Update 12/17/17 (Patreon)

Hey all!

I am back from South Korea! Many of you have been asking about the trip, so here's a little recap:

LINE Webtoons invited me back in November to check out their headquarters at Naver Green Factory. There, I met a bunch of Webtoon employees. They're all very understanding and passionate about their jobs, and it was comforting to be able to finally be able to put some faces to the company as well. 

I also got to meet with the founder and CEO of the company! They gave me advice and congratulated me on how far unOrdinary has come, and it was such an honor! 

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Overall, Korea was wonderful! xD We got to dress up in Korean Hanbok, walk around Seoul, and tour one of the oldest palaces in the country! The food there is magnificent. Very soupy, very spicy (I am having trouble remembering their Korean names). The desserts were very beautiful as well! Apparently, it's part of Korean culture to eat cold foods in the cold and hot foods in the heat? So even though it was -2394293 degrees there, we were all still eating ice cream and parfaits... haha. I love to wear large, over-sized clothing... so I also had a ball shopping there!

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The highlight of my trip:

I went to visit the studio of Yongje Park, who is the creator for God of High School, which is a huge hit in Korea. It's a great read if you like Action/Fantasy. This man is probably one of the most hard-working, dedicated, yet modest, people I've ever met. He showed me his work station, and gave me tips on working efficiently. We had a little heart-to-heart about the goods/bads about being a Webtoon creator. And AND... he signed my Mori Jin figurine! It's currently sitting at my desk to give me encouragement for the second half of the season.

This meet-up was so inspiring, yet at the same time, frightening. At times, was difficult to listen to his story because of all the hardships he goes through. He mentioned that he rarely gets to visit his wife/family, and sleeps under his desk for up to 5 days a week, which I thought was a joke at first. When I asked about how he takes care of his wrists, he just passed me container of pain-killers and chuckled... ;-;

For 7 years, he has been working non-stop. I saw many overlaps between his work habits and mine, and it made my reevaluate a lot of things. I love writing unOrdinary, but that isn't how I want my life to be.

But overall, I think I know what I need to do to continue. Balancing  Webtoons, health, and life is going to be difficult. But there's definitely a way, and I'll find it!

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My goals during the mid-season break:

1. Find more assistants - Komikaki Studio in Malaysia has taken tremendous stress off my shoulders during Season 1, Part 1 through coloring flats. But it's no longer enough with how long the episodes have gotten. I want to find help with shading, and possibly hiring a few 3D artist for backgrounds in Part 2. If you are familiar with anyone who is a professional and interested in this kind of work, please shoot me a message! :D

2. Upgrade my tech - Right now, I'm working on a 3 year-old laptop with a 4 GB RAM, a Wacom Bamboo tablet, and an outdated version of Paint Tool SAI. Now that I have time, I'm looking to build a new computer with either 32 or 64 GB of RAM so that I can run more taxing programs and not have to deal with the everlasting lag. I'm also getting myself a copy of Photoshop ;;;;; 

3. Refresh and get healthy - I want to spend the next week getting my mind off writing/Webtoons in general. It's completely taken over my life, and I get anxious just thinking about not working or updating. I'm going to exercise more to strengthen my core and back. I've had Costochondritis for over two years now, and I think this month break will finally allow me some time to fully recover from it. This is random, but I might try to pick up skateboarding when it's warmer outside :D

4. Visit friends and family - I find the social aspect of this job quite lacking. Don't get me wrong! It's been wonderful speaking with all of you online and reading all your lovely comments, but that's still not the same as physical human interaction. Sometimes, I get lost in my own mind and it's worrisome. I live a few hours away from my family, so it was difficult to visit them while I was working. It'll be a good time to do that now :)

5. Catch up with Patreon rewards - This is pretty self-explanatory xD;;;; I really appreciate your patience!

As a side note, even though I won't be updating unOrdinary during December or January, I'll be sending out rewards as usual to those who continue to pledge!

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PHEW! My brain vomit has finally come to an end. Thank you for taking the time to read all of it! I'll be uploading and mailing Sept/Oct rewards soon! As always, thanks for your support! Happy Holidays!

Love, uru-chan <3