Due to sales being down, I was gently relieved of my duties at work on Thursday, March 29. The first time I've been let go. The layoff had nothing to do with my skills as a graphic designer -- it was a cost-cutting move for a small communications business which has never really recovered from the post-911 letdown. I'm still working here until the and of April and they've been quite generous in allowing me access to the office until the end of June to aid me in my quest to find another job.
It is disappointing to be let go. It's quite different than the "we hate your work and get out" scenario as they are quite pleased with my work. I was always searching for another more challenging job as I was at the end of my creativity here. Designing manuals, workbooks, leader's guides and PowerPoint presentations can be quite monotonous and unfulfilling at times. I now have the kick-in-the-pants I need to be serious in finding the job of my dreams. It is also the push I need to start heavy marketing of my freelance, graphic design business and find some more clients.
I still can't believe that it has happened to me. I guess it was just my turn.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Just finished
Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley
Fabulous! Not the book I had expected. The story, it seems, has morphed into something one-dimensional for Hollywood. This is the version I thought I would be reading; how an unfeeling monster is created and goes on a terror spree.
By the way, Frankenstein is the name of the scientist, not the Being. The Being doesn't have a name throughout the story. Although the Being is repulsive to look at, he doesn't lurch around like Boris Karloff's rendition. He has, in fact, superhuman speed, is wily, observant, articulate and intellectually developed.
The story of Victor Frankenstein starts in a series of letters penned by Walton, an English explorer icebound in the Arctic. While studying in Geneva, Frankenstein discovers how to give life to inanimate matter and from dead flesh constructs his Being. As the Being's mind and thoughts and mind develop, his loneliness and misery build and he acts out in deadly violence. After the Being's last murder, he flees to the North Pole with Frankenstein following to destroy him to stop the violence and his guilt. Once there, Frankenstein meets Walton, who saves him from drowning in the frigid waters, and confesses the horror that has drawn him into the Arctic.
The story was created in the early 1800s so some of the English may be a bit "Shakespearean" but it is not that difficult a read. I highly recommend it!
by Mary Shelley
Fabulous! Not the book I had expected. The story, it seems, has morphed into something one-dimensional for Hollywood. This is the version I thought I would be reading; how an unfeeling monster is created and goes on a terror spree.
By the way, Frankenstein is the name of the scientist, not the Being. The Being doesn't have a name throughout the story. Although the Being is repulsive to look at, he doesn't lurch around like Boris Karloff's rendition. He has, in fact, superhuman speed, is wily, observant, articulate and intellectually developed.
The story of Victor Frankenstein starts in a series of letters penned by Walton, an English explorer icebound in the Arctic. While studying in Geneva, Frankenstein discovers how to give life to inanimate matter and from dead flesh constructs his Being. As the Being's mind and thoughts and mind develop, his loneliness and misery build and he acts out in deadly violence. After the Being's last murder, he flees to the North Pole with Frankenstein following to destroy him to stop the violence and his guilt. Once there, Frankenstein meets Walton, who saves him from drowning in the frigid waters, and confesses the horror that has drawn him into the Arctic.
The story was created in the early 1800s so some of the English may be a bit "Shakespearean" but it is not that difficult a read. I highly recommend it!
Monday, March 26, 2007
I'm an idiot
I'm driving to my buddy's place last Friday during the drive-home rush hour on highway 400 and we're barely moving. The band is getting together to practice and I'm pretty hungover from Thursday's Heaven and Hell concert. I notice a lot of strange looks as cars pass by me. It was a nice afternoon so I had the window down when one guy yells something at me as he goes by. I speed up to him (by speed I mean 20 km/h) but can't get in hearing distance. He then points behind us and I look in my driver-side mirror to notice my gas lid is open and the cap is barely hanging on in the slot on the inside of the lid. Another guy passes me and is about to yell something to me but I stop him and say, "I know" and give him the thumbs up. In the words of Popeye, "How embarrasking!" How the gas cap stayed on the lid while I was on the 407 doing 130 km/h, I'll never know. The cap doesn't attach to the lid but there's a slot to hold it while you're pumping.
I'll chalk this one up to lack of sleep.
I'll chalk this one up to lack of sleep.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Heaven and Hell
Last Thursday I went to see Heaven and Hell at the ACC. It's one of the many versions of Black Sabbath -- Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinnie Appice. Megadeth opened and were pretty good. Heaven and Hell were pretty good as well. To my surprise, they only played songs from the Dio/Sabbath days, no old Sabbath and not one Dio tune. That was quite disappointing. I thought the show would be much louder but the volume was actually quite tolerable. Would I pay $75 to see them again -- no -- but at least I can say I saw them.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Brad Delp passes away
Wow! I just heard on the radio that Brad Delp, the lead singer of Boston, passed away this weekend. I don't think the public has been told how he died but check out Wikipedia for more information.
Boston was my favourite band while I was growing up and to this day when I hear More Than a Feeling, I can feel the warmth and scent of summer. Nothing is better than driving on a summer's day with the windows down and listening to any Boston tune. I'm still shocked!
Update [March 20]
Apparently, he committed suicide.
Boston was my favourite band while I was growing up and to this day when I hear More Than a Feeling, I can feel the warmth and scent of summer. Nothing is better than driving on a summer's day with the windows down and listening to any Boston tune. I'm still shocked!
Update [March 20]
Apparently, he committed suicide.
Just finished
Ysabel
by Guy Gavriel Kay
Set mostly in 21st century Aix-en-Provence, 15-year-old Canadian Ned Marriner is spending a spring vacation with his celebrated photographer father during a shoot of the Cathedral of Saint-Sauveur. His mother, a physician with Doctors without Borders, is in the Sudan, so Ned and Dad are extremely worried. Exploring Saint-Sauveur, Ned meets American exchange-student Kate Wenger, who knows a lot about the history of Aix. The two surprise a knife-carrying, scar-faced stranger in the cathedral, who tells them, "I think you ought to go ... you have blundered into the corner of a very old story." Ned and Kate, then the rest of his family, including the aunt and uncle from England and his mother, are drawn into an ancient conflict with the shades of Celtic spirits. [Booklist]
by Guy Gavriel Kay
Set mostly in 21st century Aix-en-Provence, 15-year-old Canadian Ned Marriner is spending a spring vacation with his celebrated photographer father during a shoot of the Cathedral of Saint-Sauveur. His mother, a physician with Doctors without Borders, is in the Sudan, so Ned and Dad are extremely worried. Exploring Saint-Sauveur, Ned meets American exchange-student Kate Wenger, who knows a lot about the history of Aix. The two surprise a knife-carrying, scar-faced stranger in the cathedral, who tells them, "I think you ought to go ... you have blundered into the corner of a very old story." Ned and Kate, then the rest of his family, including the aunt and uncle from England and his mother, are drawn into an ancient conflict with the shades of Celtic spirits. [Booklist]
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Just finished ... almost
I'm always interested in trying to read the "classics" to find out why they are classics. I started reading Moby Dick and The Sea Wolf but I couldn't finish them. I tried hard to get into each book but they just didn't match my mood at the time. Perhaps I'll give them a shot some other time. I've also started, but decided not to finish, Ball Four and The Weather Makers.
There are way too many books to read to have to struggle through books you're just not in to.
I hope to start reading another classic in the upcoming weeks ... Frankenstein.
There are way too many books to read to have to struggle through books you're just not in to.
I hope to start reading another classic in the upcoming weeks ... Frankenstein.
Just finished
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
by Bill Bryson
Easily, one of the funniest books I've ever read. Bill Bryson is one of my favourite authors as he mixes in humour with an easy-to-read description of the times he's writing about. In this book, his latest, Bryson reflects on his life as he grows up in middle America.
by Bill Bryson
Easily, one of the funniest books I've ever read. Bill Bryson is one of my favourite authors as he mixes in humour with an easy-to-read description of the times he's writing about. In this book, his latest, Bryson reflects on his life as he grows up in middle America.
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