Phrogie

Ye gads. Okie, quick update... for those that remember my last post, done oh-so long ago, about my TV... I have one errata: there -was- damage done to my keyboard. Somewhere, the Enter Key (the one on the number pad to the right) went flying. Still looking for it. Meantime, no big deal, I actually have a spare keyboard... so all is well in that regard.

Otherwise, I haven't been commenting or adding new stuff because of a) wintre holiday nonsense thru December, and b) my back decided that "enough is enough" and told me in no uncertain terms that I need to take a break from my otherwise hectic lifestyle. In plain English (since I'm aware that PhrogeSpeak is a rarely known dialect), I have two herniated discs in my lower back... one bad, one really bad.
Bottom line: I've been out of work since the beginning of the year. I had one procedure done to fix the bad disc, which is why I can sit long enough to type this out (it stinks when you can't sit up because your tailbone hurts -that- much). Fixing the really bad one is likely to result in surgery. I'll worry about that when I have a list of surgeons from my doctor to speak to about it. Hey, if it can be fixed, I'm all for it, ya know?

So I'll likely be in hiatus for a bit... and then for another month or two to catch up on looking at all the cool art the folks I have on watch have been producing, as well as catching up on a couple of journals and other messages.

Wish me luck.

No updates, art-wise... And prolly none for a little bit.

See, the way my desk at home is set up, I have a shelf above my monitor. I keep my 21" TV up there. Kept it up there for 5 years. The other night, while I was out enjoying a play my friend was in, it (the shelf) had decided that enough was enough.

Thus, when I got home at about 1am, my TV is half lying on the desk (and my keyboard), and half on my chair... barely dangling from it's power cord, which managed to -not- get ripped out of the wall.

Oddly, there was no damage to the TV. Or the monitor. Or the keyboard.

Odder still... my mother didn't hear any noise. No loud crash, or thud. Nothing. That's actually pretty amusing, come to think of it.

So... sometime this week/weekend, if and when I can find the time, and if my back allows, the TV will be moved (carefully) to the living room. Then I'll examine the shelf to see what happened, and if it's even worth trying to fix. If it is, I'll prolly swap my TV for my Mom's little 9" one (really, I only just use it to watch DVDs and play music)... if I can find a way to jurry rig a new shelf.

-shakes head-

Random Factiods, for no reason in particular:

Phrogie...
* Was born on Long Island, NY, and other than for 5 years, have lived here all my life.
* Gets annoyed very easily when someone says they live "in" Long Island (or any other island)... unless, of course, that someone does actually live underground.
* Loves the season of Autum.
* Has nothing resembling a typical Long Island accent, but has been accused most of her life of growing up somewhere in upstate NY. Or parts of Canada.
* Has never figured out why she -does- have the accent she has, tho attributes some of the Canadian from having grown up watching way too much Nickelodeon in the 80's.
* Gets a warm fuzzy feeling inside when someone pronounces "Phrogie" correctly.
* Constantly has a personal soundtrack that runs in her head all day, every day.
* Was one of those kids to always had to take things apart to see how they worked... and never grew out of it.
* Enjoys messing around with photos of her friends in the band Lewd Buddha... and is glad they have a sense of humour.
* First started spelling certain words in European English just to annoy her English teachers in school, and never broke out of the habit.

And some random facts that are art-related...

Phrogie...
* Loves drawing from live models... but doesn't do so well from photographs of models (does anyone else have that problem, or is it just me?).
* Took private lessons in pastels at the tender age of 13.
* Discoverd Photoshop back in 1996 and hasn't looked back since.
* Turned down the idea of getting a degree in "Computer Graphics" back in 1990 because she didn't think the fad would last. (Laughing now at how wrong I was back then, especially now that I hold a degree in Graphic Design)
* Took her working name (Phrogie) from a little cartoon character she started doodling in the middle of math class one day back in 1985, whom she named "Aristotle DePhroge." Although evolved since that time, and no longer taking math classes, Ari still gets doodled all the time.
* Likes the colour green... Pantone 348 U specifically...

Yeah. It was just time to take down that list, even if it was just a short one. Which is not to say that I'm over those particular issues... certain things are always gonna irk me... it was just time to look at something else when I came to this page (I'm sure I wasn't the only one tired of looking at it)...

So... wow. I'm just shy of 1,500 pageviews. Now, I'm not a PV-whore... but I would like to think that if people are looking at my main page, they might actually be looking at my artwork... and the more people who look at my art work, the bigger a chance I have for someone to leave comments, and maybe some critiques... which will allow my to improve... which might, someday, lead to a sale or two of prints. A girl can have dreams, right? My dreams actually include someday making a living out of my art... and I don't mean the graphic design end of it (arguably, I'm doing that already). A studio of my own... not just a small corner of the basement, but an actual studio, where I could make as huge a mess as I want (what?)...

It's a dream. Meanwhile, back on Earth, there's food to be put on the table... and housing to keep that table in. Student loans that need to be paid back. And don't let me forget the medical bills (like my back would let me forget that ). Eh. Someday.

Nothing more for now... my hands hurt. Too much drumming yesterday (t'was a good time tho... as always).

Pet Peeves... a small list.

People who think that Photoshop is meant to be used for typesetting. If you're creating a wedding program, and it's ALL TEXT, you DON'T USE PHOTOSHOP. Key word here: Photo. If it were TEXTshop, it might be a different story... but it's Photoshop. Idiots. Go use Quark, or InDesign, or even, godsforbid, Publisher or Word.

People who submit "finished" files, and when we show them a proof, come back with a hundred corrections. Mostly spelling and/or grammar. You know what? Don't waste my time here... EDIT your files before submitting them to be printed. I really don't enjoy having to fix YOUR files because you haven't figured out where the spell-check feature is. Also, don't WHINE about the cost we're going to add for artwork, because we had to go in and edit your work. The twenty or so minutes I spend fixing your errors, I could be working on someone else's job... so yes, you're going to get charged for it. Deal with it.

"I own Quark and Photoshop, therefore I am a Graphic Designer" mentality. No. You're not. What you are, is pissing me off with your arrogance, and your general incompetence in using programs you have no business even having on your computer. Come back to me when you learn basic concepts like knowing what a 'bleed edge' and a 'safety margin' is. DO NOT bitch at me because your text got cut off because you ran it right to the edge. Oh, and for your information, I'm happy that your JPEG appears to be in 2 colours... but it -cannot- be separated like that. Come back to me with artwork I can use, or else I'm going to have to recreate it. Yes, that means you're going to get CHARGED for it.

"But the font is on my computer... what do you mean you don't have it?" Honey, there are a zillion fonts out there. Just because you happen to have one, don't assume I do. If I ask you for certain fonts, don't whine about it, just give them to me so I can print out your job without the headlines defaulting to courier.

People who deliberately design with courier. You people are freaks who just need to die.

I tell ya, it's just one of those days... Thank the gods it's Friday.