21 posts tagged “blogging”

Okay, for those who still check in here, a bit of news. This blog will remain up until the end of 2009, but it is my intention to take everything down at that time. I am planning to migrate from Vox to a Wordpress-based site at my own domain name, address TBA.

The plan right now is to re-post my Vancouver-based blog entries at the new address, but nothing else. Just so you know...

Turns out I have to maintain a blog for one of my Term 1 classes at school, so you can now also find me at: BCITisha.  I'll be updating this at least weekly (it's homework! ha!) until the term finishes in early July.

School officially started for me last week, but it was a nice, slow start.  I had my aforementioned class - System Admin for Mac - that  got me ready to go with my fresh-off-the-plane Macbook Pro (they actually had to do a last-minute rush order for us, since the first shipment crashed off the coast of Japan!).  The lectures were computer/Mac 101 stuff (read: not too difficult), and the assignments were all done in class.  We even got out early on the last day, which was awesome.  If school was always like this (particularly the part about receiving a BRAND NEW ASS-KICKING LAPTOP on day one), I would never want a job.  Ha!

Using public transit each day was quite slick as well.  Travel does take about an hour total (as predicted), but I found it simple to switch from bus to Skytrain and back to bus again.  It can be crowded during the rush-hour times, but nothing some music and/or Rachel Maddow/Radiolab podcasts can't help me overcome.  I think I'll be able to handle it the 2-3 times a week I commute that way.

This week is the start of REAL classes and all that comes with it.  I will definitely try to update the blog when I can - let you know how school is going, what my classmates are like, how Shane is coping with doing laundry for the first time in nine months - but I'm making no promises as to when.  From here until next April, any blogging will be bonus.  (Especially since I have a feeling once I'm done with class and homework, I'll want to get as far away from anything computer-related as I can.)

I realized a couple of weeks ago that if I had to spend one more month staring at that old-ass banner from March, I would probably stop blogging completely.  And since no one wants THAT to happen (oh c’mon, you know you love me), I went to work on something new.

As previously mentioned, I’ve been working my way through Photoshop lessons – online and in the official textbook.  In my experimenting, I created one picture in particular that I loved.  It’s a shot of some leaves with raindrops on them that I took in Stanley Park; my new skillz helped me heighten the contrast between the drops of water above and the shadows below (see left).

I knew I wanted to incorporate this photo into the banner, and it didn’t take long for the rest of the thing to come together.  The rain theme is probably not the most appropriate for June, as it definitely has been less and less wet here as we approach Official Summer (yay!).  But at least this new banner will allow me to continue writing about the mundane goings-on of our wonderful slacker lifestyle without pause...which is exactly what you guys want, right?  Right.

I mentioned that I didn’t like February’s banner much at the beginning of last month.  Well, the feeling was strong enough that I felt compelled to start work on March’s banner weeks ago.  The upside?  I spent a lot of time and energy on this one, spread out over many days.  The downside?  I SPENT A LOT OF FUCKING TIME ON THIS ONE.  Fortunately, I do like how it turned out, and considering that this banner might be up for multiple months (hello, time-suck that is moving), I suppose the commitment was worth it.

 

The first element in the banner is a 3-D map that Shane put together of the coastline back in his grad school days.  I blended the original color of the ocean into a softer tone to match Vox’s blue theme.  Since the wavy “water” lines are in both the B.C. flag (middle) and Vancouver flag (right side), I knew I wanted to use them in the overall design, too.  So I inserted an X-marks-the-spot on Vancouver and attached a curving line that represents our voyage there – although, no, we are not arriving (drunkenly) from Japan or Hawaii or the middle of the ocean (details, details).  Finally, I played around with the scale, rotation and skew of the three flags to give them some “flow.”  I may do a little tweaking with the placement of the date and text, but otherwise this banner feels complete.

 

Also, I want to point out that I replaced my profile picture with one taken using our new camera - in manual mode!  Those are my kick-ass Spongebob slippers (props to Becky!), and they are among the first subjects I shot that did not turn out looking horribly disfigured and/or discolored.  Yay for progress.

 

I guess that is enough narcissism for one day.  Tune in tomorrow, when I will be sure to list more things I have done that are totally awesome.  (That is the whole point of blogging, right?)

FYI, attempting creativity at 10:30 on a weekday night is never a good idea, especially AFTER cleaning the kitchen for three hours.  And it only gets worse as the hour nears 11, then 12, then 1.  (Yes, a.m.)  Yet there I was, bannering away, convinced that if I just tweaked THAT part ONE more time, perfection would be close at hand.

 

It, um, wasn’t.  This month’s banner is about as uninspired as they come, but I just couldn’t bear the thought of having spent three hours trying out a million different designs only to end up with nothing.  So let’s call this one Better Than Nothing and focus on getting to the month of March, yes?

 

(Also: I’m convinced part of the problem can be described by a sign I recently saw at work. “How can I think outside the box when I work in a cube?”  Hehe.  Indeed.)

As the move approaches, I've been trying to find more ways to stay connected with everyone here.  The latest ventures I've undertaken with this goal in mind: setting up a Facebook profile and a Voyage to Vancouver page.

 

Joining Facebook was actually a lot more fun than I anticipated.  Not only have I been able to network with some good friends and extended family, I've also re-connected with old acquaintances.  This includes a handful of folks I knew from elementary school (who all, much to my amazement, grew up), Eden Prairie volleyball (oh, if they could see me now) and my old church (J.C. not included - haha).  It's been like a 10-year high school reunion, except including people from EVERY ASPECT OF MY FUCKING LIFE.  A little bit surreal, a tiny bit creepy, and a lot of bit awesome.  I highly recommend it, if only for the chance to view embarrassing, drunken photos of people you used to know.  (Also: you can write on my Wall!  Which is the cool kid's way of saying, "Send me a publicly-viewable message to add to my illusion of online popularity!")

 

Voyage to Vancouver is a second Vox account I've set up for me and Shane (who at least aspires to write a few things down while we're abroad) to use for cross-posting our more immigration-centric entries.  I figured this would be a good way to communicate what is/will be going on with the move and transition into Canadian life for those who aren't familiar with Camp Vancouver.  Because, I'll be honest, this blog is definitely not suitable for all audiences in my life (hi, conservative family members! who will hopefully never read this greeting!).  Feel free to spread the word about that site to those who might want to stay in the (family-friendly) loop.  Or mark it for yourselves, if you are tired of reading my rambling and pointless posts.  I promise to keep it relatively G-rated, although I give no guarantees about the fun factor (lord knows that's the first thing to go when I delete the sparkly swear words).

 

In the near future, I also plan to set-up (again) (some of you may remember my previous attempts at this) some form of instant messaging.  But I must forewarn you: I am notoriously bad about logging into said service, as there are few things more irritating to an introvert like me than getting on the computer at night and immediately being bombarded by "yO; WHATZ uP?~"s from a dozen different people.  Seriously, you guys have got to chill out until I am done looking at Internet porn.  Don't make me pull a Block on your ass. 

This month’s banner theme is puppy ornaments!  Back in 1992, my grandmother bought me the second in the Hallmark collection Puppy Love.  We shared an adoration of our family’s dog, Sugar, and thus I loved that she bought me this gift.  From that year on, she purchased each addition to the series as part of my yearly Christmas present.  When she passed away, my mom took over the gift-giving.  And when Shane entered my life, he went on eBay to find the ornament that had started it all in 1991 (sound familiar?).

 

Understandably, the tradition of receiving Puppy Love ornaments (now a complete set!) has come to mean a lot to me.  Though I am not normally a big collector of trinkets like these, I am excited to see what new little dog will be released each year.  So it feels very appropriate (and totally for cute) to incorporate them into this month’s banner. 

 

Happy December, everyone!  (And on behalf of the MN weather: welcome to winter, bitch.)

After taking October off, I finally got my act together to compose another custom banner for November.  I wanted to do something turkey-themed, so I searched around on Google until I found the right image.  The hand-drawn quality of this particular illustration appealed to me, as did the big, you’re-going-to-do-what-with-me?! bug eyes.  (Those happy-to-be-eaten turkeys who go so far as to celebrate the holiday by dressing up in pilgrim wear?  Totally unrealistic.)

 

With a mascot chosen, I played around with some matching autumn colors, leaves and squiggly lines (you can’t go wrong with squiggly lines).  I had a lot of fun with it, which I think shows in the way this banner turned out; the playful, child-like feel of it is a nice change of pace, especially compared to September's somber tone.

 

Happy Turkey Month, everybody!

 

I don’t know what it is exactly about this month that gets me down.  The early signs of dying vegetation?  A Pavlovian response developed during my school days?  Or perhaps it’s just the shorter and shorter daylight hours.  All I know for sure: I definitely don’t welcome September with open arms.

My new, somewhat subdued banner/color scheme reflects this melancholy.  I built the banner around a rainy picture I took on one of our many excursions to the Pacific Northwest.  I wanted something that I could play around with in Photoshop, like I did for April’s banner, so the simple shot of trees worked perfectly.

 

I’m satisfied with the way this banner turned out, although I would have spent more time on the little details, had our Internet not been such a bitch on Wednesday night.  (Damn you, crappy apartment connection!)  But that would have meant hearing this old campfire song play through my head a few hundred more times (which I didn’t so much need):

(Call and response)
One sunny day, (echo)
I met a bear. (echo)
Out in the woods, (echo)
a way out there. (echo)

(All together)
One sunny day,
I met a bear.
Out in the woods,
a way out there.

(Other verses sung in the same manner)

He looked at me;
I looked at him.
He sized up me;
I sized up him.

He said to me,
“You better run.
I see you ain't
got any gun.”

And so I ran
away from there.
But right behind
me came that big bear.

Then up ahead,
I saw a tree -
a great big tree,
oh lucky me!

The nearest branch
was ten feet up;
I'd have to jump
and trust to luck.

And so I jumped
into the air,
but I missed that branch,
a way up there.

Now don't you fret
and don't you frown.
I caught that branch
on the way back down!

This is the end.
There ain't no more,
unless I meet
that bear once more.

I met that bear
again once more.
He was a rug
on the bathroom floor.