thank Douglas it's Friday

I am bushwhacked. I am beyond bushwhacked. This week kicked my butt absolutely and totally. And it was a full 40 hour work week on top of doing some really laborious stuff.

At work I taped screens, and they were popped into the press right as I was done. I also cleaned a couple floodbars. It was an 8 color job and it took a few screen swaps to get it right, but we got it right! And it looked pretty awesome. We printed the fronts, I caught. I did some tidying up while the Boys swapped the press to run the fronts. Then I caught the fronts. And boxed them. Then it was time to go home and take my "damn I am tired" relaxation bath.

I'm going to sleep so hard now. It's going to be awesome. I think I'll make lasagna tomorrow. That'll be nice. I'm trying to switch up my lunch meals. I've done pretty good in the not having a PB&J five days in a row front, though the PB&J is a lot more satiating in the long run compared to leftover Chinese food, and the burrito, whole good, also doesn't fill like it ought. Plus it is harder to eat gradually through the day.

I'll probably make more portraits to scan

Blerggh I don't feel too good. I had a very fitful night sleep, and this whole week has been very tiring. Plus I worked a damn full shift today. I heat pressed backpacks, did a banner, reclaimed & coated screens, burned screens, burned more screens. It was a very full day. I got some fast food on the way home, because I was lazy. Unfortunately I don't think my body can really eat fast food any more. At least, not a massive quantity of it. The way I graze through my work day makes it difficult for me to sit and have one big meal.

So I'm going to bed now. So tired. Nice to be having hours though. A nice big full week. It's good to have because I've had some really short days.

I think I said earlier in the week that I'll probably be saying "wow this week went by fast" but it didn't. This week feels like two weeks. At least I can treat myself to a scanner soon. With a scanner, I can scan art, and make art to scan. Wheee!

derp

I arrived at work and Stu was already sorting sweatpants, so I broke down the press and cleaned squeegees and floodbars. Then the job was set up and I ran it. Several hundred sweatpants, and I ran it at good time. It slowed down when I had to drape the pant leg (we printed on one side of the pant only) over the arms of the press (the arm that holds the pallet that gets the stuff printed on). That was run, and that took most of the shift. It was boxed up and counted and numbered and whatnot. I cleaned some screens, so those should be reclaimed tomorrow.

I got out of work at a good time, so I swung by Jiffy Lube and got my oil changed. Then I went home and parked it and there is where my trouble began. At home I changed and then left for Trader Joe's and then my car was like BEEP BEEP WARNING LIGHT WHAT THE HELL. So I drove it back home (I was two blocks away) and called the Jiffy Lube and they told me to come in. So I did. My car was not accelerating past 12 MPH for the last stretch, but through diligence  use of warning flashers, and pulling over to the side when possible, I made it. They gave it another look over and did a scan and said that there was a battery alert and that was all that was coming up and that they didn't do anything wrong. But after having it there and having it sit, the battery charged up a bit, and thinking about a warning message that briefly flashed about parking in neutral, and calling dad, the pieces fell into place and without a doubt I had, like a dumbass, accidentally left my car in neutral (or it had been in neutral at the shop when they repaired it, though driving home should have charged the battery back up) when I went home, and drained the battery. I drove it down Highway 1 a bit, got it up to good speeds, and all was fine.

Now I know what happens when I drain my battery. Like I said, I feel a right dumb ass. They were really nice about it, though I didn't come at them with full accusations of bad service.

After all that, I went to Trader Joe's and did some good proper shopping. Went home, had some dinner, settled in and all was once again well.

Seriously, such a dumb mistake to make.

da-da da-da da-da DA

I dug out my old crossword puzzle book, this one I got in Portland a few years back (yikes, Portland now counts as being "a few years back") and I've been working on the puzzles. There are 50 in the book and I am one solved puzzle away from 100%. Unfortunately the puzzles themselves are a bit dated (1999) so some of the clues need Googling. I should see if Bookshop Santa Cruz has a more up to date puzzle book.

I think I forgot to mention this, but last week at work a chicken wandered into the studio and I had to chase it out. Silly chicken!

We got right to printing, and because it was fronts and because it wasn't so affixed to the pallets and because the fronts didn't make much registration, we were done with the job by 3:30ish! I was properly tired, of course. So very. Tired. Arms, legs, knees, all that good stuff. So many sweaters. Stu caught and Kara/Cara/I should really learn how to spell her name boxed. We chatted about stuff and it was nice. After that massive job, I burned and taped some screens and the press was broken down by Andrew and then I called it a day at around 6, because even though I could have worked more I was properly pooped. At least I have a job that is flexible and not NO YOU MUST WORK THIS MANY HOURS EVERY DAY.

My refund checks went through, so I treated myself to some take out. Num nums. I picked up a menu from Yan Flower and am highlighting the stuff I've tried. It all tastes a bit the same, though the snow peas and water chestnuts aren't half bad and the ginger beef has WAY too much ginger. Now I must research scanners! Weekend goals: oil & filter change, and scanner research. Wheee! Maybe some thrift shopping for work pants. I just wore a hole through the knee.

Welp. Time to rest. Hopefully tomorrow will be easier on my old bones.

Except they are not old at all, just not used to being used. Hhaha.

Oh after work I also took a nice hot bath and worked on crosswords. That bath was awesome. Viva baths!

mondaaaay

Mailed some letters, got to work, set up ze job, and spent the rest of the day printing the job. Boss started, but I took over after the really small sweaters were printed. 468. That is a lot of sweaters, and it took a lot of repeated effort to tug them off the pallets. Tomorrow will be the fronts, but they should go faster because it is a smaller print area and the set up is only underbase and top white. I'm going to get big muscles soon, if I keep this up. I'm looking forward to it.

What was that filter I should get changed when I get my oil changed? Gotta do that this week.

Back at home I relaxed and didn't really move any more once I got to my room. I predict tomorrow will have a similar evening. Yay for laborious jobs!

my banana bits are all gone, boo

Found my book of easy crossword puzzles, so I've been working on those. I've got a few more of the clues, so that is good. Hurray!

I have eight cards ready to post in the morning. That is pretty swell. I'll have to come up with a new design soon. I think I'll come up with several designs, and print a ton of cards, so that I could sell them in an Etsy/street fair type scenario. Have 'em on hand and whatnot. I'm going to run out of stamps at about the same time that I run out of cards.

I made a Staples run to pick up more envelopes. It was a beautiful day. The days are looking nicer and nicer. I can't wait to be back in my cut offs. I have one pair of work jeans that I didn't turn into shorts, and they are getting mighty worn.

I need to get a second pair of work jeans...except they would be clean new jeans and I like to wear older clothes to work because the ink doesn't really come out of clothes. Maybe I'll go thrift shopping or something.

Hmm.

Anyhoo. It was a quiet Sunday. Wrote letters. Tidied up my room.

Another week begins, and soon I shall be saying "wow that week went by fast!".

out and about & in and din

Friday:

Ran the front and backs on a shirt. Broke down the press. Moved on to Moving Pictures, yet another Discworld audiobook. Burnt a couple screens. Sorted and stacked several huge piles of sweatshirts. Lots of printing is going to go down soon. It'll be nice to clock the hours.

After work I got some cupcakes and went up to San Jose and hung out with Steve, Kyle, Molly, Adam, and Jenn. We had pot roast and stew and bread and wine and played Settles of Catan (Steve won). It was a good night all in all. I got back late and promptly went to sleep.

Saturday:

Slept way, way in. Had some funky dreams. Had a massive scramble. Caught up on television. Ate some chocolate covered banana bits. Generally had a relaxing day. Quite nice, really.

I learned a cool trick to multiplying large numbers. It utilizes lines and counting intersections of things.

licensed Californian

When I got home today my mailbox contained my new drivers license (the photo doesn't look too good, but that is the way it goes), my second refund check aka the big one, and a letter from Serenity. Triple score!

Then the interior hall light when out when I turned it on. Oh well.

At work I set up and ran a job, and it didn't need to get the thumbs up from the boss man. I was all kinds of trusted to run it. That was awesome. I also did these heat transfers on these things. And set up the backs on another job. And did four banners. And cut some stickers. And cleaned squeegees. Pretty productive day at the studio.

Can't believe it is Friday already! These weeks are just going by too fast.

title for a post

Another lovely full day! Things are revving up. There are also many many boxes ready to be counted and sorted. That'll be a good deal of work. Hurray, summer season! Almost been here a year now.

Two smaller jobs were ran, but first I burned and taped all the screens. Also bagged the banners and weeded some stuff. Found out my coworker watches Game of Thrones, so now I have a third show to talk to him about. Hurray! Conversation!

I did a grocery run. Trillian recommends Trader Joe's sliced up chocolate covered bananas. Found in the freezer aisle. Yum.

Now the weekend is fast approaching. And March. Time moves fast.

Still waiting on my license and other refund. Come on money!

historical children's fiction, yay!

I had my beloved full work day today! Hurray! I coated screens. I need to mix up a new batch of emulsion. I cut stickers, I bagged stickers, I weeded vinyl, and I did banners. Banners are time consuming and it is hard to do them because you have to be gentle when you fold them over, so they don't get creased and damaged and stuff. I'm all caught up on Tobolowsky Files. Guess it is time to listen to some more audiobooks. First up: The Red Necklace. Narrated by Tom Hiddleston. Yaaay!

At home I had some oatmeal and tea and was properly tired for the rest of the night.

Still waiting on my license and other refund.

Oh and there was a shooting in a neighborhood about a mile from my house. Happened when I was at work. Yeesh.

time to read when all I want is time to work

Ended up working a very short day due to circumstances that should be resolved by tomorrow. I reclaimed some screens, burned and taped one, ate a pork burrito, tidied up the studio.

After work I took a very nice bath and spent more Amazon gift card money (The Marriage Plot, used for super cheap! and The Stockholm Octavo sounded cool). I had some garlic toast for a dinner snack, and took it easy with a big mug o' tea.

I'm hoping the hours will pick up soon. Like...tomorrow.

I suddenly have a case of the tireds, even though I haven't been through much exertion lately.

piles of pork

Saturday:

I think we know by now how I started my day. And what I probably ate.

At 4:30ish, I headed up to San Jose to see Steve. We met up with his friends Molly and Kyle and then we went out for Barbecue at Smoking Pig BBQ. It was a pretty damn authentic BBQ joint. Big cookers outside, food serving on trays instead of plates, piles of meat, live blues/jazz band, not a single air to put on. It was awesome. I ordered a pound of pulled pork, totally forgetting how much a pound of food is, quantity wise. At least I'll have plenty of left overs...for the next three days. I ate until I was properly stuffed (had a mac n cheese and corn bread side) and ate some more and even then it didn't look like I put a dent in it. Afterwards we hung out at Kyle and Molly's and watched TV. Last Exile, Outlaw Star, Archer. Good stuff! There were even Thin Mints, which made my night.

Stuffed with food, and pretty tired I opted to stay in San Jose instead of driving home. Better safe than rolled into a ditch on 17.

Sunday:

It was an absolutely beautiful day, from San Jose down to Santa Cruz. Back in Santa Cruz I made myself a pork, beef, beans, rice burrito for a late breakfast. Spent the rest of the day sitting back, drinking tea, watching stuff, and drinking more tea. ParaNorman didn't went Best Animate Feature, so that was a bummer. I couldn't find a good stream for the Oscars, so I just watched Ripper Street. The good stuff will be available online anyway.

Now the tired is creeping back up on me. The weekend is over already! Back to work. More printing is ahead of me. Printing and all that other jazz.

it was almost 60 degrees today, almost

Uhhgg I don't feel so hot. I got something lodged in my throat while I was eating an apple (possibly a bit of the apple) and I've been feeling off ever since. Maybe I'm just tired or something. Worn down a bit. I'll be going to bed soon, hopefully sleep will resolve whatever it is.

Today was a shorter work day. It started a bit later too, which was nice because it gave me time to run my errands. Got to Trader Joe's and got some snacks and got some cash back. I included some money in my print portfolio, to cover the cost of mailing me my portfolio when they are all assembled. I figure that giving whoever on the other end some money will make it a better incentive to mail me it, as opposed to expecting them to foot the bill. I went to the post office and got even MORE stamps and sent off my package. I'm so set for stamps, except now I'm running low on envelopes. Not dangerously slow, but I'll run out of them before I run out of cards.

At work I burned a bunch of screens, and then taped up those screens. More printing is on its way! And we are printing another seasonal run of the stuff that I first printed when I was hired! Oh how time flies. 9 months? Dang.

Went home. Worked on my correspondence. Went to CTV for movie night. Though it turned into watching Mr. Bean with Ryan, Sarah, and Vietta and then going to see Warm Bodies. So that was nice, despite my cough.

Warm Bodies was very delightful. I had quite a few good laughs, and it is always nice for the heroine in a horror film to 1) not die 2) not run around in heels 3) not have a full face of makeup ALL THE TIME. Anyway, I enjoyed it and the company was good.

Not sure what will take place this weekend. Depends on how I wake up feeling.

carded

Today was super good! My alarm went off at the not so agreeable hour of 6:10am. I got out of bed at 7am, showered, opted not to eat breakfast, put makeup on, and headed to the DMV at about 7:35ish. I arrived at just a bit after 8, which was exactly when they opened. My appointment was at 9, but I was put to the front of the queue, or rather near the front, so I got in at 8:15ish to deal with paperwork, so all was good! My paperwork was approved, I didn't even need to prove my address! Maybe people move more in California. Oh, and I didn't even need my Social Security Card...but it is good to have it, just in case. Then I got my picture taken. I don't know what I look like in it, so hopefully I look good. Then I took the test, and that was nerve wracking! I did pass, though there were some stumpers. The phrasing is what gets you. Still, I passed, and my new license should be to me in a week or so. Hurray!

I returned home, had breakfast, and then went in to work, and I arrived at work at my usual time! All that activity before my shift even starts. I'm very thankful for my 10:30am start. But due to the fluctuating nature of my work, it ended up being that there wasn't much for me to do that day. So after an hour and a half, I went home. Hours will be coming soon, this week was heavy on the off site install stuff, which I don't help with. At home I had a burrito, and set up my screen for printing. It went a lot easier this time around, because I was just using white and black ink for my prints. I printed the white on the card and the white on my "Luck" print portfolio print, and then washed the screen, and then once it was dry, I printed the black on the card, and then washed it out again. And that was it! A good days worth of personal work. Got another batch of cards, and my prints all ready to go. Popping the portfolio in the mail tomorrow and a few cards as well.

For dinner I had an eggy scramble. It was tasty. So all in all, a very good day for Trillian. And tomorrow is Friday. And then the weekend! Wowza.

yup

I reviewed my DMV booklet and took a bunch of the online tests and did really well! Hurray common sense and 10ish years of driving experience. Has it been 10? Well if I got my permit when I was 15 1/2, then yeah. Dang. I filled out the form, got some mail to prove this is my address (hopefully it is legit enough, I don't have any bank docs or bills in my name here).

9am. Tomorrow. DMV. Gettin' it done. I'll have to wash my hair and make myself all pretty for the license...and then show up at work looking all pretty, instead of my usual scruffy self.

I did some banners at work, and ran some shirts with Stu catching, weeded some vinyl, and cleaned screens and floodbars. After work I chopped paper down to size, now I just have to print it! That is exciting.

At home I made some burrito fixings and had some burritos for dinner. Also did my laundry and put the trash and recycling out (as well as emptied the trash and recycling, I'm such an adult!).

Hope all goes well at the DMV tomorrow. I wonder if Ma and Pa are proud that their daughter is growing up to be a Californian.

Ozma is a nice name. Time to listen to some Oz audiobooks!

It was a short, self motivated day at work. But that gave me ample time to do what needed to be done. Which was just get my screen exposed. I coated it with the rest of the stack, and exposed it with the others that needed exposing. I also cut stickers, both vinyl and not vinyl. And emptied the trash. And some other tasks. Oh, taped screens!

After work, I swung by the art store and got paper. I'm printing white on black, and it turns out that black paper is more expensive. But I still only needed to buy two sheets. I also got the paper for my next set of cards. Going with a slightly less saturated color scheme this time.

Now I just need to cut the paper down to size, but I'll do that at work tomorrow after my shift. I don't have a proper tear bar, and I don't want to muck up the paper. Cutting printmaking paper isn't quite the way you are supposed to go, but I'm doing it anyway. I'm getting more precise with my measurements...at least I think I am. Maybe I'm just more precise with my cuts.

Anyhoo. At home, I made myself some garlic bread after doing some shopping. I have a shopping run where I get bananas and apples and the things I eat within a week, and I do a shopping run of things that take me 2+ weeks to go through. So now I have more bread, and burrito fixings. I enjoyed those burritos, so I think I'll make another batch of the filling (it's just meat and beans, nothin' fancy).

I'm nearing the end of the Tobolowsky podcasts, and Snow Crash. I don't know what will come next. Maybe some Oz stories?

Can't wait to get printing!

I wonder how affordable scanners are...

My eyes hurt because I've had the desk lamp on while I work on my print for the upcoming print portfolio. But now I've completed it! Hurray! Well, completed the thing to expose. Now I just need to expose it. I'll only need one screen for the print and the new card, so that is nice.

I started the day with reclaiming. 11 screens, all pretty and awaiting emulsion! Perfect timing, because I'll coat my screen with them tomorrow. I also helped cut down these big prints for an install and weeded more vinyl. It's nice to not constantly be removing ink from my fingers. Good to give the skin a bit of a rest.

At home I worked on art. Got that painting done, and it is ready to be sent to it's owner. Did some magnets. Ate dinner. Then I got to work on the transparency for my print. I cleaned off three films that were left over from my Christmas print. Saving the film from the first card. Might be worth it to hang onto my stationary films, in case I want to do another run.

Not a bad Monday. Tomorrow is looking to be a solo task day at work. I am still not done with Snow Crash. Damn you Tobolowsky, you are too good to listen to!

sketch, sketch, paint, soak, draw, sketch, sleep

It's 1:30am and I just spent the last few hours working on a little portrait of Bofur for a friend (their birthday is coming up, and they don't read my blog). I really dig the portrait, but I'm not going to push myself to finish it tonight because I don't want to overwork it. It's a combination of watercolor with ink line art, a style I really dig.

Earlier in the day I designed my next card to mail out to people, and I worked on my design for the upcoming print exchange. I need to buy more transparency to draw on. I should just get a sheet of mylar, because even at a couple bucks a sheet, it is a lot larger than the smaller stuff, and I can just cut off to size what I need. Too bad the art store closes so bloody early, and Kinkos is open whenever.

Option B is to just use rubbing alcohol on the sheets that I do have and remove the images that are already drawn on it, which are the separations for the Lighthouse Field State Beach print and my last card. That makes them even more special, because I absolutely cannot print them again. Hmmm. Might just do that. I have no desire to print them again, and I have copies of the prints saved for my archives.

So yeah, very productive art day! I also took a bath and read my book and watched Groundhog Day and Pitch Perfect while working on stuff (and watching Walking Dead and Shameless in the evening).

That is it. Trillian out!

Burns always gets under my skin, but in a good way

I spent a good portion of the day sitting on the couch reading Charles Burns comics (X'ed Out and The Hive) and then I got really weirded out by all of reality. So I spent a few hours in a funk and did that drawing as a reaction to the whole experience.

Joey got some morning snuggles in.

I had eggs for breakfast and dinner. I went to the Santa Cruz Diner for dinner, because I was feeling lazy and I wanted an omelette. I had the Capitola omelette, which has bacon, ham, and cheddar, with hash browns and pancakes on the side and hot tea. Mmmm. I read NOT Charles Burns and took it easy.

I was supposed to run errands, but I read instead. Not the worst decision I've ever made.

back in black vinyl

More vinyl! This time it was a mix of big designs that were easy to weed, and little designs that took some effort to manage. There is more vinyl on the way, though I think it might be more big things, and less little complicated things. After the weeding was done, I cleaned the screens in the back. Now I have a tall stack ready for reclaiming! Hooray! It seemed to take less time than I remember cleaning screens to take, or maybe it just seemed that way because I've been cleaning 20 or so screens in a stretch, and this time there were only 10.

Anyway, that was a nice full work week. Good hours, good variety of duties. Still have all my fingers.

At home I watched my telly, had some dinner, and thought about making art but I got distracted by sentimentality and didn't do that.

I was browsing through my blog and my entries used to be a lot longer. Probably because my day to day varied a lot more during school. And some of my older posts seemed more conversational in tone, where as these...I guess not so conversational? I dunno.

I'll still blog. I like having my blog. My little record of the day to day.