Flipping Switches, Switching Gears

Some of you won't find this too surprising, but I happen to spend a lot of time in front of a computer.

(I know, shocker, right?)

"Got anything special planned this weekend?"  Asks... pretty much everyone.

"Working," I almost always reply.

Mind you, I like being busy, but there's gotta be a breaking point, right?

At work, it's a fine line.  On the one side, I'll be just busy enough that it's not a matter of what to do, but what's in need of being completed first.  On the other side, I'll be just slow enough to let my mind wander - not necessarily to activities outside of work, but more I can do to in the grand scheme of things that will in turn increase my workload.  (Nuts, I know.)

Outside of work, there's much more gray area.  "Work" takes on a different meaning outside the hours I spend at my job, in the sense that on top of a few personal clients, I also have the occasional self-imposed writing assignment (or obligation) that glue me to the computer as much as any design project that comes my way.

I realized on the way home from work today that I spend an average of one hour a day (my commute) without the internet, and that's only because I was conservative enough NOT to use my 4G.  I'm not sure if this is a sign of the times or a sign of a problem.

Within 15 minutes of being home, the computer was fired up and ready to go with no less than three browser windows open - a combined total of a minimum of 35 tabs (while a number of which are simply because I chose to "restore last session" it is still a good indication of my habits) in addition to two Adobe products (Photoshop and Illustrator), an FTP client, Microsoft Word (three documents) and Notepad++ (just in case).

Yeah.

I'd like to say that I'm not a computer addict, but I'll tell ya, back in my younger years my mom knew the best way to punish me was to change the password on the internet (AOL in those days - good ol' dial-up).  It worked way better than any sentence of being grounded would have - hats off to that one Mom - and looking back on those times, it really is no wonder I ended up in a field that is severely cut off at the knees without internet access; I quite suitably gave myself an excuse to not be able to go "disconnected."

I'm not entirely sure I actually have an off switch when it comes to work in some fashion.  I think I'm always on and just toggle between work time and my time, sleeping whenever fuel gets low.

This isn't complaining, it's an understanding.  If it was a complaint, I would shut off the dual screens of computer and enjoy "The Big Bang Theory" in more than just my peripheral vision.  But alas, that time has to be worthwhile and I'll be damned if I can't multitask.  Not only am I female, but I'm a Gemini: I was built for this shit.  (Excuse my French.)

Why are Mondays so... Monday?

Let's just face it, Mondays are brutal.  There's just no getting around it.  After a couple days of doing... well, anything but your weekday routine, there's a certain hurdle involved in getting back to the grind.

It starts with the alarm clock.  After two days of just your body telling you to wake up, that Monday morning jolt to alertness comes entirely too soon and no matter how many times you hit snooze, it just isn't enough sleep to motivate movement (unless you are one of those bizarre "morning people" I've heard about - I shudder at the thought).

Next, traffic.  Somewhere between Friday afternoon and Monday morning, roughly half the population out on the road forgets how to drive.  Between two highways and a freeway, there's no reason why my 13 mile commute should ever take 45 minutes, however if it's going to happen, it'll happen on a Monday.

Walking into work, my main Monday comfort is that everyone (well, almost everyone) has started off their morning pretty much in the same mindset, making a beeline to the coffee before being willing to form coherent sentences.

The workload on Mondays is always daunting - or at least appears daunting after being away from it for two days.  There's everything that perhaps wasn't completed Friday due to the "WEEEE, WEEKEND!" feeling at the end of the day, plus everything that trickled into the inbox while the office sat quiet and waiting for the hustle and bustle of the work week.

I kind of think there's no avoid it, but I sure can ply on enough caffeine to trudge through it with only minimal discomfort.  Once over the Monday hurdle, it's really all downhill from there.  Gather enough momentum and Monday's a thing of the past because Friday is barreling your way - just in time to start the whole process over again.

Fun times.  Bring on Monday!

Brushing Off the Dust

I'm still a designer.

I'm still flawed.

Not entirely sure why I let this blog fall off the map, especially considering I rededicated myself to it more then once in the few posts I managed to spare time for.

Alas, here we go again.

Catching Up

A lot has happened in the last year, some of the best and worst experiences I can ever hope to encounter and I can't help but realize the irony that it is almost a year to the day since my last post.

Right about now last year, distraction was taking forefront in a major way and it's likely the reason this outlet of mine that was buried at the bottom of the priority pile.  Don't worry dear blog, you weren't the only beloved self-imposed writing assignment that fell to the wayside - NaNoWriMo met the same fate.

No, I haven't given up writing - far from it in fact.  I have no less than four fiction stories in the works, each at the "novella" stage and aspiring to be novels.  I'd have a second completed novel by now if I didn't keep getting swept up in the different stories, but oh well - I work on whatever one inspires me most that day and eventually I hope to have something worthwhile.

While I can go on and on, I won't.  A writer writing about writing?  That has the potential to be an endless circle and that's a lofty goal for a "rededication."  For now, I'll stick to the broad strokes.

From Classes to a Career

Long story short of what you missed:  Graduated college, with honors.  Hired a week later, the day after my second interview.  Promoted three months after that and I'm now a full fledged web designer and copywriter.  (Seriously, that's my title and everything!)

I know, I know - who would have guessed that after three years in school studying web design and working as an editor on the school newspaper would have led to this awesomeness?  Not me, that's for sure.

I managed to find a home at a company that has not only welcomed me with open arms to the family (you know - like those family members that only occasionally embarrass you in public), but has also provided me with the opportunity to work with businesses of all kinds from coast to coast doing exactly what I spent the last few years prepping for and more.

Again, awesome.

On top of that, I still have a couple of treasured website and graphic design clients of my own who tend to keep my otherwise unoccupied time rather busy.

While I'm still trying to figure out how to incorporate the long lost, forgotten art of a social life, if you were to ask me five years ago where I would be today, I would have never guessed this.  I didn't dream enough for myself back then, though I should have.

Now?

Now I have no reason not to dream and I'm looking forward to seeing where the stars take me.

If I don't post again soon, it's been good seeing you again dear blog.