The last miracle is in referrence to my day job-assignment. I am still a temp, working through the temp agency, at my same assignment. They said they would have enough work for me until October. Well, here we are in October and I've yet to receive my walking papers or next assignment.
The other big part is that they have accepted my even weirder school schedule: both classes in the afternoon, on Tuesday and Thursday. Wow... I really didn't expect that.
Also, I've made arrangements to make up for the lost hourse. So, I'm working 10 hours a day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. For school, I only work part time in the mornings before I go to school.
It's only been a few days and I already miss my sleep-in schedule. But, as I remember, if I can get up at 5:30 AM to work full time in a warehouse and then in an arcade then I can certainly do this. :-)
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Semester 7.3
Anyway, I jumped on the assignment early, feeling impressed to do so. That was the miracle. As the days and weeks progressed I felt impressed WHEN I should work on the assignment and when I should instead focus on my family.
As always, I even worked on my lunch breaks at my day job assignment.
As the critiques continued, the mocking continued. However, I was one of the few people to arrive at class with anything to show. Others showed up with thoughts and ideas or questions; not physical work to show their progress.
The weekend the assignment was due I poured my heart and soul into the assignment. Because of my previous paced work I was not stressed and had tons of excellent material to work with and off of. It was excellent.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, however you choose to look at it, I worked so long in one sitting the Sunday before it was due I ended up hurting my neck and I made myself sick. As a result I was unable to finish. I also discovered right before I decided I had to stop for the night that our class instructor emailed us templates that we were supposed to include our work with. I did not have the current version of the program needed to pull up the attachment he provided so I was not able to apply it.
The next day I was still overcome from the day before and decided to call in sick to work so that I could recover. I slept in and woke up 2 hours prior to class.
I hustled to school and pulled up the program I couldn't access the instructor's file in the night before. I finished applying my last minute changes and was just finishing the application of my pictures to the template when the instructor walked in to start class.
I was set up to go third but I didn't save the file from the template program correctly into the PDF file I needed in order to be able to see everything. So, I ended up going next to last. Now I'm glad I did.
Most kids only provided the minimum of 4 pictures. 2 of the students' work strongly suggested that only the minimal amount of time was spent on the assignment (20 minutes or so. Sometimes the students do the assignment right before class, just to have something to turn in).
4 of the students did only a red, white, and black theme. Several of them conveyed how they didn't know anything about the convention they picked and had not done any research.
More than 2 students used cut-out people in their designs to show size vs. dimension, as opposed to real people. Multiple students either didn't use perspective in their designs or claimed they didn't know how. My arguement to that is we were given 3 weeks to do this, so if they didn't know how to do it why didn't they ask?
Only 1 other student created some time of shadow effect and none of them used any lighting effects.
Many actually showed up with questions about the assignment!
When it was my turn I had heard and seen enough of the competition I knew how to present myself. All I can say is, it was awesome. I spoke, what I felt, was with power. I conveyed my ideas clearly enough, with excitment and energy. I had 3 more pictures than required, for a total of 7. I used photos of people in costume at the convention to show dimision, which is a big deal at those conventions. I had the posters I used for my inspiration (Mood Board) decorating the walls. I told them that I wanted to do more than just put up banners; I wanted to decorate for a party!
In my research I also included copy on the banners regarding who the guest speakers would be, upcoming movie stars/directors, and various events. I do a lot of artwork that could be seen at conventions like that one so I even included a banner of my own work at the convention. I used shadows, illumiation effects, posters, cardboard cut-outs for fans, and even a 3D globe in the signs!
I wanted to make it an event that everyone would want to go to.
When the discussion came around I got lots of good reports. One student tried to argue a piece of my designs. To my surprise, another student, who was a fan of such conventions, spoke up in my defense. That had never happened before!
She and I then had a quick banter specifically regarding the topic. Our instructor looked at us as though we were speaking a different language (which we pretty much were) and said, "Well, at least you know what you're talking about." That was proof that I had discovered the way to connect with the target audience!
I also made a special mention to the student whose previous critique made me so mad. I mentioned how I actually decided to take her advice and I pointed out where and how I did it. Her response was simply, "Cool..."
So I was really pleased with how it turned out. I'm actually looking forward to adding those pieces to my portfolio.
I've yet to receive my heart-shaped Package Design box back. The instructor said he wanted to hold on to some of them so that he could put some of them up on display. I should be getting mine back after the next semester starts.
As always, I even worked on my lunch breaks at my day job assignment.
As the critiques continued, the mocking continued. However, I was one of the few people to arrive at class with anything to show. Others showed up with thoughts and ideas or questions; not physical work to show their progress.
The weekend the assignment was due I poured my heart and soul into the assignment. Because of my previous paced work I was not stressed and had tons of excellent material to work with and off of. It was excellent.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, however you choose to look at it, I worked so long in one sitting the Sunday before it was due I ended up hurting my neck and I made myself sick. As a result I was unable to finish. I also discovered right before I decided I had to stop for the night that our class instructor emailed us templates that we were supposed to include our work with. I did not have the current version of the program needed to pull up the attachment he provided so I was not able to apply it.
The next day I was still overcome from the day before and decided to call in sick to work so that I could recover. I slept in and woke up 2 hours prior to class.
I hustled to school and pulled up the program I couldn't access the instructor's file in the night before. I finished applying my last minute changes and was just finishing the application of my pictures to the template when the instructor walked in to start class.
I was set up to go third but I didn't save the file from the template program correctly into the PDF file I needed in order to be able to see everything. So, I ended up going next to last. Now I'm glad I did.
Most kids only provided the minimum of 4 pictures. 2 of the students' work strongly suggested that only the minimal amount of time was spent on the assignment (20 minutes or so. Sometimes the students do the assignment right before class, just to have something to turn in).
4 of the students did only a red, white, and black theme. Several of them conveyed how they didn't know anything about the convention they picked and had not done any research.
More than 2 students used cut-out people in their designs to show size vs. dimension, as opposed to real people. Multiple students either didn't use perspective in their designs or claimed they didn't know how. My arguement to that is we were given 3 weeks to do this, so if they didn't know how to do it why didn't they ask?
Only 1 other student created some time of shadow effect and none of them used any lighting effects.
Many actually showed up with questions about the assignment!
When it was my turn I had heard and seen enough of the competition I knew how to present myself. All I can say is, it was awesome. I spoke, what I felt, was with power. I conveyed my ideas clearly enough, with excitment and energy. I had 3 more pictures than required, for a total of 7. I used photos of people in costume at the convention to show dimision, which is a big deal at those conventions. I had the posters I used for my inspiration (Mood Board) decorating the walls. I told them that I wanted to do more than just put up banners; I wanted to decorate for a party!
In my research I also included copy on the banners regarding who the guest speakers would be, upcoming movie stars/directors, and various events. I do a lot of artwork that could be seen at conventions like that one so I even included a banner of my own work at the convention. I used shadows, illumiation effects, posters, cardboard cut-outs for fans, and even a 3D globe in the signs!
I wanted to make it an event that everyone would want to go to.
When the discussion came around I got lots of good reports. One student tried to argue a piece of my designs. To my surprise, another student, who was a fan of such conventions, spoke up in my defense. That had never happened before!
She and I then had a quick banter specifically regarding the topic. Our instructor looked at us as though we were speaking a different language (which we pretty much were) and said, "Well, at least you know what you're talking about." That was proof that I had discovered the way to connect with the target audience!
I also made a special mention to the student whose previous critique made me so mad. I mentioned how I actually decided to take her advice and I pointed out where and how I did it. Her response was simply, "Cool..."
So I was really pleased with how it turned out. I'm actually looking forward to adding those pieces to my portfolio.
I've yet to receive my heart-shaped Package Design box back. The instructor said he wanted to hold on to some of them so that he could put some of them up on display. I should be getting mine back after the next semester starts.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Semester 7.2
The next story didn't seem like much, but that's why it was such a miracle.
We were given three weeks but I wanted to jump on it early. The Final assignment in the 3D class was to create outside and inside signs for a convention at a local expo center. I had lots of ideas and I was hoping to encorporate them all.
At the next class period, our regular instructor was again off on business. The same substitute again 'graced' our class with his foul attitude and snide, mockery-remarks, I did manage to take one helpful piece of advice away from his critique, although I did unfortunately lose my cool over one of the really dumb remarks from one of the other students. In the end I not only felt bad for loosing my cool but I decided to 'make amends' by finding a comprimise with their suggestion and applying it to the final design.
For the past 1.75 years I've been going to school there have seemed to be no end to really, really bad and/or dumb critiques launched at me and others during the "helpful" critique time. I've even seen some obvious stuff simply looked over (one particular scenario in the 3D Design class is too embaressing to even mention here), for whatever reason I don't know. I have been at my wit's end over many of the critiques and have had my limit passed. I do not find it fair that I take my frustrations home with me, to relate the sad tales to my poor wife who doesn't need to hear my complaints.
So, when I received yet another dumb (and often times hypocritical) critique I couldn't let 'dumb just slide.' So, part of me is glad I spoke up (although a bit verbally stronger than required) and part of me is not so much.
We were given three weeks but I wanted to jump on it early. The Final assignment in the 3D class was to create outside and inside signs for a convention at a local expo center. I had lots of ideas and I was hoping to encorporate them all.
At the next class period, our regular instructor was again off on business. The same substitute again 'graced' our class with his foul attitude and snide, mockery-remarks, I did manage to take one helpful piece of advice away from his critique, although I did unfortunately lose my cool over one of the really dumb remarks from one of the other students. In the end I not only felt bad for loosing my cool but I decided to 'make amends' by finding a comprimise with their suggestion and applying it to the final design.
For the past 1.75 years I've been going to school there have seemed to be no end to really, really bad and/or dumb critiques launched at me and others during the "helpful" critique time. I've even seen some obvious stuff simply looked over (one particular scenario in the 3D Design class is too embaressing to even mention here), for whatever reason I don't know. I have been at my wit's end over many of the critiques and have had my limit passed. I do not find it fair that I take my frustrations home with me, to relate the sad tales to my poor wife who doesn't need to hear my complaints.
So, when I received yet another dumb (and often times hypocritical) critique I couldn't let 'dumb just slide.' So, part of me is glad I spoke up (although a bit verbally stronger than required) and part of me is not so much.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Semester 7.1
I'm beginning to see a miracle in each class and each semester. Sometimes, each assignment.
The first story was for my 3D Design class. When I first presented my rough draft package design to the class it received lots of unnecessary ridicule. Without the image representations to show what it was intended to look like it drew lots of skeptisism, mockery, and unhelpful critiques. It also didn't help that the instructor was a substitute, as our regular instructor was away on business. This particular instructor was not helpful, in either offering any of his own useful critiques nor quelling the disrespect of the others in the class. It didn't help when he admitted that, as Graphic Designer, he considered himself a snob. There was little in his demeneor, attitude, or speech to help prove otherwise.
The report of that class' critique that I took home to my family was less than satisfatory but it was very frusterating.
I spent my time home after work on my family, following my gut that I would be able to complete the Package Design class on the weekend. I don't regret having spent my time with my family; that was important. I'll always be a dad and husband first; I'll only be a student for the next 2.25 years. My wife and son didn't argue, either.
I hit the assignment hard on the weekend. When Sunday rolled around I attacked it with zeal after dinner. I didn't feel that I could put my trust in school's print shop, given how they'd messed my assignments so many times in the past already. So I purposefully designed the package so that I could print the templates at home.
I had worked on the assignment by myself for several hours and had to come to conclussion that I was burned out. I was exhausted and realized I was spinning my wheels without getting anywhere. I needed a fresh set of eyes and hands.
I quickly called my wife, who was next door at her mom's, visiting. I swallowed my pride and asked for her help. She agreed without a moment's hesitation. I considered that a miracle in and of itself.
I had direction but didn't seem to know how to go about it. My wife was a great help with that. Between the two of us we were back on course. She had put our boy to bed so we both worked as quickly and feverishly as we could.
It was frusterating in the fact that we would try to apply printouts with the new changes, see something that had to be changed, and have to start again. We did this several times. I was worried I would waste the entire brand new cartridge of ink and full pack of photo paper before we were through.
There was lots of cutting, editting, printing, and gluing.
The big miracle came when suddenly it started to rain outside. The rain was followed by very large cracks of thunder that seemed directly over our heads. The night sky was lit up by increasing bolts of lightening. We hardly ever get storms like that here in Utah.
My wife looked out the window to see the power go out on the houses on the hill. Then, the people across the street lost power. Then her parents next door.
I had a silent prayer in my heart and my breath in my throat as I printed like mad, hoping we would not lose power. The assignment was due the next day.
Sure enough, our prayers were answered. The storm passed on by without taking out our power. We were able to finish around 2:00 AM.
It turned out it was worth it; as my box (though far from perfect) was one of the best presented in the class. I got lots of great feedback and it made me feel really good.
Heavenly Father does answer prayers - even the ones offered silently in our hearts.
The first story was for my 3D Design class. When I first presented my rough draft package design to the class it received lots of unnecessary ridicule. Without the image representations to show what it was intended to look like it drew lots of skeptisism, mockery, and unhelpful critiques. It also didn't help that the instructor was a substitute, as our regular instructor was away on business. This particular instructor was not helpful, in either offering any of his own useful critiques nor quelling the disrespect of the others in the class. It didn't help when he admitted that, as Graphic Designer, he considered himself a snob. There was little in his demeneor, attitude, or speech to help prove otherwise.
The report of that class' critique that I took home to my family was less than satisfatory but it was very frusterating.
I spent my time home after work on my family, following my gut that I would be able to complete the Package Design class on the weekend. I don't regret having spent my time with my family; that was important. I'll always be a dad and husband first; I'll only be a student for the next 2.25 years. My wife and son didn't argue, either.
I hit the assignment hard on the weekend. When Sunday rolled around I attacked it with zeal after dinner. I didn't feel that I could put my trust in school's print shop, given how they'd messed my assignments so many times in the past already. So I purposefully designed the package so that I could print the templates at home.
I had worked on the assignment by myself for several hours and had to come to conclussion that I was burned out. I was exhausted and realized I was spinning my wheels without getting anywhere. I needed a fresh set of eyes and hands.
I quickly called my wife, who was next door at her mom's, visiting. I swallowed my pride and asked for her help. She agreed without a moment's hesitation. I considered that a miracle in and of itself.
I had direction but didn't seem to know how to go about it. My wife was a great help with that. Between the two of us we were back on course. She had put our boy to bed so we both worked as quickly and feverishly as we could.
It was frusterating in the fact that we would try to apply printouts with the new changes, see something that had to be changed, and have to start again. We did this several times. I was worried I would waste the entire brand new cartridge of ink and full pack of photo paper before we were through.
There was lots of cutting, editting, printing, and gluing.
The big miracle came when suddenly it started to rain outside. The rain was followed by very large cracks of thunder that seemed directly over our heads. The night sky was lit up by increasing bolts of lightening. We hardly ever get storms like that here in Utah.
My wife looked out the window to see the power go out on the houses on the hill. Then, the people across the street lost power. Then her parents next door.
I had a silent prayer in my heart and my breath in my throat as I printed like mad, hoping we would not lose power. The assignment was due the next day.
Sure enough, our prayers were answered. The storm passed on by without taking out our power. We were able to finish around 2:00 AM.
It turned out it was worth it; as my box (though far from perfect) was one of the best presented in the class. I got lots of great feedback and it made me feel really good.
Heavenly Father does answer prayers - even the ones offered silently in our hearts.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Semester 6.2
I really hope this works, because I've been having some serious problems with Blogger lately.
I consider it a miracle that I got 2 A's again this semester. My Copywriting class was great.
Here are some of the positive comments I got from my instructor in regards to my important Scrapbook Assignment (a collection of all the assignments we did over the semester):
Nice presentation. Outstanding effort. Good bite words. A natural ability to use words. Able to lead reader in. Able to play up benefits. A knack for copy. Good words-broke information down into easily read chunks. Love the headlines-Yearn to learn (one of the sub-heads I used). That's what parents want to hear (for the kid's school assignment). Very good sub-heads. Looks like you enjoy copy and the challenge of copy. Words come easy. Magazine is much better! It is readable. Love the catalog description.
You really worked on your copy. You put the process to work and guess what? It worked.
Super student. Good job, Kerry. You should continue to pursue your copy skills and ideas.
She is right: I love to write copy. I've been doing it for so long it's almost natural for me. I'd love to get a job where I am writing copy for other people. In the class they taught that someone who can write good copy can make more money than a regular Graphic Designer. And a Graphic Designer who can make copy is an Art Director.
That's what I would love to aim for. That would be great.
I did not do so well, at least I thought so, with the Print Production class.
We had little quizzes every 2 weeks that were worth 10 points. But like I learned in the 1st semester 10 points can make a big difference between an A and an A-. Part of the problem was miscommunication in the questions. I did the reading and understood the material that I read but the way some of the questions were worded got lost in translation.
Some of them were just dumb mistakes. We had one question where the instructor said, "If you miss this one...", meaning none of us should miss it. I missed it - because my eyes skipped over 1 word. Changed the whole meaning of the question so I got it wrong.
A lot of the problem was also anxious impatience. I wanted to hurry and take the quiz to prove that I knew the info. In my haste I made dumb mistakes like the last example and also didn't give myself time to think out the answer.
But in the end the quizzes didn't hold me back. What held me back... was surgeries. 4 of them.
First, my dad had been complaining for 3 months that his back and ribs were hurting him. Mom told him to go to the doctor and get a CAT scan. He went into the doctor but they gave him an X-ray instead. Dad didn't argue, saying an X-ray was cheaper, anyway.
They said he had a rib out, which he assumed was from coughing. He had caught a really bad flu from one of his grandkids that was quickly turning into pnumonia. He said that as he and mom were watching tv one night he let out a big cough and felt a pop in his back. He was sure that was the rib going out. The doctor gave him some instruction and he left alone.
However, 3 months later it was still hurting and getting worse. Mom made him go back in again and told him to tell the doctor to give him a CAT Scan, not an X-ray. Dad had to fight with them a bit because they provided other options but he finally got the CAT scan.
Turned out dad had a major cancer growth on one of his spine's vertebrae. It had practically eaten almost all of the bone away and was working on nearby bone.
Dad went in for immediate surgery. We were all on pins and needles but it turned out positively. The doctor said a few years ago they would have told him that he had 2 to 3 years left to live. Now, the possibility was as good as 10 years. The surgeon told him that they'll work to keep him alive to die to something else. It was a joke intended to be taken in good humor, which we did.
I went and visited my dad in the hospital. He was fine when I walked in and was telling his nurse the different projects I was in and such. Then they gave him some medicine. Then they added something to his morphine drip. Then they gave him some more medicine. What I was hearing my dad say and how he was saying it I'd never heard from him before. It was quite unreal, given his candor, elegence, and proper refinement. It sure didn't seem like my dad.
He eventually dropped off to sleep and I did my homework. I stayed until other family arrived, gave them my report, and left for school.
Unfortunately, I got caught in major traffic jam due to construction. I got to school just in time to turn in the assignment I finished at the hospital.
My dad is back home now and doing well enough. However, the chemotherapy is making him as sick as a dog. After the surgery but before the chemo he went back to working on the house and yard, feeling well enough to have put in a full 8 hour day of work. Now, he sits all day and hates it all.
He is under strict no-lifting or working rules and every day he is just trying to get by.
His spirits are up, though, and has seen these trials as some major faith building situations. We all hope he is able to get through the chemo well and back onto the road of some great recovery.
I recommended blue-green algae to my mom, which has been monumental in helping to keep my lypoma count down. I've fought with the little brutes most of my adult life. My eldest brother has, also. They are random cancer-like growths that develop randomly throughout my body and over time can cause some real pain. The products with blue-green algae help to support a higher stem cell count, which in turn, helps to not only support healing but also better cellular nutrition. However it works exactly, it has been only thing I've found that has functioned to keep my lypomas down without expensive surgery.
Time will tell if mom will adhere to any of my nutritional advice. I've been giving it, and having it be ignored, for years. Kinda like what I did to them as parents when I was a kid.
Secondly, my wife and I had bought a new treadmill over the weekend and had an adventure getting it home. We had our son in the car seat when it tipped over and threatened to squish him in his seat. My wife had to climb back there while I was driving and fight to get it off of him. She said she couldn't lift it when it was on the ground but somehow she managed to get it all set up so we could get home safely. It didn't help when the guy in front of us slammed on his brakes, forcing me to swerve into the next lane to hit him. We all could've been killed. I am very grateful that nothing bad happened. Especially since we were in her parent's van. The treadmill wouldn't fit in our vehicle.
I ran on the new treadmill that night and it really did me in. I thought my core muscles were hurting just because they had not been worked on for so long.
I stayed home from church the next day, not because I hurt, but because I had homework to do. I was already behind in the Print Production class on assignments and I wanted to make them up. So I was redoing many of my old assignments as well as finishing up my current assignment. I took me a good part of the day but I finished them all. I'm glad, too.
The next day's morning started out fine. I got to work ok and started my work but as I continued on the pain got worse. Two hours into the day I got the impression that I had to go home. I was shriveled up at my desk as I waited for the response to come by email from my supervisor that I could leave.
As I drove home it hurt too much to push on the pedals. I knew that if someone slammed on their brakes ahead of me again I would not be able to stop. The best I could manange on the freeway was to get it up to 40 MPH so that I could turn on the cruise control.
As I got off the exit there was a large diesle in front of me. I felt that I needed to follow the diesle but instead I decided to go down a side street so that I wouldn't have to wait for it. The side street was loaded with pot-holes. Every small little jolt sent shockwaves of pain through my gut. I didn't even have my foot on the accelerator; I just crawled through.
As I got home my pain was at level 10 and I had tears streaming down my face. I curled up in a ball on the bed after my wife took off my shoes and pants. My belt and pants were killing my gut like crazy. Still believing that it was just sore muscels I asked my wife to get me a heating pad.
Fortunately, she was smarter than that.
First, she called her mom, who used to be a CNA. Then she called her sister who had also been through similar problems. She then looked online for some quick answers. Finally she called our doctor.
When she came in and pushed gently on my abdomen I groaned in pain. She decided to take the doctor's advice: go immediately to the Emergency Room. My wife called her dad and off we went.
We were not there long when they got me hooked up on some fun-lovin' morphine. That's when I realized I didn't know what pain was.
After a few tests later it came back positive: appendicitis.
I was falling asleep like crazy; pain, drugs, and recuperation will do that to you. But I had homework that had to be turned in. I made my wife write down the instructions of what to take to my instructor that night to turn in. She said she'd hurry because she wanted to be back before I went in for surgery.
I was up in my room for 2 hours when they told me I had to wait for another 2. I was sure my wife would be back by then as I gave her mom a call. They immediately then came in and said they changed their mind-they were ready for me now. I gave the message to my wife's mom and they hurried me to surgery.
I woke up in recovery feeling much better already. Donna had successfully dropped off all of the homework and had been waiting for me to wake up.
I stayed the night, which was a few avalanches short of a bad dream, and about half of the day before they finally released me.
They said they had caught the appendicitis early, which was good. I asked them how long it takes to develop. One nurse told this story: a lady came in on Thursday and they couldn't find anything. By Saturday it had ruptured. I considered it a miracle that for me they found something but in the early stages. If they had sent me home I don't know what I would have done.
I was to not do any heavy lifting for 30 days (4 weeks) but I could return to work when I felt up to it. The timing was actually pretty good: it was coming up on finals. So, since I was stuck at home all day anyway I got to focus on homework. It just took me a week to get to that point. In between: lots of movies and lots of sleeping. By the time I could get to the computer it was only four hours at a time here and there.
I went in for surgery on Monday and came home Tuesday night. That weekend I was signed up to show my game at a local fantasy convention down the street from us. It almost killed me but I went anyway. I had someone to help me, gratefully. There was a lot to carry.
I learned then that I could only do things for 4 hours at a time. After that: crash and burn.
When I tried to go back to school the next week I had a similar experience. I went to meet with the Career Services counselor, Life Drawing lab, and run 2 errands. By the time class was about to start I was DONE. I had to tell the Copywriting instructor and then went home just as class was about to start.
By my third week I was back to work part time but moving very slowly. By week 4 I was back to work full time and going to school.
On the last day of Print Production class I asked the instructor what my grade was. She looked it up and told me B+. I accepted that: I missed a lot of school because of the surgery, I didn't do well on my quizzes, and felt that my assignments weren't really up to specs.
When I asked her if the quizzes were what held me back she said she'd check. After a while she said she was glad that I had asked: she gave me the grade of the kid whose name was below mine.
I had gotten an A.
She also mentioned that she was impressed that I had sent my wife in on the day that I was in the hospital to turn in my homework for me.
I thought it was interesting that my dad went in for surgery and 2 weeks later I did, too. It gave us similar things to talk about, too.
Third, about 2 weeks after my own surgery (I'm seeing a pattern here...) I was at home one night doing my homework. Suddenly, Donna was calling from the front room, yelling that our dear little ferret was freaking out. They are generally very quiet animals, so a ferret to be making any kind of noise is a surprise. Our poor, little Sally was screaming in uncontrollable fits, arching its back, and barking in pain. Donna paniced. She didn't know what to do as every 5 minutes or so, the poor dear would relive another episode. Donna indicated that it was having seizures and they seemed to be getting worse. Even between the episodes she was still shaking. Donna was in hystarical crying and neither of us knew what to do.
I held Sally and tried to comfort her while Donna called her sister, who also had ferrets. Ironically, it was the same sister Donna called when I had my appendix pain. However, she didn't know what to do.
I was trying to comfort both Sally and Donna I was suddenly inspired with how Donna looked online for me when my appendix was hurting. I quickly did the same for Sally to find out she was going into the ferret-equivilant of hypoglycemic low-blood sugar count shock. The info online said it was caused by a swollen gland that affected their blood sugar. It recommended giving honey via a Q-Tip and a high-protein diet. It said it would help but didn't say it was an overall life-saving remedy.
Taking matters into my own hands I looked up pet stores online and called to see if they had any soft, high-protein ferret food. The stores were basically closing but their manager said soft cat food was good enough. Donna's parents didn't have any more so I grabbed the bare minimum that I needed and rushed out the door.
I believe this was the first time I'd tried to drive since my surgery. I couldn't even wear real pants yet and a sprint for me was a slow shuffle to everyone else.
I got to the store, found some some puppy food instead, and made my way back. I got woozy once on the return trip to the car and fought the urge to run.
I still made it back in generally well enough time. We sucked the soft food into a feeding syringe and began to alternate between honey and the soft food. Sally was still having her poor screaching fits every 5 minutes but after a while they seemed to decrease in potency.
Donna was in such poor shape that both of her parents came to give what comfort they could. Her mom helped to feed the poor thing, too as we held her loosely in a soft towel. We did everything we could to make her feel as comfortable as we could. Even our little boy tried to give what little comforts he could to his distressed mom.
It was nearing midnight and Donna knew she couldn't go on like this for much longer. She began searching our contacts for a pet store that could help us when her eyes were draw to a magnet on our refrigerator by inspiration. It was the same place we'd taken our previous ferret when he was really sick, too. Unfortunately, he had passed away there. Donna was not about to avoid the fact that not too much could be done for Sally but she quietly hoped that we could at least decrease her pain and make her comfortable so that she could pass away in peace.
We left our boy with grandma and grandpa and drove our poor ferret to this little emergency pet vet. Donna callced them and they said to come immediately. Donna drove this time, gratefully, and the drive seemed to both distract and calm poor Sally. She had one more attack before we arrived at the vet and it was the smallest one yet.
When we arrived we were told we were in luck; the vet on hand was familiar with ferrets and he was only at that location half of the time. We explained the situation and he did a quick check-up. He said that her blood-sugar count was slow enough that he could not rule out the fact of hypoglycemic shock. That made me feel good; that maybe we were able to make a difference with the honey and protein food.
The doctors put Sally on a ferret morphine and muscel-claming drip to take away her pain and attacks. Her eyes looked tired and droopy as we said goodbye. The doctored wanted to keep her there overnight to see how she reacted.
Donna was in a bit of a panic regarding funds to pay for the visit. We did not have insurance when I went in for my surgery and now she was worried about having to pay for our Sally. She told me that she knew we could afford $300 but that was it.
On our way out they gave us the bill: $299.00. We saw that as a bit of a miracle.
We drove home and tried to look at the situation positively: the doctor familiar with ferrets was there that night, it added up to the amount we could pay, we were able to find info online, get food that could help, find peace for herself, and I didn't have any problems either in the process.
When morning came it brought good and bad news. Sally had sleep peacefully through the night without any more pain, spasms, or crying. However, she passed away peacefully that morning.
Just as Donna wanted.
Donna and her dad gave her a quiet, private funeral in dad's back yard, burying her next to her good friend Jack. We had gotten her as a present for him our first Christmas together and now they were both gone. Jack and Sally-the two characters from Time Burton's, "A Nightmare Before Christmas."
We missed them both and Donna was heartbroken.
In the end she was very appreciative of what I was willing to do to help and the good in how it turned out.
Fourth, and last, my uncle's wife has recently been diagnosed with cancer in her overies. However, she is a very large woman with prior surgery experience that could create additional complications. As a result, the doctors have decided to not operate on her.
It's a dire situation and no one is sure what to do. I feel impressed to give them a call and tell them also about my blue-green algae situation. Who knows if it will help.
So, lots of painful and tough situations this semester. Even my Print Production class' instructor had a surgery in their family. Her husband got in a car accident and broke 3 ribs. She said that at any moment they could puncture a lung so things were hard for them, too.
In the end school worked out well for me. I feel much better now. I got A's in both of my classes. I am enjoying our hard earned 3 weeks off between semesters. The recuperation time off helped me with the Finals. And I finished healing in time to enjoy the 3 weeks summer time off.
Now we just need to find a way to pay for these bills...
I consider it a miracle that I got 2 A's again this semester. My Copywriting class was great.
Here are some of the positive comments I got from my instructor in regards to my important Scrapbook Assignment (a collection of all the assignments we did over the semester):
Nice presentation. Outstanding effort. Good bite words. A natural ability to use words. Able to lead reader in. Able to play up benefits. A knack for copy. Good words-broke information down into easily read chunks. Love the headlines-Yearn to learn (one of the sub-heads I used). That's what parents want to hear (for the kid's school assignment). Very good sub-heads. Looks like you enjoy copy and the challenge of copy. Words come easy. Magazine is much better! It is readable. Love the catalog description.
You really worked on your copy. You put the process to work and guess what? It worked.
Super student. Good job, Kerry. You should continue to pursue your copy skills and ideas.
She is right: I love to write copy. I've been doing it for so long it's almost natural for me. I'd love to get a job where I am writing copy for other people. In the class they taught that someone who can write good copy can make more money than a regular Graphic Designer. And a Graphic Designer who can make copy is an Art Director.
That's what I would love to aim for. That would be great.
I did not do so well, at least I thought so, with the Print Production class.
We had little quizzes every 2 weeks that were worth 10 points. But like I learned in the 1st semester 10 points can make a big difference between an A and an A-. Part of the problem was miscommunication in the questions. I did the reading and understood the material that I read but the way some of the questions were worded got lost in translation.
Some of them were just dumb mistakes. We had one question where the instructor said, "If you miss this one...", meaning none of us should miss it. I missed it - because my eyes skipped over 1 word. Changed the whole meaning of the question so I got it wrong.
A lot of the problem was also anxious impatience. I wanted to hurry and take the quiz to prove that I knew the info. In my haste I made dumb mistakes like the last example and also didn't give myself time to think out the answer.
But in the end the quizzes didn't hold me back. What held me back... was surgeries. 4 of them.
First, my dad had been complaining for 3 months that his back and ribs were hurting him. Mom told him to go to the doctor and get a CAT scan. He went into the doctor but they gave him an X-ray instead. Dad didn't argue, saying an X-ray was cheaper, anyway.
They said he had a rib out, which he assumed was from coughing. He had caught a really bad flu from one of his grandkids that was quickly turning into pnumonia. He said that as he and mom were watching tv one night he let out a big cough and felt a pop in his back. He was sure that was the rib going out. The doctor gave him some instruction and he left alone.
However, 3 months later it was still hurting and getting worse. Mom made him go back in again and told him to tell the doctor to give him a CAT Scan, not an X-ray. Dad had to fight with them a bit because they provided other options but he finally got the CAT scan.
Turned out dad had a major cancer growth on one of his spine's vertebrae. It had practically eaten almost all of the bone away and was working on nearby bone.
Dad went in for immediate surgery. We were all on pins and needles but it turned out positively. The doctor said a few years ago they would have told him that he had 2 to 3 years left to live. Now, the possibility was as good as 10 years. The surgeon told him that they'll work to keep him alive to die to something else. It was a joke intended to be taken in good humor, which we did.
I went and visited my dad in the hospital. He was fine when I walked in and was telling his nurse the different projects I was in and such. Then they gave him some medicine. Then they added something to his morphine drip. Then they gave him some more medicine. What I was hearing my dad say and how he was saying it I'd never heard from him before. It was quite unreal, given his candor, elegence, and proper refinement. It sure didn't seem like my dad.
He eventually dropped off to sleep and I did my homework. I stayed until other family arrived, gave them my report, and left for school.
Unfortunately, I got caught in major traffic jam due to construction. I got to school just in time to turn in the assignment I finished at the hospital.
My dad is back home now and doing well enough. However, the chemotherapy is making him as sick as a dog. After the surgery but before the chemo he went back to working on the house and yard, feeling well enough to have put in a full 8 hour day of work. Now, he sits all day and hates it all.
He is under strict no-lifting or working rules and every day he is just trying to get by.
His spirits are up, though, and has seen these trials as some major faith building situations. We all hope he is able to get through the chemo well and back onto the road of some great recovery.
I recommended blue-green algae to my mom, which has been monumental in helping to keep my lypoma count down. I've fought with the little brutes most of my adult life. My eldest brother has, also. They are random cancer-like growths that develop randomly throughout my body and over time can cause some real pain. The products with blue-green algae help to support a higher stem cell count, which in turn, helps to not only support healing but also better cellular nutrition. However it works exactly, it has been only thing I've found that has functioned to keep my lypomas down without expensive surgery.
Time will tell if mom will adhere to any of my nutritional advice. I've been giving it, and having it be ignored, for years. Kinda like what I did to them as parents when I was a kid.
Secondly, my wife and I had bought a new treadmill over the weekend and had an adventure getting it home. We had our son in the car seat when it tipped over and threatened to squish him in his seat. My wife had to climb back there while I was driving and fight to get it off of him. She said she couldn't lift it when it was on the ground but somehow she managed to get it all set up so we could get home safely. It didn't help when the guy in front of us slammed on his brakes, forcing me to swerve into the next lane to hit him. We all could've been killed. I am very grateful that nothing bad happened. Especially since we were in her parent's van. The treadmill wouldn't fit in our vehicle.
I ran on the new treadmill that night and it really did me in. I thought my core muscles were hurting just because they had not been worked on for so long.
I stayed home from church the next day, not because I hurt, but because I had homework to do. I was already behind in the Print Production class on assignments and I wanted to make them up. So I was redoing many of my old assignments as well as finishing up my current assignment. I took me a good part of the day but I finished them all. I'm glad, too.
The next day's morning started out fine. I got to work ok and started my work but as I continued on the pain got worse. Two hours into the day I got the impression that I had to go home. I was shriveled up at my desk as I waited for the response to come by email from my supervisor that I could leave.
As I drove home it hurt too much to push on the pedals. I knew that if someone slammed on their brakes ahead of me again I would not be able to stop. The best I could manange on the freeway was to get it up to 40 MPH so that I could turn on the cruise control.
As I got off the exit there was a large diesle in front of me. I felt that I needed to follow the diesle but instead I decided to go down a side street so that I wouldn't have to wait for it. The side street was loaded with pot-holes. Every small little jolt sent shockwaves of pain through my gut. I didn't even have my foot on the accelerator; I just crawled through.
As I got home my pain was at level 10 and I had tears streaming down my face. I curled up in a ball on the bed after my wife took off my shoes and pants. My belt and pants were killing my gut like crazy. Still believing that it was just sore muscels I asked my wife to get me a heating pad.
Fortunately, she was smarter than that.
First, she called her mom, who used to be a CNA. Then she called her sister who had also been through similar problems. She then looked online for some quick answers. Finally she called our doctor.
When she came in and pushed gently on my abdomen I groaned in pain. She decided to take the doctor's advice: go immediately to the Emergency Room. My wife called her dad and off we went.
We were not there long when they got me hooked up on some fun-lovin' morphine. That's when I realized I didn't know what pain was.
After a few tests later it came back positive: appendicitis.
I was falling asleep like crazy; pain, drugs, and recuperation will do that to you. But I had homework that had to be turned in. I made my wife write down the instructions of what to take to my instructor that night to turn in. She said she'd hurry because she wanted to be back before I went in for surgery.
I was up in my room for 2 hours when they told me I had to wait for another 2. I was sure my wife would be back by then as I gave her mom a call. They immediately then came in and said they changed their mind-they were ready for me now. I gave the message to my wife's mom and they hurried me to surgery.
I woke up in recovery feeling much better already. Donna had successfully dropped off all of the homework and had been waiting for me to wake up.
I stayed the night, which was a few avalanches short of a bad dream, and about half of the day before they finally released me.
They said they had caught the appendicitis early, which was good. I asked them how long it takes to develop. One nurse told this story: a lady came in on Thursday and they couldn't find anything. By Saturday it had ruptured. I considered it a miracle that for me they found something but in the early stages. If they had sent me home I don't know what I would have done.
I was to not do any heavy lifting for 30 days (4 weeks) but I could return to work when I felt up to it. The timing was actually pretty good: it was coming up on finals. So, since I was stuck at home all day anyway I got to focus on homework. It just took me a week to get to that point. In between: lots of movies and lots of sleeping. By the time I could get to the computer it was only four hours at a time here and there.
I went in for surgery on Monday and came home Tuesday night. That weekend I was signed up to show my game at a local fantasy convention down the street from us. It almost killed me but I went anyway. I had someone to help me, gratefully. There was a lot to carry.
I learned then that I could only do things for 4 hours at a time. After that: crash and burn.
When I tried to go back to school the next week I had a similar experience. I went to meet with the Career Services counselor, Life Drawing lab, and run 2 errands. By the time class was about to start I was DONE. I had to tell the Copywriting instructor and then went home just as class was about to start.
By my third week I was back to work part time but moving very slowly. By week 4 I was back to work full time and going to school.
On the last day of Print Production class I asked the instructor what my grade was. She looked it up and told me B+. I accepted that: I missed a lot of school because of the surgery, I didn't do well on my quizzes, and felt that my assignments weren't really up to specs.
When I asked her if the quizzes were what held me back she said she'd check. After a while she said she was glad that I had asked: she gave me the grade of the kid whose name was below mine.
I had gotten an A.
She also mentioned that she was impressed that I had sent my wife in on the day that I was in the hospital to turn in my homework for me.
I thought it was interesting that my dad went in for surgery and 2 weeks later I did, too. It gave us similar things to talk about, too.
Third, about 2 weeks after my own surgery (I'm seeing a pattern here...) I was at home one night doing my homework. Suddenly, Donna was calling from the front room, yelling that our dear little ferret was freaking out. They are generally very quiet animals, so a ferret to be making any kind of noise is a surprise. Our poor, little Sally was screaming in uncontrollable fits, arching its back, and barking in pain. Donna paniced. She didn't know what to do as every 5 minutes or so, the poor dear would relive another episode. Donna indicated that it was having seizures and they seemed to be getting worse. Even between the episodes she was still shaking. Donna was in hystarical crying and neither of us knew what to do.
I held Sally and tried to comfort her while Donna called her sister, who also had ferrets. Ironically, it was the same sister Donna called when I had my appendix pain. However, she didn't know what to do.
I was trying to comfort both Sally and Donna I was suddenly inspired with how Donna looked online for me when my appendix was hurting. I quickly did the same for Sally to find out she was going into the ferret-equivilant of hypoglycemic low-blood sugar count shock. The info online said it was caused by a swollen gland that affected their blood sugar. It recommended giving honey via a Q-Tip and a high-protein diet. It said it would help but didn't say it was an overall life-saving remedy.
Taking matters into my own hands I looked up pet stores online and called to see if they had any soft, high-protein ferret food. The stores were basically closing but their manager said soft cat food was good enough. Donna's parents didn't have any more so I grabbed the bare minimum that I needed and rushed out the door.
I believe this was the first time I'd tried to drive since my surgery. I couldn't even wear real pants yet and a sprint for me was a slow shuffle to everyone else.
I got to the store, found some some puppy food instead, and made my way back. I got woozy once on the return trip to the car and fought the urge to run.
I still made it back in generally well enough time. We sucked the soft food into a feeding syringe and began to alternate between honey and the soft food. Sally was still having her poor screaching fits every 5 minutes but after a while they seemed to decrease in potency.
Donna was in such poor shape that both of her parents came to give what comfort they could. Her mom helped to feed the poor thing, too as we held her loosely in a soft towel. We did everything we could to make her feel as comfortable as we could. Even our little boy tried to give what little comforts he could to his distressed mom.
It was nearing midnight and Donna knew she couldn't go on like this for much longer. She began searching our contacts for a pet store that could help us when her eyes were draw to a magnet on our refrigerator by inspiration. It was the same place we'd taken our previous ferret when he was really sick, too. Unfortunately, he had passed away there. Donna was not about to avoid the fact that not too much could be done for Sally but she quietly hoped that we could at least decrease her pain and make her comfortable so that she could pass away in peace.
We left our boy with grandma and grandpa and drove our poor ferret to this little emergency pet vet. Donna callced them and they said to come immediately. Donna drove this time, gratefully, and the drive seemed to both distract and calm poor Sally. She had one more attack before we arrived at the vet and it was the smallest one yet.
When we arrived we were told we were in luck; the vet on hand was familiar with ferrets and he was only at that location half of the time. We explained the situation and he did a quick check-up. He said that her blood-sugar count was slow enough that he could not rule out the fact of hypoglycemic shock. That made me feel good; that maybe we were able to make a difference with the honey and protein food.
The doctors put Sally on a ferret morphine and muscel-claming drip to take away her pain and attacks. Her eyes looked tired and droopy as we said goodbye. The doctored wanted to keep her there overnight to see how she reacted.
Donna was in a bit of a panic regarding funds to pay for the visit. We did not have insurance when I went in for my surgery and now she was worried about having to pay for our Sally. She told me that she knew we could afford $300 but that was it.
On our way out they gave us the bill: $299.00. We saw that as a bit of a miracle.
We drove home and tried to look at the situation positively: the doctor familiar with ferrets was there that night, it added up to the amount we could pay, we were able to find info online, get food that could help, find peace for herself, and I didn't have any problems either in the process.
When morning came it brought good and bad news. Sally had sleep peacefully through the night without any more pain, spasms, or crying. However, she passed away peacefully that morning.
Just as Donna wanted.
Donna and her dad gave her a quiet, private funeral in dad's back yard, burying her next to her good friend Jack. We had gotten her as a present for him our first Christmas together and now they were both gone. Jack and Sally-the two characters from Time Burton's, "A Nightmare Before Christmas."
We missed them both and Donna was heartbroken.
In the end she was very appreciative of what I was willing to do to help and the good in how it turned out.
Fourth, and last, my uncle's wife has recently been diagnosed with cancer in her overies. However, she is a very large woman with prior surgery experience that could create additional complications. As a result, the doctors have decided to not operate on her.
It's a dire situation and no one is sure what to do. I feel impressed to give them a call and tell them also about my blue-green algae situation. Who knows if it will help.
So, lots of painful and tough situations this semester. Even my Print Production class' instructor had a surgery in their family. Her husband got in a car accident and broke 3 ribs. She said that at any moment they could puncture a lung so things were hard for them, too.
In the end school worked out well for me. I feel much better now. I got A's in both of my classes. I am enjoying our hard earned 3 weeks off between semesters. The recuperation time off helped me with the Finals. And I finished healing in time to enjoy the 3 weeks summer time off.
Now we just need to find a way to pay for these bills...
Monday, May 16, 2011
Semester 6.1
I'm actually halfway through this semester already and they are requesting that we register for next semester.
My daytime job assignment has informed me that they have no intention of hiring me but they do have enough for me to do until October. So, here's hoping I can land something before then.
My wife just finished up her play for our local area through the ward, Kenneth Cope's "Women at the Well." The show depicts through music and testimony the women of the New Testimant as they interact or meet our Savior, Jesus Christ and His teachings to them. We had a great reaction, turnout, and testimony. It has really helped me to build my own testimony of our Savior and I have a better understanding of His character and the part he also plays in our lives.
I had to grow my hair and beard long for the show and after 5 months I'm ready to take it all off! Our film community is also doing a new depiction of the New Testiment. I was hoping to be able to participate in that but no such luck. Wrong bone structure and skin tone, I guess.
I am enjoying our Copywriting class the most this semester. I have loved to write since I was 12. I knew I would write a lot in my life so I started to learn to type on my own before it was taught in school... as best as I could. I've gotten some great comments from the instructor and this has really given me a boost of hope. My dad encouraged me to keep writing but I could never see how I could use it to make money without sacrifcing something important in my life (it takes time to create a complete and perfect novel!). This class, and my instructor, have shown me that Copywriters actually make more money that just Graphic Designers, and my ability to form words has always been a stronger skill than my art work. At a lecture last Thursday the guest speaker, who was an Art Director from a local business, proclaimed that a Graphic Designer who can write copy IS an Art Director. That gave me a lot of hope.
Here's an example of how the class has been:
On our last assignment we had to create copy for a clothes sales magazine that only provided photos. I did some research and talked to my wife who makes costumes before I sat down.
When I showed the assignments to the students for a critique, one didn't even do the assignment (his sister got married) and the other one said I had too many words on the page. This student either came into the class late or was just visiting. When the instructor saw it she freaked out, saying it was gorgeous and now it actually looked like a real magazine ad. She then rushed the entire class over to view my piece as an example and had me explain what process I followed to do the assignment. She then encouraged everyone to follow the steps I used for their assignments.
When I told me wife this story she smiled and said, "Teacher's pet..." With the looks I've gotten from the other students I tend to agree. But given the fact that my work has been shot down for the entire previous year it felt really good!
As for Print Production class, the instructor understands it's a snoozer of a class for the students so she is working to make it as interesting as possible, including using "Bingo" on the first lecture, which I appreciate.
We have a lot of print assignments so far, like 4 color seperations with the composite mounted; duotone with the same requirements, etc. Even though it's covering everything else I've learned from my all my other graphics classes it's still good info in relation to the final product.
My daytime job assignment has informed me that they have no intention of hiring me but they do have enough for me to do until October. So, here's hoping I can land something before then.
My wife just finished up her play for our local area through the ward, Kenneth Cope's "Women at the Well." The show depicts through music and testimony the women of the New Testimant as they interact or meet our Savior, Jesus Christ and His teachings to them. We had a great reaction, turnout, and testimony. It has really helped me to build my own testimony of our Savior and I have a better understanding of His character and the part he also plays in our lives.
I had to grow my hair and beard long for the show and after 5 months I'm ready to take it all off! Our film community is also doing a new depiction of the New Testiment. I was hoping to be able to participate in that but no such luck. Wrong bone structure and skin tone, I guess.
I am enjoying our Copywriting class the most this semester. I have loved to write since I was 12. I knew I would write a lot in my life so I started to learn to type on my own before it was taught in school... as best as I could. I've gotten some great comments from the instructor and this has really given me a boost of hope. My dad encouraged me to keep writing but I could never see how I could use it to make money without sacrifcing something important in my life (it takes time to create a complete and perfect novel!). This class, and my instructor, have shown me that Copywriters actually make more money that just Graphic Designers, and my ability to form words has always been a stronger skill than my art work. At a lecture last Thursday the guest speaker, who was an Art Director from a local business, proclaimed that a Graphic Designer who can write copy IS an Art Director. That gave me a lot of hope.
Here's an example of how the class has been:
On our last assignment we had to create copy for a clothes sales magazine that only provided photos. I did some research and talked to my wife who makes costumes before I sat down.
When I showed the assignments to the students for a critique, one didn't even do the assignment (his sister got married) and the other one said I had too many words on the page. This student either came into the class late or was just visiting. When the instructor saw it she freaked out, saying it was gorgeous and now it actually looked like a real magazine ad. She then rushed the entire class over to view my piece as an example and had me explain what process I followed to do the assignment. She then encouraged everyone to follow the steps I used for their assignments.
When I told me wife this story she smiled and said, "Teacher's pet..." With the looks I've gotten from the other students I tend to agree. But given the fact that my work has been shot down for the entire previous year it felt really good!
As for Print Production class, the instructor understands it's a snoozer of a class for the students so she is working to make it as interesting as possible, including using "Bingo" on the first lecture, which I appreciate.
We have a lot of print assignments so far, like 4 color seperations with the composite mounted; duotone with the same requirements, etc. Even though it's covering everything else I've learned from my all my other graphics classes it's still good info in relation to the final product.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Semester 5.2
Another semester over and it turned out great. This time, instead of stressing out myself, my family, and my co-workers by trying to burn the midnight oil I felt impressed to request 3 days off from my day-time work assignment specifically to work on finals. It worked out perfectly; I was able to get all my work done without having to worry about jeapordizing my day work assignment. Being able to work over the weekend helped, too, and I took full advantage of it.
There was plenty that needed to be done; I even accepted the assistance of my lovely wife to help with the final box for my Packaging Design class. I had the idea of making a display box from a DVD set that would fold out but I didn't understand the mechanics of it. We had to buy a tacklebox to understand the fundamentals. It turned out well enough and got a great reaction from the crowds that saw it.
Once again our instructor brought in some local business people to critique our work. This time it turned out to mostly positive. The week before the last day of class our instructor really urged me to turn things down; once again stressing that I had too much on. I had already printed out most of the assignment and told him I couldn't apply it all in time.
In the end, I believed he was right and bit the bullet to fix and reprint everything I had already completed. For my troubles I got a lot of the same feedback from the critiquers (consistancy is a good thing) and most of it was positive.
My instructor and the local business people were mostly impressed with my soap box design/concept. I redid the assignment with the changes suggested and it turned out to be a beautfiul little piece. I'm intending to use it in my portfolio.
Because I took my instructor's advice he and I have actually become better associates. He told me on his way out the door that I had come "leaps and bounds" from when I first started and that made me feel good. People like it when others take their advice. As the saying goes, "Good advice is to take it." It made me feel really good to hear that from him, especially after all of the bad reviews I've gotten from his classes in the past.
It turned out that the web design class was just an intro-enough to make us 'dangerous', as our instructor put it, but not enough to help us to be helpful.
For the time being I believe I'll stick to Blogger - it did give some great layout design hints before I began the coding process.
There was plenty that needed to be done; I even accepted the assistance of my lovely wife to help with the final box for my Packaging Design class. I had the idea of making a display box from a DVD set that would fold out but I didn't understand the mechanics of it. We had to buy a tacklebox to understand the fundamentals. It turned out well enough and got a great reaction from the crowds that saw it.
Once again our instructor brought in some local business people to critique our work. This time it turned out to mostly positive. The week before the last day of class our instructor really urged me to turn things down; once again stressing that I had too much on. I had already printed out most of the assignment and told him I couldn't apply it all in time.
In the end, I believed he was right and bit the bullet to fix and reprint everything I had already completed. For my troubles I got a lot of the same feedback from the critiquers (consistancy is a good thing) and most of it was positive.
My instructor and the local business people were mostly impressed with my soap box design/concept. I redid the assignment with the changes suggested and it turned out to be a beautfiul little piece. I'm intending to use it in my portfolio.
Because I took my instructor's advice he and I have actually become better associates. He told me on his way out the door that I had come "leaps and bounds" from when I first started and that made me feel good. People like it when others take their advice. As the saying goes, "Good advice is to take it." It made me feel really good to hear that from him, especially after all of the bad reviews I've gotten from his classes in the past.
It turned out that the web design class was just an intro-enough to make us 'dangerous', as our instructor put it, but not enough to help us to be helpful.
For the time being I believe I'll stick to Blogger - it did give some great layout design hints before I began the coding process.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Semester 5.1
The two classes I'm taking this semester are Web Scripting and Package Design, both at night. The day-time job assignment I'm doing is kind enough to allow my schedule to change on those 2 class days so that I can get to class on time.
I thought Web Scripting would be hard but the insructor is very chill and quite entertaining. Thus far, I am really enjoying it and so far it's not too difficult (knock on wood). Even though he wants us all to build everything from scratch so that we know what we are doing he's still shown us some good shortcuts.
I'm excited to use what I'm learning in class to create my own site. I think it would be cool to take what I learn in class and land a Front End web designing opportunity. It's fun enough and you never know what will happen.
The Packaging Design class is taught by the same instructor who taught 2 of my last two semester classes (Corporate Identity and Illustrator). So far the class if fun, too. Both classes are allowing me to artisitcally stretch my left-brained experience (languages and 3D modeling). The Packaging Design class is all about taking 1 dimensional box templates, adding our designs, and turning them into actual boxes. Wow. A lot more than I thought the class would be about.
I think our instructor felt bad about how much homework he had us doing this last semester because this semester he is only making us do 3 assignments: a soap box, something else, and a DVD/video game box. He just wants each one to be our very best. He is also giving us some good class time, which is excellent. I am turning in the first assignment this Wednesday.
I do have to admit, after last semester I was telling my wife that was missing the ol' paper and pencil method of the drawing classes (Observational & Life Drawing). I never thought I would find myself missing the Life Drawing class after all the hardships and difficulty I had in that class. But last Wednesday I suddenly, and quite randomly, found myself missing the Life Drawing class.
I was equally surprised when I walked into class and the instructor read off an announcement that on Wednesdays before my class they were offering an open lab to anyone who wanted to join for Observational Drawing and Life Drawing. We could just show up and draw - no tests, no rush, no hassel: just experience. I am excited!
I told both my wife and mother and they agree that it's good practice. I am excited to learn the things we never got to cover in class: arms, hands, legs, feet, and most importantly-faces.
The lab ends at 5:00 and I get off work at 4:30. I asked the instructor if he could extend it to 6:00. He's trying to see if someone will stay longer than he is allowed too to keep the lab open. Otherwise I'll only get a few minutes before class starts.
We'll see what happens.
I thought Web Scripting would be hard but the insructor is very chill and quite entertaining. Thus far, I am really enjoying it and so far it's not too difficult (knock on wood). Even though he wants us all to build everything from scratch so that we know what we are doing he's still shown us some good shortcuts.
I'm excited to use what I'm learning in class to create my own site. I think it would be cool to take what I learn in class and land a Front End web designing opportunity. It's fun enough and you never know what will happen.
The Packaging Design class is taught by the same instructor who taught 2 of my last two semester classes (Corporate Identity and Illustrator). So far the class if fun, too. Both classes are allowing me to artisitcally stretch my left-brained experience (languages and 3D modeling). The Packaging Design class is all about taking 1 dimensional box templates, adding our designs, and turning them into actual boxes. Wow. A lot more than I thought the class would be about.
I think our instructor felt bad about how much homework he had us doing this last semester because this semester he is only making us do 3 assignments: a soap box, something else, and a DVD/video game box. He just wants each one to be our very best. He is also giving us some good class time, which is excellent. I am turning in the first assignment this Wednesday.
I do have to admit, after last semester I was telling my wife that was missing the ol' paper and pencil method of the drawing classes (Observational & Life Drawing). I never thought I would find myself missing the Life Drawing class after all the hardships and difficulty I had in that class. But last Wednesday I suddenly, and quite randomly, found myself missing the Life Drawing class.
I was equally surprised when I walked into class and the instructor read off an announcement that on Wednesdays before my class they were offering an open lab to anyone who wanted to join for Observational Drawing and Life Drawing. We could just show up and draw - no tests, no rush, no hassel: just experience. I am excited!
I told both my wife and mother and they agree that it's good practice. I am excited to learn the things we never got to cover in class: arms, hands, legs, feet, and most importantly-faces.
The lab ends at 5:00 and I get off work at 4:30. I asked the instructor if he could extend it to 6:00. He's trying to see if someone will stay longer than he is allowed too to keep the lab open. Otherwise I'll only get a few minutes before class starts.
We'll see what happens.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Semester 4.2
Will miracles never cease...
I had just started by new semester when my assignment ended at Certiport. I only recently learned that it was due to the fact that I couldn't talk on the phones that they decided to not keep me on. In fact, I had just reached the 6 month mark, which is the time when employers are supposed to decide whether or not they want to keep you on. That, combined with how Finals from the last semester tied me up, really added to the decline of their 'like' in me.
So, here I was, knee-deep into a new semester of school without any income, a family to provide for, and the holidays coming up. Needless to say, the stress was mounting.
The one good thing that I could see was in the class suggestions the school had provided. In the middle of the previous semester they announced that the school took it upon themselves to create some registration suggestions for the next semester. If the students liked the suggestions all they had to do was sign off on them. I liked the descriptions: they were both the same. In the end, the only difference was that one class allowed me to work on my own projects and the other one did not. I was, however, able to use the homework from one class, and slightly tweak it for the other.
That fact right that, and the other fact that I was not working, helped me to pass both classes. If either of them would have been missing I would have failed miserably for sure in both.
How it all works out I don't understand. But I know the Lord knows what He is doing with me. And I am very grateful for it. I know I could not have done this without him.
One of the other big miracles happened near the middle of the semester. A Congressional law had just passed, cutting off Federal funding for students enrolled in private colleges - like the ARt Institute. Without the Federal grant money we would not be able to afford me being in school. As it turns out, I was able to be 'grandfathered' in since I was enrolled prior to that law passing. If I had waited this past year I would have missed out on those blessings.
Also, as a direct result of the law passing the Dean of the Art Institute (whose last name is Murdock, by the way!) decided to combine classes to try and bring the cost down. For us Graphic Design students 4 classes were removed or combined into the curriculm, including Life Drawing. This was big because I was able to apply the time, credits, and energy towards a similar or equal value class. But if I ever need to use those credits towards another degree I won't loose them. At the same time, since most of my projects and work involve creating characters I am still able to benefit from that teaching before they pulled the class from the curriculm. Wow. Again, Heavely Father knows what he is doing.
I argued with my Life Drawing instructyor that the Life Drawing class is fundemental for Graphic Design students, and he mentioned that himself and other instructors agreed. I even used characters in my Final Projects for both of my classes. But, what is done is done... for now.
Another miracle is when Donna decided to go back to work part time. The reason why this is important is because, like I said, we had no income - at all. This helped to provide some good Christmas pocket cash, which we needed. It was only on call and less than part time so she wasn't missing a whole lot of time. And every little bit helps. She didn't want to quit before but was nervous about going back now. On her first day she was able to have some wonderful experiences, including seeing some major figures in our area. She was able to buddy-buddy with a lot of her friends and I consider it a 'girls night out' treatment for her. It's good for her to get away from being a mommy all the time and it gives our son a chance to play with his cousins and hang out at grandmas. Also, right when the semester was winding down I was offered by my good friend to come back to the arcade. Donna was adamandtly against this, reminding me of how hard it was for us, and her, then. She reminded me that she went back to work so that I wouldn't have to have a second part time job. That sealed the deal.
Instead of my working for the semester, I was doing homework - sometimes all day and into the night, long.
I was given an assignment close to Finals which lasted only 3 days, because of. Finals had me so stressed that I would go to this assignment looking haggard and weary. The supervisor assigned to me was nice but even she mentioned at one point that I was looking pale. It didn't help that even though this was an office enviornment I was literally doing warehouse work-breaking down boxes, heavy lifting, carting around boxes on the dolly, and unpacking/setting up furniture. I was sweating by the end of each day, had to carry my box cutter with me, and was back in my old, beat-up warehouse shoes just to protect my feet from all of the running around. When I got home, there was not rest-just back to the homework until midnight, where I'd get up to do it again. On the eve of my first day at this new assignment I was so stressed about Finals that I only slept for 4.5 hours. I slept on my lunch break in my car to make up for it.
I was not surprised when I was no longer required at that position and considered it a miracle. I was free again to finish my Finals and it gave us some good Christmas money.
The same day I came home the temp agency also informed me that they thought they had something else in mind for me. It turned out that it was closer to home, was more money, and better suited for me. They initially wanted me to start the same day of my last final. They later wanted me to start the following Monday, which gave me a week to rest.
I have now been there 3 weeks and so far it's been a great assignment.
Another good part of these Christmas miracles I only learned about after the fact-one of the single friends in Donna's family heard of our plight and thought of Quinny. After discussing it with Donna behind my back they decided to put Quinny's name in their ward's Sub-For-Santa. Our son woke up Christmas morning to a fabulous nwe wardrobe, including many pants, shoes, pajamas (which matched the new blanket he got from his Aunt Linda), shirts, socks, and shirts. They all fit, were desperately needed, and wonderful!
Another series of miracles started when dad finally decided to install with a new ceiling fan in our bathroom. The previous one broke down after a long time of service but dad didn't have the money or time to invest in getting it replaced.
As soon as he finished our washer and dryer combo died. Again, dad came to the rescue. Part of that miracle came when we tried to move the old one down the steps and it got away from me. We are both grateful, fortunate, and lucky that neither dad nor Dan were seriously injured (although I've never heard so many swear words coming from Dan at any given time).
And our son was happy to get a giant box for Christmas!
Once that complete, Donna's sister Linda called to say that their next-door neighbor was selling their massive, gorgeous entertainment center, with the flat screen tv, for a very small amount. Negotiations were made, schedules were assembled, and the family got it for us for Christmas. It took us all of Sunday to rearrange our entire living room to get it set in place. And it is gorgeous.
It helped us to understand the importance of decluttering our lives, minds, times, and home. It also became the inspiration of many of our New Year's Resolutions to simply and declutter our lives.
For my Finals homework it finally helped me to understand what my instructors have been trying to say all along: the mind needs places to rest - negative space - in order to fully appreciate the 'art' in front of it.
Less truly is more.
My family threw their yearly Christmas party, in which my parents not only supplied us with lots of much needed food from their own pantries but provided many fun presents for us as well, including some important survival gear.
But the most important present of all came to us before Christmas with the completion of our roof.
For the last few years we have found with our extremely leaky roof. We were even wary of having a child with how bad it was. At one point we had over 30 buckets, all throughout our home. Our kitchen ceiling had collapsed on us and was being supported by some metal planks dad put up. Our bedroom ceiling threatened to follow suit, so dad installed some more metal planks. Instead, the ceiling retaliated by growing black mold under the plastic wrap and threatened our health. Donna was at her wit's end and decided to do something about it. She refused to have another Christmas of moving the tree around and trying to catch all of the outside snow as it came in.
After talking with Donna about it many times, she finally followed her gut and started reaching out. Grandpa got involved and agreed to save our hides yet again. He footed the bill for our extremely leaky roof.
We talked to some contractors in our ward and they got to work as quickly as they were able to. Because of dad's business in the lower half of the building our Bishop was able to assist due to legal reasons, and the amount we needed was much higher for him to help with.
My own family was unable to come up with the funds. It broke their hearts to idly stand back and not be able to do anything about it.
Once they heard that the roof was being worked on my parents began preparing another Christmas miracle. At the family Christmas party there was a glass jar on the counter titled, "Service Project" with some bills inside. My mom encouraged everyone to donate. We were still pressed for cash but I pulled out my wallet anyway to contribute as I asked my mom what the jar was for. With tears in her eyes she then stated that it was to help out a certain group of family members get new ceilings for their very drippy apartment.
That is was it for me. With my heart very full of happiness and gratitude I could only express my thanks with heartfelt tears and smiles.
Our prayers had been answered.
The end of the semester came at long last, and happily it came and I was fully prepared. Our Tuesday-night instructor came with 2 local business professionals who critiqued our word one-on-one. That was very important and impressive for the school to provide.
With the stressed of school behind me, and honored with some great grades to boot, I was finally able to breathe many sighs of relief.
With all of this in mind I decided that I already received everything for Christmas that I wanted. The lists and presents and gifts that I had thought of didn't seem to matter at all anymore. I decided to focus on my family and others instead, feeling that all of my prayers had already been answered.
That became my driving focus and it really turned this Christmas into a very memorable one.
I got a few things that I wanted, namely the most important ones, but my biggest joy came from seeing my family's reaction to their gifts. It was then that I suddenly realized what Christmas was all about - consideration. It was about thinking of the other person and providing for their needs in such a way that it would make them happy. It was knowing your gift-giving person so well that you could see past what was on their list and give them what they truly needed deep down inside to become happy.
I saw that on the face of my wife and in her happy tears as she opened her most important gift and I knew I was right. My prayers had become answered. It was good to make hers come true as well.
In the end that's what it all boiled down to - our Heavenly Father provided us the one gift we could never give ourselves - the path to eternal life in His presence, through His Only Begotten Son. Through our Savior we can live with Him forever, and be happy. That is the only thing we truly need to be happy.
At Christmas time we give gifts to commemorate the greatest gift ever given; The gift of Our Heavenly Father's Son to us, so we can be able to return to Him again and live in His mansions and be happy forever. And no matter what gift we may ever give, no matter what service we may ever render, no matter what we may ever do it will pale in comparison.
All we can try to do is our very hardest to come as close as we can to it.
I had just started by new semester when my assignment ended at Certiport. I only recently learned that it was due to the fact that I couldn't talk on the phones that they decided to not keep me on. In fact, I had just reached the 6 month mark, which is the time when employers are supposed to decide whether or not they want to keep you on. That, combined with how Finals from the last semester tied me up, really added to the decline of their 'like' in me.
So, here I was, knee-deep into a new semester of school without any income, a family to provide for, and the holidays coming up. Needless to say, the stress was mounting.
The one good thing that I could see was in the class suggestions the school had provided. In the middle of the previous semester they announced that the school took it upon themselves to create some registration suggestions for the next semester. If the students liked the suggestions all they had to do was sign off on them. I liked the descriptions: they were both the same. In the end, the only difference was that one class allowed me to work on my own projects and the other one did not. I was, however, able to use the homework from one class, and slightly tweak it for the other.
That fact right that, and the other fact that I was not working, helped me to pass both classes. If either of them would have been missing I would have failed miserably for sure in both.
How it all works out I don't understand. But I know the Lord knows what He is doing with me. And I am very grateful for it. I know I could not have done this without him.
One of the other big miracles happened near the middle of the semester. A Congressional law had just passed, cutting off Federal funding for students enrolled in private colleges - like the ARt Institute. Without the Federal grant money we would not be able to afford me being in school. As it turns out, I was able to be 'grandfathered' in since I was enrolled prior to that law passing. If I had waited this past year I would have missed out on those blessings.
Also, as a direct result of the law passing the Dean of the Art Institute (whose last name is Murdock, by the way!) decided to combine classes to try and bring the cost down. For us Graphic Design students 4 classes were removed or combined into the curriculm, including Life Drawing. This was big because I was able to apply the time, credits, and energy towards a similar or equal value class. But if I ever need to use those credits towards another degree I won't loose them. At the same time, since most of my projects and work involve creating characters I am still able to benefit from that teaching before they pulled the class from the curriculm. Wow. Again, Heavely Father knows what he is doing.
I argued with my Life Drawing instructyor that the Life Drawing class is fundemental for Graphic Design students, and he mentioned that himself and other instructors agreed. I even used characters in my Final Projects for both of my classes. But, what is done is done... for now.
Another miracle is when Donna decided to go back to work part time. The reason why this is important is because, like I said, we had no income - at all. This helped to provide some good Christmas pocket cash, which we needed. It was only on call and less than part time so she wasn't missing a whole lot of time. And every little bit helps. She didn't want to quit before but was nervous about going back now. On her first day she was able to have some wonderful experiences, including seeing some major figures in our area. She was able to buddy-buddy with a lot of her friends and I consider it a 'girls night out' treatment for her. It's good for her to get away from being a mommy all the time and it gives our son a chance to play with his cousins and hang out at grandmas. Also, right when the semester was winding down I was offered by my good friend to come back to the arcade. Donna was adamandtly against this, reminding me of how hard it was for us, and her, then. She reminded me that she went back to work so that I wouldn't have to have a second part time job. That sealed the deal.
Instead of my working for the semester, I was doing homework - sometimes all day and into the night, long.
I was given an assignment close to Finals which lasted only 3 days, because of. Finals had me so stressed that I would go to this assignment looking haggard and weary. The supervisor assigned to me was nice but even she mentioned at one point that I was looking pale. It didn't help that even though this was an office enviornment I was literally doing warehouse work-breaking down boxes, heavy lifting, carting around boxes on the dolly, and unpacking/setting up furniture. I was sweating by the end of each day, had to carry my box cutter with me, and was back in my old, beat-up warehouse shoes just to protect my feet from all of the running around. When I got home, there was not rest-just back to the homework until midnight, where I'd get up to do it again. On the eve of my first day at this new assignment I was so stressed about Finals that I only slept for 4.5 hours. I slept on my lunch break in my car to make up for it.
I was not surprised when I was no longer required at that position and considered it a miracle. I was free again to finish my Finals and it gave us some good Christmas money.
The same day I came home the temp agency also informed me that they thought they had something else in mind for me. It turned out that it was closer to home, was more money, and better suited for me. They initially wanted me to start the same day of my last final. They later wanted me to start the following Monday, which gave me a week to rest.
I have now been there 3 weeks and so far it's been a great assignment.
Another good part of these Christmas miracles I only learned about after the fact-one of the single friends in Donna's family heard of our plight and thought of Quinny. After discussing it with Donna behind my back they decided to put Quinny's name in their ward's Sub-For-Santa. Our son woke up Christmas morning to a fabulous nwe wardrobe, including many pants, shoes, pajamas (which matched the new blanket he got from his Aunt Linda), shirts, socks, and shirts. They all fit, were desperately needed, and wonderful!
Another series of miracles started when dad finally decided to install with a new ceiling fan in our bathroom. The previous one broke down after a long time of service but dad didn't have the money or time to invest in getting it replaced.
As soon as he finished our washer and dryer combo died. Again, dad came to the rescue. Part of that miracle came when we tried to move the old one down the steps and it got away from me. We are both grateful, fortunate, and lucky that neither dad nor Dan were seriously injured (although I've never heard so many swear words coming from Dan at any given time).
And our son was happy to get a giant box for Christmas!
Once that complete, Donna's sister Linda called to say that their next-door neighbor was selling their massive, gorgeous entertainment center, with the flat screen tv, for a very small amount. Negotiations were made, schedules were assembled, and the family got it for us for Christmas. It took us all of Sunday to rearrange our entire living room to get it set in place. And it is gorgeous.
It helped us to understand the importance of decluttering our lives, minds, times, and home. It also became the inspiration of many of our New Year's Resolutions to simply and declutter our lives.
For my Finals homework it finally helped me to understand what my instructors have been trying to say all along: the mind needs places to rest - negative space - in order to fully appreciate the 'art' in front of it.
Less truly is more.
My family threw their yearly Christmas party, in which my parents not only supplied us with lots of much needed food from their own pantries but provided many fun presents for us as well, including some important survival gear.
But the most important present of all came to us before Christmas with the completion of our roof.
For the last few years we have found with our extremely leaky roof. We were even wary of having a child with how bad it was. At one point we had over 30 buckets, all throughout our home. Our kitchen ceiling had collapsed on us and was being supported by some metal planks dad put up. Our bedroom ceiling threatened to follow suit, so dad installed some more metal planks. Instead, the ceiling retaliated by growing black mold under the plastic wrap and threatened our health. Donna was at her wit's end and decided to do something about it. She refused to have another Christmas of moving the tree around and trying to catch all of the outside snow as it came in.
After talking with Donna about it many times, she finally followed her gut and started reaching out. Grandpa got involved and agreed to save our hides yet again. He footed the bill for our extremely leaky roof.
We talked to some contractors in our ward and they got to work as quickly as they were able to. Because of dad's business in the lower half of the building our Bishop was able to assist due to legal reasons, and the amount we needed was much higher for him to help with.
My own family was unable to come up with the funds. It broke their hearts to idly stand back and not be able to do anything about it.
Once they heard that the roof was being worked on my parents began preparing another Christmas miracle. At the family Christmas party there was a glass jar on the counter titled, "Service Project" with some bills inside. My mom encouraged everyone to donate. We were still pressed for cash but I pulled out my wallet anyway to contribute as I asked my mom what the jar was for. With tears in her eyes she then stated that it was to help out a certain group of family members get new ceilings for their very drippy apartment.
That is was it for me. With my heart very full of happiness and gratitude I could only express my thanks with heartfelt tears and smiles.
Our prayers had been answered.
The end of the semester came at long last, and happily it came and I was fully prepared. Our Tuesday-night instructor came with 2 local business professionals who critiqued our word one-on-one. That was very important and impressive for the school to provide.
With the stressed of school behind me, and honored with some great grades to boot, I was finally able to breathe many sighs of relief.
With all of this in mind I decided that I already received everything for Christmas that I wanted. The lists and presents and gifts that I had thought of didn't seem to matter at all anymore. I decided to focus on my family and others instead, feeling that all of my prayers had already been answered.
That became my driving focus and it really turned this Christmas into a very memorable one.
I got a few things that I wanted, namely the most important ones, but my biggest joy came from seeing my family's reaction to their gifts. It was then that I suddenly realized what Christmas was all about - consideration. It was about thinking of the other person and providing for their needs in such a way that it would make them happy. It was knowing your gift-giving person so well that you could see past what was on their list and give them what they truly needed deep down inside to become happy.
I saw that on the face of my wife and in her happy tears as she opened her most important gift and I knew I was right. My prayers had become answered. It was good to make hers come true as well.
In the end that's what it all boiled down to - our Heavenly Father provided us the one gift we could never give ourselves - the path to eternal life in His presence, through His Only Begotten Son. Through our Savior we can live with Him forever, and be happy. That is the only thing we truly need to be happy.
At Christmas time we give gifts to commemorate the greatest gift ever given; The gift of Our Heavenly Father's Son to us, so we can be able to return to Him again and live in His mansions and be happy forever. And no matter what gift we may ever give, no matter what service we may ever render, no matter what we may ever do it will pale in comparison.
All we can try to do is our very hardest to come as close as we can to it.
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