Right now I am sitting on my couch, gauze stuffed up my nose, a tissue strapped beneath my nostrils to catch any blood, and a head full of codiene. And you?

I had surgery on my sinuses on Monday. All went very well, considering how much disgusting stuff they pulled out my head. I got home at a decent hour and felt no pain most of the following day. It eventually caught up with me. Today is a bit rough. Lots of swelling. I’m disoriented. I’d like to make a bowel movement. Is that TMI? Too bad. I am sparing you so many details, man.

My son is home sick with me today. He isn’t really that sick, thankfully. Just buggy enough to keep home and prevent further spread among his classmates of some stupid bug going around. He has a pot full of water on a towel on the living room floor; it’s a staging area for boats and Lego people to swim in or fly around. He amuses me.

I get the gauze and stints removed on Monday. I think I am on the road to recovery. I don’t like to name my chickens before they hatch, but I will put in cautious hope that I will regain my ability to function like a normal human being – or a productive cartoonist, the next best thing.

Here are the most recent updates to Wanderlost.

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No new caricatures as of late. But new back pain problems! Herniated disc. Oooooh, yeah. The bright side is that the prednisone regimen I am on reduces muscle swelling around the disc, reducing the pain. Always look on the bright side of life! (cue whistling)

I have added a few more drawings to the caricature gallery.

In chronological order of their creation:

President Obama delivering the State of the Union, Joe Biden and John Boehner behind him.

Bashar al-Assad, president of Syria.

Jeff Tweedy, founder of Uncle Tupelo and Wilco, and probably Alt Country Rock as a whole.

Nancy Brinker, following her mishandling of funding for Planned Parenthood.

As part of my glacial progress in fleshing this site out, I have created a new gallery on the illustrations page. Last year Ben Lehman commissioned me to draw illustrations and the cover for Mud Dragons, an RPG he has since published.

But you can view it here if ya like.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

Two most recent page updates have involved a discussion of time travel. If you think, “Hey, that seems like quite a tangent for a comic about a wandering pig to take,” you are probably right. It’s all Mr. Guzek’s fault. Don’t ask me, I just work here.

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So many social media outlets, so few brain cells to keep track of them all.

Anyway, here is a link to the new Wanderlost page.

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I just added four new caricatures to the relevant gallery. I have started a project of almost daily caricature work in my sketchbook for my own personal enjoyment and artistic growth. The use of color pencils aims to extend my skills into areas I have felt uncomfortable with. I don’t want to rely on Photoshop to add color to an image; in fact, I think there is a lot to achieve through traditional analog methods. More experienced artists will nod their heads and say, “No shit, Sherlock.”

Anyway, here they are!

Click the image or here to go read it at full size.

Man, what a month. Holidays, birthdays, and a little trip to the ER. I am doing better now. Bronchial spasms and asthma induced by sinus infections brought on by polyps in my nose. Nothing dietary or environmental — as many well-meaning people have suggested — but purely genetic. I gotta get surgery to remove growths in my nose. Ugh! It’s freaking gross to contemplate. I’ll get the surgery as soon as my wife has her own surgery for her own ailments (which I’ll keep undisclosed for her modesty), and hopefully I can regain a fuller, more active life.

In the meantime, I’m gonna keep at this webcomic until it’s finished. Probably by June.

Page 16 of “Long Way from Home” at Wanderlost features more kraken content. I really enjoy drawing that thing. Gives me a chance to play with inking techniques, texture, and Photoshop brushes.

And in case you missed it, I posted a new cartoon to Learning Curve, my relatively new strip on education and labor issues. This time I mock Michelle Rhee’s campaign against seniority rules (also known as “First In Last Out” or “Last In First Out” rules.)

Just published in the December 2012 issue of The Gathering, newsletter for PCCFFAP. And added to the gallery page previously called Teacher Unions, now called Learning Curve, the new title for the strip. Thanks a billion to Jen Sorensen for the title suggestion. Next time you are in Portland, Jen, I’ll buy you a pint. Hopefully soon!