Well, well: this is my last post of the year. I started this comic in August because drawing animals is a good way for me to get my mind off of my other work; it’s a meditative activity, all that sketching and measuring and inking. And in the last few days I’ve been party to much conversation about how pursuits that straddle the mindful and the mindless are essential to a thinking existence. Yes.

Considering how often I read and write, my brain is almost constantly engaged in narrative activity. On days when I am mostly occupied with writing and schoolwork, and I then listen to a podcast (instead of music or nothing) while walking my dog, there is almost never a moment when I allow my mind to simply drift. Such days feel tight and balled up. They are rarely my most productive days, even though they focused singularly on production.

I suppose this is my meandering way of saying that I’m going to go drink tea and listen to The Goat Rodeo Sessions while I still have a chance. Happy 2011. Happy 2012.