Thing-a-day.com

I’m posting my last item today since I’m going on vacation tomorrow. This is a sneak peak into some of my future work, which will involve adapting some of my illustrations into digitized form. Adios!

I love Rumiko Takahashi’s Inuyasha characters. I created the illustration on the left based on an episode where Kagura falls wounded in a stream and Sesshoumaru is nearby. Something they leave up for the imagination is how he actually gets her out of the water. I’m such a fan girl! You can see some of the progress here. Enjoy!

I don’t own Inuyasha, but Rumiko Takahashi does.

I read a recent boing boing post about a diagram on how to cook chicken. The commenters pointed out that it was a mind map. And so true. Mind maps have been used to graphically present semantic information in a non-linear fashion.

I use it a lot in presentations. On one page it shows information in a easy to digest format that may take 5 or 6 (or more) slides full of bullet points. And how many of us have been guilty about using too many bullet points in too many slides? Anyway I went into the office today and gave a little update for the Chicago staff and I made a few mind maps.

Once again, I forgot that I’ve got everything I need at hand.

Since I got the probation notice, I was focusing too much on what I couldn’t change.  I resisted to feel better, creating more unnecessary stress. Dah.

It’s all my attitudes that can change every thing. My life had been so well that I made myself too accustomed to it to remember that life consists of full of crap.  

And yet, there were many tools that were right in of me to use in order to deal with those hardships, but I was blind. Again, dahh.

I stopped agonising about my situation at work. I bought myself a pink vase that caught my eye at a flower shop in the building where I work. Felt more pinkish. Got tulips in the same colour.

Hey, this is the very first time I bought flowers for my desk after working there for almost 8 years. I hate working for my office so much I neglected to take good care of myself. I realised I needed more than I needed for home.

I worked hard for the last few days. I know I am leaving the office sometime this year, but I’d like to finish what I need to do. That is, to me, self-care rather than going on a binge of indulgence.

At 5 o’clock today, on getting out of the building, I could smell the flagrance of Winter Daphne flowing with comfortable spring breezes. Felt good about myself.

This entry is for E., who complained that I did not post anything recently.Yesterday I finished Extremely loud & incredibly close. “I’m still wearing heavy boots.” I can really recommend that book to everyone, it is a must-read.The Whitest Boy Alive at the Electric Ballroom, 07/02/08This week I was very lazy concerning Thing-a-Day. I not good in doing something on the tube or during my lunch break. I either read (I finished the book within five days, which is good, when you keep in mind that I was at work on four days out of those five.), talk or feel too sick for doing anything (I hate the Metropolitan line! It is so shabby and wobbly, that I could vomit all over the train …). And because I am really not into drawing (more into painting, but I do not have the materials), I haven’t done anything worth mentioning. I will upload one picture, which I quite like. I made it on my way to work. Everyday the sun rises three minutes earlier and you can really feel the difference. It’s amazing!The Whitest Boy Alive at the Electric Ballroom, 07/02/08My hand was also hurting every now and then, which kept we away from my computer at home. On Wednesdays I have my choir rehearsal and on Thursdays I hopefully practise my juggling some more. Fridays are here to chill out and phone home. I forgot Tuesdays: I am coming home at about half past seven and do stuff one does when s/he comes home from work so late and I prepare for bed. So, I am sorry, but from Tue to Fri I am really not up to do something to be worth posting. But I make a picture every now and then.On my way to work, 06:44 am. You can already anticipate the sun rising.I flipped through the recent photographs and I will post a few in/with that entry.At the beginning of March I will get an assessment from my manager, if I got it right, besides that my wage will go up a bit. I really hope, that I can get the tax back I am paying right now, because it is immensely high! As I only work for three months in the UK tax year of 2007/2008, it is just a matter of me insisting on getting it. I haven’t heard anything regarding Council/Housing Benefit yet, which pisses me off (like missing the Chiltern train in the morning). I don’t want to phone them and tell them to their †¿§‰?”*)+!=•¡ job.On my way to the office. I can see where I go! 07:34 amRight now I am also waiting for the tax rebate from Austria. It takes so long because I received jobseeker’s allowance for a while. That’s unfortunate, but I can hardly change it.I started the first book of Harry Potter today. It’s so much thinner than the last one! Good, I think that’s it for now …Too long Johnny For the proper layout look on my blog, I just can’t be bothered right now with WordPress! 

red! paint! on drawers!

painted these drawers and 3 more of their friends, and the chest they reside in at work.  (i love my job!)  red is a tough color to work with.  not only is it blaringly obvious when you get it on the carpet or your clothes, it takes MANY coats to make it not look streaky.  i’m not sure if it helped or hurt that the paint itself is probably at *least* 6 years old.

i left the mess for christy to tend to when she gets in this a.m….. well, the paint wasn’t dry yet!!  (hi christy!!)

I recently read in newspaper about the people who made their dreams come true.

I cut the parts of what they said:

Success comes easier if you find your work interesting.

You can sit around thinking about doing something forever, and nothing happens until you take the first step.

I have so much pride, so much self-worth, so much hope with every circumstance of my life when you know you’re the master of your own destiny.

I do somthing I am good at. It’s a huge difference from being a cog in the wheel.

Today I was too busy to make my usual flash toy, so my “thing” is a screenshot of my desktop (which also serves the purpose of explaining why I was busy). Click the thumbnail below to enlarge- Oops! My image got deleted somehow. Oh well, wasn’t much to see anyway -

On Thursday I did some socializing and on Friday I recovered from the lack of sleep, which is why there are two things missing. My right hand is also hurting. I guess because of working at the computer up to 10 hours a day. I decided to finally tidy my desktop before I allow myself to try Adobe CS3. But with my handicap (I moved the mouse to the left of the keyboard) I guess I will more likely just read and I still have to make the dishes. Below you see a before shot and a sequence of the work in progress.   

embedded by Embedded Video

Today I made a time-lapse animation of my enthralling day at work using the time-lapse camera I made yesterday. I also made a song called “Work Work Work Work” about my days working for a user-generated content website. Sometimes it’s tiring dealing with lowest echelons of internet users all day long, but I have to just keep virtually smiling at them even if I’m just shifting in my seat waiting to go home.

(Sorry for the delay, my internet crapped out last night.)

I made these eyes so I could nap at my desk and no-one would know.

Had an session with my counselor last night.

I had made a list of keywords on what I want for my next career.

She gave me specific suggestions on what I could do right now. Lent me a useful book too.

At the end of the session, she said that my expression on the face changed obviously for the better from the one when I walked into her office.

Might be small, but I saw a light. Whatever I do would get me to the next indicated thing.

Somehow, it’s not so far to reach there, I think.

Today I had an idea and I just did it. The outcome isn’t that good, because I am not that good with the pencil. But see for yourself. If you click on the picture you can see it in high resolution, if you’d like to see details.