January 22, 2012
Each year that passes brings bigger and more exciting things, as it should, right? 2011 was probably one of the best years yet. Although there were the inevitable moments of hardship, disappointment and mistakes, life wouldn’t be LIFE without those bumps that force us to become stronger, wiser people. Can I get an amen? Anyway, here’s a breakdown of my year.
January: The Month I went Pro-Bono
I joined Taproot and worked as the graphic designer on a brochure project for the Jewish Community Center of the East Bay. We worked on this project for just around 6 months, and it was the best experience I’ve had working in a pro-bono capacity. My team was fabulous and I can’t wait to work on another project with Taproot.
February: First Trip Abroad
I traveled to London with one of my favorite people, Brianna, to visit another one of my favorite people, Kendra. The trip was so so great; I miss London so much. Such a beautiful city. read more »
January 13, 2012
It’s the truth. Sorry I’m not providing photo evidence, but you’re better off just using your imagination. My former boss once reacted to it by calling it “very Golden Girls.” I took that as a compliment, naturally.
So, here I sit at SFO waiting patiently to board my flight to Portland. I’m using my shiny new Macbook Air which has improved my quality of life exponentially, but I unfortunately haven’t had time to upload any photos from my iMac, hence the Portlandia image up top, which is relevant yet impersonal, but whatever. It’s all good.
I know it’s tacky to talk about how one has been avoiding the blogosphere for an extended period time, but I’m going to do just that and outline what have been huge (but productive) and/or great time sucks for me:
- My Sister Got Married! – That’s right, kids. And with a wedding comes lots of events, lots of time with family (which was really great, my family is a lot of fun), and of course dancing, good food, and laughs.
- San Francisco Holiday Renegade Craft Fair – which involved crocheting and planning every day. EVERY DAY. EVERY WEEKEND. It’s fun and was totally worth all of the work, but it didn’t really allow for much else… the exact reason why I am happy to not be a full time crafterprenuer. Yes, I made that word up. It probably exists.
- Sewing – Once Renegade was over, my wrists rejoiced and I dove right into my “to sew” pile which currently consists of 4 dresses and 1 top. Fabric has been cut, everything is slowly being assembled. And I’m still very much in love with my serger.
- Reading – I reached my goal of reading 30 books in 2011! Yes. Thank you for the applause. You can take a look at what I read here.
- Reuniting with Friends – Well, not really reuniting. I see my SF friends on either a weekly or bi-weekly basis, but due to craft fair stuff I became somewhat of a hermit, actually announcing my ‘hermit weeks’ in various social media, as a way of warning my friends to not ask me to hang out. I’m kind of a jerk, no? I try not to be. Also, my friends are the coolest people on Earth.
- Freelance & Pro-Bono Projects – I just finished my 3rd commissioned logo last week, and this week got the great news that I’ve been chosen to be on an amaaaazing Taproot project that I’ll be starting work on soon. 2012 is going to be a great year for my professional life. I can feel it. (At least I hope so!)
Anyway, I’m going to do another post that goes over my 2012 Resolutions, as well as my 2011 Year in Review. All of these things are written and in my ‘drafts’, so stay tuned.
But, back to vacation mode…
This is my first time ever traveling to Oregon, and although I hear it’s going to be quite chilly, I’ve been looking forward to this all month. I’m especially excited to see my Seattleite friends whom I have not seen for over a year. OVER A YEAR. That is just unacceptable. I’m happy to be remedying this this weekend. I have my Instax Mini, emergency granola bars in my purse, and my trusty Hello Kitty umbrella handy. Will post more about the trip when I get back!
November 29, 2011
A few weeks ago, my roommate informed me that we had a new roomie… a cat named Djuna. Growing up in a family where practically everyone is allergic to cats, I’ve never lived with a cat before – but I did house-sit for two weeks once and got along quite well with the two cats who lived there, so I was pretty excited at the prospect of living with a feisty feline. read more »
November 28, 2011
Almost a year ago I decided that it was time to look into doing some volunteer design work. I’d done some pro-bono projects in the past and had great experiences, so, since I was well settled in San Francisco with my living situation and full time design/marketing position, the timing felt right to spread my wings a bit and donate some of my time and skills.
I stumbled upon the Taproot Foundation while sifting through the volunteer listings on idealist.org, and after perusing their site for a few minutes was pretty impressed. Taproot works with business professionals across the country (and around the world) to place them with nonprofits who have been awarded “service grants”. There are applications on both ends – you have to apply to be a Pro-Bono Consultant, and the organizations have to apply to receive a service grant.
I applied and was accepted within a few days. Once you’ve been accepted, you’re entered into Taproot’s well organized online system (which feels more like an online community), where Account Directors assigned to projects can find consultants to recruit for their teams.
I was recruited to be the graphic designer for a brochure project for the Jewish Community Center of the East Bay. I was thrilled to be a part of this team – working as a designer/marketing professional in the financial industry on a daily basis, I had my heart set on a project that focused on kids (to change things up) – and I was lucky to be chosen to work on one! read more »
November 26, 2011
I’m not sure how I feel about Small Business Saturday being sponsored by a company like American Express instead of being a grassroots campaign, but you know what… at least someone is shedding light on the thousands and thousands of indie businesses that are often forgotten during Black Friday sales. So, I guess I feel thankful that such a large corporation is working in our favor (for once).
However you feel about holiday sales, whether you’re a participant of Buy Nothing Day (AKA #OccupyXmas), or don’t even celebrate the holidays, I wish you a great weekend and hope you get to spend lots of time with your loved ones.
