Here’s To Taking My Own Advice…,

or musings on a much-needed break with dragons, motorbikes, and music.

For months I’ve been convincing myself that all work and no play makes Mr Old Pac a dull boy, then I’ve carried on working while telling myself there will be time for everything else… soon. I let it go on too long until finally I was in danger of turning my Disappointed Panda into a Marauding Lion.

I had three days away down the South Coast of New South Wales, and it reminded me I do indeed work to live. We took the dog and wandered along the streets of country towns, drank heaps of coffee, searched bookshops (okay, that was Mrs Old Pac), and combed the t-shirt stores for additions to my wardrobe. I filled my soul snapping photos and enjoying the scenery.

It may have been freezing, but the scenery was amazing, and I saw so many bikes I just had to get out the iPad and start drawing—one of my sketches made it onto a t-shirt this month.

I also finished a couple of drawings I was doing for Mrs Old Pac’s books. As she and I worked on one picture, I had an idea for a t-shirt. Dragons are great, aren’t they? I’ve been wanting to do a dragon t-shirt design for a while, and now I have one—but more on that next month.

I went back to work last week recharged no longer feeling like I wanted to kill someone. Sadly, the glow only lasted a few days. I tried to recapture the feeling over the weekend, but it was difficult.

It rained all Saturday and Sunday. And when I say rained, I mean it was of ark proportions. I couldn’t get out on my bike, and I wasn’t really in the mood for drawing. We watched movies and hunkered down, our holiday long forgotten.

Then, today, when things got me down, I put on some of the music we had on the radio when we were on holiday. I won’t say the stress melted away, but it did become more manageable. It reminded me that there are lots of different ways to manage your mindset. I listened to Radiohead on the train on the way home, and I won’t say I’m fully Zen now, but I’m ready to face tomorrow.

As a bit of a bonus this month, I’m sharing an early draft and the design of the t-shirt, and some of the artwork I’ve done for Mrs Old Pac’s books. Hope you like the t-shirt designs, and maybe I’ll catch you on the twisties—if this rain ever stops.