Have you seen me?
The Down
I used to draw. Now I'm a professional graphic designer with a decade long art block. I've turned to a lot of fly-by-night creative outlets over the years and have not really settled into any of them. Always skirting inspiration, and instead waiting outside it's house in the bushes with a machete and dirty jar of Vaseline wondering why it doesn't call me anymore.
I've tried playing various musical instruments - violin, mandolin, cello. While I enjoyed all of them, I just can't seem to "get into" them. I'm still flirting with writing, even though in the back of my head my inner censor is telling me it'll just be another one night stand.
I've tried so many things that I'm running out of things to get involved in, or to try my hand at. Sometimes I wonder if this is what mundane people feel like. Nothing to occupy their minds or their hands. I work with several people like that. They seemingly have no hobbies or interests. I've met lots of people like that. I'm terrified that I might become one of them. Real life zombies. Next thing you know I'll be sitting in Appleby's talking about how fine the cuisine is how that intercepted pass was totally a foul and how can the refs be so blind!
How I shudder myself to sleep at night. Although, there is a cure in sight.
The Up
I have long had a love of notebooks, sketchbooks and stationary-like things. My cello teacher was lamenting that sheet music books were all disappointing. They were either super expensive and marginally useful, or they were affordable and made shoddily. They didn't lay flat on the music stand. There was no real room for making notes for her students. They didn't come in "large type" editions with wide ruled staffs. I thought, I could make all those things for her with minimal effort, and then print them at work. After all, print is my thing. And so I made a wide rule blank music notebook. Then I made a split notebook with staff and note rules on the same page. And so on, and so on. Then I started looking into sketchbooks and I discovered that I have access to a myriad of acid-free recycled papers that are every bit as nice as the expensive sketchbooks I've been buying all these years. Only it's not so expensive. Those Robert Bateman sketchbooks are just paper that I can buy in bulk through my work for pennies on the sheet (parent sheets, mind you) and I can bind them exactly the same way. It didn't stop there.
I'm starting my own notebook company called Tombstone Jig. Music, notes and sketch, including special order custom layouts. Your dream notebook, laid out and bound by hand. I'm currently working on a logo, and a website. Just need to buy the domain and get it hosted.
The Sideways
I've had the exact same wardrobe since my skateboarding days. That stretches back to middle school. Jeans and t-shirts. Sometimes I got fancy and wore cargo pants. I woke up the other day and had that realization and decided to do something about it. So I'm going to try being more put together. It'll be subtle at first. I obviously don't have the money to go out and replace my wardrobe with nice, stylish things. I also have a job that occasionally requires me to get into things like toner and ink and copious amounts of paper dust.
I've discovered that I really like nice shoes. I don't own any nice shoes, mind you, but I do have their cheap younger cousins. I can definitely tell that I would wear them all the time if I could find some that didn't rub my heals raw.
I discovered a love for fine clothes I have in common with one of my co-workers. We both love the 1920s style of mens fashion and if we could afford it, we would dress that way every day. Surprisingly, we also discovered that we like a lot of the same authors and genres so we've started trading books. He's lent me The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi. I lent him Boneshaker, by Cheri Priest. A pretty cool find, especially in the work place.
I dressed up on Tuesday and Wednesday. Just about everyone asked me if I was going to a job interview. My immediate boss was genuinely concerned. I told everyone my interviews were all at lunch so it shouldn't cause a problem with my deadlines. I still think my boss is skeptical in the back of his mind. Reinforced by return to my old self on Thursday and Friday. As I said, it's going to take awhile to thoroughly gussy myself.
I will gladly take fashion advice from anyone willing to give it. I fully admit that my sense of style is more grounded in the past, and the world of modern clothing eludes me.
I used to draw. Now I'm a professional graphic designer with a decade long art block. I've turned to a lot of fly-by-night creative outlets over the years and have not really settled into any of them. Always skirting inspiration, and instead waiting outside it's house in the bushes with a machete and dirty jar of Vaseline wondering why it doesn't call me anymore.
I've tried playing various musical instruments - violin, mandolin, cello. While I enjoyed all of them, I just can't seem to "get into" them. I'm still flirting with writing, even though in the back of my head my inner censor is telling me it'll just be another one night stand.
I've tried so many things that I'm running out of things to get involved in, or to try my hand at. Sometimes I wonder if this is what mundane people feel like. Nothing to occupy their minds or their hands. I work with several people like that. They seemingly have no hobbies or interests. I've met lots of people like that. I'm terrified that I might become one of them. Real life zombies. Next thing you know I'll be sitting in Appleby's talking about how fine the cuisine is how that intercepted pass was totally a foul and how can the refs be so blind!
How I shudder myself to sleep at night. Although, there is a cure in sight.
The Up
I have long had a love of notebooks, sketchbooks and stationary-like things. My cello teacher was lamenting that sheet music books were all disappointing. They were either super expensive and marginally useful, or they were affordable and made shoddily. They didn't lay flat on the music stand. There was no real room for making notes for her students. They didn't come in "large type" editions with wide ruled staffs. I thought, I could make all those things for her with minimal effort, and then print them at work. After all, print is my thing. And so I made a wide rule blank music notebook. Then I made a split notebook with staff and note rules on the same page. And so on, and so on. Then I started looking into sketchbooks and I discovered that I have access to a myriad of acid-free recycled papers that are every bit as nice as the expensive sketchbooks I've been buying all these years. Only it's not so expensive. Those Robert Bateman sketchbooks are just paper that I can buy in bulk through my work for pennies on the sheet (parent sheets, mind you) and I can bind them exactly the same way. It didn't stop there.
I'm starting my own notebook company called Tombstone Jig. Music, notes and sketch, including special order custom layouts. Your dream notebook, laid out and bound by hand. I'm currently working on a logo, and a website. Just need to buy the domain and get it hosted.
The Sideways
I've had the exact same wardrobe since my skateboarding days. That stretches back to middle school. Jeans and t-shirts. Sometimes I got fancy and wore cargo pants. I woke up the other day and had that realization and decided to do something about it. So I'm going to try being more put together. It'll be subtle at first. I obviously don't have the money to go out and replace my wardrobe with nice, stylish things. I also have a job that occasionally requires me to get into things like toner and ink and copious amounts of paper dust.
I've discovered that I really like nice shoes. I don't own any nice shoes, mind you, but I do have their cheap younger cousins. I can definitely tell that I would wear them all the time if I could find some that didn't rub my heals raw.
I discovered a love for fine clothes I have in common with one of my co-workers. We both love the 1920s style of mens fashion and if we could afford it, we would dress that way every day. Surprisingly, we also discovered that we like a lot of the same authors and genres so we've started trading books. He's lent me The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi. I lent him Boneshaker, by Cheri Priest. A pretty cool find, especially in the work place.
I dressed up on Tuesday and Wednesday. Just about everyone asked me if I was going to a job interview. My immediate boss was genuinely concerned. I told everyone my interviews were all at lunch so it shouldn't cause a problem with my deadlines. I still think my boss is skeptical in the back of his mind. Reinforced by return to my old self on Thursday and Friday. As I said, it's going to take awhile to thoroughly gussy myself.
I will gladly take fashion advice from anyone willing to give it. I fully admit that my sense of style is more grounded in the past, and the world of modern clothing eludes me.