New Slang

The Shins have just fit my mood lately. I am not sure how they've managed to turn all of my emotions into song. I've must have listened to New Slang 20 times today (and luckily enough, it is out for Rock Band today!). This is by far the best youtube video for it.



"Dawn breaks like a bull through the hall,
Never should have called
But my head's to the wall and I'm lonely.

And if you'd 'a took to me like
A gull takes to the wind.
Well, I'd 'a jumped from my tree
And I'd a danced like the king of the eyesores
And the rest of our lives would 'a fared well.

I'm looking in on the good life I might be doomed never to find.
Without a trust or flaming fields am i too dumb to refine?
And if you'd 'a took to me like
Well I'd a danced like the queen of the eyesores
And the rest of our lives would 'a fared well."

Ugh, I usually hate posts like this. I like including videos. I hate the posting of lyrics and the sob story. But I do like looking back on old posts and remember what I was going through at the time. And well, this just seems to capture the present.

I keep feeling like there is something I am doing wrong. I'm not unhappy with my life. It just feels incomplete. And all the parts are there, but never at the same time. I am sure with all that's going on lately, I should be feeling this way. I am hoping as my allergies clear up, so will this black cloud. 

What's Happening

Where to start? I don't know. I guess at home. Everyone's getting used to the new space and each other. Tonight we had some issue with the plumbing and the toilet downstairs overflowed like, "Woah!" Someone should be out tomorrow to fix it. I drove over to Floral Dr. to shower since we can't really run any water here for now.

Work has been going well. I talked to someone who had a review of our material with the customer. They were unhappy with some really old illustrations in the training. So, I was asked to create some new illustrations. Apparently, the customer had doctored up some stuff they were going to show us as suggestions on how to improve. But then they saw mine and liked them even better than what they'd come up with. It's really nice to hear such positive feedback.

I need to nail down my reservations to Peru. Every week I keep putting it off until the next payday. I am semi-excited about going. I looked up some photos and Macchu Pichu looks amazing. I am hoping to get some time to sit down and sketch while I am there.

It has been kind of cold the past couple of days. So, I got the chance to wear my awesome new sweater. By the way, the iPhone cover is houndstooth...

Drained

Lots of things are changing in my life right now. I can't tell where it's all going. My allergies have been making me miserable for the past couple of weeks. Bad enough I feel physically tired from not being able to breathe very well. I have also been emotionally stressed out over work, relationships, moving, and freelance work. Luckily my family was around and I got to spend a lot of great time with them. Hopefully, things will stabilize once the move is complete. I am still anxious to find out what the status is on the freelance work.

Here is a test render I did last night (just using final gather nothing fancy). I have brought my Mac Book to a couple of different coffee shops the past few days (one of the perks of getting a laptop. It's been nice to finally put some real time into a project. My portfolio hasn't been updated since college really. And now that I have over 6 years of experience, I certainly can create nicer pieces.

Gimme Sympathy

I just watched Metric's new video. I wish they'd play in Orlando sometime soon. I guess a new video probably means a new album. Which probably means they'll touring.

Beauty in Design

When I'm working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.
- R. Buckminster Fuller

This is actually true. I have noticed that finding a design flaw can sometimes be as easy as stepping back from it and looking for the irregular form. Somehow, clean solutions tend to feel balanced and beautiful.

Last night I dreamt that I was being put on some new projects at work (which is what has been happening all week in real life). I enjoy working on different things, so I've enjoyed the challenges. So, in this dream I am told that the names of the two new projects are "Karaoke Cake" and "Vomit: On-hand". These are just totally ridiculous, and I can't imagine where my mind dug these up from. I do enjoy the double meaning of "Vomit: On-hand". I just had to write those down so I can look back and laugh.

I'm Waiting...

Here's a quick sketch I did while waiting at the doctor's office this morning.

We need more power

My allergies are still kind of dragging me down. Just try to imagine Andre the Giant sitting on your chest and you'll begin to get the idea what it feels like. It was worse this weekend. Somehow, I keep finding myself with an increasing workload everyday. I am really looking forward to putting some time into this freelancing. I just need to get through the other 4 or 5 projects I am working on throughout the week. At least its a fun struggle. I guess I couldn't have picked a better time frame to be single, because I barely have any time for myself right now. I swore I'd make it to yoga tonight. I need stress release.

I've been hooked on this Franz Ferdinand song lately. I used to obsess over Matinee, now I find this one stuck in my head quite often:



Franz Ferdininad - Ulysses