Man did I let this place go dead.  Looking at the last entry, it was two years ago and almost everything I wrote about has changed! 

First off, I'm not in Washington DC anymore.  So no more American dollars.  My contract at PAHO ended and was not renewed due to budget.  I don't miss the job.  I miss the people (some of them) and I miss Washington DC because it really is a nice city.

Now, I'm in Vancouver studying at the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts.  I'm taking their Game Art and Design program, which means in one year I'll be able to do 3D modelling and such.  So hopefuly I'll be working on a videogame by this time next year at a major company.  And making Canadian dollars, which are now something of value.

Some things are still the same, in that I'm still drawing U-Boy.  I'll do my best to continue to update it at least once a week.  In addition, I'm going to try to update this blog a little more often.  Of course, seeing as that this is my first post in two years, making one more post in one year would be an improvement.  So to be more specific, hopefully I'll update this blog at least once more this calendar year.

Nothing much to say so far, orientation was today.  So now I've got hte last of my art supplies and I've got my course schedule.  As I suspected, I'm going to have some very long hours.  Some days, I'll be in classes from 9AM to 9PM.  Oh well, it's the price you pay.  I'm still excited just because it's the path to a new career and a new life.

Well, in the time between updates a fair bit has changed. I'm back in Washington D.C., back at the Pan American Health Organization, back with my old roommates. Really, the only difference is I'll be paid in American dollars this time. Which is nice.

Well, there are other differences too. I'm on the opposite end of the floor from the rest of my unit, which is good and bad. Good in that it's quiet, and nobody really bothers me so I can get some work done. But that is kind of bad too because damn, it's quiet and it makes you feel isolated-lated-lated-lated. Okay that was a Simpsons joke, from that one where Homer joined the Stonecutters.

I'm still going to draw new U-boy comics though, because this time I brought my scanner. And thankfully it did survive the trip. I was honestly a bit worried that something horrible would happen, like I'd open it up to find it full of glass chards. Because the scanner has a glass surface and it could be broken. That's a tech joke. Man, all my jokes are too inside.

Of course, for all I know everything I'm writing is making perfect sense to everyone reading it, so I don't even have to explain it. Or nobody is reading it. Oh well.

Well, it's been a long time since I've updated this thing. I would like to mention that the website (http://www.u-boy.com) has undergone a major overhaul. New layout, new colors, new comics. Usher will be taking an office job in another city, with all new characters. The purpose is to start fresh, but in time, we will learn what happened to the other characters.

The comics are kind of inspired by my time in Washington D.C.. Unlike before, I'm not publishing the comics in tandem with the university newspaper so I will be publishing at least one comic a week. But I've also created an RSS feed for the site for those of you who know how to use them.

I got back from the Barbados a few days ago, but I haven't written about it until now.

It was mostly a business trip, I was there to do some work, but I got to enjoy it a little. Here's a rough breakdown:

Sunday: Flight at about 12:00 pm, stopped in Miami and ate some Cuban food. Those Cubans can make a good chicken. Flew to Barbados from there, got there at about 10:00 pm. Had some rum punch, went to sleep.

Monday: Went to the CPC, which is where we're doing the work. I won't bore you with details, but basically I'm helping to train people. Basically an 8:00 am to 5:00 pm job. Went to the beach, had some more rum punch. Barbados is quite, well, different than anywhere I've been. Having never travelled to any of these sorts of countries it was all new to me. But strangely, the British influence is pretty strong. They drive on the left side of the road, and their national sport is cricket! Cricket!!

Tuesday: Rum is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels. Oh, and continued doing the training. Also went to the beach again. After that, went to a pretty good restaurant, but they were out of flying fish. Even though flying fish is like a national dish, they are quite rare these days. They said they flew out to Trinidad or something. Also took a look around St. Lawrence Gap, which is kind of a tourist marketplace. Pretty nice.

Wednesday: Went to the office to attend the first part of a workshop. It was actually pretty interesting and delivered well, but too bad I was only there for the first of three days. Also went back to St. Lawrence gap to pick up some souvenirs and junk. And some rum, for the roommates though. Honest. The hotel also threw a party, but that's only because it's Wednesday and they always do that on Wednesday. Still, I like to think it's because they heard I was leaving.

Thursday: Flew out at around 7:00 am. Got to Miami at around 11:40 am without a hitch. But then, at 1:40 pm, got on the plane to Washington, but the pilot said the crew had to check something due to an indicator light being on. One hour later, we got off the plane. Two hours later, they put us on another plane. By the time I landed at about 7:30 pm, I was SOOOOO relieved to be off a plane. But why did I have to direct the taxi driver to where the house was? I mean, what's wrong with this picture? I'm directing the taxi driver.

An amusing trip. Washington gave me a nice welcoming back gift, a cold. But I'm getting over the last of it now.

Being in Washington the last few days has kind of sucked. It has been pouring rain non-stop, day and night. And as a result, I slipped and fell down an escalator. Well, more like one step. But man it hurt!

So I had to get away...

So I read over a book recently called American Gods by Neil Gaiman and it was a really great read. It was thought provoking and darkly funny. Basically it's the story about old gods from mythology who are now essentially powerless because nobody believes in them anymore. On the other hand, there are the newer gods, who represent forces such as TV, the Internet, Media, and other, more modern 'influences.'

There was recently a book festival in Washington D.C. and I went, where I purchased the book Anansi Boys, the new one by Gaiman, and well, had the chance to meet him:



I knew Neil Gaiman has written a lot of things, from the Sandman comic books to his recent novels, but I underestimated how many fans would come to greet him. So I waited a heck of a long time to see him, but I figured, for once there's an author whose work I actually like in town and I might as well get him to sign my book. So I stood in line with all the Goth girls and boys, the comic geeks (although one was smart and brought a folding chair), and some surprisingly old guys.

In the end, I got my autograph, even personalized. And I'm not ebaying it.

A few photos of my recent Washington D.C. adventures.

I didn't quite get inside the White House (doing that is quite hard nowadays, what since September 11, the day that Mariah Carey released her 'Glitter' album.), but I came close. Real close. Close enough to see the armored segment of the Secret Service with some pretty futuristic looking rifles. Luckily they weren't aiming at me.

Me in front of some guy's house He wasn't home though	View of some guy's house	A big pointy thing
Now it looks like the monolith from 2001	The Lincoln Monument off in the distance, the WWII monument a little closer

I just updated U-Boy.com today. It was just a small update, no new comic, but a new piece of art in the gallery. This was inspired by the crazy number of iPods I see around Washington. Oh, and this art was also partially inspired by a certain movie. Try to guess what this sweet movie is.

Oh my god. I think I'm seriously becoming needful of coffee. I didn't have one today, and I felt kinda sleepy in the office, even though I had several hours of sleep the night before.

But then in the afternoon I was fine. Maybe it's because I had more work to do in the afternoon so I had more motivation to stay awake. Or maybe it was that Inca cola I had for lunch. It's this yellow cola that tastes more like cream soda. I mean, it does brag about its caffeine content.

I'm here rambling on my journal, becoming needful of coffee. Reminds me of someone else I know.

If I need another coffee tomorrow I'm going for a black expresso.

There's a bunch of little things I noticed in the U.S. that are many little differences from living in Canada. It's like what John Travolta said in Pulp Fiction, "it's the little differences."

In Canada, we have the $1 and $2 coins. So, whenever I pay for something in cash, I always try to be at least somewhat close or I get a pile of coins back. Here though in the U.S., there's still $1 bills. So at least I get a pile of bills back.

The money is all the same colour here. See, I thought from a cursory glance I had a lot of money in my wallet, turns out I had about ten $1 bills. $1's are the same colour as $20s! Luckily I found this out at home and not in line at the grocery store. Oh yeah, and colour is color here.

Fahrenheit temperatures. I still don't get it. All I know is 90 F is roughly 30 C, that's my guide.

No metric system. But less of a deal.

Everyone has an iPod.

And finally, this isn't so much about the U.S. vs Canada but, after going through years of university and office jobs and never touching the stuff, I have finally reached that point. Coffee is becoming necessary to keep awake. I am trying to keep out of Starbucks though, I don't wanna get TOO addicted.