Watch The Amazing Water Organ

…after I sneezed. For the past two days I’ve been slowly hobbling around in pain. I thought I was all clear after a good-night’s sleep, but when I reached over to hit the snooze button a searing pain shot in me. So to avoid a repeat, I actually got up. I shuffled around fully awake, making breakfast while the rest of the world slept. Then it hit me- this is what it’s like to be old!

Well, it’s that time again. I’m moving to Middletown, this time into a multi-family dwelling with several Wesleyan students. How did this happen, you ask? Gather ’round, kids. I graduated from Eastern CT State University last spring, after which I got a job in East Hampton. Since I was doing the Eastern/Willimantic thing, it was ok, until Jill left for graduate school in North Carolina. I’m pretty well situated here in CT, but there’s really no reason for me to stay in Willimantic. I love the town, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve heard too many “black hole ” tales wherein an unsuspecting individual enters Willimantic and never comes out alive.

So I charted a radius around East Hampton, then researched interesting communities within commuting distance. I came up with Middletown, and took the first (relatively) non-sketchy, affordable place I found. I hope I didn’t jump into this- I’ve yet to meet one roommate. I guess I don’t really care (I’m not picky), but social anxiety is wreaking havoc on me. Thank heavens I have Alex to help me move tomorrow. The van, lifting power, and extra set of hands all help, but it’s the company I’m truly grateful for. Wish me luck!

I’ve been working on a new Graphics Workshop homepage for a few days now. I want it to be good, and I’d like it to last a year or two, so I’ll be spending some time on it. I’m going to try to push it with this one, integrating flash and html. I’ve been doing that since 1998 or so, but the .swf object is always separate from its surroundings. Slicing images is relatively new to me, as I’ve been constructing sites entirely in flash for years. But SEO is king, and that antiquated html knowledge will come in handy again. But I don’t think it’ll be laid out with tags. I want the page to impress, not the code.

Just one more day, and then a glorious 3-day holiday weekend extravaganza! I haven’t posted here in ages, but soon I’ll be showcasing a couple of cool personalized gifts I got from cafepress.com. Creating some personalized gifts and this blog have tied me up for a while- hopefully I can actually update this whole site after New Year’s Day. OK, here we go; New Years Resolution Time:

• Update Sign Shop page. Push the whole signmaking enterprise in general. Experiment with Airbrush on vinyl, HDU carving, and gilding.
• Start a series of realistic portrait drawings.
• Learn to screenprint. (I know, this one’s ambitious. Sadly, there are only so many hours in the day.)
• Create a 2-color comic book. If it comes out well, have it printed. Oh yeah,
• Learn to ink.
• Update portfolio page with fine art, flash stuff, newer design, etc.
• Get a nice apartment with enough room to work.
• Paint the Vespa. Go to at least one rally this summer.
• Exercise, eat right, blah blah blah…
• Take a great trip this summer, when my vacation time kicks in. Leading ideas: England, Hawaii, Australia…

Know what? I think that’s it. Probably enough to keep me occupied.

Unbelievable! It is currently 63 degrees here in sunny CT. I keep procrastinating when it comes to winterizing my scooter, and thank God for that! Unless the 5 PM darkness drops the temperature more than 10 degrees (and it may well), I’ll soon be enjoying a December ride.

Many thanks to Ericka & Alex for the Wordpress tip. Setting it up was humbling- so much for the “famous 5-minute installation”. And I design websites… But all’s well that ends well; I am now officially hosting a blog. Jill asked me why, but I didn’t have a great answer for her. It’ll be nice to write a bit, communicate with the outside world and lend the ol’ site some seo juice. Beyond that, it just seems like the thing to do today. It’s interesting how these cultural trends develop. All of a sudden everyone has a public journal, and where did that come from? It doesn’t replace any preexisting thing, so far as I can tell.

I hope people enjoy this theme. I cranked it out right quick…I think I need to photograph some wood textures though. These look really fake.

So this is blogging.