Calm before storm

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I am at work and I am so chilled out.  I work on the phones, for a television company (who shall remain nameless), and I have been getting technical training, so that I can help more of our customers sort out their problems, rather than transfering calls.

What happens is we get this training in a classroom, much like school, and then we spend two weeks taking nothing but technical calls. And right now, I am in the middle part, as I have just finished the training about 20 minutes ago. 🙂 So I am on the phone, for the last hour of my shift, taking my normal Customer Services calls, and to be honest, it is totally dead.  And I am really excited about starting to take tech calls tomorrow 🙂 , as in really cannot wait. I guess its just because I am trying something new, so it is always exciting. I am just happy its not billing, because I like techincal, but I cannot do billing for the life of me.

The one thing that is important with working on the phone, and even moreso with tech, is how you explain something to a customer. Which is how graphic design works, its how you communicate  the information. Its one of the things I have learnt, working for such a large company, customers only take in what they want to. So I suppose an important thing in what I do, is finding a way that all the important information will be taken in by whoever looks at it.

Because of the industry I am planning to go into, I am very big on reading the small print, but that is something I have learnt working here, as well as creating my own advertisements.  People absorb what you tell them to, and people use that power against the very people they set out to have as customers.

By not displaying information as clearly as they should, people don’t even read important things such as contracts and small print, because they are boring. They just want to watch their new tv, not sit and read through a book of terms of their contract.  As a business who serves the public, is it not important that we tell customers EVERYTHING, and not just the good bits to make a quick sale.

At the end of the day, if you are honest and upfront, a client or customer will respect you for giving them all the facts. Just because there are conditions to your free broadband, does not mean that is anyless of an offer if we tell you of the conditions.

I believe that the public should be given as much information as possible, by us, as in businesses, so that the can make the best decision. And people who withhold information, should get charged, as we need to defend the public. They have faith in who they deal with, too many people take advantage of that faith.

**sorry for rambling, but its a thought which has been in my head a long time, and I think that it is something that should be openly discussed. **

Holiday Work?

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

So I’m off college for two weeks. 🙂 And I have decided ro do a lot of work, to catch up on everything.

So first proper day of holiday and I wake up at midday. Which leads to me lounging around and doing nothing till I venture out for work later on. So, kind of not productive, when you consider other than making a toasted cheese sandwich, this blog is the most productive I have been all day. lol

Oh well. I’m going to try and get some stuff tonight when I come home from work. Gonna put on the Watchmen DVD, and just relax, and play catch up on everything. 🙂 Well, I am going to sit and get my thumbnails sorted for my graded Unit. I got a C last year for my Graded Unit, so my aim is to blow that result out the water this year. So far, the project is a lot cleaner and a lot more detailed, I just hope I can keep that up 😕

I suppose it was my birthday weekend, so I’m trying not to be so harsh on myself, as that usually brings what little motivation I have to a stop. So I’m trying to not stress out about it. I am going to try and sort my room out tomorrow, because it is covered in sketchbooks, clothes and empty fag packets.

I know, its such a sexy image 😛

xx

Off-loading frustrations.

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I am now another year older, at the grand ol’ age of 26. :/

Spent a lovely night out, which lead to most of today being spend in my bed. *shrugs* Is that not what Sunday’s are there for, are they not?

Anyway, this is just me checking in. Still got a horrible cold, and am still coughing till I vomit, which is not a nice experience.

Also something kind of major happened. Well, its major to me.

Benji Madden won his fight at Ellismania 5 against Riki Rachtman. So happy he won, though. As usual with fights, there is a good guy and a bad guy. And Riki was the mouthy bad guy.  He had been slagging off Benji and Good Charlotte fans, whilst Benji was mostly silent. The thing is now Benji has won (TKO in first round), people have taken to be really mean about Riki. So as always, I find myself defending someone against the wrath of the GC fans. Did it with Paris, Nicole (at the start) and Holly. I mean, people are wishing death on people they have never met.

I am so proud of Benji, he got himself fit, and did what he wanted. Then Benji is always like that. He is so determined. Thats what makes him such a positive role model. He is Mr Posicore.

And that thought, makes me ill.

Anywho, this was a pointless post, but I had to off-load my anger at some peoples attitude against people. 😛

Ciao xx

Website designing, or should that be attempting?

~ Sue ~ 3 Comments

Nobody seems to appreciate the amount of planning that goes into making a webpage for anything. Its all coding and very complicated, well complicate till you learn how the coding works.

Anywho, finished my website planning today. Which is nice to have that done and dusted, though I know for a fact its not as good as it should be, because I started rushing. And trust me, it wasn’t for lack of trying, that the work wasn’t done. I mean, I sat in front of the computer for about 8 hours trying to work, and getting nowhere cause I was sick. *sigh*

From having a look at a lot of websites, it seems that a lot of them are written in a ‘blog’ format. I think that this is because it makes the site easy to use, and everybody and their dog seems to have some kind of blogging site these days. *Me, I have like 6 blogs from blog sites and that’s not including Myspace, Twitter, etc*

Website has switched back to Riot Graphics, instead of Phsychobabble. I was put off because there was another site on Myspace called Riot Graphics *:( <—-my face at finding that out*. Well, last night I eventually had the guts to check it out and see what my competition is. It was a site for Paramore graphics and photos. A site which has not been accessed in almost 2 years. You have no idea how relieved that makes me. 🙂 I have talked to a lot of bands through Myspace, as a matter of getting work, and to think that another company had the same name as mine, made me want to cry.

But, all is good on that front, so I decided to go back to Riot Graphics, and used Psychobabble for a project when I get things sorted a bit.

I have been using Riot Graphics for about 3 years now, and I like it. I can even think of how I got the name. Hmmm *thinks*

Anyways, I got to go to the job that is paying for my bills right now 😦

So toodles. xx 😛

Get Down With The Sickness

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Uch 😦

Still not feeling much better, if anything I am feeling worse. It started off as the flu, which then turned into a rather nasty cold and finally it is an ear infection.:/ Its my birthday this weekend, and I can sense it’ll be in my bed. Not so nice, likes.

Anyway, I am having a wee break from doing work, or trying to do work, and been having a wee look through the internet, to try and find inspirational websites for influencing my website I’m designing. I am bad enough doing things normally, without feeling half dead.

So this is just a quick update, whilst I try to get motivated again. But I found this website during my ambling.Its a site by a guy called Adam Amaral, I like the hand drawn menus and things. Check it out – http://www.adamamaral.com/

Barbie Girl

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Ok for my animation ‘e card’, I am creating a small animation for a holiday of my choice, and I am choosing Beltaine. Its a Wiccan festival of fire, which happens every spring. I have read into it, and it seems to be way of getting nature to allow crops to grow, etc.

Anyway, I was initially going to hand draw the animation, which was to have a witchy person casting spells, with sparks everywhere as the magic was cast. I came across a road block because I can’t seem to be able to draw what I want. 😦 I was not happy. Sooo….. I went and bought a barbie, with the idea of animating it like Stop motion. 

So the plan is to photograph all parts of the doll, import them into photoshop, where I can then edit them, so that the doll can wear what I want it to.

Also planning a trip through to see if there are any exhibitions in Edinburgh, going through with Paul. I like art galleries and I never get to go. So hooray for that.

Also hooray for the awesome-ness of Links Market in Kirkcaldy.

Life is good.

Sometimes. 🙂 xx

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

So…..still kind of ill 😦 I had the flu last week, and I am now suffering from the cold. I was getting at the stage where I thought I was getting better, and into a ‘swing’ with things, I just end up wanting to lie in bed all day and do nothing.

So, not in the best working situation right now, and it’s noone’s fault bar mine.  I have two weeks off coming up, and going to spend all my time working on my projects. Its a lot of work, but I should be ok.  The plan is to blitz my projects one-by-one, and get them all up to date. I am falling behind, again, and I need to stop blaming other things.

Its MY work, so it’s MY responsibility to get it done.

I can do my own work no problem, but its this whole concept on getting my creativity to work on a schedule. I suppose that’s why I am in college, to learn how to do things like that. To be honest, that is the hardest thing to do, as I work well to my own timescales, but as soon as someone else gives me a schedule to work off, I just come to a stop. Its like I can’t be creative to someone else’s demands. Again, it’s just learning that, I suppose.

See me and my rebellious creativity XD

Technology=life

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Most of the last few days, I have only been on the PC, if it was needed. The reason is, that I am choked with the flu. I feel horrible.

But it did make me think how I would live without technology. I mean it is impossible for me to imagine my life without my computer, tv, mobile and X box. It’s crazy. I want to know when did I become so emotionally attached to such items. I used to be attached to my wee stereo but that was it. Now, I carry my mobile and iPod everywhere. I am also connected to the web, for most of my day. Because I email clients and printmakers a lot, I always check my emails.

It’s almost like a compulsion. Unless I am really ill, I can’t survive on silence. I don’t know if it’s because I am usually so busy,  but I struggle to relax. apparently this is a common thing, these days, with a lot of people struggling to relax, because society, these days requires us to not switch off. It’s like we always need stimulation from somewhere. It’s crazy.

Hoping to get work as a graphic designer, I am going to be spending  a lot of time on the computer, that is something that is not going to change. That is not necessarily a bad thing, because it is something I need to do. I just need to be able to switch off a lot more. So that I can relax. At the moment I work and relax using the internet. I need to be able to feel that I can switch off from the web. Not really sure how to do that though.

Good or Bad

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Going on from my train of thought yesterday. I starting thinking about what says something is either good or bad. We get told there are bad words, bad actions, bad clothes, bad music. But really what does any of that mean?

The thing is, it’s our heads that decide what is good or bad. Its our thought process, which turns something good or bad. A word is just a word, it can’t stab someone. The thoughts and ideas the word conjures up, is what decides whether it is good or bad. And the thoughts and ideas change, depending on where you come from.

For instance, if I mention the word ‘fag’, I mean it as cigarette, and usually means I am going for a smoke. But to Americans, it is a negative word aimed at gay people. So whilst in the UK, that word is harmless, in the US it is a terrible word. But the word isn’t the bad thing, its what people connect to it. It happens everywhere.

I feel that is something that is a part of how people work. Like I said yesterday, people like to feel more superior, and they do that by having answer for everything. So rather than saying, ‘that song isn’t to my taste’, people are more likely to say ‘that song is bad’. Its maybe people just not wording things right, but I feel it is more than that. Its like giving it a solid answer, if you say that something is bad. That’s it, end of discussion.

But, fair enough, if people are taught and brought up to think that way. But, it becomes an issue, when someone opposes their opinion. People forget that opinion is never right or wrong. People refuse to except differing opinions, and refuse to discuss them. We call our selves the most superior race, but if we can’t accept and discuss even simple opinions, its no wonder society is crumbling.

You want someone to listen and respect what you say and think, maybe you should do the same. Try it.

Free Speech, Costly Thoughts

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I had an odd instance today. Where I talked about something, and was given the reply of death threats. Its an odd occurence. I am a very opinionated person, and never had the problem of such volatile reactions to my words.
It wasn’t as if the words were offensive. I mean, I spoke negatively about a singer from a bands actions. But that’s it. I didn’t berate him for it, I just said I did not agree with his actions. Simple enough, you may think. It’s just showing opinion, over something. Which is all it was. But when did opinion become a fight about what’s right and wrong?

I wish I could say, that my experience today, was a one off occurence.  But I know, just by watching the news, it isn’t. We are constantly being told how lucky we are, because we live in a country which allows free speech. Which is all very well, in theory. Free speech, also allows free thinking. And people, as complex as we appear, can’t seem to process anything other than a good side and a bad side, just black and white. So the thoughts you think up, are either right and wrong, as if that gives it an answer.

I mean, we like answers don’t we. Like to have everything in resolved in a neat little package. People are reluctant to say something is someones opinion, and to just leave it that. They feel the need to show why it is right, or wrong. Why?

Looking through the news, I saw that T4’s Miquitta Oliver has been suspended from her work, because she spoke negatively about US singer Ke$ha. She apparently used swear words when talking about the singer. Now, note that the words themself, weren’t what caused the damage. It was the thought process, connected to those words. But to say that someone is not allowed to air their frustrations, with this ‘free speech’, kind of indicates that we are not as free as we are lead to believe.

But that’s not anything new is it?