hence, I drew this Blob.

One of my (very well-meaning) coworkers told me, after joking that I was going to get kidnapped in France like that one girl in “Taken,” “No, here, let me come up with a more positive possibility. You’ll meet a French Prince and he’ll sweep you off your feet!” Ignoring that France does not have royalty, that statement bothered me. Because it made such a sweeping (pun totes magotes intended) assumption that I needed a French man to sweep me off my feet. Which I don’t, a and b, I don’t need romance to have a good time. My romantic life, while is existent, is a part of my life, yes, but not the entirety. There are many things I enjoy doing, and only some of them involve my boyfriend. Not that I shut him out of areas of my life, but I do have areas which are entirely separate from him.

Like this trip, which I am having fun on because I’ve wanted to go on it since I met DPerk. I am having a blast because I get to see my sister. I am thrilled because I get to eat delicious food. I am excited because I get to see a new town, new culture, and a new way of life.

No French princes for me, thank you.

End rant.

Have a lovely day!

 

 

{Happy 100!}

This is my 100th post on this blog! (which means the Blob has been posting roughly a year!)

 

This past year has been one of the weirdest, most wonderful, most growth filled years of my life. And over the past year or so, I have learned so much about blogging, about how to boost my readership, about writing, humor, honesty, art, drawing, and when to not stress putting up a post. I appreciate every reader I have for sticking along with me for the ride and turning this experiment in to one of my favorite expressions of art. I really enjoy posting these for you guys, and hope to keep doing this for many, many more years.

Thank you so much.

And now, to celebrate, here are some of my favorite Blob moments.

 

 

The Blob was off on an adventure to buy other people’s crap!

 

 

 

Enjoy your day, lovelies.