• They’re in Albion Park Rail! This means I can drive there in 25 minutes. BIG DEAL, since my last job had me catching a train for 90-100 minutes, then hiking to Glebe from Central station.
• They sell tangible products! Not NLP which I find highly dubious.
• I get to be part of a team, instead of having everything IT resting on my shoulders so I feel like I’m constantly under massive amounts of pressure.
• I’m treated with respect. That’s a key thing that seemed to be lacking before.
• I’m making about the same as before, only I don’t have to spend $57 a week on a train ticket. It’s closer to $25 a week in petrol. Oh and I get more perks because I’m an employee instead of a contractor… and they’re already deducting tax, so I won’t have a nasty surprise at the end of this financial year!

OK, so what else do I have to report? Well, what don’t I?

God knows how many goals I’ve achieved. I’ll have to do a full rundown in another post as this one will get too long.

I’ve done tons of drawing with my Wacom Cintiq (have I blogged about that yet??). It’s made it SO EASY to make cool looking drawings. I love it to bits. Look in the sidebar on the right to see a few links to images I’ve created with it.

A couple of days ago I registered the domain www.atherandearth.com. This is where my comic will live. I am still working on it, but I’m confident I’ll be able to start getting things done with it once NaNoWriMo this year is over.

Speaking of NaNoWriMo, I will be participating again in one month’s time. It will be AWESOME. I already have a fully developed plot!

Site Flight Web Design is over. I just never could get the hang of running a business. Don’t worry though, I’m not sad about it. It’s just me, I’m not cut out to be self-employed. Not enough motivation for things like that. It’s a problem I’ve had since I was about 10. Started out as a distaste for homework. Now it’s a distaste for doing things for other people while I’m at home. It feels like my personal space is being crushed, I guess. I’m happy to work while at a workplace, but I just can’t take that work home with me. Hence why I couldn’t handle working from home.

So it’s been a funny old ride, this year. It started out with me as enormously cashed up, buying cameras and expensive graphics tablets, leaving my Woolworths job, moving house, working in Sydney, ending each day feeling more drained of my sanity than the day before… then, I was unemployed, enjoying all the sudden free time but feeling lazy and sluggish and kind of doing that thing that George Costanza in Seinfeld did during the “Summer of George” – spending all my time “decompressing” by sitting idly. It got to the point where my sister tried making me do things by giving me lists because she was so upset that I seemed to be doing nothing. But I found my way.

I applied for a fateful job in late August, I got an interview, and the following Wednesday I was offered the job. I was nervous on my first day, and a bit spooked by the whole ordeal in the first few hours, where I had a whole lot of tasks bounced off me, and I was left worried about what I’d got myself into. But now that I’ve settled in, I’ve learnt that these things are doable and it seems like I’m appreciated in that workplace.

Because of my unemployment coinciding with my car needing a bunch done to it, I’m still in a bit of debt, but my job will take care of that within this month, and that’ll be a big weight off my shoulders.

Thanks to working close by, I will be able to not only join the gym next to my workplace and work out every day, but also work on my comic AND do NaNoWriMo without any problems.

This is it! This is the point in my life where everything works for me!

Back then, the business was fresh and exciting. I didn’t know I was in over my head at that stage. I received a phone call from a startup company that wished me to create a website for them. It would be a website based on placing working holidaymakers from Australia in jobs in London.

Sounded fine, I thought. I went and saw them and discussed it. They were pretty nice people. They said they would pay me a little to start off ($250 I think it was) and that I would make a percentage of the profits. They complimented the Illawarra Directory, and said that they wanted their website to look similar to that. I was pleased, and went home feeling good about the project. So good that I made a design that day, because they wanted something for the next day – I did consider that somewhat demanding of them, considering I had other clients to work on as well, but I brushed it off and did it anyway. It was a good design. I was proud of it.

The next day they called me and asked me to come around again. They were close by, only in Shellharbour Village, so I obliged.
This time I wasn’t alone. There was another graphic designer there. She was really friendly, and I can only hope that she cut her own ties with this ridiculous company like I did.

Here’s where things began to go downhill.

They didn’t like my design. Apparently, they had decided that they wanted a “grungey” design instead of the sleek design I had given them, modelled off the Illawarra Directory. Okay, I thought, that’s fine. No dramas. I’ll use that design in some other way.

One of the ladies decided that she wanted Photoshop. She actually had me take her laptop home and install Photoshop onto it, and return it to her. Once I got back, the woman decided I needed to stick around for a while and help her use Photoshop. She’d never touched it before, but she wanted to participate in the website design for some bizarre reason.

Finally, I made an excuse that I was meeting another client that afternoon and had to leave.

The next business day, I received another phone call from the Photoshop n00b. She needed me to tell her how to do something. I think it was something to do with erasing a background from a photo. I did my best to explain to her how I achieved that, and then continued to work on another client once the phone call ended. The phone started to ring again. I answered, and the idiot had some other question that I answered, and hung up.

Then, she called again. I pressed “busy” on my phone. Then I switched off my phone.

When the day had ended I turned it back on, and I had two voicemail messages from her.

One of them was something along the lines of “Hi Natalie, I really need your help with Photoshop. I thought it would be easy to do things, but I’m having so much trouble. Can you call me ASAP?”

Yeah, she thought Photoshop was easy. Never mind that I learnt to use it through both trial and error and through my DIGITAL MEDIA CERTIFICATE IV course.

I sent her an email.

As you can see, I really thought it out. I even went to the trouble of seeking out tutorials for her.

Her response? (Red text is my comments)

I simply replied “Good luck finding someone.”

They’d need it. Anyone that would do that for them would have to be someone completely unemployed and desperate for work.

I hope those girls’ business fails miserably. They don’t deserve anybody’s money if they think that’s a good way to treat well-meaning but naive people.

If you haven’t been following me on Twitter, you probably do not know that I am currently transferring this domain name over to my reseller account on Flexihostings. As I do so, I will be fully updating and refreshing the website to look a little like this, all built together in WordPress.

This means that the site will  be down for a bit. I’m not sure how long. In fact I figured it would have already been transferred by now, but it apparently takes far longer to do so than I thought.

Anyway, just letting you know so that if you come along one day and get an error or something, there’s a reason.

In other news, I was in That’s Life! magazine a while back. I meant to post about it then, but you know how I am. Here is a link to the article on their website.

In the meantime you may have a peek at the website. Constructive critique and comments welcome.

I don’t dislike Macintosh computers. iPods are alright (but overrated). As with iPhones… but I would never buy one.

But why does Apple have to have that egotistical, “holier than thou” fanbase? Oh, and I can’t exempt the company itself either, not after the “I’m a PC, I’m a Mac” advertisements.

You are not cooler if you own a Mac. You are not hip if you use an iPhone. You are no better or worse than any Windows user.

I don’t like Microsoft, but I think Windows XP is a good, solid OS. I’m sure Mac OS is solid too. Maybe it doesn’t get so many viruses, but my computer is WELL protected and I have not had any malware on it since I got it nearly 2 years ago.

I’ve seen a stupid amount of Apple snobbery in my time. Even Stephen Fry himself sometimes tweets about Apple being better than Microsoft. Just get over yourselves people. Both are valid choices, and Linux is just as valid too. Stop trying to make it into some kind of battle. Windows users typically don’t care about any of this. Indeed, Windows is dominant and unlikely to have its monopoly usurped – and why? Because Macs are too specialised and expensive. Windows can easily be installed on just about any old hunk of motherboard and hard drive.

So what I’m saying is this: Apple snobs ruin Apple for everyone. Just stop it, okay? If you guys weren’t so loudmouthed and obnoxious, maybe I would have been more willing to investigate Macs, but as it stands I am aversed to them. I don’t want to turn into some hipster trend-follower, obsessed with white and grey gradients, listening to some sh*tty hip hop I bought off iTunes and changing my blog name to “iNatalie.”

Sorry about this rant, but it’s been pissing me off for a while now. Had to vent.

This is by no means a persecution of Apple users, by the way. Just of Apple snobs.

Site Flight has come in leaps and bounds since my last blog post, but I also spent a lot of time working on a website I don’t think I’ve mentioned here. It’s called the Illawarra Directory, and it’s something of a marketing gimmick that doubles as a useful free tool. Everybody wins! Except, perhaps, my competitors. It will be a business directory. I have a development area with the site as it is, but it’s currently password protected so you won’t be able to view it at the moment.

So anyway, if you want to see how Site Flight is coming along, just click here. So far I’ve created a number of pages, all of which I am pretty proud of. It’s absolutely the most aesthetically pleasing site I’ve ever made, and also the least reliant on tables. I don’t fully understand what’s so terrible about table-based design (I listen to the arguments against them, but it still doesn’t click), but it’s admonished by a lot of website designers, so what the hey. Gotta keep with the current standards and all that.

As for NEIS, phew! For a two-days-a-week course, it’s incredibly hectic. The problems lie in what we have to do when we’re not there.

Oh, and it doesn’t help that on Tuesday next week we’re each meant to spend 10 minutes in front of the class… doing something. What we do is apparently up to us. WHAT THE…?! How am I supposed to think of something? Seriously, that’s lame. Why can’t we be given SOMETHING to work off. Free reign is great, but for this sort of thing? Gah!

Click the thumbnail to have a sneak peek.

Edit 4/2/09: I have changed it a bit. Turns out the style for the .lightbg div was lacking the capability of expanding with my left and right main columns. This is an experimental fix. I have Firefox 3, IE7 and Opera 9 and it works on all of them. I need to find out, however, if it works on other browsers. Can anybody help me out?

The main reason I ask is because it made Dreamweaver 8 go a bit bonkers. What I did was changed the  float property of .lightbg to “left”. I couldn’t find any other way of fixing it.

Repeatedly.

Still thinking about it.

I have a very strong leaning right now, though, to the reseller hosting of FlexiHostings. It has huge stats, the price is quite good, and there are unlimited client accounts, something which the other hosts don’t offer. The highest on NetLogistics is 30 (which is just too small if I want to do this long term) and the highest on MD is 100 (better, but the reviews are still bad).

The only question I have is about support, which I am waiting on a response for.

I will need to wait until next weekend to get the weekend special (buy 1 year get 2 years worth).

Until then, I have registered http://www.siteflight.com.au on MD. Yes, MD Web Hosting. It’s okay though; it’s only going to be my domain registrar.

On Friday, I got an ABN, Business Name Registration and potential client! I was text messaged by a girl that is also doing the NEIS course, and wants a quote. I’m waiting on an email from her explaining what she wants exactly. I’m not really ready to start trading yet, but whatever!

In my comments I’ve been recommended two hosts, plus there are some more that I have been looking at and may also be good, but it’s hard to tell. Some have very few reviews, some have some bad reviews, some have good reviews which may be suspect – how do I know they didn’t pay someone to write that review?

So, I am going to really have to think about this carefully, since it is something very important to my business. Now, my current international host servage.net has a lot of bad reviews out there, though except for the hacker I haven’t encountered any problems, and their support system is great. So it’s not only the good reviews I have to take with a grain of salt. Some decent companies can have their names tarnished by just a couple of angry customers – and given how huge Servage is, it’s natural that there are a handful of people that aren’t satisfied.

So I’m brought to a point where I may just have to fling myself at a host, and if I’m not satisfied with it, I’ll need to move.

Here are some of the plans weighed out. Included are the things I consider somewhat important.

Now, I don’t necessarily want to be a reseller, but it might be good to have that option there.

So looking at these laid out this way, I can see that each company has its strengths and weaknesses. I suppose I have to ask myself what is most important to my business, taking into account the most balanced plans in the table.

MD Web Hosting has some awful reviews, but the cheapest domain registration (not shown in table) and okay plans. It also has a large reseller program.

FlexiHostings is, ironically, the least flexible when it comes to Add-on domains, offering no more than three. However, it is great in most of its other stats. If I chose this, I wouldn’t be able to host any client websites through my account if I wanted to do so. It also has the odd scathing review. Bonus: I have had a personal recommendation.

Net Logistics is well-rounded, but can be pricey. It offers a reseller program, but comes short of FlexiHostings in terms of most of its stats. It may allow for up to 6 domains, but that hosting is $40 per month, which is simply too much for my fledgling business. I can actually get better value, in respect to this factor, at FlexiHostings.

Web City is apparently an offshoot part of the Enetica reseller program, and supposedly may have congestion problems (though I’m sure it’s probably better than Servage). It is quite good in its other respects, however. This is heavily edited thanks to comment #1; I was misinformed. Bonus: I have had a personal recommendation.

XKO is a little bit of an enigma. Its plans aren’t spelt out that well, but it seems like a nice little business. I think it may be a small operation compared to the rest, which I do want to support. Plus they have the whole “green web hosting” thing going on, which is pretty cool.

So, which one?

I just don’t know. I will sleep on it. Feel free to help me out if you want, but I guess the decision is ultimately my own.

So, I received this email from my cousin…

You know you’re Australian if….

Oh dear, it’s one of THOSE emails.

You know the meaning of ‘girt’

I learnt it once, but I couldn’t tell you now.

You believe that stubbies can either be worn or drunk

…Worn? You mean like shorts? O.o

You think it is normal to have a Prime Minister called Kevin

Yeah, don’t get this one. Kevin isn’t exactly a weird name.

You waddle when you walk due to the 53 expired petrol discount vouchers stuffed in your wallet or purse

We have a new-fangled thing called an Everday Rewards card at Woolworths now.

When you hear that an American ‘roots for his team’ you wonder how often and with whom

Yeah, this one is funny. For those that don’t know, ‘to root’ someone is to have sex with them.

You understand that the phrase ‘a group of women wearing black thongs’ refers to footwear and may be less alluring than it sounds

Yep.

You pronounce Melbourne as ‘Mel-bin’

More like… Mel-b’n.

You pronounce Penrith as ‘Pen-riff’

I hate people that don’t know how to pronounce ‘th’.

You believe the ‘L’ in the word ‘ Australia ‘ is optional but either way, the ‘ia’ is pronounced ‘ya’.

True.

You can translate: ‘Dazza and Shazza played Acca Dacca on the way to Maccas’

Highlight to view answer: Darren and Sharon played ACDC on the way to McDonalds.

You believe it makes perfect sense for a nation to decorate its highways with large fibreglass bananas, prawns and sheep

They have nothing else going for them!

You call your best friend ‘a total bastard’ but someone you really, truly despise is just ‘a bit of a bastard’

I don’t call anybody a bastard, I’m more likely to call someone an arsehole and only under my breath.

You think ‘Woolloomooloo’ is a perfectly reasonable name for a place

It rolls off the tongue! “wool-a-ma-loo”!

You believe is makes sense for a country to have a $1 coin that’s twice as big as its $2 coin

Neither are as heavy as a £1 coin so it’s all good. 50c coins, however…

You understand that ‘Wagga Wagga’ can be abbreviated to ‘Wagga’but ‘Woy Woy’ can’t be called ‘Woy’

I guess so…

You believe that cooked-down axlegrease makes a good breakfast spread

…Is this supposed to refer to Vegemite?

You believe all famous Kiwis are actually Australian, until they stuff up, at which point they again become Kiwis

I only view those who live in Australia as Australian. Like Russell Crowe. And when they “stuff up”, I don’t care. I never idolised them in the first place.

You know, whatever the tourist books say, that no one says ‘cobber’

WTF does ‘cobber’ even mean?!

You know that certain words must, by law, be shouted out during any rendition of the Angels’ song ‘Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again’

I only learnt this one recently. Highlight for answer: “No way, get fucked, fuck off!”

You believe, as an article of faith, that the confectionary known as the Wagon Wheel has become smaller with every passing year

It has! Seriously!

You still don’t get why the ‘Labor’ in ‘Australian Labor Party’ is not spelt with a ‘u’

Indeed.

You wear Ugg boots outside the house

Actually, I found that people in England are far more prone to do this than here. It’s bizarre and dumb, it’ s not like uggies are very good shoes. I always viewed them as slippers.

You believe that the more you shorten someone’s name the more you like them

I’ll have to agree with this one. Sadly I only know a couple of people whose names I shorten – one is my sister and the other doesn’t like it

Whatever your linguistic skills, you find yourself able to order takeaway fluently in every Asian language

Um, no. I know “hello” in Mandarin.

You understand that ‘excuse me’ can sound rude, while ‘scuse me’ is alway polite

Yeah.

You know what it’s like to swallow a fly, on occasions via your nose

You understand that ‘you’ has a plural and that it’s ‘youse’

GTFO, I hate “youse”.

You know it’s not summer until the steering wheel is too hot to handle

*nods*

You biggest family argument over the summer concerned the rules of beach cricket

Beach yawn, more like.

You shake your head in horror when companies try to market what they call ‘Anzac cookies’

Yeah. They’re biscuits!

You still think of Kylie as ‘that girl off Neighbours’

I’m a bit young for this one. I think of her as that annoying woman that is clearly English now, and Australia should stop trying to claim her because she hasn’t even lived here in forever.

When returning home from overseas, you expect to be brutally strip-searched by Customs – just in case you’re trying to sneak in fruit

I’ve never had a problem with Customs in Australia. America on the other hand…

You believe the phrase ‘smart casual’ refers to a pair of black tracky-daks, suitably laundered

I hate tracky-daks.

You understand that all train timetables are works of fiction

Yep. Not dissimilar to British Rail.

When working at a bar, you understand male customers will feel the need to offer an excuse whenever they order low-alcohol beer

Unfortunately, yes.

You get choked up with emotion by the first verse of the national anthem and then have trouble remembering the second

Who the heck gets choked up from the Australian national anthem?! It’s true that a lot of people don’t remember the second verse, but that’s because the anthem gets boring after the first verse. Nobody cares about it.

You find yourself ignorant of nearly all the facts deemed essential in the government’s new test for migrants.

Most likely.

You will immediately forward this list to other Australians, here and overseas, realising that only they will understand!!

No, I will only post it on my blog, ’cause I don’t like clogging up peoples’ inboxes.