#14 My Valentine For You

This year I decided I wasn’t going to send my holiday cards via Blue Mountain or Hallmark this year. So I signed up for a email marketing service called Mail Chimp so I could send my own custom created email cards. Above is the graphic I created for my Valentine’s Day card. If you want to see the whole email (with the a TAD plug in there too) you can view it here http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=cc127218a9bce97cd54da2f09&id=852b7b22be&e. You could even sign up to get them if you wanted the occasional email from me.

#08 Desktop Background

I have been struggling today to come up with something to do. So I went to my fall back, Photoshop. So here is a desktop background. If you would like the full 1920×1200 you can get it here

Think of it as a Kardashian. What it lacks in refinement it makes up for in cargo space.

I realized this weekend it has been 4 months since I wrote a post here. I wish I could say it was because I went out and found a life and just didn't have time for the "blog scene" any more, but that would be lying. Actually, I think the absolute opposite is true. I find it pretty safe to blame the utterly pathetic state of my life for my lack of blogging. It just isn't any fun to do this if you don't have anything exciting to write about, and it is even worse when everything you might want to write about ends up being a complaint, a gripe, an annoyance, a carte blanche bitchfest, or a worry about "this being the week they fire me." Therefore, no writing for me lately.

When it comes right down to it I have let work take over my life in an overly unhealthy way. If I am not working or sleeping, then I am prepping for work, thinking about work, or worrying about work. So even when I am not working, I am still working. And when I find myself with those few precious moments that work doesn't occupy I am so drained from all the other stuff that I waste them away doing nothing. Are you starting to see my sad state of affairs?

This is why I turned my 3 day holiday into a 4 day holiday. I took Friday off, which depending on who you talk to may or may not have been deserved, but it was very much needed. It would have been highly likely that if I had gone into work on Friday someone would have found me at my desk dead of a heart attack, stroke, or aneurysm. Yes, I have been that spun up lately.

So this weekend I spent some quality time with the family, did some major retail therapy, worked on a little pro bono project for my aunt, and never once looked at work, logged into work, checked up on work or thought about work. This has probably been the best 4 days of life. I can't ever remember feeling this relaxed.

So here I am trying to pull myself out of this funk. I have re-skinned my blog. Which is why I am up at 2am writing instead of sleeping. It is pretty graphic intensive at the moment and may need some tweaking. It doesn't load very well on Firefox 3.# browser (don't ask why I haven't upgraded I might scream). I am writing again, hopefully with semi-consistency. Maybe I will pull that goal list out, and give those a stab again - being that they have gone pretty much no where since I made the list, and as you can see I am trying to keep with the "White Collar" titles. It is tough though. That show is more witty banter between characters than it is snappy one-liners.

Oh yeah, and I have updated my print folio, and hope to get a couple of new projects added to www.amberlynmeier.com this week. I think I want to take a swing at some freelance work so if you know anyone in need of a good GD maybe send them my way.

Hoops

The only thing keeping from going back to school is the admission process. The folio section is killing me...I am going back to school to learn motion media...I don't want to show you I am already proficient in it. Or maybe I am going back to get that illustrious MFA in graphic design...but do I really need it if I already have a kick ass folio with multi-page projects and multiple piece campaigns that I am required to send to you. What if my undergrad was in marketing and I thought my graduate degree should be more artistic...I am pretty much screwed then. Don't get me wrong, I understand the need to present a portfolio to the committee. I understand that there needs to be some basic knowledge there. I also understand the need for parameters...they help, a lot, but come on...let me just show you my best work, don't make me pad the folio with bogus projects to fulfill your "requirements"

Circular Thinking

There is always something fun about giving your blog a new skin, even if, in this day and age, anyone who is reading your blog consistently is doing it with a feed reader :)

Things have been so crazy lately that I have been living is a state of "not good." My head always hurts, my knees always ache, it is always too hot, there is never enough time to get done what needs to get done, I am always late, it seems I can't get much further than adequate with anything anymore...I am back to drowning...back to treading water and waiting, hoping, for something to happen. Pull me under, push me up, carry me away. Just please, please, please, don't leave me out in this wide expanse of still water with no rock in sight...treading, treading, treading...waiting, waiting, waiting...not giving up, not giving in, but no end in sight makes for a daunting day and night...

It's time for change...sink or swim as they say...even if neither journey has a destination?

Devil Cards?

I have decided to pull my tarot cards out again. As a matter of fact I had a pretty eerie encounter with them last night and this morning. I am going to try to keep an online tarot journal @ http://tarotrack.blogspot.com. My first post is kind of vague because it involves people and situations I probably shouldn't discuss on line. I am re-posting it here in case you don't want to click over.

I haven't had my tarot cards out in about three years now. So long in fact, I had forgotten which box I had put them in. But as fate would have it, in doing a bit of cleaning I came across them. So I thought I was start dabbling again.

I was wound so tight last night, over an imaginary argument I thought I would try meditating on a quick 3-card spread in an attempt to calm down. I didn't even pull the cards out of the box to shuffle them. I just pulled 3 cards from the deck. They are as follows (in this order): King of Wands (up-right), Six of Cups (down-ward), Three of Swords (down-ward). Fortunately, my cards have the descriptions right on them so I didn't have to so a lot of searching of the meanings.

The King of Wands: Denotes, handsome charismatic bold man over 40, who has a commanding presence and strong convictions. Strong leadership skills. Attracts attention where ever he goes. Takes action and gets results. An innovative, creative man who is open to new concepts.

The Six of Cups: You lose sight of the future by dwelling on the past. Pain and difficulty do not disappear right away. Emotional upset continues. You are not taking responsibility for your emotions. Self control is necessary now. Inheritance or gift possible. A large sum of money effects your mood.

The Three of Swords: Someone protects your feelings instead of tell you the truth. One person in your relationship will be tempted to betray the other. Flaws in a relationship are overlooked because the positive aspects are worth keeping. Contented and happy with a relationship-you see no need to change anything.

I meditated on these cards for a minute and it did nothing to calm my disposition. As a matter of act it made my anxiety worse because after a minute I knew exactly who the man was, I knew what mistake I made to bring about the emotions and the gift, and lastly I was scared half to death by that fact that this gift might stop me in my tracks...

I tried to put it out of my mind, but this morning what the cards foresaw, materialized right in front of me. This was enough to shake me little...open my eyes back up. So for now I am going to keep an online tarot journal. And try doing a few spreads a week.