April 2006 – Life in the Cheese Drawer

stolen from woo

April 29, 2006 kate Comments 0 Comment

Your senior year in High School is supposed to be “the best year of your life.” Let’s see how much you remember. I know for some it might be hard for you to go back that far!
Year: 1996-1997
1. Who was/were your best friend(s)?
angie, andrea, sabrina
2. What sports did you play?
none. i was in band tho!!
3. What kind of car did you drive?
when i needed to drive, it was my family’s white safari van
4. It’s Friday night, where were you?
paynesville with angie, eating jimmy’s pizza then seeing a $3 movie.
5. Were you a party animal?
not really.
6. Were you in the “In Crowd”?
no, but i was one of those people who was friends with a bunch of people from a bunch of different crowds.
7. Ever skip school?
no, i was good. i did skip early-bird spanish as many times as i could without failing though. it was way too early.
8. Ever smoke?
no.
9. Were you a nerd?
kinda.
10. Did you get suspended/expelled?
no
11. Can you sing the alma mater?
no one knew the words to that thing. i could play it on my clarinete_______

yay

April 25, 2006 kate Comments 0 Comment

my interview today went SO well. omg. it lasted an hour, and the interviewer lady was about my age (maybe a couple years older). she looked at my stuff and said “see, this is who i want, someone like me who is organized and creative.” plus, my dad knows the owner, so that’s cool. he’s sending him a letter giving me a recommendation (which i’m scared about). plus, i brought up the fact that my dad knows wayne in the interview, so that was good too.
i should know by the end of the week whether i have a second interview or i have the job (not sure if she’s doing 2nd interviews). the pay is $13-18/hr, so not bad. i’ll take $15 and over, i think. the job would start at the end of may, so that’s another month of goofing off that i’ll have.
i have another interview on friday, so that should be fun. too much driving this week! oy!

geek mode

April 23, 2006 kate Comments 0 Comment

here i am going into graphic-geek mode.
i LOVE photoshop. there is nothing that program cannot do. i love working with the levels, brightness, contrast, the tones in photos, omg. it’s nuts. i just totally made the blah-est pumpkin in the world an awesome thing. love it love it love it! i’ve been working in p-shop for the past couple days, printing my crap to frame. and it just solidifies how awesome it is. program/application of the century goes to p-shop, that thing is darn useful!
i shouldn’t be inside waxing eloquent about wonderful photoshop; i should be outside taking some pictures of spring. but, when a person has to print 56 8×20 prints, ya gotta stay inside.
THE PEOPLE UPSTAIRS MOVED OUT!!! 😀

my interviews!

April 21, 2006 kate Comments 0 Comment

inspired by megan, here is a list of all job interviews i’ve had since i took the “pursuing master’s degree” off my resume.
Floe International aka McGregor job
this one paid well. $40-50,000/year. THAT was what i was excited about the most, as well as the g5 mac and huge 30″ screen i’d be working on. i could tell from hearing about the job, however, that it could have easily becoming another northwestern supply. i wasn’t too excited about that. so i was torn on that job.
Casino Enterprise Management Magazine (in fargo)
i’ve always wanted to work for a magazine, and this place had potential. the only issue was that i was applying for an administrative assistant position, not a graphic design position. and although i could have moved up in the company, i got the feeling that the graphic designer was in it for the long haul. and when i went there, i just got a really eerie feeling about the place. afterward i visited with melissa, and she could tell i wasn’t feeling the job at all. but, i was onew for concordia was a week ago. i felt good about it, the people were nice, i asked questions, i did everythign correctly. plus, there’s two positions open. i would really really really really really like one of the concordia positions. next week i’m going to call the hr dude and ask what the timeline is.
walters publishing in waseca
this interview is next week. we’ll see how it goes! i wouldn’t mind working at a publisher, but waseca is almost too close to austin-folk for my liking!
shooting star casino in mahnomen
next week also! i’d rather have this job than the waseca job, just by location. plus i think it would be a tad more fun.
then there was the weirdo who emailed me who wanted an interview, but i refused that one.

eh?

April 18, 2006 kate Comments 0 Comment

i applied to a job in houston, mn, that i really shouldn’t have. it only pays $10 an hour, and it’s for a printer, not an ad agency or anything like that.
so, i sent an email with the resume and stuff in it, and i got a reply, asking when i could come in for an interview and fill out an application. so, since the job only pays $10/hr, i asked if i could do a phone interview, since it takes up to four hours to get down there. here is his response:
If you want a job we should to see your smiling face.
We want to see your smiling face cause we will be living together 8 hours a day five days a week. We are kinda picky as to whom we live with.
Do you know Illustrator?
Can you do web page design?
Can you do animation in an email?
Do you work well with others?
Will you fit in with the group that is here?
Will you come to work every day and be productive?
If you can convince me that the answers to these questions are YES without coming in to see me face to face.
Then you are hired.
You have two options:
#1. Come in to do a face to face interview.
#2. Convince me via the email that the answers to my questions are yes.
Which do you chose? #1. OR #2.
Thank You for your time.
ok, so i agree that i should go see this guy in person (if i want the job), but for $10/hr??? and this email seems…i don’t know…kind of odd. should i blow him off or try to do what he asks in a return email?

getting ready!

April 18, 2006 kate Comments 0 Comment

not for liz’s wedding, which i should be printing out invitations for, she needs 10! eek! i should do that today.
but i’m getting ready for the lemonade fair! i’ve done up an excel sheet and calculated all my expenses, and if i sell everything, i should make a decent profit.
here are the picture i’m having: the white flower, clover, daisy, tomato, sumac, pumpkin, bridge, sunflower, and either a) an apple or b) a dandelion going to seed. what do you think? apple or dandelion? i’m having two prints each in four sizes (except for the white flower, which i will overstock).
now my dilemma is how much to charge for them. i’m thinking this schema:
16×20 – $30
12×12 – $20
10×10 – $15
7×7 – $12
or should i charge more?
and i found out that my sister and doug want to move to indiana on the day of the lemonade fair. come on! wait ONE day, good grief. my parental units can’t be THAT horrible to live with for one more night (they are staying there from the wedding til they move). that way jane can come help me! 🙂
oh, and i DO have pics of the new place. i just have to get them uploaded somewhere.

nummy

April 14, 2006 kate Comments 1 comment

yesterday i drove 470 miles. i drove to fargo for an interview at concordia, which i think went pretty well. the interview was about half an hour, then they had me make an ad in a fifteen-minute time period. of course it didn’t get done, but i got some stuff done with it. then i drove to north branch, mn, which is 60 miles EAST of st. cloud. so fargo to north branch. to pick up my brother, then we drove back to st. cloud.
most of the time i spent driving i did it with my windows rolled down, and on the way from fargo to north branch, i took hwy 10 instead of i-94. and i forgot how much i looooove spring/summer. the temp was perfect at 75, the wind was blowing through my hair. and i ended up doing a lot of driving at sundown/dusk, so when i drove past the ditches, i heard crickets! oh it was great. and the fresh smell, mmmm, it makes me so happy. much happier than sloshy/slushy/muddy march. what an awful month. i can hardly wait til the trees start to bud. yay summer!

kinda blah!

April 11, 2006 kate Comments 0 Comment

i have been feeling like i’m floundering a bit lately. i’m almost to the half-way point in my unemployment and i haven’t gotten anywhere, job-wise. i’ve had 5 interviews since december, but i still haven’t gotten a job. i don’t know what’s going wrong, exactly? i mean, i try to be personable in interviews, i’m not limiting myself, location-wise. i try to ask questions, i do my research beforehand, i have a strong handshake, etc. etc.
although i rather like being unemployed, i’m in a semi-panic because of the money issue. i know when the time comes, i’ll just have to get a job at walmart or someplace, but what will that look like on my resume? how on earth do i explain that? “yeah, no one would hire me and i had to get money somewhere.” after 7 years of experience, i have walmart on my resume.
even if i get one of the graduate assistantships i applied for, i still have to find a job in december. i don’t know if it will be easier or harder to find a job with a master’s degree. it might be easier because i can apply for jobs where they want master’s degrees, but it might be harder because people might think i’m overqualified.
oh, and i have to say, i hadn’t had one interview in the 2 yrs i was NWS, and on my resume i had “pursing master’s degree”. i took that off, and i’ve had my 5 interviews in 4 months. coincidence? maybe….
i peruse the mnworks.org and careerbuilder sites every day and apply for relevant jobs, but there are so few graphics jobs opening up (even state-wide!) that i only really have to look once a week.
this is getting old.

ARG

April 11, 2006 kate Comments 0 Comment

so, i may not be able to graduate next semester!
they are offering the two CLASSES i need, but i cannot find the final comprehensive exam to register for it.
i am NOT a happy camper, and if i have to drag this out one more semester, i am going to cry. poo!!!