Hello,

Does anyone else write frustrated/angry emails that you know you probably won’t send? I’ve written a few in my life, and admittedly, one today. After that, I did this painting:

You guys remember that screamo band, Grade (like, circa ’99)? I think your friend Matt was into them. Anyway, if you don’t know Grade, don’t bother, but this one came on iTunes while I was emo-painting and I was taken back to high school. YEAH MAN, LIKE, I SO IDENTIFY TO THAT.

“This is a time in my life where everything is falling apart,
and at the same time it’s all coming together.”
— Grade; A Year in the Past, Forever in the Future

And here’s a video I saw today from Knife Party that’s good in visuals and in theory:

Coalition Of The Willing from coalitionfilm on Vimeo.

http://coalitionofthewilling.org.uk/

I started smoking when I moved to LA. I don’t know why I thought that would be a good idea, but after a year of indulging in this disgusting habit I’ve really had enough.

I haven’t smoked in a week. My lungs already feel clearer and my sense of smell more acute.

Here is a reminder of how it makes me feel to enjoy a cigarette.

My dog, Ruby, has shown me recently that it’s OK to blow past certain people when you first meet them. In the past, this bothered me because I wanted everyone to know that I have the sweetest dog in the whole world. But she’s right. Even if they’re talking to you in their cutest voice, it’s good to be discerning with new friendships.

Let it load & Let me explain…
Click to see!

A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF J2F

*Note: the left / right arrows on your keyboard will move you to the next picture

Refer to picture # if you wanna say something. Comments are fun.

A couple years ago, I met a cute guy on the subway late at night and we traded iPods for the ride home. We didn’t even really talk, but his tunes sang to my twee phase, so I gave him my number. This was the song he played me:

We went on a date later that week at a restaurant I couldn’t afford in Boston’s South End. After about 20 minutes of listening to him gloat about his chef job and other superficial BS I couldn’t converse with, it was clear that his good looks and our musical compatibility was not going to be enough to get us through this dinner.

So instead of smiling and nodding through a free dinner, I did what most people would not; I started telling him all kinds of extremely personal stories.

I found it entertaining to watch someone get so uncomfortable with me talking about the most emotionally real moments in my life. I pried inside his Mr. cool-guy walls too and along with some nervous laughter I was able to get some semi-sentimental, stammering explanations out of him. I hope there to be a real person hiding inside of every douche bag. We cleaned our plates, split the check (dammit), shook hands, and said goodnight. I was certain from the 20 minute mark that this would be the last time I ever saw him, so whether I left him completely freaked out or a little more introspective, at least something real had happened.

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This story reminds me of part of a conversation I documented on an airplane (around the same time as the date) with a kid from Tennessee I also never saw again. My question was basically whether it was reckless to burden a specific uncomfortable situation with honest feelings or to just play it cool. I’ve thought of this thing he said so many times and never called him to say so. I’ll leave the digits in the doodle in case anybody wants to call and say hi. Let me know if it’s still in service.

Some drawings about:
Biking / bikinis / burritos / caring / deliveries / Doritos / driving / effort / friendship / The Game / German / Giselle / Gothic lettering / hand-drawn type / ice cream / margaritas / morale / muses / parallel parking / pigs / portraiture / PreshReb / productivity / punk rock / ist nicht tot / Summer ’08 / shopping / smoking / Spinal Tap / steak / text messages / typography / womanhood ///////

I got a root canal today. It was actually sort of awesome. I got to see my open decayed tooth and my little yellow pulpy roots (gross?). Best part is that I’m bartering services with my dentist for design work. It feels a little like the old days. We shake hands and look each other in the eye.

This weekend I got myself some new plants and a beaver for my dog, Ruby at Ikea. My venus fly trap is a month old and and it has doubled in size! It’s so cool feeding it bugs I catch.

Went to drawing club tonight with Missi and drew my family.

For more new math go to morenewmath.com

I’d known Kelly since 2nd grade when she was secretly my creative rival in art class. Come 3rd grade, we got close when we were seated at the same desk pod with 2 other boys. We had these fantastic slumber parties at each others’ house. We used to make friendship bracelets that went all the way up our arms. She had embroidery floss in a special little case in every color you can imagine. I was bummed when Fall soccer started and I had to cut them all off. My whole forearm was bare and noticeably less tan than the rest of me.

We started writing a lot of notes to each other during class and the boys were always sneaking glances at what we were writing. I had a big crush on one of the boys for years through grade school, and it was crucial he not see what the notes said. So Kelly and I invented a secret code and wrote all our notes in it. I can still write in it fluently, and I’ll bet that she can too.

In September of 2007, I was Googling people I knew in elementary school and learned that Kelly also went on to do graphic designer. Neat.

I got this idea:

I made the font in Illustrator… and that was all. It turned out so Soviet. I always remember her birthday is Groundhog’s day, so this year when it rolled around, I lurked her again and found her mailing address. I sent her this.

She loved it. Now we’re friends on Facebook. Neat!

Here are a few drawings from my Moleskine from November and December.

Made some good progress on a painting I’m working on for a friend. I started adding color to it tonight and I was so excited by those jelly hues I got by mixing gloss medium and dust from these chalk pastels my sister Jaleen gave me that she had been toting around for a decade. I feel good when I’m zoning out and being productive. It’s almost done, I think.

OK. Time to recharge my circuits.

Look who’s blogging now!