Saturday, July 01, 2006

a sketch a day - July

073106
Nice day, until 6pm. Bugs till 10:30.


073006
Today went by way too fast. Busy bee.


072906
So, so day. A lot of running around
So I went to a gallery today with my ex-class mates. Since one's a painter and liked William Keith, we went to see St Mary's Colleges' collection of some of his paintings. Also on exhibit, were an artist's collection of toys that he'd made to display as "art". Some of the pieces were pretty interesting because they are made from found objects, like sardine cans, and old silverware. Well, I liked that, so I think I'll do some toy designs, too, but they may not necessarily be "mainstream" or even practical, hahaha.


072806
Friday, yeah! Need I say more?


072706
A lazy day. Need to be more productive
Went and saw Lady in the Water with a few friends. I know that it got some bad reviews, but I have to say that I liked it. Not as good as Six Sense, but not too bad either. It's a fairy tale and it's slow, so people expecting something more action oriented should not go. It's like The Never Ending Story or the first half of Narnia. As for being productive, I guess I need to make a lot of things this summer. That's the plan anyway. These things have been floating in my mind for many months, and with the purchase of a new planer, there's no more excuses, but vacation comes first:p


072606
Today was a beautiful day. Savior it, memorize it and file it away in the back of your memory for those days when it just sucks.
Indeed, the morning was perfect driving to work. The air was not too cold and not too hot. It was as if the body became one with the air around me. Seems a bit silly, but days like these are rare for it's either a little hot or a little cold, or smelly from the car exhaust. Work was slow and I actually had time to clean up the cube. Went through all my boxes of crap that I've accumulated over the past four years and consolidated them. By the time I was done, the garbage was overflowing with old junk and the so was the blue "recycling" bin of paper. What I would up with was two full boxes of toys, one of books and one miscellaneous "stuff". Also left over were an amalgam of drinks from Red Bull to Champaign. These were liberated from the, once regular and now only on the first Friday of the month, Friday team meetings where beer and snacks would be available to the team. Yes, those days are gone, so too were the free bottled water. Now the filtered tap water is the norm.


072506
An absolute pissy two days and I don't know why:-I
I think the heat is finally getting to me as I've become irritable with stupid people on the highway. People should be required to take combat driving classes before they can get their drivers license. That way, they'll know that when someone is merging from the onramp, either speed up, if you're in front of him, or slow the f'down if you're behind them. Because if you drive the same speed, you'll run them off the road!!!


072406
A casual day as the temperature drops to a more tolerant level.
Again, as I was planning to leave at a reasonable hour from work, a late bug prevents me from doing so. But all is not in despair for I have recently purchased a cheap guitar to be kept around the office for just such occasions, heh, heh. And so, I pluck away at it while waiting for the painfully long builds to finish, fantasizing about being able to actually play like the guitar heroes that I listen to all of the time. My search for an American Strat is becoming more and more discouraging as I am constantly outbid on Ebay. I can't believe that one would cost so much, even a used one. Now am just more determine to get one for a price I can afford, or just forget it all together.


072306
Today's weather continues to be hot. Oh, please, when will it end?
Since I'm going to be on a road trip with friends soon, I've decided to "modernize" the trip vehicle. What I mean by this is that I wanted to install a DVD player for the passengers on this trip. I think it'll be fun to try and make a mount for a portable DVD player because I sure don't want to spend too much money for a real one, hahaha. I'm a cheap bastard when it comes to things that I think I can make for a lot less money. I had it all figured out; a cross bar of some sort (to support the DVD player), some large knobs and bolts ( for ease of install and removal of said support), a cheap camera mount ( for mounting of DVD player), an angled bracket of some sort ( for support of the DVD mount). Supply list jotted down, and off I went to the the hardware store - this was weeks ago.

Well, today was the day that everything was going to be put together. But not from scratch. Let me explain. You se, I've been fiddling with the parts here and there for the past week, so a lot of the "rough" construction was done. Today was just final fitting and testing, and I must say, it wasn't as smooth and easy as I thought it would be. I guess they never are:p

The First fitting yield a major flaw in my design. Since the head rest post are set at an angle, so follows the support bar and the DVD players screen. And unfortunately for me, it was facing the wrong way - down, That was obviously the wrong way. The passengers would have to scrounge down in their seats, or tilt their head at an angle to be able to see the screen at all. Definitely not very comfortable. What to do? Anyway, to make a long story short, I attached a camera mount to the DVD mount, that's screwed onto the cross-support bar, that's clampedd onto the head rest posts. How's that for a mouth full of words? And now the DVD just mounts to the camera mount and everything seems to work pretty good. The whole thing kind of came out the opposit way that I thought it would be. I guess the real test, now, will be to see if this Mickey mouse set up will survive the trip, without falling apart, hahahahaha..........yeah.


072206
The days are still hot as hell. Another two days of this?
Three hours of sleep within the last forty eight. Needless to say I am a bit tired. The mind goes into "auto pilot" at some point and concentration goes out the door. I can't do anything that requires deep thinking within the last six. As you can see from yesterday's drawing, not much inspiration or effort. My bad! Today's sketch is much better, HA!


072106
Totally bored and uninspired day. Need a dunk in the pool.


072006
Melancholy day. Boil it in oil.
Went to see a couple friends at lunch who works at Cryptic Studios in Los Gatos. They showed my two workers and myself some of the things they are working on. As you may or may not know, Cryptic makes the MMO City of hero's and more recently, City of villains. I have to say that I was impressed with their pipeline. Hell of a lot better than what I have to work with on a day to day bases. I think one of the main reasons why They wanted me to check out their studio was that they are in the mids of hiring for several new projects that's coming on line in a few months. They sound interesting enough, especially with a major backer from the industry. But I don't know. They are located quite a distance away, and far from the five minute commute that I am spoiled by. So this will take some thinking, and there's no guarantee of employment. Their standards are high, but then again, so are mine. I will still need to go through their hiring process. Questions, questions.


071906
Today is good, not too hot anf not too cold. Dig it.


071806
Today is a happy day. Enjoy the sun.


071706
Another hot day and humid, too. Beach weather!


071606
Today was too hot. Need some AC.
Cleaning the house when it's a hot day is just not too much fun, especially when you start sweating in a warm stuffy house. Oh, yes, and guys are just not meant to be doing sewing work. Our hands are just not delicate like women's hands are, but we do manage when we have too, HA!


071506
Today's mood is: Not too bad, a sense of relief.
So this friend, who resides in Taiwan, asks me to draw his kid from a photo a while back. I keep forgetting to do it. Well, here's what I got.


071406
Today was an annoying day. Smash it with a mallet!
I was awakened by the sounds of dueling chainsaw saws at 9:30 in the morning. This is very disturbing for today was a PTO day from work. The plan was to sleep in and then go to work and check in some data because my work computer crashed the previous night. I was way too tired to deal with it at 11:30 at night, so loud chain saws in the morning was not fun. The neighbor was having their tree cut down because it was dying from the back neighbors hack job at the fence line. Also PG&E wanted removed because it has engulfed their power lines for many years. I guess the threat of fire was also a very good reason. Since this tree was a very large pine tree of some sort, it was a great visual screen from the other neighbors. Now that it's gone, I will miss it.

So, this was supposed to be a day off, well, it didn't quite work out that way. I wound up working for a good part of the day trying to get these "rain occluders" put into the game that didn't want to work. One hell of a day. Need to unwind.


071306
Today was an easy going day. Nice and warm.


071206
work = 10am to 10:20pm
Today is a beautiful. Too bad I'm in a concrete cave.
One thing about office buildings is that they are quite depressing to be in, which is why every time I get moved, I will request a window cube when ever possible. Most artist prefer dark spaces to work, but I just find dark spaces depressing and uncomfortable. I also find that it's much harder for me to be productive in dark spaces, for tend to doze off and fall asleep at my desk. If I had a choice, I'd have my blinds open all the time but that would just get people pissed off at me. So they stay closed just enough to keep everyone happy. I also turn on all the lights in my little cube as well, heh, heh. That, they have no control over.


071106
Today is a bit rushed. Must hurry!


071006
Work = 9:30am to 11:20pm
Today was a productive day. Make a happy face.


070906
Today was a lazy day. Light a match under it.

Yes, indeed, as much as I would have liked to get some projects going, nothing happened. It must be the long hours through out this week that I have been working, and I just wanted to regenerate before the possibilities of another one this coming week.

Had breakfast with a friend who was driving back down to LA this morning. We've known each other for quite some time, and he occasionally comes up to visit his family. Since he's working in the architecture field, I asked if he would help me out on a project I'm thinking of doing, for which he said he would.


070806
Today is a very long day. Open a bottle of sleep.


070706
Work = 8:30am - 10:00pm
Today was a good day, until the afternoon. I need to smack someone upside the head.
Yes, indeed. Had one bug this morning that got taken cared off, but of course, I got more handed to me by the afternoon. It would not be so bad if the iteration times were not more than five minutes long. Instead, they are around an hour or more, even for simple fixes like moving something over two inches. So with two computers working all day long, I can only clear off two bugs. Yes, someone needs to have their head smacked for creating such wasted time!


070606
Today is an okay day. Maybe take a nap or something.
I think I will need to find a used American Strat Plus. I have been wanting one for the longest time but could never afford one. Even a used one. I think I will actually put an effort into finding one. I don't know why, but I really like that guitar. The sad thing is I don't really know how to play one. I've been plucking away at my Squire Strat every so often, but that's just a poor substitute. The funny thing is that it might not be any different, hahaha. So why am I starting to get into this guitar thing again? Well, a co-worker is going to buy that Squire and so I will need a replacement, heh, heh. Maybe this time I will actually put more of an effort into playing one. Also another co-worker, who plays quite well, went out and bought a guitar so he can have something to do while waiting for the build to finish.


070506
Today is a good day. Go out and have fun.


070406
And here we are again, on another day of celebration and the traditional barba que that any one, who calls themselves an American, should do. So, it's with no surprise that I get many invitations to participate. First, it's the co-worker who's birthday was not too long ago, and a lot of people from work chipped in to get him a, you know what, yes, a barba que. This is so that he would have no excuse to throw a barba que party. And what a better time it is to do it then the Forth of July! Then, it's the other co-worker that also decided to throw his on the same day. This Southerner, boasts about how the South knows how to Que! So people are always challenging him to put his money where his mouth is. And last week, he said his going to, on the Forth. Thirdly, I get an e-vite to another one from a friend, for whom I have not seem in months, and who lives in Alameda, and I really want to go to that one. Fifth, another friend whom I have not spoken to for in a while, IMs me to see if I can go to his in Mountain View. And then, of course, my other friend, Mark, wants to have something at his place. All in all, that's six invites for the Forth. I would love to go to all of them, but there's just not enough clones of me, or time in the day to do so. I think to myself "I can only hit three of them at most". Now that that has been decided, what order should I do them? Ok, I'll hit nation's in Alameda, then my co-worker's in Redwood Shores, and then to Marks' in San Mateo, yeah! By the end of today, I am totally stuff, like a pillow, drank like a fish, and smoked a hooka like a fiend. I am, needless to say, totally uncomfortable, and yet, having to do me sketch. Thank goodness, this happens once a year.


070306


070206


070106
I'm not insane after all. Found out that the errors last night was caused by the audio guy who checked in broken shit! Thanks to him, I'm here at work when I didn't need to be. Enough said.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

a sketch a day - June

063006
It's 11:39:23 at night and I am here at the office, again, after finishing dinner. Tony MacAlpine's "Edge of Insanity" is on full blast in front of me to try and get my energy going. How appropriate, since things are not going as smoothly as I'd had hoped. Silly me for thinking I can have a full non-stressed and free weekend. Like Murphy's Law states "anything that can go wrong, will go wrong". Well, that law sure proved to be correct, for the build of the game that was working before I had left for dinner, is now not working. Sigh. Looks like I will need to come in sometime tomorrow to clean and finish up this mess that is Godfather 360.


062906


062806


062706


062606


062506


062406
You have a big package and you start to unwrap it, but when you unwrap it, there's another wrapper. So you tear that off and there's another wrapper, and another, and another, and so on, and so on. As you continue this course of action, because this is your day, all you can feel is the anticipation of what's inside, and what's inside is a jewel that's going to make the work that you did all worth wild. But deep down inside, you know that there might not be anything at the end but an empty box. So, what then? Disappointment? Giving up? Kill yourself? The things is, even though I know that there may be no jewel in that box, the one you work at so hard to unwrap, I have to believe that there is, even though, there may not be, a jewel. I have to believe that because then I can finally get a peaceful nights sleep, for tomorrow, there's another box to unwrap.


062306
Though I had a lot to say today, I'm too tired to say them, so I'll try and remember what it is that I wanted to say, tomorrow. But, I'm happy right now.


062206


062106
Okay, pretty lame sketch, but still a sketch. It is a co-worker's birthday and a lot of people went out to his dinner party. Afterwards, when to his place to hang out and do some drinking. Not too much, but, it was fun. A good relaxing time during a stressful time before content lock next week. Which means working the weekend to get as much done as possible, blah! Anyway, this guy is a pretty nice guy, so everyone pitched in to get him a BBq grill. Not too bad. So after some drinking and relaxing, needless to say that I'm not quite focused on anything elaborate for a sketch:p


062006
They say that "Time flag when you're having fun", but why's it flying when you also have so much work to do:p I have to say, this year is going to be interesting because there's going to be so much outsourcing of content for every project at work. I don't really want to be part of the management staff that hand holds those outsourced asset companies, so what is one to do? The PS3 is already looking to be a bear of a console to port to, so I may just take a "leave of absence" and concentrate on my paintings. But, who knows, maybe it'll all work out. Keeping my fingers crossed.


061906
Sometimes, I feel like I'm drowning in a see of bureaucracy. The simplest things just takes so long to get approval or taken care of. Seems like what ever efficient system gets put together one year, just gets ripped out the following year. It's like an amateur mechanic who gets this garage full of premium parts and occasionally, puts together a winning engine. But instead of keeping it running the way it is, takes it apart and starts over, and yet, never learns about ones mistakes.


061806


061706


061606


061506
I've got carpal tunnel in both my elbows from working fourteen hour days, so I really would like to just do nothing and daydream my work days away, sipping cider and rum. Yes. These days have been so nice. It's beach weather, not dark office weather. It's the kind of weather where the convertible top comes off and a nice drive in the hills is in order.


061406


061306


061206
Today is what's call Alpha. The time when everything that should be in the game has to be, except for final polish of art, programming and gameplay. Not much of an Alpha, for this is just a port:p Enough said.


061106


061006
Last weekend and this weekend is the East Bay open studios for the local artist there. This is the third year that my friend, Suzanne, has participated in the event. She has some great abstract landscapes that I really like. I admire her for her courage to just quit work and paint full time, and have been quite successful at it. She has shows in San Francisco, New York and some places in Arizona and others. It's what every artist would love to do, but it is hard work. Check out her stuff here http://www.sonodera.com


060906


060806
Oh this is terrible! A co-worker is sick and now he gave it to me! Bastard! So, I've been brewing some cocktails to, hopefully, kill it before it gets worst. Crushed a bunch of vitamin Cs, Bs, multi-vitamins into a powder and put it into a blender for a shake. Boiled up some garlic, ginger, brown sugar soap and downed that, too. Hope this cold passes by quick. Over night would be preferred, hahaha.


060706
Today is one of those days when I feel like I'm on auto pilot. After so many hours and days of monotonous work, my brain just shuts down and auto pilot switches on, and the body just runs the pre-scripted programs of fixing this or that which requires little or no decision making from the logical side of the mind.

My manager talked with me about what it is that I wanted to do after this project because I had mentioned to the project Development Director, or DD as they are called, about wanting to go onto a more creative project. You see, I have not created any real content for my portfolio for over two years, and I really need something to show for these passing years. My DD then mentioned that he had me slated to go onto the PS3 port of Godfather. Well, to tell you the truth, I've pretty much had it with Godfather! I can't wait till this thing is over, end of July, and get plastered and sleep for a week. Sooner would be better, and I think I'm going to start because I need to blow off some steam. I am even seriously thinking of taking a leave-of-absence for a few months if I have to go on to another port of this porker. It's late and I am ranting, blah,blah, blah.


060606


060506


060406


060306


060206
Today was a good day. It was a good day because I took it off, hahaha. Since I've been working a lot of hours, I asked for a day to recuperate before the next wave of insane hours that's going to be logged in for the next two plus weeks. This can not be helped for that is the nature of this industry. It's a cycle of hills and valleys and this is the time of the climb to the top of the hill before the gentle decent that is after Beta. Thank goodness the end to this project is drawing near.


060106