plasticframes

Hi Everybody,

I don't like LiveJournal anymore. Admit it, you don't either. That's why you never post here, or just feed LJ your tweets or something.

These ads are berserk. Don't you think?

Anyway, I pay for web space already with the other dozen blogs I have, so I've decided to move my personal blog to...get this... blog chicka blog blog dot com

Not even joking! It is the best blog name I could think of.

Please update your google readers etc.

I haven't decided yet if I'll import the lj archives to the new blog, so I probably won't delete this account for awhile yet.

xo,
Sarah M.

I'm reading this book about RVing and retirees and it's got me thinking...

It's like, when young people get together they say they're in love, but when older people get together they say that they're just keeping each other company. I think that's interesting.

My hard drive crashed about three weeks ago just before the Stand Up and Shoot screening. It was challenging because I got the notice the day after it crashed, but I no longer had access to the original file. They wanted the film on DVD but I didn't have that. I was able to submit a DVD from the version I uploaded to flickr, which seemed to be good enough. Unfortunately, I've lost all the original film and music files for the band/show, my podcast, different design projects, different zine and comic projects, and all of my photos. I didn't download that much music on my computer, so that doesn't concern me much, but losing the other projects has been kind of devastating to think about. I know I know, my fault for not backing up the files. They were backed up to an external hard drive, but it stopped responding. Then I had my new work computer and was using it for most things, so I really drug my heels on finding a new way to back up my computer. I don't have internet at home, so backing it up online didn't seem possible and buying a new external hard drive seemed like a bad plan. I mean, one had already failed me. Will's had two fail on him. I'm just not too keen now on external hard drives, particularly since LaCie wouldn't make good on their warranty promises.

Anyway, this crash has been a constant pain. Not the least of which has been dealing with FristTech to try and recover the data and get the hard drive replaced.

It is perhaps not worth going into detail all the many bad encounters I've had over the past month with FirstTech, but suffice to say if you ask me in person and give me a half hour of your time, I will not stop spewing grievances.

At least the laptop was still covered under Apple Care (I bought an extended plan when I got the laptop -- WHEW). The hard drive was replaced free of charge, and the keyboard and hand rest casing-parts were also replaced. Everything about the computer feels new and weird.

I honestly haven't had time to start up the computer since I received it back from FirstTech ~2 weeks ago but did so last night. It's like...awful. Just really weird and shocking. I basically have an entirely new computer and it's kind of minus all around and I just want to bitch about it a little so I'm going to.

The casing used to be glossy, now it's matte. So that's an unpleasant tactile thing.

None of my information is on this computer, so that obviously sucks.

All the programs I had installed need to be reinstalled. Most of them were easy to do, but I also purchased some digital downloads for video conversion that I'm not sure yet how to reinstall, so that's kinda irritating.

My fonts are gone. All of them. Not sure how I can get back the ones I paid for. Yes, I paid for some of the fonts on my computer. SIGH. They will all be missed. Oh, what a library I had!

When they re-installed the OS they gave me OS X 10.4 not OS X 10.5 which I originally had.

This is the only change I'm divided on. I'm not sure it really matters that the OS is older. I guess I'm afraid it might screw up some software re-installs when I get to them, or prevent me from buying some newer software, but I guess that doesn't really bother me much. I've been really wanting the older version of iMovie but was unable to get it -- now I have it. My guess is, I could buy the newer version in addition to that if I ever wanted it, or a different film editing program more likely, but I know I can't get this older version of iMovie anymore, or at least not as easily, because I tried. So I guess this is maybe a weird blessing in disguise, despite all the rest??

Anyway, we'll see how things develop. I'm really afraid to hear back about the cost of recovering data from my old hard drive. The quote I'm imagining is...really really high.

I'm feeling super worn down and icky again...the last few weeks have been awful. Nothing slows down and I can't afford to get sick!

I did get my studio more or less cleaned up last weekend and finally bought the chemicals to clean my press. Conclusion: Simple Green is some kind of miracle potion. Before I used it, I was spending a lot of time trying to clean my ink disk in the sink. It was messy and awful and impossible. Sometimes the "oh I'll just figure it out" approach I take with most things really bites me in the ass. I'm not doing too bad learning the hard way though. I'm hoping to work on some cards this weekend. Hope they turn out okay!

I also used Simple Green on my new vending machine. New Machine has a stand, and its base was covered in rust -- but not anymore! Simple Green destroyed that rust.

I also made chalk this weekend. It's spherical and I stuffed it into individual eggs for the machine. I'm hoping to sell chalk via vending machine at Red Hot Art this year, among other things.

I basically sold out of everything I have at SpringCon a few weeks back. Which sounds like a good thing, but oh is it ever a pain. It's my fault for only ever printing up small runs and deciding to print and bind things that are complicated. I really love having the studio space though, and now that it's summer and 93 degrees outside (wait -- what??) going there should be easier. I intend to spend much of the weekend there making more books.

Zinefest got the grant it applied for -- yay! And MIX just got some other big sponsors too. I've got a lot to do on those fronts too.

Guess what will be released on my Birthday? Hint hint hint hint.

Make your own Glitter Graphics

Geez, Internet. You don't even KNOW how great today was! Let me tell you all about it...

I woke up at 5am from a bad dream I don't remember. I finished recording my version of "Tonight You Belong to Me" which you can hear here: varsitypepband.com.

At 11am I met up with Joanna for breakfast -- and Anders was also there! What fun people. I adore them!

Then I went to my studio and emailed some folkses and finished a new version of the Varsity Pep Band website in preparation for the Women Stand Up and Shoot film festival tonight. Once Minneapolis saw my animation, I knew they'd be rushing straight to their computers to type in the URL I just showed them, so I wanted the place to look nice. It looks just about the same! But now there are more things. Check it out! varsitypepband.com

At the studio I checked in on my cacti. This fuzzy one is growing like a weed! It's soft to touch and real bendy. A very interesting plant.



I learn good news about MIX when checking my email! I'm not ready to disclose the particulars yet, but it looks like we may have a poster designer all figured out.

Then ~9pm I head over to Bryant Lake Bowl with Jacie to see our little film in action. The place becomes packed with people!



We are so excited to be here!!!



OHEMEFFINGGEE -- we won!!! Our film won first place in the contest! I didn't even realize it was a contest. I knew there would be prizes, but I thought they would be like gag prizes or something. These are SERIOUS prizes. Like spa gift certificates and IFP memberships and drink vouchers and MONEY!



I have never been a part of anything like this before. I'm still pretty stunned and don't know how to talk about it. All very surprising! Also, a very cool Grumpy's waitress had a movie listed among the final ten. The things you learn about people when you least expect it! To think, I never knew my waitress last week was a filmmaker on the side, and nobody tomorrow will ever suspect that I am an award-winning animator. Too weird.

Shit just got real you guys. Time for me to start getting serious about my art. ;)

Facebook just recommended that I become friends with someone really unusual...it suggested I become friends with a person I interviewed for my podcast. Except, the episode I interviewed him for has never aired. I still haven't edited it. In fact, the only record of this interview -- I just now realized -- is on my personal laptop which just this weekend had to go into the shop. I might lose everything on my hard drive, including the potential to air this interview plus two others I hadn't yet edited. Ack!

Anyway, this person is someone I know not one bit. I simply bought a press off him on ebay and asked if I could interview him about it for my site makebetterbooks.com. We have nothing in common except for this purchase and interview -- no friends or home town or anything -- but somehow Facebook has linked us together like we are connected.

One of us must have searched for the other on Facebook at some point, so Facebook just recommended that we become friends. Isn't that surprising? I feel really weird about that. I don't mind in this situation, but I could definitely see this kind of recommendation becoming seriously embarrassing under different circumstances. And does this explain why FB is always recommending that I re-connect with certain people? It's always telling me to reconnect with this ex-boyfriend. I never thought much of it, but maybe that means he's creeping on my wall or something? I don't mind, but I wish there was some way to turn that stuff off so I didn't have to know about it!

I'm trying not to think about the status of my laptop. I backed it up on an external hard drive, but then that hard drive stopped working -- while under warranty but they wouldn't replace it. (F U Lacie!) I figured since I don't use my home laptop very often, it wouldn't matter that I hadn't backed it up anywhere. Anyway, lesson learned I guess. I'm trying not to think about the situation and what I may have lost. First Tech will try to save my memory, so I'm counting on that, but there are no guarantees.

Ahhh....geez. Laptop and Facebook concerns. Happy Monday!

Tis the season of wedded bliss, right? Well, in early April Will and I attended a wedding for some friends in Chicago. It's always a chore for young unmarried couples approaching their 30s to participate in these kind of things. You end up explaining your own relationship to a lot of people whose business it just ain't -- you know? If we talk about it at all, we talk about eloping, so if anyone should ask -- and you know they're just hoping to have another one of these parties to look forward to -- my response is always disappointing. "Well, if we do decide to get married, you will have no part in it."

So I was out smoking, as I do sometimes, and our dear friend "C" comes out to get me because it's time to catch the bouquet. I didn't really want to, but I know it's important for married people to push single people into doing stuff and I wanted her to like me, so I went. Will was in the wedding party and I felt there was some expectation that I should catch the damn thing. I think I've caught these before and it's not like a good luck charm or anything, it's dumb luck if anything. But I was in it to win it. I seemed to be the next most likely bride-to-be and if I was going to extinguish my cigarette practically after it was lit and be drug from a conversation I found interesting, I was going to make this bouquet toss worth my while.

I caught the bouquet. What more do you want from me? But because I was standing next to the bride's sister, everybody gave me a hard time about it! The photographer just sent out the pictures from that night and they are pretty damning. It really looks like I'm going to kill her for this bouquet -- but I swear she was like a foot behind me! It looks like the thing would drop right into her hands, but I think it would have dropped about a foot ahead if I hadn't caught it. And I must say, it was a pretty good catch.

I felt so bad about it, I left the bouquet near her stuff at the end of the night, hoping she'd understand that the gesture was a sincere apology. I don't even have a sister but it seems like a special thing for your sister to catch your bouquet. Anyway, the bride just wrote to me about something else and mentioned the bouquet, saying I must have forgot it there and she's keeping it for me. Aw, geez.

It's been about two years since I've owned a car. Once I moved to Minneapolis, Will got rid of his car and we shared mine. Then we traded mine in for the car we have today. I'm often amazed by how cheaply we live -- no internet, no cable, one car, one room -- and yet don't have much to show for it. What we lack in technology and toys, I like to think we make up for in booze and dinners out. Still, when it's nice out like now, I just wish I had a car of my own. Frankly, when you share a car with someone, it's too much bother at the end of a work day or week to figure out who's going to get to drive the car, and I'd rather just be at home by then anyhow. I can only really be persuaded to leave the house at the end of the day if Will goes with me. It's a nicer trip having someone to talk to. If I had a car, I'd run errands on my way home, but by the time I get home at 6pm and eat by 7pm, why would I want to go anywhere? What a chore. As a result, I do as much as I can on the bus ride home. Grocery shopping at the downtown Target or at the corner stores nearby isn't impossible, but it's not fun like going somewhere with real bakery and produce sections. I guess I just wish I had a vehicle of my own sometimes. I feel like if I got one now it would be just as exciting as having my first car. I'm so out of practice when it comes to driving, I probably maneuver like a teenager too, which is kind of scary, but I guess guess that despite that, I kind of miss the freedom sometimes.

Two-car families, today I kind of envy you.