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Nick & J-me & Dan & AJ NICK & JAMIE GOT MARRIED / Dan Olson: Aw, this must be their song. / Dan Olson (to AJ): Remember how we picked our song? / AJ Niehaus: Yeah. / Dan Olson: I said: OKAY. I'm gonna turn on the radio, and whatever song is playing, THAT'S IT. / Jason: Yikes! That's like Russian Roulette! / Athena: What song was it? / Dan Olson: It was by Queens of the Stone Age. / AJ Niehaus: Not bad! And we had the Amish Armada play at the wedding. / Jason: Ha! Love those guys. / Athena: Oh yeah, you and AJ both grew up in Hudson and went to college in Madison. / Athena: So are you guys still considering "lmnop" as a baby name? / Dan Olson: YES! / AJ Niehaus: NO. / Dan Olson: For a middle name, anyway. It sounds like "Penelope." / Jason: It sounds Greek. / AJ Niehaus: Well I AM Greek... / Dan Olson: SEE!!
http://actionathena.com/2011/09/30/nick-j-me-dan-aj/
This Again? THURSDAY MORNING / headache...sore neck...shaky...weak... / NOT SICK NOT SICK / Maybe I just slept funny? / THURSDAY NIGHT / NOT SICK IGNORE IT / Just enjoy the meal, & your cute boyfriend / FRIDAY MORNING / NOPE, NUH UH, just...a really runny nose...& sore eares & throat...and neck...and muscles... / FRIDAY AFTERNOON / GOD. / [[FWUMP]] / DAMNIT.
http://actionathena.com/2011/10/03/this-again/
Craig Thompson at MCAD CRAIG THOMPSON AT MCAD / Sarah Morean: Did he sketch in your book? / Athena: Yeah, check it out! / Athena [[to Zak Sally]]: That was a great talk! I liked your comment about 100 pages a year being a totally reasonable amount. I mean, he's so detailed. / Sarah Morean: Also cute. / Athena: And well-dressed! / Zak Sally: I know, right! / Athena: Have you guys seen that picture of him where he's like, shirtless and chopping wood? / Zak Sally: Psh, of COURSE. / Zak Sally: I showed that to some of my students the other day. / Zak Sally: Right off the bat, a couple of girls were like, YES we've seen that.
http://actionathena.com/2011/10/05/craig-thompson-at-mcad/
In This Our Season In This Season Of Sick & Unemployed
http://actionathena.com/2011/10/07/in-this-our-season/
Action Athena: The Book LAYING IT OUT / Athena: In Design is too complicated. I should've scanned most of these at a higher DPI. What if the margins are way off? I wish I knew someone who'd do this part for me. / WAITING FOR DELIVERY / Athena: UGH, what if I just spent $200 on something completely unreadable? I wouldn't have enough time or money to do a reorder before MIX. I should've done all of this a long time ago. Couldn't looked into grant money. / FINALLY / Athena: It's legible! Like a real book!
http://actionathena.com/2011/10/10/action-athena-the-book/
 
Surly Wet Ross Currier: Well Athena, when your mom's in the cities tonight, I don't know what we'll eat, but I can tell ya what we'll be DRINKING! / [[A pause.]] / Ross and Athena Currier: SURLY WET!
http://actionathena.com/2011/10/12/surly-wet/
Health Vs Employment Having spent the last month-plus dealing simultaneously with UNEMPLOYMENT and POOR HEALTH, I have drawn some parallels between the two. / First off, everyone's gonna offer you MIRACLE CURES. They do this with the best intentions, but after awhile it gets old. / Helpful Hand: Try sending out friendly, chatty letters to strangers who have found success in the field that interests you! / Helpful Hand: Try swallowing a mixture of water and apple cider vinegar 3 times a day! / You feel like a failure--if none of the cures work, this must all be YOUR fault. / Unemployed Athena: If I'd only mailed those letters on BLUE paper instead of CREAM! / Sick Athena: If only I hadn't forgotten to swallow the vinegar water that one time! / But you're DESPERATE. So no matter how discouraged you feel, you'll keep trying every goddamn miracle cure. / Unemployed Athena: These Craigslist jobs look sketchy...I'll apply to 'em anyway! / Sick Athena: Snorting cayenne pepper sounds dubious...aw, what the heck! / The truth is, these are just both states of being that suck, and there's no getting around that. / [[Both Athenas SLUMP.]] / But going through both of 'em at once has made me keenly aware of one thing: / Both Athenas: I'd rather have my health than a job!
http://actionathena.com/2011/10/14/health-vs-employment/
Doctors & Comic Conventions AT THE DOCTOR'S / THURS OCT 13 / Doctor: Well, Athena... / Doctor: I'd ask you how you're doing... / Doctor: ...but I already know!! / [[He holds up one of Athena's comics!]]
http://actionathena.com/2011/10/19/doctors-comic-conventions/
Tired Old Gag Earlier this week, FINALLY feeling better, I allowed myself to go for a 20 minute run. / It felt great, so the next day I went for 40 minutes. That felt even better. / The next day my sinus symptoms came back. I stayed inside all day. / Athena: Dangit. / The day after that was about the same. / Athena: DANGIT. / Athena: Body, I'm trying so hard to give you what you need, but I'm beginning to think you're not even TRYING to fight this! / Athena: You used to be capable of doing so much! But these days, well...what ARE you capable of these days? / Athena's Body: Sitting around and eating.
http://actionathena.com/2011/10/21/tired-old-gag/
Floorplans TWO STUDIO APARTMENT FLOOR PLANS: / 15 ft. x 20 ft. = 300 sq. ft. / 17 ft. x 24 ft. = 408 sq. ft.
http://actionathena.com/2011/10/24/floorplans/
 
Goldfeather Surprise BEING SOCIAL COMES IN SPURTS. (AKA THANKS FOR VISITING, GOLDFEATHER!) / FRIDAY OCT 14 / Sarah Goldfeather: So...I just bought a ticket to MN for tomorrow morning. Any chance I can see you folks?? / SATURDAY OCT 15 / William: So she's gonna be in Northfield tonight? Cool! / Athena: Yeah! We can all go to the Cow! / SATURDAY NIGHT / William: Sigh...I shouldn't be telling you guys this, but... / SUNDAY OCT 16 / Chris Schodt: Long time no see! / Goldfeather: Chris! / MONDAY OCT 17 / [[Athena sits at her desk again, tired and smiling.]]
http://actionathena.com/2011/10/26/goldfeather-surprise/
Adam One of the guys I used to work with at mr. movies in high school was Adam. / There are a lot of stories I could tell about Adam. How he helped found Trica, the annual 24 Hour Scavenger Hunt in our town (which, to everyone I knew who was obsessed with Trica, kind of made me a god). / Adam: THESE are the lists of tasks. When the clock strikes midnight...GRAB THEM! / How, while filming a "what not to do during Trica" video, he set himself on fire, resulting in burns so terrible he had to drop out of college. / (Had to get a shark skin graft.) / (...and move back home and work at mr. movies.) / But that was all before my time, the stuff of exaggeration and urban legend by the time I met him. My memories of Adam are mostly of standing around and talking about movies. / Adam knew EVERYTHING about movies (which, to young, movie-obsessed me, kind of made him a god). / Adam: Have you seem the Phantasm movies? They're amazing! They were made over like, 20 years, and they've got the same lead through all of them. (Except II.) / [[Athena browses through beloved Videohound.]] / One day I asked Adam if he'd seen any good movies recently. He surprised me by answering, / Adam: Eh...I don't seem to watch much new stuff these days. I find myself just wanting to rewatch my old favorites over and over. / At the time, I couldn't understand that. I'd only just discovered Tarantino and Won Kar-Wai. I wanted to devour EVERYTHING. I couldn't get enough NEW. / But lately I find myself remembering that moment as I browse listlessly through Netflix Instant, trying to talk myself into something new... / Athena: I could watch something off the old AFI Top 100...or maybe something political? / ...yet inevitably opting for something I've seen a million times. / Athena: Audio Visual Comfort Food! / The last time I saw Adam was two summers ago. I was on a late-night walk with Goldfeather and William and the rest. Adam wandered out of the woods, drunk, wearing a crown, apparently in the middle of a friend's bachelor party. He's married now, with a kid. I hope he still finds time to watch movies!
http://actionathena.com/2011/10/28/adam/
a class="searchlink" href="http://actionathena.com/2011/10/31/renter/">http://actionathena.com/2011/10/31/renter/ [untranscribed - please consider transcribing this comic!]
Job News WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011 / Athena: Oh man! You guys! So, last Thursday, I was offered a full time job! It started this Monday! / Athena: I don't wanna go into details right now. Suffice it to say, I'm excited! / Athena: Um...yeah. / Athena: That's it for now!
http://actionathena.com/2011/11/02/job-news/
Minneapolis Indie Xpo! Athena: MIX is here! / Sat Nov 5 & Sun Nov 6 / 10:00am-5:00pm / Attendance is FREE / The Soap Factory / 518 2nd St SE Minneapolis, MN
http://actionathena.com/2011/11/04/minneapolis-indie-xpo/
 
Hasty Most-MIX Update 2008 / Athena: Posting comics about myself on the internet is a really cool thing to do! / NOW / Athena: IS IT??? / 2009 / Athena: Oh man! Action Athena is the first site that comes up when I Google my name! AWESOME. / NOW / Athena: Nnggh...what will potential employers things if they Google my name? / 2010 / Athena: If someone doesn't want to hire me because of my comics, that's not someone I want to work for! / NOW / Athena: But what if that means that NO ONE will want to hire me? / EARLY 2011 / Athena: I'm not sure having an autobiographical webcomic is at all wise...but it's one of the only things I really love doing. / NOW / [[Athena shrugs.]]
http://actionathena.com/2011/11/07/hasty-most-mix-update/
Northfield Map GREAT, GOOD MEETING PLACES IN DOWNTOWN NORTHFIELD, MN / coffee in the morning, beer in the afternoon / 1. Bittersweet eatery & gathering place / 2. The Tavern of Northfield Restaurant & Lounge / 3. The Contented Cow / 4. Froggy Bottoms Pub / 5. The Quarterback Club / 6. Goodbye Blue Monday Coffee House / 7. Quality Bakery & Coffee Shop / 8. Hogan Brothers Acoustic Cafe / 9. James Gang Hideaway / 10. J. Grundy's Rueb N' Stein
http://actionathena.com/2011/11/09/northfield-map/
Where Are They Now? Athena: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (my friends from high school.) / Goldfeather is in Brooklyn. / Mickey is in NAG plays. / *Northfield Arts Guild / Sam is married. / William's headed to med school. / Casey works for the White House!
http://actionathena.com/2011/11/11/where-are-they-now/
Year of Dishes Last year, between living with two roommates... / ...spending time at Jason's house... / ...and working in coffee shops... / ...I washed a lot of dishes. / As household chores go, I don't particularly mind doing dishes. / (It's quiet. Kinda meditative.) / Still, it's pretty awesome not to be washing other people's dishes so much these days.
http://actionathena.com/2011/11/14/year-of-dishes/
Anger Versus With my tendency to break things down into dichotomies, I've given a lot of thought to low different emotions can seem like each other's opposites. / Often I pair anger with sadness. I have a tendency to convert sadness into anger, to create a protective shell for myself and avoid feeling something painful. / Athena: That person really hurt my feelings and they don't even know it. I will hate them and never speak to them again! / But when you're really supposed to be sad, feeling angry instead can be damaging. The anger sits inside you and festers. Allowing yourself to cry and feel sad is a release. / But sometimes anger has a different opposite. / Sometimes the opposite of anger is fear. In these cases, it's good to get angry. It makes you brave. / Nerd: STOP PICKING ON ME! / Bully: ! / I know there have been times when my anger has taken over and consumed me, to the point where it was completely unhelpful. / (January 2008, Hampshire College) / But there were just as many times when it gave me courage and made me strong, allowing me to face people or situations that had previously overpowered me. / (March 2008, Hampshire College) / It is possible that some day I will feel fear, anxiety, and regret about having put my comics on the internet. But for now, I am grateful to them, and to the anger that helps put them there. / Athena: I HAVE AN OPINION! (And yer gonna hear it!)
http://actionathena.com/2011/11/16/anger-versus/
 
Dirty Cat Mouth [[Jason nudges Athena with his head.]] / Athena: Ha ha, you're being like a cat. Hey cat. / Jason: Mmm, I'm gonna go brush my teeth now. Cats don't do that. / Jason: Cats have the dirties mouths. The only mouth dirtier than a human mouth is a cat mouth. / Athena: REALLY?? Is that a fact? Huh! I wonder why that is. / Jason: Probably because they're just, dirty...all the...time. / Athena: ? / Athena: snrt / [[They both laugh.]]
http://actionathena.com/2011/11/18/dirty-cat-mouth/
THANKSGIVING BREAK WOO November 11, 2011 (11:11pm, 11/11/11) / 7:00pm / Jason: Oh! We've gotta do something exciting at 11:11 tonight! / 10:30pm / Athena: Mmm...I'm ready for bed. you? / Jason: Yeah. Oh, but I've got to get the timer! / 10:40pm / Jason: We don't HAVE to stay up till 11:11. / Athena: You just set a timer. Clearly, we are doing this. / 11:08pm / Athena: ...lemon bars...aaand Good n' Plenties. I think those are my eleven favorite desserts. / 11:11pm / Timer: BEEP BEEP BEEP / Athena and Jason: WOOOO!! / 11:12pm / Athena and Jason: sigh...
http://actionathena.com/2011/11/28/thanksgiving-break-woo/
Spectacular Tortillas Athena: I brought the ingredients you wanted to make enchiladas. / Jason: Mmm, these look like good tortillas. / Jason: FEEL these tortillas! Athena. Athena! Seriously, you need to FEEL them. / Jason: OKAY: I've gotta say it. These may be the best enchiladas we've ever made...and a lot of it is the tortillas. / Athena: Ha! Haha! I love how much you enjoy food. It makes eating so fun! / Jason: Sometimes I feel like Ben and Jerry in Twin Peaks. You know that scene where they eat the baguette with brie? / Jason: I'm like those guys. All evil and hedonistic. / Athena: Ha! Oh--but Cooper loves food too! / Athena: So I guess loving food can be a hero OR villain trait.
http://actionathena.com/2011/11/30/spectacular-tortillas/
An Evening With Sarah Currier An evening with Sarah Currier / Sarah Currier: I don't know...some teachers just don't get it! They make everything dry and boring. / Sarah Currier: This teacher I work with was doing a unit on simple machines.* I mean, WHAT could be more exciting?! / Athena: ha ha / Sarah Currier: WHAT?? Why are you laughing! / Athena: ha ha ha It's just...you're so YOU. / Sarah Currier: Oh God, one of our neighbors was talking about this "GREAT" sushi he had. Guess what was in it. / Athena: What. / Sarah Currier: CREAM CHEESE and jalapenos. / Sarah Currier: And THEN he tells me about this BAR he went to where they had "the best sushi." It had cream cheese and jalapenos--AND IT WAS DEEP FRIED. / Athena: HA HA HA HA / Sarah Currier: Athena, this hardware store is AMAZING! It is the BEST hardware store I've ever seen!* / Employee: Can I help you? / Sarah Currier: Oh, I'm just helping my daughter set up her first apartment--I love building and woodworking. / Employee: Me too! Since my divorce, I've been fixing up my new place. Sometimes it's lonely... / Sarah Currier: Oh! Well, I'm commuting to North Minneapolis this year. That gets lonely too. It's nice to be able to spend a night with my daughter from time to time. / Athena: Mom, that guy was totally hitting on you. / Sarah Currier: WHAT! He was not! / Sarah Currier: Hmm! Maybe he was!
http://actionathena.com/2011/12/02/an-evening-with-sarah-currier/
Stuck in the Shit Box I've been sick for over 3 months now, so I've had ample time to come up with stupid metaphors about it. / My current favorite is THE BOX FULL OF SHIT metaphor. / Being sick is like being trapped in a box full of shit. When you're in the middle of it, it's very difficult to think about anything but the unpleasantness of your state. / Everything else about your life--problems, successes, insecurities, joys--loses meaning. How can anything matter but the fact that you're stuck in a box of shit? / Athena: HELP! / Your friends and family will try to be sympathetic, but they won't really get it. / Jason: Well yeah, this isn't ideal. But you're still YOU! / Athena: But I'm STUCK in a box of SHIT!!! / Seeking professional help will provide brief comfort, but ultimately prove fruitless. / Doctor: I'll be darned! I just can't seem to make a dent! / As time wears on, you'll feel increasingly desperate--even suicidal. / Athena: I LOVED the life I had before this--but what if I'm stuck in this box of shit FOREVER? That's not a life I want. / After all, as long as you're in that box, your old life is as good as dead. The things you love--the things that make you YOU--have been stolen. / FOOD & DRINK, SEEING FRIENDS, RUNNING, STAYING UP LATE, CARTOONIST EVENTS, FEELING PRETTY, FEELING HOPEFUL, SEX, MAKING PLANS / But you feel guilty for thinking this way. In the grand scheme, 3 months in a box of shit isn't so bad. Others have it much, much worse. / Doctor: Sir, I'm afraid your case of stuck-in-a-box-of-shit is...terminal. / Sure would be nice to get out, though.
http://actionathena.com/2011/12/05/stuck-in-the-shit-box/
 
Ends of Eras I'm very melodramatic about passing from one phase of life to another. / It's always been this way. In the last days of August, right before we entered sixth grade, Sarah Goldfeather and I spent a whole day taking out all our favorite toys and playing with them. / It was deliberate: we felt that was our VERY LAST CHANCE--as soon as we entered middle school, we would no longer be kids, and therefore no longer able to play these games. / A few years later, I thought back on that and felt silly. / Athena: tsk! I still played Playmobil for a little while after that. And we use the dress-up box all the time for our movies. / But a few years after THAT, I wasn't so sure. / Athena: Huh...but that WAS the beginning of the end. I stopped playing make believe in early middle school. Sure, I found movie-making and theater and stuff. But that was different. I wasn't a kid.
http://actionathena.com/2011/12/07/ends-of-eras/
Resident of St Paul So I live in St. Paul now. / [[Nordeast, Downtown Minneapolis, My New Neighborhood, Downtown St. Paul.]] / It's near Snelling and Selby--just blocks from the Laurel Ave place I shared with Chris and Ian that summer. / It's closer to my job than Northeast. And it saves Jason 45 minutes in the bus commute to his job--each way! / Jason: Well look at that! / It's hard to find 1 bedrooms in Northeast, but in Merriam Park, they're a dime a dozen. / I like being able to provide my mom with a place to stay, to save her the commute between Northfield and North Minneapolis now and then. / Sarah Currier: I brought dinner! / But yeah. It's St. Paul. No getting around the stigma of the "less cool" Twin City. I feel weird every time I say it. / Athena: I uh, I'm living in the Twin Cities. / Wasn't very long ago I was a biking barista in Nordeast. Now I'm an Administrative Assistant in St Paul. I get around in my dad's Le Sabre. / Athena: Is this it, then? Have I crossed over? Am I officially Adult and Uncool? / Voice Of God: Athena, Athena. / Voice Of God: You were never cool.
http://actionathena.com/2011/12/09/resident-of-st-paul/
Floorplan of My Apartment ATHENA'S FIRST EVER ONE-BEDROOM APARTMENT OF HER VERY OWN! / Bedroom = 12'x7' / Bedroom Closet = 4'x2' / Bathroom = 7 1/2'x4 1/2' / Hallway = 2' wide / Living Room = 12'x12' / Kitchen = 9'x6 1/2' / TOTAL SQUARE FEET = 360
http://actionathena.com/2011/12/12/floorplan-of-my-apartment/
Middle School This American Life recently did an episode about middle school. One of the guests, Linda Perlstein, talked about how formative those years are--how stuff you learn and do then sticks in your brain forever. It's weird to think about that. / Hiked around northern Minnesota. Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center. Sumer 2000 & 2001. / Played Helena in a retelling of A Midsummer Night's Dream in Young People's Theater Workshop. Summer 2001. / 7th grade: started learning German. / Athena: Ich...heisse... / Summer after 8th grade: wrote a 300 page fantasy novel. / Read some books that I really liked. Gone with the Wind, The Mists of Avalon, The Amber Spyglass, The Subtle Knife, The Golden Compass. / Summer after 8th grade: bought my first guitar. / Summer after 8th grade: spend 2 weeks with 15 girls at a theater camp. Tried to go on a diet for the first time. Started hating my body.
http://actionathena.com/2011/12/14/middle-school/
Another Doctor's Visit Athena: I'm gonna be honest: IT'S BEEN A ROUGH FALL.* / *slash winter? / Athena: I guess part of me thought this second post-college year would be smoother than the first, but, y'know, maybe it's just not! Maybe it's even harder! / Athena: Some of the reasons for this should be evident to regular readers of this comic. / Athena: The obvious Big Two are: 1) I've been sick, to various degrees, with sinus problems since September 4th. / Athena: There have been some other things, too. (Believe it or not, I don't share every detail of my life with the internet!) But those Big Two have been hardest to ignore. / Athena: Bleh. ANYWAY! I've got a job now, and feel SO lucky to have it. It's steady, reliable...I think I needed that. / Athena: Going through this rough patch has made it harder than usual to come up with comics. I find myself second-guessing whether something is APPROPRIATE or POSITIVE enough for the internet. Like, constantly! I didn't worry so much about that in college. / Athena: But y'know, that's good, I think! I think it's part of the whole...becoming-less-self-centered-and-more-mature thing. I wanted to bring this up because, more than anything, what I've always hoped to be in these comics is HONEST. / Athena: Sometimes it's just really hard to figure out what that means!
http://actionathena.com/2011/12/16/another-doctors-visit/
 

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