No Means No . . . Sort of

What in the world is wrong with me?? I tell people "no" all the time at work, with little regard to how they will feel about it. (I am nice about it - but it is my job to make the calls) So, how come in my personal life I get roped into some pretty stupid shizzle??

Let's examine the latest adventure Joe Joe is on . . . I'm going to be DJ'ing at a wedding -- a STRAIGHT wedding in ARKANSAS!!! Hmmmm, this is going to be interesting. I'm pretty sure the hillbillies aren't gonna wanna hear Mariah or some techno . . . I'm sure I can leave the glow sticks and whistle at home.

Here's the setup -- My now former boss (who was an awesome boss - already miss him!) asked me if I'd do a favor for him. I said sure - what is it? He goes "Would you DJ at my daughter's wedding? I know can ham it up on the microphone." Now, his one bad trait is that he doesn't really let you respond . . . he pretty much assumes whatever he's asking you will happen. So, I say "Well, I don't really think I have a lot of music that she or your family would really like." Back to him "Well -- that's okay -- it's for his family in Arkansas . . . we're doing a more formal thing here later." Oh me . . . well -- here goes anyway . . . Can't say I won't have a story to relay on this one.

So goes my life sometimes . . . I just can't say no. Another example is I'm volunteering all next week to teach 3rd graders about cities (it's for Junior Achievement). Um . . . I don't like kids. Especially those that I'm not related to . . . and I'm voluntarily going to enter 2 classrooms full of them and spend 45 minutes trying to teach them something. My skin is crawling thinking about it!!!

Some might say it's an adventurous side . . . others the need to please people. I just say . . . I'm too dang nice sometimes . . . oh well. At least I'm getting a lot of music out of the deal . . . thank goodness for my portable 230 gig hard drive!

BTW -- if you haven't heard Josh Turner . . . you need to! His voice is DAMN SEXY!

Notes from an International Designer

Hope everyone is doing well this Saturday! I'm already getting the "Daddy let's go play frisbee" stare and sulk from you-know-who . . . so you know what my plans are in a bit! Just a couple of notes before I head off to relax at the park.

Guess what! I'm an international designer!!!! My original designs have sold in Canada and I have fans on 3 continents! How exciting is that?? Which design went international?? Well, that should be easy to guess -- if not then you're a HOT MESS! (I wonder if Canadians will add an 'Eh' in the front of that . . .) It's only a matter of time before people are clammoring for my work . . . (well in my head at least!)

My yard guys went out of business! I don't own a mower or anything (b/c I hate mowing and kill all living plants when I try and take care of them!) -- and my grass is OOC! (out of control btw) I'm gonna have to call around on Monday for prices for a new yard group -- or maybe find a hot boyfriend who likes to do yard work! ;)

I'm STILL diggin' Mariah's new CD. I don't think her new single was the right one to release though . . . can you say cheezy? The single is "Bye Bye" and it's a sweet song about the loss of her grandmother - but she just goes overboard on the shmaltziness to make it tie to everyone. The tracks to hear on this CD are "I'm That Chick" (my new theme song), "Cruise Control", and "Stay in Love." And I stumbled across some kickin' club mixes to "Touch My Body" on iTunes that rock.

Oh -- and did you notice I shaved???

Later -- off to the Bark Park . . .

Announcing the Grand Opening of Joe Joe's Designs

So - in all the reading I've done on being a graphic artist - well - it's all about self promotion and getting yourself out there. Not something I usually like doing . . . but since it's the beginning of pursuing a dream, here goes.

I've put three graphic designs out for sell at http://www.zazzle.com/joeaggie97 -- or if you want you can check the widget at the bottom. I finished up 2 other designs along with the "Se levanto blanco" design, you can get them as a canvas print, poster, coffee mug, mouse pad, and even stamps! It's a home office collection :)

Also -- some of my favorite sayings are designed and on t-shirts and magnets for fun as well. There will be more to come I'm sure, but this will start it off. I'm not really worried if I sell anything - although it would be cool to be the next suave designer for the world to clamour over. It's more of a chance to just share my creativity with the world.

Hey -- if rock stars can be designers -- well so can a shift supervisor in Topeka! BTW -- you can upload your own stuff to zazzle and sell it too . . . they're a partner with flickr. Alright -- the design world is fun - but I gotta go clean the bathroom.

Se levanto blanco

The past 10 years of my life have been a lot like unraveling the worlds largest ball of twine. I think back to those years after I graduated from A&M, and I felt numb.

I remember the world moving past me, and it was as if I was watching thru a television screen. That point in my life, I was merely a marionette with strings.

Without all the rehash, the twine is almost completely unravelled. I've begun to learn to be happy in my skin, with who I am, and what I am to become. And what do I want to be . . . well -- I want to be a digital artist. I am looking to start taking some type of graphic design or web design type classes in the fall -- and also probably delve even deeper into digital image manipulation. I can't draw, not very good at coloring in the lines, but I have these images in my head. And, well, the computer allows me to create that image.

So, I unleash upon the world my first true digital art -- Se levanto blanco (white rose). Below is the original image I took while at the Botanical Gardens in Ft. Worth.

Let me know what you think!

By George! I think he's got it!

If you've been paying attention over the past week or so, I've been playing with headers, colors, layouts, pictures, fonts . . . etc. etc.

Well, this is the look I was going for. I like this layout, with these colors, all underneath this gorgeous tree. It just looks like a warm spring afternoon . . . where Ragan would be playing in the park and me sitting under a tree sipping a water and enjoying the sun (with LOTS of sunscreen on).

When you get something new, you gotta take it for a test drive. Cars, computers, boyfriends . . . so blog sites make sense too. Gotta get inside and see how it works. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend . . . I have two big brown eyes begging me to go play frisbee . . . so I'm out. Later!

10 Quickies

1. I'm in love with Mariah's new CD, E=MC2!!!!
2. I need to vaccuum . . . and why does that word have double "u's"?
3. Encourage me to invest my refund, not spend it! I am such a spender . . .
4. MMMMMM . . . french fries
5. Texas is calling me back home . . . might have to answer that one.
6. Yay! Hair appointment Tuesday!!
7. Diggin' the new blog site.
8. Is it me or is "McSteamy" from Grey's uber hot! You know he was in "Charmed" . . .
9. I wish men would stop shaving their chest hair -- chest hair is hot!
10. Ick! Gotta get ready for work now . . . ugh!

Adulthood is for the birds!

Who in the hell wants to be an adult? Remember when we thought it was all about getting whatever we wanted, having lots of money, and not having to listen to anyone?? Boy, were we wrong. I don't get what I want, I don't have lots of money, and I STILL have to listen to people (or at least pretend to). Somehow, I think I've been hornswaggled.

What's bringing on this sudden wanting to be young again?? No, it's not the 10 inch grey hair I found a few weeks ago . . . nor was it my birthday last week . . . it was my taxes. Yes, that's right, I waited until 11:49 PM on 4/14 to file my taxes. I didn't wait until the last minute to file my taxes, but pretty darn close.

And here's the kicker of the situation . . . I'm getting a refund back. I've never had to pay (because I don't claim enough) so it's not like I was worried. I just didn't want to do it! It's just so dang silly to me. I have to buy a computer program (b/c I'm not about to do it myself) to figure out what I can deduct, what I can claim, what I can write off . . . all to whittle it down to the smallest amount I can. It's a shell game really . . . and not a very fun one.

Also playing into this is my having to go back to work. I had the last week off, and I went to Texas to visit the family. Had a blast - and found some old photos and started capturing them digitally. It was so nice to wake up and not have to do anything. I went to the Ft. Worth Zoo, the Botanical Gardens of Ft. Worth, watched my nephew play baseball, visited relatives, so on and so on and so on. It was a blast!

I'm ready to move back home, go to school, play games, and go to bed early. I want snack time, nap time, sleep overs, and my teddy bear. Look at how cute I was when I was 4 . . . I got whatever I wanted, never needed any money, and didn't have to listen . . . I had a good thing going. Why did I keep getting older . . . that was soooooo stupid of me! And that t-shirt I'm wearing is super cool!

Oh well . . . I guess that's what I get for wantin' to be a big boy . . .

Blogger?

Well, here I am ready to forage ahead on new territory. Well, not so new really. I had a blogger site once, about 4 years ago . . . wrote 1 thing in it . . . yeah -- I was dedicated.

So, why come back? Why here? Why now? Why do I like French Fries so much?

I don't know really . . . maybe it's because I don't want to lose all contact with some friends that really made me laugh, touched my heart, or inspired me to do more than just one little entry on my blog. I've been keeping 2 blogs going for awhile now . . . 360 and Multiply . . . and well -- let's be real -- both sites are really on my nerves.

360 is glitchy and Mulitply is forced . . .

So -- maybe it's back to writing . . . back to basics . . . switching to tater tots . . . we'll see.

More to come . . . I hope ;)