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This is a topic I’ve never discussed on my blog before, so here goes… Am I a competitive person? I wasn’t certain, but I was recently faced with a situation. I’ve had this client for 6 years. They were planning a big new project for their website and I was obviously the one that would handle it. They made that clear many times. Then now some amateur designer popped up, offering my client this ridiculously low priced bargain if they drop me. They even played dirty and made up stuff about me. I was furious, and ready to bring out the boxing gloves. In fact, I could have been extremely competitive and crushed those little peons. My client scheduled a conference call for me to explain why I was the better candidate. My pride was really bruised at this point, but I decided to give it a go. I played fair, I presented myself with dignity, and I was not competitive. I simply explained why I am an effective designer, and what I could offer them with their new project. 2 weeks passed, and I received a phone call from the client congratulating me for a job well done. They chose me! I was very happy, and very relieved that my calm confidence had paid off. So I guess I’m not competitive afterall. Hmm… it feels weird saying that. I just think competitive people are a turn off. If a client really wants to work with me, he will. If I force him to hire me, the relationship is going to fail somehow. I’m really happy with the results, and feel proud for earning someone’s business by being my true self, and not some shark. What are your thoughts on being competitive? Do you act that way regularly and what are the results?
From time to time, someone will get their 15 minutes of fame online by broadcasting their life through a webcam. It’s pretty fascinating for awhile, but eventually viewers grow tired of it and that person decides he wants his privacy back. Well now a guy named Justin Kan is getting his 15 minutes by actually wearing the webcam on his head 24/7 with audio. He was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle today and he’s gaining a lot of buzz. My friend Tom mentioned it a week ago, and I have to admit, it’s addictive to be right there in the middle of conversations. I know, it’s pitiful watching other people live their life while I sit at a computer. But still… you have to admit it feeds a natural voyeuristic curiosity we have. Check it out at justin.tv and see if you love it as much as I do.
My parents are selling their house in Illinois and building their dream home in the woods. It’s something they have always wanted to do and they are finally taking that leap. The house they are selling has been theirs for over 30 years. I spent my entire childhood there, and my older brothers spent most of their youth there too. The house I grew up in obviously has a great deal of sentimental value. So this past weekend, Rodney and I were in town visiting. We had a great lunch with my parents and started talking about how they would sell it. I casually joked that I would like to buy the house. We talked and talked, and it started to sound really good. Since their house is in a very small town, the price is significantly less. We could sell our house, buy their house, and still have money left over. My parents thought it was a great idea (of course) and Rodney and I were starting to like it too. I work from home, so it doesn’t matter where I live as long as I’m happy. And Rodney works in the hotel industry, so his job is fairly portable too. But then the reality set in. This is a very small Midwestern town. The selection of everything is limited. Small grocery stores, crappy restaurants, nothing to do for entertainment. These are serious things that have to be considered. You don’t just buy the house, you buy the whole neighborhood and even the town with it. And the real estate market is terrible there. The unemployment rate is always up, and property values are way down. That’s a lethal combination if we ever wanted to sell it later. Plus, the house does need some work. Okay, a lot of work. I love it for the sentimental value, but it needs a lot of updating. All the walls have dark wood paneling. That would have to go. Wallpaper galore. No way. Old appliances, repairs to the structure… I get dizzy thinking about all the negative things. The house is in good condition and perfectly suitable to live in. I’m just saying cosmetically it needs a huge update. So that idea quickly dissipated… Still, every once in awhile, it does cross my mind. I guess most people feel that way about the house they grew up in. UPDATE: Wait… something creepy just crossed my mind. If we bought the house, that means my parents’ bedroom would become our bedroom. Rodney and I would have sex in the same room I was conceived in! No way… no sireee…. We are DEFINITELY not buying that house!
Oh the pain of a creative block! Woe is me, woe is me. Sorry, I’m whining and being over-dramatic. Truth be told, I’ve been racking my brain on a website design for weeks now. It’s not for a client, it’s for myself. At first, I was really busy and just didn’t have time for it. So I kept notes any time an idea came to me and saved any website links that inspired me. Finally, this past week, I’ve had free time to devote to it. And now… road block! I want it to come, but it just won’t. On a brighter note, I did stumble across this phenomenal portfolio of a designer in the UK. I don’t know who he is, but I love him, I’m going to marry him, and I’m going to have his baby. Or he can have mine. Whichever he prefers. After I wrote the post about the veggie bacon from Morningstar Farms, I became more curious about vegetarian foods. I only tried the bacon because it was healthier. It had nothing to do with animal rights. But when I read about the ways animals are mistreated, I really felt the need to take responsibility. I think most people know that animals are being mistreated, but they turn a blind eye because meat is so readily available and often inexpensive. Plus, it just tastes good. I won’t lie! All that being said, I do think I should take responsibility. I don’t necessarily think that killing animals for food is “wrong”. But you have to realize that animals used to be raised on farms, where they could live freely, eat, play, and have a good life. Things are different now. It’s all about mass-marketing. Animals are confined to very tight spaces. They are dirty and neglected, sometimes abused. When it comes to chickens, they often don’t even have enough room to move. They starve to death and then other chickens are forced to walk over the bodies. It’s because of these reasons that I’ve started changing my diet. Most of the Morningstar Farms products are very tasty indeed. I eat their grilled burgers, chicken patties, bacon, and sausage patties. They are 100% meat free. The only thing I’ve hated were the sausage links. Yuck! Keep in mind, some people HATE Morningstar Farms because they use egg products. But hey, it’s still a step in the right direction. I’m not quite ready to give up egg and milk products too. If you’re thinking of being a vegetarian, but aren’t quite ready to give up meat, I’d suggest just buying a few items at a time. Try it out, see if you like it. For example, I just started with bacon. It was one small change and it didn’t even bother me. In fact, I do still eat meat from time to time. But the little changes have helped me be primarily vegetarian.
In January, my Grandma fell and broke her femur. Oddly enough, the night before, her phone line went out of service due to technical problems. She has a Medic-Alert device that she wears around her neck. But the signal is tied to her phone. So if the phone is out, the necklace will not send out a call for help. So that morning, she fell and could not call for help. She was unable to move at all so she just stayed there on the floor for at least 4 hours. Luckily, my Mom was coming over that morning so she found Grandma and got her to the hospital. Negativity seems to run on that side of the family. My Grandma has always been a person that believes life is hard. My Mom is the same way and unfortunately a lot of that rubbed off on me. But I’ve made a huge effort to break free from that mindset and good things are happening in my life as a result. Back to the story, things continued to get worse for Grandma. She was miserable, unhappy, and cried constantly. Everyone who came to visit her had the same pity attitude. Negativity just fed more negativity and Grandma had no optimism to get better. So she didn’t. She had surgery on the leg and lost a lot of blood. Still no optimism that she would ever get better. Her leg continued to get worse instead of better. She fell and cracked her femur in another place. Her body was too weak to do surgery again, so they had to put on a cast to stabilize the healing. Now the leg is very infected. The infection has spread and her leg may deteriorate. Meanwhile, Grandma is living in a nursing home so she can receive 24/7 care. She cries everyday. It’s very sad. Now… as harsh as this may sound, I constantly wonder if a positive attitude would have changed all this. Having an injured leg is not fun, I know that. But I have to wonder if everyone involved in this had reflected an attitude of good health and optimism, would she be getting better? My Mom is doom and gloom about this and has been from Day 1. I’ve tried and tried to tell her that she has an obligation to help lift Grandma’s spirits. But she just doesn’t seem to get it. I think my Mom takes comfort in believing that everything is wrong. When you believe that everything is wrong, you get a strange sense of satisfaction because it’s predictable. There are no surprises, nothing to worry about because you believe that life will give you the very worst and you can expect it. Sure enough, bad things show up around every corner and that re-affirms your faith that it all goes wrong. I hope that somehow my Grandma will take a positive turn. Every time I talk to her, I refuse to give in to the pity. I tell her she’s strong and getting better everyday. I tell her that’s she’s going to be healed and will be back on her feet soon. She seems to like that. The problem is that I’m the only one who believes in her.
Some of you may remember in October when my friends James and Garrett needed a name for their new baby pug. They finally decided on Gus (short for Angus). I thought you’d all appreciate this new photo of Gus, channeling his inner Marilyn Monroe. Isn’t he gorgeous?
We’re under attack! This spring, little reddish-brown bugs have invaded the backdoor of our house! I’ve searched and searched online, and can’t find out what the hell they are. The most popular theory is chiggers. No, they’re not chiggers. I’ve seen pictures of chiggers. These little things are the size of a pixel. They don’t bite or cause damage, they just hang out. Anyway, I don’t care what they are. This is war and I want them outta here! Let me start by explaining that the backdoor is primarily glass with a wood frame. They all like to collect on the glass and hang out in the sun! For reals. When the sun goes down, they go away. They are like little beach bums. And they looove the water. Petey has a water bowl in the kitchen. They all scurry over to that and dive in, then drown. Sun and water. Are these bitches on spring break or what? A few days ago, I tried an experiment. I put a large bowl of water outside the door. The next day, it looked like a graveyard. Hundreds of these little bugs had jumped in and drown. So today, I went psycho with the insecticide outside. I sprayed it all over the back patio, back door, siding, grass. Then, I took 6 little bowls of water and lined them up against the doors. I am going to wipe those little shit flakes off the face of this planet. MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Guess who won the $100 prize for the Best Gay Blogs banner contest? Me I took a graphic of their new website design (which is currently in beta) and combined it with their new color palette and logo. Thanks Best Gay Blogs!
It’s funny what comes up when you set your iPod to shuffle. Every decade needs its own dance craze to look back and laugh at. What’s the one for this decade? No, that “dirt off your shoulder” move does not count as a dance.
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