yesterday, for the first time this entire vacation, i got to do what *i* wanted to do -- visited c. at his office at blizzard.
the art department at blizzard has such a great atmosphere. it kicks ass. all kinds of ass. i love seeing c.'s new work, meeting the other artists he works with, and just generally being there. c.'s art is now featured prominently on the walls as you first walk into the art dept., which he is rightly proud of. sadly, his 'trogdor' dragon didn't make it into the final release of WoW, but one of his other dragons did. now that the big push is over, you could shoot a cannon through the art dept., and hit only some stray soda cans. c. is now working on 'swords. lots of fucking swords' for the expansions and new areas.
i think the things i like best about seeing c. and talking with him, is that 1-we've known each other since we were 14, with a 12-year gap. this lends an interesting perspective on our respective lives. here's someone who knows just how far you've come. 2-he's also an artist, so we can really talk about art without having to go back and explain it all to each other. we can speak in a sort of shorthand that probably sounds like nonsense to other people. his criticism and input of my work also means a lot more to me, because he knows the work that goes into it, and he always says more than, 'that's nice.' 3-he really understands why art is important to me, and why i *need* to be doing it. he is one of my biggest cheerleaders and supporters, and is very generous with his time, knowledge, and contacts.
i'm going to help c. with some designs for a game he's working on that involves vikings. that's going to be fun. :)
today, i made the lamb and black bean chili. my fingers have finally stopped burning from reconstituting, then de-seeding the chilis. i added some beef to the chili to round it out and give it more meat; i might even throw some rice in there to counteract the beans. not sure, though.
really need to finish knitting this sweater so that i can wear it while it's cold. i suppose i should go downstairs and do that. one more sleeve to go. whew.