What Am I Doing? (Dec 2008)

I’ve done enough anniversary/milestone posts for the time being, so I’m not going to dwell on the anniversary of the “What Am I Doing?” series. Besides, I have something interesting/productive to talk about this month.

Freelance Gig

Mid-last month, a college friend of mine contacted me about a freelance gig that I might be interested in. His friends from high school have created a startup, doing viral videos for clients, and they need a designer doing the site and create a logo and all that jazz.

I don’t know how much liberty I have with talking about this gig, since it’s still in progress, so I’m going to be conservative in the details. But what I would like to say is that I am excited for this project, and I am excited to see this company grow and succeed. I see real potential with the guys who created this company, and it’ll be interesting to see where it will stand six months or one year from now.

Last night, I spent two or three hours watching all the videos that these guys have created for their old project, Huge In Asia. You might have heard of it, and I think I have, too, back when I was still in college two years ago. To be honest, back then, I probably thought it was really cheesy and silly. But it’s so cheesy and silly, that it’s also entertaining and good! These guys seem free to let their creativity lead their journey, something I wish I have a lot more often.

Luckily, I am now a teeny part of their next project, and I am not going to screw up, not that that happens often anyway. I just have to balance this with my job at Peet’s. So whenever I’m not making lattes, I’m working on this project. Sorry to those who tried to contact me and I haven’t responded. It’s going to be pretty crazy for the next few weeks, especially when you add on the holiday season madness.

Last Month at Peet’s

Speaking of Peet’s, I will be leaving this job sometime next month, after the holiday rush. It really hasn’t hit me yet. But no matter how I feel, I think this needs to happen. The time for change has come.

Flush.

What Have I Done? (Anniversary Review 2008)

Today marks the first anniversary of Flush. A year ago, I “soft opened” this blog, and believe it or not, I still haven’t “grand opened” it, although I’m not sure if I really need to anyway.

Flash Review

The past year has been a bumpy ride. I finished my last undergrad class, got sucked into the world of Sim City 3000 and Sims 2 as I prepped for my job search, started my beta site, got a job at Peet’s, went to see Sagmeister speak, skipped out on Alumni Day (I’m sorry!), worked on a freelance project for my aunt’s business, bought a new printer, watched the impressive production of the Beijing Olympics, resumed working on my portfolio and site, and rekindled my passion for web developing.

My attitude on design has changed, and that has helped me narrow down the types of careers that I would like to pursue. And every day, I’m getting closer to that job and that career. Working on my site almost every day excites me and motivates me because 1) I’ve grown to enjoy coding and designing, and 2) I can’t wait to share with the world what I’ve done.

Prediction for the Next Twelve Months

I don’t know.

Nobody does, and I’ve been wrong enough times about where I would be right now to not make any more general predictions. But I will always have hope, I will always have my expectations, and I will always believe in the future.

A year from now, I may or may not be a designer, and I may or may not enjoy coding still/anymore, and I may completely change my mind about this site and start a brand new one, or career. And that’s perfectly okay, as long as I am okay with it and it’s for the better. I may not reach my current desired destination, but that may or may not be as important as the journey to get there. I mean, I totally wish I were rich already and not have to work but become a philanthropist and help starving children in Africa or save the rain forest in South America, but it would probably mean more to me if I actually pay my dues, work my way up, meet interesting people, and learn about the issues to get there.

Flush.

Six Months of Flushing

Today is the six-month anniversary of Flush.

Six months ago, I “soft opened” this blog. And if you can look at it at a specific and narrow way, the blog still hasn’t officially “grand opened,” but I guess it doesn’t really matter. Still, I will let you know when everything’s all ready to go.

Flush.

Give Peace A Chance

The peace symbol is 50 years old today.

I don’t usually do that thing where I post links to other people’s entries with no personal analysis, but I think other people are more knowledgeable about this than I am, and that I think it’s an always-important topic.

A little post on the peace symbol, via swissmiss: http://www.hossli.com/observations/2008/02/16/50-years-of-symbolic-peace/

The entry on the peace symbol on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_symbol Interesting how the peace symbol is designed.

Flush.