The Third Zine and Feeling under the Weather

Blog No. 122

Issue number three of the Zine is done, printed, and will be distributed into the wild over the next few days. In that time, it’ll be up on Adventure Worlds too. For this, the first quarter of the year, we have a cover by local artist Alex Morneau, and Finders was drawn by Nikita Why (the man who drew the cover last time. I have to apologize again, last time I misspelled his last lame. How could someone possibly do that? In my infinite ability to mess up, I managed it somehow. So Nikita, I’m very sorry, thanks for sticking around and doing a bang-up job on Finders. He did that son-of-a-gun by hand. When you take a look you’ll see why that’s amazing. I don’t think I misspelled anything this time, but e had a little trouble with the printing. When we first started to look into making the first Zine, we looked around for a local printer in our price range without much luck. Unfortunately we went with one of the big box stores (we do pay for it out of pocket) and the first couple of times that was fine. This time around we started to see the determent of cheeping out (or at least not going to people who are passionate about the stuff.

First, the printer wasn’t working and they had to send it away (leaving a four day wait) then they fixed it and the Zines were ready hours before I was quoted when they were originally supposed to be done the next day. Small snafu, but no big deal. When we got them though, they are dark and the cover is washed out. Not worth refusing them, but a pain. Plus there is all that shame from not using a local printer. So now the hunt is back on for a local printer with reasonable prices, decent quality, and reasonable turnaround time. The next issue is due in June, so between writing, editing, and publishing, we have to add that to the list of things to do. Oh, and I also want to add an audio section to Adventure Worlds in the coming months. Lots to do.

Normally, lots to do is enough of a challenge, but I am at the tail end of a late season cold. Currently, as I’m sure many of you are aware, there are a few things making their way around Windsor and the surrounding areas. I think I ended up with one of the better ones. Still, I was out of commission for a few days, missed some work, and I’m still suffering through some uncomfortable nights. There is nothing so small and as derailing as an unexpected illness. That’s not to compare to real sickness (I’ve been there) but such a stupid thing shuts everything down. I’m lucky in that I’ve been able to avoid a lot of colds and flu since I’ve been medically stable. I can catch it easier and they can knock me down harder though. I have to triple my meds just to break even. It’s expensive and annoying. People make fun of me for washing my hands so much, not touching things while I eat, missing texts, picking things up with my elbows, but it all helps.

Now that I’m on the mend, I’m trying to get back into my schedule. It’s amazing how easily a long running, well executed, routine can be demolished in a couple days. It’s a long climb back to productivity. The weather is getting nicer though (and I’ve already been out for a couple walks) so things are looking up. Daylight savings is in effect (something I abhor immensely but it does mean longer days, more sun, and consequently, time outside). Windows are opening, the old stuffy winter is being melted away, and if I’m lucky, it’ll take my cold away with it. So things aren’t all bad.