So maybe Master P had it right after all: no limits. No, i’m not idolizing the psuedo-rapper for any reason other than the fact that it’s before 8 a.m. and I’ve only had one cup of coffee. So bear with me.

It amazes me, as I continue on this supposedly adult “career path” that i’ve chosen, just how far the ceiling is in terms of responsibility. I know that I try not to write about work, for this outlet is supposed to be about things *other* than work, but this is too interesting (for me) not to ponder.

For the past several weeks, i’ve been ‘flying solo,’ no boss or anyone else in the department. My boss is out with her new baby and since we’re the only two involved with external web marketing, that leaves me by myself. This really has opened up a whole world of opportunity for me: weekly meetings with VPs, being temporary manager and director for web development for our entire business. It scares the bejeebus out of me, because i’m only 23. But at the same time, it amazes me just how much responsibility one can take on. Now this isn’t a “yea me!” sentiment, for those that know me know that i am one of the more painfully self-depricating individuals around because of my self-esteem issues. But this is a testament to human ability. One person’s position, already overloaded with work and duties can take on two (at least with knowledge that its only for a few months) full-time jobs and not drown.

The weeks prior to my boss’ delivery, I was out of my gourd with stress and paranoia. Taking stock in how blitzed i was already with work, thinking about how hard my boss works, and trying to add the two together made me want to off myself in anticipation of looming 70+ hour weeks. But it never happened.

Sure, most everything we worked on prior to her departure has gone to pot, but not because of me (thank goodness). Things have been less than ideal, at best. But you know what? I’m still here. I still haven’t screwed up badly enough that they’ve removed me, handcuffs and all, from the helms of the entire website. And I’ll be fine.

That’s the testament of human will, of human ability: No matter what comes, what unforseen conditions, snags and snafus arise…the immenent progression of time mixed with the awesome human will can make anything seem do-able.

Thanks, Master P.

I write from the comfort of my couch. Yes, wireless is now part of my life. Dear God I’m a lucky person. And dear God I love technology. Pics soon.

I’ve finally gotten off my rear and linked up the rest of the site. Now all the archives/music/links features work on the navigation, as well as a comprehensive photobox gallery. Enjoi.

I couldn’t have been happier. And that’s precisely why I had to leave.

I was back in the old stomping grounds this weekend, for the sunny and blissful wedding of one of my old friends from high school. They all came. From all parts of the country, putting down their jobs and duties, loading up the cars and checking into airports. It was like we were 16 all over again. And that’s why I couldn’t deal with it.

Old grudges were nudged aside. The gap of lost communications cheerfully bridged for the sake of comradery. We picked up right where we left off and it felt good. The problem for me, however, is in the goodbye. The exit. The bittersweet embrace of departing friends. And that’s why I left without a word. Again.

Many think I’m crazy or weird, and while I do not in *any* way dispute such charges, I think more often than not my actions are misinterpreted. I’m sure they thought I slipped away stealthaly as I always do, for many other reasons that what was actually the case. Little do they know that it’s because I was too happy. If I leave at the peak, I don’t have to deal with the unhappiness later. I suppose I’m a purist, or sorts. I take no pictures because I don’t want the perfection of the moment diluted. I need no capture device because what i’m remembering is not slow dances or parties. What I hold in my heart is the friendship of these people. I love my friends, and I fear my words could never express the depth and sincerity of my appreciation for what they give me.

So now we’ve all gone home, repacked the cars and boarded our departing flights. We’re back to not responding to emails and forgetting to call each other back. We’ll wait for the next wedding. And we’ll do it all over. And once more I’ll leave feeling like an amputee with a ghost limb, knowing that what was once there is no more…but not being able to accept it.

I was reading Zeldman’s post and cogitating that this is my main problem with Apple. Their products look phenomenal on the outside. I lust for the ipod and the titanium laptop. OS X is breathtaking. But to me (and dare I say a ton of others) they’re just not functional.

Design IS more than just outside appearance, much as a person’s worth is more than just their clothes style. If a person cannot find how to eject the CD ROM on the new G4s, what’s the point of having the sleek, flat-faced, no button on the front drive? If it’s not intuitive how to connect to a shared drive, if you just cannot find it within a few seconds, then the operating system is not well designed. And it’s not just an issue of “getting used to” an interface. The best test is to put someone on a machine they’ve never used before, with an OS they’ve never used and see how well they do. As dumbed-down as windows boxes are, they are at least more intuitive to the lowest common denominator of users.

I consider myself a fairly resourceful chap, adapts quickly and picks up things easily. However, I often catch myself on Macs being puzzled. Things aren’t where they logically should be. And don’t get me started on the mice. The fact that Apple refuses to give up their trademark “entire-mouse-as-button” input device for the more productive and logical 2+ button mouse will be forever lost on me.

I can’t stand either Microsoft or Apple. They’re both at extremes on the form vs. function issue. If only there would be a merger to make computers that looked just as sexy and equally as usable.

Hey let’s just go back to the letterpress, ok?

So my house finally got broken in to. No, it’s not official. No police reports or detectives on the scene. But things definitely weren’t right when I came downstairs this morning.

See my landlord (who lives downstairs in a nice duplex in a yuppie neighborhood) is quite the odd bird to say the least. He took over the house a year into our lease and things have progressively gotten stranger as the months pass. But more on that in a second.

So as I’m coming downstairs, I notice that there’s a light on in the hallway that connects our section with his. And the door is open (which I always shut because he children are quite possibly louder than any other creatures on earth). As I round the corner, I notice that our shoe rack and two sets of work shoes are thrown down the hallway. The rack itself is haphazardly tossed against the wall, barely standing up. Lying on the ground is a can of mushrooms. Bingo. Fungi don’t lie (but fun guys might. no seriously, these are the jokes).

As I go through the hallway I merely think that his kids got rowdy last night and once again disrespected our stuff (routine) and left it that way. But then I noticed, down the next hallway that one of my framed pieces of art is lying on the ground. A full flight of stairs and around several corners from where it originally hung. This print hangs right next to our actual apartment door.

So this clues me in to the fact that something strange has indeed happened. I go back upstairs, check the rest of my art in our upper hallway and also check our storage closet which is not behind lock, and accessible to this odd-habited theif. Nothing else seems out of place.

Downstairs in the basement, on my way to my car in the garage, I notice a few things that have apparently been rifled through. But nothing obvious missing (at least property belonging to my roomate or myself). Odd.

But none of this actually surprises me. See, when said Landlord moved in, he *uninstalled* the lock on the side door. No seriously. He actually removed the entire mechanism, so there’s just a gaping hole in the door. In fact, he even went as far as to rig up an ingenious system (to keep this now-swinging door shut) of wedging a piece of rubber in the door jam. There really are no bounds to what this modern day Jed Clampet can come up with.

So it’s no surprise if someone actually violated our house. Hell, he might as well have invited them in for tea. He brazenly (in cahoots with his spawned children) leaves the garage door open routinely, even when no one is home. His children have full access to the entire house when he’s away and never close any door behind them. So is it any wonder?

No. But nonetheless it creeps me out. Not in a “time to get a Guardian alarm” kinda way. But still. To think that someone came right up to our front door.

What a way to start the day. Just remember kids: locked doors aren’t just for woosies anymore. You could be next.

Ok, before I go I’ll do the “Friday Five”:

1. What do you do for a living?
Web designer and developer for a university

2. What do you like most about your job?
Being the only designer, I not only get to project manage, art direct and design, but I get to train people on campus. I love making things that make people happy (makes their 9-5 easier).

3. What do you like least about your job?
University life is strange because I have to use the same 3 fonts and 11 colors for everything. Oh, and I have to make pages that can be easily updated by people w/o web knowledge.

4. When you have a bad day at work it’s usually because…?
…I am getting frustrated with people that are self-important.

5. What other career(s) are you interested in?
Teaching. Or working for Jim Henson. Or owning a record store. Mainly being a dad someday.

But this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check out the photos to the right…c’mon…three news ones are nothing to scoff at.

Getting on the road today. Three new photos on the right. Have a safe and restful holiday. Cheers.

So as I sit here, 7:36 in the morning, with my eggbeaters and green tea I am strangely reminded of two specific relationship models that have been explained to me over the past few years. Don’t ask me why fake eggs and a hot drink would cause this. I have no idea.

While both are too lengthy to explore in one post, I’ll choose only one for this morning’s pointless meandering.

Relationship Model No. 1, or as I like to call it, the “Impossible Friend Theory,” is fairly self explanatory. As it was explained to me, most likely over a beer or frustration-headache, it goes like this:

A heterosexual male and female *cannot* under any circumstances, be friends without at least one of the two said parties being sexually attracted to the other. At all times, despite contest from either, there is at least one person sexually attracted to the other.

Now, I’m not sure how I feel about this. Initially I chuckled and went to offer up a ton of current guy/girl friends…but found it more difficult that originally thought. Even in a moment of self-analysis, I’ve tried to disprove this model. I like to consider myself a guy who’s at least fairly easy-going and history has proven that it is possible for me to have female friends (usually more than male friends. should i be concerned?). However, even if I have not been attracted to these individuals, and feel and intense bond of friendship, I cannot in good conscience state that this model was proved false. There’s a solid chance that in all of these friendships, the other party could have (either under influence of illegal narcotics, blackmailed by the mafia, etc) strangely been attracted to me and I just did not notice.

There’s one friendship in particular, that sadly has fallen dormant due to my lack of communication and also distance. But with her I felt she was as close as my sister. I truly felt a familial, non-sexual bond with her. I’d like to think she felt the same way, but I’ll never know I suppose. Funny how the only instance that could finally, magnificently disprove this armchair theory will never be truly known because I cannot ask the other person.

So I wonder…since I have yet to disprove this, could it possibly be a grand, sweeping yet applicable generalization to all m/f relationships? (and as a caveat, we’re talking true friendship…not “getting along” or “doesn’t mind spending time with”). I’m not sure.

So this is model numero uno. Perhaps later i’ll explore the midly similar, yet more frightening incarnation of this theory. I’ll now continue to rock out to the misunderstood angst of Kurt Cobain. May he rock and rest in peace. And no, I cannot believe it’s been 10 years and 2 days since his death. I’m officially getting old (Andy too).

A very happy and enjoyable birthday to a long-time friend and the closest thing I’ve ever had to a brother. 24’s not the end of the world, Andy. Enjoi.

New photo to the right.

I can’t stand greatest hits albums.

So I was reading a delicious new book last night, and this particular chapter dealt with the phenomenon of cover bands. It got me thinkin. Sure it’s a sad day when people will pay $12 to see a G’N’R cover band rehash Appetite for Destruction songs but not pay $5 to see somone play original music. But what about greatest hits/best of albums? Is this not another symptom of the same disease?

Why do people buy best of albums? Because they haven’t bothered to listen to an artist’s entire catalogue. I’d be hard pressed to believe that die-hard fans devour greatest hits collections at the same rate as one-album fans. Seriously. Why would someone who owns the entire Elton John collection buy a best of album? To hear all the chart toppers on one disc I suppose. But usually the type of people that own an entire artist’s catalogue isn’t there for the chart toppers.

So it leaves me to wonder what type of people are voraciously buying these albums. Is is the lazy listener who doesn’t want a multitude of cds? Is it the radio-friendly fan who only wants the hits and nothing else? Is it the poor person who can’t afford an entire collection but still fancies the artist’s work? If it’s the last category, I cannot complain. Money can be an issue for someone with a really extensive catalogue. But really I think it’s the first two types. People will buy a “best of” the doors album or greatest hits of depeche mode purely because they think all the best songs are on there and they can buy it in one instance. To me, this is like people that don’t know what painter to like, so they cling to Klimt’s “The Kiss” or some of the lilies that Monet did. They think that their work is too extensive to study, so why not just enjoy the more famous ones. After all, the reason they’re the most famous (chart-toppers) is because they’re the best, right? No.

The problem I have with best of albums and deckthewalls artwork is that you miss the gems. Singles, at least musically, are selected because they’re possible hits, appealing to the largest number of people possible. However, at least personally I find these to be the most shallow and radio-friendly on albums. The truest jewels lie buried in the rest of the albums. REM’s “Leave” is hidden in the middle of the disc. Surely it would never make a best-of album but it’s one of the most beautiful and haunting songs they’ve ever written.

This trend also applies to the new age of downloading. Typically teens are now just downloading singles, as opposed to entire albums…which is slowly reforming the way people record albums. If we move to a system where you pay for music downloads on a per-track basis, artists will soon learn to make singles, not albums. And thus sparkling treasures like “Leave” might never make it out, since perhaps it wouldn’t stand as a single.

It saddens me. I admit to owning, er, “owning” one or two best of albums. They’re springboards for me, a place to branch out from in a catalogue. I just pray I don’t get to a point musically where I exclusively buy these collections.

It’s like just eating the cream out of an Oreo. It’s just not the same without the other stuff that makes it whole.