terre haute

k so I'm drunk .. End log.

Oh yeah. I got an iPhone. BOOSH!

nashville

So I'm going to Nashville for 2 days.

I'll be back Thursday evening - I've just got to get some aaaiiiirr.
And finish this EP with Joel. Bros Helping Bros. No really, thats the name of the project.

Anyway - Yee haw see ya'll later.

cchhhhaaaaannngggee???

So I went back to my old job today to sort things out. I'm leaving. As in I already left. Today. I wanted to put in my 2 weeks notice - but they just asked me to leave. We're all on good terms, tho. No worries.

They essentially demoted me to "graphic designer" and made a girl with about 1/8th of the experience I have my boss. Plus she knows nil about my job. But isn't that always the case?

Ah well - I might move to Nashville and live with joel. I'm a free man for the time being - we'll see how all this pans out.

Thanks for all the support guys!

much love
-a

moving today.

fuck this is terrible. i hate moving probably more than anything in the world. i could make some analogy - but it wouldn't even come close to the horror this shit is.

anybody want to help? .... ? didn't think so haha.

**UPDATE
Gary is coming to help.

Lesson: Don't call me at 9:30am ... I'll end up making you do a bunch of shit with me.

Dudes,

i have been a disgruntled dick lately. sorry about that. no more! promise!

-a

My Resume

Wow .. I really haven't had to have one of these in a while.

Here she is.

Interesting Link For Designers

This post was written for designers in the fields of music and apparel design - but I think it makes some really important points that apply to all fields. Check it out ya'll.

http://www.gomediazine.com/industry-insights/15-awful-mistakes-designers-music-apparel-industry-part-1-of-3/



Here is a related post concerning pricing your work.

http://www.gomediazine.com/business-insights/a-designers-guide-to-pricing/

please wake me up this must be a nightmare.

they told me to work more overtime to equal my raise.

no dollar figure - just work more.

**UPDATE
They're sending me home. They want me to go find those places (which I have already found) that will pay me what I'm worth - and see how it stacks up to my job here. No hard feelings. They've actually suggested I take all of next week off to job search.

God this is horrible. Not even a DOLLAR raise?! For all this time and effort?

I still love them like family - this is a difficult situation for all involved.

Can they afford me? Can I afford to stay here? Can I give this place up and the job that I love?

Should I stay or should I go?

What I Do For the Same Wage as Production Artists

* Indicates Any Services Rendered by All Other Artists

In House Services:

1) Lead Designer
2) Creative Direction/Assistance
3) Marketing Development/Implementation
4) Logo/Brand Design & Development
5) Retail Apparel Design
6) Production Art Design *
7) Ad Design
8) Photography / Photo Art Direction
9) Photo Retouch / Post Production Editing
10) Resources Management (Textures/Brushes/Swatches/Styles etc.)
11) Sublimation Output/Production
12) Web Design/Management (HTML/CSS/Javascript)
13) Web Application Design/Managment (Actionscript/Javascript/Server-Side Technology)
14) Web Graphics Application
15) Animation (Flash/After Affects)
16) Audio Editing
17) Video Editing
18) Multimedia Design/Implementation (DVD Architecture)
19) Public Relations
20) Technical Support (Network/Software/Hardware)
21) Awesome Stories


Software Proficiency:

Illustrator
Photoshop
Flash
Dreamweaver
InDesign
After Affects
Premier
Bridge
Final Cut Studio
Corel
Freehand
3DStudio Max

some times good - some times bad

Well - tomorrow at 9am I find out what work is going to propose as far as my raise .. once again, fingers crossed. X

I'm also moving out of my apartment at the end of this month. I get my deposit back in cash tomorrow, which is sweet.

I guess i'll be moving up to broad ripple - we'll see how that goes. I'm gonna miss this place.

I'll try to post some pictures of the times we've had around here - but until then .. just wish me luck.

whew.

best. mexican. food. ever.

Holy fucking shit.
Are you serious? I went to this place in the fucking GHETTO and I get this? There's a god damned salad on my plate. with onions. and dressing. .. yes, dressing.

They say you can judge a joint by its chimi. Well, in this case - good luck to all you other restaurants with making a plate of something which I wouldn't call pile of corn-wrapped afterbirth after I've chimigasmed at the mere thought of this fucking meal.

Meeting ...

i'm not really sure how that went. i was super strong and as prof. as i could be.

as i expected - nothing will be resolved immediately.

i told them to make an offer of what i asked for, or as close to it as possible by the end of the week.

their point is they are at the core a screenprint shop which is just now trying to grow into the ad agency realm - and its difficuly for their business to afford and budget in an asset such as myself because they don't reeeally need the big budget work every day all day - which is understandable.

however, they don't pay me per job - they pay for my skill set. so imho - if you want me - you have to pay me what i'm worth regardless.

i think i have outgrown this place ..

more on this later this week.

joelercoaster

joelio's coming into town for a night and will be crashing at my house.
halo - madden - beer - etc.

lets try to not go getting arrested this time, motherfucker.

Meeting today

From my email:

"Aaron, Challen & Steve,
We need to discuss as a group what Aaron brought to my attention yesterday in regards to his compensation & overall position here at PDA. I will have an agenda for the meeting & will act as the mediator in the sense I will keep us on track and focused on what is best for the relationship between both parties going forward in the future.

Meeting will be at 3pm today in the SB Conference room."

this is totally ridiculous.

$$$

I just asked for a raise for the first time in the 4 years I've been with this company. I feel sick to my fucking stomach because I feel guilty for asking for more money - but for what I do .. I am GROSSLY underpaid.

I'm creative director - director of marketing - lead designer - production art staff manager - lead apparel designer - photography - web development - web application - web graphics application - animation - PR - sales - etc. The list goes on and on, and yet I'm not compensated properly for even ONE of those positions. They would have to hire at least 4-5 people to complete the workload I accomplish - none of which would take my salary for any one of these jobs.

Basically every pay check is a punch in the dick.

I'll know what's up by tomorrow.

X crossed fingers...

Shot from yesterday's set ... i should do senior photos

Shirt I designed on So You Think You Can Dance