My 6 Month Missions

Despite my blog being about design and fashion, I also try to merge in my personal life sometimes. Lately I have had a lot of things I want to get on my mental “To Do” list. But haven’t done anything concrete about it. I figure if I write about it, post it online and make myself accountable, it will happen a lot of faster. Plus, it’s always great to have goals. So, here are mine!

  • Buy a sewing machine
  • Learn how to sew a dress
  • Run the SF half Marathon – 13.2 miles
  • Focus less on freelance and more on music
  • Release my fashion app in the App Store


I used to sew a lot in high school. I would modify my clothes often and miss how relaxing it was. I think its good to have a sewing machine in general, but want to know how to use it for more complicated patterns.

I’m running the SF half marathon in July, I am so excited. Finally a big race that will be a huge check in my list.

I love freelance, I have been fortunate to have great clients. Although I think that it’s  time to focus less on working for others and get some of my own personal things accomplished. I’ll be my own client for once!

My fashion app has been in development for about 3 months now. Still a lot of UI and engineering to be done but it’s nice that it’s finally an actual usable app on a device. There is a lot more to go, but I just need to get it done.

What are your goals for the next 6 months? I think it’s great to set both short and long term goals. It keeps life interesting and makes me even more motivated.

Wharf Delight

The weather was gorgeous today. Not warm but pretty with the sun. I took a quick trip down to the end of the Wharf, since it’s not that many blocks away from my apartment. Yet I still took a bus because it was so cold and windy. The wharf was beautiful, many runners and tourists were out taking photos and children were playing in the water. One little girl got completely drenched by a wave. She screamed and seemed like she was going to cry then started laughing. It reminded me of what how free and awesome it is to be a kid. Even when you get soaked by a wave children still laugh after the shock. I think that even as adults when something unexpected and unpleasant happens to us, we have to find a way to laugh through it.

I am still learning all the ways of photography, since there is so much to learn. Half my shots were blurry due to me not focusing well and not holding my arms closer to my body. It’s a huge learning curve, but the process its a lot of fun. I am so used to using a medium like Photoshop and Illustrator to create something. So using a camera to create photos is a challenge and almost therapeutic for me.

GDC – Game Heaven

 

Ever since joining the game industry it’s been opening up immeasurable opportunities. It’s the perfect world of fun and business and I can’t see myself in any other industry. Going to GDC sparked a new love for games of all genres and even for the type that  I design for. Everyone at the conference had one major thing in common — we all love games. I was geeking out yesterday, collecting swag from every table, playing and watching games and mainly just walking around with my mouth open in awe. Literally. I’ve always loved games and have enjoyed them a lot in my life. Games have always been a place for me to go and escape from stress and decompress. I believe that a lot of people feel that way. Then there is also the complete addiction and dedication to a game. Which of course I have been there too. I still miss being in MLG and competitively playing and doing matches with my team. But that all fell apart when I left for college. Probably a good choice on my end, but joining a team again would probably be the geeky thing to do.

Not only did GDC get me even more motivated about games, but it was awesome and cool to meet fans from TinyCo’s games.  People would walk up to the table and say “I LOVE this game!”. It’s neat to be on the other side. Since I’m always helping to develop the product but hardly ever talk to the people who play them on an everyday basis.

I met some pretty cool people including @russ and @zennie26!  It all happened on accident as I was trying to take a photo of the GDC sign above them and the man with the hat walked right by ruining my photo! But not literally, it turned into a joke and then ended up making a connection! I even met people on the escalator and was handing out cards all the time. It was a great networking opportunity.

 

Overall it was great to see all the awesome games there, including some indie games. Which in my opinion are sometimes even better than main stream games. Indie games have a lot of passion put into them and it’s more than  just a product, but someones heart and soul going into every part of it. Playstation and Nintendo had some impressive booths along with Google’s colorful LED lights. It’s incredible to see how the gaming industry has flourished and these companies are the whales.

 

Wacom was there as well featuring their new products which are incredible and I  want all of them! It was great to also meet a sales representative who’s son is going into interactive design and very drawn to UI. I offered to help mentor or answer any of his questions in the future. It’s a great opportunity to meet another talent waiting to happen and also have connections directly at Wacom.

GDC was a lot more than just games. Just how the people that filled up that building were not all just geeks, but incredible and bright people with ambitions and motivations who were desiring to make connections. The older I get the more I realize it’s not about the actual product or the game. Life is about the people behind them and creating friendships and giving apart of yourself to help or move that person towards their dreams.