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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