Today I celebrate my independence from the British...
Whilst tossing away pretty much everything I own (CDs and DVDs... you're next!) I found a box full of stuff pertaining to that Guy-Who-I-Hope-Chokes-on-an-English-Muffin. Pictures, gifts he'd given me (including a pair of shoes that were not my style), etc. I went through the pictures and laughed as I went along... he really was a goofy dude... but it was sort of surreal, because while I know I dated this guy, it was like looking at someone I never even knew. Even looking at me was weird, because I really don't recognize that person. I pulled out a few pictures that had some other friends in them and tossed the Brit into the trash bag. I found another stack of stuff from the Blood Seller and tossed most of that as well.
Shaniqua came in and said she never would be able to toss pictures. I told her that these people are in my past, and frankly I don't care or think about them any more, so why hold onto these things? To me, they're just taking up space.
Maybe that makes me cold hearted. I don't know. But I do know that hanging onto items from the past has never meant much to me. Whether good or bad, the experiences I had with these people have shaped who I have become now, and really, that's all the reminding I need.
So, goodbye to the Brit, and goodbye to the Bloodseller. You've been cleared out.
I do kind of wonder, though, wherever you are, do you somehow know you've been tossed?
I guess that's a question to which I will never know the answer.
-K.
sometimes i wish i had that magical, twitchy nose like that samantha from bewitched. ah - when t.v. shows were a league of their own. in a good way.
and as much as i wished i had powers to make my closet, or any space in my house, either big or small, become instantly organized and clean in matter of a milli-second, the reality is, of course, that i can't do that. and even if i could, would i really be using my powers just to clean closets?
anyway, this is something i have been wanting to do since september but something always came up. and as we had no plans today, i decided to go for it.
two hours later, i am left with just my cd case and one half of a shelf piled of magazines to go through. and i just can't do anymore. two hours in a closet is enough! i will do that half a shelf and cds another day.
most importantly, i organized all the christmas presents that i bought. yes, that's right. you heard me.
not only do i organize my christmas shopping lists into spreadsheets where there is one spreadsheet for each - my familly, doug's family, doug and chaeli and misc. gift... not only do i create another spreadsheet to correlate with the other four, but this one being by store, either online or off, so i don't end up running all over town, hitting stores more then once... but at some point, i organize my gifts so that all the gifts going to thunderbay are in one or two large shopping bags, and i do the same for presents for chaeli, doug and my own side of the familly.
there is a chaotic period where i shop and just pile everything in the corner of my walk-in closet, still in their bags/boxes.
it was driving me crazy. now, they are all organized. all i need to do is pull them out in the order that they need to be wrapped - doug's family being the front in line.
yup.
i'm psychotic.
i am WFH/out sick today. i've been fighting something mild for a few days and the stupid flu shot from yesterday probably sent my body over the edge. a friend is bringing over wonton soup shortly so help feed this cold, so yay! sadly, my plans for awesome sushi and jaunting around in the city tonight will have to be rescheduled since i have a pretty full weekend ahead and it's more sensible to take it easy so that i can give my body the rest it needs to recover quickly.
other than being a sickie, life is moving along and it's becoming pretty swell. several life adjustments had to be made recently, some of which were extermely difficult and took a LOT of self-discipline but in the end i knew i had to do what was best for ME. i think i spent too much time worrying about what other ppl wanted, what other ppl thought, and how i could help THEM. i didn't stand behind my own values b/c i thought i was this all-powerful, influential, giving and caring person who had what it takes to make a difference in someone else's life and in the process, i somehow got myself caught up in an upside down, topsy-turvy world where nothing was quite what it seemed and one where i lost trust in myself and in others. that was probably the worst part; losing trust in myself. i didn't trust myself to communicate my desires and expectations effectively, i didn't trust that i was saying the right things, and i certainly didn't trust myself enough to have it in me to put my foot down and put the brakes on a (self) destructive cycle. with the support of a few key friends, old and new alike, i was able to pull through it and start 'normalizing' my life.
one day, i might write about what i've learned in the last year but it might not be anytime soon since i'm still trying to understand WTF it is i did learn, if anything.
i leave you with pics of 1) memo-holder robots that someone made/gave to me this week (robots, robots, robots!!!) and of 2) halloween w/ 'ass backwards'.
seriously, a guy coming out of a donkey's ass, d*cks in boxes and a banana pug (get it??!?!?! a BANANA-PUG!!!). too awesome.
there are a lot of parties, celebrations and events being piled into our already booked weekends from now until the end of the year.
doug and i have one weekend this month where nothing is scheduled. nothing - for the whole weekend. and just that one weekend alone. chaeli will be staying at my parents' place.
and you know i'll want to head out somewhere nice for dinner. probably with friends, actually, so we can have an adult night. where, i don't know. somewhere new and interesting.
i love this season. i do. i (knock on wood) just hope that we all stay healthy enough to enjoy all these fun things we have planned. a run-down of events we've got schedule:
- ada and hoa's duo birthday party
- cathy's daughter's birthday party
- SCAW charity concert followed by dinner ath roger mooking's kultura
- stuart mclean's reading/music concert after dinner on baldwin street
- disney on ice followed by a visit to city hall and dinner
- visit from MIL for an extended weekend
- visit to a christmas tree farm
and then, of course, christmas and new year's. and ta-dah! hello 2010!
actually, the peppermient mocha at starbucks is a tad too sweet for my taste. but i love the minty flavour so it's hard to resist.
the heaven part really isn't just the drink. it's that i took the day off, got the house cleaning done in the morning (so i know it's out of the way for the weekend), gone for a very good, strength-circuit class from hell, had a very yummy turkey sandwich with sparkling water and am now listing to tunes while surfing at starbucks (god bless 2 hour free hotspot a day here).
the mocha latte is my dessert.
and i have about 2.5 hrs more before i have to go pick up little miss.
i'm loving it!
... another sad day for us :(.
nothing much to say at the moment so here are a couple songs which are more 'uplifting' than this post (i meant to rave about these songs earlier in the week and am now realizing i won't be in the right mood to do so anytime soon) and a quote someone posted this morning on their FB.
".. and the air is thin
and it blows through your skin
and you feel like something
is about to begin.
and the walls spin
and you're paper-thin
from the haze of the smoke
and the mescaline ..."
Freelance life can be tough. Long gaps between commissions. Accounts departments who just can't seem to find your invoice. Not to mention the ever-present need to get your work seen by the people who count.
Jonny Wan, a freelance illustrator from Sheffield, knows all about that. A graduate of the Manchester School of Art, he's constantly striving to ensure his unique illustrative style (think abstracted facial expressions, patterns, symmetry and hand-drawn lettering) snags the attention of creative directors everywhere – and he does so via Business Cards and Postcards from MOO.
MOO first caught his eye at his university degree show, where he noticed that all the students' cutest promo materials were produced by the same company – MOO! Then we tempted him with a free Business Card sample, giving him a chance to try our ordering software ("simple, logical and gives the user complete control") and evaluate our print quality and finishing ("very pleasing"). Duly hooked, Jonny ordered a set of Postcards and some Business Cards featuring a range of his work, and is preparing to send them off to art directors as we speak.
As an illustrator, working in a visual medium, presentation is very important to Jonny. "I like to make little promotional packs of my postcards and business cards", he says. "I send them out packaged in self-seal clear bags. It's good to put real thought into how the art director receives your promo materials – it's boring to just whack some cards in an envelope."
Like many creative types, Jonny's happiest when he's working, even between commissions. An example of this is his self-initiated "Can't Afford It" project. Whenever he wants an item of clothing he can't afford, he draws it instead! Eventually to be self-published as a book, working like this helps him improve his work rate, hone his Photoshop and Illustrator skills, and keep his unique style fresh and ever-evolving.
No matter how his style develops, MOO's short print runs means that his promotional materials are always in step with his latest work. "As an illustrator, your style is always changing and improving. The last thing you want is to end up with a thousand cards of the same design. You need to keep existing and future clients up to date with your freshest, latest work, because essentially they will hire you based on what they see on your promo material. It's no good for an art director to commission you only to find that your illustrative style has changed or moved on." He laughs. "After all, you wouldn't be happy buying a Jay-Z CD to find a Metallica disc inside, right?"
When designing his cards, Jonny also took advantage of a new feature that allows users to upload images for both the front and the back of the Business Cards. "Anything that gives you more options allows room for creative control – and it's that kind of flexibility that keeps me coming back to MOO. The ability to upload images for both sides of the Business Cards enables you to make the cards completely unique."
"A business card is usually the first point of contact between a new client and an illustrator, so it's important your card jumps out at people while being straight and upfront with your contact details. The fact that the cards can be individual rather than generic also gives a sense of professionalism – people can be impressed that you've put the effort into designing your own cards. A little effort can go a long way."
Jonny's constantly thinking of new ways to promote his work using MOO products. "I love the Stickers – I can see them being a very unique selling point. They're a little different and unexpected, which is beneficial in an industry where everyone strives to promote themselves in a unique way."
MiniCards appeal to him for the same reason. "MiniCards are great because they get straight to the point and don't take up a lot of space. Art directors get bombarded with samples every morning. They open their mail and have to make snap decisions about what to keep and what to chuck."
"They're more likely to pin a MiniCard onto their noticeboard than, say, a leaflet, because they know it won't take up a lot of space. And if your work's on their noticeboard, they're more likely to bear you in mind when it comes to commissioning. And that's what it's all about!"
Thanks for talking to us Jonny! We look forward to seeing more of your work soon.
Like Jonny's work? He's available for commissions so get in touch, and say hello from us too.
The Academy Is... played an acoustic version of their set for the San Antonio leg of the AP Fall Ball Tour since Butcher (their drummer) was out sick. Boo, but thank goodness for Youtube!
I went a little overboard and bought 4 pairs of Nine West shoes from 6pm.com when they were on sale last week. Hard to resist cute shoes at $19.95/pair. The sale was suppose to start Friday morning. But when I went to check Thursday night,it had already started! So I swooped in and got all the cute size 5/5.5 shoes. They just arrived today! Super fast shipping (flat rate of about $7).
Yes, I also got these in blue. I like the details on these and a girl can't have too many cute flats. I also got these in size 5 and hello, also a little big. What's up?!
So with tax and shipping, I spent under $100 for 4 pairs of shoes. Most of these are available on other sites (Macy's, Zappos) for regular price ($79+). Score!
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