It Ends Today

Today marks the last pay that I'm receiving from the company.

Even though I was let go six weeks ago, I was still officially an employee because I was getting salary continuance. However, it ends today. And beginning tomorrow, I'll be jobless and will be relying on my employment insurance benefits for the next few months.

It's going to be a bumpy ride.

Then There Were Three Again

It was one week ago today when Wendy told me the bad news. I knew right then and there that I was being laid off that day. No one in the office knew about this, not even Wendy.

I was planning to leave the company anyway, but not until I found a better job and until I saw what the company profit-sharing was all about since I was eligible in January 2010. However, they beat me to it. Now, I'm back at home pounding the keyboard for job opportunities. And I did get a reasonable separation pay that was good for six weeks, even though I was only entitled to receive 2½ weeks' worth of pay.

As soon as I finished reading my walking papers, I grabbed a box to put my personal stuff in there, like my action figures, books, water bottles and picture frame. To save me from embarrassment, Wendy had the box shipped home.

After signing the release form, I hugged Wendy and asked her to say goodbye to the other Wendy and Cathy for me. Then I looked outside my window for the last time while putting on my jacket. It was a cold, wet and dreary day.

I grabbed my bag, waved goodbye to Wendy and headed out the door.

Thank God for Short Workweeks

Monday was Thanksgiving Day; so, we didn’t have to go to work, making this week a four-day workweek. Last week was, too, because we got Friday off. However, the days appear longer, especially now that projects are getting few and far between. Clients who are taking their time in sending approvals aren’t helping either.

Once again, I try to keep myself busy by watching training videos online; however, it’s now becoming tedious. Sooner or later, I’ll run out of training videos to watch. When that happens, I guess I’ll have to start learning new software.

By the way, three boats caught fire yesterday by the harbour a block away. It produced a huge pillar of black smoke, which I could see from my office. No one was hurt fortunately.

Christmas in October

Monday morning, as I was about to leave for work, I got this text message from the bigger Wendy not to come in the morning. She said that a transformer blew in the building on Sunday and caused an electrical fire. I called her up and asked for more details about the incident.

Wendy said that there was no power in the entire building. Unfortunately, Petra from the other agency was at work on Sunday and parked inside the parkade when this happened. She had to go down 16 floors using the stairs. Her car was stuck, too, as the security gates couldn’t be opened.

This was reminiscent of last year’s disaster in the building just days before Christmas when a water pipe on the fifth floor blew and flooded everything under it, including the elevators. But that was worse. This time, they got the power back on by Tuesday morning.

Wendy and I dubbed this event as Christmas in October.

The Tail End

The last two weeks were busy for me. Now that most of my work is either with the printer or lettershop, I have plenty of time on my hands again. I don’t mind working on several project days in and day out with a few short breaks in between, but work comes few and far between, especially in the summer.

However, I had a short chat with the smaller Wendy this morning. She said that work on the second phase of a client’s new business venture would begin as early as next week. She was surprised I was ecstatic. I told her that if the agency on the other side was swamped and I wasn’t busy, I might go there and help Bart out.

Wendy thought that I would get paid extra. I told her no, which she believed was unfair, but I added that the additional work experience would look good on my résumé. Actually, I’d love to help them out to get more exposure, but I didn’t know where to begin.

Back to the Norm Again

So, after a busy week, I’m back to waiting for work to return again. Last week was fun while it lasted. I enjoyed every minute of it. It also made the day go fast. This week is the complete opposite.

There’s not much projects to begin with. Monday, I saw my billable hours diminishing. No matter how hard I tried to prolong the work, it simply wasn’t enough to last the whole day. It’s already the middle of the week and I only have nine client-chargeable hours.

And I never got to work for the other side, even though Petra, Bart and Dennis asked me to earlier.

Busy — So Far

My week started off with typesetting an unapproved copy for a DM letter. I had to do this in advance to give me an idea how the text would fit the letterhead, graphics included. So far, I’m still waiting for the final approved copy. Later, Cathy asked me to typeset a service charge comparison table for the client, which was a bit challenging because this was the first time I created a table using InDesign. It turned out much better than I thought, however.

Then there was this appointment notice that I had to layout quickly. The client wanted six designs, but I came up only with five. However, the smaller Wendy, who was handling this project, decided to hand only four because she felt that the last one, which was my favourite among the five because of its uniqueness, might be too difficult to produce. At least, that’s what she thought.

Then I had to cover for two persons. The bigger Wendy is getting married for the second time tomorrow, and Bart, the graphic artist from the other side of the wing, is taking a day off today to spend some quality time with his wife.

Some Work — Finally

This week was off to a good start. First of all, it was Labour Day on Monday, making this a short workweek. Second, there was work to be done.

I started Tuesday with last week’s outside envelope. Thursday, I worked on some client edits on an existing brochure. Unfortunately, both projects weren’t enough to keep me busy for the entire week; I only clocked 6.5 hours of billable time. I continued to spend the remainder of my day watching online videos on Photoshop CS3’s channels and masks.

It’s going to be a short workweek, too, next week. I have been summoned for jury duty.

To Work or Not to Work

After working since Monday on this marketing project (an outside envelope in English and French), I now have some downtime while waiting for client approval. However, I’d rather be working on a certain project instead of trying to keep myself busy.

Yesterday, I tried to while away the time by converting logos to duotones and tweaking images to near perfection. Also, Petra from the other agency in the floor asked me if I could help them out with their work. I couldn’t say no because I needed to make myself useful. Besides, working with them would add another feather to my cap. But Bart said that I was off the hook for now, as he didn’t want me to start working in the middle of a long document.

That worked well for me; otherwise, they could have had me working tomorrow and in the weekend (our office is closed on Friday for the long Labour Day weekend).

Brian

I got to talk to Brian, the new guy in Toronto. The small Wendy said that he’s a graphic designer there; but during my dealings with him, particularly in the graphics field, he sounded more like a creative director. That from a guy who’s only been in the company for five months!

My first impression of him was that he’s another fussy guy who’s hard to please (much like Jim). However, he actually knew what he was talking about. He even gave me tips in working with duotones. He was a cool guy after all; but to me, he’s still another hurdle to jump. (I learned later that he's an art director or something.)

Work!

The title says it all. Last Friday, the small Wendy gave me a heads-up for incoming work (she even said earlier that this was the calm before the storm). It came late in the afternoon.

The job was for an outside envelope for a client’s marketing campaign. It was pretty straightforward, except for the main graphic, which should be in duotone.

It was a good thing I learned this stuff at lynda.com, especially masking, editing channels and the like. I only learned these in theory; now, I got to put them in practice.

Also, the big Wendy told me yesterday that I could help out the other ad agency that occupied the other wing because they’re swamped. Maybe that’s the reason why one of them, Bart, a graphic artist, dropped by my office to check out what I was doing.

More Training Videos to Watch

It looks like another week of training videos for me. Fortunately, the topic was interesting although I fell asleep several times on the last segment. But I’m getting tired of watching software tips and tricks day in and day out.

The thought of working for another company is fast becoming appealing.

Stop Stealing My Work!

I got an e-mail from Susan, Wendy’s counterpart in Toronto. She was looking for certain files of a certain project and, since she wasn’t able to find them, asked me if I could find and send them to her.

I found out later that this was a project that I did back in April with Stephanie. Now, they’re beginning to work on it again — without me. That sucks!

Another Long Week

Well, it looks like another long week for me even though I’m taking my one remaining day of my 2009 vacation this Friday. Yes, it’s a four-day workweek for me, but I don’t want to spend my days reviewing InDesign, Photoshop or Illustrator.

When I learned from Tonie last week during dinner that she kept me in the team because the Toronto office needed a back-up in case they’re swamped, I began to understand why I was getting scraps from the table instead of the main course.

I don’t want to wait for work for days on end. I’ve got to remain creative, productive and useful. Menial work is okay from time to time to break the monotony, but I need and want to be gainfully employed.

If things won’t improve, I’m going to look for another gig next year. (Of course, I can start looking for work in another agency now, but I’m still hoping things will pick up soon. I love the company I work for.)

Epic Filing

This morning, the bigger Wendy asked me if I could help file the folders inside the boxes stored in her office. Of course, I said yes to anything that would keep me busy. She showed me two boxes, which I carried off to the filing cabinets.

I was done filing after two hours — or so I thought. When I told her that I was through, she showed me four more boxes. It was so backbreaking and exhausting that someone even commented that it was “epic.”

I didn’t mind because the task made the time go faster. Besides, I was going home an hour early because I was picking up my brand-new Jeep.

Hungry and Sleepy

I’m now on a different InDesign CS3 course, Style Sheets, after finishing pre-press essentials yesterday. Because I wasn’t able to sleep well last night, I probably dozed off several times while watching the course’s online video.

Plus, I’m hungry. I only ate a quarter of my packed lunch because Tonie said that we’re having dinner at 3 p.m. somewhere. It’s almost 3:30 p.m.

Training Myself Again

With all the time on my hands, I decided to undergo video training. I began reviewing InDesign CS3 Prepress Essentials yesterday. It’s probably one of the most boring courses on lynda.com. I don’t know if it’s the monotonous voice of the instructor or if I was really sleepy, but I dozed off several times while watching the video. It’s a good thing I was done with that course today.

By the way, it was also Ice Cream Day today. I picked up two ice creams bars for the bigger Wendy and me. The smaller Wendy went out for lunch; and on her way back, grabbed four more bars, one for each. She didn’t know we already had our share. Anyway, she put them inside the freezer for future consumption.

A little while later, she dropped by my office, carrying a plate of quartered hotdog sandwich from Japa Dog, courtesy of Cathy, for sharing. It was good.

What to Do Next?

The day is almost done and I still have nothing to do. The smaller Wendy has none for me yet. She said that I should check with Cathy.

Cathy’s been in and out of the bigger Wendy’s office this morning, and I don’t want to bother her with my concerns. She used to bring me lots of work, like marketing collateral and rate sheets. I haven’t received any projects from her ever since. I hope there’s something in the works for me with all that teleconferencing with the client.

Stephanie’s been quiet, too, lately. I haven’t heard anything from her for months. I remember sending her a congratulatory e-mail when she got engaged, but that was a long time ago. She normally asks me to design posters and such.

But I heard from Tonie yesterday. What a surprise! She invited the entire Vancouver office (that’s the four of us) for dinner next week. We don’t know yet where she’s taking us and why.

At least, it’s the weekend. I have 48 hours all for myself, but I hope there’s real work for me come Monday. I’ve started solving crossword puzzles again, which is a bad sign that I’m bored and that I’ve got lots of time on my hands.

Still Looking Forward to Work

I had a short chat with the smaller Wendy early this morning on my way to the kitchen. I told her that it’s been pretty slow for me this week except for the two times she made me do PDFs of the online banners. She, on the other hand, has been extremely busy, putting in 10- to 11-hour days.

At least, her timesheet will look good. Mine will be dotted with ADMIN again.

When will things begin looking up for me again? I hope soon because I’m tired of spending entire days surfing the ‘Net. I’m running out of Web sites to visit. (I can’t even do personal stuff on my Mac because passersby can now see what I’m doing, thanks to my office’s furniture orientation.)

Recovering from Jet Lag

I think I’m finally recovering from my jet lag. I had a good night’s sleep last night and hardly tossed and turned. I actually dozed off a little while watching TV; so, I guess it was already time to put my head down.

I woke up at 5 a.m. refreshed, but I still fell asleep on the bus on my way to work this morning. Yesterday, I stayed awake on my ride to the office lest I slumber and miss my stop. I didn’t even bother to get some shut-eye on the way home so that I may be able to sleep early in the evening.

But I’m feeling homesick again. Work helps me get my mind off my family I have left behind in the Philippines; unfortunately, no one handed me work today.

Homesick and Jet-lagged

I’m now back at work, and waiting for me was some online banners to PDF. At least, there’s stuff for me to do to get my mind of my homesickness. I do miss Mom and Dad, my brothers, and my nephews and nieces terribly after being with them for a short three weeks. I plan to see them again in two years (Christmas 2011).

I probably have a few hours of sleep before coming to work, thanks to the 15-hour time difference between Manila and Vancouver. At home, I want to sleep, but I can’t; in the office, I feel sleepy, but I should fight the urge to catnap.

It seems they didn’t have a problem PDF’ing while I was away, except for when a new banner size came along. But all went well with the help of my manual that I left them. (I also got them charm bracelets with Philippine fresh-water pearls.)

I'm Off Now for a Vacation

Today was my last day at work before I leave for a three-week Philippine holiday. But before I enjoy myself for the next 21 days, I had to teach Cathy and both Wendys how to PDF the online banners in the afternoon.

I spent the entire Wednesday creating an eight-page manual on how to convert the banners to PDF. It's a complex task involving Firefox, Photoshop, Bridge, Word and Acrobat. But once they get the hang of it, it's just a matter of pressing the right keys and choosing the right menu options. I hope the three will have a PDF'ing good time while I'm away.

When the PDF how-to crash course was over, the three were impressed. It was pretty easy, straightforward and fool-proof as long as they follow the guide I made for them. After that, Wendy told me that I could leave early so that I could prepare for my flight tomorrow. She's such a thoughtful boss. I'm definitely bringing something for her.

I'll see you in August!

Ice Cream Day

Except for converting online banners to PDF, there’s not much happening workwise in the last few days. I believe the last major work I did was designing newspaper ads for Cathy’s client.

But the highlight of today was free ice cream, courtesy of the building’s landlord. They do this twice every summer; one in July, another in August. I got me a Häagen-Dazs ice cream bar. Cool.

Outsourced Again

Cathy came up to me last week to give me a heads up on a project for a client: nine newspaper print ads in English and Chinese. I was looking forward to it because it meant that I was going to be busy this week.

While waiting for the client-approved copy, I started working on the layouts. So, when the copy deck arrived, all I had to do was plop in the text and adjust it accordingly. Piece of cake! However, two banner-sized ads proved to be a challenge. But with a little ingenuity using tables, I was able to fit in the text. (I just don't know where they got Sally, the freelance copywriter. Her grammatical errors never cease to amaze me.)

Unfortunately, I had to send all my working files to Toronto again. I don't know the reason behind that. Maybe because I'm leaving for the Philippines next week for a three-week vacation and they just want to cover the bases. I just hope I get to do the Chinese versions before I leave.

They’re Here

It was Friday afternoon at 5 when another sister company moved in to the other wing. Some of their employees were around on the weekend just to settle in.

When I came in today (I was off Monday), the place was still a mess. There was office equipment everywhere. (A bar fridge was even along the walkway. I don’t know whose that was.)

Loud music was also playing in the old IT room. Even if the door was closed, we could still hear the thumping of the bass.

I just hope we all get along fine.

Packing and Moving Day

The movers came yesterday and hauled all our extra stuff here in the office, from the computers chairs down to the steel drawers. They worked so fast, they were done a little after lunch and were off to Toronto by 3 p.m.

It was partly moving day for me, too. I moved my bookshelves and files to my new office, which was 25% larger than my present office. It had one of the best views in the floor. Unfortunately, I lacked office furniture as usual. I was hoping to get the sofa or the matching chairs or both for my new office, but they were already destined for Toronto.

I still haven't moved the rest of my stuff because there are no Internet and phone connections yet. Norris, the IT guy from Toronto, is here to help us set up with the connections. By the way, the small Wendy and I got new computers.

Half-day Vacation

I had three remaining days left from my 2008 vacation; so, I decided to take all of them this month. I decided to take one last Friday to do some personal errands in preparation for my upcoming July holidays in Asia.

I was having a relaxing lunch at the airport when my cell phone rang. It was Cathy calling. She was wondering if I could have someone in Toronto work on the files I was working on previously as her client had already chosen a design and wanted it on Monday. Since I didn't want my creation outsourced to Toronto, I said that I could be there by 2 p.m. and take on her client's requests. Besides, I would have a hard time explaining what to do over the phone if Cathy insisted that the files be sent to Toronto.

I arrived a quarter before two and worked on the project for more than two hours. Cathy was pleased with my showing up and the fruits of my labour. She said she owed me one and thanked me profusely. And to make up for my lost hours in my day off, she said that I could come in late on Monday and would inform Wendy about it.

I took her up on her offer and I reported for work at 11, and lo and behold, there were four boxes of premium chocolate-covered biscuits from Cathy on my table! (She knew I liked this kind.) These were for a job well done and for reporting for work even when it was my day off.

Early June Updates

Things are still slow; so, I might as provide some updates.

1. I have recovered from my eye infection although they still get red or become itchy from time to time.
2. I spent Friday and Monday dismantling the old work stations, removing the legs from the Ikea office tables and wrapping them in packing tape, disassembling shelves, and packing stationery items in boxes.
3. I was very disappointed that the buckslip I originally created for a client in English was used by the guys in Toronto for the French and Chinese versions. I was hoping to lay out those myself since I was the designer of that marketing material.
4. Cathy realized the importance of quality assurance when a Toronto-designed brochure's copy was missing a word. Needless to say, the client was pissed. I would like to share in the responsibility, but it never passed by me.
   

Battling Eye Infection

I don't know how I got this, but two weeks ago, my eyes began to itch. Now, it has turned to a full-blast bacterial eye infection according to my family doctor. It's not exactly pink eye or conjunctivitis because that's viral; mine is just itchy and watery.

I thought it was a bad case of allergies, but when my eyes are covered in gunk (mucus) when I wake up in the morning, I knew it's worse than allergies. Plus, my eyelids felt sandy when I scratched them, irritating my eyes more and making them watery and red.

I think the infection is beginning to subside, thanks to the antibiotic eyedrops I'm using. However, the medication left my eyelids and the surrounding skin leathery with some skin irritation around the corners. I'm wearing sunglasses in the office just to cover my eyes and protect them from the sun and bright lights.

I just hope this infection goes away completely next week because I'm going to a networking soirée and I don't want to wear shades.

Friday Clean-up

Wendy came to my office first thing this morning to tell me that she has "recruited" me to clean up the former IT office. I didn't mind this at all since I knew for a fact that I wouldn't be doing anything that's billable today.

I threw a lot of obsolete software, from operating systems to creative suites to the trash bin. I also put several power cords, power supplies, network cables, routers, data switches, mice and external hard drives in boxes.

Needless to say, Wendy was impressed with my work. Everything was organized and packed for shipment to Toronto.

Happy Second Anniversary!

I turned two on Friday, May 22, without fanfare. I wanted to buy cake or ice cream for the four of us to mark this occasion, but my ulterior motive was to send feelers to Wendy that she should think about giving me a raise for the outstanding 24 months I've served in the company. However, I opted to keep it to myself. Besides, I should be thankful that I have kept my job in these tough economic times.

And speaking of jobs, I thought I was going to work on a project this afternoon. Unfortunately, that particular project, which was based on an earlier one, was produced in Toronto. Oh, well, at least I tried.

Floor Warden Training

Finally, a change of pace this time. After a week of practically doing nothing, yesterday's floor warden training was a breath of fresh air.

The three-hour event was held at the 19th floor of our building. All I could say was it was very informative and the advice given could increase my survivability, my family's and my officemates' in times of emergencies or disasters. Unfortunately, my tummy was acting up, thanks to the meds that I was taking.

Gas was building up in my stomach and I was trying very hard to hold it in. So, as soon as we left for a nine-minute break, I went straight to the washroom and broke wind several times. Then it got much worse. What followed was the dreaded feeling that I simply couldn't ignore. If I ignore it, it would bother me continually and I wouldn't be able to appreciate the presentation. Besides, I wouldn't have fought the feeling for the next 90 minutes. So, I had to sit this one over and do some "paperwork."

After a few minutes, I was able to think straight again.

This Week's Updates

It's been a slow week and I only have two hours' worth of billable hours. Since not much has been going on, I decided to put everything in one blog. So, without further ado, the week's highlights:

1. I opened my e-mail first thing Tuesday and saw this subject of the big Wendy's e-mail: "Round of Applause for Gord and Ronnie." The first thing that came to my mind was, "Finally, recognition! This could be the promotion that I've been waiting for." However, when I opened it, it was for submitting my timesheets promptly. Oh, well, at least my being timely was getting recognized.
2. Wendy also appointed me one of the tenant floor wardens for the building's emergency response training sessions, which I'd be attending Wednesday next week with Andrea, our sister company's receptionist.
3. I spent the entire day yesterday chatting on Yahoo! Messenger with a classmate back in high school, who's now based in California.
4. We decided not to have the big colour printer/copier's rip unit repaired. The quote for the repairs was almost $600, including parts, labour and taxes.
   
5. There were free baked goodies today as a client meeting that was scheduled today was canceled.
6. The first of our four-day weekends starts tomorrow. Woo-hoo!
   

Nothing's Happening

I knew this was going to be the scenario today: entire day spent surfing the 'Net. I wished I had taken the day off today. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to file my leave last week as Wendy was away on Friday.

I was hoping to be off on Friday, too, but like I said, Wendy beat me to it. However, I left the office an hourly since there wasn't much happening anyway. I just hope I find something useful or productive to do tomorrow; otherwise, it will be another long, slow day.

Mission Accomplished

That's all I can say.

All my projects have been submitted, PDF'd, approved by the client and forwarded to the printers. Now, it looks like I've got nothing to do that's billable tomorrow or next week unless Stephanie or the small Wendy drops by with a docket bag containing work.

By the way, my vacation has been approved. I'm off to Asia in July for a three-week holiday.

Printer Issues

It was another slow day in the easy so I decided to look for free downloadables like fonts, images and vector graphics. I visited RapidShare GFX and found these awesome paper caricature cutouts.

I decided to print some of them using card-stock samples Wendy handed to me this morning. That's when I noticed that the printer's rip unit, the so-called fiery server, wasn't on even though the power switch was on.

I've encountered this problem before. Normally, it was the rip unit's surge protector. If its light wasn't on, it meant that there was no power going through it. All I needed to do was to simply press a button and I was back on business.

However, it wasn't the case this time. Even though the surge protector's light was on, the unit still has no power. There was nothing wrong with the power outlet either because I plugged a boombox to it and it worked. I also plugged the rip unit to a different outlet and it still didn't work.

I got in touch with the repair centre and they were charging us $178 per hour for labour, which didn't include travel time, parts and taxes. I left this with Wendy. For now, I'm stuck with the small colour printer.

Friday Off, Weekend Work

I still have four vacation days left over from last year; so, I decided to take a day off, either on Friday or Monday. I couldn't decide which day to take as we were expecting French and Chinese versions of a DM's copy decks to be coming soon from the client. However, the older Wendy gave me the go signal to take Friday as she, too, wasn't sure when to actually receive the copy decks.

My gut feeling was saying they could come on Friday; so, I decided to FTP the working files to myself before I left for home on Thursday. I didn't bother to check my office webmail on Friday because I was off that day. Besides, Friday was "me" time.

However, I had this nagging feeling that I had to check my office webmail. And both French and Chinese copy decks for the brochures and letters did arrive on Friday and everything was rush. Plus, I had four posters to revise, courtesy of Stephanie.

To avoid being under tremendous pressure on Monday, I started working on them for six hours Saturday night. Sunday, right after lunch, I went to the office and printed, proofed and e-mailed everything I did the night before. I was in the office for more than four hours.

It was a good thing I worked on these on the weekend because when I reported late for work today, e-mail was down and that would put additional stress on me. Now, I'm taking it easy. Thank God, I was thinking ahead.

Crying Wendy

I was reading the digital version of The Vancouver Sun when I saw the print ad I made for the client. I proudly showed it to the young Wendy, who wanted to show it to the other Wendy. It was then that we found out she was crying.

She was crying about the DM kit we're doing for a client. From the looks of it, we're way behind schedule. I have yet to see the finished copy decks for the letters and the French and Chinese versions of the brochure.

If Wendy is crying, then it means it's bad, really bad.

Back at Work

Thanks to the lousy weather during the long Easter weekend, I mostly stayed indoors doing household chores, but I had time to clean my bike hoping for an awesome ride along the trails late Good Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, the sun was a no show. It was a no show, too, on Black Saturday and Easter Sunday.

Easter Monday and I'm back at work. Guess who decided to show up? The sun.

The Year's First Long Weekend

Finally, it's here! The Easter long weekend.

We've been waiting for this since February. Just imagine getting the regular two-day weekends. Man, those are short! And the best thing about this particular weekend is that this is the start of three- and four-day weekends for us.

Awesome!

Hell Week

I was warned that this week would be hell because of the following:

1. Rush print ads - Apparently, our Toronto office was tasked to do this job; however, they were too busy. So, they decided to hand this project to me. Unfortunately for me, five days had already passed when they realized this.
2. Rush poster ads - See above; although I don't know how long this project has been lying on their tables untouched.
3. DM kit - As Cathy has described it, it's like a rash that won't go away.
4. Ad resize - It's not my fault. The client provided us with the wrong specs — way wrong.
5. Online banners to PDF - More banners to PDF.
6. Office closure - Our shop in Chicago closed after losing a client worth $20 million in billings two years ago (the office opened in 1891).
   

I've never been this busy in my almost two years here. I was so tired I was using the wrong copy decks on the projects. But the good thing that came out of all these was that Toronto — wonder of wonders — found the time to do the print ads and posters. I was more than glad to relinquish to them my working files.

Now that I'm done with my own projects, I've got nothing to do.

Some Updates

A lot has happened since my last blog. So far, here's what happened in the last two weeks:

1. Cathy does know her trade. When our CEO dropped by on Monday, she knew what he was talking about. Needless to say, the young Wendy and I were impressed with her. Both of us were glad that she was hired for the job. We were wondering what would it be like if Shelley were around and she spoke with the grand poobah of the company. I shuddered.
2. Work continually comes in trickles, but it keeps me busy for most of the day. The two-page, letter-sized poster is one that's worth mentioning. This project started at the end of last week. When I was done with the layout on Friday, Jim asked me to revise the second page (which I did promptly). Then the client wanted to revise the first page. Then Gord wanted to revise the second. Once everything was done, Jim revised the first page.
   
3. Norris, one of our IT guys in Toronto, dropped by today to make an inventory of all the computers we have in the office.
4. Mother Nature pulled an April Fool's prank on the city by lightly dusting it with snow. (It's already spring!)
   

Now, you're up to speed.

Cathy

Oh, I almost forgot. We've found a replacement for Shelley. Her name is Cathy. Today is her first day.

Cathy is no stranger dealing with clients. So, I guess we're in better hands now.

Finally!

At last, Gord sent his copy decks for the brochures yesterday morning. They were pretty straightforward.

I was on a roll until the server where I access the images began to reject my user name and password. I talked to our IT guys in Toronto to rectify this matter. Norris was able to solve this issue — after two hours!

It was a good thing the designs for the brochures were not that complicated, but a lot of elements was involved. I only finished one version and the other one was almost done when I decided to call it quits.

Because I lost two hours of work, I was forced to come in to the office two hours early today. So, I was here at 6:30 a.m. — the earliest I've been in my almost two years here. I was done with the layouts by 7:30 a.m., but I still had to create mock-ups of both brochures for reference.

I spent the entire morning and early afternoon tweaking copy, creating mock-ups and building page sequences of the brochures for the client in PDF format. Small Wendy also invited me to the client presentation via telephone. The client was happy with our work, but he'll give his feedback tomorrow.

Now, I'm tired, I feel sleepy and my right shoulder hurts.

Still Waiting for Gord

So far, there's no sign of Gord's copy decks for the brochures. Little Wendy is supposed to present these to the client tomorrow, but I've got nothing to work on yet.

Gord, however, was able to send copy decks for the postcard and posters yesterday. I had a wonderful time working on the postcard. I enjoyed working with the posters, too, but it was short lived. I had finished a 22" x 28" poster when Big Wendy said that they were for our people in Toronto. I felt bad about it because it was so much fun to do. So, I ended up sending my working files to them.

Now, I've got idle hands again.

Still Slow

I attended a client meeting via teleconference on Friday morning and was stoked when it was over. A lot was discussed about this huge project involving DM letters, envelopes, brochures and postcards.

I started working on the letter's stationery and the outside envelope immediately after the meeting. The older Wendy and I were excited that real work was finally coming. I also began thinking of a layout for the brochure. But, unfortunately, I had to wait for Gord's copy; for without it, the letter, envelope and brochure were empty.

I was hoping to work on them today, but the copy deck wouldn't be arriving until Wednesday. So, it looks like another slow Monday for me.

Hundreds of Missing Files

Our IT guys finally completed the transfers of our files to the Toronto servers from Minneapolis (and we're based in Vancouver — don't ask). It appears that the migration was smooth until the two Wendys asked me to open up some old files as reference for the upcoming new projects.

When I searched for the files in one server, I noticed that the file listing was short and the folders I created there since August 2008 were nowhere to be found. So, I called and e-mailed David, one of the propeller heads in Toronto, to take a look at this. Apparently, some files were left in Minneapolis and had to be couriered. I thought that the migration was done digitally, but it appears that the files had to be saved in some external storage and shipped.

Anyway, I found some digital snapshots of the old servers from December last year, including the number of files stored in each one. It looked like we're missing at least 400 files (one server alone was missing 345 files).

I just hope and pray that David and his cohort, Norris, find these files; otherwise, someone's goose will be cooked. I hope it's not mine.

Goodbye, Shelley

Shelley received her walking papers this morning from Tonie. I didn't mean to listen to their discussion in Wendy's office, but the speaker was on and I heard Tonie say the words "let go." I had to mute my speakers and listen to their conversation.

She was let go because she wasn't the right person for the job. This they discovered after eight months. Wendy dropped by my office to confirm this and allay whatever fears I had in my mind. She also said that they're in the process of interviewing people again. I suggested Allison, who was very already familiar with the company's clients and was Wendy II's former supervisor. She is also available because she was recently laid off.

Of course, this scenario reminded me again of last year's lay-offs.

Automation Achieved!

I finally did it!

I finally got screen capturing online banners automated. Instead of pasting screen grabs on Word and painstakingly formatting the frames there one by one, I now simply use Photoshop's batch automation after screen capturing. Of course, I had to figure out the steps involved in cropping the images ahead of time, but once I had them resolved, all I had to do is set the origin and destination folders and click start.

In less than 10 seconds, I have all the frames cropped, reduced to size and ready for insertion in Word. Now, I don't have to work hard to produce PDFs of the banners; I only need to work smart.

Tired and Sleepy

Lately, I've been feeling tired and sleepy. Maybe it's because it's been very slow. It could be that I'm bored.

This morning while following a Photoshop video tutorial, my eyelids felt like lead. So, I skipped lunch and went to the vacant wing and logged some Zs on one of the sofas there. That was some good shuteye.

It's Still Slow After All This Time

I haven't done much work since the move. I even took a two-day leave in the first week of February because it was really slow. And when I came back, I didn't miss much.

Of course, there were some work to do, but they're minor like repurposing ads, revising the terms and conditions in another. I also did some screen grabbing of online banners, but I did it so fast because I automated the process using Photoshop.

Now, I'm keeping myself busy again by reviewing InDesign and Photoshop.

I'm In My New Digs Now!

I have now moved to an office that I can call my own.

Actually, this office I'm in now was the second office I've moved into my 20 months here. The first one was at the end of the wing where our sister company is currently occupying. The third was a corner office with a good view.

Then we moved to the other wing to make way for our sister company, where I was relegated to a pod. After that Jennifer and then Wendy occupied my spot and I moved to a table near Rob.

Now, we're back to occupying the vacant offices again. Compared to the rest, my office décor is minimal: my work station, two bookshelves, two chairs, a coat rack and an empty wooden menagerie. It's still a work in progress, but I'm getting there. I'm planning to bring some action figures from my collection to make my room more masculine (and a little geeky).

Monday Off

I finally took a day off work. Since all that was happening today was an 11:30 a.m. client presentation and I was done with my part last week, I thought it was the perfect time to take it easy.

So, I sent an e-mail to old Wendy early Monday that I was taking an "emergency" leave, but I was still available for contact at home. And contact they did.

Apparently, Jim didn't like the artwork I sent to him last Friday and he wanted to make changes to it before presenting it to the client. Young Wendy called me up and asked her to send me the InDesign files so that I could work on them at home. I was walking her through the Mac to get it packaged for me, and it took us 45 minutes to do so.

Anyway, she managed to send the files to me and I started working on them right away. I sent the files to Wendy just minutes before the client presentation. Unfortunately, Jim still didn't like what he saw (he wasn't clear with the instructions in the first place), but they still proceeded with the presentation.

Well, I didn't care around this time. I was on leave anyway. I just didn't want to leave Wendy and Shelley hanging. But I dealt with Jim's revisions the next day. All was good and the client liked it.

First the snow. Now, it's the fog.

Although it's been fairly dry in the last 10 days, there's nothing but fog day in and day out. Here's what downtown Vancouver looked like from Cypress Mountain when the fog was as thick as pea soup:


But it looks like the fog is clearing now. Hopefully, we'll see some sunshine tomorrow, but weather forecasters say that there's snow coming this Saturday.

That's all for now. My head's aching after making 42 layouts for client approval.

Wendy's First Day

We were excited to see a new face in the office. Unfortunately, our e-mail and Internet server had other plans. It was down for much of the day and only became operational at 2 p.m. Since we didn't have e-mail and the Internet, we basically did nothing while awaiting for repairs.

Of course, Shelley was able to do something productive with her time. She took the new Wendy to her first client meeting; showed her the ropes in the office; and had a teleconference with Jim, which I was invited to attend.

I also spent an hour studying Flash CS3 yesterday, too. I finished the online tutorial this afternoon and discovered that it wasn't for me, thanks to ActionScript. I'm not a technical person and all this programming makes my head hurt. Now, I'm simply focusing on InDesign.

More about Wendy: She's Chinese and reminds me of Candace, a writer who used to work for me, but a lot slimmer and more mature.

Wendy and the Office Move

They finally hired someone to replace Charlene. Her name is Wendy. She'll start Monday. Old Wendy calls her fresh blood; Shelley, chum; me, fresh meat. A former officemate of Allison, she was laid off last year. Now, Wendy will work for us. I hope she likes it here. (Her hiring means a lot of things: there's a budget and work will start to trickle in.)

Though we've increased our number by one, the place is still too big for us. So, the original Wendy is planning to move us back to the other wing and occupy the vacant offices there by February. We'll be mingling with our sister company. The current wing we're occupying now will be sub-let.

A Crazy Afternoon

I thought I was going to spend the rest of the afternoon learning Flash CS3 when I received a Print Media Release, or PMR, from Wendy. This meant that I was to send ad material, usually hi-res PDFs, to various publications for insertion. The PMR this time was for a client's appointment notice, which needed to appear in four Chinese newspapers.

Since I was already finished with this project last week, it was simply a matter of sending PDFs to the contact persons and have them confirm receipt. Or so I thought.

These notices, which we always do in black, should come in black plus another spot colour. So, I had to do some minor adjustments, like adding colour to the logo and borders. Then there was one that had the wrong size. Apparently, Charlene, who used to handle this job, got the dimensions of the length and width mixed up. So, what was once a horizontal ad, was now vertical.

Tonie, who now works on this project, was pissed because "it makes us stupid." I don't blame her.

Learning the Essentials of Flash CS3

This week is turning out to be a slow one; so, I decided to keep myself busy by learning Flash CS3. I try to spend at least four hours every day studying the software and learn some new skills.

Flash CS3 is a very interesting software. I like the animation part. Unfortunately, I try to keep my eyes open as I'm fighting a cold again and the medication makes me sleepy.

Job Security

Remember that URL-translating job that used to be Charlene's and was being dumped on me? Well, I decided to step up to the plate again even though there was no proper remuneration for that. I had to because it added more security to my job here, especially during these tough economic times.

I started doing that task yesterday, which only involved three websites and four Flash banners — for now. I spent more than an hour on that, which also included deciphering Charlene's notes on translating URLs.

Then I worked on a client's English flyer and changed it to Chinese. I submitted it to Tonie although I wasn't satisfied with the quality of my work on that project. My desktop-publishing skills were a little rusty after the Christmas break.

All in all, I worked for 4¼ hours yesterday, which was better than doing nothing at all (like Monday and today).

First Workday of 2009

We had an unexpected dumping of snow last night. Good thing it happened on a weekend; otherwise, all hell would have broken loose today, the first workday for us in 2009.

As expected, things are pretty slow. It's even more quiet now that Charlene has left the company.

I ended 2008 on a sour note. I didn't agree on their plan to pass Charlene's responsibilities of translating URLs for a client's website banners to me. First of all, I resent people dumping their work on me because they can't or don't want to do them. Jennifer used to do that to me. Patrick tried. Now, it's Tonie's turn.

Second, it's a client-services thing; I'm in creative/production. If they want me to add that to my duties and responsibilities, then they should pay up.

Applying for that auction advertising coordinator sounds like a good idea now.