Feeling a little overwhelmed of late on the home and work front, looking ahead to the summer, Christmas vacation and beyond. Since post-production work on Transporter: The Series will keep me busy through December, it looks like I’ll have to push my annual Japan trip to January. And, yes, I fully intend to go – although, even before the quake, I was considering taking my old Tokyo travel buddy, Stefan, up on his suggestion and maybe do a train tour, starting in Hokkaido in the north and ending somewhere in the South (Kyushu?). Akemi, however, thinks I should just do my usual two-weeks in Tokyo. She really misses the city (almost as much as Vancouver) and really wants to go back and visit with me.
Speaking of going back, this marks the last day of our week+ house-sitting Fondy’s place and her adorable but badly behaved frenchies, Brie and Stewie. I thought four dogs were more than a handful. Try six – competing for your attention, needing to go out, begging for snacks and table scraps, waking up way too early every morning, getting a running start from the opposite end of the hallway and then launching themselves at you from a three foot distance. It can be exhausting. Of course, nowhere near exhausting (or frustrating) as the 1 hour + drive each way from the house to the office. The traffic in this city is miserable. Here’s an idea to help alleviate congestion: Finish the work! 95% of the bottle-necked construction zones I pass on a daily basis are devoid of actual workers. Of course compounding the problem are Toronto’s drivers, the douchiest drivers I’ve ever encountered (and I’ve been to Paris!) who think nothing of cutting off other cars, swerving into traffic, or double-parking on busy streets…
Yes, all sorts of annoyed. And so, to cheer myself up, I went out for lunch, then stopped by a local comic shop (Cyber City Comix) to pick up a few items and round out the office decor. My interior designer and I put our heads together and decided on a supervillain theme for my workplace:
Electro. Sure, the headpiece if borderline silly but, much like Mysterio (who sports an equally silly headpiece), the character takes me back to my youth, reading Spiderman comics and watching the old Ralph Bakshi cartoon (incidentally, I picked up the box set. Once I’m back in Vancouver, I plan on having a marathon in my home theater room. Who’s in?).
Deathlock the Demolisher. Technically, not a villain but more a grey area character (like Deadpool who also decorates my office). Along with the Beast, one of my favorite comic book characters growing up, so I snapped him up. Hmmm. Come to think of it, I may already have him back in Vancouver.
Lizard. Another Spiderman villain. No nostalgic connection to this character, but I figured that, since I was picking up bad guys and he was available…
Sandman. Another villain with a Spiderman connection. In this case, I picked him up not because I grew up with the character, or to round out the collection, but because the sculpt is so damn cool.
Terrax. Galactus’s former herald comes with one sweet swingin’ axe. He’ll look great standing beside Thanos (who awaits him back in Vancouver).
Two statues I considered but, ultimately, didn’t make the cut…
Kraven the Hunter. Yes, he’s a Spiderman villain but ever since Martin Gero walked into my office back in Vancouver, pointed to an alternate statue of Kraven I had sitting up on my shelf, and asked: “Who’s that? Freddie Mercury?”, I’ve had a hard time taking the character seriously.
Sinestro. On the one hand, here’s a rare DC villain statue. On the other hand, what’s with the base of swirling yellow nothingness. Also, sadly, working against him: the Green Lantern movie.
Anyway, the new additions will join my Toronto office rogue’s gallery that includes the likes of: Dr. Octopus, Deadpool, Bullseye, and Ultron. Almost makes me eager to get back to work.
Almost.
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