Trudging Through the Slough
I’m still in the midst of a depressive episode. I’m forcing myself to do… anything… and everything I can. The activity is supposed to help but I’m not sure whether it really is or not. I try to do as many physical activities as I can as everyone says that exercise helps with depression. Mostly, I’ve been cleaning around the house as my exercise. Seems like the most practical thing to do. I’m also trying to work on mods for Simularity but I’m having many difficulties. I started a new medication several days ago in the hopes it would help get me out of this depression but I’m still in the “two weeks of hell” phase where my brain chemicals are trying to balance with the new medicinal chemicals. A few more days and I’ll be past the two-week mark and will most likely be able to tell if this is going to work or not. So, between the depression and the new medication for it, I’m quite messed up at the moment and unable to code any mods right now. I tried and ended up breaking more than fixing so I decided to take a break from it until I am recovered.
I don’t think I mentioned this before, but I made a huge change to improve my overall health: I stopped drinking Coca-Cola. I had a severe soda habit and would drink about four to five bottles a day. (I started drinking Coke when I was a toddler. My grandmother put Coke in my bottle when she ran out of milk while she was babysitting me. I was hooked.) That Coke habit destroyed my teeth and increased my weight. Well, I have kicked the habit! Well, mostly. I still have cravings for a Coke every now and then, but I have so far resisted that urge. Anyone who says you can’t get addicted to soda is an ignorant idiot. I had a true addiction to it. It’s not been easy to give it up, but I’m managing. Unfortunately, I waited a little too long to give up my excessive soda drinking because, as I mentioned earlier, the soda destroyed my teeth. I right now have a horrible tooth ache. The dentists that take my insurance are incredibly difficult to get an appointment with so there’s no telling how long I will be stuck with this intense pain.
I have been pushing myself to work on a few art projects in the hopes that it helps with my depression. I’m in the midst of creating a brand-new website for Dream 9 Art to be released for 2026. You see, 2026 will be the 20th anniversary of Dream 9 Art (I know, twenty years, it’s crazy to think about). I usually refresh the look of the website once per year, but the layouts and theme often stay the same or change very little. Every website I’ve created for D9A has been based on a black background with white text. Well, not for 2026! I created something a bit lighter and brighter then redesigned each and every page and post to streamline them and make them more concise.. Oh, I also created a new version of my logo for 2026. I’ll migrate the new site to the dream9.art domain sometime in December.
I have also been pushing myself to create new artworks. I have managed to create quite a few. The first several artworks I created were for my Star Saga project which is creating Star Wars fan art. I then got the urge to create some original artworks, including this one which broke my heart to create: No More Fishing Trips. So far, I’ve created three original artworks, but I plan on creating more before going back to my Star Saga project. At this moment, I am working on a new artwork which I’m calling “Octopus Garden” which was inspired by the Beatles song.
That’s all for now. I need to get back to rendering that new artwork. Hopefully I will remember to write entries here more often. A girl can dream, right?
