George, the slacker brain

Somewhere along the way, I had to become grown up. I don't know how this goes for other people, but at the somewhat advanced age of 27, I still find myself confused by the adult world and its responsibilities. Part of my brain wishes to play forever and doesn't understand why exactly I should do all these dull tasks that are a part of everyday life. Play-brain, from now named George, grasps some basic human rules like brushing teeth and paying for stuff. He enjoys showers, sitting in the library while being quiet and even enjoys calculating how much money is to be set aside for bills. What George doesn't like, it seems, is everything else. 

"Why? Why do I have to study? I would much rather draw! I don't wanna study! I want to look at stuff online!!!" - yells George petulantly and then goes on to drag me into his slacker schemes. I know I must fight this impulse, but I've been finding that very difficult ever since puberty. Maybe it's because I never had a rebellious phase, maybe it's because my hamster died, who knows? I hope to one day have a lot of money to give to some nice shrink who will tell me why this is.

For now, though, I am interested in solutions and how to keep George from totally messing up my life! Books have always been the go-to thing so I tried self-help books. Who better to help me than me, right? Here is what I found out: I really don't like self-help books! The few I've read were long-winded, somewhat patronizing and spun the same sentences 27 ways. I'm not saying all of them are bad. My sample wasn't large enough to establish this without any doubt. I am saying, however, that I would like my advice given to me in concise, logical terms without any fluff on the sides.

Enter lifehack.org! Oh joy of joys, I found a good one! I've been slowly following this page for about ten or so days now and I really like their style. The articles are divided by topic to lifestyle, communication, productivity, work. It's all peppered with inspirational quotes and this thing called '30sec tip'. Oh boy are those things painful. In two or three sentences, this short article makes you assess your life choices and plans for the future. Unlike the patronizing "do this or fail at life" approach, the 30sec tip tells you "Look, I know you're an adult and you can do as you please, I'm just offering this for your consideration. Another perspective, if you will. Just think about it, that's all I ask."

I hate that 'motivational' quote: "What would you do if you knew you could not fail?". Failing is an integral part of the human experience. The thing to ask is "What would you do after you've failed?". Pick yourself up by use bootstraps or wallow? I've been known to wallow. I've spent a considerable amount of time doing this and if there were such a thing I would have a black belt in wallowing. The thing is though, being a wallow-ninja isn't a cool thing to be. It made me sluggish and angry at both the world and myself. While some people can make being angry at the world profitable, like Gordon Ramsay, I couldn't do it. George just wanted to sit in the corner and hate everything and everybody. Hm. I guess I did have my rebellious phase after all, it just wasn't particularly impressive. 

George and I are just barely on speaking terms, or whatever you call being "in touch" with your slacker-brain. Seems there is no hack anywhere that will kill George forever and the smug little bastard knows it. I am stuck with him. For the past few days we have worked out a compromise of sorts. He lets me work a little and then I let him have fun. Somehow this always gets out of hand and I end up doing much less of the useful stuff than I had originally planned, but it's a start. 

Here is one useful link for those of us with productivity problems. I've recently "discovered" the GTD (Getting Things Done) method, but being notoriously slow at reading, haven't moved past page 5 or so. When I do (see how I use "when" instead of "if"? Take that, George!) I'll write about it, hopefully. In the meantime, good luck to us all!

Stock credit: xn3ctz

Remember the fuzzy

Two and a half years ago, this little guy came to live with me and bring joy to my life. His name was Betelgeuse, but he was soon affectionately renamed either "little B" or our equivalent of "Brutus", from the Popeye cartoons. My dad was the one to come up with Brutus, because the little fuzz ball would stand on his hind paws and try to make himself appear biger than he really was, strutting his stuff much like Brutus would in front of Olive. 

Brutus was a kind and patient little Syrian hamster. He never bit and enjoyed sitting on my shoulder, munching on lettuce or apple slices. He was also a bit of an escape artist and daredevil, getting out of his cage and jumping off my desk when I wasn't looking. He loved to roll around in his plastic ball, so much so that he wrecked two. He was a picky eater, opting more for sunflower and wheat seeds than anything else. 

Two months ago, my little fuzzy love died. One day, while I was away, he slowly stopped breathing. My mum buried him and said that he looked very tiny and was very still.

This little ball of fuzz was a great joy and a nice little companion. He also inspired some of my work and will probably stay the inspiration for any of my hamster drawings yet to come.

This is the drawing that started it all. The "Plooshkin" hamster. I don't know how we (my bf and I) came up with the name, but it sounded so adorable, it had to stay. I tried and failed many a time to transfer the actual drawing into digital form and finally, the little golden hamster was born! Little B did not appreciate my art much, choosing to nibble on the paper instead :)

Though strictly vegan, this little guy did at times appear bloodthirsty. The poor apple core didn't stand a chance! One day, the hamster decides to take a nap, not in his nest, but in the middle of the cage. I almost had a coronary, thinking he had died. It turned out he was alive and well and just sleeping happily. This is when the Zombie Hamster arrived into my head ad had to be put on paper and subsequently, in Illustrator as well.