Busy, but Fun

My week has been just that, busy, but fun. I started a web course, went to a great design event, and hosted a friend at my place for the weekend.

The web course started off differently than I expected (a whole day on Google), but it is going really well. The instructor is very knowledgeable and he definitely tries to make the class fun. So far I've learned the basics of what code means and it's only been two days.

This week was Design Week in Toronto, so the event I went to was put on especially for that reason. The Design Exchange hosted a few events but I decided to go to Making It, a night dedicated to the process work of design. The idea for the lecture sounded great, 20 designers from different disciplines explaining a project from start to finish, it was even better than expected.

Lastly I hosted my friend this weekend. While I'm terrible with directions (she was better than me and I live here) we barely got lost and made it to some of my favourite places in the city. I hope in a years time we can do the day over again and go to all of the new places I discover.

Midnight in Paris

Late last week I finally watched Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. I was excited to watch it and was pleasantly surprised when I found myself relating to the characters.

Like Gil and Adriana I have often thought life would be much better if I had been born in a different era. I am quite content with my life, but tend to like the ideals and expectations of years past. When my Grandfather taught highschool he was respected and his professional attire added to that. I don't mean that everyone has to wear suits, but sometimes I wish that my bank teller looked a bit more polished. I also think that the level of respect children had for adults was much greater, and that suits my view of the world. I admit I was a priss throughout my schooling, but in my mind what is so bad about that. I understood what I learned, got good grades and received great support from my teachers and professors. One other thing that I daydream about from the past is the strong family unit. I am incredibly lucky to have supportive parents (married for almost 25 years), healthy, active and loving grandparents as well as copious amounts of cousins, but I realize this is not the norm. In the past it seemed that it was typical to be close friends with family members, but from what I have seen lately it seems that the family unit is deteriorating and has become more convoluted than ever.

I realize that I see all of these things from an idealized view, not having to go through the hardships of other eras, but it does sound nice. I often joke that I will have to raise my children in an anti-modernism cult, but as long as I keep my family close I think I will be able to stick to my ideals without such drastic measures.

Through the Glass

Yesterday evening I attended a great webinar, I may not have picked up any tips or tricks for Photoshop but the speaker had great ideas about the larger picture. Aprile Elcich, originally from Toronto, moved to Philadelphia for her dream job only six months after graduating from George Brown College. As a recent grad myself, I was curious about how she accomplished this and how it turned out.

Elcich was much more eloquent in her storytelling, but essentially by pursuing her passion of collage through personal projects and her blog, Not Paper, she was able to showcase her skills to a broad audience and attract the attention of the folks at Free People. After a quick trip to Philiadelphia, Aprile landed the position of Graphic Designer. During her year there Elcich designed all of their marketing materials, both print and online, and most enviably their seasonal catalogues. Aprile did not elaborate on why she came back, but she did impress upon attendees how great the experience was.

Although professors are there to help guide you, Elcich went against what her professors said and pursued her true interests. This may not work for everyone but by continuing with personal projects you can stay true to what you really love. Aprile is a great example of someone who knows what they want and working hard to get it. It will definitely take me longer than six months to get to my dream job, but the work I have been doing is definitely preparing me for when the time comes.

Warm and Fuzzy

During college one of my favourite assignments was one where I was assigned to think of a project that could positively impact society through design. I spent a great deal of time thinking about different things that I could design that would accomplish this and ended up going with a website. In general I've found that people who focus more on the positive things and less on the negative are much happier regardless of their situation. The idea of my website was to say thank you and think about the good things that happen on an average day. When we are given a gift it seems obvious to say thank you, but being thankful for smaller things such as having a door held for you or when your roommate does your dishes, can have just as positive of an impact. On the website visitors could write quick thank you notes in an online feed or print cards to give out in person. The project was well received, and I still think that should I come upon a vast amount of free time I could really make it work.

I was reminded of this because of a feel good article I saw on the Daily Heller. Students from Stefan Sagmeister's "Touch Someone's Heart" class completed their project by bringing their final product to New York City bus drivers. Check out the story here or here.

Oh and as a side note, one of my classmates made a fictional company like Bixi, looks like they had the right idea!

Holiday Hopes

With the holidays come stress, tension and sometimes a lack of sleep, but all of that is greatly overshadowed by the fun times I have. My hope for the holidays is that everyone has a fantastic and safe break. To my friends, family, and especially everyone hosting the parties a big thank you for helping me enjoy a great holiday season!

Talking to Ted

Today, like every day, I told myself I would get a ton done and got distracted by other things. I often go to bed regretting wasting my time on Facebook and email, but I need to stop doing that. There is no use regretting things, all of this was summed up nicely in the Ted Talk I watched tonight while I meant to do other things. I find that even if other people may think I am wasting my time, I enjoyed doing whatever it was. I had a nice time knitting, watching a Christmas special, preparing for the holidays and especially watching some new Ted Talks tonight.

For your viewing pleasure, here are a few of my favourite talks from the night

Don't regret regret

(Fun fact, I have a tattoo that I don't regret. Likely because it loosely translates to remember to live, a great reminder that regrets are frivolous.)

Aimee Mullins and her 12 pairs of legs

Eve Ensler: Suddenly my body

Round and Round We Go

I'll admit I'm the first to complain about our dependancy on technology. Of course I love the advances, my job is so much easier with a computer, but sometimes it is too much for me. My friends used to complain all the time about how they couldn't rely on messaging or calling me because I may take hours to get back to them, I've gotten better but not much. I think longingly of the days when people would just called someone at home, or plan to meet with them in person.

All of this brings us neatly around to the newest item on my Christmas wish list, a phone for my phone. I saw this gadget months ago and loved it. Isn't it funny when older technology comes back around.