Memoirs Of A Geetchka

Ok, now I have found another cartoon in an old folder. Something I forgot all about. This is from when I was dating my husband. He was attending Parson's School of Design and living with his parents and grandma in an upstairs apartment in Brooklyn.

That apartment had tall wooden stairs at the entrance. I bought a slinky... George never had one growing up in the former Soviet Union. I had to show him how it would work on those stairs. It came alive on that perfect staircase.

His grandma likes to do errands pulling around a little cart for the groceries. She calls George "Geetchka," which in Russian is the cute way to say George, like "Georgey."

I never finished this. Maybe some of you would like to suggest an end to this story.
(click to enlarge)


Disclaimer: No grandmas were actually harmed in the making of this cartoon.

some cartoons from 1993

In 1993 I had this cartoon published in my college's newspaper. That was a year for some big hair situations. My roommate had the largest collection of big hair bows and ribbons I've ever seen. The funny thing is though, I drew this to make fun of other people, but looking back at my photo from then, MY hair was HUGE! (no bows for me, just huge hair)


I drew this cartoon but they didn't use it. Wrap-around skirts were a big thing. They looked like a rug wrapped around your waist.

my coolest roommates

One semester at college, about 1994, I had three roommates. After that one semester, they ALL left. Two dropped out, and one graduated and got married. I was informed I would be getting just two new roommates, and then at the last minute, no, I was getting THREE again. ARRRG. I was not happy.

Anyway, these three dreaded new roommates turned into the three GREATEST roommates I ever had in college. They were awesome! We need to have a roommate reunion.

Did You Know?

If you eat an M&M and a Skittle at the same time,
it tastes like rootbeer.






I dare you to try it!

Freaks and Geeks

I love this show! Freaks and Geeks ran for one measley season in 1999 on NBC. I searched the internet in disbelief that this masterpiece of television could be over. There I found a large gathering of people like myself, all petitioning to get this show on DVD.

from Amazon.com:
Over 35,000 fans have demanded it, and so it has come. That’s how many rabid "Freaks and Geeks" fans have signed a petition via the Internet to plead for its release on DVD. "Freaks and Geeks," the Emmy® award-winning series about the trials and tribulations of high school outsiders in 1980 Michigan is finally coming out on DVD in its original form, with all the original music. And believe us – clearing over 130 music cues from the likes of The Who, Billy Joel, Bob Seger and their peers was no easy task.
"Freaks and Geeks" ran for only one television season, but arguably remains the most sought-after series yet to be released on DVD. Just 18 episodes were made, but its legend has exploded over time. Cast members have gone on to stardom, articles have continued to be written, internet activity abounds. Shout! Factory celebrates this incredible television series with the passionate treatment it deserves.

This series was worth every penny. We watch it over and over. Check Amazon.com to see 206 reviews, all five star!!!!

one reason for a dog to see a therapist

When people say a dog is either "show quality" or "pet quality" I wonder how that must make the dog feel. My dog had a few homes before he came to enjoy his life of luxury here with us. The last person who owned him gave him to a breeder to sell him. She told us he's "only pet quality" because he's too big for a Pomeranian. We tell him all the time that he should be the standard for Poms because he is so beautiful.

This cartoon is available on some products at my Cafepress Shop. I know, I need to take down the Christmas stuff. That is on my to-do list.

sketches

If you have ever gone to the same church as me and sat anywhere in front of me you are probably in my sketchbook.

The top guy on the left was a special speaker. He looked like Mike Myers in the skit where he's a Chinese manager in a fortune cookie factory.

profound thought of the day

I saved this page from my "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff" calendar. I feel overwhelmed all the time by how long it takes me to finish things. "don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things." Matthew 6

A Doonka Haircut

Ok, some of you have been asking for more Russian expressions. This is a Russian word mixed with a uniquely George expression. George (my husband) will often say to me about someone's short haircut, "What's with that doonka haircut?" or, "She'd look a lot better without that little doonka haircut."

I tried to get him to explain what a "doonka" is. He could not quite explain it, except that it's some kind of a girl with a short little haircut. Maybe someone else who speaks Russian can help me out here... Sarah? Melody?

Regardless, I think it sounds very funny.

I thought this would be a good example of doonka hair... me in fourth grade...












George says no, that is not quite it, but this photo of another kid in my fourth grade class, now he is a PERFECT example.

here is my refrigerator

By Susie's request, here is the inside of my refrigerator. On the left is the freezer. This is the most idiotic design for a freezer I have ever had to live with. It is way too skinny. You cannot fit a frozen pizza in there. The shelves do not adjust in any reasonable manner so I took one out and now everything sits in a pile in there. We inherited this refrigerator/freezer from the previous owners of our house.

I was delighted that those Friendly's holiday ice cream logs were on sale, 2 for $5. Now they are getting old and gross.


Notice the giant bottle of sake in the door. I used two tablespoons of that in a Japanese recipe. I need to find some more recipes that use sake because I'm not interested in drinking it. The best tasting and easiest recipe for teriyaki sauce is made with mirin (sweetened sake). 2 parts mirin, 2 parts soy sauce and 1 part sugar. Mix it all together over low heat so the sugar dissolves. Marinate some chicken or salmon in it. Keep some leftover for dipping. It is delicious. This "Sushi Chef" mirin has that recipe on the label.

My husband insists that I have to try this Vegenaise because it's just so delicious. I will take his word for it.









One more thing that makes my refrigerator unique... there are always anchovies. Anytime we're eating leftovers for dinner, George is content as long as he has his anchovies. I know you're all thinking, "YUM!"

poop of the earth

My husband's first language is Russian. He often refers to Russian expressions that are similar to American ones. For example, instead of saying, "You think the world revolves around you," they would say, "You think you're the belly button of the earth." The Russian word for belly button is pronounced "poop." We will joke sometimes about somebody thinking they are the poop of the earth. Our dog thinks he is the poop of the earth.

Another one I think is funny is instead of "when pigs fly," they'd say, "when a lobster whistles on the top of a mountain."

We're Not Candy

Does anyone else remember this public service announcement from the 80's?

"We're not candy, even though we look so fine and dandy. When you're sick we come in handy, but... we're not candy! Ohhhh no!"

I was looking for a video clip of it but all I found was this picture.

Caricature Videos

After watching these Caricature instructional videos by
Jim Van Der Keyl my caricaturing abilities improved quite a bit.



I drew these sketches while watching speeches during the Bush vs. Gore election. (That's why their mouths are all open.)































I don't think I could ever feel confident enough to draw caricatures at an amusement park or some other public place. I'd be pretty intimidated getting paid to insult the appearances of total strangers.

Childhood Myths

I drew this some years ago... click on it to see the details... the kid is trying to pull tape off of his ears and his hair is getting stuck in the tape.

tagged by seeker--here is my list

2 names you go by: Jenn, Jenn1 (I worked with another Jenn and they called her Jenn2 because I worked there first).

2 parts of your heritage: Swedish, English

2 things that scare you: flying (but I'll do it anyway), spiders that run very fast

2 of your everyday essentials: checking email, a caffeine source (usually green tea)

2 things you are wearing right now: very comfortable GAP jeans, orange fleece LL Bean thing

2 of your favorite hobbies: selling things on Ebay, reading through my huge pile of books (I keep on buying more books even though I haven't finished the ones I've got)



2 things you want really badly: I want to learn flash animation and web design and then set up an awesome site with free ecards that are absolutely hilarious

2 places you want to go on vacation: Egypt, Israel

2 ways that you are stereotypically a chick: I get my eyebrows waxed, I usually have my hair in a scrunchy and then I leave the scrunchies all over the house which drives my husband crazy.

2 things you are thinking about now: my new year's resolution to start organizing all my resolutions, all the other things I should be doing right now

2 stores you shop at: Wegmans, Half.com

2 personality quirks: I only really enjoy coffee between the hours of 1-4PM, and then only at a nice coffee shop, not at home; I hate shopping for clothes.

2 favorite items in the house: George, Skippy

2 stores I wish we had: Guido's Fresh Marketplace, Great Barrington Bagel Company

2 things I wish I could do different: read faster, be a better listener

2 things I do very badly: sing, play any instrument

2 hidden talents: creating sound effects impossible to describe in writing, knowing all the words to the hymns in church

2 truths: There is a God; We are not here by chance

2 things you want to do before you die: know I've made a difference in someone's life, know my life mattered for the right reasons

Keeshond Cartoon

I drew this cartoon after watching my parents' Keeshond, Misty, racing through the livingroom.
This is available on some products at my Keeshond Shop.

This is Misty smiling.

Cat Cartoon

I sold this cartoon as a greeting card to Allport Editions. It is also available on some products at EpicRun.com. (click to view larger)

wool cartoon

I haven't sold this cartoon but I still like it even if no one else does.

Sculpey Max

One night while watching TV I made Max and this dog out of Sculpey.
This was before I knew how to properly waste time... before I had a blog.

The Moods of Max

I created this little guy as an exercise in drawing one character with different moods. I call him Max. I think he'd be a good greeting card character.

quote of the day

"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them."

--Mark Twain

Gyllenhaal Twin

I think that Jake Gyllenhaal looks a lot like this girl who played on Little House on the Prairie. Anyone agree?

another doodle

I have no idea what I was thinking when I drew this. Maybe somebody should add a caption to it.

quote of the day

"Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean you're not being followed."

--Schwartz's Observation

another doodle

I was on the phone when I doodled this guy on a small scrap of paper.

Tom Cruise is a hair stylist now, and not a very good one.

I had a crazy dream last night that I was at some party and Tom Cruise was there. He said he wanted to do something different with my hair. He took a pair of scissors, and quickly made a cut on either side. He said, "now that looks NICE!" I looked in the mirror and now I had a major mullet. After letting him know that I did not think it looked nice, I showed it to my husband, and we came to the conclusion that I should just cut it all short.

This dream comes after me looking at how long my hair has become and wondering if I ought to just get it cut a lot shorter.
I have no idea how Tom Cruise came into the picture though. I have zero interest in Tom Cruise, in anything that he does or says.

After another particularly strange dream I visited a web site that talked about all kinds of dreams, and listed most common dreams. I was amazed that some of my weird dreams are common. Like one where you lose your teeth, I did not know that other people had that dream. I thought I was the only crazy one.

Engrish.com

I love this site. Engrish.com features hilarious English translations, mainly from Japan, but also from all over the world.





(click to enlarge)

Shopping Cart Regulations

I drew this cartoon some years ago. I tried to sell it as a greeting card, but I think it became too small shrunk down to 5 X 7 inches. I think it would be better as a poster. (click to enlarge)

Art By Chucky

My brother thinks he is not an artist,
but I'd have to disagree...
He drew this in 1989. ( I guess he was about 9 years old).
I'm not sure how he came up with this funny drawing.
Click on it to enlarge it and see all its fine artistic detail :)

(I found this in one of my old notebooks).

a chicken for the judge

This sketch is from my job as a "companion" for a very paranoid elderly woman with an EXTREME short-term memory problem. This was in an upscale apartment for older people. If she went out into the hallway alone to check her mailbox, she'd come back in and say "Hey! Who are you and how did you get in here!?!" Every day she boiled two pieces of chicken, one for herself, and one for her late husband, who was a judge. She always referred to him as the judge. I was informed to tell her, "I'm sorry, but the judge passed away 11 years ago." I would not say anything if my boss had not told me that's what I'm supposed to say, but after hearing over and over about the judge coming home tonight, I finally said, "I'm sorry but the judge passed away 11 years ago." To which she responded, "He didn't 'PASS AWAY', he DIED!!!" And then, "I just HATE it when people say PASS AWAY-- it makes me think of passing GAS!"

My favorite quotes from her were:

On the phone with a telemarketer: "What? What credit card? How can I buy it when I've never seen it? What color is it? I'll have to talk to the judge about this!"

"See this hairbrush, how it's all full of tons of hair, know why I keep it this way? So nobody tries to use it, that 's why!"

"EVERY day I eat my honey, yes, I remember the day, many years ago, that I forgot to eat my honey, boy was I sick that day!"

"A person could go crazy in this place!"

Yes, I know it's a very sad situation, very sad for the family, but I have to say this was one of my worst jobs ever. I watched every minute of the clock slowly tick by for hours. How about my new blogging friends out there... what were some of your worst jobs ever?
I drew this sketch while she was cooking two pieces of chicken.
She was a very tall woman.

quote of the day

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to
remain an artist after he grows up."

--Picasso

let's eat out

My first real illustration job was for the Shopper's Guide in Great Barrington, Mass. They needed an artist to re-do their headings. I didn't have a portfolio of published stuff, so I just put together a nice 8 1/2" x 11'' book full of interesting drawings I've done and dropped it off at their office. Most of the drawings were cartoons I'd sent to magazines (all of them rejected).

There are 10 sections, plus some seasonal sections like Thanksgiving and weddings. This was the original design for the restaurants section. (click on them to enlarge)

This is the new "let's eat out."

I thought it would be nice to give the three bears a home here on my blog since they have been forever discontinued.