That was my day today.

It was good, as it reminded me of all the art projects I’d like to start and complete this year. I was able to network, give out a few business cards (which I need to reorder, featuring more recent art).

In light of recent tragedies, I’m participating in a few fandom auctions in with winning bids being donated to Architecture for Humanity.

I’m a little disappointed that I managed to miss both the super full moon and the Fairhope Arts & Crafts Festival this weekend. I haven’t been able to attend the Festival for over a decade because of some other more pressing engagement. This year I was actually free to attend. It’s frustrating. Anyway, Arts Alive is in a few weeks, so, hopefully I will make it downtown for that.

The pencil art from the illustration featured on the homepage of my portfolio site:

I’ve been busy with freelance and regular work. And my novel. Yes, I actually went through with the NaNoWriMo challenge.

I’m started out ahead, but am now about a good 3000 words behind. Hope I can make it up this weekend. Writing is hard.

It was a very muggy day, but Mr. White wanted to have a photo shoot (he wanted to get some shots of his fauxhawk before he cut it), so out we went. The only good thing about the weather was that the overcast skies caused for there not to be harsh shadows. However, it was this shoot that finally convince me to get my 50mm lens. The shots just weren’t coming out like I wanted. I needed a new lens because I just wasn’t getting what I wanted. I did end up getting a few decent shots towards the end.

So, that’s what’s up. Carvin looks totally different from the last time I shot him. I guess some would call that versatility. *shrug* Either way, he photographs very well.

The only big issue I still have with photography in general is using a flash. I hate it. I learned to shoot using natural light. I suppose if I got a decent flash, or a set of strobes, then the effect with look more ‘natrual.’ That’s another reason on the list of why I got the 50mm f/1.4. Wider aperture=more light getting into the lens=not as much need to use the flash in low lighting situations.

Congrats to Carvin, who’s become a father since this shoot. *sigh* We’re all growing up so fast. It’s weird being an ‘adult.’

 When I got here at 2pm, the presses were already shut down for the day. That’s never happened in the 10 months I’ve been working here. Without the constant hum of the machines, it’s eerily quiet.

[Sharon goes to the back to check the fax machine for orders.]

Nope. Still nothing.

[Sharon checks the email orders.There are 2 orders to download.]

Ok, so there’s no longer nothing to do now. Still, it’ll probably take me less than 10 minutes to process these orders, then I’m back to square one.

[15 minutes later. . ]

So, it took me a little longer than I expected. I had to manipulate some artwork. And now Richard has brought me three more cards to typeset. With that, I’ll say adieu.

11.03.2007 – Vincent, age 4. He’s such a cutie.

11.08.2007 – Another late night.

11.09.2o07 – Service awards were presented to employees for their years of working for the company. Food followed. I wasn’t too thrilled about the hamburgers and hot dogs, but the potato salad catered by Naman’s was hittin’. That’s Jessica hamming it up.

11.15.2007 – I have too many photos of myself in the mirror wearing this shirt.

11.16.2007

My sis working on a suit she’s wore on the Special Assembly Day.

While attempting to take my self portrait for the day at work one evening, the shutter fired prematurely.

11.22.2007 – Chloe, age 5.

11.22.2o07 – Maria, age 3.

11.22.2007 – Chloe’s not too thrilled about Maria’s affections.

But, they manage to make peace coloring together. . .

. . . and playing together.

11.25.2007 – Special Assembly Day. It’s Cynthia, looking lovely. I shot her wedding back in February.

11.25.2o07 – Laura and baby Tyler. He’s so precious.

11.25.2007 – Nicole. . .details, details.

11.30.2007 – The caboose. I’ve developed a fondness for the jeans sold at Buckle.

And, I’m 25 now.

My world, it moves so fast today
The past it seems so far away
And life, it squeezes so tight that I can’t breathe.
—”The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”

Yeah, life’s been crazy busy these last few weeks. Two of my co-workers lost family members in death in one week. Then, at the end of that week, one of my co-workers (Marge) got a new job, so she would be leaving. That would leave me to work her shift, since things are slow and the boss wouldn’t be replacing her. However, it was cool to see what happens when you leave a job on good terms. Apparently, you get pizza and a big congratulatory cake. (Awesome!) I’m really happy for her, though.

But, back to my lack of sleep. It’s crazy, when your circadian rhythm gets off, it’s hard to get it back on. I’m used to staying up late at night. I didn’t have to be to work til 10, but hardly ever got to sleep in because something never failed to come up to rob me of that precious extra hour or so of sleep.

Case in point: A couple of weeks ago I had a freelance job, that was supposedly a rush and I would only have about 5 days to put together this brochure for the company, no more. Monday morning rolls around, and I’ve dropped of the disk and think that I’m done with the thing. That was not the case, and I kept getting calls about the thing and things that needed to be changed/added/fixed. I ended up having an whole extra week to work on the thing. I was more than a little miffed that I had missed all that sleep working on it the previous weekend for nothing.

Whatever.

October has also been a month full of “grown-up” moments for me. Things like going to the dentist on my own dime and insurance. Or missing another dental appointment, so, instead, opting to take a trip to the optometrist and getting that long overdue eye exam, plus contacts and a new pair of glasses.

Still, through all this, my personal art has been neglected. I was greatly inspired by the shoot with Carvin last month, but I haven’t really done anything since. I really need to draw more. Something. Anything. Slam evil. But we buy out the time to do the things that we’re truly passionate about.

This weekend I’ve got a test shoot with Mr. Model. Hopefully I won’t be too clueless at the shoot. I’m good at seeing good shots when they come, but not planning them in advance. But, he has nice bone structure and all that, so it’s a start in the right direction.

I got a new eyepiece for my digital slr (I lost the old one at Niagara Falls), and I finally purchased a wireless remote, which I’d been putting off for a while. I’m still gazing longingly at the 50mm lens until I can afford to get it. I’m trying to do this new thing where I’m not destitute before payday comes around. It’s been working out ok.

Off to work I go.

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Oh, If you haven’t seen The Bourne Ultimatum, do it. And then go back and watch the first and second movies. You won’t be disappointed.

I was so stressed out at work today, I instinctively put my hand over my face and shake my head indisbelief just thinking about describing the experience here. Words fail me at the moment.

When I first started my job, I was immediately made aware that I would eventually be trained how to do color work, because at the time, there was only one person there who processed all the color jobs. If he wasn’t there and things went wrong or something needed to be sent to plate, the customer was just out of luck.

Fast forward four months, and I’m finally being trained on color work. Glenn, who does the color, was going on vacation for a week, so someone would have to do his job while he was gone. That someone would be me. In his defense, I’ll say he did a decent job of training me. . . even if it was for half of the process. *pauses to cover her face and shake head*

While Glenn is training me, something in the back of my mind is telling me that he isn’t really telling me much about what he does up to a certain point. I mean, one would think I’d need to know where he put certain files, or that I would have to email proofs of the artwork to customers. I figured things out eventually with the help or co-workers (thanks Dave and Jessica), but jeez. Mr. Glenn left a lot to assumption. I mean, I could figure out how to do what I needed to do. But it would have been nice if I would have been told I would have to do it beforehand. Good thing I anticipated this over the weekend, so I wasn’t completely blindsided. . .

Tomorrow, I’m going in to work 2 hours early just so I can get everything done and sent to plate. I know things will be better, but I really don’t need the stress right now. I didn’t even break for lunch I was so busy trying to do everything.

But . . . I’m done venting now. I had an orthodontist appointment before work, so now my mouth is aching slightly, but nothing like last time. New X-rays were taken and I have a rubber band across my top 4 incisors to close the gap between my two front teeth.

I know that this entry was supposed to follow up the previous post with more photos, but, life happened. So, hopefully, the next post will include them.

However, a small glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel appeared today, when Glenn loomed over me announced that today of all days I would finally be learning about the 4-color process. He ended up giving me an overview of processing and cutting the CMYK plates to give to the pressman, but it wasn’t exactly simple.

Should I feel bad that all I think of my job is that it’s a steady pay check? Didn’t think so.

Well, I have something to look forward to. I’ll be getting a Canon PowerShot SD 1000 in few weeks. I’m in need of a new point-and-shoot, and this seems to suit me fine. Digital camera’s are becoming more affordable. When I bought my SD 400 (about a year and a half ago), it was about $100 more than this latest model of the PowerShot. Yeah, this is why I’m always broke.

Finally, here’s the sketch I did on vacation. I drew it in the TV room of the lobby.

Good night, kids.

So, looks like I’ll stick to rentals and purchases until May movie madness. This weekend I chose to satisfy the request of a friend and rented the Back to the Future Trilogy. I remember what happened in the first movie, but the last two are very sketchy in my memory.

While I’m going on about entertainment, I suppose I’ll mention that the new album from Amy Winehouse (Back to Black) is awesome, so if you like Lauryn Hill, Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend and the like, you’ll probably like her. The girl can sang; and she has a story to tell. I’m also digging the new Fall Out Boy, Infinity on High.

The new job is going fine, however, I interviewed for another job at an aviation firm, but decided not to take it. So, I thought I my curiosity was satisfied, and I could focus on the world of wholesale printing. Then, someone calls me from this company that I’d applied to a few months ago to see if I was still interested in working there. I’m like, “tschyeah.” I’d love the opportunity to have a job where I’d be doing actual graphic design, but I’m not dissatisfied with the one I have right now. So, probably in the next two weeks I’ll interview with them. Thankfully I’m in a position in my life where I can explore different employment opportunities.

Jessica and her pin-up covering paper dolls; Margaret and her vomiting cat.

The only thing about my job is that my time for art has suffered. I’ve been doing hardly any, safe for two character drawings of my workmates. I may do more, because it’s quite fun. Realistically, I can find time to do art if I really want. I’m still late with the last jam at sba, and now there’s a new one up. So, I’ll try to cram for that