Life's better with company

Go see Up In The Air if you haven't already! The movie touched on a lot of different thought-provoking themes, but I can't muster much analysis at this point, honestly. Just watch this:


Up in the Air Co-Pilot Trailer - Watch more Movie Trailers

My favorite quote is probably "Life's better with company." Actually, if you've seen the movie, that whole conversation with the groom-to-be is probably my favorite. Short and sweet, but powerful. At almost the very end of the movie, they interview people that had been fired from their jobs and had figured out how to cope. I could tell by their responses that they were real people that had been through it, or at least whoever wrote it had been through it. I've been there. People that haven't just don't seem to have the same honesty and clarity about what's really important in life. At least, not in the same way. It's like an exclusive club that no one wants to join but everyone should know about, and it puts things in perspective in a way that few things can. I'll let you in on one of our secrets--simply doing something for a living does not mean you have a life. What you do in life will never be as fulfilling and important as the people you choose to share it with.

Christmas...and stuff and things

Christmas was nice. I still have to celebrate with some friends, but otherwise, it's over. It was good to see extended family again because I have been seeing them less and less lately, especially on my dad's side. Christmases over there can be overwhelming sometimes, since we have to fit 35 people into my grandpa's average-sized house. Most of my older cousins are married and have 2 or 3 kids, and when some of those kids (boys) were younger, they just ran wild and wrestled all over the house. Almost all of my cousins (in town) are girls and I just never got used to little boys. They've grown up a little since then, though, so even though it's more crowded now, it's less stressful. This was the first year we didn't exchange gifts over there, too (just white elephant), and it was better that way.

Receiving gifts are not a big deal to me, honestly, and I really do think that it's the thought that counts, in most cases. I should mention that Joel got me an ipod to replace my stolen one, though, because it was an awesome and surprising gift. (I was planning on getting a new one eventually, but I couldn't afford it yet.) He got me the same one that I used to have (ipod classic) because he wasn't sure if I would want something else, but he said I could trade it for the ipod touch. At first I just figured I would stick with what I used to have, but now that I am looking into the options, the ipod touch is pretty fancy. My sister (and cousin) has one and let me try it out, and it not only holds music, it has applications and wi-fi. I think I might trade the classic for the ipod touch (which is actually slightly cheaper), but I feel kind of guilty about it. I mean, it's not like I am in any way ungrateful for the original present and I don't want it to seem that way. Hmm, maybe I'll just tell him that. What do you think?

You know, I think we are in a really good place right now, regardless of the gift. :)

And now for something completely different. The fact that I hate comic sans should be a given, but did you know that I hate papyrus even more?! Yes, it is the bane of my existence as a designer, and now it is the font used in Avatar. Any chance of me going to see that movie has now died, because I must boycott the font on principle. Yes, papyrus is also "earthy" and "archaic," and in this case, might actually relate to Avatar, but too many bad, fake designers before them have made papyrus unacceptable for everyone. It's like the punchline of a designer joke and it is so overused. I have seen it used on so many terrible and thoughtless "designs" in menus, church fliers, mom and pop store ads, etc., that I don't even think it's possible to use it in good design. I think people use it because it looks different than the other standard microsoft fonts, but that doesn't make it okay. Besides, any integrity the original typography may have had is completely lost at anything below headline size. I'm pretty sure it is the mark of the devil and will forever taint anything it touches. That's all I have to say about that. In this blog.

Um, well, I have plenty more to say about everything else, but I am running out of time and space, so good night!

Merry Christmas!

Before Tuesday, I hadn't really been feeling the stress of the holidays. I wouldn't even call it "stress," there has just been a lot going on. Tuesday, right after work, my family and I went to Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville. We ate at the buffet, drove through the lights, and actually stayed in the little hotel. We've been going to the light display forever, but the buffet and hotel only started becoming a tradition maybe 5 years ago. It's nice to get away from everything just for a night, though. We end up playing games at the hotel and don't even turn on the tv.

This year and last year we played a game called "Backseat Drawing." Ever heard of it? The game consists of a Director and an Artist. The Director(s) look at a word on a card and then tell the Artist(s) how to draw it, using only shape and directional terms. My sister and I make a good team because I'm good at describing what to draw and she's good at guessing it as she's drawing (then we switch and it still works pretty well). It's kind of hard, but pretty fun (probably one of my favorite games). I had never seen or heard of it before my mom bought it. She saw it on the shelf and thought it sounded interesting. Well, tonight I went to Joel's parents' house for Christmas Eve dinner, and that game was sitting (open) on the table! How random is that? Sadly, though, I had to leave before they started playing it.

I met (the rest of) his family last spring and have seen them a few times since then, but I was still nervous. Even though his parents invited me and I have a decent amount of things in common with his mom and sister, I felt kind of like I was intruding. The initial awkwardness went away after a while, though, and I was enjoying it. Joel broke out the can of bee larvae for...one of the desserts...and we all tried it--yes, even me! The newest larvae kind of looked and tasted like rice, even, but I definitely stayed away from the ones that were more fully formed (those were black and had wings?!). It was entertaining, anyway. After that, they went to start the game and I had to go home for 10pm mass. I was genuinely sad, and I'm sure they had way more fun than I did.

I had not been to church in a while, and they had all new priests. They sang almost everything they said, which the old priest didn't do. It sounds like they're making the melody up as they go, but everyone knows the same weird tune. It's kind of like watching a tone-deaf musical. Or this scene in Elf (starts around 10 seconds):



Ha, I'm sorry...or, I guess I should be. Anyway, I'm at my parents' house and Santa's coming tonight (SANTA!!!), so I should start thinking about bed. Merry Christmas!

20 Things Every Woman Should Do Before She Gets Married (supposedly)

I recently came across this little countdown, and although I'm not getting married anytime soon, I can confidently cross all but 2 or 3 of these things off of my list:

"With 11 days left until my wedding, the final countdown is in effect. Among the dozens of little things left on my to-do list, I’ve been thinking a lot about the things crossed off my to-do list long before I met my husband to-be — things that have made me a well-rounded, experienced woman ready for a lifetime commitment to another person. After the jump, 20 things every woman should cross off her list before getting married.

1. Live by herself for at least a year.
2. Live with someone else for at least a year.
3. Recover from a broken heart.
4. Have a vacation fling.
5. Take a road-trip with a group of girlfriends.
6. Relish sleeping in a queen-sized bed by herself.
7. Get her finances in order.
8. Learn to love her body.
9. Have sex with at least one person she’d never want to marry (or introduce to mom).
10. Find reliable birth control.
11. Pay off as much credit card debt and student loans as possible.
12. Spend way too much on a something frivolous.
13. Exorcise all past relationship demons.
14. Travel somewhere exotic.
15. Establish a strong circle of friends.
16. Forgive her parents for not being perfect.
17. Have at least one night she can’t quite remember.
18. Experience some really bad first dates.
19. Find hobbies that fulfill her.
20. Celebrate her 25th birthday."

Hooray for life experiences!

Surprise Secret Santa

I found a mystery present on my chair at work this morning, and I still don't know who put it there. It was a Christmas/winter bag with a mistletoe Santa hat (mistletoe hanging off the top) and a pink cashmere scarf. The scarf was wrapped in tissue paper, but the Santa hat was just placed in the bag without it. Interesting choices. My name was written on the bag and that was it. I asked the secretary if it came from the company, since she hands out the presents, and she said no. No one came by to claim it, either, so now I'm playing detective.

At first, I thought it came from a quirky marketing coworker because it seemed to fit her personality. My name was printed on the bag, though, and she always writes in cursive. (I compared samples.) I already received gifts from my boss and another marketing coworker, so that only leaves one other marketing person in the office, my boss' boss. He's a very nice man, but his assistant is on vacation and I know he wouldn't have done that himself. Anyway, if he had, he would have at least taken credit for it.

Aside from exchanging pleasantries with a few other people at work, I pretty much keep to myself. There is only one other person I can think of that might have put it there. He's about my age and swings by my desk every so often to talk about random things. We started talking when he found out I went to New Zealand, because he had been there, too, and then he kept bugging me to show him my Japan pictures. He is incapable of having a conversation with me without saying something awkward, though. Once, when my boss (which is not his boss) told him to stop bothering me, he joked that she was just jealous because I was more interesting than she was. He has a tendency to sneak up on me when I'm at my desk, too, but not intentionally.

Also, after nearly every conversation, he comes back around about 10 minutes later to apologize for something he said and to make sure I didn't "take it the wrong way," which makes it more awkward. For example, there was a special thing going on some Friday when I happened to be working, and I said that I never know about those things. He smiled and said something like, "You would know if you were usually here on Fridays," which is true--and then he came by to apologize for it later...? I honestly don't know what he's talking about when he apologizes for anything.

Oh God, do you think it's him? I have a slight tendency to collect secret admirers, or rather, guys that are just as shy or shyer than I am. It's annoying, because then I'm always playing detective. Maybe I've learned a thing or two, though. Not that it matters much now, anyway. Maybe I don't even want to know who gave it to me. I'm pretty sure the lack of tissue paper means that it came from a man, though, because men seem to have a certain aversion to it. :) Well, I won't be wearing the mistletoe hat to work, just in case. It still made my day. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go test out this hat on a certain non-coworker.

Santa Crawl and Judgement Day

Elf is on again! I am compelled to watch it every time it's on tv, even if it's just background noise. Christmas season=Elf season in my book, hence my facebook picture. I've seen it enough to recite every line, probably (though not in order), which is quite a feat for me. I never remember quotes.

You know Christmas time is in full swing when 80 drunken Santas greet you at the door of a bar, too. That happened on the way into Blueberry Hill last night. They were part of the "St. Louis Santa Crawl," apparently. The concept originated in Baltimore (Melissa, you missed it!), and it intrigues me. According to the website, "Santa Crawl does not purport to provide any service to the community, nor is it particularly wholesome. To most, Santa Crawl is retarded and unnecessary. But that's what they used to say about toothpaste and automatic transmissions, so let's not be too quick to judge." I wonder how much a woman's Santa costume goes for these days. Seriously, I think joining them would be ridiculous fun, and maybe I'll even do it next year. Rule #2 says that if attached ladies participate without at least attempting to rope some single girlfriends into coming along, though, they will be shunned. I don't know how I feel about that. What if I don't want Santa to hit on me?

Today was judgment day for the taiko beginner class. We let 6 in the group! I am still on the fence about one or two of them, personally, but I was impressed with the group, overall. I kind of had to defend one person, though. This person had the best form of anyone trying out and good rhythm, but not a lot of self confidence or energy. Confidence should come in time, though, after experience. Overconfidence is worse, I think. I mean, you can learn to fake confidence or energy, but you can't necessarily learn to fake good form and rhythm. They're beginners in front of five people that are judging their every move, after all, so they shouldn't be that confident. I guess I saw myself in this person, too. Anyway, I stand behind the decision. Judgement day is over, though, so good night!

Oh wait, in the spirit of Christmas, I will leave you with one of my favorite Christmas songs (still). This is the first time I've ever seen the video. Ha, check out those background dancers!:

Cookies and concerts

I went to a cookie party today. I brought 3 dozen cookies, traded a couple with everyone, and came home with a mix of about 3 dozen cookies from everyone else. I'm pretty proud of myself, actually, because we voted on "best cookie" and mine won! Not everyone got to try the cookies before they voted, granted, but if they hadn't tried them, they picked the one they wanted to try first. Mine were "marshmallow clouds," chocolate cookies with marshmallows melted inside, and I have to admit, they were good. Funny, because this party is basically the only time I bake anything all year. I know my desserts, though. I won a "bake sale cookbook" with a bunch of recipes that I might actually attempt, too. The thing is, I can/could cook or bake if I wanted to, but because I'm just not that particular about my own food (if it's something I like to eat, anyway), I am not motivated to spend a lot of time on it. I'd rather get eating out of the way rather quickly so I can spend time on something else (I don't know, seeing Japan, for example). I'm no Julia Child, but maybe this is a start.

I'm going to a concert at Blueberry Hill tonight. There are 10 bands playing, so I hope that doesn't mean the concert lasts forever. It doesn't start until 9. Joel played with his new band last night at a place in Dogtown. He doesn't play lead guitar that often, but he should. Even though he was playing with a bruised fingernail, it was good. They're playing at the same place next month with my old web design teacher's band! I'm pretty excited because I like them, too. The bar drew a smiley face on my hand to indicate that I was there to see the band, and it rubbed off onto my pillow when I was sleeping last night. It's kind of a cute addition, but I don't know if it will ever really come out. I was sleeping hard, one of those nights (days) where you feel like you are having the longest dream ever but can't quite come out of it.

My favorite song is currently "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train. Some of the lyrics don't make much sense, but it just makes me smile. (I apologize in advance for the crappy font, on behalf of whoever chose it.) Enjoy!:

The enneagram

I keep thinking it's Saturday, or Friday, or anything except Wednesday, really. That's actually great news, because it means I'm practically getting a 5-day weekend. Yes, I am going to work on Friday, but I will be spending most of it in a recording studio. It will probably feel like more of a field trip than actual work. Speaking of work, I think that psychological examination went well. It was more of a conversation about my experience, likes, and dislikes than anything else, and I wish that people asked questions like that in preliminary job interviews. I won't found out for sure if I'm in until my company tells me, but I think I'm fine.

And speaking of psychology, I am delving into personality theory once again. I had a gift certificate to Borders, stumbled on a book about the enneagram (any-a-gram), and couldn't help myself. I think my interest in these typology studies is twofold: 1.) It helps me understand the motivations and preferences of other people better and build more harmonius relationships, and 2.) It helps me define myself and feel like my mix of traits is not actually that different from everyone else's. The enneagram is based loosely on Jung (remember that Myers-Briggs stuff?) and breaks personalities into 9 main categories that each express a distinctive and habitual pattern of thinking and emotions:


It's not meant to put people into boxes, but rather to help break them out of them. Once you recognize the patterns in yourself and others, you can work on improving those relationships. You should relate more to one type than to the others once you take the test and get into the descriptions, but most people can relate to a little something in all of them. The descriptions can get rather complicated and involved, too, because the main types can also be broken down into...well, ALL of this. I'm getting there in my research. :) I think it's fascinating.

My test results didn't tell me anything except that I am kind of all over the board, since I never got the same result twice and identified strongly to several of the descriptions. I'm split between 4 (artist/individualist) and 9 (peacemaker), basically, but after some digging, I may lean toward 9 a little more. Apparently, "the Nine is sometimes called the crown of the Enneagram because it is at the top of the symbol and because it seems to include the whole of it. Nines can have the strength of Eights, the sense of fun and adventure of Sevens, the dutifulness of Sixes, the intellectualism of Fives, the creativity of Fours, the attractiveness of Threes, the generosity of Twos, and the idealism of Ones. However, what they generally do not have is a sense of really inhabiting themselves—a strong sense of their own identity. Ironically, therefore, the only type the Nine is not like is the Nine itself." Go figure.

More specifically, I might be a 9 with a 1 wing, which turns out to be the same type as none other than Barack Obama (and Reagan). No wonder he struck such a chord with me and, by the same token, made (makes) so many people skeptical of him. I mean, the following description is not exactly what most people think of when they hear "politician." This is how I see myself at my best, though:

"In the role of perfect mediator, the Nine's idealized self takes pride in taking the complaints of others seriously, in understanding real differences between people, and in understanding why others are upset and concerned. The Nine also takes pride in being able to see areas of common ground and working toward achieving reconciliation, and in believing that reconciliation can only be gained by cooperation.

Nines take pride in their healing touch, their ability to forgive and forget, their good-naturedness, and their likability. They also take pride in the support they give to others so that the others can thrive. They see themselves as bestowers of unstinting love and generosity to those significant to them.

Nines take pride in their candor, their uncommon common sense, their extraordinary simplicity and guilelessness. They see themselves as having no ulterior motives, no pretensions, no large egos to protect or inflate, no concern for status or prestige, no desire to impress or condemn others. Hence, they believe that they speak with the honesty of a child and the wisdom of an adult.

Nines see themselves as easygoing and have taboos against being competitive and calling attention to themselves. They take pride in their ability to bring out the best in others by creating nurturing environments. For them, that is why they are successful. But, as the Nine sees it, though they have contributed so much to everyone's welfare, because they eschew competition and calling attention to themselves, others underestimate their contributions and take them for granted."

Of course, I haven't just been reading about myself, but describing others in this way would be inappropriate for my blog. I don't know about you, but I am pretty enthralled by this stuff. Well, since I am staying in on this freezing cold and windy night, it is time to curl up on the couch with some apple cider and finally watch Once, a movie I've been meaning to get around to forever.

New Moon

I saw New Moon yesterday. I know, I know, but it only cost five canned goods as part of the "Cans Film Festival," and there was nothing else out that I wanted to see (just saw The Blind Side). I thought the movie was overly emotional, but the action scenes were good. Bella spent most of the movie forlorn over Edward's abandonment and playing with another guy's feelings. The whole time I was watching it, I kept thinking, "Edward and Bella have an unhealthy relationship." I mean, he is her whole life, her knight in shining armor...who stands or sits at the end of her bed and watches her sleep (!). She is his one reason for living, too. No wonder they can't function without each other. One of my favorite conversations in the movie goes something like this:
Bella: I told you not to get me anything (for my birthday) because I can't get you anything.
Edward: You already give me everything just by breathing.

*Sigh* Okay, if someone seriously said this to me in real life, my first reaction might involve fake gagging and a response like, "Aww, that's sweet. Now what did you do wrong?" I'm such a romantic. Maybe I just can't relate to that obsessive, life-or-death intensity of a first love like other people can, though. I never saw the merit in letting myself fall head over heels for someone that would realistically not even stick around through college, and I noticed that the friends who did get involved in those kinds of relationships usually ended up being emotionally and/or physically abused. Luckily, they eventually got out of their situations, but I can't figure out how they allowed themselves to get into them in the first place. I have never approached love with reckless abandon, though, which has probably done me both a disservice and a favor at the same time.

In any case, while I kind of understand the appeal of the "perfect" man and their Romeo & Juliet-style romance, I find it to be borderline disturbing. Here, this is exactly what I mean. What can I say? I'm a feminist. Spare me my knight in shining armor, I can "rescue" myself, thank you--but I'm not opposed to a sidekick.

Welcome to the life of a designer

This would be funnier if it wasn't painfully true. Taiko is the worst offender, which is why I don't like to spend time on anything for them. I just can't motivate myself to do thoughtful work for people that (in general) think they know better than I do (uh, sorry). At least the clients at an ad agency have some marketing or branding background.

You know when I do my best work? When the client trusts me to do my job. At my current job (and my past one, minus the jerk in Chicago), I work with people that tell me that they trust me and then actually do. A group of people that I'm working with on a project told me that yesterday, actually. :) I am a one woman design studio--not only a designer, but also an illustrator, editor, project manager, and production artist. I would prefer to work in a creative environment surrounded by creatives, and I probably will again someday, but this has given me a chance to broaden my experience. I'll let you know soon if I pass Monday's crazy test!

Gay Marriage

Awesome. I think it's worth the whole 7 1/2 minutes:

Brain drain

It's time to take a journey into my mind, so let me set the scene. I decorated for Christmas the other day and put garland and lights on the hanging ceiling, stockings on the tv stand, and candles and a pretty pointsettia on the coffee table. I also have a new light-up snowflake plug-in with cinnamon scented oil. It smells like cinnamon in here, but that's actually coming from the chair. I set the snowflake there for a while and it spilled. At least it smells good. I'm listening to the heater and I'm drinking a "yumberry pomegranate" drink. I don't know what a "yumberry" is, but it could use some more yum--probably sugar. Are you with me now? (Wait, come back!) Okay, here we go:

• It seems like there's something that I'm supposed to be doing tomorrow. So far I'm just going to a sneak preview of Everybody's Fine. It doesn't even look that good, I don't think, but it's free and I guess it's something to do. I'm going with Christie, who is having her birthday party at the Jive & Wail this weekend! Besides the fact that piano bars are naturally fun, I am excited for three more reasons:
  
  1. I kind of started the dueling piano bar trend among my friends. I organized a couple events there for no real reason and introduced them to it, and now this is the second person that's having a birthday there.
     
  2. Christie is becoming friends with my friends and has invited 4 of them to the event. I like sharing friends and it's easier to hang out with everyone when they like each other. Of course, it makes sense because we are all fabulous.
     
  3. Christie and Joel will finally meet, which is cool because I think they have a decent amount of things in common. Plus, she is one of two relevant friends that Joel still hasn't met. I have about 15 friends/acquaintances (outside of taiko) that I consider "relevant," since they are people that I hang out with (or talk to if they live far away) at least every couple of months. I never took time to count them until now, but that's pretty awesome! That's one of the main reasons that I am usually so busy. Oh, taiko takes some time, too.
  
  
• Speaking of taiko, a few of us are performing a special show for some Japan donors at The Drunken Fish on Sunday. There are only three other people playing besides me, so we have to rearrange a bunch of things. Plus, the pressure is on because of our small number. I don't really like knowing that I am statistically getting more attention than I do when we play with 10 people, but I should be fine. I'm just more comfortable imagining that everyone is looking at the person next to me. Like, I'm going to dance around on a big, loud drum on stage, but I don't want to make a scene. If you must, you can look, as long as you don't stare.
  

• I think I'm going to judge taiko tryouts for the first time this year. I had to judge every dance on dance team in high school, though, and the few times we cut people were not fun. Plus, I was unfairly judged at tryouts before, so I take it rather seriously. I tried out more than once for something I'm pretty sure I should have made the first time, and after I made it in, they sincerely apologized for the mistake. I just had to show them, as well as myself, that I deserved to be there, and not only did I make it in, I...don't want to brag, so let's just say I went above and beyond the typical member and people noticed. I just don't want to be responsible for a bad decision, because not making the cut for something that you have your heart set on hurts. On the other hand, it builds character. That's not just something people say to make you feel better when things go wrong, it's actually true.

• A (straight) married man in California is starting a petition to ban divorce in California. He reasons that if gay marriage is banned because it "destroys the sanctity of marriage," divorce should be, too. Makes sense to me. (I'm not against either.) Also, if the sanctity of marriage is a concern, America might want to stop making a spectacle of marriage on reality tv shows and drive-thru chapels in Vegas. Nothing says "marriage is sacred" quite like competing against 10 other people to gain publicity and marry a rich stranger at the end of the season, or ordering a wedding with a side of fries, right? Maybe we should worry about that first. I don't think that's in the bible, either.
  
• Tiger Woods! I don't care. Hey "news" anchors, maybe we should focus on Afghanistan or even go back to slamming Obama. (Yes, even Fox could find better things to talk about than Tiger Woods, like whether or not Obama went to church! Okay, different things to talk about.)

• I took a bunch of assessment tests for work (critical thinking, motivations, preferences, likes and dislikes of work) and now a psychologist needs to analyze them, interview me, and recommend me for the job. I was supposed to meet with him or her on Thursday in Clayton, but he rescheduled for Monday. Um, should I be worried? It's like they got my answers and thought, "Oh no, we're going to need more time! Pad the rooms!" I'm still so curious about what they've discovered, though. I think I'll pass, anyway. (It's the background check I'm worried about. I should have stayed away from the hookers and blow.)

On that note, I believe it's time for bed. Good night!