Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Just another Birthday? or BirthDATE?

So my mom and dad say not to put anything personal online (haha they are soooo anti-facebook) and this includes my birthDATE, which is a security detail on everything from online banking to my proof that I’m an U.S. citizen. But to Facebook and my friends/family, it’s my birthday: the day to celebrate with drinks, presents, and cake. It’s a day to remember to remind me how old I am, a way of counting the rings on my stumps. It helps me track my physical and mental health.

So why do we celebrate such things that are also security numbers? Why not also celebrate my social security number! Yay today is my SS# Wednesday 006-29-2011! Hahaha!! I don’t know. Facebook lets you leave off the year for reasons I’m sure like ageism, “denyity” of age, and security reasons. But I’m sure Identity Thieves could figure it out when my sister wishes me a “Happy 25th Birthday” this year! This is why my Facebook is kept very exclusive and I have the highest security settings possible.

I say just put your month and day on Facebook. My close friends and family will know how old I am. If the identity thief/hacker/whoever figure out the rest, well Congrats! However, they are going to need more pieces of the puzzle to steal my $$$ school debt (if they really want it.) =)

That’s all for now…

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Learning the Value of Ten Minutes

In college you sometimes have 10 minutes to get between classes. There was a long list of things I learned to do in those 10 minutes besides walking across campus to my next class: Go to the bathroom, call and make a dentist or doctor appointment, find out the hours of a restaurant, price compare the cost of an oil change, call my mom, do some sketches for an extra project outside of class, eat lunch, pay my bill on campus, etc.
At the end of the workday, it’s 4:50pm and there are those people that are “packing up their things and heading home for the day.” “They are making their way to the door.” I am still at my desk sending off a quick email, saving and backing up my files, or cleaning my work area. At my previous job, I once took my last 15 minute break at 20 minutes before the hour and I came back to work for those last five minutes. Even though we are allowed to leave 10 minutes early without penalty, I came up to do my 5 minutes of work that I owed. My co-workers thought I was crazy and just assumed I went home. However, I thought I could get a lot done in five minutes and it’s not something to take for granted.
Ten minutes everyday really adds up: Nearly an hour every week. That’s also 2 weeks a year! The next day always seems a little bit easier if I have just one more thing crossed off my list. I can go to sleep with a peaceful mind knowing everything is done for the day.

That’s all for now…

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Cake Decorating and Graphic Design-- What's the same?

...or should I say, "What's the difference?"

        In my experience with cake decorating I have learned to take direction from my superiors, add my own unique ideas, and compromise with customers when taking cake orders. You wouldn’t think at first that cake decorating relates to graphic design. However, I have experienced three main similarities:

        1) Client interaction: Communicating and compromising to find out what they need and how I can help them. We work with what we can get for them on a budget and explore the options.
        What I’ve learned most is that a lot people don’t know what they want! And some of them don’t have a clue what is visually appealing. It is my job to guide them. I need to know my target market, and to suggest appropriate designs and themes for the customer depending on age, gender, and personality.
        In opposition, what I have learned as well is that I’m not the only one with an artistic eye. Many people have been educated on what’s visually appealing and appropriate, even if their focus is in another field completely. So don’t assume everyone doesn’t know what’s going on.

        2) Typography: Writing on cakes made me more aware of how much room I am given. I visualize where the beginning, middle, and end need to go and getting it right the first time, because there is extremely little room for error.
        Fonts. I have my own handwriting (or cake writing actually.) And then I can pretend to be anyone I want to be! I can be like a doctor and make a font that has that scribble-ness to it that is most appropriate for skateboarding boys ages 12-17. I can be a duchess with elegant script creating sophisticated wedding cakes appropriate for adults 18+. And I can be a junior high girl that write with curly-q’s on the serifs of all her letters appropriate for girls ages 12-17.

        3) Details: These are very important! It is always needed to double-check the spelling of the name. Becoming aware of color changes, the size of cake, proportionally changing the size of the design to fit the space, the choice of medium, the texture, and doing this all remaining to follow corporate guidelines and restrictions. Checking it, double-checking it, and triple-checking it are all necessary in what I call Customer Complaint Prevention. Even if I have to start over from the beginning and do it twice as fast, I do not crack under pressure. For when the customer picks up the product, they will have no idea what I went through to make it perfect. They will just go through their day as planned. Get the present, pick up the cake, go home, clean, pick up the kids.

        Now those I say are the top three, but in addition there are plenty more similarities. Fourth is edible imaging. I scan and print images. There’s plenty of cropping, printer maintenance, test copies similar to a press checks, and technical knowledge involved.

        Lastly there is creative freedom. FREEDOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!! I can test out what sells, what doesn’t, and stretch my abilities, pushing the creative boundaries everyday. It keeps my mind entertained so I never get bored. I look forward to going to work and would do it on my Saturday afternoons while listening to music.

That's all for now...