The Princesses in all of us

Have found no heart to write anything here yet. Been extremely busy. And new challenges forthcoming. In the meantime, I make faces with my court :).

Thanks to brianna chan.

Designers Unite!

I know I haven't been posting here a lot. I have mini posts written on different sets of notebooks but don't feel like posting them yet. I hope I will get to that later. But just had to take a break to post this. Found last January on Sean's blog.

My sentiments echoed. I'm posting it here so I could read it again and again every time I would feel guilty for charging clients for my services. I work pro bono too but I can't do it all the time. I have to pay my bills too.


So here:

Post from CraigsList

Every day, there are more and more Craigs List posts seeking “artists” for everything from auto graphics to comic books to corporate logo designs. More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative service.

But what they’re NOT doing, unfortunately, is realizing how rare someone with these particular talents can be.

To those who are “seeking artists”, let me ask you; How many people do you know, personally, with the talent and skill to perform the services you need? A dozen? Five? One? …none?

More than likely, you don’t know any. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be posting on craigslist to find them.

And this is not really a surprise.

In this country, there are almost twice as many neurosurgeons as there are professional illustrators. There are eleven times as many certified mechanics. There are SEVENTY times as many people in the IT field.

So, given that they are less rare, and therefore less in demand, would it make sense to ask your mechanic to work on your car for free? Would you look him in the eye, with a straight face, and tell him that his compensation would be the ability to have his work shown to others as you drive down the street?

Would you offer a neurosurgeon the “opportunity” to add your name to his resume as payment for removing that pesky tumor? (Maybe you could offer him “a few bucks” for “materials”. What a deal!)

Would you be able to seriously even CONSIDER offering your web hosting service the chance to have people see their work, by viewing your website, as their payment for hosting you?

If you answered “yes” to ANY of the above, you’re obviously insane. If you answered “no”, then kudos to you for living in the real world.

But then tell me… why would you think it is okay to live out the same, delusional, ridiculous fantasy when seeking someone whose abilities are even less in supply than these folks?

Graphic artists, illustrators, painters, etc., are skilled tradesmen. As such, to consider them as, or deal with them as, anything less than professionals fully deserving of your respect is both insulting and a bad reflection on you as a sane, reasonable person. In short, it makes you look like a twit.

A few things you need to know;

1. It is not a “great opportunity” for an artist to have his work seen on your car/’zine/website/bedroom wall, etc. It IS a “great opportunity” for YOU to have their work there.

2. It is not clever to seek a “student” or “beginner” in an attempt to get work for free. It’s ignorant and insulting. They may be “students”, but that does not mean they don’t deserve to be paid for their hard work. You were a “student” once, too. Would you have taken that job at McDonalds with no pay, because you were learning essential job skills for the real world? Yes, your proposition it JUST as stupid.

3. The chance to have their name on something that is going to be seen by other people, whether it’s one or one million, is NOT a valid enticement. Neither is the right to add that work to their “portfolio”. They get to do those things ANYWAY, after being paid as they should. It’s not compensation. It’s their right, and it’s a given.

4. Stop thinking that you’re giving them some great chance to work. Once they skip over your silly ad, as they should, the next ad is usually for someone who lives in the real world, and as such, will pay them. There are far more jobs needing these skills than there are people who possess these skills.

5. Students DO need “experience”. But they do NOT need to get it by giving their work away. In fact, this does not even offer them the experience they need. Anyone who will not/can not pay them is obviously the type of person or business they should be ashamed to have on their resume anyway. Do you think professional contractors list the “experience” they got while nailing down a loose step at their grandmother’s house when they were seventeen?

If you your company or gig was worth listing as desired experience, it would be able to pay for the services it received. The only experience they will get doing free work for you is a lesson learned in what kinds of scrubs they should not lower themselves to deal with.

6. (This one is FOR the artists out there, please pay attention.) Some will ask you to “submit work for consideration”. They may even be posing as some sort of “contest”. These are almost always scams. They will take the work submitted by many artists seeking to win the “contest”, or be “chosen” for the gig, and find what they like most. They will then usually have someone who works for them, or someone who works incredibly cheap because they have no originality or talent of their own, reproduce that same work, or even just make slight modifications to it, and claim it as their own. You will NOT be paid, you will NOT win the contest. The only people who win, here, are the underhanded folks who run these ads. This is speculative, or “spec”, work. It’s risky at best, and a complete scam at worst. I urge you to avoid it, completely. For more information on this subject, please visit www.no-spec.com.

So to artists/designers/illustrators looking for work, do everyone a favor, ESPECIALLY yourselves, and avoid people who do not intend to pay you. Whether they are “spec” gigs, or just some guy who wants a free mural on his living room walls. They need you. You do NOT need them.

And for those who are looking for someone to do work for free… please wake up and join the real world. The only thing you’re accomplishing is to insult those with the skills you need. Get a clue.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

Someone brought a Wacom tablet to work today. I WANT ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My doodle website is now online. Can be found here. Read and hire me. I'm in dire need of income. Wacom aside, I've got bills to pay. My brother said I tend to live beyond my means. If I examine it closely, I'm not really. But I'm taking care of a household with people who's lives I can't afford - bwehehehe. Sigh. We get by. Barely, but we do. I just hope that this business explodes because it could help a lot. Like send my nephew through college. Wouldn't that be nice? Big dreams for big small people. If it can happen to Jennifer Hudson, who knows, right?

Been a busy week. Work is ... grrrrrrrrrrrrreat! Getting a bit overboard but managing nicely. I had lots of things to blog - I think of them during the night before I go to bed. But when I get to my computer, I can't think of anything to write. So I guess you will have to make do with nonsense and scraps here and there that are not really interesting but comes straight up from the mind to the fingers. Just like this.

Have to attend photo class tomorrow. We're going caving. And I can't afford it anymore. But I can't ... don't want to give it up. I miss the days when I was so simple minded, TV is my only entertainment. Now, there's too many of them to count. And there's only one of me. Sniff sniff.

I lost 2 pounds and gained it all back the next day. Dang it!

I want that Wacom tablet!

Wala lang

I have nothing to write. Isn't that just a waste of space? At least I'm not chopping any trees in the process.

I Hate it

I hate it that whenever I see a glorious picture, I wonder what you think of it and how you would see it. I hate it that when I read something funny, it reminds me of how you made me laugh. I hate it that whenever I hear this song, you pop up on my mind, like some infomercial I could not avoid. I hate it that I learned to appreciate God, more now, than I appreciate being Catholic or learning about Islam. I see streaks of white hair and I think of you. I hate that. I see a photographer in action, and think of you and I hate that. I hate it that I compare every guy I meet to you, and it's unfair that I can't find them attractive at all. I hate how a very short message from you could manage to turn my life upside down. I really hate it.

I'm dropping our conversations in the trash can. I'm taking your picture off my frames, your picture cards off my wall. I'm deleting your name in my messenger list.

But I'm keeping your email, your book and your camera. Soon you'll be a memory as you should have been for the longest time.

I'm through hating. I'm in pursuit of happiness.

of love and organs

Bb, my yeah-yeah friend sent me this message:

"The most interesting thing about heart transplants is that one completely loses his own heart and be replaced with someone else's yet still has the feelings for the same person he/she loves. This proves that love works in the minds of people and not in their hearts. Bottomline is, love is a state of mind. You'll learn how to forget only if you try doing so .." - Dr. Burke, Grey's Anatomy.

Hmmmm ... One does not completely forget love even if he/she tries doing so. Kahlil Gibran once said that love consumes itself. So even if the mind chooses to forget, the heart may continue to remember. And the mind will have no control of it. Even with a different heart.

This is how I see it. "Love is not a function of emotions but the decision of the will". I don't think there are any organs involved. Just soul, spirit, being.

Photo-Friday: Self-Portrait 2007

One last shot. Yawn!!!!! Nite.

V-day

From the Postsecret website.

My sentiments exactly. Am I a masochist? bwehehe. As I said before, laughter and tears are my two most favorite emotions.

I wonder. To be in a relationship, do you have to call each other everyday? Is it important to spend time together? Who should call first, the man or the woman? Is it normal that you don't find a need to talk to him unless you really feel lonely?

What Valentine's Day?

sister

My latest vector art. Created using Photoshop CS2, a mouse and a few hours of free time. This is my sister. She's 35 year old and a single Mom. I'm pimpimg her all over the world. :)

My sister didn't like the drawing. She said I made her look sad. I told her I just draw what I see. Now she demands for another vector with her smiling. Told her she will have to wait till I feel like drawing again. I don't think she'll like anything I draw. LOL.

If I have time, I'm going to learn Illustrator.

Marathons and pistachio

I'm developing a great love for pistachio nuts. They are quite expensive but I just love them. I would give up lots of junk foods just for a handful of pistachio nuts. Lets just say, I'm nuts about pistachios.

It's 3 a.m. and I just woke up. Have been catching up with the Sex In The City Marathon. Trying to watch all the episodes I missed and reviewing all the episodes I love. I kept wondering if my cynicism about relationships all evolved from watching that series. But no, not really. I realized a lot of it originated from my own parents' marriage. And I guess partly from the people around me. I was talking to office buddies the other day during lunch. I voiced out a fear that I'm not really wife or mother material. My boss assured me I am and that I'll make a fine wife. But I don't know. I can't even take care of myself. How could I take care of a husband? Much more a child? But he said, you learn these things eventually. It's like riding a bike. The more you do it, the more you become great at it. (Sigh). So I guess I just have irrational fears about marriage. Or maybe I just need to meet the right man. My right Atticus Finch. He can't be that rare, can he? Is he some mythical creature I cooked up from reading too much books?

By the way, I've been doing a lot of walking this past week. My sister and I have made it a habit to walk home for a certain distance. Monday, we made it from the Capitol to Jaro Plaza. Another day, we walked to SM City. Once we made it to Molo Plaza and once to UP. Sometimes, it's a 30-minute brisk walking. Sometimes, it takes an hour. It would depend on the shoes we were wearing that day. For most times, we change into rubber shoes and walk the distance withoug talking to each other. We get lost in our own world of mp3s. So yes, we plan to keep doing this till the rain starts pouring again. I love walking. This might be the only exercise I'll ever get. ;)

Been partying all Saturday. So I spent my Sunday as a vegetable. Watched TV, read my current exasperating read, The Undomestic Goddess which I throw on the wall once in a while, and tried to finish the Nude cross-stitch now going on its 3rd year I think. And I finished a website proposal which I will probably refuse to touch for months again. So much for wanting change. I got to go.

Red she said

I'm red ... verrrrrrrrrrry RED. I dried myself under the sweltering sun during the Dinagyang weekend, taking pictures that very few people will ever see. I never learn. For the third year, in a row, I forgot to put on sunblock. This time, the damage is more intensive, covering my whole face. I did manage to protect my arms by wearing bikers sleeves. But my face, well, it's like someone threw hot water all over it. It stings. I am full of regret right now. I wasted a month's worth of Olay Total Effects. Just when I was beginning to love my face, and have memorized the Olay commercial to heart - boo hoo hoo. SUNBLOCK! How could I have forgotten.

Speaking of red, renewed ties with the Viking. The kitchen looks great ... and according to him is midget friendly (that would be me!). He has also fixed his roof, and has showed me the whole house and what he plans to do when I get there. His plans keep getting more real, fixing this and that. Preparing this and that. We seldom get a chance to talk. The time difference is exhausting. I'm too tired to get online when I get home. He wakes up too late to catch me. So our talks are short as they are sweet. I still find everything so unreal, but I was always the doubting Thomas. I need to see proof before I decide on anything.

While I was baking under the hot sun, my sisters were having a Sex In The City marathon. So I just catch the few episodes when I get home. I realized I missed the show and all the pondering all 30 something gals do to make life more complicated. I tell you, I am more of a SITC girl now than I was two years ago. My yahayah friends can attest to that. And yes, I still am not sure if I'm the marrying kind. Watching the series has convinced me of this.

Short IM from ex-bf. An indecent proposal from a married man. Hehehe. Tempting. I did say I want to try anything at least once. But no. I can still manage to fetch a bit of morals when circumstances calls for it. I have a feeling that the experience with the Crow has changed me. I'm no longer sweet. I'm not much of an idealist when it comes to relationships. I've become somewhat of a realist. And have somewhat become very arrogant about it. I like what I've become. I never want to be cinde-fcking-rela ever again. The Kkkkkk-katie girl is definitely much more fun.

From the Esquire/Marie Claire 2007 sex survey, the most powerful aphrodisiac is…

For Men
Looks 38%
Wealth 5%
Power 4%
Wit 11%
Intelligence 17%
Kindness 26%

For Women
Looks 17%
Wealth 2%
Power 6%
Wit 15%
Intelligence 18%
Kindness 43%