Holy cow November was intensely busy. I have a lot to cover.
First, I spent a lot of time (and Patreon money, thank you π) updating my studio, which is to say my desk. I reconfigured my monitors to stack vertically, making streaming and general day-to-day use much less of a strain on my neck. To make that fit I had to cut the top shelf of my desk in half, which was a fun project.
I invested in some cable management solutions under the desk to help mitigate curious cats pulling out cables randomly while I'm trying to work. I also bought a new chair mat because the one I was using before was from 2015 and mostly plastic shrapnel.
Stuff like this is boring, but I wanted to highlight how important it is to have monthly support from you for quality of life improvements like this. It's really helped transform this space into something that is comfortable to work in again.
My wife got me an early Christmas present of the Yamaha studio monitors which I am eternally grateful for. My old monitors buzzed like crazy due to EM interference around the neighborhood and in the power grid which caused me to use headphones most of the time.
November was National Solo Album Month and I'm happy to say that I was successful. You can find more information on how to download Fogbound in the Patreon post for it here. There are still plenty of edits and tweaks I want to make for the album before shipping to distro, but I have a month or so to sort all that out.
I also laid out my plans for how the Patreon campaign will change after the Two Hour Track Challenge officially ends in January (post here). The short version is: not much. I plan on creating music at a more relaxed pace, but I want to keep learning and evolving as an artist.
My wife also had art shows every weekend in November (if you're looking for some high quality jewelry as a gift to yourself or a loved one, check our her online shop). They were plenty of fun, but they definitely cut into my time to make things.
As a result of all that, man I've been burnt out the past week. I'm slowly getting back into it, but it's been a journey. My backlog of Two Hour Track Challenge songs ended last week, so I've been trying to take it easy this week so I can jump back into that saddle tomorrow and start banging out cool music.
My goal this month is mostly to relax. I've been working on a new Twitch interface that's based in Unity so I don't need to manage a clunky multi-headed NodeJS interface anymore. It would also be good to finish up Raise the Dead for Fun and Profit to get it off my list. Also, going to get more plans for 2024 locked in. Things always change, but it's good to have a roadmap.
At the end of the photos up top, I included a cool picture of some wood that I am thinking about using for the next round of Discography USB Sticks. This was a part of a lilac tree next to our house that didn't survive some snowfall and needed to get chopped. Some of the larger branches are genuinely super cool and I'm looking forward to working with it after it dries out a bit.
OK, that's enough for today. I'm going to go donate to some kitties. Thank you, as always, for your support. I hope you have a fantastic month. Take care!
-ben