Stu stu studio...

After a wet trip to IKEA in Michigan, the studio is now furnished... mostly.
We went up to Perrysburg last weekend (?) and also did a day trip up to the IKEA in Michigan. It is a newer store. On our list: stuff for the studio and possibly a dining room table and TV stand. We got the first two, but no TV stand will fit Greg's big-ass receiver. He will probably have to build one himself.

Anyway, IKEA was exhausting, as usual. But we were able to break up the day with a visit with Greg's childhood friend Nate. Turns out Nate and his wife live about 20 minutes from the IKEA, so they met us at Chili's in the front parking lot and we had chips and salsa and chatted. After that we went back in to the store and made the final selections. Two guys loaded everything nicely into the truck and we were on our way back to P-burg.

But it started raining.

So we pulled over under an overpass and unrolled the tanno (sp?) cover only to realize at the end that we didn't have the last bar in which has the snaps for the end. Oh well- flap away tanno, flap away. Better than our merchandise getting wet, right? I sat facing backwards watching it flap violently and imagining it ripping off completely and flying into the face of a motorcyclist behind us.

So we stopped and rolled it back up.

It wasn't raining hard, and actually no water was hitting the back of the truck when we were moving. Luckily it stayed like this the rest of the drive. When we got back to Greg's parent's house, we put a tarp on it. The tarp, however, wasn't secured very well. Overnight it poured rain. In the morning, we had water in the truck bed- not tons, but enough that we had to pull out every piece and unpack it to see if it was wet. A couple of pieces we had to blow-dry with a hairdryer. Particle board is like sponge. But everything is OK.

The rain never stopped. Instead of trying to figure out a new tarp system for the way home, Greg's parents offered their van for us to take. So we repacked and loaded everything into the van. We just need to exchange the vehicles back which I think is happening this week.

A lot of work for our IKEA furniture!

We have spent the past weeks putting together furniture in the studio and moving art supplies and books over to it. It's all done now- shelves, tables, mini-flat file. And we've moved over the drawing table. The only thing left is the futon and computer!

So that's the update on the furnishings. I'll post pictures of it I promise.

Studio Update and Progress on the Plan...

Now the walls are all officially painted. Greg got a super tall ladder and reached the very top. He also painted the vent that runs through the room, after scraping and sanding some of its old paint. We have started to clean the floors - scrubbing with Simple Green (Soilent Green is PEOPLE!!) to get up all the dirt and dust. It is definitely working, just a VERY slow process and lots of work. We're removing years and years of grime from the time that the place was a shirt factory. According to Paul (Pixel-Paul who is 2 doors down), there used to be a big belt conveyer type thing than ran through what is now all of our spaces. So I think in a couple spots, we're removing grease. It's OK. The Soilent Green can handle it!!

In other updates, I had a lunch meeting with Jeff P. from Givaudan on Thursday. I had emailed him to ask him if we could meet to discuss any future opportunities with Givaudan work. If I can get an honest prediction that there will be some work in the next 3 months, then I'd like to use this opportunity to quit. If I can have a little income while starting up the business, that is of course optimal. And it's going to be really hard to obtain clients when I have a day job. Givaudan is perfect because they know me already. I'm currently working on 2 projects and just got notice of a 3rd. I was honest with Jeff in telling him that I want to work on Givaudan projects because I like to and that it would allow me to fully kick off my business. He seemed to think that the next few months were going to be pretty nuts for them. Scott is leaving, they aren't allowed to hire any more designers (lost their headcount in the acquisition), Patti may soon be out for 2 months because of surgery... and all the marketers are feverishly trying to meet their plans. I do remember that this was the busy time of year while I was there. So he thought it sounded good. But he is going to talk about what the team's situation is with Scott before he can give me a definite answer. He doesn't know all the projects or track them- he just thinks he has an idea. We're supposed to talk late next week and then I'll have a better idea. And from talking to Lori, who is embedded in the field, it does sound like it's nuts and they need help.

So here's to that! I hope I see a list of TONS of projects coming up!!!

I really need a name for my business...

Other updates- today is moving day for Casey and Jannelle into Pat and Jamie's house!! Nice hot day for it. Yippee. Casey's providing donuts this morning. :)

Studio update

I have now painted the walls of the studio...with Greg's help.

I was off Monday and got it all done. 3 walls are white and the one with the window is a rusty brown color. I'll take pics and post. I really do like how it looks. Greg said he will help with the very very high trim that I just was too chickensh$! to reach on the high rungs of the borrowed ladder.

I've taken the small collection of carpet samples we have over and thrown them around on the floor. It is going to take a whole lotta carpet samples to cover the floor.

The other graphic designer 2 doors down, (Pixel Pete I keep calling him even though his name is Paul) put in a new router since he said the signal wasn't very strong. So I need to try that out and get the login info from him.

I would like to use one of the tables that is in the main area as my desk. I don't know who they belong to or if they are for sale.

Today I've responded to some "designer wanted" posts on Craig's List that Greg found. Who knows what kind of work they are or what they would pay, but at this stage in the game, I can't be too picky! It's worth the investigation. I'm going to work on updating my resume and cover letter when I get home. Also need to make a pdf of my portfolio. I wish I had a web site. Maybe I can figure that out this weekend. I suppose I need to get a business name registered first though, since that is what I would want my domain name to be...

Anyway, doing my thinking out loud here.

A race is decided upon

I've been thinking about what I want to do race-wise this year. I'm very much on the not-in-shape side of things and don't want to "compete" in any duathlons. But I would like to do a run. The Mason Fall Mini-Marathon will be the perfect distance. It's a 15K, so that's 9.3 miles. Not too long, but not short. I have 14 weeks. So I made a schedule today. Hopefully this will get me back into things and help motivate my runs.
Here is the schedule for those who care to see...(It's really not that exciting. but i did find a use for the font "marker felt". HA!)

Midweek Run

I ran on the trail last night after work with Erin. We went 2 miles, then I did another mile or so. I felt good. And though I am still pretty darn slow, the last mile I did was quicker than I have been going. There is hope yet...

The Gift of Sight Eye Run is August 25th which is 4 weeks away. I think now I will be OK to run it. Definitely not going for a PR, just hoping to finish and feel good.

Studio 105

Last week Greg and I were on our way to one of our favorite restaurants, The Works, in old Loveland. At the last stoplight, Greg suddenly said he wanted to check something out. I assumed it was a car sitting for sale somewhere, but it wasn't. It was a building that said "Loveland Artist Studios on Main". I was quite surprised. It was a large building - was it really studio spaces??

I got out of the car and looked in the window. Sure enough, there were a few artists listed along with their craft. It looked pretty cool from the outside...

After checking out their website, it said that there was one studio left, they rented the spaces at .80 a square foot, and that there were 26 artists. I sent the contact an email to say I was interested in learning more. He sent an email to say that I should give him a call to talk about it.

Friday, I left early and gave him a call. I ended up going over there, and meeting Greg there from work so he could look at it too. The space is 18' x 15' and is $190 a month including electric, heat, and wireless internet! A steal. There is no way I could get my own place for that money.

So, we decided to do it!

Today I signed the lease and gave the deposit and first month's rent. I'm SOOOOO excited. It will be so amazing to have my own place to work in. This really helps with The Plan. At the least, it will be an awesome art studio to actually get a portfolio built.

I'm so excited!!!!!!
I'm trying to think of a good name for my design business. I kind of like Studio 105, which is the name of the space I am in. Not sure though. I'm thinking...

Gettin' Back Into It

I didn't end up running Monday on my day off from work. But I was feeling better. Had a few naps. I must have had some weird kind of bug.

So nothing new on the running front. I only went Wednesday so far. I felt good Tuesday and wanted to go, but dinner disaster spoiled my plans. I suppose "disaster" is an exaggeration - I didn't have eggs so I had to change the menu from taco bake to tacos, which in turn cut the cooking time form 35 mintues to 5. No run. But I did walk for quite a while with Dexter. Probably about 1.5 - 2 miles.

Wednesday I ran after work around the neighborhood and felt AWFUL. My legs felt as if they had lead flowing through them.

Tonight I decided to just rest. I got up early for work and have had an exausting day. All I want to do is work on The Plan but I may run out of steam here pretty soon. I think I sound old.

One development with The Plan is Greg found an art studio in old Loveland! I have emailed about it and they guy called back. I just have to call him back now and ask some questions. I don't know how big the spaces are, but they rent for .80 a square foot, which isn't bad for a room the size of the one I'm in now! We will see...

July is almost over?!

Well, it's midway over. I can't believe it.

Last week was a good week for running and eating. We had dinners at home and I ran Monday, Wednesday and Friday. A bike ride that was in the plans for the day has been cancelled. I think I'll try to just rest today and exercise tomorrow. I don't want to fall out of the good positive last week I had.

Checked out Pat and Jamie's blog about their UK adventures. I hope they are able to post to it regularly. It is easy to forget about it. In fact, I noticed I hadn't posted since july 5th. Maybe a "Sunday Post" should be the rule.

The Late Run

I came home from work today and was sooo tired. So I didn't run. I slept instead. My joints have also been hurting a lot. I hope I'm not getting what I got right before we went to Tampa... that is what it is beginning to feel like.

But I did run later! After Greg got back from Youth, my stomach felt so full and I felt so awful, I figured the worst that could happen was I would have to turn around and come back.
Started out around 8:45/9:00 and just went a slow 30 minutes. Though my slowness is frustrating, at least I can run without having to stop now.

After I got home, I was soooo energized! I probably should have just run when I got home.

Broomball

A while back, I went with Greg and the youth group to play some broomball. It was my first attempt and I loved it. Since then, I've investigated into any leagues in the city and there is one. They play on Sundays in the summer. I still haven't gone to play though. Weekends (as well as nights) are just so hard to prioritize.
Here are a couple of pictures from the game/hurtfest.

4th of July

Today was the 4th. We had the whole gang over as a sort of farewell to Pat. I actually got a little choked up when we were saying bye to him. It's just a long time and we'll miss him.
Greg and Casey redid Greg's suspension for the BMW. Aparently it's all good and Greg likes.
This new computer kicks ass.
Back to work tomorrow :(

NEW COMPUTER!!!

I got a new used iMac 20 inch and it is soooo awesome!
I hope everything continues to work on it well. The screen is big. We only paid 750 for it. And its a 2 GHz with 2 GB of ram.
YAY!!!!
Now all i need is a wireless keyboard and mouse.