Active Blather: March 2003

March 24, 2003
I wasn't planning on watching the Oscars last night, but I ended up doing so anyway. It wasn't that bad. It moved along at a good pace and Steve Martin was a witty host ("Welcome to my world, Richard Gere" indeed). This year's telecast had its political rhetoric (Can Michael Moore polarize a crowd or what?), a few surprising winners (Eminem is now firmly embedded into the mainstream whether he wants to be or not), and thankful no dance numbers (Okay, there was some dancing during the song from Chicago, but it was Fosserrific!). Overall, not a bad way to waste ten hours.

Tim gave me the rough footage from this year's St. Paddy's Day parade and it looked pretty decent (Good job, Tim!). I noticed to my bemusement that during the entire parade I had something on the corner of my mouth. It looked like a piece of uncooked rice. I must remember to always wipe mouth before filming!

A belated birthday greeting to my sister-in-law, Carrie! I hope you had a good day, Carrie, and I hope you enjoy the books!

March 22, 2003
Just received an e-mail from our good friend, Eric Whetsel! His first week at his new job appears to be going fine. He is now a "yields and gains manager" (Yeah, I know. I don't know what that means, too). According to Eric, he has his own desk, his own computer, two officemates, two filing cabinets, and two clipboards to call his own. He is currently learning how to take inventory and he hates the man who is training him. However, on the positive side, he has two clipboards to call his own.

It's now official. Eric Whetsel has quit his job at Touchy-Feely Fotos (Actual company name changed in order to protect the guilty)! After nearly six years of dedication and drudgery, Eric has finally escaped to pursue employment opportunities elsewhere. He started his new job this past Monday. His new position means more responsibility and more money. This is wonderful news for Eric and, as his friend, I wish him only the best. However, as a now-former co-worker, I'm slightly sadden for strictly selfish reasons.

You see, Eric helped make Touchy-Feely Fotos a more bearable place to work. In a work environment full of frustration, backstabbing, and incompetent supervisors, Eric could always be counted on for his wit and good humor. Eric made coming into work fun and I'm grateful to him for that. He also needs to be commended for taking his work and position seriously when he was often treated shabbily personally and financially by his dastardly supervisor and her clueless superiors.

Eric has been a good friend to me for four years. I value his judgment and his taste in music and in movies, I admire his intelligence, and I thank him for making my life a little more interesting. Of course, he has his faults. He never trusted me with scissors, he gave me disapproving looks when I stood on furniture, and he had an annoying habit of playing matchmaker for yours truly (How many times do I have to tell you? I like her, but not in that way!). However, all of that is part of what makes Eric Eric and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The parade route

I just returned from filming this year's St. Patrick's Day parade in beautiful downtown Muncie! As usual, I was accompanied by Tim Richardson, ace director/cameraman (Take my word for it, he's the best in the biz!). We haven't filmed the parade for a couple years so it was nice to get back on the street and be part of the festivities. It was a decent event this time around. There was a good turnout of participants and onlookers. Of course, the weather was an obvious factor for the good attendance. It was sunny and the temperature hovered in the mid-fifties.

As always, I was a little nervous before we started filming. I'm always afraid a mob will form and throw rocks at me, but that didn't happen. We got plenty of curious looks and a few smiles, but no negative vibes were flung our way. On the other hand, a lot of candy was tossed in our direction, but nobody got hurt (Potential cavities aside).

I would say the parade lasted about twenty-five minutes and it was pretty jam-packed. We gave away two boxes of Lucky Charms, interviewed some old friends, interacted with the crowd, and I received a warm, loving embrace from a total stranger( I would tell you more, but you'll have to watch the show to see who was hugging on the fat cartoonist!) On the downside, I dropped my froggie glasses a couple of times on some asphalt (Luckily, no damage!) and my pants kept wanting to fall off as well (Luckily for the crowd, no damage!). Oh, and no clowns bothered to show up. However, this was to be expected. For some reason, the clowns around the area have been boycotting the parade for years. Lousy, no-good clowns!

So I think we'll have a pretty decent show to broadcast after Tim weaves the footage together. I had a fun time and I think Tim did, too. However, I think the most enjoyable part of the parade for us was just after the parade. When we were packing up the gear, a car drove by and somebody yelled out "Hey, Funky Idiots!". It's always great to bump into some of our fans!

March 11, 2003
A couple Fridays ago, I had a mole removed from my left foot. I've had this mole for at least four years and it has always worried me due to its peculiar shape (See illustrated diagram below). I have heard if a mole has irregular borders, it may be a sign of skin cancer. Cancer, in all its forms, is a big fear of mine so I constantly worried that the odd-looking mole could be cancerous. Of course, I didn't go to a doctor to get it looked at because I was afraid my worries would be proven true. Thus I did nothing, but worry.

However, after a couple months of being a severe hypochondriac this past winter, I decided to go see a doctor. At my appointment, I showed my mole to the good doctor and he agreed with me that it certainly looked suspicious. He said he could remove it for me and I agreed to the procedure.

A diagram of my worrisome mole

My minor, minor, minor surgery went off without a hitch and, after a week of walking around with a slight limp, I returned to the doctor's office to get my stitches removed. That's when I found out the good news: The mole wasn't cancerous! The lab report said my mole was just a mole. Hearing that was certainly a relief!

So I'm a very happy camper at the moment and I feel very fortunate. I want to thank everyone (You know who you are) for your kindness and for your support during the last few weeks. I know I have driven many of you crazy with my "cancer talk" and I appreciate your patience. Thank you very much for putting up with a paranoid, fat cartoonist!

More thanks to my doctor, Dr. Sowers, and his assistant, John, for putting my thoughts at ease and making my experience "under the knife" practically painless!

Today is Eric's birthday! Mr. Whetsel is turning 24! Happy birthday, Eric, from me and all the Idiots!

Eric isn't the only one celebrating a birthday today. He shares the day with Karen Hiday. Happy birthday, Karen! I hope it's a good one!