Sir Grump Munch

January 27, 2007

Now Barely Updating From Louisville

A familiar refrain around these parts, "Sorry it's been so long since I last updated...blah blah blah." I used to care a lot more about having a website, I enjoyed the attention and chit chat and all that, but I don't even think I've looked at the web statistics for my site in a year or two (at one point I looked almost daily to see how many people were visiting, which pages, and from where). I'm sure it's dropped off radically since there's rarely any new content, but I'm okay with that. Some of my friends, like Draplin, Bryan and Jamie have refocused efforts on their sites and done an excellent job in recent times of updating with regularity and providing good content for their readers. They are all great designers, worthwhile bloggers and champs, among many other things.

Anyway, I wanted to check in to let everyone know that I moved to Louisville a couple of weeks ago and am settling in nicely. No problems with the rental truck or moving (other than the nearly 50 steps one must walk up to get to my apartment). The apartment itself is lovely and spacious (about 1300 sq. ft.), more room than I need, and it's a luxury to have all this space and no roommate (whoo-hoo for cheap-rent cities, I'm paying half of what this would cost in Chicago!), I can really spread out and be comfortable. My neighborhood is cool, absolutely gorgeous to walk in and a handful of amenities (great bar about 1/4 mile away, vegan-friendly restaurant about 1/2 mile away, coffeeshop about the same distance in another direction, small food market, laundromat and hardware all within walking distance). I've got to get some more furniture before the guest bedroom/work studio is fully functional, but most of the rest of the place is unpacked and ready to rock, if not decorated. I would encourage you to come visit and peruse my library, I'd totally forgotten how many amazing books (and movies and musics) I have...living out of a suitcase and not seeing any of your own possessions for 5+ months is like getting a huge, weird Christmas sleigh full of all the stuff you always wanted.

Scooter riding is fun here, a decent amount of curves and 35+ mph roads. Too bad it's been pretty chilly so far, that and being broke have kept me to home for the most part but I look forward to venturing out a lot once I've got some bunce in my grip.

Speaking of which, I've just started doing some freelance work for Genuine (my former employer) and it looks like I will be doing some for PETA too (another former employer), so I'll be thrilled to start drawing a paycheck again after a month of Sundays without working...my savings are about 90% exhausted. It was great to be jobless and livin' free, but livin' free costs money and I've got 3 mouths to feed. On that note, the cats seem to like the new place too, and they were semi-tolerable on the drive down.

In old news, thanks a million to those of you who came out on a cold Saturday night on short notice to join me and Guest KJ of Honor Rory Lake at Sally's Lounge, it was a night of magic and laughs and I am very lucky to have so many great friends. It was extra-special to see Ryno, that sonofabitch drove all the way down from Minneapolis to surprise me, and boy was I surprised when I walked into Sally's and saw his raggedy ass sitting at the bar hitting on Dawn. Wow. A brother for life.

I finally got my internets hooked up ($40/mo. instead of $60, fuck you Comcrapst!) and have been posting some flicks from the last month or so to my Flickr account. I may eventually get around to posting some of the video clips from my party but right now I've got a lot of other projects in mind that take priority. (Many of you still haven't received your holiday cards, I'm working on it!) I'm also working on a T-shirt design about Indiana, some of you have seen it via e-mail and I thank you for your input. I'm also going to start doing more printmaking, linocuts at first and hopefully screenprinting later, and selling these prints over the web and in local shops. Need to get some better, oil-based inks though, the water-based inks I used on the holiday cards is shit. Bad texture and not very permanent. Gross.

Oh, almost forgot, I participated in a sticker giveaway project for my MCAD buddy Andy Beach at Urban Outfitters, it's called "My City" and features takes on a bunch of different cities by various designers. I guess they give these 3" stickers out to people in the retail stores. My contribution was done on very short-notice, whipped it together in the matter of just over an hour, and I chose Gary, Indiana as my city even though I don't live there (and UO certainly doesn't have a store there). I thought that showcasing it might open a few people's eyes to a city they'd never seen (very few people pull off the interstate while driving through, based on its reputation and sometimes stench). It's number 12 in that list. Also don't miss buttons by friends Draplin and Adam Michaels in that lot, some great stuff and a good variety stylistically.

I've been making a few friends here thanks to other friends (Kathleen, Swade, etc). I'm doing fine and enjoying life, though I do miss Chicago and my friends there and elsewhere. Whew, now that I've got this update off my list of things to do maybe I can return to doing some goddamn RAMBLE updates (if I haven't forgotten it all by now!). Also thinking of redoing, or at least adding a lot to, my online portfolio (which hasn't been touched or updated since 2002, brilliant!)

In sad news, I got word that one of my good friends from high school, Jeremey Roscoe, committed suicide last week. Jeremy and I used to skateboard together and he was, without a doubt, the "punkest" kid in our area. Mind you this was WAY before punk (and skating) came back into vogue with stupid mall stores selling Misfits lunchboxes and shit, skateboarding and punk were definitely "out there" and frowned upon in the early 90s. J always had a dyed mohawk, hand-painted and studded leather jacket, Doc Martens, all the accessories and all the attitude. I owe Jeremey a lot, if it weren't for him I never would've been turned onto some of my all-time favorite music: Dead Kennedys, Misfits, Circle Jerks, Bad Brains, Crass, Black Flag, The Exploited, and so many others. Of course I may have later discovered some of these bands, but not at such a pivotal period in my life. Jeremy had his room in the basement, full of punk posters, 45s and LPs. I remember studying the Dead Kennedys LPs and posters and being blown away. I still don't know how or where a kid in Paw Paw, MI got all of that great stuff in the age before internet (old fashioned mail order I suppose?), but it was his passion. He made me the best mixtapes, changed my whole perspective on shit. I regret that we hadn't been in touch in recent years (like so many of my HS friends), but I will always respect him and never forget him. Here is a montage of high school photos I have of Jeremey and one of more recent photos I found on the internet. RIP Jeremey, you will be sorely missed.

Thanks to all readers of my site for your patience while I rearrange my life.
PJ (Back in Eastern Standard Time)!

Posted by pj at January 27, 2007 10:20 PM