It's come to my attention that my absence has been noticed.

"How come you're not online anymore?," "Where are your latest drawings?," and "Why haven't you put up any witty musings lately?" are all questions I've apparently been neglecting to field.

Just over two months ago I injured my elbows and wrists. It's been slow going, but I've recovered to a point where I can open most doors on my own and tie my shoelaces, but any real amount of typing or drawing is out of the question (writing this post took me several hours and will put me out of action for the rest of the day). I haven't been able to play guitar, draw, go cycling, write, play that massive pile of computer games in my To Play pile, keep my garden in check, etc. etc. etc..

Thankfully Mim is keeping a steady stream of updates happening both with new artwork and old (during a cleanup, we found a big pile of old notes to each other that we've slotted into the Little Lof Letters comic including this sweet collection of sticky notes that Mim left when she went to Hobart).

Here are some of my favourites: Nekked, I Am A Squid, Sorry About Your Head, and Mangoes (Mim rediscovered the deliciousness of mangoes after I showed her how to cut them for minimal messiness).

All this time of not being able to do anything has given me some perspective on a few things and given me the opportunity to review my progress towards some of my Life Goals over the past few years without the zomg-it's-holiday-time-and-I-should-get-all-this-stuff-done-that-I've-been-putting-off-for-my-next-holiday mentality that usually clouds any broader contemplative look at one's progress. I've reached a bit of a realisation that I have made no progress towards completing the 5 Year Plan I set myself up with over a decade ago, and I've stagnated doing things I don't like with the justification of "paying my bills whilst I work on other things." Unfortunately, I haven't ended up with the time or enthusiasm to work on Other Things as much as I need and I've ended up being the figurative Vegetarian Flipping Hamburgers.

I've managed to cobble together some advice that I've given to myself and would also like to pass on to any of our readers:

1. Listen to your body. It won't last forever, but it will be around a lot longer if you listen to the messages it gives you.

2. Don't live your life to other people's expectations. You are the person in control of your own happiness.

3. Don't waste your time on things that don't get you to where you want to be. Strive for the things that make you proud to be the person you want to be and don't let anything slow you down (this may sound selfish, but at the end of the day, I'd like to think that being empathetic and helpful are two key parts to being the person I'm proud to be).

On that note, I'd like to wish everyone a wonderful end to 2010 and I look forward to showing off some new drawings and other exciting things next year!