Christmas was nice - we only got through part of episode 7 and then switched to video games, but spouse is back to work and I can finish the SW marathon myself. I used to do "no stopping" marathons but either pauses are part of getting older, or marathons aren't what they used to be because instant access to the whole library of movies is so easy. Plus there's just so many long hours of movie to get through.

Christmas dinner came out great. Minor bragging, but I've basically mastered cooking a turkey in an instant pot. We have the air fryer lid accessory thing, so after it cooks I baste that sucker in butter and use the air fryer lid to make it golden brown and crispy. Tasty! (In general I would say the air fryer lid is just okay. It's a niche use thing and has some awkward drawbacks, like a small basket that doesn't hold much food and is a pain to clean. If I were cooking for more than two I'd want a real air fryer, but it's still worth the kitchen space. I do like that with the instant pot + lid combo I have a full featured small second oven. But the lid itself is not as great as the hype.)

I finally hung the plant light over the half-wall kitchen counter and moved the basil plant from the bedroom windowsill. It is a surprisingly cheerful addition, right in front of my eyeballs when I'm washing dishes. Back in April/May I impulse bought it from the grocery store and I am proud to say I have kept it alive and happy and gotten plenty of basil from it. I want to try small container gardening, like herbs and some cherry tomatoes. I thought, if I can keep the basil plant alive then I can try other things. So I'll be ordering some seeds and whatnot soon. (Did you know they sell seeds for growing tobacco plants? I am embarrassed to admit this blew my mind. You can just buy the seeds, grow it yourself, roll your own cigars. No age checks. No taxes. I say this not because I want DIY tobacco, but due to aggressive marketing, I don't even think of leaves when I think of tobacco. I think of a product. So I'm starting to wonder what else I've overlooked that is available.) I'm trying to start some cuttings from fresh rosemary and thyme. The apartment is small and the balcony doesn't get full sun, so I can't get too ambitious. But if spouse and I move to a house next (with a garage, oh my god that would be so amazing) I might go plant crazy. I might.

We are stuffed into our current two bedroom apartment. Together we have many hobbies/interests, with the crafting tools to match. Spouse is a larper (when he has free time/no pandemic), so he's got garb and foam weapons and dabbles in leathercraft. We've got pen and paper roleplaying crap up the wazoo. Spouse has minis for probably any gaming scenario one could imagine, plus painting paraphernalia. I've got my costuming stuff, sewing stuff, plus art/craft stuff. Also tattoo stuff, what I don't have at the shop. He pokes fun at my supply hoard but dude, anyone who willfully spends money on Funko Pop figurines and a tub of minis has lost the moral high ground. I would love to get in a larger place so we could convert the living area to a workshop/gaming space. I want big well-lit worktables and useful shelving, plus comfy seating for 6-8 and a sweet gaming table with color changing mood lighting and a fancy leather GM chair. I want my easel and painting stuff set up. I want cheap colorful rugs on the floor to catch paint and hot glue drips, plus perches on the wall, so Cat can supervise. Maybe a bolt hole for Other Cat, who hates strangers. I want us to be able to host art/crafting/gaming groups, you know, when we can have friends again.

Ah, that would be the life.

I already know what I am getting with stimulus money, whenever that happens. I'm getting a fancy portable tattoo chair. It's good enough you can use it everyday in a studio, but it also packs down for taking to conventions. People get tattooed on plastic folding chairs and tables at conventions - that's miserable. It's very uncomfortable for everyone, you have to figure out how to position someone in an unfamiliar environment when it's difficult enough in your own studio with all your normal gear, and then getting tattooed on temp convention furniture is disgusting. Clean that with as much madacide as you want, still mentally disgusting. I enjoy conventions but I def wouldn't get tattooed there if I could book the artist in their shop. My chair at the shop sucks - it's one of those $99 specials that manages to be the worst of all worlds somehow. A really nice chair with a pneumatic lift runs $1k, but they weigh a ton. This portable chair is made by the same people that make the really nice chairs, so the cushion material will hold up to cleanings, and it has enough flexibility in positioning to do the job in studio or out. So I really really want it, because it's my ticket to being able to set up anywhere.

The first stimulus I bought a sweet new rotary machine, but I've had no real chance to try it out, which is a sin. I want to do some more work on spouse's Boba Fett portrait, but I've put it off due to the stigma of working at home. It's a pain in the ass to work in a temp location where everything isn't laid out perfectly. Plus the cats. A dedicated studio room in a home is one thing, but to feel decent working here in the apartment I'd be laying down plastic sheeting like Dexter and locking the cats in the bedroom. They hate that.

I thought regular art supplies were expensive but tattooing is on a whole other level. I've invested as much money as possible back into equipment, inks, needles, good products so the client has the best healing experience. My mentor was kind enough to loan me a very good machine to start with, but once you are used to a nice machine you don't want to compromise. So I invested in a $600 machine and a $300 power supply to run the machine and close to $1k in quality inks, needles and products. The perception is that because tattoo artists charge $100+ an hour they are making a lot of money. People get sticker shock when they find out the minimum is $80 for even the tiniest tattoo. The reality is that the shop gets half of that right off the top, then good quality consumables cost $10-15 out of pocket just to set up (pre-covid - now gloves have tripled in cost). So the artist doing that tiny heart might see $25-30 before taxes. Plus invisible hours consulting, arranging appointments, prepping artwork - for me, equal to or more than actual needle time. I figure I make $20 an hour, but that's because I am slow at finalizing art. Yes, theoretically, with practice and a full schedule I should be able to make $50-60 an hour. But that's if the client shows up to their appointment, doesn't request complicated last minute art changes and everything goes smooth. Then there's the fun of doing taxes as an independent contractor. Lots of pluses, lots of minuses. Hooray, I'm a working artist. Shit, I'm a working artist.

Writing this out makes me itch to fire up my machine. I have tattoos on myself to finish, if nothing else. A black and grey portrait of Other Cat - a bird linework that needs color. You can really only self-tattoo your legs well. My left leg has a number of small pieces from ankle to thigh, but there's still space for more. I haven't touched my right leg yet, mostly because I was hoping to get work from other artists. The fantastic thing about tattoos is if you really admire an artist and want to talk to them and get a better idea of how they do something, just book an appointment with them. Guaranteed one on one time, you get to feel how they're working your skin, and you get a tattoo out of it. (I mean, I have no money for tattoos right now, but when I move somewhere new I know exactly how to network.)

God I miss being a real person.

End of the year, time to contemplate resolutions. I don't have any, I just want to get back to where I was.