In yesterday’s comic, Juan found himself without options and will now have to make a tough choice. I kind of hate those. In truth I hate having to make a choice at all, period. I have been known to let myself miss out entirely rather than choose.

If anyone’s noticed my seeming disappearance from the internet lately it’s because, like Juan, I find myself in the midst of having to make some tough choices. It’s taking me quite a bit longer to get this done than I’d thought, but I do have to remember my propensity to simply not choose. So to the handful of people wondering where I’ve been, I’ll be back. With luck, when I return I’ll be more myself than ever. Fingers are crossed.

The comic is immune to this break I’m taking though, so if you’re only here to see amigurumi comic weirdness then you’re in luck. The comic will be delivered on time, every week. As the primary thing I think I’m doing an OKAY job on, it stays. Hooray comic! Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

I’ve mentioned before about Amu’s doll hobby, and it’s about that I’m focusing on today instead of the comic or knitting or amigurumi. When you have a hobby that’s relatively niche, you tend to go out of your way to find people near you who share that interest so you can stay sane, and realize that you’re not alone. The internet’s a valuable tool for connecting people but it can only do so much. At some point you need face to face contact, and doing this gives us the opportunity to meet some incredibly interesting people who we would never talk to if it weren’t for that one thing we have in common.

Amu and I have been attending monthly local doll collector meetups for the past few months, and taking opportunity to spend time with the people we’ve met whenever we can. I can honestly say I see some of these people far more frequently than I do some of my best friends. You get close, and you get attached. It’s very difficult to get attached to someone you’re just getting to know. It can get confusing and painful when they’re not there anymore.

Yesterday evening Amu and I were told one of our friends from the doll meetup group is no longer with us. It’s still slightly surreal, and it still hurts. I go to these meetings to support Amu’s hobby and because I think it’s interesting. Heck, I have two dolls now due to a variety of circumstances.

On the left in the photo above is Captain Beauregard. He’s MY doll–a gift from the missus last Christmas. To his right is Timi, his girlfriend. Timi belonged to the girl we’ll no longer get to see. She would have been 18 next month and would be going to college in the Fall. We were just beginning to know parts of her that lay beyond that exterior personality some of us wear around other people. We were almost beyond the shell.

I’m both without words and full of questions. I just. Don’t. Get it.

Another in a long list of confessions I’m bound to make here, I must admit that I “go there.” ‘THERE” is the crude, often profain place that’s slightly to very awkward and is met with either groans or guffaws. It’s the type of humor relegated to ‘Raw’ and ‘Delerious’ era Eddie Murphy. This encompasses about 85% of my spontaneous humor. I can be found to “go there” in most conversations with most people in mostly inconvenient places surrouned by strangers. I’m that guy sometimes.

In today’s comic, Juan “goes there” a bit, much to the confusion of his fan club. It’s something I’d say to be funny and have inexplicably translated as something profain and out of place. I think it’s kind of funny.

This said, I’m fully capable of self-censorship and exhibit the skill quite regularly around children. Now if only I can extend that somehow to strangers…