Eternal Sunshine

An educational journey through the Web Design world.

The semester is over!!

*dance of glee*

However, work is pure insanity and I see no end in the workload anytime soon. So I will be doing the work thing then doing the at home accomplish nothing thing for the entirety of my break I think.

After I re-wrote my resume it hit me that I actually have some decent accomplishments under my belt for someone who techincally isn’t ‘degreed’ yet.

Considering that a huge number of people see some of the graphic work I have done on a daily basis through my state’s vacancy posting system (government jobs). Not too shabby. Being 2 out of 3 finalists for a departments logo contest. That’s pretty good too.

Building web applications several departments use, dealing with those people day to day. I guess I’m not doing too bad after all.

However that does not take away any of the frustration I feel here from time to time regarding the lack of a real ‘full-time’ job and benefits and what not. It’s a good thing I like my customers and my co-workers most of the time or I would go crazy.

Though I can’t think of anyone’s job that isn’t the same in that respect.

Classes are in full swing again, I’m working on a full blown site for a portfolio piece and feeling beneath myself re-taking a programming course I took when I first started this and didn’t do so well in. Now it seems like child’s play in a sad sad way. I do more complicated things at work than I am being asked to do for homework. That’s ok, it’s giving me a chance to learn a new language, new ways of doing things so I shouldn’t complain.

Ah, the daily contradiction that is me.

That’s enough for now, until next time I actually get around to posting, ta!

Who decides to quit smoking right before the most stressful time of the year (for her)?

Me…

3 days down…hopefully the rest of my life to go…

Summer as I know it is all but over and sadly I have to confess that my usual to-do list has very few done’s and far more do’s than I’d like.

For S&G’s…here’s the list again with additional comments from me…

• Re-write Resume I actually did this in the last few weeks because I needed to apply for a different position in my area at work. I think it turned out decent, and slightly more impressive than I was expecting.
• Get DisasterDesigns completed and online
• Research possible college options for future bachelor degree finishing I’ve narrowed it down to 3 options that I’ve sent away for more info on.
• Write/Call MSU regarding what I would need to do to finish my Psych degree I decided not to do this for the time being, I want to focus on getting the Bach in Web Design/Development first.
• Take on a few freelance jobs
• Work on the Marty/Me book project that is collecting layer upon layer of dust
• Read. Read. Read.
• Learn ASP.NET
• Refine Flash skills
• Create no less than 5 CSS templates for use with sites
• Improve layout technique and design in Photoshop
• Learn. Learn. Learn.
• Eat better, move more We have a Wii fit but I have not been on it nearly as much as I was the first two weeks we had it.
• Organize files on computer more efficiently
• Start an IRA Done, not much in there but done.
• Save $. Save. Save. Save. – I tried, I failed, I had too much stuff come up that depleted what I had saved for a rainy day…dammit!
• Start looking for companies to potentially apply with in the area and out of state
• Write daily entries here
• Sell things I don’t need. I’m adding more things to my selling list on Half.com as I decide I no longer need them.
• Start creating a more professional wardrobe. Comfortable but office appropriate.
• Plan out for a better financial year
• Relax and enjoy the sunshine – Have as much as I can but not as much as I’d like to

Sad isn’t it? I am in the process of watching a series of training DVD’s from TotalTraining that we have available at work. One on Visual Studio 2005, another on ASP.NET 2.0. I realize both of these are ‘old news’ in the programming word but they are new to me so I’m learning.

I’ve had my hands and brain in on several ASP projects and a few ASP.NET projects at work now, and I’m starting to really enjoy the behind the scenes world of web applications. I still love making pretty things but when something I make (down the line when I’m good at all this) is both beautiful and functional I’ll be one happy little geek.

Making a page pretty is fun, making it useful is rewarding. I’m working on it.

I can’t believe I’ve been out of school for almost a month and yet that big list of things to do this summer has yet to even be glanced at.

Work has been very busy, learning lots of new things which excites me. It’s also been very frustrating on occasion but such is life. Home life has been busy too, which hasn’t left much time for the interwebs.

I haven’t been keeping up with any of my design blogs as much as I’d like, or anything internet related for that matter.

Basically thus far this summer I am epic fail for a nerd.

I can live with that.

I am, after a weekend of many headaches, done with all projects and homework for the semester. JOY!

While I’m one of those nerdy people that love to learn and get excited about new textbooks, I’m also one that gets incredibly antsy with the onset of a semester off to pursue my own thing. I’m focused and full of ideas. I have to harness that joy and really work with it or I’ll end up being lazy all summer and accomplishing a great wealth of nothing. Which with as hard as I work most days wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.

I have a sketch going for DisasterDesigns. Two in fact. I’ve all but given up on the layout I started working on a few months back. It’s too dark, I want something more sunny, light, clean and professional. So here’s hoping what’s in my brain will translate well to paper then to digital life.

My hope is to get DisasterDesigns up and running in 8 weeks. That is my plan. I don’t know that I will be able to fully accomplish this, but I’m going to try like hell. There are several aspects of what I want to do that I just don’t have the knowledge of how yet. I’ll get there, by books or just a ton of searching on Google.

Bring on the summer!

As promised here’s a little gathering of the books I’m considering purchasing for this summer. Which gives you an idea of how little a social life I’m likely to have…and may not even miss. I am that lame.

Design Related

• Web Standards Solutions: The Markup and Style Handbook (Pioneering Series)
  by Dan Cederholm
• The Photoshop Anthology: 101 Web Design Tips, Tricks & Techniques
  by Corrie Haffly
• HTML Utopia: Designing Without Tables Using CSS
  by Rachel Andrew
• The Art and Science of CSS
  by Jonathan Snook
• The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks & Hacks
  by Rachel Andrew
• The Principles of Beautiful Web Design
  by Jason Beaird
• CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions
  by Andy Budd
• Bulletproof Web Design: Improving flexibility and protecting against worst-case scenarios with XHTML and CSS (2nd Edition) (Voices That Matter)
  by Dan Cederholm
• Learning Web Design: A Beginner’s Guide to (X)HTML, StyleSheets, and Web Graphics
  by Jennifer Niederst Robbins (Author), Aaron Gustafson (Technical Editor)

Not Design Related

• Modern Love: 50 True and Extraordinary Tales of Desire, Deceit, and Devotion
  by Daniel Jones
• My Boring Ass Life: The Uncomfortably Candid Diary of Kevin Smith
  by Kevin Smith
• The Vagina Monologues
  by Eve Ensler
• Slut!
  by Leora Tanenbaum
• The Female Brain
  by Louann Brizendine M.D., Susan Wels
• Female Chauvinist Pigs
  by Ariel Levy

Clearly, I have no life. lol

Just a quick note in thanks for the beautiful (and free) theme created by Design Disease thanks to Smashingmagazine.com. More specifically through a Google search.

One of these days I must/will/need to/should create my own, but for now this is pretty and well done. Thank you anonymous interweb friend for your beautiful work.

Well it’s official. I’m not taking any classes this Summer. Mostly because the offerings are pathetic. Not a single thing that will either take care of a needed credit, or just anything I want to take in general. So this summer shall be my own way of learning. Woot!!

I’m working out a mental list of everything I want to accomplish by summer’s end. Some are personal, some educational, but all things to keep my busy and the brain working. I give this until June 1st, then I’ll just be playing video games and catching up on my sleep.

In no particular order I give you:

Things to Accomplish Summer 2008

• Re-write Resume
• Get DisasterDesigns completed and online
• Research possible college options for future bachelor degree finishing
• Write/Call MSU regarding what I would need to do to finish my Psych degree
• Take on a few freelance jobs
• Work on the Marty/Me book project that is collecting layer upon layer of dust
• Read. Read. Read.
• Learn ASP.NET
• Refine Flash skills
• Create no less than 5 CSS templates for use with sites
• Improve layout technique and design in Photoshop
• Learn. Learn. Learn.
• Eat better, move more
• Organize files on computer more efficiently
• Start an IRA
• Save $. Save. Save. Save.
• Start looking for companies to potentially apply with in the area and out of state
• Write daily entries here
• Sell things I don’t need.
• Start creating a more professional wardrobe. Comfortable but office appropriate.
• Plan out for a better financial year
• Relax and enjoy the sunshine

I’ll likely add to and subtract from this but at the moment that’s a little window into the things I want to accomplish with my ’semester off’.

Oh yeah, and I’ll be working full time as always. I just can’t get enough of doing something all the time. I am a sick, sick puppy.

Been tinkering with the layout for my portfolio. I’m just not happy with it, yet. I like the ideas I have going in parts of it but as a whole it’s not nearly as polished as I would like it to be just yet.

I’ve been looking at other sites for inspiration again, which I love to do. I like to see what other people are doing, critique it purely from a visitor’s standpoint. Really i just like to see what others in my soon to be field are up to. Where they are drawing inspiration.

So far i have to say I really like Shifting Creations page. I don’t necessarily love the style of the whole thing but I love the content choices and the little touches. Especially on the About page, the little comic versions of himself are a nice touch I think.

Without further babbling here is where I’m at with my current little diddy. I may complete it, I may start over. With me you never know. I get one idea but the next day something else entirely different will strike me as a better option.