Come on, it’s only been one… two… three.. fou–well damn. I am lazy.

You know, every time I have one of these impromptu hiatuses – hiatusi? hiatusae? – I always try and recall just what caused me to stop posting. It’s not like I was posting every other day and got burnt out, no no, I was posting once a week. But of course the cycle dies off and you end up with what, a five month break in posts?

That’s not kosher.

The irony is that if I had just managed to keep up with my weekly posting, I would probably have a more complete list of things that I have actually done. It’s a self-defeating cycle of suck, and I seem to really enjoy the ride. Never mind that I ride it in a busted up canoe, or that the ride takes me through a course that would make most white-water rafting professionals crap themselves just a little. I do it for the thrill.

Alright that may have sounded a tad insane, but I was on a roll and went with it.

So as stated it’s been a good 5 months since my last post, and I’ve got no good explanation for the break in content. I did just get back into school and I did start applying myself more for freelance stuff, but that’s hardly an excuse. Regardless, I’m back on the horse for now, and I’m feeling if not inspired, than at least motivated. To kick things off, I’ll give a quick rundown of everything that’s been going on with me recently.

I swear I’m not that self-involved. No, really I’m not. I am not a self-centered arrogant prat! Good god, you kiss your mother with that mouth? That’s sick man. Sick.

Personal Development

Python/Django

I am very slowly getting my head around Django. Thankfully I have my good friend and partner in crime, Bartek Ciszkowski to point out the many things I am doing wrong. I’ll actually have my first self-initiated site going up soon that has been built as both an excuse to get Python/Django experience, and because the site concept is near to my heart. I’ll make sure to post a grand opening post talking about it’s many virtues when it’s up.

Hopefully that’ll be sometime this week.

Shopify

I’ve recently been given the opportunity to work on a freelance project involving the creation of a Shopify theme. Now I’d only ever heard of Shopify through the placement ads on the Boagworld Podcasts (if you are a web person, their podcast is a must-listen). I’ve started playing with the system they have in play – very closely related to the templating system used in Django – and I have to say I’m in love.

The templating is easy, it’s fast, it works, and they even provide an offline environment in which to develop locally called Vision. Honestly these guys have done a bang-up job of making it as easy as humanly possible to create sexy store themes.

I will be doing some more work with Shopify to be sure.

Reading

I’ve been on fire recently with reading. I admit I’m not reading books 1 a day as some people I could point towards to, but I’ve been really getting into Graphic Design literature. I’m not talking about online writings – though I do follow those as well –  I’m talking about honest to goodness books. I will be writing reviews for the ones I’ve got through already, but to keep up with what I’m reading you can have a look at my Goodreads profile. You may notice a slight theme regarding social change through design in many of the design books I have read (and continue to read), which is something I feel strongly about.

I’ll probably end up writing a rather long-winded post/rant on just that topic alone.

Work stuff

GraphicRiver

I’ve dipped my foot into the could-be-lucrative-if-you-stick-to-it market of stock imagery. If you are interested in any of my texture packs, than I ask that you click this shameless advertising link and support me. I’ll actually be starting on creating some Shopify themes soon (they have a section for that), as that’s an area I’ve recently been introduced to and am in love with. I’m not expecting this to really pay any bills, but I like the idea of passive income.

Who knows, maybe one day it’ll pay for a trip. Maybe a domestic flight.

Freelance

I’ve recently been working on a couple of freelance items that should be making their way to the internet soon. I’ll hold off on actually listing them in this post, but I’m happy to say that I’m getting some more web work. If anyone is interested in throwing more my way, you can of course contact me by email or using my contact page.

Either way, my portfolio page is going to start growing; something I’ve been trying to do for a while.

Everything else

School

I’m almost done, a fact that I am proud to say. I’m chomping at the bit to get out of school and really get into the field. This being my second time through school, my attitude is very different than that of the 18 year old me. With being in my last semester, I can happily say that I’ve maintained an average that would cause younger me’s brain to ooze out of his head. This is of course only because I’ve busted my ass (another thing young me wouldn’t think possible) to get those grades.

As it works out, those who say “you only get out of it what you put in” are wiser than I thought.

Peer-tutoring and Office work continue to present me with new opportunities to scratch my chin in a ponderous but mind-blown manner. From students managing to remove their dashboard, to learning how to apply vinyl signage to interesting projects for the Ontario Government, my jobs never cease to educate me.

360

With Theresa off in England and not in England, I find myself with a lot more time on my hands. Though I have filled much of that time trying to grow my portfolio to that of “reasonable” – as if there is such a thing – as well as reading, I’ve actually found myself playing my XBox 360 a lot more. Most of my time recently has been split between Borderlands and Ticket to Ride.

Both are good, solid games, though my appreciation for Borderlands shocked even me. I wasn’t too keen on the game when it first came out, and it took repeated playings to really get. Now I’m on my second playthrough in solo mode, and I’m actually rather enjoying it. Maybe it’s just the challenge of everything wanting to murder you that spurns me on. Ticket to Ride is just good wholesome fun.

Life-changing stuff

So this one’s a little different. When I graduate, I’ll be flying over to England where, as previously stated, where my girlfriend is currently teaching children to not be destructive whirlwinds. It’s a bit of a chance for me, but I’m really looking forward to it all. The hardest part is trying to land a job or some interviews with places in the Greater London area. Those guys are good.

Regardless I’m contacting some, so we’ll see how well that goes.

Alright, so there you go; a very brief overview of what’s going on. I’ll have a bunch of events as blog fodder in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.