Don't tease me bro!

Man, talk about a bummer. I was scouring the net last night, trying to find those Eddie figures and came across a site of a store in Cleburne, close to Dallas. And they were cheap too! So, I emailed them today to see if they still had them and wouldn't you know it - they didn't! Argh!! Why, don't these stores update their sites?! I have found so many online stores that haven't updated their inventory or still list things that they are out of stock - what the fuck is up with that? If you don't have it - don't list it - isn't that simple?

So now I'm back on the hunt for the figures again - I really don't like it when they discontinue items - if they are so popular, why stop making them? Hello? More money! Duh!

What really ticks me off are these guys who are selling these $15 and $30 figures for $100-$150! Now that is just whacked. Take advantage of people much?

I did put a bid in on the 18" Eddie figure from The Number Of The Beast album cover - it's pretty cool, but the ones I really want are the Somewhere In Time 7" and 18" and The Live After Death figure. Those seem to be the most valuable and rare and of course the most expensive. Fuckers.

On to a brighter side - only a few more days and I'll be the proud owner of a Ninja 250R! Oh man, I can just feel it now! I'm so excited! I'll be even more excited once the graphics wrap gets put on - that is going to be so kick ass! Just in case you missed it before (like anyone reads this shit), here is what the wrap is going to look like -

Is that not tight or what?! It's definitely going to be one of the sweetest looking rides around if not the sweetest!

I'm also going to put blue neon accents lights throughout the bike, within the chassis, so it will look like it's glowing at night and the blinker will look like Eddie's eye! So yeah, it's going to be tight!

Iron Maiden themes for your iGoogle page

FINALLY!! Google was kind enough to finally add my themes to their index - so go check out my Iron Maiden themes here. I know this will sound pretty narcisstic, but I really do think my IM themes are better than the others posted. Only because I used much higher resolution images and created much better compositions - but hey, you decide for yourself.

Star Wars does it old school

Star Wars was the movie that changed the world, from the way people looked at movies, to how movies were made, especially when it came to special effects. Even at 6 years old, when I saw Star Wars, I knew that I wanted to be a part of the magic behind the scenes that made everything on the screen so believeable. It was like watching a documentary it was so real. Below are some of the tricks they used to make those wonderful effects, but they are so cheap and homegrown that it's hard to believe it's how they actually did it - but that's all part of the miracle of George Lucas and ILM.

To pull off the trench run into the Death Star, effects artists sculpted a miniature Death Star surface out of urethane foam and cardboard and shot it using a high-speed camera mounted on the bed of a moving pickup truck.

The Ultimate Job!

Pixar is no doubt the best movie and animation studio in the world and in the history of film making. Since their first feature film release of Toy Story in 1997, Pixar has racked up 24 Academy Awards for just nine films and grossing at least $550 million per film internationally - that's an achievement very few, if any, can boast. Check out this great, but somewhat lacking article from Wired, about the making of Toy Story 3.

When I got my Associates degree in 3D animation, Pixar was where I wanted to work, but unfortunately I chose a different path and have regretted it ever since. But I'm still young and full of talent and ideas, so I will once again pursue the dream of working for Pixar and continue my education getting a Bachelors in 3D this time and making the most kickass demo reel possible.What animator wouldn't want to work at a place like this?!

Friday on the Rocks!

Cool Star Wars item(s) of the day - Funny T-Shirts - Solo on the Rocks! LOL

Man this was a week that I wanted to be over all too fast. Monday I was sick, Tuesday wasn't much better, but went to work anyway and sat in a training class that was rather boring but necessary. Wednesday was another meeting with a developer and that was just downright humourous, if not inane. Developer's - sheesh - far too many of them just think they are the Universe's gift to the computing world - sure they make stuff happen - designer's make it look pretty and can make stuff happen too. So it really makes me mad when a developer thinks he is some kind of designer as well and takes on the tasks of a designer - all the while, doing a pisspoor job at it - but they get all pissy when a designer, develops and does a great job at it! I think I just answered my own question. Better check the ego at the door, fellas - if designers didn't do as much development as we do - you're job would be just that much harder! Think about it. If a designer gives you a design, that hasn't been coded yet - who has to do the code? YOU! That's who. I learned a long time ago, it was better to code my designs to make sure they work before giving them to the developer - that way he doesn't have to do as much coding or any at all!

Obviously, not all developer's are proma donna's - this guy sure was. First he tells me that CSS and DHTML can't be used due to the restrictions of the CMS - we're talking about simple rollouts, popups and ALT tags, guy! But he's already got rollouts in place! HUH?! Then not 10 minutes later, he tells another developer - on his team - that he can use CSS and DHTML to achieve the results they wanted! Do what?! Did I not just ask that?! I hope his sock sandwich tasted good. Blah!

The beauty part came when he said if he has his way, he would develop a Flash application to do everything that was needed in a single shell. I gladly and quickly pointed out that I had already made one and that was why I was in the meeting in the first place - of course, I was immediately shot down - of course! May the Earth shatter if someone else came up with it first!

Ugh, Developer's!

Yesterday was pretty uneventful, just stuffed envelopes and worked on a shell design and goofed around alot. Today will probably be much of the same. But getting to work was all too eventful, what is with these people that drive 30 miles an hour down a clear freeway and then look at you like you've lost your mind because you want get around them so you can go the speed limit?! Fucking cow! It's called a gas pedal people - you'll find it on the right, next to the brake, but that doesn't mean you use the brake with the gas pedal! Idiots!

jeans on thursday!

yes, today we get to wear jeans to work! this special privelage came to those who were willing to help with the preparation for the tradeshow in New Orleans - too bad they weren't letting us go to N'awlins too.

On the tech side; I thought i lost my bluetooth earpiece, i couldn't find it for over a week, well, i found it and let's just say - it's the cleanest earpiece around. yup - i found it in the dryer when i took out my jeans this morning :( but the red light came on when i stuck it on the charger, so maybe it still works :)

There must have been something in the coffee this morning - there was a wreck on 35 and george bush! needless to say, i didn't get to work before 8 :(

You Call This Work?

Well, it was a pretty typical first day at work, couldn't login to my computer, didn't have the right software, much less any software that I needed installed on my computer and I met a bunch a people I will probably never talk to, but at least I'm getting paid.

With only 40 minutes left of work, I figured I would kill the time and write my blog for the day so I wouldn't have to do it at home, because when I get home I don't want to do anything. Unfortunately, I got an email from a client that they want more changes done to their project, a project I really don't want to work on anymore and most certainly do not want to even look at anymore, especially after spending all day at work. I guess the only good thing that is coming out of this is that i will be getting paid extra to make these changes, but in the "sick of looking at it" state of mind that I'm in about it, it isn't about the money. In fact, after the client sent me a flaming email that would make a stone cold killer tear up, I told him he could keep his "damn money" after I made the corrections he listed. Not only was he in the wrong for sending me such an email, he actually apologized after I proved him wrong in his accusations of "cheating and taking advantage" of him. I've never cheated a client, nor have I taken advantage of their good will, when and if I ask a client for special favors (i.e. getting paid early), I return the favor by going the extra mile for them, but this client in particular certainly did not warrant such favoritism, even when he did fulfill my request, because his attitude was one of complete barbarism and pig-headed ignorance about his own project.

So enough about clients, I certainly did not write this blog today to talk about that ordeal. Just those few short sentences about the situation has brought me down and I want to be happy because I'm about to go home after my first day of "work"!

After not working for a year, it feels good to be back in a cubicle. The irony is that after 6 months, I'm going to wish I were spending my days at home, although in today's job market, maybe not so much. At my last job I was still pretty happy that I had a job even after a year of putting up with their insanity, but I also had my own office. So I will most likely still be pretty happy working in a cubicle after 6 months here. After all it can't be any worse than my last job, where I got into trouble for coming in early or for being ambitious enough to come up with new projects that would save the company money or help other employees perform their jobs better or even for doing the job I was hired for! Yes, it was indeed the strangest work environment I had ever worked in - ever! Not that I have anything against gays, but the two queers that owned this company definitely had issues! They would sit in my office and argue and fight about advertisement mockups like they were sitting in their living room fighting about whose cat peed on the sofa! I had one tell me that they wanted me to come up with more cutting edge advertisements and the other would want me to rehash the old ones and then they would both get mad at me, because I wasn't do a good enough job!

If I ever have to face another situation like that, where the company is owned by two individuals in a relationship, I think I will have to pass. Thankfully though, I don't expect to run into too many companies like that after I get my bachelor's degree for 3D Animation - which I will begin going to school for next year. My goal is to either work for ILM, Pixar or Dreamworks or maybe even Stan Winton Studios. I have also considered gaming, considering the level of detail and story that goes into today's games. God of War III was by far the best game that I've seen for the new generation console gaming platforms - I have the PS3. After watching the bonus features behind the scenes, it was clear that a new era of gaming has been reached and just as life-changing for the industry and it was when the Playstation first came out.

Alex @ Prom 2010

Well Alex had her junior prom tonight, little bugger didn't tell me until after the fact and her senior prom is next year but I still wish she would have told me ahead of time. With her living in California, it's hard to get involved as much as I would like too, but next year I will try to go out there for the senior prom and get her a limo and all the cool things I didn't get to do. Even better, rent her a Ferrari and let her drive it to prom - that would definitely get the other bitches climbing up the envy tree for a peak!

Here is a pic of her in her dress:

Isn't she gorgeous? I really wish I had been able to go to prom, as stupid as it is sometimes, high school is supposed to be the best years of a young person's life and well mine just plain sucked!
So I want to make her years in "hell school" way better.

She told me today that she's met a new guy - well not exactly, new - but they just started dating and while they didn't hookup prior to prom she thinks he is a winner and will hopefully be around for senior prom. I hope so for her sake.

We are in the final preparations for Alex to come out to Texas for a summer visit. Unfortunately Cole decided he wanted to stay home with his mom - why he only knows. but anyway, I'm glad Alex is coming out - I haven't seen her in so long - if we didn't have cell phones, computers and internet, we would be such strangers to each other by now. But we text everyday, all day, so I feel as close to her as when she lived here.

She will be staying a whole 2 months, splitting the time up with her mom's mom and me. Of course, I don't care for my ex-mother-in-law, but hey - who does?! Alex told me that her grandmother is going to drive Alex back to California, so she can visit her daughter - my ex-wife - so i kinda feel sorry for Alex to have to deal with her all that way. Eesh! I couldn't do it - even when she was my mother-in-law, I couldn't do it.

Alex and I are already planning to go to the Iron Maiden show June 9. It will be our first concert together and to be able to share one of my all time favorite bands with her and her actually wanting to go - is just an awesome feeling. Unfortunately tickets are hella-expensive, like $250 for center stage and $300 and up for VIP!! I figure what the hell and I'm going to get the VIP tickets, though we won't be as close to the stage as I would like, we won't have to deal with the moshpit or drunk idiots. They always ruin a show.

The only crappy part about Alex coming out is that I will be working. Though I'm thrilled I got a job, it will suck that she will be at home alone most of the day with only the animals and PS3 to keep her company. But she says she will be okay, so I will trust her on that.

The Job

Well....I GOT A JOB!!!

YAY!!!

It's been a grueling year these past 12 months without a steady income. The freelance jobs dried up, the job offers a distance memory of a time when my talents were vigorously sought after.

I knew I had to do something different in my life and do something different I did. I changed my name! Aside from not liking my name since the first day I remember my mom screaming it at me, the name Christopher had been flooding the job boards and recruiter's lists for years and it was probably as well known more than I care to admit or even like to think about. So I began using my middle name, Michael and within days, the job offers - real job offers - came flowing in. Quite reminiscent of the good old days when Christopher was a wanted man.

Within a few weeks, I had a bonafide offer - not just some baited hook thrown out into the unemployment pool to see what kind of bottom feeder could be caught.

I know I interview well. I know I have the skills. I know I can do anything they throw at me, with ease and efficiency.

Long story short - I got the job and start Monday, May 3. The only thing that threw a wrench into my beautiful inner workings, was the once a month paycheck! Do what?! Once a month?!

I have never been paid like that before, so it's going to be interesting. While the fat check at the end of the month is going to be nice, the 30 days leading up to that glorious check-cashing celebration will be tough. But I'll manage. I won't complain and I'll see it through to the very end, doing my best all the way there.

The Iron Maiden Ninja

After 20 some odd years of waiting and waiting and hoping and wishing and praying and trying - I finally, finally get to buy a motorcycle!! I've wanted one ever since I could remember, but something always got in the way. Not anymore, brothers and sisters, the time has finally come! But as they say, good things come to those who wait - right? Riiiight. Now since I've never really ridden a motorcycle before, I'm going to be starting out small with a 2010 Ninja 250R. It will be blue and will have the raddest graphics ever on it! Thankfully, I have a good friend who has a print shop that does vinyl vehicle wraps - so I've been up all night designing those graphics for the wrap. Now I didn't exactly "design" the images, since they are of Eddie from the Iron Maiden album covers, I simply just chose from the numerous images I have of Eddie that I got from this awesome website: Iron Maiden Wallpapers. They have the most extensive and exclusive collection of Iron Maiden imagery I've ever seen! And being an a devout Maiden fan for over 20 years, I've seen my fair share.

So anyway, this is what I came up with:
Isn't it beautiful?! This bike is going to be the sickest thing around town! I can't freaking wait!! I can't stop staring at it, it's so gorgeous! It's going to be really cool to wear my Iron Maiden Vans while riding this gorgeous machine.

Now the rear will be modded with the hidden fender aftermarket parts, and the mirrors will be blue LEDs. I will have the wheels painted to match the body color as well. It's hard to believe that this bike brand new is only $4,000! It looks a lot more expensive - Kawasaki really knows how to deliver the goods for very little coin.

I should have the bike in a month or two - hopefully not two :) but I will be sure to post the pics of the final wrap when it's done.