Sure, I could play it cool and say these past few months haven't sent me into an anxiety tail-spin. That taking a break from work and life did the trick and my sleep is back on track and its all rose petals and rainbows. I *could* say that, but that would be a big ol' fuckin lie. While this was all needed and good, its also isolating and terrifying and makes one feel like they're going stir crazy! I'd also like to pretend that I handle stress and anxiety in a cool way - like a Parisian artist, chain smoking outside a cafe while reading Proust. Julie Delpy in 'Before Sunset', if you will. But, nah, girl, I'm a mess. There are no berets and long drags over wine. Instead, I basically break out children's markers, blast Jon Secada and scribble poorly drawn renderings of comforting pop-culture characters. It's been my go-to stress reliever and creative outlet since 2005. I started doing these while at my first industry job. I was stuck in the office for odd hours while they shot in Greece, so I had a lot of downtime. It just progressed from there - the most stressed I got, the more I drew and, eventually, sculptured. And because, I have terrible luck and am not great at self promotion, I find that now a ton of other people do similar art AND get loads of attention and make a buck off this shit. But not me! No sir! Nope! I guess this bad art is just mine and mine alone, which is probably worse? What can you do. Life.

"Why would a reviewer make the point of saying someone's not a genius? Do you especially think I'm not a genius? . . . You didn't even have to think about it, did you?" — "Why would a reviewer make the point of saying someone's *not* a genius? Do you especially think I'm *not* a genius? . . . You didn't even have to think about it, did you?"

Grandma Saracen cheering on Matt Saracen, QB1.

Coach and Tami Taylor: Couple Goals, Y'all!

Be the Crying Laura Dern you want to see in the World!