03/06/23 Diary: An Aside


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Title: An Aside Panel 1: Drawing of me crossing off the words "two weeks" on a list of weeks remaining. Caption, "I leave Statia in ten days. I could’ve extended it one more month, but didn’t. I like to mainly record/remember the positive stuff in my journal comics, but I would classify this as "Hard" rather than "negative," and I want to remember this part too. Anyhow, here's why." -- Panel 2: Drawing of me wildly chasing a chicken. Caption, "There are constant small tasks interrupting me, from cleaning bird poop, to chasing off chickens and thrashers, to giving attention or water to the pets. And it takes me a while to refocus if I stop work." -- Panel 3: Drawing of with my hands in prayer for Rosey to eat her food. Caption, "Getting the dogs to eat is a long and focused time, because they need to take their meds with food, and in order to keep them from eating each other’s food, and so that the lizards and thrashers don’t eat their food." -- Panel 4: Drawing of me pulling my hand away from petting King, who looks up at me all doe-eyed. Caption, "And it’s honestly hard for me when animals are bottomless repositories for affection. No matter if I stop petting them after a few minutes or a half hour, they still look at me with such big eyes that I'm often feeling guilty and terrible (I blame my anxious attachment style, not them)." -- Panel 5: Drawing of me eating a PB&J. Caption, "The food. As a vegetarian who also doesn’t care for deep fried food, there are few places here I want to go. Plus I have no oven, there are minimal pantry items, and food options at the store are limited and expensive." -- Panel 6: Drawing of me slouched over my work desk, hands in my hair in frustration as I'm surrounded by mosquitoes. Caption, "And stupid things. Like, the chickens found the bullfinch food, THAT was a mastermind battle. And since there are no windows, everything always feels dirty and full of mosquitoes. I often wish for just one clean/sealed room I can retreat too." -- Panel 7: Drawing of me pouring soymilk into a cereal bowl, distressedly waving at the surrounding mosquitoes. Caption, "SO many mosquitoes! They are just awful. I started taking anti-histamines, which keeps him from hurting or itching as much. But there was always a group of them around me." -- Panel 8: Drawing of me at my desk, turning around to swat at the mosquitoes with the electric bug zapper, while in the background Annie makes a run for it. Caption, "And the dogs HATE the bug zapper, so I'm reluctant to use it. And I 'can’t' use it if it is anytime near their meal time, or the dogs will scamper off into the fields." -- Panel 9: Drawing of me in bed, tired and wide-eyed. Caption, "The island is beautiful, the people have been very nice, and I’ve made it into a fun adventure. But it’s been work, a challenge, and on top of my duties here I also work full-time creating comics, so: not a vacation. I'll be a little sad to leave, but it won't be hard."

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2 Comments

  1. Louise

    It sounds VERY hard! Especially the mosquitoes. And not being able to eat what you want. Those 2 things would be such a misery for me. I hope your final days in Statia feel like some sort of closure.

    1. Christopher Baldwin

      @louise, I might go out for pizza or something, but I’m not sure that will do it. Probably prepping the house for the homeowner’s return, plus packing. Not exactly celebratory, but gives a feeling of closure.

      And on the BRIGHT side, when I go walking, the mosquitoes don’t bug me. AND, it’s given me time to really ponder and appreciate the food I will be returning to. 🙂

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