Alright, alright...

Mmmhmmm... so yes. Hi. I'm here, I'm alive.

What a crazy TWO weeks its been!!!

Work has been work as usual... we're almost done with the new system so my tedious job may get a little easier. A programmer made this nifty little program... and now we have to try to break it! Woo! Then we'll release it to the agents... phew.

We went on our trip last weekend, hoping to get up to some hot springs near Atlanta (Idaho). We got about 45 minutes away... and there was too much snow. We just couldn't make it through! So we very carefully and perilously turned around and found a spot to camp, since it was getting late at that point. We had noticed what looked like a almost died-out forest fire when we were heading up, and one of the people on the trip said that it was a slash burn, which is a controlled burn of underbrush and other things that would fuel a real forest fire. We decided to stop near it, and then the boys wanted to camp near it. We stood by it for awhile, and it was so nice to get warm after trying to push the cars up the mountain. :P Hehe. It was just like a huge bonfire(seriously, I don't think I could explain how big it was)... but it was so calm and peaceful. Not how you usually think of fire.

So that night was really cold... it snowed all night, and I can't say that I've ever slept outside when its snowing. Brrr. We packed up as fast as we could in the morning, and drove home to thaw!!

I mentioned in my last post, I think, that I'm going to be writing for an online magazine about anime. The next issue goes live on the 3rd or so, so you should check it out!! :) I did a lot of the initial edits, which was a crazy job... but its been so fun. There is a staff member on AF that I've gotten to be really good friends with. He is totally anime crazy! He has so much anime and manga he could never hope to watch or read it all in his lifetime. I've bought a lot of graphic novels lately because of him! He recommended a couple that he actually wrote the english adaptation for! That's really cool. He also plays DDR like crazy... he's just a funny kid.

I don't know who all has heard.... Andrew and I had some major issues this past weekend, with both of us showing lack of respect and trust. We've decided to break up for now, and see where things go. It was a long hard process to figure out what the heck we were going to do, but I think we're both OK with what we've decided.

I keep jumping from one subject to another, since I have so much to talk about.

This weekend I'll be going with my family to UofI, where my sister goes, and I'm really excited!! I get to hang out with Jenn, and be a total anime nerd! Ahhh! I can't wait.

I worked all through my lunch today, trying to get the readers done for the paper.... and I am so hungry. I'm going to go eat. Sorry this was short, but I need food. Uuuuuggghhh. :D

I love weekends

Who doesn't? :)

Yesterday was so hard to get through, because it was crazy in the morning, and then just crawled by in the afternoon. When Sam got to work, he discovered that his computer had restarted itself or something overnight, and there were updates to install. So he clicked on the updates, and there was this one that had you sign a user agreement, and then asked if you wanted to know more about a potential security vulnerability. Sam clicked yes, and his computer literally died. He couldn't run anything. How did that happen? That update came up on my computer too, and I clicked no because I didn't want to deal with it right then. I'm glad I didn't click yes, because who knows what it would have done to my computer... ack!

So he spent all day backing up his data of his computer (it wouldn't connect to other computers on the network, or that file server that keeps dying, but by some weird stroke of luck, Nero worked! So he could burn CDs) and then he reformatted it, and started all over. I couldn't believe it.

I worked on a logo that just baffled me. I couldn't get it to look right at all. Arg. Finally Sam came up with something. I am mad that I couldn't work it out. Then I worked on some research, and some other stuff I can't remember. The thing that got me through the day was my crazy friends on Animefringe. The staff there is so fun.

Then I headed out to Caldwell to watch Super Size Me with all my friends out there, and that was great fun. Ryan made us all chocolate chip pancakes, which were really really good. Bill and Sarah made the mistake of eating McDonald's before watching that movie!! They regretted it. That movie is just so disturbing.... it makes you wish there was something you could do about everything that is wrong in the world.

Then this morning, I slept in till 11! Woo! That was wonderful. I'm going to get up earlier tomorrow to do laundry, and then hang out with my friend Sam (not the one from work). I haven't seen him in awhile, so hopefully it will work out!

This afternoon I went with Andrew's family (and Max) to the Pumpkin Festival in Eagle. The best part about that is the Pumpkin Chunkin', where they shoot pumpkins out of huge pneumatic cannons!! Its sweet. One of the cannons shot one 3200 feet!! Then we waited forever in line to get a pumpkin smoothie, but it was worth it. Yummy.

After that, we came to my house and ate pizza. Then we twiddled our thumbs, trying to figure out what to do. We ended up laying on the trampoline looking at the sky! There were a lot of clouds, so there weren't many stars, but it was nice out, and it was nice to talk.

I'm going to go to sleep now! This is the latest I've been up in a long time. :D

Nert

Ugh. I can't even bring myself to WANT to post a long, cool blog. I just got tired of seeing that same one at the top...

I feel like my life is out of control... each day just flies by and then its the next one, and finally its the weekend, but its hard to get things done then too, because I actually want to see people!!

Something that might help me differentiate one day from the next is the fact that I just got hired (volunteer basis) to write articles for Animefringe, a really cool online magazine! I look forward to getting started on some articles, and going to the bookstore to look at more manga and stuff. I think I might end up buying some manga, 'cause my collection is seriously lacking.

That's it that I can muster right now. I've had a migraine most of the afternoon, and I am so hungry I can barely stand it. I best go eat, or something. :P

Jumping out of perfectly good airplanes...

Not surprisingly, I survived until the weekend. :D The trip to Bruneau was really fun; I did end up seeing a lot of my friends that are still in school, and Lennon too. It was really cloudy, so we couldn't look at the stars, and it was really windy so we couldn't really play in the sand (and I was tired!). But we did have a good fire, and made s'mores... and since it was overcast, it stayed pretty warm overnight, so I didn't get cold! :) My mouth tastes like smoke tho, and I hate it when that happens cause I know its going to stay like that for awhile, and there's nothing I can really do.

Last night, I hung out in Caldwell at ACI. We made some pasta salad at Andrew's, and then went to Ryan's room to watch Fahrenheit 9/11. Man. Bush is an idiot. I feel weird saying something so political, because I never have an opinion on this stuff. Mostly I've just felt like this war was really stupid and pointless, and there HAS to be better ways to deal with things. How is killing more people going to fix anything? Sigh. And it also feels like I'm being unpatriotic, but I'm just mad at our president. Even if Kerry's had a tough time expressing his opinions, and has gained the status as a "flip-flopper" (that's so lame), he's still got to be better than Bush. Geez. Anyone would. But Kerry has potential. Plus he LOOKS like a president. That's important! I say this after I've showed that I've actually thought about the really important things. :P

Hmmhmm. Moving on. We went to "Phreakin Phrenzie" for a minute in the middle of our movie to grab some pizza, and grab some we did. About 3 boxes of it (thank you Lennon). So we had a grand old party. We watched some extras on the Fahrenheit 9/11 DVD, and there was a funny bit with comedians from the Middle East.

Today was Max and Lennon's birthday, so this morning they went skydiving! Yay! It was fun to watch them. I'm gonna do it some day, I promise. :D I need to finish Max's present (I'll give it to you this next weekend Max! You'll love it! Hopefully!). I wish I had something to give Lennon, but I just don't know him well enough to know what to do. But I hope those boys have a fun time being 21.

On a really sad note, a little boy that I knew through Neopets died from cancer over the weekend... he had been fighting really hard for a long time, but there wasn't much they could do. I wish you could have lived to a ripe old age, Jerron, and I wish I could have gotten to meet you. I hope you know that we all love you. :'( My candle for Jerron....

()
| |
| |
| |

(the formatting doesn't show up right...)


Well yes. I don't know what to do now. I'm really exhausted, and unmotivated. I kinda feel like going to Barnes and Noble... maybe I'll do that for an hour or so. Cool. Will post again soon. I'm really enjoying having this blog. Its been really fun so far! I promise I will check out everyone's like Bill and Sarah and Cassie soon... just haven't had a chance.

Goodnight all. *Big hug for everyone*

Where's the Creativity?

I realized just how much I lack the ability to take a project, and just brainstorm viable ideas!! Today I met with an agent, and she gave me two logos to work on. I couldn't think of anything; I was just staring at my computer screen. So finally I went in to talk to Sam, because he said that I could come in and ask for help if I needed it. He looked at the few pieces of information that I had, sat there looking at the ceiling for like a minute, and then said OK! And just started sketching cool ideas all over the paper I brought in. And he was drawing with a pen too!! Geez. Where do you learn this stuff?

So I've decided that I'm going to definitely try to draw/sketch something everyday, as well as look at some sources for inspiration like my huge list of graphic designers' portfolios. There's all sorts of inspiration out there, I just need to pay attention and learn to record it.

Today was quite a crazy day. But then what day at Holland Realty isn't a crazy day? Pretty much only Mondays, sometimes. Today I "helped" Sam work on the Fall Collection of Homes ad (I sat behind him, occasionally saying, "that looks really good!" and "eh, maybe not that bright of an orange"). That took most of the morning. Then about noon I was like, well, I better get these reader ads sent in to the paper, doodoodoo... ACK! Technical difficulties! Who knew!! Murphy's Law strikes again! I just couldn't get the files to save right, and it took me till 1. Then I was meeting with the agent about the logos, so I went to lunch at about 1:15. I was hungry! I ate pretty fast, and then took like a 10 minute nap. It didn't really help, because when I got back was when I was just staring and unable to think. So then finally I asked Sam for help, and then worked on his cool ideas the rest of the afternoon!!

When I got home, I started working on a picture, using Illustrator. I use that all the time at work, so I need to learn how to use it pretty well. I think I'm really getting the hang of it!! The curves are the hard part... using the handles to get the curve just right. Ah well.

Hmmhmmhmm. What else to say? I'm going to Bruneau Sand Dunes tomorrow night to camp out... its gonna be cold!! But hopefully tons of my buddies will be there, including twins Max and Lennon! It'll be cool to see Lennon again. And then on Sunday they're going sky-diving. Yes, they are trying to convince me to go, but I don't feel like this is the time for me to do that. I don't feel like I REALLY want to go, I just can't see myself jumping out of a plane. Maybe I'll change my mind again. Who knows. Hehe. Aren't I such a girl?

Random note, my Graphic Design guild on Gaia is growing so fast! There are so many awesome people on it and I just love it. I could hang out on that site allllll day long. :D

I'm planning to update my website soon... I'm tired of the way it looks. Plus, I need to update my DeviantArt account so that there is actually some new work on there!!! Work that is newer than like 6 months old, at least. :P

If anyone who uses Blogger is reading this... how do I get a list of friends and links to show up on my front page? I've noticed a lot of people have that, and I would like to too. But I can't figure it out. Help!

And one last bit of humor. The funniest conversation happened today while I was sitting in Sam's office. The photographer Sam hired to take the photos for the expensive houses (Al) is a really cool guy, and apparently has a quick wit. He called Sam to figure out some billing issues, and he says "hi Sam" and Sam (knowing full well who it was) said "who's this?" and Al says "this is Fred Meyer" and so Sam says "hello Fred, what can I do for you?" and Al says "I just wanted to let you know that your bologna just came in..." and Sam just starts laughing... I thought it was kinda funny, but Sam was laughing so hard I couldn't help laughing harder and harder. It was great. Then on an email Al sent him, he wrote "thanks, your friend, Fred." What silliness. :D

OK OK. Its time to find a sketchbook, draw some things, and then crash. I'm so tired. Its impossible. I don't think I'll survive another day. *faint* Teehee.

Just Another Anime Monday

Thanks to my anime guide at About.com for the catchy title of today's post! I check my email every morning when I get into the office, and I got the Monday edition of the anime newsletter today, and it just made my morning! I made me realize, too, that I have been neglecting the otaku (obsessed anime fan) side of myself... so I decided to sort through some of my anime bookmarks and pick out the best ones to send over to About.com, cause she loves getting new links! I also NEED to draw some character or something soon, as well as watch some of the anime I have that I haven't seen yet.

It was just a usual Monday in the office, however. Worked on readers ALL day... no matter how hard I try I never get done before right at 5. I guess its cause I get the last straggling submissions about 4:30 (I'm not supposed to accept them after 3, shhh, I hate mad agents! Hehe)... I would have been done earlier, but the internet died in our office again about 4. This time it wasn't the servers, I don't think, cause I could still get on the network. Anywho, thanks to Ryan for getting that repaired quick like a bunny! Hehe.

I felt SO bad for Sam today. He stayed up ALL night working on this new website design, looked so miserable all day, but he still slogs through all his work. Then they had a meeting with the boss (John Holland)... and John was apparently (I don't go to these meetings yet) asking why we haven't started working on the rebranding of the company... its so hard to convince that man that we work our butts off, especially with Sam. I mean, he can't NOT sleep. I guess the upside is that he's getting mad overtime. :)

I saw the movie Garden State this weekend, and man, it was good. I read some reviews where the people said it was forced and unoriginal, and we never had time to connect with the characters. But I thought it was really well done, funny, and sweet. The plot was engaging, and I loved the main characters at least. It was off-beat and sometimes downright strange, but I thought it was good. So there. Hehe.

I worked on registering WaterYourDog.com this weekend... we still need to finalize that so there's no site yet... but I'm going to be working on layout ideas! I'm really excited. I also have some other ideas for the business. Oh, I guess I could explain. My second cousin Ron is really into hunting, and training dogs. He decided he needed a better way to put water in the kennel so it wouldn't get all over in transit. So him and a buddy worked together to build this waterbox, as he calls it, and now he's ready to sell it. He's going to make some other things too. But he's just so into hunting and stuff, that he doesn't really think in business terms, so I feel like its up to me to make sure there's customer support, maybe a newsletter or some way of keeping track of previous customers... as well as funds and stuff. I also know pretty much 100% more about computers.... hehe. I know, I sound like I think I'm all special. But its just the truth that I'm the manager and art director of R2K2. Wow. Scary, but exciting.

Well I guess that's it for today! I'm so glad I have a place to just write stuff down. It gets it out of my head and leaves room for things like sleeping. :) Goodnight!

Friday Fun!

Yeah, I guess it wasn't too fun of a day, that was just the title of a news article here on Blogger.com. It gave the suggestion of asking your "readers" three things they'd like to see photos of like in your house and stuff, and then you post those... that would be fun, but I don't have a digital camera. I've decided that I'm getting one tho. Sam at work showed me how he has pictures of stuff that inspires him on his camera phone, and I don't have a camera phone. So I decided I'd get a camera. I've felt like I've wanted to take pictures lately anyway. Of just random stuffs.

Anywho. It was a long day because I felt really tired and sick to begin with this morning. At about 8:30, I went into Sam's office to talk about what projects we'd be working on, since Fridays are project day. I sat down in the chair in there, and just felt like I could sleep right there for hours. He did all the "driving" as he likes to say, finishing up a letterhead and business card, which we then printed off on nice paper and put in the boss's office. The printer we have in our office can tell what sort of paper you have in there, so when you put thicker nicer paper in, it won't print, it just says "unexpected paper size" so you have to go tell it what kind you put in there. That printer needs a "just deal with it" button. Then we finished up a logo and sign for an agent, and that took longer than it needed to because as Melia says, drawing with Illustrator is like drawing with boxing gloves on. Blech. Hehe. I made some "directional signage" which turned out pretty cool.

The server went down at about 11:45, so we couldn't get on the internet or the network, so I left for lunch a little early. Sam had to go to a funeral (so sad!!) and was gone till about 2:30, so I filled the time by starting on readers and doing headers for the pages. You know you have nothing to do when you're doing something you usually do on Tuesday on the previous Friday. :) Then when he got back, the wife and son of "the boss" came in needing his help with a poster for the son's drama production at BSU. So I really didn't have anything to do then either!! I just went through some inspirational links (looking at portfolios is a good way to get ideas!) and starting making a list of "Songs you shouldn't like because they're by really annoying pop stars but you just can't help yourself cause they're so darn catchy". I'm going to make a CD! The first song is Pieces of Me by Ashlee Simpson. I woke up to it today, and I just love it, but she is so annoying! :D

Well me and Andrew are going through a rough patch... we discovered we hadn't been communicating as well as we thought, and I feel the need to take a break from our usual... maybe spend less time together, and make sure we're actually doing something when we do hang out. We were thinking we'd take a "break" (da da dum) but I think maybe changing pace in a different way might work better. We just need to reconnect. Plus I'd like to find some friends here in Boise to hang out with, I just feel the need to meet people.

Speaking of, there was a guy from Boise I randomly met on the Internet that I thought might be a great friend to have. He was my age, and he was really fun to talk to the 2 times I actually talked to him, so I thought maybe he could email me or something, and somehow make sure he wasn't a creep ;) and then maybe hang out. All I wanted was a friend, but he's disappeared and I don't know how to get ahold of him. I'm kinda disappointed. I thought I had a new friend. Sigh.

I'm working on a website (yay, something graphics related!!) for my 2nd cousin (or something like that) who's going to be selling stuff for hunting dogs. I'm really excited to get started, and I'll definly post a link when I get some progress on it. I looked all over for the best hosting prices and stuff, and I think GoDaddy.com is the best deal. There's a real cheap one that will do for this small site. I'm also thinking seriously about getting my own site set up... I've been wanting to for so long.

So this week was better than last, by a long shot. It was reasonably stress-free (at work anyway), I'm just really tired. I had readers done by Wednesday evening, and John from the paper was ready to kiss my feet he was so happy I got them done before the deadline. ;) If you live in Boise, look at the paper this week, I did those readers at the beginning of the Real Estate section, and also an ad for Shadow Mountain Inc, which is like on page 8 or something. :D

OK well I guess that's it for this entry. That was long!! I had a lot to say, and I'm sure I'll think of more tomorrow.