By junk I mean the various things I own - I'm moving to Ann Arbor for grad school. It looks like I'll have a chunk of time between leaving work and the start of my lease that I may use to do some wandering. I guess we'll see how the bank accounts are looking after my trip to France.

And Nam, thats more tempting than you know!

we're heading east in a month - thinking first stop near Chicago, next near Cleveland, then the Catskills, NYC and back. Any suggestions for the route back? can't go too far off the beaten path, since we'll have the shrub with us (which limits how many hours/miles we can go each day). Perhaps pittsburgh, then? (sorry nam, FL is out of the question this trip).

Today was the first day of thesis presentations - some pretty cool projects on display in Rapson. Wish I had enough time to enjoy all the presentations, but I have too many other deadlines in the next few weeks, including: Greenscreen on thursday, and our Z+ m-term course in two weeks...

This is terribly frightening.

Barry I would suggest Bean Town but you have been there and done that!

Thanks James.  I enjoyed the link.  Thoroughly pumped to get my work done today... or clown children  will eat me.

So, I would say that the 'nect-conomy is looking up.  Most people seem busy and there's a lot less complaining.  (Or is it that people are resigned to the current state of affairs?)

I'm coming off almost 3 mo of 60+ hr weeks.  And it seems others here are in the same boat.  My only problem is, it seems that half the office is busy, and the other half is dead in the water.  Not because we don't have enough work, but because half the office is completely useless, the PM's have figured this out and refuse to send work their way.  anyway, I hope things are looking sunny by you guys.  (sorry, I'm in a good mood, i totally slam dunked my meeting yesterday.)

I've come around to accepting my fate.  After this week, with the exception of still trying to direct my students' film trailer, I will be at home full time.  Abram will come out of school in a week and a half, and will be with me until he starts kindergarten.  Surprisingly, Husband is looking forward to me being home.  I think I am too.  Could just be because I'm working now, and the whole "Grass is Greener" thing.  

Not because we don't have enough work, but because half the office is completely useless, the PM's have figured this out and refuse to send work their way.

or, more likely, they haven't learned how to do the things the PM needs them to do and the PM doesn't have time (or the ability) to teach them.

sorry for using this as an opportunity to rant, but I'm really f-ing tired of hearing people talk about how the people they work with are "useless..." wtf are they - less of a human?

... unless it's your boss or someone who's sold themselves as an expert -- then it's ok.

Glad you're feeling sunny, poistal, though I hope toaster's analysis isn't close enough to correct to bring you down!

I'm feeling fairly sunny too - interesting things going on, yet life is still just precarious enough that I don't have to resort to imaginary challenges.

Sarah, enjoy your summer. I do think, honestly, that you and Abram will both benefit from it, and you'll be happy - by the time he graduates from high school, if not sooner! - that you spent this time with him.

postal's name to be said with a Jersey accent, above, it seems.

didn't mean to come down hard on you postal - I'm having a bad day.

am i the only one reads donna's pic next to her name as dr. donna?

Wait, Sarah's married to a high schooler? I knew it!

I agree with toast. It's not so much about people being useless as it is about good management motivating the staff. I find most people to rise to the occasion if given appropriate  level of responsibility and trust. If half the office is dragging their knuckles around, there's a managerial problem.

Orhan, it look more like paintball Donna to me.

Rusty, how'd you get that?  I went back and re-read, and I can't figure it out.  

Dangit, I was just about to say something brilliant, and I forgot it.  That happens to everyone, right?

So I hadn't watered my garden in over a month because of all the rain we've had.  I was even afraid it wouldn't make it due to drowning, but the rains quit for a week, and I tested the dirt yesterday, and decided to water a bit.  I didn't want to do anything carazy, but it was a little dry.

DANGIT if it isn't going to rain tonight.  I quit.

Sarah, reading comprehension fail on my part. You said your husband looks forward to you being home, and Donna said he will benefit from you being home. Turns out Abram=not your husband. "by the time he graduates from high school, if not sooner!" doesn't fit that sentence anyway.

I blame Donna.

haha, you can't bring me down... and your points are certainly true, and "useless" is a gross exaggeration on my part... i went back and read the post, and i did sound downright mean... i started to write something a little more about my situation, but i decided against it... i just clipped out a small part of the rant to feed the fire: 

"when staff consciously avoids responsibility, and refuses to learn the other 90% of the profession, eventually within the office some people are working 60 hours, while others are forced to use up vacation time... some people need a change of scenery, and other people who have been out of work deserve a shot to prove their mettle and perhaps kick some ass..."

Sarah, sounds like you should get a timer and a soaker hose.  I'm trying to rehabilitate my yard from years of neglect and it saves me so much time and headache.

The rains are what are headache inducing.  We have clay soil mostly, and all the rain has over-saturated the plants.  What I DO need is a sensor that you stick into the ground that measures the moisture levels, and then waters as needed.  Have they invented that yet?

And Rusty, I get it now.  That's funny.  Yeah.   Abram is only 3.  That's 15 years you guys are talking about.  Just 15 more years and I'll be free!!!

orhan, i see it more as demo donna.. which also is a bit more alliterative.

and postal.. i for one am more busy...working min 50 hour weeks since january.. and also getting side work and all kinds of other things goin on.

art is starting to sell too..not the big ticket items..but definitely some pieces which wasn't happening last year.

I would never think of her as Nurse Donna...or Nurse Rachet...  Jack Nickelson look...

Sarah: DIY automated plant watering (and then some)

Ok, if I'm making mason jar lanterns to hang in trees, and want to fuel them with citronella, is there a way I can easily use liquid fuel, or should I just use candles?

Wow aaron, thats intense.  Bet he grows pot.

Rusty, your comment on the Walk thread was funny!  Sad that the guy didn't get it.  Maybe it's cause he's Canadian.  

Jump?  Jump?  You out there?  We need you to weigh in.  Do Canucks have a sense of humor?

Oh.  Sorry.  I just found out that Canuck was a derogatory term.

lars called it - demo Donna, as we took out the bathroom.  I'm planning to get my friend-photographer to make some professional portrait-type pics of me to use as a profile pic - they will be cool, she's punk rock - but I need to lose a couple pounds first so my face looks thinner.

lars, glad to hear you are still so busy!  It's freeing working on your own, yes?  Stressful too, but overall good.

Speaking of online profile pics, these are cool.

On whether Canucks have a sense of humor, I'll refer you to Kids in the Hall.

Donna,  at first I felt bad for Kevin Stevens.  I thought maybe he didn't get the "Wear Cool Glasses" memo.  Then I scrolled further, and saw there were others.  What is up with that Michael Williams guy?  I bet he's awesome - mad professor style.

If Canadians have a sense of humour?? How's about KITH, Robin Williams, Dan Aykroyd, Catherine O'Hara, Jim Carrey,  Norm Macdonald, Mike Myers, Matthew Perry and Martin Short. Not to mention the late Leslie Nielsen, Phil Hartman and John Candy. And funny though I'm sure unintentionally was John Wayne.

Also I repeated the first crop from our growing bins this afternoon

David those are beautiful!

Phil Hartman was one of the funniest people ever to live.  So sad that he died early.

sarah i am myself insanely hilarious.

all canadians worth talking to are funny.  could be our culture.  not sure.

i am pretty sure rusty is hisself canadian.  anyway, canuck is not a bad word.  i even read a comic book called captain canuck as a kid, so there you go...

robin williams is from the Detroit area - which is the american version of Canada.

I'm in Canakistan right now. I can see that big ugly tower from my window. 

Being back here is a bit of a culture shock after being in US for such a long time, although freelancing up here is so much less stressful since not being able to pay for healthcare is now a non-issue. Also, there's work here.

I have my big NYC interview a week from today. Will be down there for a week. I'm very excited.

David - I know you have a thing for nicely manicured feet, so I thought I should tell you my toenails are no longer naked but are a nice shade of pink.  Spring has finally sprung

david are those scoth bonnett :o Also, re: Phil Hartmann was recently was rewatching some NewsRadio and realized I had forgot how much i liked it..

night all

this is either really weird or really funny.  possibly cool.

that's 50 cents in CANADIAN money

jump, just over a decade ago when I first moved to states I was buying something at a drug store and accidentally slipped in a canadian quarter. The woman scrutinized it closely and then said in a stern voice: "Sir. This is NOT money!"

Priceless.

LOL!!!  That is priceless rusty!  what did you say?

I use to see canadian quarters often, but not as many lately.

I saw this, and figured you guys were the only ones I know that will appreciate it.

I have a love/hate relationship with Mondrian due to a crappy studio assignment from freshman year.  I would Never, Ever, do this.

@ rusty

hah i remember as a kid going to the states and slipping quarters from canada in the drink machine and feeling like we were getting away with something.   the thrill of mildly defrauding the drink machine guys in north dakota !   

cool mondrian cake.  de stijl was such a weird thing.  those guys were all so crazy (but in interesting ways).  nowadays we are much too sane for our own good. or crazy, but boring.

ah well.

That cake is very funny.

jump re: de stijl: Do we have so little to rebel against now that not rebelling is actually rebellion?  On that note, have you ever really looked at your hand?

I just came from a little PTA meeting of the minds and was reminded again that I'm a suburban Midwestern mom.  Which is really fun when I don't pay attention to my edge quickly disappearing in the rear view mirror.

Donna, you don't drive a minivan yet.   Do you?  I think you'll be ok.  You take Angus to art/design gigs.  You're plenty edgy.

And by hand, do you mean hand hand, or poker hand hand?  You've been on this "life's too good, we should be more miserable" kick lately, it seems.  You feeling ok?

Ok, so I have a student that is acting a bit turrets (tourettes?) like.  He doesn't have it, he's just an attention whore, and no one is paying attention to him.  He gets louder and louder.  I hate obnoxious peolple.  He's going to be "that guy" at the 

"he's going to be 'that guy' at the"....what?!

Sarah, that was a reference to the silly "deep" conversations people tend to have when they're stoned - like staring at your hand in amazement when tripping.  Not to say that a hand isn't a mind-boggling amazing thing, it is.

Could your student have Asperger's?  We're looking at that as a possible reason for Angus' complete lack of understanding of social cues lately - getting louder inappropriately is an Aspy thing, potentially.  It's highly complex.

office.  At the office.  Be "that guy" at the office.

I like to keep you guys in suspense.  You know how I roll.

No, this kid isn't aspy.  He's a pretty popular kid.  Class clown, and all that.  He just likes to hear himself, and to be obnoxious.  Ex:  When having a discusion about why animators might chose to use a computer over hand-drawn animation, he'll answer "Because, Miss, You see, it's like this.  You know how Malcom X hated the white man, it's cause the white man was keepin' em down."

I kid you not.  And he's not even a black kid! 

Not to say that only black kids can talk about oppression.

Check this out.

 I looked into doing this in my foyer.  The above photo took 340,000 pennies.  My foyer only needs 4,096.  That's too much money for me.  What's the cost of flooring these days?

Donna, I don't know why, but when I saw this, I immediately thought of you.