Hey everyone. Can you believe it's already the holiday season again? It's crazy. I hope you're all warm and cozy! I just remodeled my studiospace and I'm not used to having freezing cold hardwood floors. As a result, I'm rather cold at the moment and equally tired, so I'm going to try to finish this post quickly so I can go hide under a mountain of blankets. <3

I've got a lot of exciting stuff going on right now. I've mentioned a top secret Pon&Zi project that's in the works, and while I'm still unable to let you all in on it, I can say that it's definitely coming along and that I'll be able to tell you all about it very very soon.

School starts again for me in just a little bit more than a month, so I'm trying to tie up loose ends before I fall victim to deadlines and stuff. I'm doing illustrations on the back panels of SIXTY-FOUR chairs for a coffee shop remodel, all within the span of like eight days, and then immediately after, they've also asked me to do four identical 7 foot by 7 foot wall paintings. Cross your fingers for me and hope I can finish everything before school because I won't have time anymore at that point. Hahaha. On top of that, I'm also working hard to finish the Pon&Zi Valentines Day cards before school as well. I've gone a bit overboard with those, but I think they'll be fancy.

I've been getting a TON of emails asking if it's too late to order pins, keychains, etc. from azuzephre.net in time to guarantee delivery before Christmas. That's a hard question to answer, especially for international orders, because the postal systems of some countries are faster than others. I can only tell you what the post office here is telling me: For any package being delivered outside of the United States, TODAY is the last day I can ship things internationally and expect them to arrive before Christmas. For orders placed within the United States, the post office says that any orders I ship before the 14th of this month will be very likely to arrive on time. I ship orders every day at least once, so if you're planning on getting somebody a PinPack, Keychain, Poster or Print for Christmas, the sooner you order, the better.

That reminds me, I've added POSTERS and a few if the more recent comics as Photo Prints to the store at azuzephre.net. I'm a lazy online shopper, so I've spent the last two hours making sexy image links for this journal to make it easier on you guys if you want to buy something. *nudge* <3333

Hey guuuuys.

Yesterday, I participated in the AIDS walk LA, and it was amazing. My phone died during the drive to West Hollywood, so I didn't have any way to contact and meet up with anyone, which was a huge bummer because walking alone was awkward. Even still, the entire walk was powerful. Around one of the first bends in the route, a religious group set up a protest with signs that read things like "Homo sex is sin." I live in a relatively conservative city in Los Angeles County, so to walk with a massive sea of people who collectively support the repeal of Prop 8, for a change, was awesome. I couldn't help but laugh to see the religious activists experience being the minority, and I'm glad to have been one of the 40,000 people who flipped them off as we walked past. Hahaha.

Tomorrow I'm seeing my favorite band in the whole world in concert, but I'll have to write about that after I'm back because I have an internet stalker, and I'm refraining from posting information on my exact whereabouts even only slightly in advance. Hahaha. Seriously though, this person took photos that I took with friends from my myspace, edited photos of themselves over my friends, and posted the edited photos in their myspace account. If that weren't creepy enough, they made another myspace account under my name, posted my photos there, and then commented back and forth between the two accounts as though I was talking to them. This person has made considerable effort to find out what concerts I have tickets for, so yeah. Let's just say I'm seeing Hanson in Fort Lauderdale and hope they go to that show instead. : )

I've gotten tons and tons of emails from people asking why not all of the Pon&Zi comics are available as prints at azuzephre.net, when Tshirts and totebags will be available again, when the (Valentines Day) cards will be available, etc. I'm almost about to start running low on the stock of a few of the prints I have, so I'll be sending an order to my printers this week not only to restock the currently available prints, but also to get some of the other comics made, and also to get the (Valentines Day) cards started. "Valentines Day" is in parentheses because while they could be great for Valentines Day when it finally gets here, the first cards printed won't have a Valentines Day theme so that you can use them for monthiversaries, anniversaries, birthdays, lovenotes, etc. Neat, right? They'll come with Pon&Zi envelopes too. Super cute if you ask me. Hahaha. Also, I've put an order in for more totebags, so they should be back in stock within a week or two. : ) Tshirts, however, will take a bit longer to get made.

That's about it, I think. Do me a favor and cross your fingers for me. I'm waiting to hear back from school to see how much scholarship money I can get. Huhuhuu. C'est important!

<333
Jeff

Hey everyone!

I hope you're all enjoying Autumn as much as I am. I've had three pumpkin pie shakes today alone, and it's starting to cool down at night, which is excellent.

So anywaaaay, I'm excited to be participating in the 25th Annual LA AIDS Walk on October 18th. It's the first time I've done something like this, but I'm really looking forward to it. I don't know anyone personally who is battling HIV/AIDS, but I'm aware that it's a terrible thing, and I want to do anything I can to help fund research to find better treatment options.

If you've been watching the news, you may have heard that a series of vaccines has been developed that has shown to decrease the likelihood a person has to contract HIV by 31%. This series of vaccines is the first to have shown any promise in the fight against the disease, and it's development is very good news. We're finally making substantial progress, and now is a great time to support the fight either by walking or by donating to the fund.

If you live in the Los Angeles area and are available to walk, it's not too late to register (for free!) and start collecting donations yourself. Send me a note if you're planning on walking so we can meet up and walk together!

CLICK HERE to visit the AIDS Walk LA homepage and register!

If you're unable to participate but would like to make a donation, I'm trying to collect as much as I can and would appreciate your help!

CLICK HERE to make a donation!

Also, 50% of all profit made from Pon and Zi Comic Prints sold through azuzephre.net between now and October 14th will be donated as well. I'd say that's an excellent way to earn some good karma and score some AzuPrints in the process. Hahaha.

CLICK HERE to visit azuzephre.net

<333 Jeff

Hello, all. The past few weeks have been crazy, and I'm a little bit overwhelmed. In fact, I ought to be painting now, but I needed a break, so I thought I'd make a quick update here.

First, I've added a Pon&Zi FAQ to my profile here because I feel bad not being able to answer all of the questions that get sent in. So yeah, it's in the left column of my profile, and I think I've got most of the questions that get asked most answered. I've also added links to the Pon&Zi myspace profile and to my Twitter, also in the left column.

Second, the totebags in the shop at azuzephre.net have sold out. I'll be getting more printed, but it may take a few weeks, so until I've got them back in stock, I've removed them from the shop. Keychains have been added, however, and there are two designs available. A few of you have asked why not all of the comics are available as prints, and it's actually because I had to rush to get them printed in time for this past Summer's convention season and didn't have time to format all of them for printing. Hahaha. I'm doing that now though, so more of the first comics should be available very soon, along with the Cactus comic, a couple unreleased comics, and even some posterrrrs. Exciting stuff.

Third, I'll be a Guest at ComiCon Long Beach in the very beginning of October! I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it for all three days, but I'll try my best. I'm not going to have a booth or an artists table for this one, but I'll be bringing prints and maybe some pins to throw at people to promote the comic and website. If you're planning on attending, send me a note, and let's meet up for coffee or a DDR duel or something. Hahaha.

Next, the top secret project I mentioned in my last journal is officially underway, and I'm really excited about it. It's still top secret, but it won't be long before I can post pictures of things and stuff.

Finally, I've been SO overwhelmed with school stuff and a million commissions that I'm a bit late on a project I'm definitely going to start anyway. Ideally, on the first day of each season, I'll be releasing a large-format, season themed Pon&Zi print, limited to 100 prints each, signed and numbered. Today was the first day of Autumn, so I'm late, but the first one will be coming as soon as I get my scholarship portfolio in, catch up with commissions, finish two menu boards for two coffee shops, and get a bit of work done for my secret project. So anyway, keep an eye out for that. It's going to be wonderful, I promise.

Hey everyone. It's been FOREVER since I've updated here and I apologize. I've been a very busy boy.. err, man..boy. A busy manboy. I just turned 21! But yeah, I've been busy throwing a ton of stuff together for school, updating azuzephre.net, and working on a kind of secret project that's kind of a big deal. I'm not sure when I'll be allowed to talk about it, but within the next year, I'll making an exciting announcement.

First, juicy gossip. I'm single once again, and for the first time since the dawn of puberty, I have no desire whatsoever to seek out someone new to date. It's not even because the breakup still hurts, either, because I'm not even sure if it hurts anymore. While having somebody to cuddle with is sort of nice, the entire situation is always terribly draining. I'm not saying that I'll never date again, but I'm not going to stress myself out looking for someone that might end up working out if I try really hard. For now anyway, I'm doing great by myself. Onto other news, I quit my job at the coffee shop after working there for two years. The shop at azuzephre.net is what feeds me now, and it's kind of a scary thing because the flow of orders is rather inconsistent. I'm learning how to budget and plan ahead though. Unfortunately, however, part of this journal will be devoted to promotion of the shop. I don't want to annoy anyone, but I need to eat and pay my bills. Hahaha. So let's get that part out of the way. Brace yourself for the biggest most obnoxious link in the world.



The last time I updated my journal, the shop at azuzephre.net wasn't even open, but it is now, stocked full of ComicPrints, ButtonPinPacks and Totebags! The comic prints are a lot bigger than they were when they were sold in the old version of the shop, which is nice because the last ones were a bit tiny. They're still only $3.00 each, too. The button pins come in packs of seven for seven dollars. That's a dollar each, less than half what places like Hot Topic charge for their pins, and psshhh. These are hella cuter too. Totebags are back with a better design. Each one comes with three FREE random button pins, too. STEAL. Hahaha. Anyway, take a look if you can. Payment is processed through PayPal, orders are shipped daily Monday through Saturday, and tracking numbers are provided along with the confirmation email.

<333

As far as new projects go, I'm crazy busy with my secret project, and I can't post any of the stuff involved with that yet. But since I work at home now, I have a lot more time to work and I'm learning how to get more done in a day. I'll try to post some assignments from school, and I have a ton of unposted PonComics that I might intermittently upload as well.

Does anybody know of any huge comic conventions coming up? I had a lot of fun meeting people at FanimeCon in San Jose and at AX her in Los Angeles, but I want to do more, especially if it means I'll have to travel. Hahaha. Someone at AX suggested a convention in London, but I forgot what it was called. Let me know, and let's get coffee together because I love you all. <333

It's 3:04am and I can't think of anything else important to type about. So on that note, I think I'll play some FFXII like the hardcore nerd that I am and then get some sleep.

Oh yeah! If you're a cool kid, you should follow me on Twitter! My sn there is also azuzephre.

<3azu