I just got an MP3 from the esteemed Mr Curtis such that I might lay down my vocals for the Christmas bonus song. Hurrah! Sounding good, and it’s nice to hear some real drums on some new T3E material. It’s still very much a demo-standard thing, and I’d like to get the whole thing a bit tighter on the album version, but it’s a great little taster of what the album might sound like. I’ve liked the song ever since Curtis sent me the demo a few months back, and it’s passed through the T3E group collaboration gauntlet with only minor cuts and abrasions.

In matters professional, I’ve realised that the cartoon job has passed the 50% mark for this contract period, so I’m starting to casually browse the employment pages again, as well partaking in some casual brainstorming on other ideas. Not that there’s any pressing concern for a little while, but I don’t want to be caught like earlier this year. Especially with a mortgage on the way…!

Speaking of mortgages, with less than a month before the big day, pre-settlement packing has begun, and the inside of our house resembles a furniture and applicance warehouse crossed with a municipal recycling depot – a combination that has somehow failed to take off within interior decorating circles. Clare has been extremely diligent with wrapping, boxing, taping and tagging a good portion of our wordly goods, and I have been helping in my own inestimable way by building a home theatre PC. It’s a tough job, etc. etc…

I’ll be tearing down the home studio for the last time over the next week or so, leaving myself with a skeleton system comprising Macbook, UMX49 and Mbox. The rest shall join the ever-increasing pile of “things to be loaded into a truck” that is currently filling up the spare room. I’m also starting to get into some serious planning regards the new digs, and how best to turn a garage into a work-space worthy of my talents (some might say it would be more worthy of my talents if I knocked a hole in the wall and poured pond-water on the floor, but I try not to listen to those people). Ideas are still coalescing, but I’m currently envisaging a sort of semi-wraparound desk-type arrangement, with a separate section for less audio-centric tasks. One of the problems with my current arrangement is that it’s great for working on the PC, but there’s no actual useable desk space for when you might want to perform such arcane tasks as writing with a pencil, or placing things on a clear horizontal surface. Well, there’s the floor obviously, but that’s a gambit that only works for a limited time. I’ll also probably have a couch or a couple of chairs in there for the benefit of collaborators/clients (and myself from time to time). No doubt I’ll throw some pictures up here for anyone who might be bored enough to want to look at them.