FAQ
(or Questions That I've Been Asked Once)"Why do you have this diary thing?"
I don't know.
1) A desire to express myself?
2) A plea for attention?
3) A chance to unload and examine emotional baggage?
4) I thought it would be a good way to score nudie pics from readers.
Actually, all of the above and it's fun. (Still waiting for those nudie pics though.)
"Why do you often spell Corea with a C?"
The short version: Because that's how it was traditionally spelled in translations prior to the 20th Century and how a lot of the world still spells it now. Either way is okay.
The long version: HERE.
"What is this liger thing?"
It's name is ... The LIGER! He's my cat. We named him after this mysterious tiger / lion that was sighted in Michigan in the past ("I didn't see Elvis but I saw ... The LIGER!).
... The LIGER! was born in 1979. The ellipses before his name are for "suspenseful effect." ... The LIGER! deserves respect. He dreams about world domination 23 hours a day (he sleeps a lot). He eats in that other hour.
"How did you and Amy meet?"
Through good luck, patience, and Corean food (the first part of the longer version is here; the second part is the entry after that).
"What does that name mean anyways MEDEA SIN?"
The short version: It's a phonetic for "medi-cine."
The long hyper-analytical version:
The greek character Medea was famous for killing her own children as vengeance upon her husband. Since medicine often involves voluntarily or involuntarily having to let people you care for go at times, I found the name appropriate. Not quite the same as the Greek version, but it still makes you feel bad.
Medea was also a strong, passionate, vengeful (and likely deranged) femme figure, who was not afraid of a little blood. Much like the femmes in my drawings.
The Sin part represents my often less-than-angelic thoughts, along with the self-imposed guilt one feels in dealing with life and death every day.
Sin is also a Corean surname (usually pronounced "Shin" though), representing my half-Corean heritage.
The name has a nice epic comic booky feel too, which fits with my drawing style as well.
"What was this Hatless Bald-man Index in your journal?"
That was a count of how many times my wife, Amy, and I had sex without contraceptive devices in an effort to have our first baby, Sun Su. I think it took 47 "tries."
It did not include the number of times I masturbated. As if I could keep track of that.
"What is this Inevitability Index in your journal?"
That's a count of how many patients under my name have died. Believe me, it happens all the time in medicine when most of your patients are elderly, nonfunctional, and half of their organ systems are shut down before you even see them. No one lives forever.
When it reaches 100, I'll seriously contemplate my life, soul, or general apathy.
"Are you really a doctor?"
Yes.
"What kind?"
Not the psychologist kind. Nor the time-traveling kind. Nor the optometrist kind. Nor the dentist kind. Nor the Ph.D. in Germanic Language and Literature kind.
I am the medical kind, M.D.
I'm a hospitalist and internal medicine doctor. I just take care of really sick people in the hospital.
"What's it like seeing / touching a dead person?"
Most times they look like waxen dolls with glazed eyes.
After your first few, they cease to become interesting / frightening.
After a dozen, you don't really want to see anymore. Ever.
After two dozen, you appreciate the fact that they don't judge, complain, or tell you how to do your business. And you wonder about your own lack of feeling at times.
You still wish you didn't have to see anymore.
Effects may vary, per individual.
... And they always do (make you) feel like a failure in some way. But hey, even God doesn't make people live forever. What the hell can I do about it?
"Do you watch ER?"
Do you spend your free time watching what you do in real life?
That said I'm not that interested in "medical" stories or "medical" online journals either. I've got more than enough in my own life.
"How do you have time be a doctor and draw and play video games and go to the gym and do this internet stuff?"
It helps to be intensely antisocial and not watch TV much.
"Do your doctor colleagues know what you are doing here?!?!"
Yes, many more know than I realize.
My colleagues don't really read me though. They mostly just check to see if I'm talking about someone they know.
I usually flatly deny having the journal at all when asked. Contrary to popular belief, I do not want that kind of attention at work.
"How do you choose who to draw?" or "WHY AREN'T YOU DRAWING ME???!!!"
I choose purely on whim. I will not be more inclined to draw you if you ask me to. Frankly I don't need the pressure. And I barely have the time.
"What kind of computer programs do you use to draw?"
I don't. I'm old school. I use real pencils, pens, pen nibs, India ink, sable paint brushes, on 2-ply Bristol paper.
I scan the drawings. Then resize them in Adobe PhotoDeluxe, business edition.
Sometimes you can find me drawing on my cam.
"Where / how did you learn to draw?"
I started drawing when I was just a little preschool Scott, and I didn't stop.
I drew monsters and D&D characters in middle school. Moved onto superheroes in high school. Started drawing women in college. Medical superheroes in medical school / residency. And Asian themes since the millennium change.
The effect has been cumulative.
So now my drawings tend to be weapon-wielding adventurous Asian femmes with heroic attitudes and a hint of a dark and monstrous blood lust.
(I did take Drawing 101 and Design 101 in college, just to see what I was missing.)
"What are your influences / favorite artists?"
I was inspired by Bill Willingham's comic art ("Elementals") and fresh perspective on faces and figures (and stories and the importance of character names).
I studied Burne Hogarth drawing books in high school.
Fell in love with the art of Patrick Nagel, Gustav Klimt, and Egon Schiele in college.
Marvelled at Japanese "floating world" prints in my art history classes.
Contemplated within the chiaroscuro shadows of Caravaggio.
Now I take my inspiration from my insatiable interest in all things Korean.
"Speaking of which ... what's with all the Asian stuff?"
I suppose it's part of the minority identity issues I missed out on in college (I'm half Corean).
I belong to a beautiful and proud (and flawed in some ways) people and I want to show that on my little island in cyberspace.
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