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StangWolf

The Mustang Lovin' Wolf
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Hi y'all!

I realized the other day it's been a little over a month since I last checked in, back just before I moved. So time for another update! Hopefully these aren't a nuisance to y'all, I just feel better communicating at least something when I can.

So good news is I'm moved! My furry and scalie babes and all of my stuff made it safe with me, I got my old apartment squared away and even got 90% of my deposit back so that helped a ton!

The Mustang and the Honda made it over safe, I have my own washer and dryer now, and my new apartment is about 90% unpacked. I'm going to actually get most of the remainder done this weekend since I wasn't able to get my desk like I'd hoped just yet. I need to get my scanner set up so I can finish commissions and I don't want to put that off any longer. So temporary station will be settled this weekend!

The desk I'll hopefully be ordering on the 17th of this month and then on the weekend of the 24th my dad will come over to help me finish putting up shelves. After that I'll be good to go for now! I'm setting a goal for myself to have my apartment fully settled by around August/September this year, because a few things like curtains, a living room tv and frames for my art and posters will likely have to wait until then. 

Part of the reason I once again find myself running up against a just breaking even situation is my poor truck decided it really wanted my attention a couple weeks ago. Thankfully not as big as it could have been but ouch I was hoping to have at least a LITTLE more cushion to make it through to August when I should be in a more comfortable position once again (Finally!).

So word to the wise, don't pull the door handle off your vehicle! It's more expensive than you'd think unless you are a knowledgable mechanic and can fix it yourself, of which I am sadly not. The door handle itself isn't too crazy expensive, seemed to be between $50-$80 for the one on my truck. No, it was the time and labor to install it that got me. That was a $206 expense that was unexpected. 

After that I knew I was getting 4 new tires and an alignment for it, so I'd budgetted for that even if dropping just over $700 was still ouch. It needed to be done and those tires lasted me 6 years so really that much every 6 years or so isn't bad. So tires were all set, I stopped to grab a quick bite to eat on my home since I needed to pack to go stay and watch my dad and step-mom's dogs the next evening and it was already late. 

Well when I went to leave the truck wouldn't crank...

A super nice gentleman assisted in jumping the truck off and I just drove straight over to AutoZone to have them test the battery (really suspected that was the issue but you never know). The AutoZone guy scared me even more when he mentioned there was zero charge and yes that could be the battery but it could also be the alternator too. The truck warranty is expired so that would have hurt bad if it'd been the alternator. Through all the bad luck that week someone was looking out for me because a new battery seems to have solved that issue, even if another $182 down hurt even more.

So yes, the truck will be 6 years old at the end of this month and tires and batteries generally only really last maybe that long. So they were needed, they just needed to be replaced at a really inconvienent time! At the very least I'm glad I'd just received my tax refund so I could afford those things on my own, but ouch!

Automotive adventures aside, last week I stayed with my dad and step-mom's pups for most of the week while they were out of town, and then I took last weekend to myself to just do whatever and recoup.

Now I'm chugging through another busy work week and trying to get my game plan together for this weekend so I can get as much done as possible. I'm going to work to get my current two commissions' sketches finalized this weekend that way I can move on to inks next weekend and then color soon after!

I'll be visiting my sister at the very end of this month to have a girl's weekend with her and two of her co-workers (we've been playing WoW together lately, forgot how much fun it is to level in a group lol). After that I'll be looking to settle in and open for fresh commissions to be completed in my old turnaround time!

In the meantime I truly do appreicate everyone's patience while I work through getting myself fully settled into my new home and get myself a stable routine established. 

I hope y'all are doing well and having a good week so far, I hope work and/or school or whatever you do each day is treating you well and you're looking down the slide toward a relaxing, fun weekend!

Until next time!
~Stang
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Yep, popping in real quick with a brief status update. My move is finally happening this week, so I'm currently buried in boxes!

It's why I've been silent since the start of the year, just busy getting things in order. Ready to be at my new place now and start the grand reorganization of my stuff.

Tomorrow I've got a few hours of work to knock out before I head home to finish packing. Thursday is the busiest day moving the bulk of my things to the new apartment. Friday I'll be waiting on the AT&T tech to set up my new internet before I head back to my current apartment to clean it up as best I can, then I'll go turn in my cable boxes and remotes. Saturday I'm meeting up with my dad and step-mom one last time to collect the Mustang, the Honda Foreman, turn in keys before we head to their house to pick up their old washer & dryer which will be mine as of Saturday. Once we get those last few things over to my new home I'll officially be moved. At that point I'll start the process of going through each box and putting my things up. I imagine that will take a large chunk of February to get done, but I can at least take my time with that.

Sunday I may just need to sleep for a bit after all this craziness, but we'll see!

Within the next weekend or two I'm going to wiggle in some work on my current commissions, after those two are set I'm going to get myself fully settled in before I add anything else to my load. Honestly I'm starting to feel a bit of itch to create, and I'm really hopeful having a brand new, clean, organized space will only fuel that desire even more. I feel like it will, I get excited thinking about it!

With all that said, hang tight y'all, I might be a bit silent for a little longer while I get everything sorted and settled. After that I'll be ready to take on 2018 for real!

I hope y'all are doing well, I'll be talking to ya again soon!
~Stang
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Being in Texas it's still 2017 for me, for a little more than 5 hours or so now. However, I know 2018 is already here for some of you and it'll be here soon for the rest of us, so Happy New Year to every one of you!

Thank you all for your continued support of my art and just me in general. You've all brightened the end of 2017 for me.

This year started off super promising, I was on my way by the end of the year to be where I was making more than needed to be spent. I was going to be in a place to where I could save and pay my truck off nearly a year earlier than it will currently be paid off. Unfortunately, things change and that just wasn't in the plan.

Finding myself without a job in the middle of the year was scary, I was thankful to find something new so quickly, but even then it wasn't enough to save me from finding myself in a bind at the end of the year.

I've got family that's going through some really crappy stuff too, one member in particular I just hurt for her because she literally cannot seem to catch a break at all. I'm hopeful 2018 will bring a turnaround on events for her most of all.

I know this year has been rough for quite a few of us, myself included, but I'm hopeful that 2018 will be brighter for us all! It's starting off kind rough on my end, but hell like I said 2017 started off bright and has ended not so much, so anything can happen. I'm hopeful and positive this next year will be better.

Either way though I'm setting some goals for myself, a lot of them include drawing more and working on some stuff I've just been setting aside as "soon". So I'm just going to bite the bullet and go for it, see what I can do!

Anyway, I do truly hope you're all having a wonderful New Years Eve. Stay safe out there, stay warm (if you're someplace where it's cold), be with people you trust and care about that care about you too, don't drink and drive (I love y'all, call an Uber/Lyft/Trusted DD Friend), and have a magnificent start to 2018!

I'm off to go get settled to bring in 2018 the same way we brought in 2017, playing Overwatch! I'm hoping to have at least one friend and my sister join me soon, but either way I'm going to go kick back, relax and maybe make some new friends, who knows!

Until next year! <3
~Stang
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Thank you!

2 min read
First, before I say anything else...THANK YOU!!!

Y'all just completely blew my mind the last couple days and quite honestly, made me cry, but in a good way.

Thanks to those of you who were able to spare something extra, and those of you who signal boosted/retweeted my situation and info, I'll be able to make the jump over this last hurdle before I'm finally able to get resettled and stable again.

I cannot even properly express how much gratitude I feel toward y'all right now. Words don't and just won't ever do it justice.

I went from nearly breaking down at work on Wednesday morning thinking about the situation I was in, to sitting on my couch a couple times since posting that last journal and just silently stared at how kind and generous some of y'all are. I did break down then, but in the best way.

I've never been in this tight of a situation before, and it was pretty scary to realize I wasn't going to be able to pull the ends together just enough to make it. I wouldn't have been able to do that with y'all and my family.

Truly I am very blessed to have all of you wonderful people in my life, whether we talk a lot or just greet each other in passing through comments, etc. online. You're all wonderfully beautiful people. Thank you!

It won't be quick, but really I'm going to think up some way to thank each of you who stepped in to help. I really want to do something to at least try and give something back for your generosity, kindness and support.

I hope each of you has a very Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year after! Bless each and every one of you, I hope good stuff comes to each of you!

Love y'all! <3
~Stang
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Help Needed

4 min read
Hi y'all,

So I am in need of help, I'm about to reach the end of my rope and any support at all would be greatly appreciated.

I'm running up against a financial hurdle I'm not entirely sure I'm going to be able to jump, and my family has been helping where they can but they're reaching their limit.

If you've kept track of my last few journals you'll know I was let go from my previous employer as part of a round of lay offs, I received severance for a few weeks, and managed to find a new job right as that ran out.

Unfortunately, the location of the job has me driving nearly 100 miles per day which is costing more in gas the past few months than I've paid in years. My benefits are also more costly at this job than where I was prior, so despite making the same hourly rate I'm taking home less.

I will be moving much closer on January 25th, so I won't be driving so far every day much longer. My new apartment is only 8 miles/15-20 minutes away depending on traffic. This is the same distance my previous job was from home, so it'll be back to manageable driving distance.

However, the move means I've got moving costs and final apartment fees that will be due upon move-in. This is half the reason my family is hitting their limit on being able to help.

The other half is the repairs the Mustang needed. My dad did willingly covered the bill for that, but it was a little over $1500 and I'll be working to pay him back for that once I get moved. It needed the battery cables, master cylinder and fuel pump replaced. At least the good news there is it runs again.

So needless to say things are getting tight at the moment. I had some in my savings but that's already been exhausted as well trying to mitigate my need for help.

I would also open for commissions if I could responsibly do so. As it stands right now I'm working on my last 2 for the moment, but I really can't take on any more until I get moved because I won't be able to guarantee any work on them until February and after. Plus I literally only need help to make ends meet in the next 30-35 days, and spending money you've not earned yet is a massively bad idea. I don't want to betray anyone's trust that way.

Commission will open again as soon as possible once I'm moved, but given the holidays coming up and then packing to move, I've really run out of time to put much work into anything besides the 2 I currently have.

So all that being said, if y'all can spare anything it truly would be immensly helpful.

I'm going to link both my PayPal.Me and my Ko-Fi for any of you that maybe could spare even a little bit, literally at this point any little bit will help.

PayPal.Me: www.paypal.me/StangWolf
Ko-Fi: ko-fi.com/A8313CQ1

I cannot guarantee I'll be able to give anything back, certainly not quickly, BUT I'm going to try and keep track of everyone who might offer something and once I'm moved and settled again see about at least a small little doodle or something for y'all as thank you. Again I can't guarantee I'll have the capacity to do that, but it is something I'd like to do if I'm able. I need some practice working on digital stuff anyway!

If you can't offer anything a signal boost would be lovely.

I don't like asking this, I'm doing what I can to make ends meet, it's just all catching up to me at the moment. I'm not even joking when I say once I get moved, it'll even out. It's just all these costs that will be due in the next month hitting at once that's killing me.

Thank y'all for reading at the very very least. I do appreciate your time and for taking a moment to hear me out.

Appreciate y'all very much! <3
~Stang
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Featured

Nearly Settled In! by StangWolf, journal

Moving this Week! by StangWolf, journal

Happy New Year Y'all! by StangWolf, journal

Thank you! by StangWolf, journal

Help Needed by StangWolf, journal