More About the Web

It's week six of my eight week web course and I have learned a ton. I can now create a website from scratch (it ain't pretty, but still), and post it to our test server. Our first day started off differently than I expected, but the professor has impressed me time and again with his wealth of knowledge and patience for newbie coders.

After each class we are assigned homework. It feels like I spend one hour making the site and then two finding the little error I made that is messing everything up. My professor is gracious enough to make us feel like idiots by troubleshooting our remaining issues in minutes when we arrive the following class, which I love to hate. I think the thing I find most frustrating about learning something new is that I can't be immediately good at it. I am just starting to understand the basics of web design, but at the same time I am designing projects at work that I want it to look professional which seems to be beyond my current capabilities. So far I have been able to get my projects to look how I want, but I'm looking forward to the day when I don't have to pester people to help me and when I can accomplish more sophisticated things within the designs.

I have mentioned to a couple people that I'm not really loving web design compared to graphic design, but I have realized that when I finish a project it feels great. Having to struggle through the project makes me appreciate the end product more and makes me want to show it off to everyone. Overall I plan to stick to print design, but having web as part of my job has made me work harder, learn more and has given me a great sense of accomplishment.

Time to Move

I've been looking for a new apartment ever since my landlord told me he was planning to renovate and needed me to move out. I was hoping a real estate agent would be able to do the work for me, but looks like my budget doesn't quite cut it. I've realized that it is incredibly time consuming to look for new apartments, even with other people helping me look. My biggest hurdle is figuring out what area of town I would want to live in (that I could actually afford). So far I am liking Spadina Road (north of Spadina Ave) and anywhere in Cabbagetown.

I am finding it frustrating looking for a new place (especially since my current place is amazing), it sucks when you take the time to go view an apartment and someone beats you to it. Regardless, I am excited that I will eventually have my own space, and even more excited to decorate and finally be reunited with all of my things (a 6.5 by 7.5 foot room ain't a lot of space).

Come Dine with Me

I have been watching a lot of Come Dine With Me Canada and have realized that barely anyone likes what other people cook. If that's not the case then they have intentionally chosen a ton of terrible cooks to create the drama that I love to hate (likely scenario).

I like the idea of having a dinner party, but similar to the cooks on the show, I think my food would fall flat with the stress of other diners. I have been cooking a lot recently but I've only been satisfied with about half of my meals. Last week I did a roast chicken (about 3/4 of the way down is the rub I used) and it was great! The soup (lost the site the recipe was from, sorry!) I made with the chicken was good too, but when I tried to make a vegetarian version I realized how much better chicken really made the soup. Next up was stirfry without any store bought sauces, I realized I need to invest more time and make a homemade sauce, spices just didn't cut it. This week the vegan/gluten free shepard's pie I made was my favourite, I accidentally added double the amount of spices called for, but it still turned out great.

Overall my cooking skills are improving, I wish I had the natural ability some people seem to have, but it will come with time. I should also warn you that I'm intolerant to everything good and that my "good" may differ greatly from yours (try no dairy, gluten, egg, garlic, honey, banana or pineapple). So if you try either of the recipes linked feel free to change the ingredients to more normal things.

Gratitude Journal

I received a lovely email from my Grandparents the other day in which my Grandpa brought up the idea of a gratitude journal (then unintentionally highlighted some things I am grateful for). My Grandpa heard the idea on CBC radio and thought it was very interesting, perhaps even worth pursuing. I have to agree, it is a great idea and helps to provide a sunnier perspective on life. When I take time to think about the things I am grateful for I come up with a huge list and usually end up feeling guilty about the things I complain about.

Sarah Ban Breathnach, the author from the broadcast my Grandpa heard says that, "[I]f you give thanks for five gifts every day, in two months you may not look at your life in the same way as you might now." Hopefully the journal writer will feel more content and be more aware of the things they already possess, may they be psychical or emotional. On that note, here are 5 for today

1. My family's unconditional love
2. The experiences and trips others have offered and shared with me
3. My ability to learn things quickly
4. The joy of reading
5. The security and warmth of my home

I know I'm a huge sap and that I've brought it up before, but really, thanks everyone!

Fitting In

It's been two months since I started my new job and I realized that my career aspirations are going to help my social life. I've always enjoyed reading and watching movies, now everyone at work likes the same things and give me great suggestions as to what I should be reading and watching. Each day at lunch I try to read, then end up putting my book down to talk about what everyone is reading and the latest movie they saw, its great!

Case and point; a week or two ago a girl at work lent me the Hunger Games, it's amazing. I haven't made it to bed at a decent time since, and when I finished the first book last night I realized that I won't until I finish the entire series.

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.