Major Overdue Update

Alrighty... Where do I start....? I think a bullet list would be best.

-New apartment in a new town with roommates. Amanda (Mandy) Schager, Travis, and I have moved into a 2-bedroom apartment in downtown Dell Rapids. We are still settling in, but it's only the last few things. It's spacious, it's relatively new... ish, and can fit everything. :) Pictures soon.

-Also, Travis has moved in! Yes, that's right... he's moved in!

-New jobs sprung from previous one. After seeing how hard-working I was helping out with the west-side Walmart's remodel, the store planner, V, decided to take me over to the east-side store with her to help out over there on overnights. Before that even, a few of the store associates working with the remodel team had recommended me to the store for hire. So... I filled out an application and got an interview. Actually, three interviews all in the same day. The third one wasn't really an interview, but more of a filling out of paperwork because I was hired. ^_^ Tuesday is my orientation for apparel/jewelry department. Woot, woot.

-Freelance design work is taking off. I have about 6 little projects lined up ranging from tattoo designing to logo vectorizing to wedding invitations. ^_^ I'm very excited! I was even hired to photograph a wedding... turned out well. I won't say that my work is anything unique... I haven't developed my eye behind the camera yet... :S

-Everything else.... is going great! :D The past few days, we've been adjusting a few things here and there. I hung up Travis and my curtain rods yesterday. (Still gotta find the other curtain... have no clue where it ended up in the shuffle...) Really, the last room that needs completed is Travis and my room. :D Other than that... I guess I have a whole list of things that I've done or helped with so far...

     -Travis and I put together my bookshelf and set it up in the livingroom
     -I took down a couple of towel rods and moved one of them to the kitchen.
     -Mandy and I hung up artwork/photography in the apartment to break up the white walls.
     -I've organized the cabinets with the aid of wire shelving. (Bought by all three of us)
     -I made our bathroom closet more useable with cube shelving and more inconspicuous with the use of a sheer curtain.

There's other little things, but I can't think of them right now. I'm excited to get everything done and say it's all put in it's place. Sadly, some of that requires more purchasing that none of us can afford right now... so we're kinda sitting at a stand still. I'm actually still looking for a second part-time job to help with that problem. I've applied at a couple of places, but haven't heard back. I guess we'll see. :)


Stay Tuned!

PS. I know I'm UBER behind on the 365 project.... :s It's updated on Facebook. When I get time, which will probably be tomorrow, I will be sure to update it. :D

Well, well, well.... Things are finally coming together! ^_^

First, late last week, I was called by my new employer and asked to start 2 weeks early. SO... I'm starting in Sioux Falls helping them remodel the West Side WalMart until May 30th when I start working in Brookings. However... after finding out information that you'll read in just a little bit, I'm going to ask if I can stay in Sioux Falls as long as I can.

What could that information be? Well......

As of today, I will be moving to Dell Rapids in about 2 weeks. So excited! I will be moving in with Mandy and (hopefully) Travis. It's a 2 bedroom place and will be very nice on the financial front. I haven't seen the place, but I'm thinking it will be an awesome place. ^_^ Very, very excited to finally know what's going on. haha Well, with me anyway.... Travis is still waiting to hear back, but we're still hoping for the best. ^_^

*sigh* Travis is spending this weekend with me and it's been amazing. He got here Friday afternoon and we went to Jordyn's (his "cousin") graduation party. Then, came back from that and just hung out. Today, we took a walk, before it started raining, ran a few errands and are now using Classic Corner for their internet. lol Tomorrow will probably follow the same kind of routine. It's so nice not to have anything to HAVE to do or anywhere we HAVE to be. :D

So yea... I will be starting work 2 weeks early.... 45 hours a week.... Monday - Friday, 8 am - 5 pm. It's appealing now, but I know it's not going to be tons of fun. It will be alright though. Just a summer job. This will give me a little more time to look around for a job to continue with in the fall. Excited to have money again.


Stay Tuned! ^_^

*insert witty title here*

I usually come up with a witty title before starting to write the entry..... This time I'm blanking. :(

Anyway, today is my last official day as a DSU student.... I have a presentation at 1 and another at 4... then, I'm D-O-N-E, done. Wow. I'm done....

It sort of hit me last week, but now... It's really like... *BOOM* Hitting me in the face hard enough to land me on my ass... Yea.

Family is coming in today and tomorrow.... Grandparents tonight, Mom, Randy, and the kids tomorrow, Uncle tomorrow... Aunts and grandpa tomorrow... Neither my father or dad can make it. Callie can't make it either. :( Been wondering if I should invite Mike and DeEtt... (They are brother-in-law and sister of Scott's... but they also helped me move in... Yep, inviting them. Wouldn't have been able to get where I am now without their help in the beginning. Done.

So yea... apparently Scott will be up here too. It's that weird ground.... He's friends with my dad... so that makes him a kind of "family friend", as well as his family (i.e. Mike and DeEtt)... then again, he's my ex... Odd ground to walk on... Bleh. Not a fan.

Anyway... OOOO! B in Marketing! Sweet! ^_^ (Just found that out. haha)

Alright, that's it for today. Probably will write one after the big day.


STAY TUNED! ^_^

Trademarking

Alright people. As you may or may not know... I have a few freelance jobs coming up (i.e. wedding invites & photos)... So, I want to come up with a "company name" for myself... so to speak. Here are my options...

First, do I use:
-MelJean
-Melissa Jean
    or something else like...
-Traveling Artist
-Starving Artist

Then, what about these choices:
-Productions (almost seems too... animating studio-ish)
-Graphics (overused?)
-Media (too interactive-based...? I don't do web...)
-Boutique (too... flowery...?)
-Designs (too plain.)

So... make combinations from all of those... I'm not sure which one I'd like. The services that I would offer would be:

-Fine art
-Graphic design
-Minor video editing
-Very minor photography

So mostly fine art and graphic design... I have no right to call myself a photographer... so I don't want to give that impression. So... yea. Thinking I need to keep thinking... Bleh.


Stay Tuned! (... and let me know your thoughts!)

Whoa!

Hey there followers!

Okay... so this is what's been going through my phone and email lately as far as responses for job inquiries.

Harold's Photo - Email, not hiring until they can better define the position they're hiring for

Daktronics - Call, have a phone interview on Thursday for the Painting department... thinking night shift just in case I happen to get the Fresh Produce internship... Yes, it's a "manufacturing department" job... BUT someone has to do it and it usually pay pretty well. :)

Fresh Produce - Should hear back from them on Thursday whether I have the job or not. The interview went well! The only question that got me was when they asked, "What's your creative process?" Still feel pretty confident about it!

Professional Training Services - Had an interview Saturday, sent a follow-up email... waiting to hear back

That's pretty much it... I'm very excited! Everything is coming together. OH YES! I still have to send off my DVD and such to Prairie Graphics, Inc. & Funky Fresh. Wow... much better outlook than I ever imagined.



Stay Tuned!

Fruits of My Weekend Labor

Alright people! You want to see my portfolio?!

You didn't think I was going to start you off with the final product did you?! :P

Sketches

My first though on materials: mat board.

 Since I couldn't use the full size suitcase like I wanted, I decided to downsize. Therefore, that meant building one... from scratch. SO... I started sketching. And taking notes. And more sketching...

Then, I started implementing and putting together some prototypes. Ended up not even using mat board at all...

These are the boards that go on the inside. They are 5x7. Brilliant, right? lol That was most of Saturday, actually... It took forever to figure out what was wrong with the printer. The two on the far right printed off just fine, but when I had to print off the pictures that were full color and everything, they looked horrible. Turned off the gloss optimizer, as Travis suggested, and they printed out beautifully! ^_^

The labels on the backs of the boards with the information.

Top of the top... :P This is the texture I used all over. It's actually some resume paper that I picked up about a year ago to print my resume and stuff on, but never used... Perfect for this!

Inside of the top. Resume on the left, business card on the right. Used transparent photo corners to keep them in place.

 Now, most of today was actually putting the whole thing together. Very tedious. Being the perfectionist that I am, it probably took me a little longer than needed. However, I think it paid off!

All of the same thing, just 3 different states. 

I think lining the inside may have been the most intricate part... or perhaps wrapping every piece of foam board with paper. So much glue. LOL Anyway, the canvas string lies underneath the boards in order to help me lift them out. :D Still stumped on how to fill that empty gap between the canvas "box" and the outside walls. :S I wanted to make the canvas go from the "box" to the outside walls so it looks like the boards are just sunk into a "bed of canvas" or sorts... Just couldn't figure out how. :S

Alright... are you ready for them? Here are the pictures of the final result!

The insides... 

And the outside! Found parts to make it look like a suitcase!

They make it look real!

So that's what my weekend consisted of. :P Now, I get to try it out tomorrow for my interview with Fresh Produce! ^_^ I'm excited!


Stay Tuned!

Are You Tuned In?

Oh my... tonight I'm on another role.

I was stressing about trying to print on big paper (that I'd have to buy) and mount those prints on mat board (that I'd have to buy) and then trying to finish the full-sized suitcase version of my portfolio. Then, I looked down at a pile of 5x7 pieces of mat board that I had brought home from Beadle Hall basement a while ago... That's when it hit me. I can use the extra mat board from there (that I don't have to buy) to build a smaller version of my suitcase. Then, I can print my portfolio pieces on the 8.5x11 paper that I already have (and therefore, don't have to buy). Done!

So ever since then... which was about 6 pm... I've been sketching and working on the print outs to mount onto the 5x7 pieces of mat board to put into the small suitcase. I'm very excited to be working this all out. Hopefully, it works out that well in my head. ^_^

Then, there is fantastic news that.... I AM A FINALIST FOR THE FRESH PRODUCE INTERNSHIP!

o.
m.
g.

So excited! I think that was part of the inspiration because I have to have something to show them when I go for the interview next week. Which reminds me... anyone going on Monday or Wednesday between 1 & 5 pm? I could use a ride... heh heh... Yea. If I don't find a ride, I will *hopefully* be able to do an over-the-phone interview. We'll have to see. I put a call in as soon as I received the email so I should have first dibs on when I get a time...

Let's see... I'm pretty pumped to be getting somewhere on my portfolio. :D AH!

Okay... now I'm starting to get tired... Just a little.

Oh, yea... about the post from the other day (that no one commented on... :() A living situation may be figured out for after graduation. Not 100% sure yet... have to wait for other things to be sorted out first so I will leave it at that for now. But it's a great situation if it works out!

Then... I guess I should get going to bed. I'll probably do some more sketching and then go to bed. Fall asleep with the pencil in my hand again, maybe. Bwahahaha :P



Stay Tuned!

PS. Thank you to all the new followers! ^_^

Best. Non-Rejection. Ever.

Melissa,

Thank you for your interest in [INSERT JOB TITLE HERE] I regret to inform you that


Boy, I hate starting rejection letters that way, so today I’m not going to. Scroll back up there and delete that line. I’ll give you a minute.





Done?

Good.

Prairie Graphics does not currently have any job openings. I say “currently” because you just never know. One of my employees might steal all the money in the till tonight, or make a bad pot of coffee, or park in my spot, or set fire to a customer’s underwear, or I may just get tired of putting up with some annoying personal habit… you just never know. You see, Prairie Graphics operates much like a pirate ship. Oh sure, it all looks glamorous and exciting, but once you realize that swabbing the deck, peeling potatoes, heaving-to, weighing anchor, and trying to figure out just what “Avast!” means consumes most of your working day, the shine starts to wear off if you catch my drift. Like pirates, I’m pretty sure most of the crew here are averse to bathing, have too many tattoos, complain about sleeping with rats, and spend those hours swabbing the deck filled with dreams of mutiny.

Here’s what I propose: I would be happy to receive a copy of your resume and some examples of your work to keep on file just in case any of these current scurvy dogs decides to saw halfway through my peg leg again. After they’ve been made to walk the plank, I would be happy to put into port and give you a holler to see if you’re still interested in joining the crew. Deal?

Jon Bultman - Captain
S.S. Prairie Graphics





This was the email that I received from Prairie Graphics, Inc. after I had inquired about a job opening. I have to say, it's the best email that I've read in a while. hahahahahahaha Highlight of my day.

^_^

Alright, very excited!


Plans are starting to take shape.... Everything is kind of waiting on other things to happen, but we'll see soon. 


Do you want to know the details....?




COMMENT! hahahahahaha






Stay Tuned!

Off Day

Today is just an off day... 


Was talking with Travis and things just turned weird... *shrugs* We were talking about one thing and I told him how much I cared for him and felt for him and he seemed to disregard it as if I didn't say it... Am I overanalyzing things? Am I going overboard? I'm not sure... Just... off.