February 22, 2012. I feel like I've been put on the spot to showcase my skills. It is a good challenge. I want to succeed.
• I spent most of the morning working on a digital publication, a showcase of skills. Since about noon, I have worked on mastering variable data within Photoshop. After 2.5 hours of watching videos, referring to books, and the help file. I got it. I got it. I got it. One of the tripping points was the mention of a "Comma Delimited File" in one of the videos. No such creature exists in the digital world. He should have said, "Tab Delimited File." I was trying to get a CSV (Comma Separated File) to work.
• Now back to the digital publication to include a demonstration using variable data with Photoshop.

February 21, 2012. Wow, my head spins. I have a project to focus on.

February 6, 2012. Wow, too many ideas, note enough time. Let's see what I can get accomplished.

February 1, 2012. Cool, time to update the resume. Certificate in Visual Communication Design - Graphic Arts Technology awarded from Austin Community College. When I applied for graduation, the approval letter said it would be awarded in April. I'm glad it came in the mail early.

January 17, 2012. Let's see, I have a few items up at <CafePress> and a few cards up at <Greeting Card Universe>. The Etsy presence will begin soon. I hope to have files there that can be used for scrap booking and fun projects.

January 2, 2012 So far, so good, but I don't believe the world is going to end. Look at how many times the end of the world has been predicted, without success. The Mayan culture had a very accurate calendar system. A lot of their books were burned. I don't really think that we cannot get a full picture of their beliefs on the matter of time, without the rest of the books.
•I have several ideas to work on. Time to get busy.

December 25, 2011 It's been a good Christmas. I had a job interview last week, don't know how I stand against the competition. Found a typo or two on this page, they have been corrected.
•The <CafePress> storefront has been updated for Valentine's Day. And on that note, I need to update the Greeting Card Universe storefront. I will soon have a selling presence on Etsy, selling graphics that can be used for scrap booking.

December 9, 2011 It's Friday, and I have some ideas. Of course, they may not be received well, that's a different story.

December 8, 2011 I am not giving up on the iPad publication of my resume. It's on hold for a little while. In the meanwhile, it will be tweaked out to perfection.

December 6, 2011 Illustrator "aha" moment! It will make <Guilloché> patterns easier to create.
•Yesterday was homemade pineapple and coconut sherbert. It's a winner. Today is another batch of cheesecake cookies. If I were an HR profession, I think I would want to hire me. Think of all the awesome food I could bring to the holiday potluck parties.
•Today, I am working on my portfolio. A digital edition for the iPad/Android. It's a learning process, quite involved, and I'm taking my time so that the end piece is flawless.
•I've been stonewalled on the digital portfolio for the moment. There are other options, I thought that one would be a good one. There's the interactive PDF file.

November 29, 2011 To make things more interesting, I think I've discovered a way to deliver my portfolio to potential employers. I've been watching podcasts to expand my skill level while I'm looking for work.
•And why didn't I think of that before? Code snippets for the web site. I get set in my ways, but when I discover a new way to automate the process, I get jazzed about using it. Think about it, before the desktop computer was in common usage, the graphic design industry did not change much. Now we have computers, and we want more and more automation.

November 27, 2011 Oh de doh. It's a good day.

November 26, 2011 It's been an interesting week. In between job hunting sessions, I did some experimentation with frozen desert recipes. I found a recipe for <Almond Milk Ice Cream> that turned out well. The container I put it in was labeled lime sherbert. As a result, one of the kids thought it was lime sherbert. Well, then I found a recipe for <Lime Sherbert>. I did not know frozen deserts were so easy to make. Dare I mention, if you hire me, the deserts make great additions to the holiday pot luck dinners.
•Today we celebrate Thanksgiving, it's when we can get everyone together.

November 19, 2011 I think all the bugs have been worked out of the site.

November 17, 2011 Would you believe it? I would, the site launch was premature. I'm going through the site with a fine tooth comb, in order to fix all the gotchas. Hopefully, if you're looking at the site, they've all been fixed. Did I mention that I like print production? I do appreciate web production, I think that I could work well on a team.
• I am quite sure that for myself, web production requires a deeper thought process. Part of that is due to the changes in HTML and CSS that happen every year or so. Visual Design comes easier than code.
•I think everything has been updated, if you find something. Feel free to contact me. Through <Facebook>. Through <Twitter>.

November 16, 2011 Site launched. Still looking for code gotchas.
• Waiting on the coffee cake to come out of the oven, this recipe actually called for coffee.
• Still job hunting. I refuse to be depressed about it. I have some applications out, the tough part is getting people to believe that I know what I say I know. When I took the proficiency tests at oDesk, I passed the Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign tests without a problem. Scored in the top 20% for Photoshop and Illustrator. InDesign dealt with XML questions, and that's probably why I did not get the top 20% there.
• Amazing, located the CS4 tests on oDesk for PS, AI and ID. Still top 20% for Photoshop and Illustrator, hit to 10% for AI CS4. Will take InDesign test later today or tomorrow, have errands to run.

November 15, 2011 Site prep for launch.