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Friday, March 18th, 2011What on earth I’ve been doing for the past 6 months
One: got a new job
Around the time of my last post (Sept. 2010) I was on the verge of changing companies. I was approached by a tightly knit team in Clearwater for a UI designer position and at first I was skeptical. The original phone call went something like this:
Them: “Hi, is this Tim?”
Me: “Yes?”
Them: “Hi, we found your resume…”
Me, in my head: Great, another insurance company or something. It clearly states on my resume that I’m a Detail-Oriented designer with…wait, ‘Detail-Oriented’? Why on earth would I write something so unoriginal? No wonder I only get calls from people in boiler rooms. Oh, they’re still talking…
Me: “Wait, User Interface what?”
I swiftly realized that this was something good. I’d even go as far as to say it was something quite good. Quite good, indeed. I phone interviewed, paid them a visit in person, and became part of the family shortly thereafter.
I’m much happier with the working environment, as well. My old company had nothing going for it. Actually it had become exceedingly successful in going the wrong direction. I was the one who took the job, though, so the buck ultimately stops with me.
I’ll officially update the portfolio soon, but for now here’s a glimpse of what I’ve been working on:
Two: got a new hobby
“What does an 11 year-old who isn’t into sports want for Christmas?” This question led me to my local hobby shop to purchase some rockets or planes or trains or something that would not get thrown back up the chimney on Christmas morning. With one step inside I cast my eyes on all the things I’d wanted as a kid – and had since forgotten about.
I tried to stay focused but the temptation was too great. I strayed from the rockets dangling in the corner and sidled over to the (holy crap how much do these cost?!) RC cars in the main aisles. I flashed back to my childhood and tried to remember the details of the awesome car I had so I could find something that would surely bring me similar fits of joy. I asked the helpful chap at the counter about this and he pointed me in the direction of the entry level stuff. I saw one I liked, picked out the color, and saved it in my mental file of nice things to have.
Later that weekend, my wife asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I want to go on record and say the SHE is the one who suggested the RC car, not me. Sweetie, if you’re reading this, it was YOU! For those of you who have a problem becoming obsessed with new things or if you don’t have much spare time or money, I would suggest not getting a hobby-level RC car. And I would also strongly urge you not to persuade your friend to buy one. And whatever you do, do not let a mutual friend also buy one…so you can all race…in his parent’s yard that used to have grass on it until three RC cars carved it up one winter evening.
This thing is so fun I had to limit myself to only racing it one night a week for the good of the family. One rather large word of warning with these: this is a classic give them the razor, sell the blades situation. Yes, the car can run fine completely stock and with the original battery and charger. However, the sheer number of upgrades and parts for this hobby is staggering. To the weak willed who love to tinker this is dangerous territory. We limited ourselves to a new charger, batteries, motor, and tires. And spare parts when they break. And a toolbox to hold all the spare parts and batteries and charger. But that’s all.
*Sigh, I love you, Santa.
P.s. For those of you wondering, I got this car and my friends both got this car.
A customer service throwback…at Chubby’s.
Last night I joined a friend for some post-business-meeting fine dining at Chubby’s Hot Dogs. It is about 7:15pm when our cars simultaneously arrive to find that the neon glow from the “open” sign is illuminated no more. Fully disappointed, we each open the appropriate car window and commence shouting dinner alternatives at each other. As my friend leads the way back out of the parking lot, he is flagged down by the owners who had been observing our obviously sub par decision making. They insist we let them re-open the restaurant so they can serve us the hot dogs we crave.
{ …read on }
Web travels: illustration part 2
Three more illustrators struck my fancy today: Tom Gauld for his brilliantly simple style coupled with an enviably sharp wit; Chhuy-ing ia (a.k.a. Ciia) for the broad, powerful stroke work on her vibrant characters; and Dan Park for his cross-processed-looking palette and intriguing narratives.
“Characters for an epic tale” (Tom Gauld)
{ …read on }
Web travels: illustration
I’m starting a segment. I spend enough time on the internet seeking out work that makes me feel like a failure that I thought it’d do me some good to chronicle some of those findings. In this edition I’ve included some sites that cause me to remember the days when drawing was all I wished to do.
- heyoscarwilde.com: Artists’ interpretations of their favorite literary authors/characters.
- atomictoy.org: Andy Helms’ personal site. The “Dude-a-Day” section is quite awesome.
How a gentleman properly enjoys sunflower seeds
I might have a problem
After recently peering into the trash can in my office/garage, I found disturbing evidence that I am eating way too many of these salty little treasures called sunflower seeds. Until a few months ago, it had been about fifteen years since I’d enjoyed them. One impulsively purchased bag later and I’m full blown smitten. So while I ride this salty wave of shell cracking euphoria, allow me to share some of my tips for successfully eating seeds in a gentlemanly fashion.
{ …read on }
It’s family time: an iPad revelation
I follow many designers and web developers on twitter and they have all overwhelmingly fawned over the iPad and it’s recent release. I, however, could not figure out one thing I would do on the iPad that I don’t already do with another medium/device. Though quite late to the party, I got an iPhone this past Christmas and love its features, but almost nothing I use it for is would be enhanced by a larger version. Sure, I could read books on an iPad, but I typically only read a little bit at night before bed – not exactly kindle material. No usb, no camera, no 3G (at least not yet), and no flash all left me thinking that, although beautiful and masterfully crafted, the iPad was not intended for a user like me. Then I saw an innocent video by designer Cameron Moll and my perspective completely changed. { …read on }
helveticampbell: what it is & why it is
I’ve read different accounts about how, despite creating things for clients every day, it can be difficult for designers to actually roll something out for themselves. I’ve had various iterations of a portfolio site for myself, all of which would fall comfortably in the category of “lame and halfhearted”. Whether it came down to lack of skill, lack of motivation, or lack of necessity, in my eyes the end result always came up short. { …read on }