So.
Time for a bit of a breather.
I hit a very important deadline yesterday for the magazine. About 85% of the material has made its way off to the designer, leaving me with just one last feature to pull together over the next week or so.
It’s been a bit of a tough row to hoe and a couple times I wasn’t sure I that I’d hit my deadline at all. The mag has become job numero uno for me since taking on this new job.
My experience as editor is non existent and I had to learn a LOT as I went along, so I think it went slower this time out than it probably will again. But it was very involved and, on top of my other work, very stressful at times.
I’ve been operating in a bubble with absolutely no feedback on the mag as I put it together. So while I think the finished product is pretty kick ass, I have to admit I’ve lost some of my objectivity. I know the editorial committee is going to be fairly critical when we starting getting proofs back and that criticism would be more productive earlier in the process.
S has been a rock through the whole thing and last night we celebrated the achievements by opening a bottle of champagne and very quickly getting giggly.
So now, after my 24 hour breather, I can move on to all those other jobs that I quietly stuffed under a rug over the last month and a half, including planning for the awards ceremony in February and my upcoming nuptials in August.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
New Jobby
I'm stuck at the office on a Saturday morning with more time than work on my hands so I thought I'd write a bit about how I got to this point.
Three months ago I landed a new job.
Same company. Little more money. Different field of work.
What makes it truly a lucky break is that the job I'm doing now is in the same field I've gone back to school for. This means I get to learn all the practical applications at the same time as I simultaneously study the theory. Talk about luck.
Now, instead of pushing paper from one side of my desk to the other, I'm a one man communications department and it feels like I have my fingers in everything going on around here. That sounded kinda dirty. Ahh, what the hell, it's Saturday. Let it slide.
I was a little wary at first about making the change. While my old job wasn't the greatest it did have a lot of advantages and I'd carved out a little niche of my own that worked pretty well for me. But in truth I was stagnating, spinning my wheels uselessly, without any real occupational challenges. I know that my old manager recognized this and she tried to make my job more interesting, but you can only dress a turnip up so much. At the end of the day it's still fairly bland and tasteless.
New jobby? Much more time intensive. Evenings. Weekends. Every day I'm operating way out of my traditional comfort zone. I've been ripped from my soothing little hidey hole and flung out into the naked sunlight. And I like it. (I'm utterly shocked by how much I like it, but I'm trying to maintain a poker face)
I've got at least two and a half more years at this position, provided the universe doesn't take a pot shot or two, and then I'll have the option of either stretching my wings or staying on for a bit and seeing what I can create. I look forward to having all those options. I like options.
Three months ago I landed a new job.
Same company. Little more money. Different field of work.
What makes it truly a lucky break is that the job I'm doing now is in the same field I've gone back to school for. This means I get to learn all the practical applications at the same time as I simultaneously study the theory. Talk about luck.
Now, instead of pushing paper from one side of my desk to the other, I'm a one man communications department and it feels like I have my fingers in everything going on around here. That sounded kinda dirty. Ahh, what the hell, it's Saturday. Let it slide.
I was a little wary at first about making the change. While my old job wasn't the greatest it did have a lot of advantages and I'd carved out a little niche of my own that worked pretty well for me. But in truth I was stagnating, spinning my wheels uselessly, without any real occupational challenges. I know that my old manager recognized this and she tried to make my job more interesting, but you can only dress a turnip up so much. At the end of the day it's still fairly bland and tasteless.
New jobby? Much more time intensive. Evenings. Weekends. Every day I'm operating way out of my traditional comfort zone. I've been ripped from my soothing little hidey hole and flung out into the naked sunlight. And I like it. (I'm utterly shocked by how much I like it, but I'm trying to maintain a poker face)
I've got at least two and a half more years at this position, provided the universe doesn't take a pot shot or two, and then I'll have the option of either stretching my wings or staying on for a bit and seeing what I can create. I look forward to having all those options. I like options.
Friday, January 4, 2008
The trouble with money
I know just enough about the world of high finance to be a danger to myself.
I know there's a coming international financial meltdown coming, hovering out there at the edges of my perception. But I don't have the foggiest idea how to protect myself.
Unfortunately, I make my bread in butter in an industry who's only constant is the boom and bust nature of its existence. Which means, since I've left the insulating world of formal schooling, I've been riding an emotional roller coaster ride in terms of my future financial existence.
So last year, after much soul searching, I went back to school and started preparing myself to jump to a different industry. Going back to Uni on a PT basis will take me approximately three years, and by May I'll have finished just one of them.
My study of personal finance consists of precisely two things. That high school class that taught you the marvels of compound interest (a millionaire by 60!) and The Wealthy Barber, a book that I read about four years ago after much urging from my father.
I've adopted some of what the WB recommends. I put 10% of my paycheque into an investment fund and slightly more than 10% into a retirement fund. So far I've only had to dip into that money twice, for an engagement ring and my part in the purchase of a new (used) car. Of course, after my wedding in the summer, that fund will be drained completely leaving me more than a little nervous about my ability to weather sudden financial changes. This nervousness is only compounded by the coming above mentioned international financial meltdown.
I know that my partner and I are ridiculously good with watching our spending and that in some cases we are light years ahead of some people we know when it comes to setting aside for our future.
But I still can't shake the feeling that I should be doing more. There will be a couple rough years ahead and I need to plan now if I want to come out on the other side intact.
I know there's a coming international financial meltdown coming, hovering out there at the edges of my perception. But I don't have the foggiest idea how to protect myself.
Unfortunately, I make my bread in butter in an industry who's only constant is the boom and bust nature of its existence. Which means, since I've left the insulating world of formal schooling, I've been riding an emotional roller coaster ride in terms of my future financial existence.
So last year, after much soul searching, I went back to school and started preparing myself to jump to a different industry. Going back to Uni on a PT basis will take me approximately three years, and by May I'll have finished just one of them.
My study of personal finance consists of precisely two things. That high school class that taught you the marvels of compound interest (a millionaire by 60!) and The Wealthy Barber, a book that I read about four years ago after much urging from my father.
I've adopted some of what the WB recommends. I put 10% of my paycheque into an investment fund and slightly more than 10% into a retirement fund. So far I've only had to dip into that money twice, for an engagement ring and my part in the purchase of a new (used) car. Of course, after my wedding in the summer, that fund will be drained completely leaving me more than a little nervous about my ability to weather sudden financial changes. This nervousness is only compounded by the coming above mentioned international financial meltdown.
I know that my partner and I are ridiculously good with watching our spending and that in some cases we are light years ahead of some people we know when it comes to setting aside for our future.
But I still can't shake the feeling that I should be doing more. There will be a couple rough years ahead and I need to plan now if I want to come out on the other side intact.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
NCD
Seriously,
I've seen some of the other comic blogs out there. I simply can't devote that much time and energy into such a high level of analysis. I love to read about what other people think about the funnybooks I'm taking on, because only one of my close circle of friends is a comic nerd and he's been working on getting out of the habit for a couple of years now.
Which leaves me at a disadvantage when I try to engage in any sort of discourse.
I'm cutting back on my weekly haul. It's primarily a space thing.
I'm trying to sell some of my stash on ebay. Not terrible stuff, but some of the excess that I've picked up in 15 years of collecting. Honestly it's hardly selling like hotcakes. Or at all. It's frankly just sitting there and will expire quietly with no bidders. Which makes me wonder how the heck I'm going to get rid of it. Not all of it is age appropriate to hand out to my friend's kids.
Thoughts?
Anyway. My Pull List.
Blue Beetle #22 (An oversight from last week)
Hellblazer #239
Midnigher #15
Countdown to Mystery #4
Metal Men #5
Thunderbolts #118
Ultimate Human #1
I've seen some of the other comic blogs out there. I simply can't devote that much time and energy into such a high level of analysis. I love to read about what other people think about the funnybooks I'm taking on, because only one of my close circle of friends is a comic nerd and he's been working on getting out of the habit for a couple of years now.
Which leaves me at a disadvantage when I try to engage in any sort of discourse.
I'm cutting back on my weekly haul. It's primarily a space thing.
I'm trying to sell some of my stash on ebay. Not terrible stuff, but some of the excess that I've picked up in 15 years of collecting. Honestly it's hardly selling like hotcakes. Or at all. It's frankly just sitting there and will expire quietly with no bidders. Which makes me wonder how the heck I'm going to get rid of it. Not all of it is age appropriate to hand out to my friend's kids.
Thoughts?
Anyway. My Pull List.
Blue Beetle #22 (An oversight from last week)
Hellblazer #239
Midnigher #15
Countdown to Mystery #4
Metal Men #5
Thunderbolts #118
Ultimate Human #1
Holiday Roundup
I've got a Christmas quirk.
I will not give people anything from a Christmas list, nor will I give you a list of my own which you can shop from.
Some people find this annoying as hell. Honestly, I don't blame them. They were really set on Season One of 24. And the fact that you can be bothered to pony up and but it for them irks them to no end.
But let's face it. If you that DVD so badly, chances are you'll end up buying it for yourself irregardless of what I do. I want to give you something that you don't even know you want. I want to have to wrack my brain to figure out who you are and give you something that perfectly encapsulates that.
It doesn't always work out. This year I broke down and got my sister something from her list simply because I'd been thinking about it for the past two weeks and I just wasn't getting inspired.
As well, because I'm king nerd I tend to get a lot of gifts based around one of my nerdly pursuits. My only complaint with this is that it I tend to accumulate a lot of nerd stuff that, and after 28 years of life, I'm having problems keeping it at easily maintainable standards.
(If I wasn't able to keep my comic collection at my parents house I don't know what I'd do)
But it's always interesting recieving gifts from other people forced to put a little thought into it and operate outside their comfort zone. It's illuminating to see just what they think you're all about.
I will not give people anything from a Christmas list, nor will I give you a list of my own which you can shop from.
Some people find this annoying as hell. Honestly, I don't blame them. They were really set on Season One of 24. And the fact that you can be bothered to pony up and but it for them irks them to no end.
But let's face it. If you that DVD so badly, chances are you'll end up buying it for yourself irregardless of what I do. I want to give you something that you don't even know you want. I want to have to wrack my brain to figure out who you are and give you something that perfectly encapsulates that.
It doesn't always work out. This year I broke down and got my sister something from her list simply because I'd been thinking about it for the past two weeks and I just wasn't getting inspired.
As well, because I'm king nerd I tend to get a lot of gifts based around one of my nerdly pursuits. My only complaint with this is that it I tend to accumulate a lot of nerd stuff that, and after 28 years of life, I'm having problems keeping it at easily maintainable standards.
(If I wasn't able to keep my comic collection at my parents house I don't know what I'd do)
But it's always interesting recieving gifts from other people forced to put a little thought into it and operate outside their comfort zone. It's illuminating to see just what they think you're all about.
Back in Black
It feels like some kind of New Year's cliche that I'm firing up this blog.
Resolution #1. I promise to blog more.
Only it's not a resolution. Two of the hardest habits to maintain with any frequency; flossing and blogging. Rather the time of the year that I happen to be (re)undertaking this endeavour is mere coincidence.
Format change.
Initially I was supposed to get my nerd kicks off here. Comic book thoughts. Movie reviews. Music reviews.
And over in my LJ I'd post the more personal thoughts. But let's face it. I didn't even have time for this idea when I first hatched it and things have changed considerably since then.
1. I'm getting married.
2. I have a new job.
3. I'm back in school.
All of these things have combined to create a perfect storm of time consumption.
So. My solution is to use this blog for EVERYTHING. Honestly I find it easier to use and to add not text elements.
So this blog will be a bit of everything; nerd think, personal finance, political observation, sports talk, general bitching and moaning and whatever else I can fit into it.
And to hell with proper spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Because I don't use that stuff in the real world anyway.
Faulk out.
Resolution #1. I promise to blog more.
Only it's not a resolution. Two of the hardest habits to maintain with any frequency; flossing and blogging. Rather the time of the year that I happen to be (re)undertaking this endeavour is mere coincidence.
Format change.
Initially I was supposed to get my nerd kicks off here. Comic book thoughts. Movie reviews. Music reviews.
And over in my LJ I'd post the more personal thoughts. But let's face it. I didn't even have time for this idea when I first hatched it and things have changed considerably since then.
1. I'm getting married.
2. I have a new job.
3. I'm back in school.
All of these things have combined to create a perfect storm of time consumption.
So. My solution is to use this blog for EVERYTHING. Honestly I find it easier to use and to add not text elements.
So this blog will be a bit of everything; nerd think, personal finance, political observation, sports talk, general bitching and moaning and whatever else I can fit into it.
And to hell with proper spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Because I don't use that stuff in the real world anyway.
Faulk out.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Festival: Prequel
What better way to start a new job than by taking a week off work to attend the Toronto International Film Festival?
Yes, that IS a rhetorical question.
For the past six years I've been dying to do the fest properly. But a combination of work and school have always made it impossible to see much more than ten films. So this year I took a week off, bought a day pass, a ten pack of tickets and I'll probably end up seeing over thirty films.
Interested in what that looks like?
Well, there it is.
I'll be lugging a camera around the fest taking pictures of all the cult celebrities and no name writers that you've never heard of. So stay tuned to this site for updates.
FYI. There will be no pictures of Brad Pitt unfortunately, because The Assassination of Jesse James was the ONE film that I wanted to see that was sold out. Such is life.
Yes, that IS a rhetorical question.
For the past six years I've been dying to do the fest properly. But a combination of work and school have always made it impossible to see much more than ten films. So this year I took a week off, bought a day pass, a ten pack of tickets and I'll probably end up seeing over thirty films.
Interested in what that looks like?
Well, there it is.
I'll be lugging a camera around the fest taking pictures of all the cult celebrities and no name writers that you've never heard of. So stay tuned to this site for updates.
FYI. There will be no pictures of Brad Pitt unfortunately, because The Assassination of Jesse James was the ONE film that I wanted to see that was sold out. Such is life.
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