vlherron In reply to SinistrosePhosphate [2013-09-27 23:51:05 +0000 UTC]

oh wow! Sini, its beautiful! i absolutely love it it is a wonderful and thoghtful gift its probably the best gift ive gotten for my birthday this year.

sorry you had to work late and dont worry about being late, my grandmother sent me a sweatshirt and soap yesterday, but she didnt even send it to the right house, my neighbor had to call me to come get it!

thank you so much, its perfect!

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SinistrosePhosphate In reply to vlherron [2013-09-28 22:44:05 +0000 UTC]

Whew~
... thank goodness you liked it. And here I was, wondering if I've managed to return the favour!

Don't worry about me working late. After all, that's part of the job. We take turns staying overnight at the hospital to keep an eye on the patients, just in case something should happen to them when no one else is around. As long as you don't mind my erratic schedule, it's my pleasure and my honour to be able to do this for another fan of Poe's poetry.

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vlherron In reply to SinistrosePhosphate [2013-10-02 23:32:27 +0000 UTC]

of course i like it! you would have to be crazy not to its beautiful (and youve really gotten better at hair )

why would i mind an erratic schedule, mine is too

well im glad youre so up beat about working so late and its a good thing SOMEONE is there to make sure someone doesnt croak that could have been saved

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SinistrosePhosphate In reply to vlherron [2013-10-03 01:14:30 +0000 UTC]

With a little practice and some advice towards the right direction... I think anything is achievable. So... thank you for the tips!

Remember what I said about "your job being your hobby" and all that related "downsides of the job" bit? Well, here's the case in point. I am not a workaholic by no means, but there are some things that come with the job that you either feel that you have to live with or you simply take it on as a part of the job. Staying late (or in this case, being on call) is just one of those things. You can either take it on in stride and know that you are there for a reason... or you can mope and moan about having to do it and make everything just so much harder. For my sanity, I take the first route out.

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vlherron In reply to SinistrosePhosphate [2013-11-06 00:32:54 +0000 UTC]

you're welcome. good luck!

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vlherron In reply to Rotemavid [2013-09-27 23:51:28 +0000 UTC]

youre welcome

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vlherron In reply to WonderfulTyrant [2013-09-27 23:51:41 +0000 UTC]

Thank you

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vlherron In reply to SpyKidKat [2013-09-27 23:52:38 +0000 UTC]

well, i love your work thanks for creating it

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SpyKidKat In reply to vlherron [2013-10-07 19:33:34 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome, I guess!

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vlherron In reply to GabrielEvans [2013-08-12 22:25:18 +0000 UTC]

its a very pretty drawing

your website is very cool, the illustrations are amazing (i might have to get some cards for the next birthday party i go to )

and... cheers  

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GabrielEvans In reply to vlherron [2013-08-13 01:14:02 +0000 UTC]

Thanks for checking them all out.....absolutely get some for your next party....the way the Australian dollar is sinking it'll be a steal haha

Take it easy  

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vlherron In reply to SinistrosePhosphate [2013-08-09 17:20:50 +0000 UTC]

no pressure, art is what has inspired you and how you express this inspiration with your own flair keep up the hard work Sini

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SinistrosePhosphate In reply to vlherron [2013-08-10 00:37:32 +0000 UTC]

Thank you once again!

Art is a bit more complicated for me, I am afraid. With a full-time job, things have a long, long way to go from "inspiration" to "end product". Besides... well, I never really believe myself to be much of an artist. I think I am a vessel for whatever creativity I've got bottled inside, but art lies in the eye of the beholder. Without someone like you who come along and think what I do is "art", what I do won't amount to much. 

So, once again, thank you for your support. Without you, I'm no artist!

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vlherron In reply to SinistrosePhosphate [2013-08-10 16:29:53 +0000 UTC]

if i were you, when i go home from work, id take a min. to relax and then go and sit down at the closest flat surface, get comfy and just let that creativity flow without too much thought on how it looks or if its finished and let your art flow for a couple hours before you get back to grown up things that don't sound like too much fun mr. workaholic

even if i didn't come along and call it art, it still wold be art trust me you'd still bean artist

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SinistrosePhosphate In reply to vlherron [2013-08-10 18:36:53 +0000 UTC]

Thank goodness you're not me!
Because almost anyone would find it hard to juggle two lives when one of these lives have a 90-120 hour work-week. S.P. (or his daytime equivalent, D.P.) has a hectic work life that doesn't prescribe to "sitting down and relax" mode of unwinding. He sleeps on average 5 hours a day, wakes up at 5:30 to make it to work at 6:45. He gets home anywhere between 5 to 6 on an average day and usually pulls overtime. This is not counting the fact that he's gotta study at night, too. He's not a workaholic... but he's starting to sound like one. And it's his existence on dA that helps to make it better. A delicate balance, really - because dA takes a huge chunk of his time out, too.

Can't win at this game, really. I wish there are 36 hours in a day!

That's why you'll hear him talking about "going to be slow," "going to be late for dead-line" and all these things on and off. Because... well, it's not easy to live two lives when you only have 24 hours a day. And since the day-version usually takes up a lot more time, I have the world's biggest problem wrapping my head around at this whole "being an artist" business. I guess you might call it a mental block... and a big one at that...

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vlherron In reply to SinistrosePhosphate [2013-08-12 22:46:32 +0000 UTC]

WOW, Sini, it sounds like you are seriously in need of a vacation   sorry if i said something to offend, offense was completely unintended  

well, just be glad you werent alive back when t-rex roamed the earth, the day was only approx. 19 hrs long  (the day was gradually lengthened due to the gravitational pull and much slower orbit of the moon- just a col little fact i picked up somewhere )

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SinistrosePhosphate In reply to vlherron [2013-08-13 00:45:16 +0000 UTC]

... Oh, that? 
... That's the nature of the job, period. We are open 24/7/365! 

I don't think you've said anything to offend me. I think it's just a little misunderstanding, that's all. SP is not the usual beatnik that hangs around dA. Sure, he's mediocre, but he does have a heck of a day job that sucks up most of his time. A lot of the folks who hang around here are still students of one kind or another, I think. It's a slightly different world.

Cool facts are always welcomed here! 
YOu never know when something like that will come in handy for Trivial Pursuit!

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vlherron In reply to SinistrosePhosphate [2013-08-14 01:29:45 +0000 UTC]

yea, i guess most of the da population is made up of students, me included 

 but then again, aren't we all students in some form, i mean we learn new things each and every day so i guess were all students of the world (and for all those astronauts out there, students of the universe lol)

i was serious about that vacation Sini, you'll work yourself to the point where you don't even know what the word 'relax' or 'vacation' mean!!!

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SinistrosePhosphate In reply to vlherron [2013-08-15 01:04:10 +0000 UTC]

I consider myself a student, too. But I am a rather specialised kind of student - and most people don't consider people like me "students." Most people come to see me in my workplace expecting answers and solutions. If I tell them I am just learning the trade... it's not going to go very well!  

But regardless of what others' perception of us might be, we are all students in one way or another. And we do better as students as those who believe themselves to be self-professed teachers. In fact, I believe this idea so much that even my footnote says: "It is only the learned who care to learn, the ignorant who prefer to teach."

You're too late, my new-found friend. I've lost understanding of the meaning of vacation a long time ago - I am afraid you're a few years too late! The workplace has been short on staff lately. Hopefully as we get more people into it, we'll all be breathing a collective sigh of relief. 

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vlherron In reply to SinistrosePhosphate [2013-08-20 16:50:49 +0000 UTC]

well. we cant have ALL the answers, now can we ??? (this is what the internet is for hehe)

and in my opinion, lots of teachers could take a step back and learn from their students if they get over their self importance and egos. i love your footnote im gonna have to use that sometime

oh dear sini, never lose hope, a vacation could be right around the corner and you just dont see it coming and with all the people who need jobs, im sure, given a little time and advertisement, you could bring in the new employees

best of luck!

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SinistrosePhosphate In reply to vlherron [2013-08-21 01:34:47 +0000 UTC]

Well... Perhaps it's time for me to come clean (I thought I did on my profiles page, but then again, not everyone takes the time to read through the fine print... ) You see... I'm a science geek in the worse sense of the way: I'm a doctor in training. People come to me looking for deep answers and exact answers that I don't have the power to give. Internet is not on my side - in fact, a lot of times it goes directly against me because people look up all these esoteric treatment options that we simply do not have evidence for. But the Internet gives them hope. I don't have all the answers and I am the first person to tell everyone I don't have the answers. But it also means I know exactly why my vacations are -not- coming. I have to apply for them at least a month in advance and I simply don't have much time for it. I don't get much help because I have bosses and administrators and other people who sits in offices who tell me what to do and where to go. 

On the other hand, I learn lots not only from my patients but also from the people I meet here. Most of them are blissfully unaware of who I am during the day - and it makes the playing field clean. Here at night, I am just a beatnik trying to get a handle on this art thing. And hey, some days I get it, other days I don't. That's just the way things go. 

... just like work, I guess...  

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vlherron In reply to SinistrosePhosphate [2013-08-21 16:53:37 +0000 UTC]

oh sini, i am one of the few who make sure i read the fine print before i click and the internet part was a joke, my overly serious friend i know all about the falsehoods of the internet and how misguided so many people are. i think you should go through the trouble for a vacation, or else youll work yourself to death and when youre worked to the bone, work suffers (as does your art-i know this from experience) youre worth taking a few days or a week off. screw bosses and administrators, i never have good luck with them, and give yourself a gift...you deserve it

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SinistrosePhosphate In reply to vlherron [2013-08-21 23:36:38 +0000 UTC]

The Internet might be a joke... but I hope you understand that I am no in any position to give anyone who wants a job a chance at it... no matter how desperately I need the help. Healthcare is open 24/7/365; really, it's not a job fit for people... but only people do it. 

I -have- asked for a vacation, in November. I haven't heard anything back in a month and a half. That's actually pretty normal for our line of work, but really, sometimes it feels like too little, too late. Besides, considering that I am knee-deep in debt, my idea of a vacation is to stay in the house and sleep for a good 16 hours a day. Like what I said, my friend... you're just a little too late. I don't have the same understanding of vacation and relaxation as the rest of humanity anymore. This art business... keeps me going. But it can be sacrificed come crunch time, too. Because, at the end, we're fighting with the Reaper on a daily basis for those who can't help themselves. 

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vlherron In reply to SinistrosePhosphate [2013-08-22 15:20:01 +0000 UTC]

of course, I'm hoping to go in that direction when i am older (actually i want to be a heart surgeon and i am hoping to get into the naval academy for my first 4 yrs of my schooling) so i understand the need for good, reliable manpower

im glad, you've made the first step to a vacation-asking for it! way to go! but vacation doesn't mean you actually have to go anywhere every spring break in my life can tell you that 

im glad you have art as your salvation, i know some people who arent as fortunate as us

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SinistrosePhosphate In reply to vlherron [2013-08-23 01:56:58 +0000 UTC]

Cardiac surgery? That's a grand idea. 
Of course, it's going to be a long, arduous road to be sure, but there's nothing like the rewarding feeling of saving someone's life.  (Naval academy is also a good idea. Not only is discipline and self-directed goal-setting a good idea; a lot of army and navy bases sponsor their personnel into medical school and beyond, too. There's usually a return of service contract to be signed, so don't forget the read the fine print!)

Art is a hobby, it's not a salvation. I don't need to be saved from a life that I have chosen for myself. And sometimes that's the gist of getting along with other people as well - we are where we are because of a combination of our choices and factors out of our control. We all have different tastes and preferences, after all. Perhaps we don't see why others like where they are or what they do, but hey, to each their own, right? (This, from a guy whose nurses surprised him with a birthday cake when he was on-call... and no friends bothered to call. Who cares if I work 12 hours a day, my "friends" are all there at work! )

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vlherron In reply to SinistrosePhosphate [2013-08-23 11:29:01 +0000 UTC]

yes, i have been to a few info meetings with my school counselors and have been to an event my congressmen threw a few months ago. i worked it out with a rep from west point that if i did go down that path, i would owe any branch approx. 14 yrs of service after all of my schooling was finished - its a good thing i want that to be my career  

well, i guess for me, art kinda is a salvation...in a way. when situations spin out of control and i have no control (i am a little bit of a control freak) or life gets rough, i turn to my art to help me handle all the bull sh*t flying and it helps me pull myself back up to a good, happy place where i can be stable, call art an hobby, and socialize with happy people without crying or wanting to slap them

well consider yourself called XD im a couple months late but.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINI !!! 

(ill have a gift for you soon )

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SinistrosePhosphate In reply to vlherron [2013-08-24 14:11:13 +0000 UTC]

Let's see... it takes 4 years at the naval academy (more or less) in order to get an equivalent of an university degree. After that it's 4 years of medical school and approximately 7 years of residency in order to become a cardiac surgeon. That's approximately 15 years of pre-practice preparation - after that... 14 years of return to service contract. I think we are looking at a whole career right there. I always tell everyone I meet that it's wonderful knowing what you want to do early, but always be prepared for change of plans. (Just between you and me, I started out wanting to be a teacher, then a crime lab guy... then a pathologist... and ended up on the way to becoming a surgeon. Life takes its twists and turns in ways that we can't always comprehend. But changes aren't always a bad thing.)

I have a patient on the floor (well, not -mine- patient, she is admitted under my colleagues) who suffers from bad anxiety and frequently experience panic attacks on the hospital floor. She told me I am the first guy who could break an attack in less than 3 minutes. The trick here is that it's all about control. Most of us walk the balancing line between getting control and losing control. And if you find yourself in situations where you feel the urge to get out of a social situation (either crying or wanting to slap people), perhaps we are looking at a control issue, too. I like to show people the "So What?!" principle. A lot of the times... we just have tell ourselves "so what?!" more often. It's not always a devastating thing to lose control - because, at the end of the day, this world we live in was never in our control. There's a certain freedom in relinquishing control and go with the flow. While art is always a wonderful thing to fall back to... it's not always available. Sometimes, we have to get up in arms and save ourselves - we are our own salvation. 

Oh... and never you worry about the birthday thing. I haven't really celebrated a birthday in years - it's not something that's important to me anymore. I was just surprised that the nurses really took the time to get me a surprise.  In the meantime, thank you so very much for the thought! 

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vlherron In reply to SinistrosePhosphate [2013-08-25 23:19:15 +0000 UTC]

actually, you only get 3 yrs. at any 4 of the academies  its a severely accelerated program, so i most likely wont make the cut, but thats ok, there are hundreds of great schools out there where i can get a military scholarship i sat shoot for the moon, and if yo miss, you'll land among the stars

depending on the situation, i am all for the "so what" and going with the flow, but other times, if something was supposed to go a certain way, i freak out a little (mostly when my fly by the seat of her pants bff changes the plan 2 seconds before i get to her house and she doesn't inform me of the change ) but I've only ever had one anxiety attack- it was spider related   

now, i am doubly determined to make you something super special for your way super late birthday!! no no- youre not allowed to protest, i am making you a present  

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SinistrosePhosphate In reply to vlherron [2013-08-26 01:57:14 +0000 UTC]

We have a number of accelerated programs in Canada, too. It doesn't come as a surprise. 

These accelerated programs demand a lot of out their individual students and require a lot of personal discipline. For someone considering a military career, it shouldn't be quite as bad as it would have been for the civilians. I have a few friends who came out of accelerated programs in Canada... most of them are decent, nice people. And if they can make it, why not you?

... Spiders?

... Let me tell you about my brother Wayne, the stove-top guy. For a nearly six-feet, 250 lbs Chinese guy, he's probably one of the biggest Asian man you'd hope to see. And he screams like a little girl when it comes to spiders. I don't remember how many of them I have to catch and flush down the can over the years.

... hein??? Really?

... I guess I can't say no to that, then. So... I think I'm just going to be a good boy and sit on my hands and wait, then. 

... as long as I get to return the favour at some point in time.

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vlherron In reply to SinistrosePhosphate [2013-08-28 15:19:44 +0000 UTC]

i can only try my hardest to make it wherever i end up going to school, but I'm not sure about a military academy yet, i might just end up at a normal college on military scholarship-hopefully  but I've got a few years to worry about that still, so no biggie

well, no matter the size of the person, spiders are terrifying! and i don't see anything wrong with getting someone else to dispose of those horrid creatures.the only thing i see wrong with it, is your method of disposal- those little monsters could climb back up and bite you on the arse! the only way to dispose of  a spider is to beat it repeatedly with a cheap rubber flip flop 

you'll have to settle for a digital present, but ill have it uploaded before weeks end!  

and my birthday is nexxt month

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SinistrosePhosphate In reply to vlherron [2013-08-29 02:45:41 +0000 UTC]

That's the best we can do, all of us. I consistently tell people "the best I can do is the least I can do". And really, if you think you are doing your best - then no one can ask more of you from you. We worry a lot less about our future and where we are going with this mentality. 

I don't quite understand why spiders are terrifying... but I've smacked a lot of them in my brother's stead. I also see no problem flushing them down the can knowing that they can't swim and the fear of them coming back up is irrational. Besides, for someone who lives in a cooler climate, it's hard to find a flip-flop handy to whack a spider!  

I will settle for anything, really... especially when I am not expecting anything. 
On the other hand, I wonder, what can I do for you? ...

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vlherron In reply to SinistrosePhosphate [2013-08-30 13:35:07 +0000 UTC]

i know keeping this mentality certainly keeps my anxiety down

well there is no end to the list of why they are terrifying: they have 2x as many limbs as we do(which may not seem like a reason, but it just means that they look creepy and scary), their walk is completely silent except  to other spiders, they can dropp down on you while youre walking,sitting,eating,sleeping-pretty much any time,some spiders CAN actually swim because of their specialized "book lungs" so they really could crawl back up and bite you when you're most vulnerable,ect.,ect the list could go on and on!

Hmmmm? youll think of something!

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SinistrosePhosphate In reply to vlherron [2013-08-31 21:47:53 +0000 UTC]

A lot of the times... our world changes with our mind. The way we perceive things changes the environment and the moods of people around us. A lot of the times... the world can surprise you.

I know, I know... my brother's got his large, unwieldy list of why spiders are scary, too. The problem is... well, so what if they have 8 legs? Crabs and lobsters have more... but we eat them just fine. Plenty of animals walk without a sound to us, too. And roaches are wonderful swimmers that we frequently flush down the can. But... you know, explanations aside, an astute (read: relatively unknown) author came up with this wonderful statement which I still find both amusing and useful. "The world is divided into people who are afraid of things with too many legs... and those who are afraid of things with no legs." You and my brother definitely belong to the former group... and so does a good part of the world. There's nothing to justify... it just is. 

Oh, I hope so! And I hope to be on time, too!  

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vlherron In reply to SinistrosePhosphate [2013-09-02 21:00:37 +0000 UTC]

definitely if youre stressed, then other people get stressed, but if you look at things a little bit differently everything is completely different. i know im always being surprised by this world we live in

well there are many reasons and i completely agree with your brothers view on the creepy crawly spider  but id say  if youre going to be afraid of something, spiders are a pretty good one to be afraid of and so what if its irrational? theyre scary   

    (i for one would never flush any living insect, squishing is the only option)

and since i am only afraid of spiders and being eaten alive, i think im good with the no legged creatures (i love snakes  )

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