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Ketsa

Life Updates!   ...again!

by
Hey all!

As the many of you have likely noticed, I've lumbered out from hibernation. A good deal of stuff has happened over the last few years, and I figure I'd be both good and healthy to go over a summary of it.

Let's crack that nutshell!

First of all, I did get a divorce after nearly 7 years of marriage. It was something mutually agreed upon, and likely a long time coming in advance. However, the year or two prior to this were a real emotional roller coaster, and that caused a massive drain on my will to draw, among other things. In the end, though, I am okay with this and have proceeded forward with my life. I also adopted a cat from my local animal shelter, and she's an absolute joy!

And then the pandemic hit!

I'm sure I don't need to go into details, since I imagine the most are you are familiar with this already! I was and am fortunate enough to work a job that is easily transitioned to a work-from-home setting, so the whole lock-down thing has had little impact on me directly. In fact, if anything, staying home with my cat has been great! The whole ordeal has brought to light something I already knew, but hadn't really quantified yet:

I am very much an introvert!

This doesn't mean I dislike talking with people or hanging out with others. Quite the opposite! As those of you who have met with me at conventions or watch my Twitch know, I feel very comfortable and enjoy talking with groups. Although it does get really exhausting for me. But it's all good - hell, my dad does hundred mile bike races for fun! It's exhausting for him too, but still enjoyable. In both cases, after a good set of exertion, one just needs a good length of rest. However...

One-on-one conversations are difficult for me!

But again, this isn't to say it's something I dislike, but it's the sort of thing that gets really overwhelming for me really easily. And when things get overwhelming, that drives my anxiety. And when my anxiety builds up, I just want to hide away. In the case of my participation on this site, my PM numbers were growing in size, and just logging into the site was starting to push me towards a panic!

This is in no way a scold or a disrespect to those who have sent me PMs!

I do appreciate being thought of on both an artistic and personal level, but it was getting a bit too much for me to mentally handle. That said, I'd like to keep private messages limited to close friends. Hopefully this doesn't come across as a sort of exclusivity thing - it's just that the thought of answering all those private messages makes me super duper tense. But again with my comfort in group talking, I still enjoy replying to each comment I get on pictures... at least for a little while after posting it!

Thank you all for reading this!

I look forward to drawing more cub nudes for you to enjoy~

I'm not sure when I'll be doing commissions again, but I'll announce it via journal if that happens. That's the best/only way to get in on them!
Viewed: 217 times
Added: 1 year, 9 months ago
 
fluffdance
1 year, 9 months ago
Miss ya, Kets'.  Glad to hear you're holding up alright!
Ketsa
1 year, 9 months ago
Likewise! I'm glad to see you around!
ShiroKiba
1 year, 9 months ago
As one who lurks in the background most of the time, do what ya gotta do to feel comfortable. Regardless of anything else, it's good to see you back around, and good to see sketches happening again.

Looking forward to seeing more of you characters doing what they do, and of course to more game streams, when I have time to drop in and watch. For now, give Bimani(hoping I'm spelling that right...) some love, and enjoy your day.
Ketsa
1 year, 9 months ago
Oh yeah, I'm totally a background lurker... until I'm not, and then I do my best to adapt! Sometimes better than others. Game streams will definitely still continue - it's the sort of thing that's kept me socially active, which is a totally healthy thing to pursue.

Bemani was trying her darndest to lay over my drawing tablet earlier, which was her way of grabbing more affection from me~ Just hand sketching practice, so nothing terribly interesting.
ShiroKiba
1 year, 9 months ago
That is 100% true cat behavior right there. "Doing something? Let me just flop on top of the thing you're using". So sounds like she knows how to do her job as a cat quite well.

And yeah, doing what you can to stay social even as an introvert is important. I've actually been wanting to get in to streaming as a means to do similar, but keep stalling out at trying to put together as presentable twitch page for it. Well, that and deciding what to play...
Ketsa
1 year, 9 months ago
As I said to her, "Are you gonna draw your fursona? Will it be a sparkle cat with seven wings?"

Most important things to note for streaming - play something you enjoy, vocalize your thoughts as you play it, and expect to see only a few watchers for the first while!
FumblingFoxpaws
1 year, 9 months ago
A warm welcome to the club (of introverts). Please mind an adequate distance to other members. *^.^*
Ketsa
1 year, 9 months ago
I've always known that I was an introvert, but never fully understood or appreciated what that meant for me until I started meeting with a good therapist~
NeoPatamonX
1 year, 9 months ago
That's a lot of stuff! I'm glad to seem to be doing better now. It'd be interesting to catch up sometime~
Ketsa
1 year, 9 months ago
Oh, definitely - it's been a while an a half!
VernonOnFM
1 year, 9 months ago
It's good to hear from you again, Ketsa. Glad that you are doing a bit better now, though!
Ketsa
1 year, 9 months ago
And I'm glad to be back! Kinda like when I overcame my needle phobia to get vaccinated/boosted against covid - just had to log in, clear out all the messages, and get on with it!
TheGroundedAviator
1 year, 9 months ago
Hey, we all have times in our lives that go this way, it's what life is. You're getting on with it and that's what's important.
Ketsa
1 year, 9 months ago
Oh yeah, life is a series of events that are mostly out of our control - it's all about how we deal with the cards we draw on each round!
LemmyNiscuit
1 year, 9 months ago
I get the whole conversation-format being overwhelming. I get overwhelmed by group conversations, so I have been sort-of abstaining from group stuff and only having one-on-one convos.
Ketsa
1 year, 9 months ago
It's really neat how different people can react differently to different things. My mother is absolutely petrified of public speaking, but it feels really comfortable for me. Meanwhile, I'm all nervous about having to tell someone "No" o_o
LemmyNiscuit
1 year, 9 months ago
Ah. Sometimes people find it very difficult to set boundaries on an individual basis. They find it easier to establish or follow boundaries in a group setting because then the boundaries are reinforced or rejected by the rules or negotiations of the group. It feels less personal and more impartial.
Ketsa
1 year, 9 months ago
Actually, I'd never really though of it that way before, but it does make a lot of sense. I'd been pretty bad at setting boundaries for others towards me, and it's something that I've been working on over the last few years (also, yay for therapists).
LemmyNiscuit
1 year, 9 months ago
I hear ya, very tricky to set and advocate for your own boundaries when you're the type that has either "learned" (people reacting poorly to it) or been "trained" (people that actively ignore or dismiss) that that's a "bad" thing (guilt, shame about feeling to aggressive). Therapy was very helpful for me, so I hope you're finding strides with it!
Plinko
1 year, 9 months ago
Fellow introvert as well... Very awkward in general thanks to that so can totally relate with it. (Trying to get better) Sorry to hear about the divorce, never been through one, but seen enough of them to understand how much of a shitty experience they can be.

Not to sound cringe or creepy (Cuz I am bad with these things) if you would like to chat or whatever feel free to PM me. (I won't impose on ya) Trying to break out of the shell a little bit and make some friends, and you were someone I always enjoyed reading journals / seeing submissions from. I think I may have mentioned it before (but cannot remember) but your pupper was the main inspiration for me to create Riley.

Stay strong and healthy, looking forward to see what you come up with creatively!

((Goes back into hiding))
 
Ketsa
1 year, 9 months ago
Oh, nothing to worry about. Some people are super keen and quick about making social connections while others are the complete opposite. The key thing is to find where your strengths lie and work on cultivating them! Not everyone can be great at all things~ I'm sure if someone could, they'd be a very boring person.

The divorce went through in a very civil way that didn't end in too much emotional/physical/monetary damage. So all things considered, it went lots better than it could have!

I'm flattered to hear that I sparked an inspiration - it's not something I ever expected to happen when I started drawing... like... a decade ago.~
Tycloud
1 year, 9 months ago
Butts.
Ketsa
1 year, 9 months ago
Vulvas.
JinxMcKenzie
1 year, 9 months ago
Hey ketsa i hope you’re alright
I love your sweet sketches^^
Ketsa
1 year, 9 months ago
I'm actually doing pretty well nowadays! And I hope to do both sketches and finished pieces~
Malachyte
1 year, 9 months ago
I am the same way with PMs, oh man. Like, you feel happy that people are thinking of you, reaching out to you, etc., and a lot of the times the messages are short and easy to answer, but just knowing that you have to stop what you're doing, think of a response, and potentially get into a conversation that could go on dozens of messages... it's so much stress.
Ketsa
1 year, 9 months ago
Oh, absolutely! It's very similar to why I was anxious about talking on the phone when I was little. I worried the conversation would go on for a bit, and I'd have to be the one to say, "Okay, I'm done talking now."

Except now it's in type, so I feel inclined to break out my copy of The Elements of Style before sending whatever I've written.
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