Minuteman Prospects

I heard from a friend that she is leaving her position as head designer at a local press shop, and suggested that I apply for the position. She feels that I would be the most qualified person to apply for the job thus far, and they want to hire ASAP. The thing is, it is a full-time position, so I would have to drop my classes at UVU to accept the job. I keep hearing from design people that it is not the degree that gets you work, it is the portfolio. I could possibly maintain half-time status at UVU by taking classes in the evenings, to stave off the repayment of student loans. However, the class selection is not that great, at least this upcoming semester. There are two art classes that I would want to take, but they are held at the same time.

If I was offered the job, though, it would be perfectly suited to my skill set. And the title of "Head Designer" sure would look snazzy on a resume. It would also prove to be a balm to my confidence to know that I am desirable to employers. This has recently been a worry of mine, as hardly anyone has asked me in for an interview after all the resumes and applications I have sent and completed. My friend tells me that I have a very good shot, especially since she is the one referring me.

Thoughts?

The Results are In...

Grades just hit and I'm a little bit surprised. Not at the C I got in Layout & Typography II, but at the A I got in English. I was thinking B at best. I got behind, but my professor graded me on the merits of my writing and not on my timeliness in turning in my writing. As for the C, while not a surprise, my experience in that class was eye opening. That professor seems to be all about all the ways to dock points from students with strict timelines and rigorous project requirements. I'm in for a tough semester in the Fall as I have that professor again. I wish I could get around taking the class from him, but he is the only one teaching it, and I can't wait to take it another semester. That and I will have the most concurrent computer design classes in my career. It will be challenging. I'll have to work harder than I ever have before.

School's Out for Summer!

Blessed release! The semester is finally over! I think I will sleep in tomorrow. But not for long. I have to finish up some designs for Doctrine & Covenants Scripture Mastery over at Latter-DayVillage.com. But tonight I am taking my wife out on a date. We are going to a concert (Thanks Hannah!) and out to eat (Thanks Tucanos!) for a day-late birthday celebration. My wife is now 26 years old. When the Primary sang to her on Sunday I almost couldn't sing along, I was so glad that we are married. I love her so much!

I also love her folks! For our birthdays they are paying for half of the cost of season tickets for BYU Football this coming season. That means no more tracking down scalpers or watching home games from the neighborhood clubhouse! Rah Rah rararaaaaahhhh! Go Cougars!

Art Show

It has been awhile! I just wanted to throw this out there to anyone who may have missed the announcement on Facebook. If you happen to be in Utah anytime during April, head over to the Woodbury Museum on the second floor of the University Mall in Orem. The entrance is on the east end of the mall by Nordstrom's. There you can see my piece entitled, "Robby". We will see on Monday if I'll be able to say "award winning" piece, or not. Either way I am in the UVU Student Art Show! I submitted the piece more for a grade in one of my classes than in hopes that it would actually be selected. I figured others who put their heart and soul into their artwork would be selected before me. I submitted the only thing that qualified and it was a piece I did for a class that I was taking just for fun. My teacher figured presentation had a lot to do with my being selected. I spent a lot of money on framing it, a lot of money I was not so sure I should have spent. But it has paid off. Especially if I win a cash prize!

On a completely separate note, Am and I have been together over a year now. Saturday the 20th marked one year from our first date. I can hardly believe how much my life has changed for the better since then. Thanks for saying yes, Am! I Love you!

School's Out For...Winter!

I just checked my grades for my first semester at UVU, and things are good, if not perfect. I earned two A-'s and two B+'s. So I'm in good shape, but still have room to improve. The most important thing I learned was not to leave points just lying around. Both B's could have been A's if I had been a little more attentive. Art History from the Renaissance would have been helped by turning in the first homework assignment and tracking down a study guide for the first test. I failed to realize just how big a factor that first assignment would prove to be. Not that I didn't do the work for it, I did, well sort of. Am really helped me out when I was feeling positively stressed out at the beginning of the semester (and before the wedding). It just took me too long to buy the book, so when I finally finished the assignment, I thought it was too late to turn it in. I just figured that every assignment would be similarly weighted, but it was the biggest one of the semester. I also missed points on the first midterm because of the missing study guide. I didn't study for a third of the material and still got a B- on the test. Most people dread this professor, but I seemed to get his tests, and did well with minimal effort in, or away from, class.

My photography class was harmed because I didn't work hard enough at the end of the semester. I hardly studied for the final exam and it showed. I left several questions unanswered because I drew a complete blank. And I could have taken better care of my negatives on my last roll of film, they got hammered being loose in my bags, and it showed on what could have been my strongest images. Ah, lessons learned, right?

But the grade that had the most importance to me was the A- in my Typography and Layout class. This is the one class that required the most out of me. Which is good, because typography and layout skills will be going to be my bread and butter for years to come. Art History will fade, and photography will only be a small side of what I do. (Speaking of which, If you know anyone that needs a photographer on the inexpensive side for a couple of hours, I'd be interested, I'll do a couple of hours for $50) Some in my class complained about how rigorous our teacher was, but I felt he pushed us when we would have been satisfied with less. And from what I understand, other teachers expect even more from the students. That's the thing about my experience at Stevens-Henager. I learned how to use the tools, but because classes were four weeks long, there wasn't enough time to refine that knowledge into how BEST to use the tools. At UVU I'll be getting that. But I count myself lucky to get into UVU when I have. Now it is pretty much open enrollment for the design program, but there is a push to really tighten the admission standards and slim the number of students down. So I'm getting in while the getting is good, but I'm also getting the really good instruction that comes from a lean design program.

A Recent Development

In the last month and a half or so, I've developed a new stress response: migraines. I've never had to deal with them before, and I wish things could go back to the way they were before. I can deal with uneasy stomach and cold sores. These migraines occur on Thursdays and sometimes Tuesdays, which coincides with my typography class and class critiques. I've found that high doses of caffeine help mitigate the pain, but then I'm hopped up on this stimulant. So on days that I need to be at my best, I'm in pain or I'm jittery. I've never had a problem with an occasional Coke, especially of the vanilla variety, but I've never been a caffeine addict either. I don't particularly like how it makes me feel. I tend to crash off any high I might get pretty fast. And now I worry that if this trend continues, I'll get used to having caffeine in my system and it won't work as well on the headaches. Is there anything out there besides caffeine, and absolute quiet and darkness, that you've found that helps with migraines?

Another 48 Hours

OK, less than that even. Am went through the Temple for the first time last night. There are so many teeny little things to do, but everything is still coming together. I'm glad we changed our minds to go down to Cedar City. We both need the rest, and driving out to, and then up the Oregon Coast and back would have been so draining. It's funny though, when people at school ask where we are going and I say Cedar City, they initially give me a funny look. Like, why we would we go there of all places? But when I explain it to them, they realize it's not a bad idea at all. And better than most people do. At least we'll be sane when we get back. However, I'll have a stack of work to catch up when we get back. At least Am has another week off from teaching.

Less Than Five Days

I don't know how much it has set in yet that my world is completely changing in less than five days. I started trickling my things over to Am's condo a few days ago. Hopefully it won't take too long before it feels like OUR place. It'll be SO nice to cut the small commute out of our schedules. And to settle into a married schedule. While dating and including the engagement we've tried to spend as much time together as we could, and our sleep habits have gotten wonky. It'll be nice to be together AND get a good night's rest. But there are so many other adjustments to be made and discussions to have. But I am ready to get into it. I don't think I'll miss being single too much.

School is going well. My classes are fun and challenging, and are definitely learning experiences. I am seeing that my time at S-H was good preparation for UVU, but I still have a lot to learn.

We've decided to go down to Cedar City instead of the Oregon Coast. Less driving, more resting, less cold, more warmth. Oregon will come at some point for us, I still think it will be fun, but we don't need to have a second vacation to recuperate from the first.

Choices Update

It's easy to make choices when the choice isn't presented.  In other words, I didn't get the job. School's in session!

Choices

Hello intrepid readers! So it's been awhile since last I posted. I've been hard at work getting ready for a wedding that is about 6 weeks off still. In the same time I've enrolled at UVU and done some job interviews. My first feeling has been that if I got a job offer before the last day to drop classes, I would accept the offer. But I've talked to the director of the Graphic Design program at UVU and he has reviewed my portfolio. He saw some interesting things but felt I still needed a lot of work. This was a bit of a bitter pill to swallow. I worked hard at Stevens-Henager, and did really well there. But I realized that while I learned a lot at S-H, what I didn't get was in-person hands-on advice and critique of my work. I learned quick turn-around times and short deadlines, and the use of the computer programs to do the work. What I didn't get was the time to hone my craft as a designer. I'm still waiting to hear back on an exciting job I interviewed for a couple of weeks ago, but I'm also excited about the classes I'm in this semester. So I may have a bit of a choice on my hands. If they do offer the job, do I take it, or do I stay in school?

Me working full-time in a graphic design job has a lot of benefits. Bringing in money and possibly benefits will take a lot of financial pressure of us as Am and I get married. It will also be good to have real-world experience to add to my resume. Being in school means that I'll only be able to work part-time. And I'll still be super busy with only very little money coming in, for three years, but it'll seriously benefit my craft as a designer. Choices, choices...

Putting Out

A friend just posted a portion of his portfolio online, you can find it here. He is on the lookout for design jobs, so if you know of anything, let him know! A link is being added to the side bar for access to his portfolio once this post gets buried. Enjoy!

Intimidation

I was once asked if I was intimidated by girls that are accomplished, meaning someone that graduated from college, has a real job, and may have their own house. I can't remember exactly what I said at the time, but here is what I think now. I don't feel so much intimidated, as inadequate. I mean, right now, I am 28, live at home, am still in school, and haven't had a job since December. I am actually quite interested in 'accomplished' women. I just don't feel like I have much to offer someone at the moment besides my winning personality and dimpled smile. And now I have some anecdotal proof for my thinking. Last Sunday I was in the clerks office, after the block of meetings, when the second counselor's wife started up a conversation with me. She has a strong matchmaker's spirit to her. She told me there was a girl in the ward that asked her about me. She wanted to know if I was still in school, and of course I told her that I was. Well, apparently my educational status immediately disqualified me from her search. This girl has graduated from school, and is only looking for guys that are in the same stage of life as she is. I told Sis. Matchmaker that I only had a year left, so if this girl was still around next August she could look me up.

I've been thinking about this for a week now, and I want to change my reply. I'd like Sis. Matchmaker to give Mystery Girl this message. If she is still around and single next August when I am scheduled to graduate, then she can go suck an egg for all I care. Apparently, she doesn't want to support someone through school. Last time I checked my criteria for what I was looking for in a spouse, neither breadwinner nor meal ticket made the list. I'm just hoping to find someone that will love me as much as I love them. What if Mystery Girl and I otherwise make a good match? Then this girl and I will be losing a year of getting to know each other. But if a piece of paper makes that big of a difference to someone, maybe we wouldn't make such a good match after all.

I'm sorry that it took me almost nine years to find something that I really liked to do. Maybe it would've been better to push through my old course of study and be miserable in my line of work, at least then I might've been able to get a date.

A Bit of a Scare

We had a bit of a scare tonight. My mom's husband is an adjunct professor at the recently rebranded Utah Valley University. He teaches evening classes twice a week. As he was getting ready to go, our little dog Joe wanted to follow him. I fully expected Robert* to turn Joe away as he left, but was surprised when he asked, "Joe, do you want to come to school with me?" Of course, Joe wanted to go, not knowing what Robert was talking about. It was good that it was a cool day, because I'm sure he had to leave Joe in the car while teaching the class. My mom and I had been talking the whole time they were gone, when she got a call on her cellphone. It was Robert, and he needed her to call the vet, something had happened to Joe. So we scrambled to find the vet's number, but no answer and no voicemail. In the meantime, Robert showed up with Joe in the passenger seat. He looked asleep and was breathing heavily. So we called around, and the closest office we could get a hold of was up in Sandy, another 20-30 minutes away. SInce that was the only option, we had to take it, and Robert headed that direction. Mom and I were discussing what could be wrong with the dog, apparently he had jumped out the window and hurt himself. We worried that he may have broken his little neck. Then we heard Robert pull into the driveway, and we thought that he must have passed away before they got to Sandy. Fortunately, Joe was awake in Robert's arms, though subdued. He didn't think that any bones were broken, but wasn't sure of any internal injuries, so he's not out of the woods yet. I think we'll take him in tomorrow to have him checked out. Hopefully, we won't lose the little guy.

This whole episode brings up my concerns about Robert. Notice I don't call him my stepfather. I don't really want anything to do with him. He's showed many lapses in judgement just in the last eight months that I've lived at home. He was the main reason that my brother decided to move out. (That should have happened a long time ago, but he is so much of a homebody that nothing else really motivated him to go before.) My mom is fully aware and concerned about Robert's issues, and I listen to her, but I don't voice my concerns. I don't think it is my place to talk about her husband, whether she would agree with me or not. So I just stew with my thoughts about the situation.

Robert surprised us when he brought Joe home with him one day. They had discussed having a small dog, but they weren't in a financial position to be having another animal. And a pure breed Maltese no less! $400 up front, and then all the vet bills and food and other things. $400 was a deal for a dog like that, but still a lot of money they didn't really have. Naturally though, we've all fallen in love with our little Joe, in spite of his tendency for mischief. It would be sad to lose him now, he's only seven months old. I call him "The Puppy," much like one "The Maxwell." Anyways, I'm kind of stuck here at home for now. I'm in school and haven't worked since December, and my money is almost gone. Even when I get a job, it'll still be awhile before I can afford to move out. Until then, I'll have to put up with Robert and his lapses in judgement. There are so many more, but I'd rather not go into detail. It's not that I don't like Robert, it's that I have a hard time respecting him. A man of his age and apparent intelligence should not display such a lack of common sense.

*-Robert's name has been changed for the purposes of anonymity.

A Long Time

Recently, my high school graduating class held its 10 year reunion. On the one hand, I cannot believe it has been 10 years since I roamed the halls of Lake Mary High. Living in Utah, it was never even a consideration to go back to Florida for the reunion. But I did see some pictures taken at the party of some old friends. Even if I did go, I think I would have been uncomfortable though. I got this really weird feeling seeing those pictures. Even though I value most of my time since high school, I felt like I didn't have much to show for my time. While I have finally found a field that I enjoy, and can actually see myself doing, it has taken most of these last 10 years to figure that out. I'm sure that my experience has been markedly different over that time from my former classmates. I came out to BYU, and went on a mission representing my church. I didn't drink, or smoke, or experiment with drugs. I'm not saying that I think they all did, but I'm sure that many did. I don't know how much we could have related to each other. One thing I noticed in the pictures was that nearly everyone at the reunion had some kind of drink, and none of it looked like fruit punch. I would have been even more of an observer than I was back then. I don't want to sound like I feel like I am better than them because of my faith. I probably could learn a lot about being a good person from many of my old classmates. People that, at first blush, seem so different from me. The thing is, one night in a Florida hotel with 10 years removed from common experience is not the ideal venue for that.

Maybe, if given a more personal setting with my old friends I would have been able to enjoy myself, but large group settings have never been my thing, whether alcohol is being served or not.

Illustrator Final

I am still figuring out a way to post my work in the highest quality way. I tried uploading my work as .pdf files to a site I found called Scribd.com, but they wouldn't go. Maybe I was not patient enough. Anyway, I wanted to share my final project for my Illustrator Basics course that I just finished today. Just click on the picture to get a better view.


I had to incorporate myself into a comic character. I had a lot of fun working on this project, and all my others as well. This is a single frame from a fictional comic book. Dr. Glacier is the arch nemesis of Solar Flare, the main character of the comic. The design kind of came together as I went. I had taken some goofy pictures of myself with my computer and decided to use this one:


It's not terribly flattering, but oh well, Dr. Glacier was born from that look, so it's all good, right? Maybe that's bad, though. I'm not exactly sure what that Cold Formula will do...

Snakes and Snails...

Last week my step-father bought a pure bred Maltese puppy. He's going to be a stud. I mean that quite literally. He is going to be used for breeding. We call him Joe, which is short for a Portuguese phrase that means, Hound of Gold. Go figure. Anyways, he is a cute little sucker, and usually fun to have around. He gets under foot easily as he is not much bigger than that. The thing is he is displacing the cat. She went wherever she liked, until the day Joe showed up. There is no reason for her to be skittish around the puppy, she is 3 times his size, and when he is done growing, she'll still be twice his size. But she is skittish, and rarely leaves the basement. I think she is feeling somewhat neglected as she will now get on my bed and want me to pet her. This would be alright I guess if it weren't for her fur. It's long and fine, and hard to see individually. But you can definitely tell when it is in your mouth, blech!

And now for something completely different:

I'm in my third month of classes at Stevens-Henager, and the two classes I'm in could not be more different. They have me in English 101, which is a grammar class. I haven't had grammar since the fifth grade. I guess they didn't realize I had to write several research papers every semester I was at BYU, and that I might actually have grammar down by now. My other class is Management 330: Advertising. Does that seem strange to anyone else? Advertising is definitely a possible career for a graphic artist, but why am I in this class so early in my studies? Wouldn't it be more useful to take the class near the end of my program? Why number it 330 if it is not meant to be taken later on? Anyways, the classes started last week, and I completed everything for the English class yesterday. I took all my quizzes, submitted all my assignments, and took the final. The only thing I have to do for the class is to log in everyday for the next 2 and a half weeks. My advertising class on the other hand is more involved than that, I can only work ahead so far. I can't wait for more design classes next month.

There is a chance I will have to move and find a job sooner than expected. My step-father has applied for a couple of positions at SUU in Cedar City. If he gets one, then he and my mother will be getting an apartment down there. He feels confident about his qualifications, and it would be great for them financially. While the housing market is quite favorable at this time in most of Utah, their neighborhood is full of houses that are standing empty. For the time being they would not want to try to sell the house. But they would still need to make the house payments on it. No job that would fit with my classes would allow me to make the payments myself. And I doubt I could talk anybody into moving out here to help. One, it is so far away from everything, and two, there is not enough parking space for four individuals with personal cars. I enrolled at the Murray campus to force me to move north when the time came, I just didn't think it might be so soon. If anyone knows any good deals on rent in south Salt Lake County, let me know.

Second Tag Post On The Front Page

Man, it's been about two months since my last post. Nothing seemed post worthy for awhile there, but I have completed 3 classes at my new school and about to start my 4th and 5th classes. My classes are primarily online, so I haven't gotten out much in the last month. Getting tagged by Christy has finally prodded me back to the blogosphere.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 10ish
2. What do you usually have for breakfast? Um, I don't usually eat breakfast any more. I feel sick if I eat too soon after waking up. But if I do have something it will probably be a mug of hot chocolate and some toast.
3. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Elephant by The White Stripes.
4. What kind of car do you drive? A white Honda Accord.
5. Favorite sandwich? The first thing that popped into my head was an Angus Beef sandwich from Schlotski's Deli, that or a Throgs Neck Bridge sandwich from Gandolfo's.
6. Favorite item of clothing? a green and blue plaid shirt that I have had for years, and before that a blue and yellow plaid shirt I got on my mission, but that one is too worn out to wear anymore.
7. If you could go anywhere in the world for a vacation, where would you go? I'd start with England, but I would also like to go to Japan, New Zealand, Hawaii, Alaska (in summer) and other places as well.
8. What color is your bathroom? Gee, I think it is white, with a underwater themed shower curtain.
9. Where would you retire? Hard question, I'd want to be warm during the winter, and cool during the summer, I'd have to be one of those snow birds and migrate, north for the summer and south for the winter.
10. Most memorable birthday? For my 23rd birthday I helped plan a surprise party for myself. Wood and I invited a bunch of friends to it, "Don't say anything, it's a surprise!" I got an issue of the Weekly World News, a popsicle mold, and a yellow blow-up seamonster I named Agnes and hung in our living room all summer.
11. Favorite sport to watch? Football followed closely by basketball
12. Are you a morning person or a night person? With no reason to get up early for work, I would go to bed late, and wake up late, so definitely not a morning person, but I don't really think of myself as a night person either.
13. What is your shoe size? 10-10 1/2
14. Pets? I have lived with pets all my life but have never had one that was my pet. I like pets until it comes time to clean up after them.
15. What did you want to be when you were little? A fireman, or an astronaut, or a transformer ;).
16. What are you today? A student, same as always, this time to be a graphic artist.
17. What is your favorite candy? Dark chocolate
18. Your favorite flower? ummm...
19. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? August 2009, when I finally graduate.
20. What are you listening to right now? My mother singing Roger and Hammerstein's Cinderella
21. What is the last thing you ate? A supersonic burger, tatertots, and a Cherry limeade, mmmm.
22. Do you wish on stars? Every once in a while.
23. What faith are you? LDS
24. Who was the last person you spoke with on the phone? My home teaching companion about setting up appointments
25. Hair Color? Brown with some red and, gulp, gray!
26. Name of your favorite school teacher? Dr. Tobler, a history professor at BYU. But if this means before college, then Mr Ware, middle school geography.
27. Chocolate or vanilla? I just had some really good dark chocolate ice cream, but vanilla is so much more flexible. Chocolate on it's own, vanilla as a foundation to build off of.
28. When was the last time you cried? I teared up last night watching Dan in Real Life.
29. What is under your bed? maybe a dirty sock.
30. What did you do last night? Watched Dan in Real Life.
31. Favorite smell? Fresh baked bread.
32. What are you afraid of? Coming up short at a critical moment.
33. How many towns have you lived in? at least 13, not including all the different towns I lived in on my mission.
34. Do you make friends easily? I can, if I let myself, if I am somewhere new and don't have any friends already near by.

I tag…I feel like I just did this recently, so anyone that feels like answering the questions in this post and reads this blog!

Starting Over

I went to my first day of class today! I'm not in any classes that are specific to my program yet, but it is good to be back in class. My first two classes are Computer Fundamentals (mostly Microsoft Office), and Student Success. Neither will be very challenging, which is a good way to ease back into being a student again. I also picked up my brand new MacBook Pro at school. Maybe I should now consolidate all my Apple gear into one entry on my list of favorite toys. I'd like to add camping gear as a favorite toy come warmer weather, but I don't really own any besides a sleeping bag. I need to get in better shape so I can go hiking with friends and not be the last one to the top.

Speaking of which, yesterday the Masked Mallard and I went with Kristicity and her family sledding. We only went to a park in Sandy, but it was lots of fun. There were quite a few people there, which was good so the snow was already packed down. The Mallard has a bunch of sleds that really took advantage of the packed snow. One problem with so many people though was dodging the people coming back up. Some folks didn't seem to understand that they should climb back up the side of the hill rather than come straight back up the middle where everyone else wanted to go down. Oh well. Channel 2 sent a reporter and a camera man to the park while we were there, so if you were watching the local news last night, you may have seen us. Anyways, halfway through I started sucking some major air when climbing back up. I probably could have done a third more runs if I hadn't taken so long to climb up and then rest at the top. But it was a lot of fun, even though I was totally exhausted when we were done.

Tagged and Bagged

Five things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Trying, unsuccessfully, to get into Top Band.
2. Trying out for my HS production of Annie Get Your Gun.
3. Starting my first art class and loving it.
4. Having my first vague notions of where I would go to college.
5. Hoping we could keep the Camry when we got the minivan, so I could have a car.

Five things I want to do in the next 10 years:
1. Start a family.
2. Travel to Europe.
3. Finally graduate.
4. Drive the Pacific Coast from the Puget Sound to San Francisco Bay, or vice versa.
5. Live somewhere green.

Five things I look forward to learning at my new school:
1. Graphic illustration
2. Digital photography
3. Flash animation
4. Keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop and Illustrator
5. Design aesthetics

Five movies I have watched recently that I really enjoy:
1. Stranger than Fiction
2. The Man Who Knew Too Little
3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
4. The Incredibles
5. Casino Royale

My favorite toys:
1. My iPhone
2. My iMac
3. My growing TV on DVD collection
4. My Car
5. Board Games in general

Five people to tag:
1. Kristi
2. John
3. Alison
4. Brent
5. Katey

Transfer Credit

I picked up my transcript from BYU this week and took it to Stevens-Henager to see if any classes would transfer. Looks like I get credit for 12 credits, or three different classes. I won't have to take Philosophy, History, or Math at S-H. I would have hoped that I wouldn't have to take the writing class either, but this is still good news. This cuts 3 months off of my program and saves me $4300 in tuition! Now I just have $5800 to pay to the school, which will be a lot more manageable. Once I get back into the swing of being in classes again, I will probably look to work for some company that will help pay my tuition. This will be real good, because the school will match dollar for dollar what the company pays, up to $5000. That'd be great!