Tuesday, November 2, 8:10 pm
Well, this post is already "late."
On Friday, October 1st of this year, I had a triple hernia operation* and then spent two weeks at home recuperating before going back to work on October 18. As I type this, I've already been back to work for a couple weeks and I've been recovering pretty well, I think.
However, prior to my operation, and despite my anxiety about how the operation was going to incapacitate me the first few days, I was anticipating spending my time off from work by lying around on the couch and watching a lot of movies, and... that more or less panned out, at least for me. I watched about 20 movies, which was an indulgence for me. Okay, perhaps if I had been more focused and less indecisive, I probably could have doubled that number, but I'll take what I can get, hahaha! There were a few DVDs I finally got around to watching (like, HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB with Paul Naschy), a bunch of others I had been thinking about (like, THE NINTH CONFIGURATION) and then some impulsive choices based on my aimless yet compulsive surfing through suggestions on Amazon Prime; in fact, I watched THREE movies of a horror "franchise" I didn't even know existed: PLAYING WITH DOLLS (all written, produced, photographed, edited, and directed by Rene Perez) about a serial killer having his way with victims as part of a weird scenario cooked up by a rich guy who contrived to have this killer do his killing thing on closed circuit TV all for the rich guy's benefit. How and why I decided to invest my time in those three movies is a whole other story I'm not gong to get into here, but maybe I'll get around to it on my movie blog (one can only hope).
In addition to wanting to watch a lot of movies during my time recuperating, I also hoped to do some drawing, especially in the latter half of my time off. I had been trying to do some drawing all of last year and nothing came of it and that creative block pretty much has continued through 2021 (with occasional moments of some success, but not very much and not much more than some beginnings of sketches, etc. but no ultimate follow-through).
Unfortunately, my film watching plans were more successful than my drawing plans.
And now I'm back to work. But dammit, I still NEED TO GET MY ASS DRAWING AGAIN.
Which brings me to #HERNIADROME.
For no damn good reason, I feel compelled to give myself a fancy reason or excuse to draw. What the hell does THAT mean? For instance, a specific time off (like, two weeks of physical rest from work), or a month-long #hashtaggy thing (like, October's #Inktober or #Drawlloween or #Jacktober, as a for instance). So... I came up with #HERNIADROME. Actually "Herniadrome" was an idea for a goofy-ass short comic story about my hernia operation (I came up with it while waiting in the hospital room before my operation) except the "story" is surreal and absurd with maybe an occasional sort-of reference to David Cronenberg's VIDEODROME, but the name "Herniadrome" cracked me up on its own so I figured I should use it somewhere. But the initial idea to draw during the time I spent recuperating from my hernia operation seemed like a particularly "well, of course" sort of idea/motivation, but then to ultimately have NOTHING AT ALL come from that time off was extremely disappointing. But then, I also figure my personal creative motto is "Better Late than Never," a really, REALLY shitty professional motto, but don't worry, I'm not even on THAT planet, yet (i.e. I'm still well established on Planet Wanna-be Amateur Bullshit...)
Anyway, so #HERNIADROME is arbitrarily an extension of my two-week recovery period (October 1-17) and I'm continuing it until the end of 2021. I'm also dividing it into three-month chunks and taking my cues naming-wise (additionally arbitrarily) from the classic Universal FRANKENSTEIN franchise. So, October's #Herniadrome, November's #BrideOfHerniadrome, and December's #SonOfHerniadrome. Get it? Got it? Yeah, I know, it's stupid.
YESSSS!
Which explains the beginning of my post: this post is already "late."
And, as a postscript, #Herniadrome was a TOTAL FUCKING FAILURE in terms of creating some artwork.
So, here's to better luck with #BrideofHerniadrome...
*It actually sounds more impressive than it was. Yes, I had three hernias, but (warning, some possible TMI) the main one was an umbilical hernia and the other two were, uh, abdominal hernias (there's a more technical term, I'm sure, but I don't know what it is) that were both in their beginning stages but my surgeon decided to take care of all three at the same time. So, yes, three hernias but...
...AND ALSO, during that first weekend immediately following my operation, those first three days were a lot less awful than I anticipated (I mean, I could actually go up and down stairs! True, very slowly, but still!), so I was pretty damn fortunate and my recovery seemed (and seems) to be going... pretty okay!
Yay!
