Up until this point, I have generally avoided blogging about work minus a couple of occasions. That is all about to change. I refocusing my blog to be more career-oriented with my recent move to work independently. The main reason for this change of direction is to get myself more closely involved with the online Flash community, though there are other factors involved as well. Of course, it goes without saying, I will not blog about specific projects during development to maintain client confidence, but occasional revelations & experiments which arise because of those projects will be shared here.

Will I still blog about my personal life? Yes, probably about as much as I do now. So please excuse the long lapses.

It’s now 3 weeks since I left Trailer Park to go on my own as a freelancer. I am definitely busy with the freelance projects I picked up since starting at the beginning of the month. Most of my clients to this point have been people I have known and worked with through my career. It is encouraging that my connections I made in the past are now coming back to help me build my future.

The adjustment for the last 3 weeks has been a bit easier than I expected. Despite the desire to sleep in just a little bit later, JJ continues to wake Theresa and I by 7:30 every morning. Not to fear though - our cabinets are stocked full of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee *the best coffee in the world*. I am generally at my desk working by 8:30 to 9:00. Since I am home without a commute, morning web surfing to catch up with the world can be done earlier.

On the days that Theresa works, JJ goes to daycare. The apartment is unusually quiet those days — so some music or an audiobook from the library keep me company as I plow through the project of the day.
On the days they are home, Theresa does a great job of keeping JJ from bothering me. This is especially impressive since my office is in our living room. Should things go well for the next few months, I am pretty sure we will upgrade ourselves to a 3-bedroom apartment with the 3rd room being the office.

Anyway you cut it though, it has been a great month - one of the best I can remember in my career.

January 5 has come and passed, and with it my resignation from Trailer Park became official. It was definitely weird. I worked with a lot of the folks there for about five years give or take a few months in either direction. At the end of the day, there was cake & I was actually left speechless when asked to say a few words.

The weekend was one of celebration.

Dinner with Matt & Kathy on Friday.

A surprise costume birthday for Mitch on Saturday. I went as Professor Chaos — Mitch, I need a picture of it.

And then we topped it off with Theresa, JJ & I going to Disneyland for JJ’s first trip there. The weather was perfect, traffic was minimal & crowds were likewise. Overall, I think JJ’s favorite ride was the Monster’s Inc. (there is a small 4×5 tv screen in the car which brought a big smile to his face). He was not so fond of the Pirates ride and seemed indifferent about the Winnie the Pooh ride as he was more infatuated with the fact that there were doors that swung than the ride itself. Adding a nice topper to the day, James & Weena joined us for dinner in Downtown Disney.

That’s it for the moment. There are some pics of the Disneyland trip in my gallery for anyone who cares to check them out.

This is old news to most of my readers, but it is BIG news.

I have tendered my resignation from Trailer Park (formerly Creative Domain (who took control of our web group from Faction Creative where this whole thing started)).  My last day will be January 5, 2007, which is just shy of a month away.

Rather than moving on to another full time position, I will be chancing it on my own as a Flash freelancer / consultant.  Should anyone need me for flash development work, I will either be at my computer working diligently or preparing a grande cafe latte at Starbucks depending on how things turn out.

We just witnessed Spiderman kick the everloving snot out of General Thade (Planet of the Apes) at the Chinese Theatre about 20 minutes ago - or at least we saw it happen to the carnies who were dressed as them.

For those who don’t know, our office window looks down on the Chinese Theater in Hollywood - I mean quite literally down on it as we are across the street.

Unfortunately, I didnt get to see the actual fight, but I did get see Thade lying on Hollywood Blvd itself convulsing & Spiderman pacing about angrily.

My coworker then filled me in that Thade & SM had been in each other’s faces, but he did not see who took the first punch. The next thing he knew Spiderman threw Thade out onto street & was on top of him pummeling the hell out of him. The incident ended with Thade being taken away in an ambulance & 3 police cars to control the scene & get witness accounts.

When we went to get coffee, a security guard who saw the whole thing told us that Thade did indeed take the first punch. That’ll teach him to mess with Spiderman!