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TekkieBrek

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TekkieBrek

Fresh Start?

2 min read
I've sort of been here without being here. Things have changed a lot over the past few years, and the submissions have been few and far between as real life has cropped up with its challenges. Could say I'm not quite the same person in 2019 as I was in 2004 when I started this account. I've mostly been writing articles for CrypticRock.com, reviewing films and the occasional book. So if you want to catch my writing there, or even check out reviews on upcoming movies, books, music and even live events, head on over to CrypticRock.com. I also have a Twitter that I regularly update when my articles come out (or whatever enters my head), so please check out @DaveCrypticRock, because I'd appreciate it quite a bit. I might even start posting my artwork there too, along with my favourites from the past.

I also set up a blog called Thinkin' Thinkin', at thinkinthinkin.wordpress.com. I have a few entries there, but I need some people to give me a boot up the behind to keep at it. I plan to write more reviews, retrospectives, and anything else off the top of my head. But lately I've been writing history entries. The most recent one is about the History of the Basoga in Uganda- pretty niche, though if you like African history, or have a keen knowledge of it already, I'd appreciate you checking it out and giving me your thoughts and input.

But as for my future on DA- I'm not sure. I thought about starting fresh with a new account, but then I suppose that's what my Twitter, blog and review writing is for now. I'm not shutting anything down right now. If anything I still have some art in the works that I'd still like to put up here. After all, this is where I began. Just that, if you want to see more from me regularly, check out my CrypticRock articles, catch my Twitter and give my blog a go. They're ready and waiting for you.
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TekkieBrek

Spring Cleaning

2 min read
My yearly journal, or is it?

I was clearing out my old journals when I noticed I've been here for 10+ years now- a whole decade of putting up my drawings, photos and other bits up on here- and I saw that I used to be pretty constant with the journal entries. But now I've barely written a thing on here. Barely drawn either. Well, more like I've drawn and inked things, but never finished them or put them up for whatever reason. So while I've been here for a decade factually, I've been pretty dormant for the past 3 save the odd favourite or the like. But hopefully that'll change, but to do that I need to do some more clearing out.

I'll be going through my gallery- saving the best and deleting the rest- as well as hopefully adding some new bits and pieces, like photos from the trips I've been on for the past 3 years, the aforementioned scraps and bits and pieces, as well as some actual finished art and studies to be shown here. Might even re-draw a few of them, but we'll see how that goes. I'll also try to make more journal entries, maybe even reviews like the old days, because I've had an itch to write more- be it reviews or otherwise- and generally get some thoughts out.

As such, a year has passed since the last journal, so what's been going on with me? Not too much, but not too little. I became a grand-uncle last February with the birth of my niece's son, I've still been hunting for work (but for more reputable employers than the last ones thankfully) with little to no success thus far, and I started a part-time art course at the local college, which has perhaps inspired this kick-up-the-backside as is. It's been pretty fun, though it's also coming to an end since we're nearing the summer, but a few interesting pieces have come out from it, and you'll get to see them soon enough (hopefully ^^; )
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TekkieBrek

*dusts away the cobwebs*

3 min read
Well, it's been a long, long while since I've updated this journal, even when I've had artwork to put up. Suppose I could do a quick run down of what's happened and why certain things didn't go to plan.

What Happened To the Art Output?
Procrastination, bad time management, some technological hiccups (my old laptop started slowly dying off) and my interests died down for a while. Then again that sort of happened from around 2011 onwards. I've got a little more vim now, along with a sort-of schedule and a new laptop, so hopefully things should get more active on that front. Already got a few pieces in the works, which should be done fairly soon, but don't quote me on that ^^;

What's That Job Thing You Mentioned In the Last Journal?
I applied to UKEI to teach English in China, and things got really promising on that front to the point where I even got the contract emailed to me and a facility in Nanjing got in contact with me by phone and email. However, I found out that things weren't all that they seemed (Alternate Link here). I sent these links to them in correspondence and asked them what they thought, in case it was written up by a crank with an axe to grind, but I didn't get a response except for receiving the contract in my inbox. Suspiciously, all mentions of 'UKEI' were replaced with 'ELTIC Ltd', and the UKEI website got increasingly bare-boned while the ELTIC website got busier, and even had the same selection of photos in their photos section. I think I ended up alerting them that people were getting onto their practices and they had to cover their tracks. I had read that some people had a better experience with them than the article writers, but it is true that those working for them are paid figurative peanuts in comparison to other ESL teachers and teaching assistants. So I got out while I could, and things have gone back to the usual depressing job-hunt with little to no leads. Perhaps a little more depressing figuring that my most promising lead just wanted to short-change me. Still, peaks and valleys and all that.

So 2012 turned out to be a big bust, but maybe 2013 will prove to be more promising. It's not the end of the world like last year was supposed to be, so just got to keep looking to the future and looking for that bright spot.
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TekkieBrek

Nothing New To Report

4 min read
Man, has it been 5 months since I last updated this thing? Well, what can I say? Those job leads mentioned in my last journal didn't pan out ultimately, but my next one- teaching English in China- looks to have more promise. I don't know much Chinese unfortunately, but my English is native, which is what they're looking for. That and a BA degree. It'll last about a year or so if accepted, and I'll get a TEFL qualification out of it if successful, so it has some perks, and it should be an interesting experience either way.

In the meantime, I've gradually been getting back into drawing pictures again after a long, long procrastination- few more portraits done, with perhaps a few more to come. But we'll see how it all goes- be it art, job offers or otherwise.

(Still wondering how I can edit the footers again though. I haven't been able to fix it up since the last big site update).

FEATURED!
March 28th 2010
This was done a while back- about 10 days ago in fact, but :iconcaricaturid:, aka :iconmarisangoea:, did a caricature of my moody mug in 'The Dave Today'. Isn't it just purdy?- tekkiebrek by caricaturID

Many thanks, Marisangoea :D

December 3rd 2009
:iconjeannieblue:'s recently done a Best of 2009 article and, lo and behold, my two choices of what I consider my best pieces of 2009 managed to get into it :D Much love and thanks to Jeannie :hug: :heart: Give it a looksee, then check out her works :)

Lookie here

September 17th 2009-
Via a contact at ModelMayhem.com, Dewald Brand at Dewald Brand Photography asked if he could feature a few of my pieces in the studio section of his website, Behemoth Of Moscow- a neat website offering fashion, photos, a regular blog, and the said studio section offering works by a variety of artists...which now includes a few pieces by me :D So check it out and enjoy!

Site: www.behemothofmoscow.com
Dewald Brand Photography's Model Mayhem profile: www.modelmayhem.com/1297795
My own artist's profile at Model Mayhem: www.modelmayhem.com/1147193

August 30th 2009-
:iconnixtigris: has featured some of my work in a few of his latest pieces :D you can check them out here;

nixtigris.deviantart.com/art/E…
nixtigris.deviantart.com/art/E…
nixtigris.deviantart.com/art/B…

Needless to say, I'm flattered. Be sure to check out the rest of his gallery too. His 3D pieces, while being neat, are also really well detailed and pretty realistic. I'm sure you'll like it :D

HUMBLE PLEA UPDATE:
Check out this link: www.breathingislife.com

Well, though I found this out a little too late, it seems Rachael, the girl previously mentioned in my Humble Plea, is now being assessed for a lung transplant to help her condition. So with any luck she'll pull through with it and be okay :) Thanks to anyone who donated previously from when I put up this link. If you want to find out more about lung conditions, or how Rachael is getting on from her experiences, check out the above link and check out what they have to offer.


REQUEST LIST:
Closed...for now
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TekkieBrek

Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year!

6 min read
It seems DA ate my last journal entry about my Liverpool trip. What a pain. Bigger pain lately is that I had to take my laptop to the repairs for a service, and it turns out it has an issue with its cooling fan. So I'll be without it for a while. On the one hand it's annoying, and puts a bit of a dampener on the last few days of 2011. On the other, if it can be fixed, it'll be good as new, and if it can't then it'll at least work long enough until I can get a new one....so long as it doesn't get too hot that is.

But first world problems aside, this Xmas has been good, and I've got some good things going for 2012. I got some nice presents from the family, including some interesting ones- I'm not exactly familiar with John Grisham legal thrillers for example, but new gifts are the most intriguing- sort of like a lucky dip, only with more wrapping paper. My Mom and stepdad liked their presents- Star Trek (original) Season 1 for Mom, History Channel Mythology documentary series for stepdad. I'm planning on heading down to see the rest of the family to find out what they thought of my presents that I bought on said Liverpool trip (thus avoiding Black Friday and the Xmas crowds :D), but this depends on what happens with my 2012 plans.

I got some good job leads in the run-up to the new year. There's the JET application, which will be getting back to me and the other applicants over the next 2 months on whether they've made it to interviews or not. But I've also applied for a job at a retail place on a cruise ship. Why? Well, I applied for it out of the blue via reed.co.uk, mainly to fill in my bit for my jobseeker's allowance. But they actually got back to me and put me amongst the 18 other applicants they were interested in. After downloading their guide to confirm my interest in the position, they sent me a psychometric test to complete to see if I'm the kind of guy who could work out on a cruise ship for 6 months at a time away from home. Pretty fancy, but after completing it they said if I got contacted on the 9th of January, I'll make it to interviews. If not...well, I'll be left with JET to look out for. Least it shows my luck is turning a little, and that I'll be making a good start to the new year.

Just need to make some new art works now, or at least complete the ones I've been working on. Maybe I'll stick them as is on the old family PC and bolster my scraps section, maybe get a few critique pointers and the like. But we'll see how it goes.

Until then, I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, some Happy Holidays, and a tremendous New Year :D

(Extra note: Does anyone know how to edit the footer? It's a bit late to ask, but since DA's last change I've no idea how to change it).

FEATURED!
March 28th 2010
This was done a while back- about 10 days ago in fact, but :iconcaricaturid:, aka :iconmarisangoea:, did a caricature of my moody mug in 'The Dave Today'. Isn't it just purdy?- tekkiebrek by caricaturID

Many thanks, Marisangoea :D

December 3rd 2009
:iconjeannieblue:'s recently done a Best of 2009 article and, lo and behold, my two choices of what I consider my best pieces of 2009 managed to get into it :D Much love and thanks to Jeannie :hug: :heart: Give it a looksee, then check out her works :)

Lookie here

September 17th 2009-
Via a contact at ModelMayhem.com, Dewald Brand at Dewald Brand Photography asked if he could feature a few of my pieces in the studio section of his website, Behemoth Of Moscow- a neat website offering fashion, photos, a regular blog, and the said studio section offering works by a variety of artists...which now includes a few pieces by me :D So check it out and enjoy!

Site: www.behemothofmoscow.com
Dewald Brand Photography's Model Mayhem profile: www.modelmayhem.com/1297795
My own artist's profile at Model Mayhem: www.modelmayhem.com/1147193

August 30th 2009-
:iconnixtigris: has featured some of my work in a few of his latest pieces :D you can check them out here;

nixtigris.deviantart.com/art/E…
nixtigris.deviantart.com/art/E…
nixtigris.deviantart.com/art/B…

Needless to say, I'm flattered. Be sure to check out the rest of his gallery too. His 3D pieces, while being neat, are also really well detailed and pretty realistic. I'm sure you'll like it :D

HUMBLE PLEA UPDATE:
Check out this link: www.breathingislife.com

Well, though I found this out a little too late, it seems Rachael, the girl previously mentioned in my Humble Plea, is now being assessed for a lung transplant to help her condition. So with any luck she'll pull through with it and be okay :) Thanks to anyone who donated previously from when I put up this link. If you want to find out more about lung conditions, or how Rachael is getting on from her experiences, check out the above link and check out what they have to offer.


REQUEST LIST:
Closed...for now
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Fresh Start? by TekkieBrek, journal

Spring Cleaning by TekkieBrek, journal

*dusts away the cobwebs* by TekkieBrek, journal

Nothing New To Report by TekkieBrek, journal

Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year! by TekkieBrek, journal