As I was laying down last night, I couldn't decide when I wanted to wake up this morning. I knew that getting up at 12 would be too late, because I needed to freshen up my studies for today's midterm in sound design. Of course, 11 didn't sound too bad, but wasn't going to be a lot of sleep, as I usually prefer 8 hours to function right the next day. Neither of which really mattered, because I woke up at 10:30 this morning, sick as a damn dog.
I have felt ill all day. Not weak or anything serious, just really upset stomach, even for me. I didn't get the 8 hours of sleep I require either. Not a great start to my day!
-The Longest, Short Test Ever!!!
I had my exam first thing today. And I knew that I would get out early, which worked perfectly because I had to go to the park at 5 PM to meet my other professor for a field trip. I knew that if I could get the test done, get home, grab a small meal, and get down Spring St before traffic go too bad, I'd be ok.
Unfortunately that isn't how it ended up. My professor is possibly the longest winded individual I have ever met. When I got to class, there was a kid from his previous class still in the room, and he was sitting at my usual spot. So I acted like a nice guy and just sort of hovered until he finished doing his work. Well, he kept staying, and it went well into our class time, but my professor didn't seem to care. Then, when the kid was finally done, he turned to my professor and begun to strike a conversation with him. This went on for 20 or 25 minutes, and i started to get annoyed. I wanted to get the test over with and get out, not to mention my feet were starting to tire.
Finally, the kid leaves and I think we're going to start the test, but no. The man is also the easiest person to distract I've ever seen. Two guys in my class, who didn't know we were having a test today, managed to distract my professor for just under an hour of the class. First it was random questions about projects, then they got off on some tangent about movies, and finally it lead to one guy asking about black holes. It grew more and more obvious he was avoiding the damn test.
An hour and a half into the class, I finally get the damn test, and end up rushing over it. I find several tricky questions that do exactly what they are supposed to, and confused the hell out of me. My professor is like the really old, really weird guy who sits in a dark room all day, reading random books filled with vast knowledge of the world, and goes to work just so he can confuse people into picking the wrong answer, and then points and laughs at those people and tells them how awesome he is because he knows the real answer. Basically, he's Alex Trebek.
Where does SCAD get these guys?
-Are We There Yet?-
As I'm leaving the school, I text Richard to see if he was going to go to the park with me, like he has said on Monday. To my surprise, he responded rather quickly, but with the bad news that he was stuck at his parent's house. "No problem," I thought to myself. I called Matt to see what he was doing, and if nothing else, he could drop me off, so I wouldn't have to deal with finding a parking lot and paying out the ass for it. He says he's going to take a nap and then he'll let me know (they grow old, so fast).
Frustrated, and ready to stab myself in the eye, I turn to my one last hope. I call Adam and see if he wants to go, or if he'd drop me off. He asks me to wait until I got home and then he'd decide. I get home, he says he's hungry, and that we'd eat, and then he'd decide. Of course I agree to the plan, because I haven't eaten all day and I'm starved. We go out to eat, I get sick yet again, and Adam decides he's not going after all of it.
I rush back home, wake Matt's sorry ass up, and tell him to take me to the park. He slowly gets to his feet and gets dressed, we get all the way out to my car, and he realizes that he can just give me the cash to pay for a parking spot, just so he doesn't have to go. With a heavy heart and a headache the size of Texas, I take the money and proceed to drive myself to the damn park to meet with my professor.
By now, it's late, I'm sick to my stomach, there is a wreck that is holding up the already thick afternoon traffic, and I can't find a parking lot that costs less than $20. How awesome for me, considering I only have $15 on me. So I have to drive around the park in a giant, clusterfucked loop, to try and find a parking space. Finally I find one that is $10 and make my way inside. Turns out, there are two events going on in the park today, besides this little 6 person class meeting, so all the parking is jacked up and everything is busy as fuck.
I walk three blocks to the park, walk halfway across it to find the meeting spot, and finally come to half of my classmates who are standing around confused. Around 15 minutes pass before my professor comes walking up, just as confused. We all admit to it being too busy and not knowing about the two big events. My professor walks us around and talks about the plaques, memorials, and road signs that were put together for the park in 1996, and talks in depth about the layout and font used. This lasts for what seemed like forever, before he finally turned a corner, and revealed the meeting spot once more.
He looks at his watch and gasps, before letting us go and telling us to have an awesome early afternoon. I look down in surprise as well. It's only 6:05. I fought with my friends on driving me there, fought the traffic to get there, and then fought with idiot pedestrians to find a parking lot...just so I could walk around for about 45 minutes and talk about Helvetica. I was happy and pissed, all at once. At least I was free to go home and move on with my weekend, sweat soaked clothes and all.
-Is Yo Berfday!-
When I get home, I learn of plans to go out to eat. I don't like the plans, because I have food that needs to be cooked and I've already eaten out once today. But then I discover that it's Adam's birthday and that we're going out to celebrate. So of course I agree to it.
We went to a really nice BBQ place, got super stuffed, had lots of left overs, and managed to have a pretty good time. Adam unfortunately has to struggle with having fun and finishing his work that is due tomorrow afternoon. Either way, he's pulling another all nighter...on his birthday...poor guy...
-What Are We Going To Do? I Dunno-
When we get back from eating, I find myself exhausted, sleepy, and full of food. Naturally, all I really want to do is go into my room and unwind; maybe listen to music and photoshop some more. Matt and Richard are sitting around, asking everyone what they are going to do, which leads to us all making plans to do something together. I know how this game ends, I've seen it a hundred times before.
Instead of waiting for us to lose an hour of the evening, sitting around, shooting each other's ideas down, I jumped to the point and said "make a decision!" It worked, sort of. Richard and I wanted to watch Cyborg, a cheesy 1989 Jean Claude Van Damme movie that neither of us had ever seen, but bought on dvd cause it was super cheap. Matt of course hated the idea, and wanted to play Magic until our eyes bled (shocking, I know). I would have done that, but I wanted to watch this more.
To my surprise, Richard stood his ground, and put the movie in while Matt just shook his head and grumbled. Halfway through it, Matt ran off to bed (cause he's an old fart) and left me alone to rot in the mindless action left over from the late 80's. I love JCVD. He's my action man of choice, but this film was absolutely horrible. My brain felt so fucked after I saw this crazy film, all I could do was stumble into my room and suck my thumb.
Thankfully it's over and I can say I've seen it, but I will never waste my time watching it again. JCVD has made a massive assortment of movies in the past twenty years, some bad, some good, and I plan to watch all of them. I can only hope he doesn't have anything that can top this movie in outrageousness. I don't think my brain could handle it. At least I still have the original Street Fighter movie to make everything better, right?
~Jman
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Every Town, Has its Ups and Downs
I'm BACK!!!
I had this awesome idea the other day. There has been something missing in my life. It's something that everyone should have, but when there is too much can make you begin to hate it; routine. Starting tonight, and through the use of this awesome blog thingy, I am going to try my hardest to get more routine in my life.
To try and achieve this giant goal of mine, I am going to attempt to blog every night before bed. These blogs will be like journal entries, where I talk about things that happened to me through the day, and most likely go on long rants about nothing. We'll see if that doesn't keep this blog a little more active and introduce a little routine in my life.
Just a warning, before you get too involved in this idea of mine, remember that I get long winded when writing. You've been warned!
-Groceries-
I had one goal in mind when I woke up today. It wasn't something super important, nor was it something that was amazing cool, and it certainly wasn't something that lowers my current stress level. No. See, the one thing I had on my mind when I woke up this morning was food. Yup, it's that simple.
After finding Matt in his usual afternoon, passed out state, I knocked on Richard's door to see if he'd like to go with me to the grocery store. Turns out, he did. So after a few minutes of playing with the meanest, most adorable cat ever (Arnold), we loaded up into my car and went to Kroger.
Now usually this is a difficult process for me. I'm either short on cash, or can't find what I need, or I go at the worst time possible (ie: when I'm hungry). Most often, I end up with a small assortment of groceries that cost more than my spending limit which leaves me feeling like I might starve before the week is up. Fortunately today, everything went perfectly.
I went into the situation with a maximum spending limit of $50-60 and the knowledge that I would be moving in 10 days. So I tried to get what I wanted, but not too much extra stuff. Rich and I went through the store, talking to one another, and gradually picked up everything we needed. I actually ended up with quite a bit in my cart, and put a few things back. To my surprise and excitement, my giant load of groceries amounted to $45. I was under my limit and had an amount of food that I felt comfortable with to get me through the next 10 or so days. Not only that, but Rich and I got to spend some quality time together, which doesn't happen often at all.
-The Beast Awakens-
After I got back from buying groceries, I found Matt up and about, cooking himself lunch. He graciously offered me some, and I excitedly agreed to the deal. While the food cooked, Matt and I got into a somewhat deep discussion about our futures and our lives in general right now. It sort of depressed us both, but I feel like I might have helped Matt out with one of his problems. I certainly hope so.
During our wonderful meal, both of us remembered that Watchmen came out today. So of course we made a Best Buy run to see what all was on the special edition Bluray set. I went in knowing I didn't have the money for it, and Matt went in with the idea that he wasn't going to buy, but rather talk me into it. We both stood our ground for about 20 minutes, until finally we both gave up and left the store without the movie. I really wanted to buy it, but I know right now I can't afford to toss out $20 for a movie that I'll watch once and then put away for months.
-A Heartfelt Moment-
On the way home, I really started to reflect on the discussion I had earlier and the idea of having to possibly move further west to get a good job and the life I want. By the time I got home, I had managed to depress the fuck out of myself and drained all the energy I had for the remainder of the day. At some point I decided to do some random internet searching to get my mind off of everything, when my mom called.
As a mother often does, she knew instantly that something was wrong. For once, I just decided to blurt everything out to her and tell her like it is. She did her best to help me feel better, but before we could walk away satisfied, she turned the situation on it's head to make me feel bad about her life (furthering my overall depression).
That's how it usually goes in this situation. She turns any problem I have into a contest of lives and reminds me of how much hers sucks. At the end of the day, I realize that the stuff I do puts her in a bind, and that if I wasn't in Atlanta, she'd have a lot more money to spend. Hell, I'd have a lot more money to spend! But the one time she was making me feel a little better about having to possibly move away to the other side of the country, she slips right back into her usual stuff. It's so frustrating! UGH!
-Adobe Makes Everything Better-
After a long, unwanted conversation with my mom, I knew I was going to have to do something to make myself feel better. The one constant in my life that makes me content with life and even excited at times is Photoshop. So naturally that is what I did. I opened that bad boy up and spent a good portion of my evening making logos for Matt (part of what he had talked about this morning and helping him feel better).
It was incredibly satisfying. I came up with 11-12 different logos, and of those, Matt enjoyed 3. Which in the designing business is about the right percentage. From those 3, we worked on the logos further and got some really solid ideas to work from. Richard stepped in and gave some offhanded advice, which made me realize a few things. The three logos we had were solid designs, but none of them matched Matt and his profession. Matt agreed and added that all of the logos look like something for a graphics designer.
This lead to me try and design a forth logo, one that follows closer to Matt's profession. It was honestly the hardest thing I've had to do in Photoshop in a long time. I didn't know it, but I'm graphically intensive in everything I do. I can't settle for simple and clean. I don't know how much of that is my instinct and style, and how much of it is the teachings that SCAD has given to me as a Game Designer. Learning things about yourself is the ultimate way to grow and become better at what you do. That makes me ultimately grateful for this experience.
We ended up with a forth logo that has potential (even if I hate how simple and easy it was). Here are the four logos we designed, with the last one having two variations:
-OMG!!! HE'S HUGE!!! AHHHH!!!-
Oh Richard, the excitement that you get from watching wrestling makes it ten times better than it actually is.
After the logo-fest (and dinner), Richard, Matt, and I sat down for our new favorite event of the week: ECW. That's right, I said it. ECW over the last three weeks has single handedly become the best wrestling show WWE puts out. Smackdown is still amazing, and I love the wrestling that is happening on Friday nights. But the superstars that they are introducing and beginning to build on ECW are jaw dropping.
If it's one thing that is obvious on Monday nights, it's that WWE is in serious trouble for Superstars right now. Sure, there are plenty of guys who can step into the spotlight for a little bit (hi Kane!), but there is a serious lack of top tier guys in the company right now. Randy Orton, whether you hate him or not, is the only wrestler in the last five years who has managed to fight his way to the top and make himself seem like a legitimate Superstar. Triple H has been at the top of the game since the late 90s, and John Cena has been shoved down our throats by Vince McMahon so that he can sell his merchandise and get parents to let their kids watch wrestling again. That's it. Those are the "top" wrestlers that RAW has to offer right now. That's just sad.
So what does WWE do? They bring in a bunch of new guys, throw them at the audience in a motley assortment of ways, and see which ones stick. To my surprise, there are several new guys who I could see going to the top very quickly. Best of all, they appear to be great heels, which the company really needs right now. It's excited to watch these guys week after week, to witness their growth and see them rise to the top. The young guys on Raw and Smackdown have been putting on some amazing matches and showing a style of wrestling I haven't seen in over a decade.
There are some amazing times ahead for WWE, but they have to be careful and push these new guys right. If they can manage to stay uninjured and drug free, wrestling is going to makes it glorious return in a few short years. Personally, I can't wait!
-The Interwebs, it's the Future!-
I finally started a project tonight that I've been wanting to work on for several weeks now. My portfolio turned out really sleek and was something I was proud to say was mine. However, like everything I do, it turned out a bit complicated. To remedy this, I've been plotting a second portfolio site that is a lot simpler and something I can show to future employers that they will immediately get.
More than likely I will have a splash page that lets you choose which design you want to view. That, or I will use the old portfolio site as a "look what I can do!" display of awesomeness. Essentially, making the old portfolio site, a portfolio piece, for the new portfolio site. Get all that?
I'm really excited about designing a new site. It truly is my one passion in life. Games, comics, wrestling, drawing...it's all fun and I couldn't live without those things, but when I'm sitting at a computer, with photoshop open, some music playing, a nice cold beverage in my hand, and I'm working on a layout...it's just feels right for some stupid reason.
I'll be keeping you posted on the new portfolio. Eventually this blog will be attached to it, for all the world to see. YAY ME!
~Jman
I had this awesome idea the other day. There has been something missing in my life. It's something that everyone should have, but when there is too much can make you begin to hate it; routine. Starting tonight, and through the use of this awesome blog thingy, I am going to try my hardest to get more routine in my life.
To try and achieve this giant goal of mine, I am going to attempt to blog every night before bed. These blogs will be like journal entries, where I talk about things that happened to me through the day, and most likely go on long rants about nothing. We'll see if that doesn't keep this blog a little more active and introduce a little routine in my life.
Just a warning, before you get too involved in this idea of mine, remember that I get long winded when writing. You've been warned!
-Groceries-
I had one goal in mind when I woke up today. It wasn't something super important, nor was it something that was amazing cool, and it certainly wasn't something that lowers my current stress level. No. See, the one thing I had on my mind when I woke up this morning was food. Yup, it's that simple.
After finding Matt in his usual afternoon, passed out state, I knocked on Richard's door to see if he'd like to go with me to the grocery store. Turns out, he did. So after a few minutes of playing with the meanest, most adorable cat ever (Arnold), we loaded up into my car and went to Kroger.
Now usually this is a difficult process for me. I'm either short on cash, or can't find what I need, or I go at the worst time possible (ie: when I'm hungry). Most often, I end up with a small assortment of groceries that cost more than my spending limit which leaves me feeling like I might starve before the week is up. Fortunately today, everything went perfectly.
I went into the situation with a maximum spending limit of $50-60 and the knowledge that I would be moving in 10 days. So I tried to get what I wanted, but not too much extra stuff. Rich and I went through the store, talking to one another, and gradually picked up everything we needed. I actually ended up with quite a bit in my cart, and put a few things back. To my surprise and excitement, my giant load of groceries amounted to $45. I was under my limit and had an amount of food that I felt comfortable with to get me through the next 10 or so days. Not only that, but Rich and I got to spend some quality time together, which doesn't happen often at all.
-The Beast Awakens-
After I got back from buying groceries, I found Matt up and about, cooking himself lunch. He graciously offered me some, and I excitedly agreed to the deal. While the food cooked, Matt and I got into a somewhat deep discussion about our futures and our lives in general right now. It sort of depressed us both, but I feel like I might have helped Matt out with one of his problems. I certainly hope so.
During our wonderful meal, both of us remembered that Watchmen came out today. So of course we made a Best Buy run to see what all was on the special edition Bluray set. I went in knowing I didn't have the money for it, and Matt went in with the idea that he wasn't going to buy, but rather talk me into it. We both stood our ground for about 20 minutes, until finally we both gave up and left the store without the movie. I really wanted to buy it, but I know right now I can't afford to toss out $20 for a movie that I'll watch once and then put away for months.
-A Heartfelt Moment-
On the way home, I really started to reflect on the discussion I had earlier and the idea of having to possibly move further west to get a good job and the life I want. By the time I got home, I had managed to depress the fuck out of myself and drained all the energy I had for the remainder of the day. At some point I decided to do some random internet searching to get my mind off of everything, when my mom called.
As a mother often does, she knew instantly that something was wrong. For once, I just decided to blurt everything out to her and tell her like it is. She did her best to help me feel better, but before we could walk away satisfied, she turned the situation on it's head to make me feel bad about her life (furthering my overall depression).
That's how it usually goes in this situation. She turns any problem I have into a contest of lives and reminds me of how much hers sucks. At the end of the day, I realize that the stuff I do puts her in a bind, and that if I wasn't in Atlanta, she'd have a lot more money to spend. Hell, I'd have a lot more money to spend! But the one time she was making me feel a little better about having to possibly move away to the other side of the country, she slips right back into her usual stuff. It's so frustrating! UGH!
-Adobe Makes Everything Better-
After a long, unwanted conversation with my mom, I knew I was going to have to do something to make myself feel better. The one constant in my life that makes me content with life and even excited at times is Photoshop. So naturally that is what I did. I opened that bad boy up and spent a good portion of my evening making logos for Matt (part of what he had talked about this morning and helping him feel better).
It was incredibly satisfying. I came up with 11-12 different logos, and of those, Matt enjoyed 3. Which in the designing business is about the right percentage. From those 3, we worked on the logos further and got some really solid ideas to work from. Richard stepped in and gave some offhanded advice, which made me realize a few things. The three logos we had were solid designs, but none of them matched Matt and his profession. Matt agreed and added that all of the logos look like something for a graphics designer.
This lead to me try and design a forth logo, one that follows closer to Matt's profession. It was honestly the hardest thing I've had to do in Photoshop in a long time. I didn't know it, but I'm graphically intensive in everything I do. I can't settle for simple and clean. I don't know how much of that is my instinct and style, and how much of it is the teachings that SCAD has given to me as a Game Designer. Learning things about yourself is the ultimate way to grow and become better at what you do. That makes me ultimately grateful for this experience.
We ended up with a forth logo that has potential (even if I hate how simple and easy it was). Here are the four logos we designed, with the last one having two variations:
-OMG!!! HE'S HUGE!!! AHHHH!!!-
Oh Richard, the excitement that you get from watching wrestling makes it ten times better than it actually is.
After the logo-fest (and dinner), Richard, Matt, and I sat down for our new favorite event of the week: ECW. That's right, I said it. ECW over the last three weeks has single handedly become the best wrestling show WWE puts out. Smackdown is still amazing, and I love the wrestling that is happening on Friday nights. But the superstars that they are introducing and beginning to build on ECW are jaw dropping.
If it's one thing that is obvious on Monday nights, it's that WWE is in serious trouble for Superstars right now. Sure, there are plenty of guys who can step into the spotlight for a little bit (hi Kane!), but there is a serious lack of top tier guys in the company right now. Randy Orton, whether you hate him or not, is the only wrestler in the last five years who has managed to fight his way to the top and make himself seem like a legitimate Superstar. Triple H has been at the top of the game since the late 90s, and John Cena has been shoved down our throats by Vince McMahon so that he can sell his merchandise and get parents to let their kids watch wrestling again. That's it. Those are the "top" wrestlers that RAW has to offer right now. That's just sad.
So what does WWE do? They bring in a bunch of new guys, throw them at the audience in a motley assortment of ways, and see which ones stick. To my surprise, there are several new guys who I could see going to the top very quickly. Best of all, they appear to be great heels, which the company really needs right now. It's excited to watch these guys week after week, to witness their growth and see them rise to the top. The young guys on Raw and Smackdown have been putting on some amazing matches and showing a style of wrestling I haven't seen in over a decade.
There are some amazing times ahead for WWE, but they have to be careful and push these new guys right. If they can manage to stay uninjured and drug free, wrestling is going to makes it glorious return in a few short years. Personally, I can't wait!
-The Interwebs, it's the Future!-
I finally started a project tonight that I've been wanting to work on for several weeks now. My portfolio turned out really sleek and was something I was proud to say was mine. However, like everything I do, it turned out a bit complicated. To remedy this, I've been plotting a second portfolio site that is a lot simpler and something I can show to future employers that they will immediately get.
More than likely I will have a splash page that lets you choose which design you want to view. That, or I will use the old portfolio site as a "look what I can do!" display of awesomeness. Essentially, making the old portfolio site, a portfolio piece, for the new portfolio site. Get all that?
I'm really excited about designing a new site. It truly is my one passion in life. Games, comics, wrestling, drawing...it's all fun and I couldn't live without those things, but when I'm sitting at a computer, with photoshop open, some music playing, a nice cold beverage in my hand, and I'm working on a layout...it's just feels right for some stupid reason.
I'll be keeping you posted on the new portfolio. Eventually this blog will be attached to it, for all the world to see. YAY ME!
~Jman
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