In the meantime, you’re welcome to stay in touch via email or Twitter.  I’ll definitely keep you updated on the new blog, and let you know when I’m live again.

Have a great summer, everyone.  See you soon.

Last night, President Obama announced that we had found and killed Osama bin Laden.  I watched the announcement with a bunch of my friends in my dorm room.  There was no real morbidity, there was no shock, there was no jubilant celebration (though most of us cracked open a beer).  But one thing was prevalent.

Humor.

Twitter and Facebook exploded with various pop culture jokes.  We searched around with glee for the best ones.  I, with no sense of shame, penned a few and retweeted some of the best ones, including:

- Breaking news: Terrorism alert level raised to “confetti”.
- Answers on all my finals tomorrow: “USA”, “USA”, “America, F*** Yeah!” Profs will understand, right?
- Finally, a funeral Westboro Baptist can protest without pissing anyone off…
- sudo rm -rf /bin/laden
- Finally found Osama, huh? Guess he had an iPhone after all…
- Osama probably died waiting for the press conference about him being killed.
- RT @CNN: Chuck Norris was not harmed during his single handed killing of Osama Bin Laden.
- Obama: “We were all like ‘d-d-d-d-d, g-g-g-g-g’ (machine gun noises), and then it was like ‘eeeeeEEE-BOOM!’ (bomb noises)” It was pretty rad
- Osama bin Laden just ousted Adolf Hitler as the mayor of Hell on @foursquare!”
- So when Obama said last week he had ‘better stuff to do’ than talk about his birth certificate… Yeah.
- ☑ Saddam Hussein ☑ Osama Bin Laden ☐ Internet Explorer

Now, believe me, I’m no stranger to political correctness.  I’m perfectly aware that most of those jokes are in poor taste.  But unfortunately (if you don’t like those jokes), humor is how I express emotion.  Happy?  Tell/share jokes.  Ticked off?  Tell jokes.  Stressed?  Find jokes to make me laugh.

Does this make me a morbid, horrible person?  Absolutely not.  Am I going to cease these messages if you take offense to them?  Probably not.  A majority of my communication this day and age is made through social media.  I never asked for you to follow me on Twitter, you did that on your own.  If you don’t like it, there’s always an “unfollow” button.

To prove I’m not morbid and not blood-thirsty, let me show you what I posted on Facebook last night/this morning:

- While not a fan of murder, I am a fan of a terrible person who was a huge impact in worldwide terrorism no longer being able to hurt people.
- “I’ve never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.” – Mark Twain
- At some point, all the jokes will stop, all the excitement will fade… and hopefully then, we all remember why we were after Bin Laden in the first place. For those that have served, and for those that died… you will not be forgotten.

Ta-da.  See?  Nice cuddly Nic hidden underneath.

So seriously: this is a last warning to everyone, ever.  While I am routinely reserved and of good taste with what I write/say, there are times where I choose to express myself in a more… well, expressive manner.  If these rare occasions “make you sick”, “disgust you”, “make me no better than a terrorist”, or give you a desire to tell me to “get shot just like Osama did”, I highly suggest you stop reading this blog, stop following me on Twitter, and stay the heck away from my Facebook.  Like, forever.

</rant>

——

I purchased an iPad last October.  Loved it.  Didn’t know what my use for it would be prior to purchasing it, and managed to find some pretty good spots for it after I did.  It is my primary data consumption device, though it is admittedly poor at any sort of composition efforts.  I watch videos and baseball, read, play a few games, check email and Twitter, and generally ingest the internet through the device.  Tried writing a blog post once, and it worked OK, but I definitely had to do some post-formatting on it.

I’ve also owned a 17″ HP laptop since 2008.  The thing is a mammoth, heavy, and non-Apple… therefore, I detest it.  Seriously though, it’s extremely poor at fitting into my workflow, and I feel like wherever I take it, I can’t get anything accomplished simply because I don’t have any of the tools on that machine that I desire to use.

Early this week, I had a gentlemen offer to buy the HP, on one condition; I also had to sell him the iPad.

I now have a conundrum.  There’s nothing that I want more right now than to unload this piece.  By the same token, I really do like my iPad, but I’m honestly not sure if I would miss it in my workflow.  I’ve left it at home/in my bag the past couple of days, and the only things I’ve used it for is my alarm clock and to watch baseball.  Both are things that I can do with other products I currently own.

——

So, dear readers, here are my options:

1) Purchase a new iPad ($499).  I will unload both items regardless, because as I said, I want this laptop gone.  But I could always go out and purchase a new iPad to replace the one I missed.  Still making a considerable sum of money, more than I asked originally for the laptop.

2) Buy a MacBook ($1,039).  Not really a fan of this option.  While it does have quite a bit of power, I’ve never been a fan of the plastic-like case.  Seems like a toy.

3) Buy a MacBook Pro ($1,789).  a) too expensive, b) I don’t need all that power.

4) Buy a MacBook Air ($1,339).  I lose a bit of power and a few features, but I gain a sleek, fast computer that does exactly what I need it to do, and nothing more.

I’m leaning, in order, to 4, 1, 2, and 3.  I’ve heard nothing but good things about the MB Air, and first-hand accounts that even the high-power-requirement things (like Photoshop) that I would want to run would work just fine.  It offers me portability, speed and a good battery life.

If it were your decision, which would you pick?

I’ve really come to enjoy and appreciate graphic design quite a bit.  It’s fun, it’s challenging, and (I feel) rewarding in multiple aspects.  Any other “work” that I have to do for classes seems tedious and boring, but doing graphic design is extremely enjoyable.  As I’ve told numerous friends, graphic design is the first thing that I’d done that I’ve enjoyed both the classroom aspect, as well as the take-home work aspect.  Some classes have fun/decent assignments, others have fun/decent classes, but never before have I run across both.

If I’d go back, I’d get a B.A. in Art Studio with a Graphic Design emphasis.  13 additional classes, which could potentially be accomplished in 3 semesters… but who knows, if I’m here, maybe I’d finish up my music minor as well.  I mean, I already paid for half of those classes, so I should finish them, right?

Here’s the thing though… I HATE school.  I’ve never been good at structured learning, in part because I’ve never found things that I want to do, and in part because I don’t test well.  That’s part of the beauty of art school, though… beyond the art history classes, “tests” are really just projects that you complete.  Which rocks.

I’ve not had a good artistic outlet for myself in a while.  Playing at church is nice, but I haven’t had much of an opportunity to actually sit down and play/create some tunes.  I haven’t written much either, as evident by the lack of blogging over the past year.  So this would also assist me in fulfilling that aspect.  Plus, I sometimes struggle finding motivation for things that I do, and by taking formal classes with structured assignments, I’ll be able to get my creative juices going as well as learn a lot of things I may not learn on my own.

If I’m doing web design/development in the future, having the ability to do the graphics in-house would a) save me tons of issues and b) net me more money.  I’d probably be doing the web design as a side job, but who knows, maybe it could be a full time thing.

So by my logic, I have a few options:

1) Don’t be dumb. Graduate, get a job, etc.
2) Stay in school. Graduate when I’m 27. Stay in my hometown (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing).
3) Get a job in the area. Go to school part time.
4) Go elsewhere. Hope that they have a good graphic design program. Go to school part time.

Thoughts?

I’m not going to believe that only a few people are permitted to be gatekeepers or creators or generous leaders. I have no intention of apologizing for believing in people, for insisting that we all use this moment and these assets to create some art and improve the world around us.

To do anything less than that is a crime.^[1]

Seth hit it out of the park with this article.  There’s truly no reason why we should impose limits on ourselves simply because something is “too hard” or “totally different than what I’ve done before”.  An old dog CAN learn new tricks, contrary to popular belief; they just have to work at it a bit harder.

And that’s not a bad thing. Think of things that you do on a routine basis that take no/minimal effort on your part.  How fulfilling is it when you complete those?  Now think about the last time you really put forth effort towards something. How rewarding was it when you completed it?  I’m guessing you’re like me, in that the more difficult tasks provided more satisfaction once you were done.

So why not challenge yourself?  Summer is approaching, and for a lot of us, that means time off from school.  For others, that just means nice weather when you get off of work.  Regardless, maybe we should all take this time and find 5 things we keep telling ourselves “I can’t”, and make that become “I did”.

So here’s what I’m going to try:

1. Learning a few songs on guitar I’ve been putting off because of their difficulty.
2. Start learning Chinese
3. Launch my web site (for the 3rd and final time)
4. Get back into a more healthy state of being. Work out, less junk food, less pop, etc.
5. Achieve a 3.33 (B+) average during my final 2 semesters of college.

I realize 2 & 4 are not really tangible, nor do they have fixed end.  But that’s ok.  I may never master Chinese, but it won’t hurt to be able to understand and maybe even speak a little.  I don’t have a fixed weight I’d like to get down to, or a certain bicep size (I’m not really that vain), but when I get to the right point, I’ll know it.  A finite end isn’t required for everything, and the fact that I challenged myself is enough.

What about you? What will you challenge yourself to accomplish?

[1]: “Accepting False Limits” by Seth Godin

- It snowed today.  Correction: it was a proper blizzard outside for the better part of 2 hours this morning.  It’s April 19. This is not right.

- Apparently this school year is the Year of Love.  I’ve now had 5 friends get engaged, with a bunch more friends/acquaintances also getting engaged/married. I’m nothing but happy for them, but I always feel a little twinge when it happens.  Less and less every time though, which is nice.

- Nothing frustrates me more than getting down to crunch time in school, and having professors that are unwilling to communicate effectively with students, or provide them with the needed materials for their closing projects. One professor refuses to provide her Powerpoint slides before class, when she has promised this all year.  Another won’t give us a template we need in order to have 3 rough drafts of our final done by Monday. And the third… well, it’s quite the opposite. Info overload, plus a group project worthy of the time and attention of a senior thesis.  Ugh.

- On top of that, I’ve got prep for Easter weekend for church. Rehearsal all afternoon on Sunday, after work tonight, Saturday afternoon, and then service Sunday. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to be serving, I just wish there were 28 hours in a day. And since I didn’t get the things I needed to work on, I’ve blown about 6 hours that I could’ve been working already.

- I hate school. Yet by the same token, I keep thinking I want to go back and do… other things.  Something’s wrong with me.

Anyone else feeling extremely stressed out as of late?

A few good points came up during this talk that I wanted to share with you tonight.

1) The key point to taking criticism is to listen. If you go into a critique with an open mind, and are willing to hear the whole critique through, a lot of good can come from it.  Many people wall themselves off and instantly view a critique as an attack on their ability.  Others get caught up on small points early, and think you’re nitpicking on something, when you’re really talking about something else entirely.  Be receptive, take everything in, and only then should you process the info you just received as a critique. Listening will also help us to determine whether the criticism is meant to be constructive or destructive.  If it’s the latter, ignoring it might be ok.

2) Artists can get a little more sensitive about critiques, simply because of the details they put into it.  A musician might put a subtle nuance into a song that you don’t even notice, while you go on to critique that part of the song.  Graphic artists, painters, drawers and the like might have subtle shadings, gradients, or other minuscule details that, to them, make their work “pop”.  Personally, when I look at the Mona Lisa, I just see a woman. I don’t see any fancy work, and as such might be more apt to just shrug and say “meh”.  Which leads me to my 3rd point…

3) If some Joe Schmo walked up to me and said “hey, I didn’t like this about your guitar playing”, I’d be more apt to blow him off.  But if a respected musician came up to me and said “hey, I didn’t like this about your guitar playing”, I would give it careful consideration.  You don’t have to let everything a person says change what you do, and it’s fine if you decide to weigh the comments of one person more than another because of who they are/what they do.  But at the same time, realize that by coming up and making a comment or critique, that person obviously felt strongly about what you did, be it good or bad.  Anyone can say “nice job”, but it takes passion to say “that guitar lick you played on the 3rd song had a wonderful flow to it” or “the way you combined those colors on that piece really stood out”.

4) Critiques help you to be more intentional about what you do in the future.  If you know the thing you did was critiqued very strongly by someone, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use it again in the future. However, you should give it careful consideration when you do, and make sure that it really fits and belongs where you’re trying to place it.  Got a reason for that font?  Do you really need to pair those 2 employees together again?  Why are you using that effect on your guitar?  If it makes sense and has a purpose, then go for it.

Critiques should never be things we should shy away from. We should actively seek them in order to improve who we are as people, as well as the things we do.

Every time I send out an email to someone who I have little correspondence with, I always include my full signature.  It looks as follows:

Thanks,
– Nicholas J. “Nic” Lake
Email: [REDACTED]
Phone: [REDACTED]

And if we have a conversation going, or it’s more of an informal email, the signature will simply say:

– Nic

Oh, and incoming emails?  They are from “Nic Lake”.

So seriously, how flippin’ hard is it to read, comprehend, and spell my name properly?

I have had 2 people today send me emails in which I initiated contact (with the full signature), and they are still unable to properly spell my name.  And both of these people?  Professors of mine.  School professors, the ones grading my papers and tests.

Here’s what you misspelling my name tells me:

1) You’re incompetent.
2) You don’t give a damn.
3) Your time is too precious to even skim the emails, and you’ll just respond with whatever you feel like. (see #2)

If I was more immature, I would respond back with gross butchering of their names, just to see if they’d get the point.  I mean, I realize “Nic” is not exactly the common way of spelling my name, but c’mon.

This Public Service Announcement has been brought to you by the letter K, which seems to be making its way into every email addressed to me today.

University students are frequently bombarded with projects, tests, and assignments about this time of year.  Parents are driving kids all over town to various events now that the weather is nice.  Douchebags on crotch rockets are screaming down the street, revving their bikes as loud as they can.  Yes, we see you, shirtless and wearing a ball cap.  Way to be safe.

I hit the brakes today.  Graphic Design just went down to the computer lab to work, and instead of partaking, I decided to come home, sit outside, and enjoy the lovely weather.  70 and sunny, light breeze… yep, I can dig it.  My new favorite Pandora station in my headphones (search for Aether, and enjoy), the grass between my toes… I am perfectly content right now.

Slow down.  Breathe.  Life isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon.  Feel free to pull over and enjoy the scenery.  Rule #32 of Zombieland: enjoy the little things.  (Like Emma Stone.  Mmmmmm…)

P.S. you remember back in the day when you were, like, 3?  And in day care?  And had some smokin’ hot chicks taking care of you all day?  What a life…

Right now, the priorities that I do have are pretty simple.  God, school, volunteering (mostly at church), and friends/family.  Unfortunately, that leaves very little time for any extra hobbies and activities that I’d like to partake in.  Or at least, that’s what I tell myself.  Mostly, it’s because I try to do things with my friends and be social as much as I possibly can.

Part of my issue is the amount of hobbies that I have, which I’m sure I’ve mentioned before.  Here’s a brief list:

- Guitar/music
- Writing/blogging
- Sports
- Disc golf
- Graphic design
- Reading
- Various TV shows/movies/Netflix
-  Technology
- Working out

Music for me is only when I play at church right now. Blogging… well, it’s sparing, as you can see. Sports will be prominant for me until October… I love baseball season. Now that the weather is nice, hopefully I’ll get out to play more disc golf. I am taking another graphic design class this fall, and hopefully will teach myself some stuff done over the summer . I barely have time to read all the blogs I subscribe to, and haven’t read a book in months. I watch Netflix way more than I should, but that’s how I like to pass the time, I guess. Technology is an extremely broad category… building web sites, teaching myself programming, learning about stuff, playing with my iPad, gaming with friends, etc.  Working out… well, the 4-month-pregnant belly I’m working on here proves that I haven’t done that.

I’m making strides to fix this, however.  When I’m home this summer, I won’t fall into the trap of sitting around playing video games.  I’ll get out and disc, play my guitar, read and write, and spend time with my parents.  When I’m on the road, I’ll probably also read and write, and work out as much as I can.

I should re-name this post to “Video Games Are Ruining My Life”.  Mom would have a heart attack reading that title.  Seriously, I don’t play THAT much, and when I do, it’s with friends.  But that’s a considerable chunk of time that I could put towards other things.  Like blogging…

So, a few questions to end with:
1) How do you handle your priorities, and sort them into “get this done meow” things?
2) How do you prioritize your hobbies?
3) Have you ever had to “prune” hobbies from your tree?  How do you make this determination on which ones go?