Yeah, I have cleared a few things off my plate. Dealing with the California Tax Board was a pain! At the end of it all, for all the phone calls made as soon as the place opened, then finding out I was still looking at a wait hours long, never getting the call back I was promised, and the worry that they never received my paperwork, all was made right by me being incredibly stubborn by waiting on hold for over an hour, just to find out they were the ones who broke their rule in putting in writing it would take less than 30 days to respond and at the 35 day, which was today, I found out the payment plan was approved and a confirmation letter had been mailed out.  

On the home front, and by home front I mean trying to purchase a home, the battle goes slowly. It has been a slow, agonizing dance of two steps forward, one step back some days and others are three steps forward, four steps back. The credit repair seems to be moving in the right direction, but securing a loan has been tricky. I’m hoping by the end of next month to have some serious funds secured for a down payment, but I keep seeing homes within my budget being swept up quickly. I’m told the market for the budget I’m looking in chum for shark minded investors, which just shows how sick the marketplace can be. People who are looking to buy a first home can’t because the affordable homes are snapped up by big money cash investors who are speculating the prices will go up on those homes. So for people like myself who want to get something affordable are encouraged to get something slightly out of our price range. We are told the economy is getting better and soon our income will show an increase, but I find that hard to believe since I have been at the same job for four years and haven’t seen a raise.

I made a business purchase a few hours ago. In a few days I should have more production equipment, including a new camera. The upgrade should help for the next few years. I got the announcement published in the local papers so it is official and GenX Noir Productions LLC is now a registered company. Because of the inspirational jolt from Comic-Con and especially The Black Panel, the end of September will have some incredible project announcements.

By the way, there were a couple of projects I saw at Comic-Con I would like to mention that I thought were very cool. The promo trailer for Number 13 is sooooo awesome! The animation is wicked. Concrete Park is a graphic novel from Dark Horse co-created by Erika Alexander. Yes the same Erika Alexander from “The Cosby Show” and “Living Single.” She was in the audience at The Black Panel and I didn’t get a chance to talk with her but there will be new issues of the book in 2014.

I want to say something about Comic-Con that was an invaluable lesson learned at The Black Panel. The San Diego Comic-Con can be an incredible stepping stone if you have your act together. If you are looking to get a project off the ground, to get your name out there, you have to present you’re A-game. Orlando Jones said it best when he said your internet presence will last with you and when you present yourself people are going to do a search on you. That footprint can open a door or close it.

There were a few people whose work I saw at the convention I was really impressed with. I took cards from some of them, willing to check out more of their work online. Some people had links to websites that didn’t exist. Others had Facebook pages up for years but very few Likes or friends and few examples of current work. A few talked a great game in person but the persona online was different than the one I saw at the convention. Some people simply fast talked themselves off my radar after an initial good vibe I got from them because in the few minutes of conversation they ‘jive talked’ themselves into a familiarity with me that didn’t exist. Comic-Con can be fun but if you’re looking for work it becomes a business. As much as you might be trying to interview for a job, the person on the other end is also interviewing you. The creative process is a collaboration and a lot of factors are going to go into the mix. You may be able to talk a good game in person but the person looking to work with you needs to see what you are about. Broken links and dated information isn’t going to give a good impression when a prospective partner has tens or hundreds of people looking to work with them.

On the health front, things are stable. I think in a few weeks I’m going to chronicle my regiment because keeping myself healthy with diabetes is something that is becoming a burden to me. Maybe burden isn’t the right word; chore might be appropriate. I hate the regulation and almost shameful side of having the disease. I need to have the time to put it in the right context. In any case, as of now I have been able to get the things I need to help manage things.