Finally figured out what the deal is with GRPH 250, which I need to pass in order to graduate as a graphic designer. I’m so nervous … I don’t know the percentage of passing students or if I’m allowed to edit work, but if I don’t make it I’m seriously screwed. I’ll know my fate on March 13th. From the JMU School of Art and Art History site:

Admission to the B.F.A. emphasis in Graphic Design is selective and competitive for a limited number of reserved seats in upper-division (300-400 level) graphic design courses. Declaration of studio art as a major and completion of lower-division (100-200) prerequisite art courses does not guarantee admission into the program. Admission to upper-division GRPH courses is based on completion of all prerequisite art courses and merit as determined by a faculty review of portfolios submitted in satisfaction of the course GRPH 250, Portfolio Review.

GRPH 250, Portfolio Review, is a 0 credit, pass/fail course that functions as a prerequisite to enrollment in all 300-400 level graphic design courses. Students should enroll in GRPH 250 during the semester following completion of GRPH 243, GRPH 244 and GRPH 246. GRPH 250 portfolios are reviewed each semester two weeks prior to pre-registration. Students should contact their faculty adviser or the area head of graphic design to determine the exact time and location for each semester’s GRPH 250 portfolio review.

NOTE: Any art major may take GRPH 243, GRPH 244 or GRPH 246, but is restricted from taking any 300-400 level graphic design course until GRPH 250 has been taken and passed.

Accepted students who receive a passing grade for GRPH 250 will be able to register for GRPH upper division courses for the following semester. Students not accepted will have one opportunity to reapply in the following semester or may choose to continue in another emphasis within the School of Art and Art History.

On a completely different note, Hanson was briefly mentioned in Monday’s issue of The Breeze in an article about the acoustic band Herb and Hanson … it’s not much, but still kinda cool IMO:

The band is often confused with the late ’90s pubescent pop band Hanson, but the similarities end with the name. Herb and Hanson are hell-bent on taking it easy at your local bar with their weapons of choice — two guitars.

WordPress 2.0.1 was also released today, so if you use the software and haven’t upgraded yet, go now!

Work tonight was a lot better … maybe ’cause I was only there for 2 1/2 hours (and most of the people had left)? LOL. Got to meet Amy’s dog, Sadie, who’s a 1-year-old black lab (I think) with tons of energy — she kept jumping up on me, but it was cute. Also found out that Amy and I have pretty much the same ideas with web design/coding, i.e., we’re all for web standards and XHTML and CSS and tableless layouts (I even told her about FileZilla since she was still using WS_FTP LE, which isn’t updated anymore) … it was like yay, and she kept saying how much she’s looking forward to working with me (we’re planning on redesigning the whole MAIC site by the end of the summer). I made a graphic today too! Well, sorta … I copied a chart someone had made in Word into Illustrator, which I’ve never done before, so I guess it counts … hopefully it’s to their liking. Then I fixed a typo in another graphic, but that took 2 seconds. Also got my work schedule figured out:

Monday: 5 pm - whenever
Wednesday: 3 pm - whenever
Friday: all day

So yeah … as long as the MAIC people like most of what I do, this job is gonna be awesome.

Even though Coca-Cola is pretty much copying Dr. Pepper’s flavor by adding “black,” I can’t wait to try it! See the press release here … I wonder when it’ll start appearing in Harrisonburg’s middle-of-nowhere stores.

My work computer is driving me crazy — it has Mac OS 10.2.8 on it, and I’ve tried all I can think of to download either Firefox or a newer version of Safari so that the AJAX in my Gmail account will work (not to mention the ability to add labels, contacts, etc.), but no … when I click on the .dmg file nothing happens, and I don’t know what’s wrong since I don’t normally use a Mac, especially this kind — I can get by on the ones in the labs at school, but this one is like a whole new world for some reason. Can anyone point me in the right direction lol?

As for actual work, I haven’t really designed anything yet. All I’ve done is optimize images for the web, email back and forth with a bunch of people (including the freelancer who always works from home … wish I could actually meet him and talk face-to-face, but oh well), and print drafts. Monday I’ll be working on something with Amy for an hour, and then after that probably the 3 CFPs (which will be interesting since I have to design them from scratch).

But anyway, I’m heading out soon — been here for over 6 hours and all I’ve had to eat today was Cheerios at home around 8 am and half a doughnut around 2 pm. My lab fees are also due today and my dad said he wired me money and got a confirmation that it went through, but my account is none the richer (which means, I think, that after 5 pm today they put a hold on my records and professors can drop me from their classes and other fun stuff). Ugh. Bye!

Edit: Had enough money for my $72 ceramics fee, but that’s it … hopefully I’ll have funds in the morning

I am now a graphic design assistant at Mine Action — I can’t believe it! I thought I’d bombed the interview (kept stumbling over my words) but then 2 hours later Lois calls and is like hey we’d like to offer you the position What’s cool is that not only will I be doing design work with a freelance person, but also web work (Lois saw my HTML experience) with Amy, the awesome “web diva” who reminds me of my Computer Graphics professor. So yay for my first design job (even though it’ll make me insanely busy with up to 20 hours a week) — I start Friday at 9 am!

New frickin’ awesome layout IMO — what do you think?

This is a good sign — the two graphic design positions I applied for have both contacted me Here’s their stats:

Job Title: Graphic Designer
Company: Workforce Improvement Network
Description: Help design graphics for an interactive learning CD series called REEL to REAL. The successsful candidate will have experience with Illustrator and Photoshop. Animation experience is a plus. We’re looking for an enthusiastic student with creative ideas who knows what looks good. 9-15 hours/week starting now and working through Spring 2006. Schedule is M-F.
Pay: $7/hour

Job Title: Graphic Design Assistant
Company: JMU Mine Action Information Center
Description: Support the Senior Graphic Designer on publications, including the Journal of Mine Action, an international journal published in print and online semi-annually. Hours are flexible and approximately 10-15 a week with more hours available during the summer (candidates should be available to work for most of the summer). The duties for this part-time position would include preparing graphics for layout, assisting with layout and editing of publications, maintaining in-house photo database, and otherwise supporting the Senior Graphic Designer. Candidates should also have a good work ethic and be able to learn quickly as well as work well with minimal supervision.
Pay: $6 - 8/hour

I know the pay isn’t anything extravagant, but it’s better than nothing and would give me experience (something I really need). I’d rather do Mine Action since it’d extend through the summer and sounds a little better than the first, but if they don’t call me back within a day or two I’ll go with Workforce Improvement. Here’s hoping to finally earning money again.

Edit: I now have an interview with Mine Action on Wednesday at 2 I just have nothing to wear ’cause I was stupid and took all my nice clothes home for winter break …