June Wrap-Up (Patreon)

End of month is here again!  Time for me to check in with y'all.

Well, June didn't go as planned for sure. The hope had been to bang out almost everything on my plate before heading off to my vacation, and then hit the ground running when I got back. Life had other ideas. RIP.

Suffice to say life happened before the trip, during the trip, and after the trip. Most of it isn't relevant to you guys, but there is one aspect I'd like to talk about briefly since I've touched on it before.

So, as most of you know, I have been recovering from a chronic nerve injury in my drawing arm for a while. Almost a decade, in point of fact - I've had this since college. I've talked before here about my struggles with workaholism, stemming from my desire to please people and "be productive." Not a bad thing in and of itself, but I take it to unhealthy degrees, push myself far more than I should. This month, I finally admitted that the reason this injury is chronic is directly related to said workaholic attitude.

You know how some people will get a course of antibiotics, only to stop taking it the moment they feel better & therefore end up sick again? It's like that. The moment the pain was tolerable, or even unnoticeable, I would plunge headlong back into work, overcommitting to try and please everyone and "make up for lost time." Inevitably, the stress and strain would wreck my body again and I'd have to stop. I'm sure some of the long standing folks, like Tim, remember previous episodes like that.

Anyway, I'm telling y'all this because I want to be transparent. I'm just as human as you guys, and I've got my fair share trauma and bullshit. And I think it's important to heal and overcome the hurts of the past rather than merely "pushing through." So, while this month wasn't as productive as I had hoped, it has been hugely successful in that I have actually learned and grown as a person. And I'm immensely grateful.

So, what's that mean for July?

Well, I'm slowly picking up steam as I follow my PT protocol. Each day I'm able to work a *little* bit more, accomplish a few more sessions of work without hurting myself. I'm studiously taking regular breaks and running through my exercises every time, taking my medications, etc. So I'm hopeful that I will at minimum be more productive than June. Certainly, I will complete the usual Daimon/Megadaimon rewards and a few commissions.

Beyond July, as I continue to improve I hope to turn my attention to bigger and better things. I've had some eye-opening experiences lately, and they have left me with more ambitious dreams as an artist and an entrepreneur. Y'all are going to be a big part of that. But for that to be achievable *and* sustainable, I gotta heal first. So, for now, it's one day at a time.

Thanks for sticking  by me guys. I hope the few updates I do have for this month are enjoyable! I appreciate your ongoing care and support as always. 

Much love!

-Al