A little over a week ago I posted five of my Screaming Animal illos, which were inspired by a little Twitter meme a cartoonist started. Well, turns out drawing screaming animals is addicting! So here are five more!

Clumsy is the perfect word to describe my husband and my adventure out onto the ice today. (how’s that for a grammatically weird sentence?) Maybe it wasn’t that bad, but how would we know? We know nothing about walking on ice. We did it once 4 years ago, the last time the waters around Stockholm froze. It was snow covered and there were plenty of other people walking. Then we did it for a second time last week. Once again, it was snow covered and there were others on the ice. So we planned it again for this week. The plan was a long walk on the ice, as long as we could go, and come back.

Well…

Let me just preface this with a couple of thing: One, It has been below freezing here for more than a month. The ice is probably a couple of decimeters thick, which is more than recommended when you’re going to walk on it. Two, there were people on the ice already, but most were cross country skiers.

We were on the ice for a few minutes when we started to hear some light cracking. We paused and looked at each other. Daniel figured it was safe. I wasn’t so sure. I asked him if he was nervous, he said yes and we quickly made our way back to shore. We stood there, on the dock, for about 5 minutes while we watched a couple walk right past us and continue on. So we figured we were being silly. The ice is THICK and has been for a while. So back on the ice we went. We were calmer and walked for a a little while. We went about 10 minutes, taking pictures and filming along the way when we started hearing the cracking again. We paused and decided it was time to go back. So we walked back, slightly nervous but pretty confident anyway. To be safe, we didn’t walk right next to each other to avoid putting too much weight on any one spot.

About halfway back Daniel stopped for a second to turn around and say something to me, and right at that moment, right below out feet, we heard a big CRACK, and we both swear we felt the ice start to buckle below us. Maybe it didn’t move. Maybe it was our imagination. But it was loud enough to scare the bejeezus out of us. I ran off to the side, around where we were, and hurried on. The last few minutes of trying to get to the shore felt like hours. But we made it there safe & dry. I was shaking, so we decided to take a nice long walk along the walking paths there to calm ourselves.

Who knows, really? We don’t know anything about walking on ice, so maybe it was safer than we thought, and it’s supposed to make those noises. But we weren’t going to take any more chances than we did. Especially since we didn’t have those ice pick thingies you’re supposed to have to help drag you out of the water if you fall through.

Goodness, I get sick to my stomach just thinking about it!

But I can promise you that we won’t ever be that clumsy again!

It all started on Twitter.

I have a twitter account, which you can find right here, and just a few days ago one of the people I follow changed their avatar to a screaming bunny and posted about it with the trending topic #screamingrabbitavatar. I was instantly intrigued when I saw others were following suit. I wanted in. So I drew my own Screaming bunny and put it up.

When some friends saw it they started to suggest some other screaming animals for fun which started my obsession. I had to draw more and more screaming animals!

Why are they screaming? Why not? It’s just too much fun! And I can’t promise that I’ll stop here. I’m sure I’ll come up with more of them soon!

Right. Um. Hi! Yeah… You know I’m busy with my comic, so I shouldn’t have to write anything more about why my last post was in August.

But, gosh, 2009 was a crazy year. Most of it was pretty awesome. Went to fifteen concerts, got kissed by a rock star, went to and had my own table at my first comic-con, put out a bunch of merchandise, did a pretty damn good job with my comic all year long, met a comic idol of mine, met and shook hands with Jack White, finally got a telescope (!!!!), spent 3 weeks in the US where I saw my mom for the first time in 2 years, and did a road trip to the Rock’n'Roll Hall of Fame and Amish country (hey… it was pretty cool). I’m sure there’s more if I think about it, but I can’t right now. But reading all of that back to myself makes me realize how kickass 2009 really was.

So what’s in store for 2010? I guess we’ll see I don’t like to plan too much. I like to just see where things go. I have 4 concerts booked already for the year (plus a spoken word show with Henry Rollins! woo!). I have to see my mom again at some point. She’ll be 70 this year (even though she looks about 20 years younger and is as active as someone 30 years younger)! I do plan on doing the SPX (comic con) again at the end of April.

Oh yeah. And at some point this year I’m going to turn 30. But I’m trying not to think about that too much.

So, bring it on twenty-ten! (that’s fun to say!)

I’m not sure if any kisses from rock stars will be in the schedule for 2010, but who knows, right?

I love Facebook. I really do. It’s helped me get back in touch with people in a way I never would have been able to before - especially considering I live thousands of miles away from most of them. I’m so thankful I’m able to have the contact through facebook that I do with my sisters and my niece. It allows me to keep track of their lives, filling that hole in my heart that comes with living so far from those you love.

But it’s also gotten me back in touch with some old high school friends who are so worth keeping in touch with. One being my friend, Diba. We’ve been friends since middle school. I think, however, that we got closer AFTER high school ended. And then, of course, I had to pick up and move to Sweden. Bah! Shame, because she’s the type of person you want to have as a friend forever. But, anyway, I’m back in touch with her on FB, which is so great! She’ll be visiting me though (as soon as I give her the go ahead), and that’s going to be AWESOME. I can’t wait to see her! And she just recently asked me to draw a cartoon version of her. So I used my time this evening to do just that, which you can see above.

Fortunately, she loves it! Which is a huge relief. I always get nervous when I’m going to draw likenesses of people. Usually, though, it tends to work out.

Ever since my friend, MissE, posted about all the concerts she’s been to in her life so far, I’ve wanted to do the same thing. Of course, I was far too lazy to count them all up, and instead let my husband do it when he wrote them up for his site. Since we got together when I was 17, I’ve been to the majority of the concerts with him. Before him I only had a few in the bag. Well, I was a just a high school student spending all my babysitting money on CDs. I didn’t have much left for concerts.

Anyway, he got his list together, so from that I was able to get mine. I was very surprised to find out that my grand total comes to ONLY 64. That’s it? I’ve been going to concerts since I was 14, which is one of my favorite things to do, and I only have 64 under my belt? I feel shamed. Well, I have plenty of time for make up for that

So here’s the list. In as chronological an order as possible. The only concert I’m skipping over is Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton which my parents went to (and took me along - I was 7) in 1988. I’m going to put a link to this list in my sidebar menu and update it with more concerts as time goes on. And I’ll even put a concert count that I’ll update as well.

Oh, and also, this does NOT include opening acts. Maybe I’ll add those in another time!

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Current concert count: 73

1994:
Aerosmith - Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ, USA
(I also met the whole band that night by sneaking in backstage.)

1996:
Rod Stewart - Madinson Square Garden, NYC, NY
(My cousin who played in Aerosmith was playing for Rod Stewart at this time so he got my family in and backstage here)
Alanis Morisette - Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ

1997:
Aerosmith - Garden State Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
(Got backstage again. Joe came up and said hello to me but I was too much in shock to open my mouth. Afterward I had a someone extensive conversation with Steven Tyler which I don’t remember at all)
Metallica - Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ

1999:
The Black Crowes - Beacon Theater, NYC, NY, USA
Robbie Williams - Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC, NY, USA
Marc Anthony - Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC, NY, USA *
Aerosmith - Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
Jewel - PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, USA
Alanis Morissette & Tori Amos - PNC Bank, Holmdel, NJ, USA
Ricky Martin - Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ *
Meat Loaf - Prudential Hall, Newark, NJ, USA

* As a Puerto Rican, with a big & proud Puerto Rican family, it is necessary that we support our fellow ‘Ricans. It’s a Boriqua thing.

2000:
Bon Jovi - The Today Show, Rockerfeller Center, NYC, NY
Bon Jovi - Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden

2001:
Aerosmith - PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, USA
Bon Jovi - Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ, USA
Aerosmith - Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ, USA
Aerosmith - Madison Square Garden, NYC, NY, USA
Aerosmith - Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ, USA

2002:
Def Leppard - Irving Plaza, NYC, NY, USA
Aerosmith & Kid Rock - PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, USA
Sammy Hagar - Irving Plaza, NYC, NY, USA
Aerosmith & Kid Rock - Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ, USA
Guns n’ Roses - Madison Square Garden, NYC, NY, USA
Aerosmith - First Union Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA

2003:
Bon Jovi - Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ, USA
The White Stripes - Cirkus, Stockholm, Sweden
(I was on crutches after having sprained my ankle. Go me!)
Robbie Williams - Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden

2004:
The Darkness - Arenan, Stockholm, Sweden
Velvet Revolver - Annexet, Stockholm, Sweden
Gyllene Tider - Jogersö, Oxelösund, Sweden
Europe, Hovet - Stockholm, Sweden

2005:
Christian Walz - Mondo, Stockholm, Sweden
3 Doors Down - Annexet, Stockholm, Sweden
Audioslave - Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden
Lenny Kravitz - Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden

2006:
Foo Fighters - Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden
The Darkness - Annexet, Stockholm, Sweden
Live - Arenan, Stockholm, Sweden
Guns n’ Roses - Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
Europe - Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden
Keane - Annexet, Stockholm, Sweden
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden

2007:
Live - Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, USA
Aerosmith - Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland
Chris Cornell - Annexet, Stockholm, Sweden

2008:
Henry Rollins (spoken word show), Rival, Stockholm, Sweden
Veronica Maggio - Debaser Medis, Stockholm, Sweden
Kiss - Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden
Lenny Kravitz - Sofiero Slott, Helsingborg, Sweden
Kylie Minogue - Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
Bruce Springsteen - Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden
Coldplay - Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
Keane - Annexet, Stockholm, Sweden
Kid Rock - Hammersmith Apollo, London, UK

2009:
The Script - Nalen, Stockholm, Sweden
Franz Ferdinand - Cirkus, Stockholm, Sweden
Kings of Leon - TWC Amphitheater, Cleveland, OH, USA
Bruce Springsteen - Stockholm Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden
Bruce Springsteen - Stockholm Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden
Bruce Springsteen - Stockholm Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden
Chickenfoot - Rockweekend, Kilafors, Sweden
(The infamous concert where I was KISSED by Chad Smith!!)
U2 - Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden
U2 - Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden
Madonna - Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden
Coldplay - Stockholm Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden
MGMT - Popaganda, Stockholm, Sweden
Mr. Big - Berns, Stockholm
Mika - Berns, Stockholm, Sweden
Muse - Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden
The Dead Weather - Kägelbanan, Stockholm, Sweden

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The red concerts are in my TOP 10 favorite!

After going through this I’ve noticed a few things:

1) A LOT of Aerosmith concerts. Not surprising of course, considering they are what started me out with everything, and have been a huge influence in my life.

2) I’ve seen Europe twice, apparently. One of those shows I have absolutely no recollection of. The other - just barely. I don’t really care for them

3) Van Halen is not on this list. I had a chance to see them while in high school and I BLEW IT. And it was Van Hagar. And I am a huge Hagar fan (and I was back then too), so this makes me sad to think about.

I still have 5 concerts left to go to this year! U2 (twice), Madonna, Coldplay and Muse. Not sure if anything else will pop up. But you never know!

While we were at Rockweekend we found a little island of hay, away from all the mud, to stand on while we watched a few bands play from afar. Sharing that little island was a father and daughter. The little girl must have been around 6 years old, and she was just the cutest thing ever. Completely decked out in metal gear, dancing around in the mud to the music, and throwing devil horns at people and photographers. She was just too adorable to NOT draw. So there she is… the little Rockweekend Girl.

Start them young, I say!!