Math Class is Hard! or maybe I'm just not that Smart

Wha? Huh? Happy Anniversary?!?

The other day I woke up after a line of thunderstorms had been predicted to devastate our area (they went south so no damage here) with a sinus headache (barometric pressure changes, ugh.) and drove to the comic shop to work. Along the way I was deep in thought about a friend who had talked to me about his idea for a Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellowship. For those who might not know, as a teacher I was fortunate enough to have received two of these during my career. I like to call them the best and maybe only good thing about teaching in the state of Indiana. You see the Lilly Endowment learned a while ago that teachers need to be rewarded, treated like important parts of the community and set up a way to do that. Teachers are given a chance for renewal, to spend the off season not working on curriculum or going to meetings but an opportunity to do something they’ve always dreamed of. With how Indiana funds public schools and compensates teachers, the Fellowship gives teachers a chance to do something they may never have a chance to do. I tried three times before being able to get my idea, and my passion for it on paper. It is not a “Gee I want to go to Disneyworld and have someone else pay for it” kind of thing. You need to demonstrate that it will be something that will impact you personally, professionally and even spiritually. When asked I always say to people - think about something you’ve always loved, an opportunity missed, a regret you can fix. That kind of thing. My first fellowship was spent ironically at Disneyworld. You see I’ve always loved animation and I figured out a way to spend time at Disneyworld through the 3rd Annual Disney Institute Animation Event and learn about traditional animation. They closed the Disney Institute soon afterwards (actually they started closing things down during our event). This was before computer animation and AI were a thing. so everything was hand drawn. As part of the $7500 I received I set up a basic animation studio at home and after everything was done had created a stop motion clay animated short. I then brought it all to my classroom and used it with kids. The video from the event below was found online and isn’t the best quality… My group’s segment is at the very end.

I waited nine years before submitting again. My second attempt, since the folks at Disney hadn’t offer me a job, was to try making a comic strip. Webcomics were just becoming a thing. The comic idea combined with a trip to England and immersing myself in the history of the Mini Cooper. Which brings us to My Geek Odyssey and Math.

So tired, hungry, and my head hurting while on my way to the comic shop for work I started to figure out how long ago this all happened. I was shocked to realize that 25 years ago I had started on this journey! I was thinking through what I should be doing to celebrate. My mind was going at light speed with the possibilities. As I drove home after a day of dreaming (and sorting comics, and dealing with comic shop goblins) I checked my math and… yup, I was wrong. 26 years since my first fellowship and My Geek Odyssey was “only” 17 years old. Yes, my comic strip could drive, but it can’t vote or buy a round at the bar for everyone.

The first strip I published on May 1, 2009. Ugh… I don’t want to even think about how long it took me to draw these four panels.

Still, 17 years, off and on, is still an accomplishment of sorts. I still do the comic strip but mostly just for FTF Geocacher and PinPoint. My website has turned more into a blog just because even retired I don’t have as much time to invest as I would like. So as I’ve said in previous posts, I want to get back at it. So instead of drawing, I’m writing about how I want to draw more. 🙄 I guess this does give me a few years to plan for an appropriate 25th anniversary and maybe even have things back on track to have something to actually celebrate. I have lots of ideas, but things seem to get in the way.

With the shift from a WordPress site to SubStack I do need to start posting the stuff I have done (secretly) giving me time to catch up and produce new strips. So today I start a series of “classic” meaning cringe worthy old strips from when I started. I’m going to skip over the time I spent in the UK for my fellowship. Like Hergé I want to redo many of them since I was still working out silly things like character design, timing, and just what the heck I was doing. The earliest you’ll see is that first strip.

Compared to this most recent strip for FTF Geocacher… Maybe I’ve improved, or at least learned a few things over the years.