A Dragon in Sheep’s Clothing

Dear City of Milwaukee,

You recently sent a letter to my parents telling them that they need to finish painting their garage this month.

We wish to inform you that we will do so; however, we shall not take action until you do the same and repair the sorely neglected streets in this neighborhood (in particular, 59th & Adler and 60th & Main). The holes in these streets are becoming hazards to normal driving in passenger vehicles.

If you do not repair said streets by April 30, we shall arrange it to be done for you and forward the bill to you for payment. This is only fair since you threatened to do the same with the painting that needs to be completed on our garage.

Thank you for your time, and we look forward to a drivable street in the near future.

“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes–and ships–and sealing-wax–
Of cabbages–and kings–
And why the sea is boiling hot–
And whether pigs have wings.”
Lewis Carroll

And of selling houses and moving.

After much consideration, prayer, and advice, I have made the hard decision to sell my condo in Virginia and, for the time being, move in with my parents in Wisconsin. Two weeks from tonight I will be sleeping in my folks’ guest bed.

Why? Several reasons.

The web design job market has opened up a little in recent months, but not enough. I have interviewed and sent resumes, but when I have received word back, it has been “thanks, but no thanks.” In one case, I was one of 12 interviewees for a local job that had been posted on Craigslist for less than a week. (I don’t know how many resumes they received overall, but I’m sure it was more than the 12 they called back.)

In the meantime, I have exhausted my unemployment benefits (including the extension for which I was eligible) and am currently paying my bills by the grace of my parents.

This was a difficult decision partly because there’s no obvious right or wrong answer. Whether I stay or leave, the choice requires me to give up some things while gaining others.

On the plus side, as long as I have the relative freedom to do so, I plan on pursuing the art of stained glass. I will be taking 4-6 weeks to focus on the craft on my own time as well as applying to the workshops in SE Wisconsin. I may end up with a new career!

I will probably still be doing some web design on the side. If I decide to return to web design fulltime, I would like to refocus with some classes in human computer interaction. This will bring me up to speed on the latest developments (like mobile apps) as well as support my personal interest in usability and information architecture.

The web job market in Chicago seems fairly healthy, so I won’t be without options. (Frankly, the web job market here is rotten; D.C. has the majority of openings in this region.)

On the down side, I am leaving a lot of friends behind and leaving an area which has been home for nearly ten years (not counting college at ODU).

Obviously, I’ll miss both friends from college and friends I’ve found along the way at work and church. I’ll also miss things like early spring daffodils and gorgeous sunsets.

On the other hand, I will be close to my parents. I’ve had plans in the back of my mind to move closer to them “someday.” I guess “someday” is “now.” I’ll also be near my best friend from high school, who has always lamented that my visits are never long enough. I will be glad to be more involved in the lives of her and her family. Both she and her husband are art school graduates, and just being in their house makes me feel more creative. I know they will be a big support as I try out the stained glass art form.

Oh, and I’ll have access to cheese curds any time I want. Yum!

So that’s my big news. Lots of loose ends to tie up in the next week and a half — not the least of which is visiting as many folks as I can (with camera in tow) for my “final tour.”

Here’s to the next great adventure!

For some reason, poorly designed advertising, packaging and store displays have been catching my attention lately.

Here’s another one, and it is again from Walmart. I do shop other places, but Walmart seems to have the most agregious examples (or the ones worth photographing, anyway).

The poor girl on this Faded Glory poster has dark circles under her eyes, dark enough to look like fading bruises from a black eye. It would gave taken a graphic designer a few minutes to ease or erase them. Instead, they’ve let this tired face fill a 4-foot tall display.

It probably would have helped if she looked happy, too.