Category Archives: bob

The roundup…

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I’m not a fan of recaps… maybe I was at one time, but not anymore.  Traditionally, I’d take a moment at the end of the year to reflect on what I’ve done, what I haven’t done and look ahead to what I’m going to do.

So, Bob turned 15, I hit 5,000 strips.  Are those really accomplishments?  maybe.  The 15 years happened because that’s what time does… it happens. And, if you’re in that time, then eventually 5,000 happens.  So, it wasn’t a result of any pushing or striving, or new developments… it happened because time happened.  I found a groove and kept the needle in it…

It happened because I’m stubborn.  It happened because I believe in the character.  It happened because people are comforted by knowing Bob will always be there.  It happened because when you find a good friend, you want that friend with you.  Always.

I don’t know what tomorrow will be like.  For over a year I’ve lived in constant worry about something I have no control over.  Something that will happen no matter what I say, what I do, what I save, what I draw, what I spend.  I don’t want to worry… who does?  I’ve lost comfort in what I thought were constants.  I get it.  Nothing lasts forever.  Evolution changes things…theoretically for the better and in response to the environment around it.  Evolving is adapting to the changing space… that sucks.  That’s life.

Over the past year I’ve changed the way I eat.  I didn’t realize that the weight I carried held me down.  It was the small changes… changes that were not extreme.  Changes that were manageable.  Changes, that when paired up with patience, just plain worked.  I think the greatest thing I got from losing almost 50lbs. was gaining the ability to permanently change something for the better.

Who knows what the next year will bring.  I’ll plan stuff.  I’ll make stuff.  I’ll win.  I’ll lose.  I’ll even probably crash and burn (several times).  But I’ll be here.

And so will Bob.

Thank you all for your continued support.  Happy Holidays.

Categories: blog bob life

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Maze week – Dec. 4 -9

The strips of December 4-9 are special. I wanted to do something a bit different. A maze… I’ve done mazes before with the strip, but not like this. In order to have each daily strip retain the maze continuity, I had to draw the entire maze, over six strips, all at once. The final image measured 14″x33″. Unfortunately I had to cut it up to scan it.

If you want to see the entire maze NOW, all of this week’s daily strips… become a Patreon patron of Bob the Squirrel… for as little as $1.00 a month.

I really enjoyed working like this… so I’m definitely going to be exploring this again. ENJOY!!!

 

Categories: announcements art bob

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On the ulcer – this week’s story line

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Many people have asked if this week’s story line – Frank (me), suffering an attack of the ulcer, is true to life.

The short answers are – yes.  It’s true. I had an attack. On my birthday. This year. It sucked.

I’ve had stomach issues forever.  I may not convey this, but I tend to be a relatively high strung dude.  Always have been. I stress about everything. I stressed in junior high.  I stressed in high school.  I stressed in undergrad.  I stressed in work.  Each time I stressed, it wore away at me a little bit more.

Then 2008 happened.  Graduate school.  That’s when things got real bad.  I was under a ton of stress.  More stress than I’d ever been under.  The 2006-2008 period of Frank was a stress buffet – from my depression, separation, divorce, finding love again (Lez didn’t stress me out… much), figuring out my life, buying a house, becoming a dad, day job, comic strip and then grad school.  Grad school was challenging and much more work than I expected.  Honestly, to this day, I still have no idea how I managed to finish.  The stomach/ulcer thing came to a bloody climax during grad school – primarily second and third semester. I started coughing up blood.  Not a lot, but still not something you want to cough up.

I went to my doctor and got medication.  It helped.  I got through it.

Fast forward to September 2017.  I’m still under stress, but older.  The world is… the world.  I try not to carry that with me… try to think of the good, the positive stuff I have… but my stomach thinks otherwise.  I had an attack.  It rumbled for a few days and then boom. Seriously… pain I’d never felt before.  Pain that compelled me to go get help that day.  Bad.  On my birthday.  No cake for me…just an anti-inflammatory, super strong antacid and rest.

I’m okay… but there was no way I was NOT going to use this in a comic strip.  Pain is art. Art is pain… or something like that.

Categories: blog bob

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Where have you gone, Frank Page?

Yes, I haven’t posted much. Frank Page is missing in action (or inaction… depending on your perspective)  It really stinks that many of these posts tend to start with those very words.  I’m not ignoring you.  I just don’t know what to say.

Why bother filling up this space with my lunch choices?  Full disclosure: since my diet began in March, lunch is pretty much always the same: turkey burger.  That being said, the diet has worked.  Lez and I have collectively lost over 50 lbs…. I’ve personally lost over 26lbs…  All our old clothes look like tents on us.

I didn’t really feel anything body wise until this past weekend.   I set out to re-tile the bathroom floor.  I’ve tiled almost every room in the house, so I know what my body reaction is after finishing… the bending and ripping and kneeling leaves me sore for at least two days.  Everything hurts.  But, my 26 lb. lighter, but a little older, body didn’t do that.  Sure I did as much bending and kneeling as tiling a floor entails… but I was not sore.  Not even a little.  Granted, the bathroom floor wasn’t a huge job… but the last time I tiled it I was in Advil land when I finished.  Not this time.  So that’s cool.

Plus, I discovered that I love laying grout.  Who knew?

Anyway, the 5000th show took a lot of my time last month.  The show was running in conjunction with the finishing touches on a month-long coloring book project for my day job.  The RETRO ROME coloring book was always something that I wanted to do.  My hometown of Rome, NY has a lot of history.  Last year I started a RETRO ROME website through the newspaper… posting a daily Rome image from negatives in the Sentinel archives.  At the beginning o this year, I thought it might be cool to take it to the next level and put out a coloring book… for me it was personal.  I just wanted to draw the buildings I drove past every day.  I could’ve done that without putting a book out of course, but why not share?

Now that the book is selling and the book signings are over, (you can buy the coloring book online here) I can look ahead to other projects.  Or not.  I don’t know that there will be anything on the horizon… maybe I can just relax a little.

Yeah, right.

 

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