November 24, 2006
While watching the news tonight, I asked my mom if she wanted to go down to the outlet center in Foley for the midnight madness sale.
I was totally kidding, but when I did, she gave me a look that said “please! you’re not man enough for a midnight madness sale.” And because I’m nothing if not an egotist, now I can’t back down from the original offer. I thought we’d just laugh it off. But now, she’s called my bluff, and she won’t crack. I’m certainly not going to give her the satisfaction of seeing me cave, so I think I’m about to get dressed to go to an outlet mall in the middle of the night, because I refuse to admit I was kidding about going in the first place. Definitely should have kept my mouth shut.
November 17, 2006
On Monday, I’ll begin the next stage in my professional life by joining the amazingly talented team at Automattic. Surprise!
I first “met” Matt Mullenweg (I use quotes because we’ve only talked online and over the phone, so far anyway) about a year ago, after doing a bit of freelance design work for TextDrive. My name came up when he was looking for someone to design the identity of his new venture, Automattic. From there I went on to design wordpress.org and several other projects of theirs before ending my freelance work earlier this year. Matt and I got to talking one Saturday evening a few weeks ago, and his passion for what’s planned at Automattic and learning about the way the company operates was enough for me to know it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.
The unfortunate corollary to this is that today was my last day with Silverpoint. I’ve grown a great deal as a designer and programmer in my time with the company, and got to work with some extremely talented and fun-to-be-around folks. It was my first “real” job after college, and I’ll remain ever grateful to them for taking the chance on an unproven designer with no experience but the willingness to move to Baltimore.
I’m excited to get started on Monday and see what fruits my new endeavor will bear. Here we go!
November 12, 2006
Although I describe myself as an agnostic, I can’t help but search for order in life. Maybe it’s illogical to feel ambivilant about about a higher power while at the same time deeming some things as “just not meant to be.” More often than not, though, that’s how I operate.
While in Biloxi last weekend, I developed an itch for playing blackjack. I didn’t know the rules of the game and I’m not even particularly good at counting, but nonetheless I managed to break even and even wind up ahead at a few points during the night. No matter what I did, though, I never saw beyond just how absolutely random your fortunes are in the game. There are skills that can be learned, but none of them will ever increase your chances beyond 50/50.
A few months ago, I began a casual search of houses for sale in Mobile. I discovered a few neighborhoods by chance and developed an affinity for them, as I explored more and more over the course of a few weeks. I met with a realtor, went to a few open houses, and found a fantastic old house that fit both my budget and my tastes. In the end, though I couldn’t get serious about buying a house because my self-employed status and lack of an established job history precluded me from getting the financing in order. I took it as a sign that the time just wasn’t right.
I’ve been having car trouble for a while, to the extent that I started shopping for another car a few months ago. I found a few cars I liked, but I could never find exactly the one I wanted. I took it as a sign. I found another car, and even put an order in with the dealership for it. When I called to check a few weeks later, they’d lost my information. I took it as a sign, and when they figured out which way was up, I decided to cancel the order anyway. After all, it was a sign.
I finally found another car that I was crazy about, and went to the dealership today to try to make the jump. I ended up having a really bad experience with the woman handling the transaction, and decided to walk away. I felt like it was a sign. On the way home, we decided to talk the scenic route through. I was surprised to see that the house I’d liked so much was still on the market. When I got home I looked it up, and the price had been reduced drastically from the first time I toured it. The price is even sweeter, I’ve got the job I need for financing, and I’d just walked away from buying a new car earlier in the day. How could these things not be signs?
But the agnostic in me taps me on the shoulder. I think about blackjack and remember that no matter how well you think you’re doing, your chances are never better than 50/50. Could it be the right house for me? Sure. But there’s an equal chance it’s not.
Everyone wants to believe that things happen for a reason. Usually we think that when we can’t comprehend why things aren’t going our way. But really, do they? I can’t justify believing in hope without tying it to something supernatural. And I don’t know how to do that without being a hypocrite. Maybe that’s the draw of religion. Some want order in the world, and it certainly is easier to ascribe your fortunes and follies to a higher power. I’d like to find that order in the world, but if it only comes in a package deal with believing in God, I guess for now I’ll have to pass on that, too.
November 4, 2006
Even though the book will be read by thousands but the site will be viewed by millions, there’s still something inestimably cool about seeing your design work in Barnes and Noble.
November 3, 2006
I’ve been pretty cooped up this week with a bad cold, but it didn’t keep me from at least accomplishing a few things this week.
I’m thinking I need to calibrate my sport kit. According to it, on Monday I walked 1.47mi in 30 minutes, at an average pace of 20’17”. I missed Wednesday because of my cold, but I was back in force today, or so I thought. Today I walked 1.43mi in 30 minutes at an average pace of 20’56”. The thing is I felt like I was walking my little heart out today. Maybe it’s because of the time off I took, combined with being sick, combined with doing my workout at 5:30 AM today because I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep. At any rate, both times were under my overall average of 21’41” so I’m still improving.
Tuesday and today I did a full strength training set, 3×15. Again, today I was feeling pretty woozy by the time I finished. Maybe going for a blowout at 5:30 AM after I’ve been sick the past week wasn’t the best idea. Nonetheless I got it done, so I’m happy for that.
Funny story. Monday, when I was walking on the treadmill, I decided to listen to the new Scissor Sisters album. I really got into it, and started drumming along with my hands, as I often do. As the first song faded out to the silence between tracks, I realized that my “drumming” on the handlebars was creating a loud “CLANG CLANG” noise every time I hit it, ensuring the entire gym felt the rythem of “I Can’t Decide.” Embarrassing, yes, but considering what a complete lack of self-consciousness just being at the gym requires from me, I can’t say it phased me too long.
This weekend—Camp, maybe Lindsay, and I are hittin’ the boats down in Biloxi. Or as my grandmother might have said, the “casinas.” Here’s to a big jackpot; I’ve got a tax bill to pay.
