well... ok!
ahem This is a bit long so please prepare yourself for wall o text.
...
Ok I'm going to assume you are ready now
So I am Joan, 35 and writer of the comic. I have been through several jobs and careers, having started working at age 14 and didn't hit issues with getting steady work until my mid twenties. I have 1 sure master's degree in library sciences, a batchlors in Business Admin, a teaching certification for Texas (where I live) in the areas of library science, Math grades Pre k to 8th, Gen ed Pre K to 8th, English as a second language, Familyand Consumer Sciences, and General Special Education EC to 12.
I was a public librarian and well... short version is things didn't go as planned and I ended up jobless (not fired, just bad chain of events). Once I lost my chance there I worked on becoming a teacher and taught at some charter schools.... which prevented me from going to public schools for a while -_-. At one time I worked 3 jobs at the same time to help make ends meet. During this chaos I had my son and we managed to convince a bank to let us get a house that was on the cheap (it was going to be cheaper than renting). Eventually I managed to land some key sub jobs at some schools and it lead to my current position as a teacher for middle school teaching Family and Consumer Sciences (think what home ec was, but with a career and tech skills focus rather than house and spouse training).
The Hubby:
Thomas is the artist for our comic, and the man that keeps me at erasable levels of sanity. He is my rock when I am losing my mind and when things get hopeless for me (like the job mess... that was like... 5 years). Thomas has been drawing art and characters for years and years... his kinder/first grade art teachers set him on the path to art. His mom wasn't ok with him going to art school after high school, so instead he went to a lovely college in the State of Texas- Steven F Austin University. He graduated with high marks and found a job in Houston before I did, which meant we moved there. The first job barely lasted a year before the company was sold and almost everyone was laid off. He bounced a bit for about 8 months before finding a very stead gig with a company that had a print shop contract with a school district. He has past the 10 year mark working with that company and has slowly been helping to show that graphic designers are worth while.
The How we got to US:
So... his dad and my dad were BFF's in elementary school. But my dad eventually moved because he joined the air force. One day when I was 13, Dad and I were helping my grandmother with a remodel. She got a call from Thomas's dad asking where we were. Dad decided to visit and took me along. I met Thomas and pretty much got a crush on him ASAP (he's only 6 months younger than me). Course, Thomas being a 12 year old boy only saw a friend that was cool enough to be a friend.
When I got home he wants to talk to me and we used old school dial up internet to talk... and we wrote our first fan fiction together for Beast Wars. This kept us close as we came up with other stories together. We met again when we were 16 and then he had a crush but didn't act on it and I was clueless. SO he dated some girls after I left.
I dated people too and he helped me see one was an abusive jerk. At the same time, Thomas realized his feelings for me and I finally got hit with the clue bat too. We started long distance dating after I turned 18 and got married about a year after I got my master's. We have been together and working through our stuff for a long time. We always try hard to talk it out and respect each others feelings. I joke sometimes we've really been together for 23 years, and married for like 18, not 11 and 1/2.
So.... yeah. Oh and check hubby's deviant art page!