My agenda is chock full of things I need to finish before the end of the year, which prompts me to do this:

I’m SO sorry to all of you that have commented on my work and I have not responded back! Work gets in the way so much some days that I start and can’t seem to finish a comment. It’s sad, I know, and I’m very very sorry! I’m going to try to get to you as soon as I find some free time.

Now, for the reasons why I’ve been so busy:

1. AMS (American Meteorological Society) Calendar





This pretty little ditty is what I’ve been working on for almost a month, even though it was originally a design for my own personal promotional calendar. I just showed it to my instructor, who also happens to be the head honcho of the College of DuPage chapter, who fell in love with it, showed it to the rest of the officers, and who incidentally thought it would be a great upgrade from the calendars they used to get. Suffice to say, that was pretty damn good for me and my ego, especially after a suck-fest of weeks prior. Hopefully in the coming days I should have a lot more pages ready to post, but right now it’s just the first version of the cover because, frankly, they still haven’t agreed on what to do with the rest of the pages. They’re almost done, just not completely. Hell, the cover will probably be edited after what I heard during this morning’s meeting on the subject.

2. Wedding Invitations



Wedding invitations have become a pretty big deal for me. I’ve really gotten myself into that niche and don’t want to leave. I actually enjoy the creativity of making custom invitations that are a far cry from the traditional stuff you see right now. Yeah, I do a few throwbacks now and then, and I make some mash-ups as well, but I really enjoy finding the neat things to do with them after they’ve been printed, like custom boxes, vellum, sparkly paper backing, jewels, bows and ribbons, etc. The possibilities are endless and I can’t wait to explore as much of them as I can. I also have wedding show on Dec. 20, so I really need to get my ass into gear and get these designs finished and photographed and onto my website and into my portfolio before then. I don’t know what I was thinking giving myself a month to get all this work done, but I’m confident that I’ll have it finished.

3. Blak Ice



Ah, one of the more spectacular jobs I’ve worked on lately; Blak Ice. It’s a clothing brand that my client is working on based on the old Negro hockey leagues from 1815 to 1936. I’ve already posted several mock-ups of the shirts that were to be printed. So far, one is in production. And I’m damn proud of it! Yes, the design is all me! And yes, I had LOTS of fun working on it. I can’t wait to do more. At the moment I’m actually working on several logos for the old teams, turning them into sepia tones for the next shirt they want designed and produced. I have until tomorrow to finish the color schemes of these logos before I have to send them to the screen printer. Such a headache with the amount of work that needs to be done this week alone. I NEED ANOTHER SET OF HANDS!!

4. Other Misc. Projects
Odds and ends just keep popping up, which is fine because they bring in some income. I don’t mind doing them, just so long as they don’t take up too much of me time, which is bound to happen every now and then. Sometimes I can’t find the old design to update it, and it takes forever to search the multiple drives and folders it might be in. Other times they customer is just so damn picky that they can’t agree on a design they like and keep going back and forth until I finally step in and let them know the time is ticking. That’s when they finally say, I want this one! And I don’t have to deal with it anymore although it would have been nice to add an extra hour to their design time.

5. School
Oh, dear lord, what was I thinking when I decided it would be a good idea to go back to school and change my major? I want to say I wasn’t but that would totally contradict this feeling that I have that I think I’m in the work profession as it stands. I know what you’re thinking. Why did I choose design in the first place, especially after touting how much I love doing it? (See previous blog: Logo Design: How To Get In The Game) Well, storm chasing was one factor. (See previous blog: Storm Chasers and Storm Chasing) and my deeply troubled mind has a way of telling me things I should be doing instead of things I need to be doing. This was one of them. I feel like I haven’t experienced life to its fullest yet. I feel like there’s more out there that I could be doing. So when I chased this past spring, I realized that I really enjoyed that. I really enjoyed the scientific aspect of it, the learning aspect of it, seeing the patterns in the sky. As weird as it sounds, I thought I’d found my calling.

Needless to say, school’s been a BITCH! I’m taking one class this semester and it’s kicking my ASS! In a good way, thought, because I’m actually learning how to think again. That’s the thing about taking a class with my instructor, Paul Sirvatka. He doesn’t just spew information and expect you to write it down without a second thought. He actually makes you think. He actually makes you LEARN. And I’m definitely learning to think, lol. Yes, I get stuck, a lot. But that’s all part of learning. It’s all part of being able to see things by yourself, or if you don’t, being able to ask questions and learn from others.

Next semester should be fun, considering I have both my classes with him. Oh, the hilarity that shall ensue. Did I mention his classes are hilarious? They are. Which is probably another reason why I love going back every morning, Monday through Thursday, just to learn a little more about meteorology that I hadn’t known or hadn’t connected yet. I can’t wait for next semester even though I have a feeling it will probably kick my ass as well. Severe and Unusual Weather every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and Thunderstorm Lab every Monday night; yeah, I’ll be missing CSI Miami, but to me, my education is more important than some TV show.

I hope that clears up a lot of the reasons why I haven’t commented or posted much here recently. Yeah, this means I just found some time to do other things, but I’ll be paying for it soon enough with a long night spent in front of the computer finishing designs, followed by an even longer late night spent reading and taking notes on the last section of my Meteorology homework. On the bright side, we’re learning about severe weather! Hey, you gotta find the silver lining, right?

Until my world stops spinning at double speed, I bid you farewell.

Live your life. Get out there. Get inspired! Remember, bright ideas come in all shapes and sizes!

-Diana