Chapter one: Where it all seems to begin...

3.45 am
The alarm goes off.

I got up, still sleeping, come out of my corner, in between the table and the bike, get dressed very fast, have a large glass of Rich Chocolate Soya Milk, brush my teeth and put my fake eyes on, and off I go.
Outside, it is cold and rainy.
I go towards my bike, old and heavy, but still filling it's purpose, go on, and bike for 20 minutes.
the pace is fast, as I am eager to come out of the cold, even if I am going to work.
Work will start at 5.00 am, and I will be free to go at 1.30 pm.
During that period of time, I call people to tell them to pay their bills, sometimes to help them pay their bills.
I am a collection officer...

---

My wife has been, and still is away.
I got married recently, at the beginning of the year, with the most incredible person I ever met.
She had to go finish her studies in a far away country, and we will be together again in August.
She is a talented artist.
She, truly, is amazing.
I will never let her go.
She is a constant inspiration. She has the magic power to open doors. I just have to walk in, and it's all set for me.
She makes my life a magical place.
I miss her terribly, even though we speak daily.
But the day will soon come, when we will be living together again.
It gives me strength.
Strength I really need.

--

I have been really sick for the past 4 years.
I contacted a disease in my lungs and things have been from bad to worst until last summer, where things got at their worst.
But I got lucky and some medications helped me through the challenges.
When the spring arrived, I started to get asthma and allergies.
For the past month or so, I have been regularly sick, and it has affected many parts of my life.
From my relation with my employers, which by the way, have been wonderful, to the way I am able to deal with my children.
Last week, I had a bad crisis.
The doctor gave me some experimental drugs to try.
And I have not feel that good in a long time.
It is now day 4 of the medication, soon I'll get a clearer update on the situation, I have another doctor appointment this week.
I have a good feeling about my future now, and I try my best to stay positive.
Whatever this challenge is, for whatever reason I have to go through that, I will not give up.

--

I am fortunate enough to be playing music with a band I adore.
There is three of us. Linda, Nick and I. We call ourselves Spaceboys and the Sweet Things.
We play a kind of weird rock, but recently we have been trying our luck on some trip hop.
You can find all our recorded music here:
Spaceboys and the Sweet Things
Presently, we are recording two mini album at the same time.
One is called Skin, and is a collection of few trip hop songs.
The second one is called Rove, and is a mix of rock/folk songs.
We just came out of the studio with a new recording.
It's called Johnny's Thinking, and you can listen to it here:
Johnny's Thinking

© s. foglio - n. steal - 2010
lyrics: s. foglio
music: s. foglio - n. steal
guitars, vocals: s. foglio
guitars, piano: n. steal
keyboards: l. simone


--

By essence, I am an artist.
More specifically, I am an illustrator.
This is one of my piece which won an award in Victoria BC recently.
Lone Wolf and Cub 2075

I have been drawing for many decades, and I have developed a style that I can call mine, a style which requires a lots of patience, and a certain level of insanity.

But, I must admit, wether I like it or not, that I have been resisting trying some other styles, especially the digital medium called Photoshop.

Even though, I have used that software intensively in the past, I never draw with it.

And, as often, taking me out of my element is something that scares me, especially when it is an element I am very comfortable with, an element I built myself brick by brick.

But, everything happen when you allow it to. With the help of life and the support of my darling wife, I have started something I have resisted for a decade.

So far, it's pretty poor, as far as quality is concerned, but it is a lots of fun, and it holds a lots of promises.

here is two rough sketches I did of my wife.

I am going to try to do one drawing a day, regardless of the quality of it, until August.
By then, hopefully, I will have figure out how this works a little better.

Sincerely,

Serge