tatey.com

Following up from my previous entry, I stumbled upon an organisation named “PrintSmart Graphics” who specialise in print design, modular display systems and printer cartridges. As it turns out, Daniel, a mate from high school is the in-house graphic designer for PrintSmart Graphics. I developed the business card in Adobe Illustrator CS2 (It’s not FOSS, please don’t hate me) and took the data file + TTF fonts to his workplace. There, we made some minor adjustments and produced a PDF proof which we tested. When I was satisfied with the end result, the the design was sent off for print. Daniel contacted me today, and informed me that the cards were ready to be collected. I was very excited.

I’m very pleased with the final result. What do you think?

Whenever somebody meets Trixie for the first time, they always assume she’s a he. I’m not entirely sure why, perhaps because of her bark. “Ear piercing” is how a mate once described it. None the less, the family loves her all the same. Anyhow, she’s had the same collar for approximately 8 years and on the weekend my father decided to purchase her a new one.

When I walked into the lounge and noticed that her collar was purple, I immediately exclaimed “It’s a girl dog!”. The colour purple on a pet is usually associated with a female. Now, when people meet Trixie for the first time will they will correctly identify her as a female.

It’s official. I’ve registered “Bottlebrush Web & IT Solutions” as my business name with the Queensland Office of Fair Trading. In addition, I’ve purchased the domain name “bottlebrush.net.au” which was approved earlier this afternoon and now contains a temporary web site. Tomorrow I’m going to see if I can get business cards printed, and what options are available to me.

I’ve reached a point in my life where I’m not exactly sure where I want to take it. It’s like driving along a street, and reaching a T-Intersection. You can’t continue along, you need to make a choice and either go one direction or the other. To date, I have completed about 50% of my Commerce degree at uni. After barely completing last semester, I’ve decided to put my degree on hold for six months, and explore alternate options.

For the past five or six years, I’ve been experimenting and learning web site and graphic design. I’m familiar with XHTML/CSS and Adobe Photoshop. I’ve always thought it may be possible to derive a sustainable income from providing web solutions to small and local businesses. However, I’ve never taken the idea seriously enough to make anything of it… until recently. My family and friends are well aware of my capabilities and have often encouraged me to embark on this route.

Last Tuesday, an employee from my father’s company informed me that somebody he knew was in need a website for their new organisation. Contemplating the idea, I felt that it may be time to take this option seriously. I contacted the organisation, and managed to arrange for a face-to-face consultation. I figured this would be the most appropriate method for deriving information. After all, I’m providing them a solution that is customized for their organisation. This is very important.

After speaking with the organisation and hanging up the phone, I immediately realised I had nothing “Professional” to wear. Typically, I’m a jeans and t-shirt person, and on special occasions I’ll wear a collared shirt with a nicer pair of jeans. I’ve never had the justification to wear leather shoes, or a nice pair of trousers. Now with this potential new client, I did have the justification. I slapped on some clothes, and visited the local shopping centre.

I already owned a nice collared shirt, which I took to the professional dry-cleaners to have it steam-pressed. I can iron, but long sleeved collared shirts are very difficult to get perfect. Next, I got a long-needed hair trim before finally searching for a nice pair of trousers and shoes. After spending about an hour looking around, I finally came across a nice pair of black, pin-stripped trousers that were around $60. Furthermore, I had to get them altered, as they were a tad too long. This was an additional $16. In total, my new trousers cost $76. Lastly, I required a nice pair of leather shoes. After visiting several shoe stores, I discovered a pair that I was happy with. They were black, glossy and I picked them up for $65 from $130.

The end result.

In addition, one of my mates recently returned from overseas, and picked me up a very nice looking Amarini watch. It’s probably not genuine, but it looks great Cheers Riz.