Also, it should be noted that this page is rated PG. Some language may not be suitable for younger audiences.

So you've probably read on the index page that the website isn't actively being updated anymore. Well, it's not like it was anyway. As it turns out, I've moved on from trying to find a career in advertising and graphic design, and thus it doesn't make sense for me to update this much further. I had a job for about five years (oddly enough, I was hired about a month after my last post here) that I hoped would provide me with experience and pieces worthy of a portfolio, but although I got a bit more experience, the portfolio-worthy pieces never materialized. There was nothing that would have wowed anyone doing the hiring at a big advertising firm.

And, upon further reflection, I'm okay with that.

The job paid the bills for five years…well, let's round that number down to four, seeing as I was paid very little for my first few months and had an additional part-time job over my last year there that supplemented my income (and later led to my new full-time career). Everything happens for a reason, I'm told, and had it not been for this job, I would have likely never sought employment with my current employer, and I may not be nearly as happy in my working lifeas I am today. I am truly blessed to work with some wonderful people, and seeing as every footstep along the way has led me to this wonderful destination, I'm glad everything happened the way it did.

I'm keeping everything active…for now. That may change in time. I'm taking down my contact info, as anyone who needs to contact me has my info, or can figure it out, or can get in touch with someone who has it. My résumé is also gone, as I don't need it to be here (and it has very personal information I don't need indexed by web spiders, even though a quick Google search shows it all indexed for the world to see). The portfolio is staying up, just to keep my work copyrighted; yes, it's a poor-man's copyright (I'm told it's copyrighted if it's on the Internet), but I think it should hold up nonetheless.

I've spent more time writing this note than I have working on the site in the past five years or so, so I suppose it's time I finish it up. The site never really accomplished what I hoped it would (employment at an advertising or graphic design agency; I found my old job the old-fashioned way, in the classifieds); it got a bit of attention here and there, but nothing came of it. I am still proud of it and the work contained within, but I really can't see any reason to maintain it. It will eventually go away, as I move away or change internet providers, but it will stay up as long as I'm where I am.

I guess there's nothing more to say, or write, so I'll just wrap it up by saying, thanks. If you've been here before, thanks for coming back. If this is your first time, thanks for stopping by. I'll keep the lights on for now; last one out, please shut them off…

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I've also designed a layout for a fictional technology newsletter, called read.me, which is an entirely new piece for my portfolio. This was a bit of a change for me, compared to my other works, which have mostly consisted of single-page print ads with graphics as the dominating element. All in all, it was a fun project, and I'm quite pleased with the end result.

Oh, and before I get any e-mails about this... no, read.me does not exist, save for inside my mind; no, you can't contribute an article for it; and no, I can't sell you any of the gadgets featured in the "articles." You may find it odd that I think I have to state that, but I actually received an e-mail some months ago from a gentleman in Asia who wanted to buy a stereo I had used in an ad that's no longer available on this site; he was ready to provide his credit card and shipping information before I replied that I wasn't an electronics store.

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I've made significant changes to my résumé since I last updated the page, however, thanks to some major help from a local career counselling facility. Basically, the old résumé was too vague, and didn't list my qualifications or detail my responsibilities at my previous jobs well enough. It has been fixed up now, and is available for your perusal.

Over the next week or so, I'll be adding more portfolio pieces to the site, and creating some new pieces as well. Look for more updates soon.

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Other than the redesign, the content is more or less the same, though with better organization. Portfolio pieces, for example, now feature a related links section in the sidebar where appropriate.

Well, hope you like it! Enjoy your stay!

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As I've begun hunting for jobs and giving out my webpage address to various potential employers, I realized that my résumé as hosted on this site was woefully out of date; namely, it didn't detail my work with MCA or my work placement, and the Education section hadn't been updated with my most recent accolades (warning: inflated ego ahead). So, I've gone through it, and reorganized it so that the most relevant information for employers is front and centre.

Since my last update, a lot has happened. I started, and recently finished, a work placement in Toronto. Commuting every day and the resultant new sleeping hours were a bit of a pain, but I'm more than willing to do it if it means a career in something I love.

Back in April, I won the Gold Andy Award for Advertising from Mohawk College for highest overall achievement over the three years in the Advertising programme. It's quite an honour to have won this, and was quite a shock considering the other people up for the award, easily equally deserving of winning.

And finally, I've moved into a new apartment, and bid farewell to my roommate and best friend, who has moved back with her family in Kitchener. So now, I'm living alone, in a much smaller apartment about five blocks from where I used to live. It's a little noisier here, as there's more traffic on this street as well as a bus route and a nearby hospital (plus, being on the second floor instead of the tenth means I hear a lot more of the traffic), and I don't have as nice a view as I did at the old place (the view from my second-floor balcony consists of the back of a house converted into a business, a bit of the street, and other people's backyards), but it'll do me just fine.

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It's gone... it's finally gone. The horrid picture that once opened the page is gone, replaced by a much more flattering picture of yours truly. It's still not the best pic of me in the world, but it's a helluva lot better than the one it replaced.

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...another update. Who knew?

I've added another new piece to my portfolio: a Flash banner advertising the new 2005 Dodge Dakota. I've also spiffied up the 'blog a bit to add links where I thought they'd be appropriate.

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I swear, I don't think I'll ever be able to keep up this level of updates!

I've added a few new pieces to the portfolio page. I wanted to show off more of my web banner work, so I've added two new banners I've designed for TD Canada Trust. I've also decided, after much thought, to add a poster I designed for one of my classes this past year. In the end, I decided to add it because it shows a different design than what I normally produce. Besides, it's kinda funky.

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Wow... two updates in one week. Don't get used to it.

This one's just a bug fix. Guess it would have been a good idea to check everything before uploading it to the server. Three bugs went out that obviously should not have.

Bug 1: Quite possibly the most embarrassing bug of the three. I forgot to change the code on one of the Coca-Cola skyscraper banner pages that would have made it load the correct banner. As a result, Coca-Cola Skyscraper 2 bore an uncanny resemblance to Coca-Cola Skyscraper 1. Mostly because, for four days, it was Coca-Cola Skyscraper 1.

Bug 2: The Coca-Cola Website Introduction animation isn't supposed to loop. It's been fixed now. If you miss it the first time it runs, simply reload the page.

Bug 3: Links to the CFO 2 GO website were to have loaded in a new window. They didn't. But they do now.

That's all for now.

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I knew there was a reason I slipped in that part about not promising weekly updates. Hell, It's been a whole four months since I've even touched this page!

I thought I'd have a chance to redesign this page in my web design class last semester, but, as it turns out, we got a different project. Instead of making a personal web page (which, in my humble opinion, would have been a great idea), we were given an assignment where we were to redesign an existing web page, namely this one. Good experience, but a lot of work.

Things were also absolutely nuts with other school projects as well. The group project for the year was chaotic; we seemed to spend so much time on things that were... well, uncreative. Things like focus groups and brainstorming sessions and the like. I just wanted to get down to the nitty-gritty; just stick me in front of QuarkXPress and let me do my thing! We ended up doing well overall, but I don't think it was my best creative effort, and, as such, isn't in my online portolio as of yet.

Speaking of the portfolio section, it's been totally gutted and rebuilt with this year's projects; the only things remaining from last year are the Hamilton Spectator Classified ads, and the Red Cap campaign (though, due to space constraints, I've had to remove the Red Cap television commercial). One of the great things about Mohawk's advertising programme is MCA, a student-run ad agency available to third-year students. This gave me the opportunity to work on real projects for real clients, and, while at times it was infuriating, I'd say it was a positive experience on the whole. The CFO 2 GO project, the Mediafest Countdown poster, and the Post-Graduate Program poster are examples of pieces that actually went out to clients. I tell ya; it's a great feeling to know that your work is out there, people are seeing it, and that you've made a client happy.

I've also fixed two things that have annoyed the hell out of me for the longest time. While rebuilding the portfolio page, I fixed a bug that caused the links to use the web browser's default colours (blue for normal links, for example). I never did figure out what was causing it, but I've fixed it. In addition, black is actually black on some of the pictures now, namely the Red Cap bottle cap. Now, maybe this is my anal-retentive nature showing through, but the background being even just a little off so as to show a difference in colour pissed me off to no end.

Still have a few things to change, though. First, that picture of me on the front page has to go; however, my photographer roommate is at home right now, and I'm not competent enough to do it myself, so I'll wait 'till she gets back to change it. I'll give you a wee bit of a preview, though... expect something more formal. Also, I'm thinking of removing the counter and guestbook, as these seem to scream, 'amateur!' They'll probably be gone next update, which, if I'm lucky, should be sometime this year.

Well, that's all for now, seeing as the cold medication I took is starting to kick in. I'll hardly be coherent within the next few minutes, so I'll wrap this up before I fall asleep on my keyboard.

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