Personal blog - and temporary home page until new website is finished - of writer, editor and graphic artist Christopher Mills


Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Wassup?

Been out of town for a few days. The wife and I took a long weekend off, and just relaxed. Rented a few kid's films (Flushed Away, Monster House), a couple of comedies (Foul Play, Idiocracy) and The Prestige. Great film. Need to see it again.

Had another consultation in Boston last Thursday. Apparently, if I don't want my remaining kidney to konk out on me, I'm going to have to severely lower my blood pressure (new meds and a low-salt diet – which sucks, because all my favorite foods are just loaded with sodium) and deal with my probable sleep apnea.

Yeah, it seems quite likely that I'm suffering from apnea, and am seriously sleep deprived – which could explain my frequent inability to concentrate and my chronic productivity problems. I am therefore, not a slacker, but, essentially, a zombie.

I'm still struggling with a couple of comics scripts that I hoped to have finished a couple weeks ago. No good excuse – other than what I theorize above – just can't seem to whip them into shape. I have to clear them in the next week or so, though – I've got two short stories that I really need to start ASAP.

One of them is for the forthcoming Captain Midnight anthology. Stories and illustrations are starting to come in, and as one of the editors on the book, I'm thrilled with how it's shaping up. I'll post more details about contributors and such just as soon as I'm allowed to.

The Femme Noir miniseries is coming along well. Joe Staton continues to turn out some of the finest pages of his career, and inkers Horacio Ottolini (Issues #1 & #2) and Mark Stegbauer (Issues #3 & #4) are doing a great job with the finished art. Brian Bolland turned in the alternate cover for Issue #1, and it's beautiful.

That's it for now. Gotta get back to work.

5 comments:

Craig Zablo said...

Good to see an update even if it ain't all sunshine and flowers!

Hang in there, boss!

Glen Davis said...

Hope you get better soon.

Christopher Mills said...

Thanks, Craig, Glen – but actually, I'm feeling better than I have in months. It's just that, obviously, I'm going to have to make some changes in my lifestyle if I want to feel even better.

This sleep apnea thing – if it turns out that I have it, which seems likely – could be one of the things that have held me back for my whole life. I've always seemed to have less energy than others and difficulty concentrating on projects long enough to see them through, and if I'm chronically sleep-deprived, well, that would explain a lot... and it's fixable.

So... actually, while I'm resistant to and bummed about the diet change, I know it needs to be done. And I've asked my doctor to arrange a sleep study for me as soon as possible.

DK & The Fluffies said...

Glad to hear you are feeling better - & low salt diet... Welcome to the Suck

Head scritches to China and the Hissy one

Bill Spangler said...

I wanted to post this sooner, but I've been having trouble getting blogspot to recognize me. Anyhow...
FWIW, I was diagnosed with apnea two, maybe three, years ago, and I've found that using the C-PAP has been very helpful to me. I've got a lot more energy now, and I feel a lot safer. As you've probably heard already, apnea puts real strain on your heart, because it spends so much time restarting your longs. Never mind things like falling asleep at the wheel (which I did). And you get tired of people asking you, "Are you getting enough sleep?"
C-PAPs are relatively small; roughly the dimensions of a comic, and about four inches deep. I've never had any trouble getting one through an airport.
Hope this helps