July 18, 2007

Potties and Jobs and Blueberries, Oh My!

Big news in these parts!

First, we are knee-deep in Potty Training. The Bug is doing really, really well. We're even leaving the house in "big girl underpants" many days. I'd say we're at about 75% success in underpants, though still in a diaper for nap and bedtime. I am just so looking forward to not buying diapers anymore.

Second, it's official. I'm going back to Working Stiff. I got a decent offer with a small, flexible, family-friendly printing company in town. I'm starting out part-time next week, with the promise that I'll be brought up to full time status within about 2 months time. It's going to be pretty busy; I'll be wearing a lot of hats because it's a small business (though my official title will be Graphic Designer). But, I like that I can kind of transition in and that I can pretty freely come and go as long as the work is getting done. Adam doesn't teach during the month of August, so the plan is that he'll stay home with the Bug on the days I work. I like the idea of her getting used to me being gone all day first, then we can transition her into daycare. She's excited about "going to school," and I feel pretty good about the program we're putting her into.

I'm not sure yet what the future of Studio Virgo is; I will still be able to take freelance on a limited basis, depending upon the type of client/project. If it becomes clear that I can no longer do design work under the Studio Virgo banner, I will probably just shift the focus and still keep the name for my selling on etsy and any other fine art ventures.

So, lots going on here, but all good. Oh, and as for the blueberry thing... well, we just have an awful lot of them right now, between going picking and getting 2 buckets through our local CSA. I made blueberry vinaigrette to put on our salad tonight (YUMMY!) and Adam asked if everything was going to have blueberry in it for a while. Yup.

Posted by mwashburn at 08:00 PM | Comments (1)

April 23, 2007

Deceiphering the Code

From NFIB's Business Toolbox:

Many of the lost hires that don't occur during the interview process happen during what is supposedly the follow-up to the interview. It's common for a candidate to be told, for example, "We'll finish interviews and make our decision soon; you'll hear in about a week," but then find that two or three weeks pass without word. Most interviewing managers consistently underestimate the time when follow-up will happen, so the candidate who places a follow-up phone call is likely to hear only, "We're still interviewing." Delayed follow-up is deadly in the recruitment process in that it's usually interpreted in one of two ways: it's assumed to mean rejection, or it's taken as a sign of disorganization within the company. In either case the better candidates are likely to pursue their other options.

Posted by mwashburn at 12:43 PM | Comments (0)

February 12, 2007

So the Day's Not a Total Waste...

This morning's interview was the biggest non-event I have ever bought new shoes for. The manager, a really nice-seeming guy, sat me down and said "well, you're very over qualified for this position, and it only pays $9.35 an hour, which I'm guessing isn't enough." Basically, they were looking for a just-out-of-school grunt who could work 40-50 hour weeks for nothing. But, I was told my resume would be passed on to Marketing, where there may be positions opening up and where they thought I'd be much happier. I guess they just wanted to have me in to make sure I didn't have three heads or something. The thing is, I don't want to work in marketing, I want to work in design. It was great to have such positive feedback on my portfolio, but I'm not sure how I'm going to find a position at the right end of the experience spectrum for me.

The short interview allowed me some time to follow up on a few other things though, including a resume follow-up with a cool-seeming marketing and design company in Chesterton. I met the creative director and was promised an informational interview in a couple of weeks when she gets back from vacation. And, I stopped at the Red Cup, where the owner told me she has decided to keep my paintings up for another month. And I got home to find a freelance request in my email inbox. I'm not discouraged yet, and feel good just to be getting out there and pounding the pavement a bit.

Another feel-good item: Jason Gaylor/Design Fruit has up some new photoshop brushes, including a Valentine's Day set and a really wonderful Japanese foliage set. You can download photoshop/png files for free, or buy the complete vector art for $10, which really is a deal for such gorgeous design.

Posted by mwashburn at 02:59 PM | Comments (0)

January 30, 2007

Selling My Soul

I never thought that I would see Bloodborne Pathogen training as a welcome break, but it was that kind of day. The bug, 2-year-molars in progress, has been an absolute monster. I'm talking throwing food at every meal, defiantly yelling "N! O!" when asked to do anything (yes, she spells it), and spending most of the afternoon on her hands and knees crying like I'd shot her puppy, after the shortest, crappiest, earliest nap you can imagine. The fun started at 6 am.

At any rate, this evening I got to go out on my own for a little while, partly for the aforementioned training class required by the [Local Community Organization I am Contractually Prohibited from Mentioning in My Blog] for my volunteer position in the nursery. I made the decision a few weeks ago that I could not, would not, become a paid staff member there, because working in childcare just depresses me beyond the point of no return. Only slightly less depressing is the fact that I filled out an application at Michael's Crafts this evening. I did it in my worst handwriting, omitted phone numbers of former employers, and didn't remove my nosering, but I did it. I figured that if they do hire me, the discount on art supplies and knitting supplies would be nice for a little while.

I am holding out the small hope that someone will actually pay me to do design. I've applied for a couple of actual design positions, that I am almost qualified for, and dropped off unsolicited resumes at a couple of design/marketing firms in the area. It's just that there are so many recent college graduates around here that I feel there's little hope of finding a ground-floor position as a 32-year-old part-timer. It's depressing. That whole "stay home with the kids for a few years then go back to work" thing? Feh. More like "kiss any long-term financial stability or career achievement goodbye." OK, so I've only been looking for about a month and a half with any seriousness, but it's quite scary. I could also, I suppose, be looking for arts management positions, since I, uh, yeah, bothered to get a graduate degree in that. But you know what? It was a good experience, but not one I want to commute to have again (which would be a necessity living where we do). I'd rather be designing. And parenting. So, here's the backup plan: tuition remission at Purdue kicks in in August. The Bug is old enough for Purdue daycare in June of '08. I'm gonna get me some web design credentials, keep doing the trickly little stream of freelance that comes my way in the meantime, and just try to enhance my job skills a bit in the next 2 years.

So, dear readers, don't get too depressed on my account. Besides, there's some really exciting knitting updates on the way.

Posted by mwashburn at 09:19 PM | Comments (0)