I have actually quit my icky 9 to 5 job to help Piro out with Fredart Studios. I only get paid in hugs and kisses from the boss. It doesn't seem fair because I got those before I started and I wasn't doing this 'work' stuff. Piro is making out like a bandit. Even without money it is the best job EVER. It is just fun being able to work with someone as creative as Piro and who loves what he is doing.

I do all the boring but necessary stuff that allows Piro to draw and write more. When I first sat down to straighten things out for him I found the bank balance heart stopping low. Like how are we going to afford to eat or feed the cats low. Not ever thinking Fred hadn't balanced the account - I naturally panicked. After several hours of searching for receipts and statements I found out he hadn't entered all of the deposits. Let me just say, it is ALWAYS better to find out you have more money in your checking account than you thought you did instead of less.

I also spent a good deal of time filing 3 years worth of paperwork he had accumulated. I had called the lawyer to tell him we hadn't received the copyright registrations yet and later in the week I found it buried in a pile of stuff. This 'stuff' being everything from unopened junk mail to contracts. Piro hadn't even opened the copyright office letter yet. I was too embarrassed to call him back to tell him I found it. Now my filing system is beautiful AND color coordinated. I also do large, tedious projects that after Piro explains what he wants me to do he says, "See why I don't want to do it?" Oh yeah, I can't help loving that man o' mine.

For everyone who has ever asked if they could have a tour of Fredart Studios - it is actually just a spare bedroom. This is, however, an improvement. When Megatokyo started in 2000 Piro had taken over the dining room. This strip is actually a good representation of the workspace, well, at least of Piro's side. We work back to back most of the time or sometimes I use the laptop out in the living room. What you don't see is that while Piro has the expensive Aeron chair - I sit in the 1970's Cesca chair with a caned seat that leaves the back of my legs with a horrible waffle weave imprint. Piro also has the tricked out computer while I have a hand-me down. A friend, Rick, custom built mine and it works great so I'm not complaining. In this strip my desk is off screen on the right piled dangerously high with papers still awaiting filing.

There is also always a cat, if not three cats, trying to lay across the drawing table under the lamp. It is up against the window and the cats want to look out. It is a constant power struggle between Piro and the cats. Piro hardly ever wins. Speaking of the cats, Hime is the number one reason Piro buys so many erasers. Hime, as we all know, is a chewer. She loves erasers. I'll get up in the morning and walk downstairs to find erasers littering the hallway and sometimes even in her food bowl. In... the... food bowl. The cat is weird.

Lastly, the IRS is NOT after us. That was just a joke. We have an excellent accountant who is as honest as the day is long and does all the butt kicking when it comes to financial matters. I am usually the one to get in trouble now because he knows I took over the bookkeeping. I am definitely going to point this strip out to him.