On Rambling and Blubbering, really

The search is over, but only temporarily. But I won't be sending out anymore resumes for a while (which is partly inspired by the fact that my hard drive bit the dust and noooooo, I did not have it backed up!). But my surface reason is that I think I am officially employeed. I say "think" because it's all just so wierd. I will explain:

This is a two parter.

1. Apparently a person can start their own phone book. Dex doesn't have the corner market on them. This dude started a phonebook for the Northern and Central Oregon Coast (read: Astoria is included in that) a few years ago and he hired me to design the ads. The previous ads were designed by him and a few other people and wow, do they need a designer! For you design people out there imagine a heading that is -100 kerning, stretched 130% wide, stretched 110% tall, has a baseline shift of 5 pts for no apparent reason, and is a lightweight serif font with a 1.5 pt outline. The stuff is hideous. So, I am redoing them. I even find myself making large efforts to match the businesses' ads to their logos, which means finding out what the logos look like. Anyway, I work from home on this one, get a percentage of the ad cost (which works very well in my favor) and can do it full time for 5 months out of the year. I imagine that next year there won't be as many ads to re-do because they won't be nearly so appalling, so I might be working myself out of 5 months/yr and into 3. Alternatively, next year I could spread the work out and have a part-time job out of it, year round or at least 8 months or so. I work from home, have to take out my own taxes, and do as much or as little as I feel like. Yeah, its weird.

2. So, I was not at all comfortable with the situation above being my only job and I kept looking. I applied for many, many, many jobs. I got turned down for more than a few. I was called into this photo studio to take their 2 hour test (their method of weeding through resumes). I, of course, read up on everything I could get my grubbly little hands on that might relate to the test (read: I bought a book). When I went into take the test I discovered to my dismay that I had to do "knock outs" (remove the background) on three files , plus someother small tasks. I already knew how to do this, so I was aggravated that I'd studied other things so hard. But then I had to do some color matching excersize and discovered that I didn't know how to do it. I was so frustrated and sleep deprived that I almost got up and walked out. I did the best I could at making up an alternate way of acheiving the same effect and moved on. During the last 15 minutes I discovered how to do it, but it was to late to do it well, so I threw it together, made a proof sheet and left. I chalked that one up to a lesson learned and did not at all expect a phone call, which I got a few days later to come in for an interview. Shocked doesn't begin to describe it. The guy basically said that I did really good at most things and did something "wacky" with oune of them, the important thing being that they thought that I could learn. So then last Monday I had a test day at work and their one other hopeful worked on Tuesday. Last night I got a call asking me to come in 5 other days over the next 2 weeks. They never actually said, hey you got the job. We picked you! But, I think it is safe to assume now.

Did I say that it was a commercial photo studio? I worked on images for Nintendo Monday. Its part time, and from what I can tell, not super regular. I mean, I might get to work 2 days every week, those days might vary. I really am not sure. There are 2 other digital artists working there, both who have other freelance gigs and neither of whom want to work 40 hrs a week. So, I am there to take up the extra work that they can't get done. While I think there might be a minimum amount of work to expect, there may also be occasional 40 hour weeks. It does not pay as well as I'd like, and I am pretty sure there are no benefits. But, it *will* look good on my resume and it *is* work, and I *am* gaining experience.

Did I babble enough for you? What? No? Well...
I have to go now because I am taking a couple old paintings that my dad has had in his house for over 30 years to be appraised. Cool, huh? K, bye