Chaos Love: love, life, design and more.

I took my camera with me to work today to give you all a little look at where I'm at and what it's like... nothing amazing, but at least you can visualise things a bit better.

First off is the commute. Piotr is in Ottowa for Easter, so I'm having to make my own way to work at the moment... what is a rapid 20 minute drive in the car becomes a one hour-plus saga on public transport. I have to walk half a mile to the MAX station, as seen here:

I have to catch this three stops to the north, where I transfer from Portland's Tri-Met system to Vancouver's C-Tran. The number 4 bus takes me over the Columbia River to Vancouver's town centre, where I transfer again to another bus, the 37, which takes me all the way out to far South-East Vancouver, an area known as Mill Plain. Fortunately, tickets purchased on either system are valid on the other, so the transfer is quite easy.

I should mention here that Vancouver's "CBD" (such as it is) is incredibly dull and empty at 8:30 in the morning. Vancouver really is a satellite suburb of Portland, and almost everyone has already headed down the I-5 to their jobs in PDX by this time. So there's just a handful of people waiting at the bus stop for the long trip east with me.

The bus travels along a main east-west thoroughfare called Mill Plain Boulevard, which is basically a giant strip mall, with shopping centre after shopping centre lining it all the way. Occasionally a hospital or car yard will break the monotony, but otherwise it's wall to wall consumerism for a 10 mile stretch.

Finally, I arrive at my stop and it's another half-mile stroll to Wacom's office, in the middle of a stereotypical industrial park, pretty much the same as anywhere else in the world. You know, the ones with street names like "Innovation Drive" and "Technology Blvd"... we've all seen them. Their building isn't exactly awe-inspiring:

Once inside, I have to grab a visitor's pass from the front desk each and every day and sign in. Then it's off to the studio, a dimly lit room with no windows. Here's my workstation:

They've given me a MacBook Pro just like mine and a big monitor as a second screen. I've also got an Intuos 3 tablet hidden behind the laptop and I also have access to a Cintiq 12 – a tablet with an integrated screen, possibly the coolest thing ever invented – if needed. The mouse is mine, an old favourite that I love to death. Of course, working for a company that makes products that are meant to replace computer mice, I've been given a lot of grief about my choice of equipment. What can I say? I'm still faster at certain things with my clunky old mouse!

Work is still a lot of fun and I've worked on heaps of different projects, which keeps things fresh each day. And having money in my pocket doesn't hurt, either!

Posted in: chaosboy, employment, portland, technology on March 25, 2008 at at 9:43:00 PM 0 comments    

hey blog!

nice to see you again!

Portland is getting warm and I have reacted with allergies that continue to haunt my sinuses. No biggie though, Cam and I have had plenty of distractions with his new job and me thinking babysitting a co-workers ferret while she is away was a thrilling idea. All in all, we have had a fun filled week and I'm sad its at its end.

I am always complaining to Cam about wanting a pet. Unfortunately since we have signed a lease that says "no pets allowed" that rules out even owning a goldfish. People are always asking us when we would consider having kids. How can I even consider such an idea if I have never even owned a cat on my own for awhile? Having a ferret for a few days is a perfect starter pet. She was brought home after work in her own cage as my co-worker had to California for the weekend. Julie, as the ferret is named is a very young and charismatic ferret.

She immediately showed her cleverness as well by ignoring Cam and I's attentions by mapping out her territory. Starting at one corner, she headed her way around the entire perimeter of the room, being sure to go behind large items in order to stay close to the wall. Once that was established, she managed to master the stairs. As soon as she saw there were no other ways to get behind the closed doors we purposefully shut, she then saw us suitable to play with.

Ferrets are extremely active for about 5 hours total a day. The rest of the time, they sleep. We let her run around in the evening until she exhausts herself and curls up in an obscure place to sleep. In the meantime, she spends all the entire time finding places that we haven't thought of to escape through. I dub these places "holes to Narnia." If she was to find a hole under the cabinets that we hadn't known of, then we would have no track of her. The hole doesn't connect to anywhere that we have access to!

Anyway, Julie has been a super fun addition to our little domestic life and I'm sad I have to give her back tomorrow. Oh, and by the way, don't tell our landlord you know anything of Julie.....

Easter was put into full swing this year. Kim and I made a few eggs and Cam and I watched a bit of Moses on TV, because it just gets more entertaining everytime you watch it. Here are some eggy pics.

We went to Kevin's brother Joe's house for a luscious Easter brunch that felt more like Thanksgiving. Full of food and mimosas we spent a good part of the day lounging around and talking about nothing and everything while it poured rain outside. Spring does look a lot like winter....

Posted in: chaosgurl, easter, pets, portland on March 23, 2008 at at 9:31:00 PM 0 comments    

So I've been working out at Wacom for a couple of days now and I just have to say... God, I've missed doing this! Designing is what I do, and I have just realised how much I need it to get my brain in gear: solving problems, dealing with technical issues, getting things done.

The teams is small, but a lot of fun to work with. They produce a lot of material, both internal and external, so there's plenty to do. I seem to have come on board just as they've hit a busy patch, so my initial three day stint looks like it may be extended into next week. Who knows? Piotr, another freelance designer who also came in through 52 Ltd, was originally signed up for a three month contract. He's still there a year later.

The commute to far south-east Vancouver (by both MAX and bus) was pretty simple, although it takes a long time: almost an hour and a half. Fortunately, I've only had to do it once, as Piotr lives fairly nearby and has a car... makes things a lot easier and lets me sleep in a bit in the mornings...

Posted in: chaosboy, employment on March 6, 2008 at at 7:35:00 PM 2 comments    

I'm so excited!

Almost a year after I left my last job in Australia, I have paid employment! It's just a short term assignment through 52 Ltd, but it's a start!

At the moment, it's just a three day stint at Wacom (purveyors of fine graphics tablets) in a production-only role, but it could be a little longer as well, maybe a week or so. Everything I do there will be Top Secret; I have to sign a confidentiality agreement when I start. Getting there will be interesting, as they're way out in the far south-east of Vancouver on the other side of the Columbia River. There is public transport there, but it's going to be a long trip at each end of the day. At the moment, I don't really care - I'm going to make some money!!!

52 Ltd have also given my name to Nike for a 6-month contract doing design on-site with them, which would be very exciting. Could be a while before I hear back on that job, however.

Have I mentioned that I'm excited??

Posted in: chaosboy, employment, portland on March 1, 2008 at at 4:20:00 PM 0 comments