ten reasons

10. Her desire for adventure
9. The way she cheers me up all the time
8. Being determined
7. Looking at the bright side of life
6. The way she kisses me
5. Letting me be my weird self
4. The way she always wants to hold my hand
3. Her love of books
2. Making me a better man
1. Loving me enough to marrying me

These are the top ten reasons I love Allison!

no longer i

A few years ago there was a great episode of How I Met Your Mother where Ted and Marshall's favorite pizza parlor in Chicago was going out of business. So they decide to road trip to it like they did back when they were in college. The only problem was that Marshall was no longer Marshall. Marshall and Lilly were one, they morphed them together very beautiful in the episode. Pretty mush it sums up to the fact that Marshall and Lilly always have to be together. They do everything together. This is not the first time they've talked about this melding in the show. Seems silly, but I totally understand Marshall and Lilly's take on this. They are no longer "I's," they are "We's."

Over the bast year that Allison and I have been married we have slowly slipped out of "I's" too. I no longer think in I anymore. I think in We. I'm always like we are in school, but we're not in school, Allison is in school. Since we've been in Indiana it's gotten much worse too. I never want to go out without her. I'll sit at home and watch Hulu all day till she comes home. She comes home around one most days, so not to late.

When we first started dating I made jokes about us being the A.M. Like the morning, but now I feel like our name should be the am. We're not really to separate people anymore. We are one. We do everything together, well almost. She doesn't get up at two and go to work with me, but you know what I mean. I don't feel bad about it. I think it's just really funny. I never thought we would get so close as we have gotten in the last year. It's just really awesome.

loving from the past

I hate when ads get you. I watch a lot of Hulu and the past several months they have been giving me one ad more than others. It's Sun Chips. They keep saying that they are made from the sun, which makes me really want them. They also make me think about Superman. Superman is powered by the sun and if Sun Chips are from the sun than if he eats Sun Chips he'll be super charged. Kind of like in All- Star Superman when he got supercharged by flying into the sun. Sun Chips what a crazy idea. So I haven't eaten Sun Chips since I was a teenager. I remember back then that my friends told me Sun Chips would cause bad things to my digestive system. Total lies but it was a good reason to stop eating them. Since I don't eat a lot of chips anyway it was no big deal until Hulu messed with my head. So now I've been obsessed about Sun Chips, Allison can totally back me up here. She's seen me buy two big bags and eat them every time I go to Subway or Blimpies. What I'm trying to say is that advertising works on me. I've always known it worked on me. I've told people that I love good TV ads. The nation wide ads not local. I don't remember a single good local ad. Sun Chips you've got me hooked again. All to your made by the sun ad campaign. I bow to your superior knowledge.

mccall year two

Memorial Day is a special holiday for me. Memorial Day was the first trip I took with Allison before we were married. We drove two hours to McCall. It was a warm sunny day. The weather was amazing. What made it even more special was the fact that was the day we first said I love you to each other. We'd been officially dating for almost month by then and almost two months of "hanging out," which was almost dating, but without the kissing. This year we wanted to remember the great time we had last year. We wanted to recapture those memories we had that day and make new ones for this holiday. To McCall we went. It didn't matter that it rained almost the whole time we were there. It was still a great day.

On our way to McCall, stopped to take a picture.

The beach isn't looking so friendly right now.

The hood should help with the rain.

I'm not sure I want to be here with the rain.

Oh no, it's still raining.

Even with all the rain we still had a great time. We ate lunch at a fancy restaurant that felt like someone's dining room. We walked around the beach a little bit when the rain was super light and didn't bother us. We didn't stay as long as we did last year, but it was long enough to get a few memories. Like I said before it was a great day.

losing my love

It's not often you wake up and realize you are losing one of your loves. A love you always told yourself you would never give up on. Yet as I grow older I notice I am losing my love for certain things. Things I never thought I would stop caring so deeply for. Even as I write this blog, I'm thinking about all the other things I could be doing instead of sitting infront of this computer. I don't want to hate my computer, but at the same time I feel like I spend to much time with it. I use my computer as a TV more than a computer these days. My love of surfing the net is dying. My love of just using a computer as a computer is dying. I still love TV and my computer is the easiest way for me to get show, but other than that I can pass. I think it comes from having to stare at a computer screen all day at work. I've never had a job were I had to stare at a computer screen all day and not be able to do something awesome on the computer. Now the computer makes me think about work and counting money. I hate counting money and I hate using my once loved machine to do it. I'm trying to regain my love of the computer but I don't think it'll happen anytime soon.

In response to my disdain my wife has given me the perfect mix of computer not computer. For my birthday she bought me an Ipod touch. It's perfect for me. It's a small little screen that doesn't feel like a computer at all. The best part is that it can go anywhere with me. It has little games that I love to play, books to read, and music I love to listen too. My Ipod touch is so amazing. It's like having a little computer at my finger tips. I can go check out new music on the web or play a silly computer game on it. Having it be web based is the best. The main thing I love about the Ipod touch is the web. I love the web, it has so many awesome things to check it out.

I use to be unseparable from my computer. Now I can do without it. I rather be reading a comic (my first true love) or even reading a real book. I wonder what I'll be sick of next. I really hope it's no comics.

On a side note I'm going to start a webcomic tomorrow. Since I haven't heard back from Zuda and it's been eight weeks I feel the need to put this comic out. Plus Zuda has stop doing the competition I entered so I feel no need to wait any longer on the comic. I'll have the address and everything up tomorrow. Till tomorrow.

magical forest mustaches

The honeymoon has ended. We are no longer in the wild lush woods of California. The memories are fading of the massive trees that dot the dark blue sea side. There are few things you can take with you as you leave a land of warmth and beauty. The crisp warm air had a most feel to it. You could smell the salt from the sea miles away. Walking on the docks, you could smell the distinct odor of fresh fish being brought in. The magic of a honeymoon it lingers on in my mind. Highway one to 17 mile, filed with trees. Trees so tall they dwarfed anything we had in our desert home. Windy roads that made Allison scared in the dark. Turning left and right with the trees looming over as to hide any sign of civilization. How I missed my home driving through the dark back roads. The honeymoon crying out to never end; to seek out a land where the grass is lush and green. To look back on older memories of when I lived in a forest before. A magical honeymoon that could only bring our love closer. Watching the sea otters eat their breakfast and wondering if you had enough to eat before your long journey. Seeing how the beauties of jelly fish swim up close and from a distance. Wondering if when you hold your love close to your body that you could look as amazing as jelly fish swimming in the open water. The multicolor patterns of the jellyfish illuminating my mind. Making me try even harder to remember every breath I take as I see my own beauty walk across the hotel room. A honeymoon that will never be forgotten, ending too soon. You can only take home your memories and a mustache.

don't call me ralph

Three days into my honeymoon. What a great time. Allison and I have traveled all the way from freezing Idaho to the warm coast of California. What a beautiful change. My wife already asked me if we should go technology free. I was like what? I can’t live without my tech. I love my wife, but I’m addicted to my facebook and cell phone. I’ve been posting so many updates on facebook, that I can’t help myself. I never have anything to say, but this weekend I’m going to so many magical places with my wife. Why not let everyone else in. I’m no perfect husband, but I’m not Ralph. I would never threaten to punch my wife to the moon.

The trip took a two day driving trip. I know I’m weak compared to most McLeans. They would have made the 13 hours trip in one day, but I didn’t want to cross the Sierras at night. Having never driven the route before I felt it would be safer to travel all during daylight hours. I didn’t want to kill my beautiful bride two months into our marriage. That would be the worst.

The first night we stopped in the lovely city of Reno. We stayed at the Silver Legacy Casino. It was a large tower with a globe in front of it. Reno is a dirty little city. I don’t care what people think, it is. Luckily we only stayed one night.





Then yesterday we crossed the great state of California to make it to Monterey. We got here around five. We walked down to the bay right after that, which took about a half an hour. It was beautiful. I totally recommend coming here. The area is amazing. So that’s the honeymoon so far. An adventure that is worthy of the honeymoon.





Well were off to see some more ocean.

chapbook

This week I have been ignoring my school work, which is normal for me, and been focusing on Allison’s school work, which is not usual for me. About a month ago Allison asked me to illustrate her chapbook for her. I thought she called it a chatbook, which makes more sense than being called a chapbook. My friend Seej looked it up on Wikipedia to find out what a chapbook is. Wiki said, “Chapbook is a generic term to cover a particular genre of pocket-sized booklet, popular from the sixteenth through to the later part of the nineteenth century. No exact definition can be applied.” Well what I illustrated was a book of poems for Allison. She’s in an advanced poetry class and she wanted me to illustrate them for her collection. This is probably the first time I’ve ever actually illustrated something for someone else. I don’t know of anyone who writes things that need to be illustrated. It was so awesome to help Allison out. I wanted to share some of the illustrations I did for the chapbook. I hope you enjoi.

(Note to see the full sized pictures you need to click on them.)

This is the cover; the chapbook is entitled monsters of my heart. The title actually came after the drawing. It might have had some influence on the name.

This next picture is the illustration for the poem Sixteen. This poem is amazing, like all of Allison's poems. If you can figure out what the poem is about from this picture that would be awesome.





This last picture is the back cover. I actually drew this a really long time ago, but I just colored this picture this week. I felt this was a perfect endcap for the book. You would have to read the poems to understand, but it's perfect. Allison also loves trees, so it makes senses that the tree would replace a monster in the heart.



There were more illustrations, but some of them are old and one of them frames the poem it is illustrating. So this is all you get.

it's christmas time again

It's Christmas time again. We've seen snow fall from the sky already out here in Idaho. Thanksgiving is over, even if it's just a few days out. With the end of Thanksgiving it is time to put up the Christmas Tree. Luckily this is the first Christmas I have with my wife. We decide that it was time to buy a tree yesterday. We got a small four ft. tree from walmart and then decorated it last night.


Here we are getting ready to put the ornaments on:

I was lucky this year. I got to put the star on top of the tree. I've never got to do that before.

Unfortunately the first try was not the best. Poor little tree didn't like the weight of the star.

Luckily we finally got it all together and Allison was able to light the tree! Now that is just awesome.

Look it's the McLean's in front of their very first Christmas Tree! How awesome is that.

Christmas has come to the McLean home a little early in my opinion, but it's still the best thing ever. Merry Christmas to everyone.

one month

One month today. I have been married a whole months as of today. It’s strange to think I’ve only been married to Allison one month today. It feels like we’ve been together so much longer than a month. I would have thought we were at a year almost, but that would be impossible. So here we are one month into our marriage. I remember our single ward bishop telling us that if we could make it through the first five days we could make it through anything. Another person told us that if we could survive the first five years we would be set to go. I really don’t believe either of them though. The first five days with Allison were to amazing to even think about leaving. I was in total bliss. How could I not make it through the first five days? I know that’s the honeymoon stage and I’m sure I’m still in the honeymoon stage because I can’t imagine a world without Allison. In five years I have no clue how I’ll feel. I will be a different a person. I will be future Michael and future Michael is not me. It’s a Michael that could be a better husband and person all around or he could be a new jack the ripper. Future Michael is a scary thing to think about, because I should know him, but I don’t. That’s not the point; the point is how does making it through five years guarantee that you’ll never break up? It doesn’t. That’s all I’m saying. I know marriage isn’t easy and that I’m always going to have to work at it. That doesn’t make me mad or sad. It’s just a fact of life. I’m really happy for the fact that I am married, that I do have a wife. My wife is amazing. I couldn’t ask for a better person to be married too. The future can hold so many things. I never saw myself married to Allison two years ago when I first meet her, but past Mike had no clue who future Michael was going to be and who he was going to love. I’m so lucky that I did decide to fall for my love. She has brightened my world a hundred time a million. I never want to be without her again. This past month has been the best month of my life. It hasn’t been perfect, but it has been better than anything I’ve ever experienced before. To Allison, thank you for one magical month. I can’t wait to spend the rest of all my months with you. I love you, Michael.

twenty-five facts

I know this is a little old and I posted it on facebook last year, but i thought it was good, so it's coming here to blogger now. I also haven't updated since i originally made it, so if it seems out dated it is. - michael

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1. I was born in Iowa, but I tell everyone I’m from Indiana; but no one remembers Indiana anyway.

2. I deeply love comic books, I spend more money on comics than any person should.

3. I love to draw. I draw mostly comics about my life, but I have dreams of drawing bigger and better comics someday.

4. I love watch good TV commercials, not lame ones like local car commercials, but good ones. They just make me feel happy. I really like the ones with a storyline that goes through looks on commercials, like the country crook hands commercials. They started single and ended up married with a kid. Great stuff.

5. I really like meeting new people, but I hate talking to new people. I always want to meet new people, but I never know what to say. Plus I don’t feel like I can be myself around new people for a while.

6. I hate being alone, but I don’t like groups of people. I always want to be hanging out with people when I’m alone, but then when I am all I can think about is all the cool stuff I could do at home by myself.

7. I like nerdcore hip-hop, I even have tried making a few of my own nerdcore tracks.

8. I hate making phone calls. It has something to do with my anxiety.

9. I love text messages. They are so cold and impersonal, yet they can say so much.

10. I don’t believe in having a favorite anything. I change so much so quickly that I can’t say one thing is my favorite forever. It just depends on the mood I’m in at the time. I enjoy to many things to have a favorite anything.

11. For the last year my favorite color has been green. I literally just bought like seven green shirt since I really embraced this color. Before that my favorite color was blue for a really long time.

12. My top movies would be (in no certain order): 1. Stranger Than Fiction 2. High Fidelity 3. Shawn of the Dead 4. Hot Fuzz 5. First Sunday (wow I didn’t even see that coming) 6. Lock Stock and Smoking Barrel 7. Star Trek: First Contact 8. Hot Rod 9. Forgetting Sarah Marshall 10. Empire Records

13. I say, “That’s what she said” way too much.

14. I love mcdonalds double cheeseburgers, but starting to enjoy the mcdouble a little more. It only has one slice of cheese instead of two.

15. I’ve worked at Arby’s, McDonald’s, Burger King. And Chicago Connection. Way to many different fast food places.

16. I graduated with a graphic design degree when I was 19 and worked as a graphic designer at OfficeMax (the copy center) and Health Care Excel. For a couple of years.

17. I like making short movies. I just made a stop-motion movie that was awesome.

18. I like action figures. I have a large collection back at my parent’s house. I’m trying to not buy so many here in Idaho.

19. I have five sisters and one brother. They’re the best.

20. When I was young, I never wanted to be anything but a father. When I say young I’m talking my teens. I still have no idea what I want to do with my life other than someday be a father.

21. I really like punk music. I’m not talking about emo punk that they have now. I’m talking about rancid, boucing souls, mxpx, nofx, and blink 182.

22. If I had to give a favorite song, it would be Surf Wax America by Weezer. Since I start listening to music when I was in my teens, I’ve loved that song. It’s the one song that always makes me happy. I don’t l know why either.

23. I don’t care about sports at all, never have.

24. I’m named after this random person is Manhattan, KS that was friends with my parents. His name was Michael Bradshaw. I always tell people I was named after Michael Jackson though. Then I tell them my parents want to mess me up, which is a total lie, unless you learn my middle name.

25. My middle name is Merriam.

the weight

One week ago I was married to my wife. It has been one of the most amazing weeks since then. I consider myself the luckiest guy in all of Idaho right now. With marriage comes a new ordainment to my body. I am now wearing a wedding ring. I’ve never been much of a jewelry guy in my life. My senior year in high school is the only other time I’ve ever really worn a ring. It was a small one I wore on my middle finger. I wore it for about four or five months before I got sick of it and it broke on me. I never replaced it, because I no longer felt like wearing jewelry. My wedding ring is very different than that ring. For one it’s on my ring finger instead of my middle finger. Second it’s much heavier than that ring. It feels like my finger is getting a work out all day. By the end of the night I can barely lift my hand. I’ve never felt like this before. It’s just a ring on my finger and my whole hand is sore. I want to just put my finger into a sling because it’s so heavy.

This weight is more than just physical weight. The soreness is also a reminder of the fact that I’m married. I have never been one of those guys who believe that marriage is prison or the end of my life. I am now seeing why people might say that. My wife is amazing, but this ring is a huge weight. It’s like I have a ball and chain to my finger. The weight helps me remember my wife too. It helps me remember how much she loves. It’s there to help me remember that I have someone to go home to every night. It’s there to show me that I’m no longer alone. My finger might feel like it has a weight on it, but my soul feels as if a weight has been lifted off it. It’s such an odd feeling. My hand feels weighed down, but my soul is feeling like it’s in the heavens. Only my wife has been able to make me feel the way I am. I’ll take a sore hand for a while to be with the most wonderful woman in the world.

a new mclean

There is a new McLean in my family, no I’m not talking about Hattie (although I can’t wait to meet her). I’m talking about my new wife. This last weekend I was married to my love. It was one long weekend with so many things that needed to be done, but it’s over now. I am a married man and I happy. I never thought I could be this happy for this long. I’ve never felt such joy and love in my life. I love that I have a wife. Someone I can talk to and just be with. Life is excellent. She makes everything better. I’ve know this for awhile now. That is actually why I decide to marry my wife. When I am with her she makes me feel a hundred times better than I had ever felt before. I knew she did this to me long before we got married or even dated. Insert awesome story now: I remember last October she got my full attention for the first time. I had known her for about a year before that, but didn’t really have an interest in dating her. Like people say it wasn’t the right time yet. We were at this church Halloween dance. I was rolling (rolling means to go with as a friend) with Dan to this dance. I was trying to help hook him up with this a girl he liked. At this dance was my (future) wife. My wife was amazing that night. She dress up as a gypsy and was looking pretty hot. She kept getting close to me, even though I wasn’t dress up at all. I dance at least three slow songs with her. If you’ve been to a church dance during this period you would know that they only play about six slow songs the whole night, if you’re lucky. I danced every slow song I heard with her (oh yes I was lucky). Then during fast songs I was working to help Dan out and she still ended up near me. At one point she got really hot and took off one of her million layers she was wearing. After doing this she came up to me and said I just took off my jacket (or something like that), what else should I take off? That comment made me think this is the girl for me. At the same time, I was like no way, this girl is way out of my normal league of dating. She was so beautiful and fun. That dance is what started a one year quest that made her my wife. I didn’t start out with that in mind. I was just looking for a girl to date. I didn’t start dating her till January, but I started to talk to her at church and school. I started to get to know the most amazing person I’ve ever met in my life. To think it all started because she kept standing next to me at a Halloween dance and ask me to dance. Now there’s a new McLean that is way awesome. No offense to the pervious McLean women in my life, but I love my wife. I love the fact that it took me a year to realize she was awesome and then another few months to even get the courage to ask her out. As Mary Jane Watson says, “You hit the Jackpot, Tiger.” Oh, I hit it hard.

The Nines

Life moves so fast that no one can stop it. I’ve tried to slow it down and stop it many times; the best I get is a headache. I’m no Hiro from Heroes. If time did move slower who would enjoy the small delights this world gives us. I’m not saying I would not want to stop time or travel back in and relive some of my greatest moments, but there are so many that we have yet to have. The future is so amazing and so many things we are going to be able to do. That brings us to the nines. What are the nines? Well the nines are the amount of days till I get married. Nine days left of my single life. Will I miss my single life after I’m married? Of course I’ll miss them, but being married to my love is so much better than single.

Nine Reason to get married
9. Don’t have to sleep alone
8. Someone to eat dinner with
7. No more trying to figure out who to date
6. Someone to hold your hand during the scary parts of the movie
5. Someone to see movies with
4. Your heart is no longer empty
3. No more cooking for one
2. A person to kiss and you know will kiss you back
1. No more waking up alone in the middle of the night scared that you’ll always be alone

I can’t help but think that marriage may have a lot of scary thing too. What happens when you start having kids? What if she gets sick of you in a year or two? Those things I can’t plan for. I have to be the best husband in the world and hope that my love likes it. I can’t tell the future, but it’s open for business and I want to buy some of it. I can’t wait to embrace the future. The present is so sensational and I love where I am, but I’m ready for the nines to be up and start the millions with the one.

point blank

Family is a key element to my life. I love my family in the good times and in the bad times. Now is a time to remember, which is the worst skill I have. I have the worst memory of anyone I’ve ever met, which is sad because I’ve met some pretty big time stoners. Reflection is not my strong key, but at times even I must do it.

Calvin was my first nephew. I don’t remember much around his yearly years as I was still just a kid too. I remember more from the last few years than anything else. The second Christmas back from my mission the entire McLean Clan spent it in Utah at my sister’s enormous house. One night all the cousins were running around the house like chickens with their heads cut off. Calvin had his soft-air pistol out. I’m not sure if he actually was shooting some of his cousin or not, but some of the girl cousins complained of being hit. They were crying like they had been shot with a real gun. Now if anyone has ever been shot with a soft-air pistol you know the tiny yellow pellets don’t really hurt much. I use to get shot on my mission all the time by other missionaries. Me, being the evil uncle that I am decide to take matters into my own hands. I was able to wrestle the gun from him with little trouble. All of a sudden I was the terror. I don’t think Calvin feared me much, none of the nieces and nephews fear me. I don’t know why? Calvin started to egg me on, daring me to shot him, probably thinking that I would never do it. That kid did not know the crazy that his uncle was. I pulled the gun up and fired one right into his chest at almost point blank range. Next thing I know he was running to his mother crying about how Uncle Mikey shot him. His mother, my sister, told him tough. It was a Christmas miracle. I got off with shooting my nephew with no punishment and spent Christmas with my family.

Calvin will always hold a special place in my mind and heart. He was my first nephew. My love goes out to all those who miss him as I do, especially his family.

sold out

I grew up in a nice little college town out in Indiana. I love the town I grew up in. If it had it my way I would never have left Bloomington. Nothing stays the same though. I had to leave my beloved town to search new goals and discover new horizons. I would love to move back, but at the same time I discovered a new love; a new love for a town that is so different, but at the same time so much like my old town. I talk of my Boise. A little city nestled in mountains. I never thought I would fall for this town. It’s not my beautiful Midwest town I grew up in. It doesn’t have the beautiful trees that I grew up with. The air is morbidly dry and makes my delicate thumbs and lips split wide open. I bleed more in this little city than anywhere else I’ve lived. After two years of living in the city and two more years living in the surrounding towns, I’ve slowly fallen in love with my Boise. How can this be? How could I part with my beautiful humid Midwest town?

What would make me forsake my home? A place I’ve called home since I was eight? That is something I still don’t know. Today I was talking to one of my friends over pizza about Boise. She too is leaving Boise soon. She has to return to the dreadful Utah. She started talking about how she hated Utah and why Boise is wonderful. As we spoke in amazement of our adopted home, I came to realize how much I really do love this town we pass off as the big city. I use to hate how people made Boise the big city when it was not a big city, I’m not even sure it’s a city at all. It’s a quaint town that has sucked me in. This town has given me a university that I’ve thrived at and discover who I am. I love the green belt, a long walking park that I rode my bike on so many summer days; a place where I took my love to show her nature’s beauty. Boise is the town where I found the love of my life. I’ve grown to love the big city feeling in this town, maybe it is a small city. I will always cherish the fact that I found my wife to be in this town. Going to picnics in Camel Back, eating pizza in little pizza dives. Now I have my first home with my future wife. Not just an apartment, but a home. I hate to admit that Boise is my home. I will cherish this town forever. I love Boise just like I love Bloomington. I hope in my future adventures I can find a town like Boise or Bloomington to cherish as I have loved these two cities.