The day started out just like any other...except for the fact that I got to work at 6am. True, it's just an hour earlier than I usually make it in to the office, but at that time of day, it's pretty damn hard, let me tell you! I was proud of myself for making it and thought of rewarding myself with some doughnuts from Timmy's for me and the gang, but I was running a few minutes late, and with Katija and Sharri waiting for me to open the doors for them, I decided that my treat could wait.
Walked into my office, turned on the lights, hung up my messenger bag, and kissed my new computer, telling her how much I missed her over the weekend. Moved some cables and such so that I could finish hooking everything up and make it all be ready for the technician to come in and work his magic.
the taping
My visitors arrived promptly to videotape me for the video project that I wrote about previously. Went fairly well, I think, except for my tendency to stare a little to closely at the camera and my all too often utterances of the words "ummm..." "ah..." and "hmmm..." followed by blank stares and hysteric giggles. I have a newfound respect for reality TV contestants who face the cameras day-in and day-out, looking all natural and everything.
here's where the fun starts...
After my taping, I weeded through my e-mail to read the ones that interested me and delete the ones that bored me. Found out that a project that I had been working on was for the Toronto market only, so I decided to farm it back out to those folks to take care of instead. Felt bad for passing the buck, but it only makes sense, right? Then opened one from j, who was sick as a dog, but wrote in to tell us that he wouldn't be able to make it in and to see if I could tackle the ads that he was supposed to be working on. Have I mentioned how much I love organized, thoughtful people like him? Well, I do.
Anyway, so I track down Em, PR girl extraordinaire, to get the creative brief and specs. Turns out the deadline was noon-ish or slightly thereafter. Oy! So, I got my butt in gear to whip together a series of three different ads for the summer sale. I should insert here my distaste for sale-themed ads, especially at the big blue. Essentially, this is the time to get rid of all the crap that nobody really wants and has consequently been really hard to get rid of, which is why most of it is discontinued.
But since we have whackloads of it in the warehouse, it is our job to make people think they need all of this crap, or at least that it's too good a deal to pass up. The result is often something that looks reminiscent of a Rorschach test, only messier and - essentially, a dog's breakfast. And not the breakfast of those frou-frou designer dogs, mind you. The mushy, sloppy breakfast of big dogs that will devour anything set in front of them. Needless to say, it's not really portfolio material. It's soul-sucking work, but someone has to do it!
meanwhile...
As I'm trying to get the ads designed and approved, my Technician comes in to set everything up and get my system networked properly, yadda, yadda. I leave him to it, occasionally fetching disks and supplying passwords for him as he does his work. I leave him be and continue on my merry way...
Ad done and sent off for approval, I entertain thoughts of having lunch to placate my grumbling belly. "It's two in the afternoon and I need sustenance!" it said in a not-so-coherent, but remotely decipherable groan. But then I get panicked calls from Em saying that there are ads from Toronto that we need to emulate because one of the big cheeses likes the mess of having even more products crammed into the ad. That said, the ads featured some products that we couldn't support, either with stock, or with pricing, so we needed to go back to the drawing board with product selection. Great! I shushed my stomach, and madly tried to track down the creative from Toronto, but ended up playing a never-ending game of phone tag, so re-created the new ad on my own to save time and try to beat the submission deadline.
Also got roped into a 'why is Toronto getting their ads paid for by Service Office and getting them produced by the ad agency when we have to book our own ads and do our own creative in Vancouver while the fine folks at Service Office take all the credit?' bitchfest with Em, which was therapeutic for the both of us, but probably didn't solve anything. At least we got it off our chests!
Anyway, back-and-forth, back-and-forth... The ad is still not done or approved, and I still have to steal some files from the external agency. I got Em to contact the paper to see if we could get a later deadline, and working her charms, she was able to. So after twelve hours of ping-ponging in my brain, I decided to pack it up and head home, with just enough time to speed over and cast my vote in the federal election.
the silver lining
Despite the insanity, there were a few things that made me happy today. My internet finally works properly and I finally have a laser printer to send my documents to.
Also, phase two of my 'Office Soup-up' is near completion. Here's a re-cap:
Office Soup-up v.1 (swanking-up)
- reconfigure desks and add new components, including rolling storage
- define work area and studio space with floating storage cabinets
- uninstall section of cabinetry to make more space for plotter
- reconfigure storage by changing uprights and shelves
- patch and paint walls
Office Soup-up v.2 (teching-up)
- purchase G5 and Apple Cinema Display
- purchase bad-ass external hard drive
- purchase laser printer
- purchase Adobe Creative Suite and other snazzy new software
- purchase and install new UV ink system in plotter
The next phase includes:
- learning how to use all my fancy new toys
- hiring an additional lackey to fetch drinks and goodies to satisfy my sweet tooth
- scrapping the hub and acquiring a less archaic one
glass half-empty again
My candidate of choice has been defeated by the wife of an incumbent candidate in another riding. She simply reads prepared statements from the Conservative party and doesn't seem to have a mind of her own. I'm convinced that she only wants to be in politics so that she can travel for free to Ottawa with her husband. The rest of my family voted for her simply because she's a Conservative and they are in love with the Conservative agenda. They don't care what her platform is (she doesn't have one) and what she stands for (who the hell knows?). The fact that she's a Conservative is good enough for them. I'm pouty and have decided to give them the silent treatment for at least another hour.
two degrees of separation (and union)
In other news, Sharri attended a wedding this weekend and met Michael Buble's girlfriend. She didn't actually meet him, because he wasn't there, but still, I'm so jealous. I'll take my celebrity through association, no matter how diluted!
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Saturday, June 26, 2004
green with envy
At long last, my new computer finally arrived. She's abso-freakin'-lutely breathtaking! I made all my co-workers swing by my office to soak in her beauty. Then I sent j an e-mail to tell him about my baby's arrival (and admittedly, to gloat - just a little). Here's how the exchange went:
my e-mail:
it's here!
i'm so excited.
i think i just peed my pants.
gotta go...
j
j's response:
bastard.
j
innuendo
Next scene - Terry's sitting on my chair, slouching forward on one of my filing cabinets. Sharri's hanging out beside him. I'm standing in front of my new G5 and 23" Apple Cinema display, standing back to admire it after unpacking it.
Me: I'm in love.
Terry: Me too.
Me (jokingly): It's so sexy. I think i'm getting a hard-on just from staring at it.
Terry (from my chair): Me too. (pause) Ummm...I can't stand up right now.
While the two of us keel over giggling like immature little schoolboys, Sharri laughingly exclaims that we're making her feel uncomfortable with our disclosures.
I'm tempted to bring the empty boxes home and placing them on my desk - just so I can pretend that I have a jazz-matazz computer at home too. Or maybe, I'll just relent and shell out the cash for one of her sisters.
the mac guy comes in monday to set it up for me. can't wait. i know it's completely dorky, but i'll probably post photos at a later date.
my e-mail:
it's here!
i'm so excited.
i think i just peed my pants.
gotta go...
j
j's response:
bastard.
j
innuendo
Next scene - Terry's sitting on my chair, slouching forward on one of my filing cabinets. Sharri's hanging out beside him. I'm standing in front of my new G5 and 23" Apple Cinema display, standing back to admire it after unpacking it.
Me: I'm in love.
Terry: Me too.
Me (jokingly): It's so sexy. I think i'm getting a hard-on just from staring at it.
Terry (from my chair): Me too. (pause) Ummm...I can't stand up right now.
While the two of us keel over giggling like immature little schoolboys, Sharri laughingly exclaims that we're making her feel uncomfortable with our disclosures.
I'm tempted to bring the empty boxes home and placing them on my desk - just so I can pretend that I have a jazz-matazz computer at home too. Or maybe, I'll just relent and shell out the cash for one of her sisters.
the mac guy comes in monday to set it up for me. can't wait. i know it's completely dorky, but i'll probably post photos at a later date.
Friday, June 25, 2004
just in case you really wanted to know...
001. i was born on december 13, 1979 on one of the the philippine islands.
002. i'm not filipino, nor do i speak tagalog, though i sometimes wish i did. i do know how to say 'please' and 'thank you' though, which i suppose, is a start.
003. i have a scar at the crown of my head.
004. it was from rocking on the back legs of the chair and falling into a sheet of glass behind me.
005. i still enjoy rocking on the back legs of my chair to this very day - even though i get scolded every time i do so.
007. i love the smell of freshly cut grass, but i hate mowing the lawn.
008. i was told that i was among the top of my class in high school. not until i reached university did i realize that i had been deluded.
009. i was an active student government leader. it was the perfect excuse to cut classes and hang out with my friends in our office.
010. i'm convinced the reason i did so well in high school was that my projects were always beautifully illustrated and designed. bonus points!
011. i was always the 'artistic one.' at my college dorm, i made posters for everything. there was always butcher paper in the lounge for me to draw on. my friends were convinced that i should be an artist or designer. i ignored them.
012. the plan was for me to become a dentist.
013. i graduated with an english lit. major (and a minor in commerce).
014. as a result, i'm pretty kick-ass at writing papers and reports.
015.i now work as a graphic designer.
016. people assume that because i'm a graphic designer and work with computers in my office all day, i know lots about computers. this is wrong.
017. i don't understand HTML or coding - it scares me. i just write words and draw pretty pictures.
018. i like what you can do with technology rather than the technology itself. although there is some pretty sexy technology out there.
019. i refuse to cave in and purchase a cell phone. (we'll see how long that lasts!)
020. i was the assistant editor of one of the college newspapers on campus.
021. it was known as the 'sporty' paper since we did a heckuva lot of sports coverage.
022. i do not consider myself 'sporty' at all.
023. although, i do enjoy swimming, skiing, and in-line skating.
024. i actually enjoy reading shakespeare. it was one of my favourite courses at university.
025. i played troilus in our class production of 'troilus and cressida.'
026. this was when i first kissed a girl. sad, isn't it?
027. other favourite classes included critical theory & popular culture - the hardest class i'd ever taken, but surprisingly, the one in which i got my highest marks; children's literature; and advanced composition.
028. i bitch about my job a lot, but i'm still secretly amazed that i get paid to do what i do on a daily basis because i always have so much fun.
029. after internships where i've had to slum it out in one of the tinest cubicles known to man, a shared office with two others, and a shared cubicle with my supervisor, i finally have my very own office. a wall of windows, double doors, a work space, a studio space, and lots of stuff in between - i can take ten giant leaps across the room...in both directions. i still pinch myself every morning when i open my office door.
030. i'm crap - just crap - at math and science-y things. numbers confuse me and i forget them all.
031. but, i looove budgets and forecasting (or maybe i just like spending money?)
032. i like good clothes.
033. but don't like spending a lot of money on said clothes.
034. silly sayings on t-shirts make me giggle.
035. i love autumn because of the crunchy leaves, the brilliant colours, and the brisk 'sweater-weather.'
036. try saying THAT ten times fast!
037. sometimes i speak so fast that i actually trip over my own words. once this happens, i tend to do the autistic-broken-record thing and continuously repeat the words i tripped over until i get them right. this makes people look at me funny.
038. i am easily enamoured by people with british accents.
039. i think accents make one sound more refined.
040. oscar night makes me nervous and excited.
041. i met wayne gretzky when i was younger.
042. i was in the car with my sister and we squeezed over to the other side of the backseat to shy away from the tall, lanky guy that was saying hello to us through the open window.
043. he laughed and commented on how cute we were. *sigh* yes - cute, but dumb.
044. my other brush with celebrity was an encounter with goldie hawn. she approached me to sell her a sofa. i found her a salesperson.
045. and then stalked her from afar.
046. i have played the piano, recorder, ukulele, trombone and trumpet at various points in my life.
047. none of them stuck for longer than a few years. i wish i had stuck with it longer. my parents were right. hot damn!
048. i love, love, looove design. graphic design, product design, packaging design, interior design, furniture design...love it all!
049. lately, i've also been into designing t-shirts for my own enjoyment.
050. i'm also quite fond of music.
051. and food. both preparing and consuming.
052. when i grow up, i want to be jamie oliver. he is a god.
053. i enjoy indie flicks and relish in 'discovering' little known artists and musicians.
054. at various times in my life, i have co-habited with: my parents and sister and an assortment of pets; a first-year roommate that everyone called 'freak boy' for good reason; my sister alone; me, myself, and i; two guys from school and a japanese exchange student (all of whom i still keep in touch with periodically); and three other guys from school (and one of the guys' twin brother).
055. in my first year at university, i struck up some pretty close friendships with the girls on my sister floor in order to avoid prolonged exposure to freak boy. student housing became increasingly more bearable (and even enjoyable) in subsequent years.
056. sometimes i need to go off to be by myself and be a loner.
057. i got accustomed to solitude when i moved to victoria without knowing anyone in the city.
058. i tend to be a little obsessive compulsive when it comes to cleanliness and organization. my friends call it anal retentiveness. i like to think of it as being orderly. they're probably right.
059. i used to work at a clothing store when i was in high school and to this very day still fold the clothes in my closet like they do in the stores.
060. but i can't iron to save my life. it takes me, like an hour and a half just to do one shirt.
061. i speak english (fluently), mandarin (haphazardly), and a little french (with great difficulty).
062. i would rather freeze than burn to death. for some reason, i think that hypothermia will set in faster, and by the time that happens, i'll be so out of it, i won't even care.
063. i hope not to suffer either fate.
064. eloquence and good grammar turns me on.
065. as does good penmanship. and the ability to spell.
066. my favourite city that i've visited thus far is san fransisco.
067. standing 5'9"-ish, i'm the tallest member of my immediate family.
068. i have twenty-two cousins. that's just on my mom's side. there's more on my dad's side...and most of them have kids of their own that call me their uncle, even though i'm technically their second cousin. scary.
069. i knew all the answers in sunday school class. all the other kids hated me for it.
070. my mom and sister now think of me as irreverent and overly liberal with my faith.
071. if i'm more left wing than right, does this mean i'm just flying around in a counter-clockwise direction?
072. when we were younger, my mom used to make us cover our eyes and sing 'old macdonald had a farm...' whenever there was any on-screen kissing or, god forbid, sex.
073. i finally broke this habit in my mid teens. e-i-e-i-oooh!
074. my sister still does so to this very day.
075. american politics confound me. canadian - likewise.
076. i was a much more informed citizen when i worked for the provincial government and was paid to know and speak intelligently about the issues.
077. i'm not a big club person. i prefer smaller, more intimate gatherings of people i know.
078. i'm quiet in large groups - loud in small.
079. i love taking afternoon naps.
080. i can spend an entire weekend curled up in bed reading a good book.
081. i'm freakishly hard on myself when it comes to work and personal goals. probably more so than my parents are. i never used to be this way...it worries me.
082. i never doodle on the margins - always on a fresh page. i like my notes to be immaculate...or non-existent.
083. i get giddy when it rains while it's sunny and warm.
084. i've only ever gotten one speeding ticket in my life - in toronto, when i was late for an interview.
085. another time, i got pulled over for running a red light (also in toronto), but didn't get a ticket because i told the cop that i was a lost tourist and wasn't paying attention. it was mostly true. my friend, who was in the passenger seat, tells this story to everyone we meet.
086. i love vegetables more than meat, but don't think i could ever be a vegetarian.
087. I'm a periodical junkie. I live for the latest magazines.
088. I have at least three or four books going on my bedside table at any given time. i tend to get distracted by new books i've purchased.
089. i can't sing or dance very well, yet I love to do both in the privacy or my room.
090. an ex-girlfriend brought me to swing and salsa classes once. this is when i realized how bad a dancer i was.
091. great commercials excite me. after five months of living without a television, i returned home only to watch commercials. i would get off the couch and fix myself a snack when the shows would come back on and return to the tv for commercial breaks. my sister rolled her eyes.
092. i can now sit through tv shows in their entirety.
093. green apple-flavoured jolly ranchers are my favourite candy. next to chocolate. especially mint chocolate. oodles and oodles of it.
094. i usually get an iced tea when i order a burger combo - except in the states, where iced tea isn't sweetened. barbarians!
095. my first car was a 1987 dodge colt whom i called xander. my friends called him white lightning. he died one day one the drive home.
096. i now drive an as yet unnamed toyota tercel station wagon which my friends have dubbed red thunder.
097. being in airports makes me happy.
098. being in airplanes makes me so happy, i'm usually giddy with excitement.
099. i'm not nearly interesting enough to have a proper '100 things about me.'
100. so, i'll probably be making changes to this list constantly.
whew! okay, your turn...
002. i'm not filipino, nor do i speak tagalog, though i sometimes wish i did. i do know how to say 'please' and 'thank you' though, which i suppose, is a start.
003. i have a scar at the crown of my head.
004. it was from rocking on the back legs of the chair and falling into a sheet of glass behind me.
005. i still enjoy rocking on the back legs of my chair to this very day - even though i get scolded every time i do so.
007. i love the smell of freshly cut grass, but i hate mowing the lawn.
008. i was told that i was among the top of my class in high school. not until i reached university did i realize that i had been deluded.
009. i was an active student government leader. it was the perfect excuse to cut classes and hang out with my friends in our office.
010. i'm convinced the reason i did so well in high school was that my projects were always beautifully illustrated and designed. bonus points!
011. i was always the 'artistic one.' at my college dorm, i made posters for everything. there was always butcher paper in the lounge for me to draw on. my friends were convinced that i should be an artist or designer. i ignored them.
012. the plan was for me to become a dentist.
013. i graduated with an english lit. major (and a minor in commerce).
014. as a result, i'm pretty kick-ass at writing papers and reports.
015.i now work as a graphic designer.
016. people assume that because i'm a graphic designer and work with computers in my office all day, i know lots about computers. this is wrong.
017. i don't understand HTML or coding - it scares me. i just write words and draw pretty pictures.
018. i like what you can do with technology rather than the technology itself. although there is some pretty sexy technology out there.
019. i refuse to cave in and purchase a cell phone. (we'll see how long that lasts!)
020. i was the assistant editor of one of the college newspapers on campus.
021. it was known as the 'sporty' paper since we did a heckuva lot of sports coverage.
022. i do not consider myself 'sporty' at all.
023. although, i do enjoy swimming, skiing, and in-line skating.
024. i actually enjoy reading shakespeare. it was one of my favourite courses at university.
025. i played troilus in our class production of 'troilus and cressida.'
026. this was when i first kissed a girl. sad, isn't it?
027. other favourite classes included critical theory & popular culture - the hardest class i'd ever taken, but surprisingly, the one in which i got my highest marks; children's literature; and advanced composition.
028. i bitch about my job a lot, but i'm still secretly amazed that i get paid to do what i do on a daily basis because i always have so much fun.
029. after internships where i've had to slum it out in one of the tinest cubicles known to man, a shared office with two others, and a shared cubicle with my supervisor, i finally have my very own office. a wall of windows, double doors, a work space, a studio space, and lots of stuff in between - i can take ten giant leaps across the room...in both directions. i still pinch myself every morning when i open my office door.
030. i'm crap - just crap - at math and science-y things. numbers confuse me and i forget them all.
031. but, i looove budgets and forecasting (or maybe i just like spending money?)
032. i like good clothes.
033. but don't like spending a lot of money on said clothes.
034. silly sayings on t-shirts make me giggle.
035. i love autumn because of the crunchy leaves, the brilliant colours, and the brisk 'sweater-weather.'
036. try saying THAT ten times fast!
037. sometimes i speak so fast that i actually trip over my own words. once this happens, i tend to do the autistic-broken-record thing and continuously repeat the words i tripped over until i get them right. this makes people look at me funny.
038. i am easily enamoured by people with british accents.
039. i think accents make one sound more refined.
040. oscar night makes me nervous and excited.
041. i met wayne gretzky when i was younger.
042. i was in the car with my sister and we squeezed over to the other side of the backseat to shy away from the tall, lanky guy that was saying hello to us through the open window.
043. he laughed and commented on how cute we were. *sigh* yes - cute, but dumb.
044. my other brush with celebrity was an encounter with goldie hawn. she approached me to sell her a sofa. i found her a salesperson.
045. and then stalked her from afar.
046. i have played the piano, recorder, ukulele, trombone and trumpet at various points in my life.
047. none of them stuck for longer than a few years. i wish i had stuck with it longer. my parents were right. hot damn!
048. i love, love, looove design. graphic design, product design, packaging design, interior design, furniture design...love it all!
049. lately, i've also been into designing t-shirts for my own enjoyment.
050. i'm also quite fond of music.
051. and food. both preparing and consuming.
052. when i grow up, i want to be jamie oliver. he is a god.
053. i enjoy indie flicks and relish in 'discovering' little known artists and musicians.
054. at various times in my life, i have co-habited with: my parents and sister and an assortment of pets; a first-year roommate that everyone called 'freak boy' for good reason; my sister alone; me, myself, and i; two guys from school and a japanese exchange student (all of whom i still keep in touch with periodically); and three other guys from school (and one of the guys' twin brother).
055. in my first year at university, i struck up some pretty close friendships with the girls on my sister floor in order to avoid prolonged exposure to freak boy. student housing became increasingly more bearable (and even enjoyable) in subsequent years.
056. sometimes i need to go off to be by myself and be a loner.
057. i got accustomed to solitude when i moved to victoria without knowing anyone in the city.
058. i tend to be a little obsessive compulsive when it comes to cleanliness and organization. my friends call it anal retentiveness. i like to think of it as being orderly. they're probably right.
059. i used to work at a clothing store when i was in high school and to this very day still fold the clothes in my closet like they do in the stores.
060. but i can't iron to save my life. it takes me, like an hour and a half just to do one shirt.
061. i speak english (fluently), mandarin (haphazardly), and a little french (with great difficulty).
062. i would rather freeze than burn to death. for some reason, i think that hypothermia will set in faster, and by the time that happens, i'll be so out of it, i won't even care.
063. i hope not to suffer either fate.
064. eloquence and good grammar turns me on.
065. as does good penmanship. and the ability to spell.
066. my favourite city that i've visited thus far is san fransisco.
067. standing 5'9"-ish, i'm the tallest member of my immediate family.
068. i have twenty-two cousins. that's just on my mom's side. there's more on my dad's side...and most of them have kids of their own that call me their uncle, even though i'm technically their second cousin. scary.
069. i knew all the answers in sunday school class. all the other kids hated me for it.
070. my mom and sister now think of me as irreverent and overly liberal with my faith.
071. if i'm more left wing than right, does this mean i'm just flying around in a counter-clockwise direction?
072. when we were younger, my mom used to make us cover our eyes and sing 'old macdonald had a farm...' whenever there was any on-screen kissing or, god forbid, sex.
073. i finally broke this habit in my mid teens. e-i-e-i-oooh!
074. my sister still does so to this very day.
075. american politics confound me. canadian - likewise.
076. i was a much more informed citizen when i worked for the provincial government and was paid to know and speak intelligently about the issues.
077. i'm not a big club person. i prefer smaller, more intimate gatherings of people i know.
078. i'm quiet in large groups - loud in small.
079. i love taking afternoon naps.
080. i can spend an entire weekend curled up in bed reading a good book.
081. i'm freakishly hard on myself when it comes to work and personal goals. probably more so than my parents are. i never used to be this way...it worries me.
082. i never doodle on the margins - always on a fresh page. i like my notes to be immaculate...or non-existent.
083. i get giddy when it rains while it's sunny and warm.
084. i've only ever gotten one speeding ticket in my life - in toronto, when i was late for an interview.
085. another time, i got pulled over for running a red light (also in toronto), but didn't get a ticket because i told the cop that i was a lost tourist and wasn't paying attention. it was mostly true. my friend, who was in the passenger seat, tells this story to everyone we meet.
086. i love vegetables more than meat, but don't think i could ever be a vegetarian.
087. I'm a periodical junkie. I live for the latest magazines.
088. I have at least three or four books going on my bedside table at any given time. i tend to get distracted by new books i've purchased.
089. i can't sing or dance very well, yet I love to do both in the privacy or my room.
090. an ex-girlfriend brought me to swing and salsa classes once. this is when i realized how bad a dancer i was.
091. great commercials excite me. after five months of living without a television, i returned home only to watch commercials. i would get off the couch and fix myself a snack when the shows would come back on and return to the tv for commercial breaks. my sister rolled her eyes.
092. i can now sit through tv shows in their entirety.
093. green apple-flavoured jolly ranchers are my favourite candy. next to chocolate. especially mint chocolate. oodles and oodles of it.
094. i usually get an iced tea when i order a burger combo - except in the states, where iced tea isn't sweetened. barbarians!
095. my first car was a 1987 dodge colt whom i called xander. my friends called him white lightning. he died one day one the drive home.
096. i now drive an as yet unnamed toyota tercel station wagon which my friends have dubbed red thunder.
097. being in airports makes me happy.
098. being in airplanes makes me so happy, i'm usually giddy with excitement.
099. i'm not nearly interesting enough to have a proper '100 things about me.'
100. so, i'll probably be making changes to this list constantly.
whew! okay, your turn...
Thursday, June 24, 2004
geek love
Jason and I attended a seminar today at the Space Centre. An appropriate venue, I guess, considering were were in for a day of learning about 'space-aged' technology.
Bleh! Bad pun.
As we walked up to the Space Centre, j asked if I had ever been. I don't remember actually going inside, but I do have photos of my sister and I standing in front of the huge metal crab sculpture just outside the entrance when we were younger. j laughed because he has the same pictures from when he was a wee child. I wonder how many others have snaps of by the crab tucked away in albums from their youth.
Back to the seminar, which was basically a sales pitch for Adobe InDesign CS - an attempt to convert current Quark users to InDesign. Usually, I shun such events, but I was quite eager to attend this one in particular. I've already decided to make the switch at work, but not having used the program since I worked at the newspaper, I wanted to get a refresher and see a rundown of the new features offered in the CS version.
It was amusing to hear the ooohs and aaahs from the audience when a fetch new feature was demonstrated. These bursts of excitement were typically followed by collective laughter at how easily impressed we were as a group. I must admit that I uttered a quite a few surprised gasps and thrilled yelps myself. At one point, j leaned over and chuckled saying how everyone back at work would probably be shaking their heads and poking fun at how geeky were were. Oh, but how great it was to be surrounded by a room full of fellow geeks!
We broke for lunch, j and I grabbed some Indian food at Granville Island before heading back for the Photoshop part of the day. It was interesting to see some of the new CS features, but my heart belongs to InDesign. I'm completely enamoured - even more so than I was in the past!
I also got to catch another glimpse of my baby. She's so sexy! I can't wait to make her mine, so that I can have my way with her every day.
On the drive home, j and I lamented about not being able to work with other graphic designers on a more regular basis and constantly engage in geeky banter. At least we have the phone...
Bleh! Bad pun.
As we walked up to the Space Centre, j asked if I had ever been. I don't remember actually going inside, but I do have photos of my sister and I standing in front of the huge metal crab sculpture just outside the entrance when we were younger. j laughed because he has the same pictures from when he was a wee child. I wonder how many others have snaps of by the crab tucked away in albums from their youth.
Back to the seminar, which was basically a sales pitch for Adobe InDesign CS - an attempt to convert current Quark users to InDesign. Usually, I shun such events, but I was quite eager to attend this one in particular. I've already decided to make the switch at work, but not having used the program since I worked at the newspaper, I wanted to get a refresher and see a rundown of the new features offered in the CS version.
It was amusing to hear the ooohs and aaahs from the audience when a fetch new feature was demonstrated. These bursts of excitement were typically followed by collective laughter at how easily impressed we were as a group. I must admit that I uttered a quite a few surprised gasps and thrilled yelps myself. At one point, j leaned over and chuckled saying how everyone back at work would probably be shaking their heads and poking fun at how geeky were were. Oh, but how great it was to be surrounded by a room full of fellow geeks!
We broke for lunch, j and I grabbed some Indian food at Granville Island before heading back for the Photoshop part of the day. It was interesting to see some of the new CS features, but my heart belongs to InDesign. I'm completely enamoured - even more so than I was in the past!
I also got to catch another glimpse of my baby. She's so sexy! I can't wait to make her mine, so that I can have my way with her every day.
On the drive home, j and I lamented about not being able to work with other graphic designers on a more regular basis and constantly engage in geeky banter. At least we have the phone...
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