Hooray! Success!!!

Well, I am excited, as you can see... 2 posts in the same day!! WOOT!! So I'm working at 6 Flags Great America, and let me tell you...I LOVE MY JOB!! Two times now I've followed the impetus of getting a job in the 'real world' and I'll tell you what... The real world can have their stupid jobs. I work at 6 Flags Great America, and I think it's the best job on the planet, bar none. Do they have their issues? Of course. Do people act stupid sometimes? Oh yeah. But you know what? There is no other job that I've ever had where your individual presence can be DRASTICALLY responsible for how people around you feel. Now, I'm gonna say this and get it out of the way, I'm a people idiot. What does that mean? I'm glad you asked. It means that I am one of those guys who will make a complete idiot out of himself just to get you to smile, or laugh, or at the very least, to realize that life is not all that bad. You're encouraged to be yourself, and the more genuine you are, the better off you'll be. I've worked a few different departments, and I've found this to be the case in every one. Working at Six Flags is like being at summer camp. It really is. I love my job. Anyway, having said all that, to say that when I got home from work today, I decided to play around with Adobe Photoshop and I'm learning the 'Pen Tool'... which for those of you who don't know, can be quite a daunting task to say the least. But once you get it, you GOT it. So anyway, I did a few practices on some sketches that I did, and I've posted them below. The neat thing about the pen tool is that it creates a work path (I know, way too much information...but stick with me, I'm almost there...) that allows you to modify the individual paths you've created. Adobe Photoshop is probably the MOST powerful illustration tool I've been exposed to yet, and I continue discovering new things every time I use it. You come up against a situation where you need to do something that your current knowledge base does not cover, and you simply try something new. If you have a hard time I've found the help and index to be an insurmountable force against any problem, and simply experimenting will train you in anything you need to know. So without further adieu, here is my original sketches with their 'pen tool' equivalents...
This is the original sketch...









This is the original sketch traced with the pen tool, and the work path (which is the pen tool tracing) has been stroked with a black paint brush...








This is the same original sketch, but the paths that were created with the pen tool have been stroked with different colors. It was as simple as selecting the path you wanted to work with, selecting the color, and viola, a colorful ANGEL ME is rendered for the general public viewing.








Another example, a sketch I did based on a web comic that I read by Senay Dragon, whose Manga style is just incredible. I tried to contact her without success to find out what she's been up to since her last update, but unfortunately I never heard from her. I enjoy the Manga (Japanese Style) because it emphasizes and exaggerates the emotions that the characters are feeling, and quite often the end result is that you laugh yourself silly reading it.




















So that's all I have time for tonight to update. I hope that this entry has been informative and fun to read, I'm off to bed. Working open to close tomorrow! WOOT!!!

Kuragari

And we're ready to roll...

Well Ladies and Gentlemen, I've finally had it out with my scanner... a battle long fought and evidently victorious, and I can begin the process of posting images that I have been working on. I can only say that I had not intended for it to take this long, but God in His infinite wisdom has not only provided me with work, but advanced my position already to another department which will provide me the ability to support my Mom, whom I love with all my heart, and this first posting is dedicated to her because in all that this past winter has been (trials and tribulations alike), she never faltered to believe in me, my abilities, but mostly to communicate God's undisputed divine providence in our lives and His ability to make all things work to the good of those who love Him, and are called according to His purposes.

When I was 18, my Dad went home to be with the Lord after an agonizing battle with lymph node cancer, and as the eldest son, it is my honor to provide and support my Mom in his stead. The concept that God made me half of a set of twins for this undisputed purpose astounds me. Even as my twin has been married for a good many years now, and is expecting his first child near the end of the summer, I have never doubted God's calling in my life; and while I've found it to be a roller coaster of my ability to follow His leading, God has always given me complete peace about my purpose, and His Grace has been sufficient for the times where I doubted myself.

This first posting is of Mom and our beloved Tobi, who went home to be with the Lord at the beginning of this month. When we lived in Beach Park, IL., she had let Tobi outside to get his ball before the thunderstorm arrived. Tobi was always scared by the louder claps of thunder, and often times his ball was a source of comfort while this Golden Retriever / Collie mix thought he was a lap dog. She got all her rain gear on and went out to help him find his ball. As I sat upstairs and watched, she found his ball and once he got it, she chased him around and around as he led her, which was his normal method of playing. Eventually the two of them ended up sitting on the patio as she hugged her sopping wet friend who reminded her of why God gave us rain... to play in.

Ugh... It's been a long road...

For those of you who don't know, I am currently working at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, in the Landscaping Department. Now while this doesn't sound all glorious, I will tell you that it is. I spend all day outdoors, for the most part, and it's incredibly hard work...that is it's manual labor. For you to truly appreciate this, you should know that most of my working career has been centered around office work, being in a cubicle and doing technical telephone support. So what does that mean? It means that this pasty white collar office boy has a tan, and is losing weight. Is that a good thing? You bet. But it comes with a price. Most days I come home, grab some grub, hit the tub and off to bed I go. I was hired in during overtime, which meant 6 day weeks, 10 hour days. Basically my body is in shock. Going from unemployed for 6 months, basically sitting on my rear end, to being on my feet for 10 hours straight... yeah, my doggies are barkin something fierce. I'm not near as sore as I was the first week of work, but my feet continue to be sore.

On another note, the crew that we have this year is absolutely incredible. I've always been a people idiot, and the people that I work with lead rich and interesting lives outside of their Six Flags work. We have hard workers and people who are willing to do the job to get it done. The last time I worked at 6 Flags, our crew was, well, less than productive. Most of them would wander off and be gone for hours at a time, and while we have a couple people who do that this year, it's not nearly as bad as it was. I enjoy working with them and find that when I am not there, I am thinking about them and what they are doing.

So I've been sick yesterday and today. One of the benefits of working outside is that you have the opportunity to work in the rain. With my body trying to compensate for the physical endurance it had to go through, it's no suprise to me that my defenses were down. I'm going in tomorrow, come hell or high water. If I don't, I'll need a doctors note to go back and I don't have that kind of money. I think I've gotten enough rest to get my system back on line, I just hope it's enough.

Kuragari