Time of my Life

After 50 hour weeks my weekends don't seem to be long enough. I think about when I was in school and worked 30 hours a week in addition to spending insane amounts of time in studio and wonder how I ever managed to find and woo a partner.

A short update for anyone who might be interested:

I've really settled into my new routine: Working 7:30 to 6:00 four days a week at the firm, teaching drafting and design Friday mornings at CCD and then tutoring handicapped teens Friday afternoon.

I talked my Dad into joining us for trivia at Illegal Petes this last Thursday and we ended up kicking a lot of ass. Check out our mention of the Quizmaster's blog here.

Saturday we did the Great American Beer Fest (For free! Thanks Nicole!) with some friends and I got drunk 1 oz of beer at a time. By the end I thought it would be a good idea to slide down the rail out of the convention center and ate shit right at the end to the applause of all those descending the stair behind us.

Sunday I was hungover and worthless and ate my weight in carbohydrates sitting in front of the TV.

I struggle between trying to enjoy my weekend doing what I want and being productive. This coming weekend I will have to do something very productive. Hope all is well with everyone else out there.

I'd like to premise this post by saying that I would sooner have weasels tear the flesh from my bones before I sit and watch anything baseball related. I am an American and baseball is not my pastime.

What really bugs me about the Rockies going to the world series is the fact that everyone could give a shit when they were one of the worst teams in the league. They couldn't give tickets away! Now that they can't seem to lose everyone's crazy about the rockies and talk about what big fans they are.

Doesn't anyone feel ashamed to only be a fair-weather fan? What about those dedicated Rockies fans out there? Aren't they pissed that all these people only show up when the Rockies are winning?

It's one thing to be a fan, but it's quite another to only be a fan of the winning team.

I think I've discovered the secret to weight loss... Bring stuff you detest for lunch every day.

I just finished a can of tuna and a few pods of edamame. I can't bring myself to eat another thing.

What is the famous Disney saying? Treat others how you want to be treated? I think my wife would hold me to the same.

-Dominic

At work we've been forbidden to stream any kind of music or video so I've had to say my goodbyes to Loveline.

In the last few weeks I've resurrected the music collection long forgotten in the dark depths of my work PC. I must admit I'm the owner of some horrendous music that I won't mention but I will also admit that there are a few really great artists which I've forgotten about.

At the top of my list is The Good Life and Cursive. It's been at least a year since I've had any of their music on my playlists and hearing them again is like remembering what the cold is like during the first snow.

I've been listening to The Good Life almost exclusively today and I can't believe how incredibly sad their music is. Sad, but good. Sort of like fall. I hate to see the summer go but I know it will make me appreciate the summer that much more when it does return.

I know what stress is. It's cramming 50 hours of work into 24. It's having your computer crash in the last hour of rendering your project. It's realizing you've forgotten the paper you spent all night writing when you arrive at the class.

These stresses were all immediate to me. There was always a certain way to control them no matter how chaotic my schedule may have become.

In the working world I thought that I might have left stress behind. I worked my 40 hours each week and what was work was exactly that and it didn't come home with me.

At least until a few weeks ago.

Even though I come home without even a thought of work in my head it's been creeping up on me in my sleep. I awake in the middle of the night with images of the projects I've been working on fresh in my mind and they're jumbled up with whatever I've been dreaming about. I wouldn't think anything of it except that it leaves me in this horribly anxious state and I can't fall back asleep. I have to get up and wander around the house, take deep breaths and splash cold water on my face to clear my mind of my nightmare.

I guess I do feel like I've been given more responsibility lately and I receive less help than I did before. I've also been working directly with some big clients without my designs going through a rigorous critique by coworkers before being presented to them.

I'm being expected to be a professional and it is scaring the hell out of me. I don't know why I'm lacking confidence. If I think about it I do have some experience and I actually do have a degree under my belt but those thoughts provide no comfort.

I find myself looking for coping mechanisms in the wrong places which can lead to trouble.

Maybe I should stop working so much and get a gym membership. Then I can at least run out my frustrations. That's what I did in college and it seemed to work.

Stupid stress.