it’s a boos life.

I feel as though I fell off the bandwagon with my lack of posts. This summer has gone by faster than I had hoped or expected. I am down to my final days here at RELEVANT. I have gotten to know a great group of people that I am sad to say goodbye to. We have already lost a few faces from our group, which is a bummer. But, now we have to prepare ourselves in losing two more this Friday. We have made great connections with each other and it is going to be weird to leave such a great group of friends and coworkers.

In better news, RELEVANT has been quite busy. Print deadline is pretty much sitting on our and getting ads and other design elements done is a tedious task. It’s a great issue if I can boast. It seems like if there isn’t one project that has to be done five minutes ago there is another one waiting in the wings. Last Friday Hannah and I went downtown to take pictures for an ad for a really cool study bible! It was interesting. Not only did we get weird looks from pedestrians, but when I was telling my friends that I modeled a bible they laughed. “How do you model a bible?” Many ways my friends, many ways! We were able to take some other fun shots as well!

And Kelly is right about summertime. I too fall into that trap of not necessarily putting my faith on the back burner, but becoming blah with it. I seem to find myself in more Christian environments than secular these days. I go to a private Christian college in Missouri and here at RELEVANT everyone is Christian, followed by my trip home back to my church community. It can be easy to fall into that mode that you are simply “doing” religion rather than enjoying what God is doing within your life.

Well with only 5 more business days at Relevant I will try to post a bit more and update on anything of importance or randomness.

Memorable Moments at Relevant:
1.) Adam riding the bike through the office
2.) Adam running through the office with an American Flag to “Born in the USA”
3.) Lunch time conversations…usually range from children’s books to shopping to wedding plans to random dislikes and likes about life. Brings me back to high school days! (minus the whole not finding a seat or terrible cafeteria food)
4.) Random blasting of fun songs at the right moment.
5.) Working on the Hope in the Dark wall
6.) Meeting the interns and making new friends…

In reality, time has defeated me. I have been in Orlando for almost 2 months and my blogging has been lacking motivation. When you wake up everymorning and do the same day over and over again, you fear no one will find it interesting enough to come and read about. Relevant Magazine has been busy and I have forgotten about this blog multiple times until a dear friend reminds me that I suck at updates.

The last 2 weeks have been a series of goodbyes as some of the interns are leaving. The first goodbye was the friday before last, when Jen left to go back to her home in Missouri. We went to the Cheesecake Factory ( where I ran into a family from my home church in Connecticut that I have known since forever) and had a marvelous time laughing and spending quality intern time together. What I am most thankful for this summer is the great group of friends I have made. This group of interns are like peas in pod. When Friday comes around everyone, in agreement, are wondering what we will be doing this weekend. Last weekend, I apologize for not writing about this in timely fashion, we decided Cocoa Beach would be the best idea. So we drove to the beach, got there a tad bit later than we wanted, and soaked up the rays. Along the way we saw dozens of dead armadillos, a styrofoam turtle on top of a moving van, and loads of random moments. The beach was absolutely beautiful. I feel as if no beach in Florida will give you a bad beach. Cocoa Beach was blue waters and soft sandy beaches. Warning, the sand on the beach is hotter than you could ever stand. The water was clear and refreshing yet, almost bathwater warm. This to me is a big plus since northeast beaches are dark, cold, and filled with seaweed. We had about one hour of good beach weather before a storm came in and rained us out. I was a bit saddened since I was just about to zone out in the world of ipod and tanning. The seven of us then decided we couldn’t visit Cocoa without visiting Ron Jon Surf Shop. The storm did grow worse and as we were driving home we saw tons of lightning and loud thunder that was quite cinematic.

Later that evening, even though we had been together all day, we decided to meet up for pizza and a movie. After everyone was showered and refreshed we gathered together to watch a theatrical masterpiece, Mean Girls. It was funny to watch in mixed company, because most of us are way past high school and still we found this extremely entertaining.

This past week at Relevant has been busy and slow all at once. I have still been rolling through story graphics and helping with graphics for the new Relevant Store website. I also have been working on various random things as well. Tuesday was Steven’s last day, so we went out to Tijuana Flats to celebrate his summer. He flew back home to Indonesia for the first time in four years. I haven’t been home since January and I feel like that is much too long, so I can imagine his anxiety to get home. We will miss steven alot! He was like the calmest guy you would ever meet and an amazing designer. Friday was one really busy day. In the morning I was given the assignment to come up with an ad for Zondervan TNIV Study bible. I was given the copy, headline, and call to action so another intern and I had to come up with the creative. It was alot of fun, but there was alot of pressure. We needed to have everything almost done by the end of the day. We went out downtown and shot the product shots for the ad and did everything. Hannah is one amazing photographer, so she helped me out big time. Despite the time crunch we were able to get it done, now all that is left is getting the fine tuning done before we send it to Zondervan for approval to be printed. With magazine deadline like, tuesday, it should be a hectic monday. I can’t wait..

here are some pictures to showcase friday….note most of these are for my personal use*

First and foremost I will apologize for my lack of blogging updates. Really, there hasn’t been too much difference in excitement at RELEVANT for the past week or so. Except all last week and the beginning of this week another intern and I worked on a collage for a wall in the lunch area. We took the photographs of Jeremy Cowart from the book “A Hope in the Dark” and wall papered them to the wall in an elaborate grid. All the photographs were from his experience in Africa and has primarily to do with bringing social justice to the African continent. It was a multi step process involving enlarging pictures, exacto cutting, planning, aligning, gridding, and using creative judgement in placing the array of photos everywhere. I would love to say that it was an easy project that was all fun and games. Most of the time it was a great experience because I had a partner, but both my partner and I sliced our fingers at least once with the exacto (of course different blades….sick!) She had done it twice before I just carelessly cut my thumb. In the end, it came out beautifully and I wish I had a camera to take pictures, but the head designer Jeremy took pictures throughout the entire ordeal, so they will be coming soon!

On top of that arduous project I was working on, it has been pretty slow here at Relevant. We have had two “celebrity” visits in the past week or so. Bradley Hathaway, the singing poet that does an awesome poem entitled “manly man”, came through. And then earlier in the week a couple from engaged and underage, the MTV Reality show, came in. Now, the mtv reality people weren’t visiting to be interviewed, apparently the guy worked for Relevant and “To Write Love On Her Arms“. It was more awkward because the RELEVANT staff were like, ” So If none of you guys have noticed, we have a couple of celebrities on our hands..you might recognize them from Engaged and Underage..” Then the comedian in me quipped in and asked what life was like now that the MTV’s cameras are gone? They thought it was funny, I hope. In the end there hasn’t been as many celebs as I wouldve hoped rushing through Orlando. Most of the celebrity interviews are done over the phone.

In other news, last night I visited my great Aunt Francis, my maternal grandfather’s sister. This would be the grandpa I had never met so it was sort of awkward because she knew me and had one picture of me from when I was like 5. Of course, me the one has yet to lose the baby face, she was like “You look just like your picture.” Also following a string of, “Oh good heavens…Oh My’s…and Well I’ll be” (in that sweet old woman voice) she asked what I was doing. Then she jumps up to gather some old newspaper clippings about my mom. Sure enough, my mom was an award winning artist. Well I guess it runs in the family.

Well, really thats the name of the taco I ordered at Moes Southwest Grill, but after my visit to Hollywood Beach in South Florida, I saw what other almost-naked guys were sporting at the beach.

It has been almost a week since the last update of this blog. Alot has transpired since then. Last Friday was one of my busiest days at the office. I had about 3 projects to finish in a timely manner. I definitely enjoyed the looming deadlines that I met. I had to work on graphics for a contest the magazine and Charlotte Martin’s people are doing, then I had to work on this flash element that flips the pages on the preview, and the last thing I had to do was begin working on layouts for the next issue. The contest graphics took all day, but it was finished. The flash element took about 3 hours as well. It was all worth it in the end because right after work I dorove down to Ft.Lauderdale to visit my father’s side of the family. My aunt and uncle live in Plantation so I went and spent the weekend with them. My cousin, who is 16 days younger than me, and I just hung out most of the weekend. Saturday I went to the Braves @ Marlins Game. Braves won by 1 run, but Marlins had a definite comeback in the 9th inning scoring about 4 runs, two of those were homeruns. After the game there was a concert. Does Joan Jett and the Blackhearts ring any bells for anyone? Because it didn’t for me. Apparently Joan Jett, this 50-year old scantily clad NYC Rockstar and her boyband rocked out. She sang “Don’t give a darn about my reputation” and then the only song that everyone knew “I love rock n roll”….She sang a bunch of other songs that I wouldn’t know because they came out on her newest album. When she announced that they had a new album I laughed.

Sunday was another experience altogether. I went to church with my aunt and cousin. Let’s just say my aunt has a knack for finding weird churches. It was a house church. I can’t describe it anymore, but it was not a pleasant experience for me. Oh and then after church, they took me to the Jai-Alai. Just to clarify, my family was gambling on the Jai-ALai games sadly I did not. Monday, was the beach day! It was absolutely perfect out. The beach was not crowded at all, the water was smooth, clear, and warm, and the sun was out. I got slightly tan while my cousin turned out to be a lobster. It was nice to sit at the beach and swim in the ocean. I think it was the one time that I was not leary about being in the ocean, the water so beautiful and warm.

Other than the weekend in Ft.Lauderdale, and the drive back to Orlando..Nothing new has really been happening. I go back to work tomorrow, but today I get to play. The interns are having a little 4th of July Celebration at the guy’s apartment, while I do wish I was in missouri. James river assembly is having their annual I love America celebration! Leeland is performing and I totally wish I was there. I think I might see Universal or Disney’s Fireworks today though. Who knows really…then I guess theres something really cool going on with the Design interns at one of the staffers abodes. 7.7.07 is supposed to be the happening date. Happy 7.4.07 america!

I apologize to all of those who take their time to read my blog for the lack of posts. It has been quite busy here in Florida. This past week I have been working hard on many graphics for the website. Yesterday I had about 4 hours of graphics to complete, followed by story graphics, and then learning about a flash element. It has been a very long week just with many things taking place. My aunt and uncle have been away in Alaska for the past week and I miss them and can’t wait for them to return. So far there hasn’t been anything I dislike about this week. Tomorrow is friday and as soon as work is done I get to go to Ft.Lauderdale and see my dad’s sister and her family. Which ultimately means a great/fun weekend with my favorite cousin Becca. Oh well, I guess I haven’t had much to update on .

Saturday was the intern bbq hosted by Maya and Cameron. Here is a glimpse into the antics of our barefoot Kickball game at the park:

Meet the Boys of Summer:

Meet part of the Intern Posse:

I have about 5 minutes left to my really relaxed lunch hour. I decided against joining the rest of the staff at the lunch table area. I opted for some solitude and Greys Anatomy. I ate lunch at my computer and watched an episode i hadn’t seen (which there are more than i thought). Today has been an easier day than usual, but now I am busy with my newest project. I am designing some marketing subscribe headers for our subscribe page. It should be interesting working with marketing since it is my minor. What have I disliked about today, nothing really. I have yet to really dislike anything at my job. I am quite tired and broke, so acquiring the much wanted Starbucks iced coffee is out of the budget.

Yesterday, I felt a bit like gilligan. I went out for a 15 minute errand to the post office that is located 1.3 miles from the office. When you are directionally challenged and work in the downtown area that is mostly one way streets, you can easily become lost. I almost ended up on a highway with tolls and then I found a dairy factory. I found my way back and was a bit flustered that my usual strength of finding my way through places was not useful in this situation.

Good afternoon readers, today has been a slower kind of day. I feel like I am floating along and simply easing into the rythym of Relevant. It had been a productive morning where I finished projects quicker than I anticipated. So far today I have liked the flow of work throughout the office and stillness today has to offer. At the very beginning of the day there were shrills of excitement when the women of the office heard the news of someone’s engagment. I was excited for their excitement. I will admit my first inference of the story behind the screaming was that Cara, the Editor, was having her baby. But, logic told me that there would have been more panic in the sounds than excitement. It was nice that today all the women went out to lunch together and got to know us interns a bit better. It was also nice to ask questions about the beginnings of the magazine and how they ended up here. Most of them said that it was from earlier contacts than applications. So it is true what they say about its not what you know, it’s who you know.

In other news, my aunt and uncle left this morning for alaska this morning. It was kind of sad saying good-bye to them. Even though I have only really gotten to know them in the past week or so, I will miss them while they’re gone for the next ten days or so. It should be interesting though, me and my cousin Lauren and her baby hanging out and keeping each other company. I am really enjoying living with them! Well, that is really all the excitement I have to share. I wish I could type about my chance to sit in on a phone interview with Eisley, but I never did ask one of the co-Editors if I could. I really just wanted to observe another facet of the industry of music/print/journalism. I am definitely learning a lot.

So technically we aren’t your average micky mouse club, but the growing population of interns at Relevant is becoming the joke. It actually almost seems like there are more unpaid interns than paid employees at the office. I offically mark the end of week one/eight and the beginning of week two. I apologize for the lack of updates, it did get a bit busy and tiring after wednesday. It is almost surreal that I am desiging in a real-world place. Relevant Magazine is extremely challenging because it aims for higher standards than most christian magazines do. I love the challenge of being restricted to one or two font faces and working through problems. It is always rewarding when you finish a small project (ie story graphics) that you struggled with for hours only to find in the end you just needed 15 mins with a different picture. Thursday was a calm day. There was a much needed calmness and quietness floating thick through the office before lunch. Every 20 mins or so you do get a quick shake from the train that passes behind us. Friday was an even better day. I was given my first non-story graphic assignment, it was reworking an ad for Zondervan. For a moment, I felt a rush of excitement because everything that I have learned the past two semesters has helped me in one week. Thank you professors at Evangel for preparing me for the requirements this job did not publish. Its always nice to recognize terms that your professor used. Nonetheless, I spent a few hours rebuilding an ad from files hidden in different parts of the network. Come to find out at the end of the day, I produced it in the wrong program. I did it all in photoshop, problem one. I had a gut feeling it was supposed to be produced inDesign, but someone gave me to the “ok” to do it in Photoshop. It wasn’t until 15 mins before the end of the work day that I was told how wrong I was. I was partly embarassed that I did my first “real” assignment wrong, but mostly I felt guilty that I spent hours working on something on Relevant’s time to do something that will need to be redone. Luckily, I have a really cool director that was semi-supportive of the fact that it wasn’t technically my fault and that we will fix it on monday. I will admit the last hour of friday’s day was a hectic, I was busy getting a story graphic whipped out in a limited amount of time and the ad and also emailing.

In other news, Florida has been treating me way well. Saturday about nine of us went to Wekiwa Springs and went canoeing. Jen, a fellow design intern hailing from Truman State in Colombia, Mo., was my canoe partner. I apologize for my lack of skills. I talked a good game but didn’t follow through. We did see about a half dozen turtles, 1 water moccassin crossed our path, and 3 gators. Seriously, seeing alligators in the wild swimming by our boats gave a wierd rush that was cool. I also spent the other half of the day shopping (don’t worry I only bought one thing) all throughout Orlando. I ended up at the Florida Mall and found this really awesome fitness store called Paiva. I found a sweet pair of nike running shorts for ten dollars. And here are a few pictures of my little cousin:

That’s all for now. I will update more this week.

oh its a fun one today.

Well today has officially been day three of my internship at Relevant Magazine and today we said hello and good bye to the lucky boys that are doing a summer roadtrip to all the Christian Music Festivals. I was on story graphics all day, again. It seems as though I have developed a routine of composing story graphics. I receive designated stories around 10:30 am, eventhough I start at 9 am. I work on them until I feel as though I can work no more (so i think) and call my creative director Alastair Over to inspect. He says a various assortment of no’s and dismays. Thankfully he has saved the deep sighs of dissapointment for his own cubicle. I have been told that I am doing a great job on the tasks, yet that is by my peers. The other design interns keep reassuring me that I am not the lamest designer on board and that I am getting story graphics done a faster rate than stories come forward. I half-heartedly agree.

I experienced my first all staff meeting in which Cameron Strang, the Commander in Chief of the Relevant Empire (of 35 employees or more) gave great pep talk. It gets me really excited to hear him talk about the successes they are experiencing lately. Summer is an exciting time. The festival boys left with the tons of merchandise that the interns so diligently put together. Hes really cool. I also realized later in the day I was in the same building that my favorite podcast was recorded in. It was an odd feeling, knowing that the Editorial team is recording something that over 30,000 listeners including dozens of my friends.

I did come home hoping to run, it was perfect temperature outside. Cool and humid, regardless of the temperature the humidity is one thing that I will never get away from. Oh well, now it is pouring outside and I am experiencing my first home cooked meal. I should introduce my living arrangements to ya’ll. I am living with my aunt, uncle, cousin lauren, and her 3 week old baby boy Marco. Its an interesting experience altogether. I really was worried/nervous about living with the family I really don’t know that much about. But, heres the really cool thing They were very excited to have me come and stay and still are excited to have me. My cousin is way nicer and friendlier than I remember. Its a nice house and nice neighborhood. They have high-speed wireless internet, which is way appreciated. Well, off to try to learn more html and css style sheets so tomorrow I don’t look like a complete idiot when they ask me to design templates/skins/CSS anything.

ps..I designed the storygraphic on this page…there is a great sample of what I have learned in the past 3 days of Relevant. Only the rest of the week and 7 weeks to go.