Blog has moved...

If for some reason you had added this blog on a rss reader... Well... It all changed!. I will not be running it from blogger anymore. So, the new rss can be found in http://spacingout.net/wp/feed/.

Sames goes if anyone has linked or bookmarked the blogspot site... Not that a lot of people read this anyway. Heh. But for the few friends around that care now and then, well... There you go!. Update stuff!. ^__^

Todd Goldman...

Honestly dude... You suck. That's it.

(If people wonder why... check this and this).

I did it...

Finally did it. Gave my self the chance to enjoy some of the money I have been making through a small "guilty pleasure"... I got me Alan Moore's "Lost Girls". ^__^ He he he. Albane makes fun of my obsession with books and reading, and I totally can see that... Going to a bookstore and walking out empty handed is almost impossible for me... I read A LOT all the time... I guess it's my most consistent hobbie (since I do seem to chance interests quite often)... But this one book I have been waiting for so long!, since I knew it was on the making... And then, when it came out?... OUCH... Expensive!...

But damn it, sometimes we need to treat ourselves right?... So, I just did!. ^__^

Now I can't wait for the thing to arrive. *sigh*.

Anyway... Back to writing a thesis. Just had to write about that!

Cheers

So...

I don't think I will be posting for a while. The main reason is that I will be really into getting my masters done, writing a thesis, etc. But as well, any hint of free time that I'd devote to this blog will be devoted to the wordpress crazyness. I want to turn spacingout.net into a site that I'd put in my business card.

If I end up living in Mexico, and doing business and all mostly down there, maybe I will get another domain name and at the end of the day, spacingout will remain solely my personal ranting web-corner. Too many ideas right now in my head about what I want to do!. He he he... Then again, there is nothing new there.

Cheers!.
And a ton of good vibes. ^__^

[update] while I am messing with my server, the blog will be hosted on blogspot again. The main domain will redirect to the proper spot. :-) And wordpress stuff is working kinda.

Google themes...

I am amused and happy about google themes, heh... Read about them in wired, and use them following this link. If you are like me, and check many news sites, blogs, tutorials or silly stuff daily, then personalizing your homepage is a good idea to keep track of all the feeds... AND... The themes are cute!. He he he.

How's life going?... Still busy. Had a presentation with supervisor today, and went decent. But there is so so much to do. The next 8 weeks I will be in crunch mode.

Working on: prototype, later writing a thesis.
Projects on hold: making this website interesting and useful.

Correct that... Working on: staying awake! O.o

Another quiet wave...

After been posting again for a few days, this blog finds itself with yet another quiet wave. The reason: work work work. I have only a few weeks left to get my masters done!. Can you believe it?... It's been almost 2 years already!... Damn!.

So, what's been going on:

• Installed wordpress, and been playing with it. Eventually I will migrate.
• Thinking about buying a Mac. I hate windows vista and don't want to deal with the damn thing. Besides, unix based, virus-free environment, and boot-camp with the chance to have windows on the same box, makes it a good deal.
• Stuff is awesome with the girl, distance sucks, but plans are going well.
• Learning a lot about Flash and ActionScripting.
• Hanging out a lot with Chris, doing magic and having good times.
• Other than that... Not a lot of social life. Heh.
  

Cheers!

My anxious obsessed-driven

self has taken the goal to do a full migration of this blog into wordpress... I love blogger with all my heart, and have been a happy user since 2003... But it's just not good enough any more... I wish they had a solid category engine, separate rss's for each categories, "read more" features, and a bunch of things... ** sigh **

Anyway, the point is that, I have been going through my blogger archives, formatting for export, etc, and I bumped into May 2006... I am smiling so much... I saw this "this story like many others" post... I can't believe how many things have happened since I wrote that... So many. I am another man, and she is even another women... As in love as I was then, I had not even a clue of how fun and cool she could be, of all the things we would live...

I mean... When I wrote that, I didn't even know if I was going to see her again... And now?... We are discussing our apartment's decoration.

Sometimes I get asked why do I blog... This is why I do it. For self indulgence and amusement... To keep such a clear window to my past, in which I can dive now and then and analyze my self from a 3rd person perspective... Smiling, and realize how little did I know, how things have changed... And how, indeed, everything always works out the way it's supposed to. And then imagine when my kids read this stuff!... Or my grandchildren... Heh...

... ah lala...

Cheers for that. ;-)
(I will get that wine bottle sitting there open just because I'm stoked).

---

[update: now the "azucar" doesn't even exist!... it got burned!... no wonder why I was sad when I heard about it... so many good memories come from there]

Champagne and Guacamole

The night before I left to Canada I was invited to a nice birthday celebration. Actually, that is kind of the reason why I stayed until then... 80th birthday of Albane's grandfather!... :-)

It meant several things, like great food, a lot of champagne and good wine... But to me, it mostly meant: meet all... ALL... the family, and getting deeper inside the "family circle"... I was happy!... I had such a nice time. Heh... There were over 40 people in this nice house they have by a forest, food was awesome, and the mood was friendly and of good conversation. Of course, there was a lot of older people, heh... And some of then are not horribly energetic party animals... :-P But it was nice!... I finally meet all of Albane's uncles and aunts, and had nice chats with several of them.

Yes... I had nice chats with several, form young to quite old... In French!... I don't seem to believe it my self, but... I guess I am not that bad!. O.o He he he... People are impressed by it, and we have nice full conversations in which I do understand everything, and do my best effort to make my self understood.

I think I am in that stage in which I can listen and understand most of it, but articulating is still not perfect... "subjunctive" and a little bit of the grammar construction fails me, which makes me speak like "Tarzan" sometimes... But hey, we can understand Tarzan right?. Heh... That's what matters.

I was quite pleased, as well, that everyone seemed to enjoy the guacamole I made!... Heh... People were eating it a lot, and giving it "praises"... Which made me smile, and laugh about the whole concept about having nice champagne while eating guacamole... Good clashing of cultures right there!...

One funny thing was that, when saying good bye, I was kind of cornered and surrounded by a lot of her family, and we talked/joked a tad. They kept making me red, and at some point they asked my family name. When I said "Padilla" several of them, including her mom, did say with a smile "ah, albane will keep her initials!"... (she's Prouveur)... Heh.

And earlier that day, we visited her grandma (mom of her dad), and after a nice chat and when the time to say good-bye came, the phone rang so we had to wait for her a little. Close to the end of her conversation she excused herself because she had to hang up, because Albane and her "fiance" hector were there. =)

Heh... I was surprised by her using that word, and when I asked Albane it indeed means what I assumed. Heh... AHHH... Good times. I smiled so much.

I am in love with this girl!!!... I want time to speed up, the summer to arrive and pass by... Late summer / early fall Albane and I may be living together in "our" apartment. And that idea makes me the happiest guy in the world.

^___^

Good vibes.

Waiting by the gate...

Something I wrote while waiting for the plane to take me across the Atlantic:

And now... Waiting in Copenhagen, the funny place where the airport is too big, and the sigs and letters are just saying stuff like "Kskundrgend"... I don't believe there is a way to pronounce those things, I am sure the airport designer got a kick of writing weird things up, and imagine people's reactions.

Anyway... Signs are good, and universal. I could find the bathroom, and with a credit card all you need to know is to "pay" whatever you grab in the food-court, no matter how much you are paying for it... Heh. Weird currencies don't make sense either, and make the whole paying thing quite funny.

... And already, I am feeling that horrible "withdrawal"... I am imagining Albane alone in her appartment, getting her stuff ready, maybe doing laundry, while everything is a little too quiet. I imagine her missing me, and wishing I was there to give her a hug and a kiss while she's doing reading for her school... And it breaks my heart. ** sigh ** I imagine her going to bed, just like we were all this nights, just that I won't be there... "that side" will feel much too empty, and she may just hug my pillow and wish I was there...

And it breaks my heart...

And I see my self arriving later to Edmonton, open the door to my appartment and get into my "cold" room... This utilitary place I have created to exist in, but that makes no sense and feels too foreign... It doesn't feel like my room anymore, it doesn't feel like my bed... Not if she is not there.

I see my self laying down, closing my eyes, and missing knowing she is next to me, hearing her breath... Feeling her coming to cuddle with me...

... I am missing her already a lot, and it's just been a few hours. This travels, and this times of being and living together don't make anything easier. They are wonderful windows that show how good life feels when I am around her, but at the end... Windows that fade and I am shaken into reality by that horrible good-bye-hug in the airport, and walking away from her... Knowing it will be a while before I have her in my arms again.

... ** sigh **

And yes... it breaks my heart.

------
[note: now, back in Canada... i can say I was right... My room is too cold, and my bed is too empty... it really is not the same]

Things so far...

Time in France is about to end... It's already Friday, and in two more days I will be on that plane... I don't want to be on that plane. :-(

I have had a pretty nice time here, not because it's "France" perse, but because I am sharing my everyday with my girl. Having shared several of this "times" with Albane, makes me really appreciate the whole "living together" idea. I guess my biggest fear had always been the loose of individuality, or my "alone" space since I enjoy the hermit role a lot... But since we started doing the "staying together" thing, even before she left Canada, I have missed having her around. Specially, since we respect each others space, and we can be doing our thing... I can be reading, or working on my computer... She will stop by, give me a kiss or say something funny, make me laugh, and then we both go on... It feels good.

Soon I will go back to going to bed alone every night, to waking up wishing she was there... Ah lala. Either way, we both hope this "distance" situation will come to an end quite soon. ^__^

And well, in general, I have been having a pretty cool time. My last visit was much more touristic and "vacation-like", now we both have been working a lot, and living "real" life. Still, I had a long weekend in Paris!. I am so grateful to Albane's dad for that... O.o (and a little shy about it too I guess). We were so close to the Opera in Paris, and just 5-7 minutes walking to the Louvre (which I finally got to visit)... And so the "Mona Lisa" or "Gioconda" or whatever... And was, of course, disappointed by the event. Heh... Much cooler things to see in that place.

We got to visit "the catacombs" this time, which is COOL!... Visited again Montmartre, and had a nice coffee in the "Cafe de Flore" in St. Germain, thing that I wanted to do for a long long time!. Heh... St. Michel, the walks, the talks, the food!... ** sigh **

Another thing to note was my weekend with her family too. :-) It was super nice!. They are all so welcoming and make me feel comfortable around them, although I keep thinking they are just too nice, they say my French has gotten better and better. I am happy about that, I notice I can understand it quite a lot now, and my speaking it, regardless of my disbelief, seems to be getting quite better too.

As well, the time with the family had a nice warm feeling, last time there was expectation and nervousness!... It was the "meet the family" experience, and I felt judged and under the view... Now I felt like coming back around a bunch of nice people, I did meet more family members, but it was always nice to all of them!. It seems, as well, that I keep making a good impression. Heh. Albane's mom had a nice dinner in our honor!, and her grandma cooked Frogs just for me... He he he... Yummy!... O.o

No really... Frogs were good. Much much better than I expected. I was afraid to be rude and make a "yuck" face when I had the courage to eat a tad of one, but then I realized it was not bad at all, fear washed off and good times!. ^__^ I even had a second serving... ** sigh **. The food that weekend was all the time superb.

French people make a huge deal about eating, it's not just getting stuff to go on with your day... There is an aperitif, with some alcohol involved, and yummy snacks every time!. Then, when eating there is usually the starter, then a nice meal, then a salad, then good cheeses with bread, and then dessert!... All the time with good wine and conversation. :-) And so goes lunch, and so goes dinner... Ah lala... I shall miss that!.

And the chocolate... THE CHOCOLATE!... No wonder why they don't even know Hersheys exists (It's hard to explain when I talk about my brother's job). They have fine little chocolateries, where things are beautifully placed and decorated, and a nice lady with globes and a cute little utencil picks carefully every piece of chocolate, and places it in a beautiful little package. Every chocolate has it's unique bunch of ingredients and taste and... ahh!...

He he he... You get the idea. :-)

And yes!... I was talking about her family... It was nice!. Being silly around her sister, nice talks with her Mom, and her Mom's boyfriend is super cool and nice!. Albane gave me as a present an "introduction to Qi Gong" so we went to that too... All and all, the weekend was fun and full of good sweet times. If anything, now and then, I felt a tad of sadness, realizing how great her family is, and what it really means for her to leave this world in order to be with me... That... That is hard to explain. I am so so lucky.

... sigh ...

Anyway... The week is closing, I should go back to work and enjoy the time left. Cheers people...

Good gives and hugs.

I am afraid...

I am afraid... VERY. I have been using blogger.com since 2003... THAT IS A LOT OF YEARS!... 4 years using this thing, have seen it change over and over, versions, stuff... Yet... That part of me that wants to turn this spot into a "better", more interesting, better organized site, just knows that blogger doesn't have all the functionality. And that is what frightens me. To get our of the cocoon.

Jumping into hosting my own blog, in a way that if anything happens all my posts would disappear... O.o ... GONE!. Blogger and google?... I mean, they wouldn't just "lose" my blog right?... But... I know I would... Heh... I am quite clumsy and a stupid server command or something and... GONE!...

I know how I want things, how I want to organize them, the kind of information I want to post about frequently, and how to keep all those random rants "semi-coherent" to make better sense in this place. I DO want to post more about stuff, "advice", and general important stuff about life as a young-one growing into adulthood, and as a graphic artist... Not only recounts of my life, but make this a site that I would care about if I wasn't me. O.o

So...

Wordpress?... Any advice on the matter?.

Working bits...

The stuff I keep doing for slide seems to be working fine, the users are accepting it, and everyone is happy!. Here they discuss one thing I helped with, and it's cool to see something I made being discussed on mashable with screenshots and all!. Heh. (Then even mention some of the skins I have helped develop!). ^__^

I am proud of those silly bouncing basketballs too!. ^__^ Nice to see when things work.

Celebrity thingies...

Heh... Nice silly procrastination time took me to this now...
Heh... Gotta love facebook, and the chance of watching whatever silliness is John Arnold up to. :-P

777 posts...

Celebrating the 777 post of this blog... ^__^

I like 7... and I believe 777 is of some sort of luck... no?...

---

On another note... I am scared... Real life... Work... ARGH.

Cupid is funny...

While I was doing my research on "cupid" for that animation-illustration project I did for Slide.com I bumped into these articles... And they struck me as very interesting, since I know many couples that, after 1 to 2 years, they break up... There is even people that become "serial daters" and go from a one-year relationship to the other... Just feeling that "love fades" but... It really just our body chemistry changing... Anyway, here are the articles... Read them yourself...

Article 1 (BBC), and Article 2 (Dailymail).

I have a bunch of little things, just like this one, on a 2-blog file... Random bits of stuff I find interesting, and want to talk about... Yet lately I really have been busy. I am getting tired of this "being busy" business by the way. I hope I win that lottery soon. O.o

Anyway, for all of you "serial daters" out there... There is nothing wrong!... Keep doing that if you want to, but... It's not love fading a way, it's just a change of phase... And, it seems... If you give it the chance, this new stage will bring a nice, warm long lasting relationship... Which, at some point, you people may want.

It is like that movie "high fidelity"... The thing is, if the rush is not there, it doesn't mean love is gone... Probably that is why there are so many divorces and breakups and single moms now a days... We have such a distorted version of what a "passionate relationship" should be like, by TV and media... That we just have grown to not acknowledge the change of phase, and see it as a good thing in the relationship... We would get to that phase, at some point, with anyone!... Better to know it, accept it, and embrace it. :-)

What's up?

Life? In france.
Completely different kind of trip, it's just being here really, for the sake of Albane. Yet no traveling or anything, just regular life, getting my work done and all... With the difference that I get to be with her, instead of calling her!. It's good times, quiet maybe?... Not a lot to say I guess, but a lot to enjoy for me. ^__^

ps. I want to live with her so much!.

Work?... All goes, A LOT. Getting overwhelmed now and then, but making things happen. Good offers for after the masters. Life promises to get interesting in July. I'm scared... I have avoided real life for such a long time, it just seems to be ought to get me finally.

SpacingOut?... Finally realized what is going on: A good website takes time. I KNOW THAT, I make websites, and multimedia interactive stuff... I know it takes time, effort, and that is why I charge good money for it. But when it has come down to my own site, I just try to put something together quickly during one evening. Using some template and with minimal effort.

Minimal effort doesn't do it... I will treat my self as a client, that requires time, proposals, and actual working. Not just copy-template-paste stuff. I want this site to be slick, lively, and resourceful. A good spot for interactive-media developers to stop by, and a good spot for my friends to hang around. And so it will be.

^__^

In the mean time... Shut the thing down?... Or just keep it the way it is... May just keep it as it is, for the sake of not showing the "temporarily down" stuff... Since "temporarily" could mean "a heck of a lot of time" in my case.

So, about christmass break...

So many things!. O.o

I was quite excited about going to Mexico for many reasons, one is that my brother was finishing his degree and graduating!!!... ^__^ And the other, that Albane was paying a visit and staying with me FOR A MONTH!. ** sigh **

So, you can imagine... Great times all the time. Albane arrived the day of my brother's graduation, so time was super tight and stressing since... Well... She did arrive, but her luggage decided to stay in Madrid. O.o THAT SUCKS!... I mean, usually it's not a huge huge deal to wait one day I guess, but that same night was my brother's party and we all were supposed to wear super fancy stuff!...

The party started at 9:00pm and her luggage arrived kind of at 9:30 pm... Heh... Stress!!!... We made it though, and the party was good times. (Right Albane?... wink, wink). It was on a beautiful spot, and we went out for a while to see the sky. As cheesy as it sounds, we did saw a super cool shooting star!... Heh... Awesome "awwww" moment... La lala...

As well, being a party day, it meant that Albane got to meet EVERYONE all of a sudden... like... PUM!... Here is aaaaall my family, some friends, etc, etc, etc... She was a tad overwhelmed, heh... But at the same time it was good for her shy-factor. It was my brother's graduation, so the attention was mostly on him. :-) Good!. She did look GREAT on that dress during the party, so... She did got quite some looks there... GRRRR... Anyway... I felt proud holding her hand.

The one thing that suck during this break, is that I didn't hang out a lot with friends that I usually visit when I got to Mexico... But the first half was quite family-oriented I guess, and the 2nd we were traveling around and doing "our" thing. Either way, she shall be in mexico again, and this time since we have already visited all this spots, it will be the turn to socialize and meet my friends!!!. ^__^

So, yes... Albane got to experience the Mexican posadas, a typical christmass, new years and all!... Every day was a little new discovery, some different kind of food or chile, etc. I was nervous since she hates eating with her hands, but at the end she was awesome with tacos!... he he he... And liked them a lot too. ^__^

It was quite a different feeling from when I went to France, since in Mexico we were in my house with my parents and all... Yet it was cute to see her interact with them, and that they liked her quite a lot. My mom was impressed and happy looking at her making those typical french crepes!... He he he.

Traveling wise, we went around the main areas of Guadalajara, all my favorite spots at least... Colomos, Zapopan, Chapultepec, Downtown, San Juan de Dios, a couple of malls, etc. She loved the Colomos park, and feeding the squirrels... he he he... She look so happy, as if it was a dream come true!. ^__^

Of course we went around Guadalajara, like to Tequila to the Jose Cuervo tour, Tonala and Tlaquepaque... Tlaquepaque was super cool, beautiful day, and she loved it. It's just "that kind of place" I guess. Besides we went with my parents, Victor and his girl, and it was just good times. The problem is that I felt quite sick... O.o ** sigh **... Some "quick - flu" thing... But other than that, lovely day!. Heh.

We did try to go to Manzanillo, but Albane got sick so we had to come back right away... :-( But then we got to have good times in Puerto Vallarta!... So we did go to the beach. And Vallarta was fun, we saw when they released baby turtles to the sea, we went on a boat and saw HUGE whales, and monkeys and crocodiles!... he he he... And yes!... A dolphin was swimming by us for quite a while... Snorkeling and all those fun things. ^__^ (She was so cute feeding the fishes!).

And... What else?... Mmmh... Travel wise, Mexico City!... Awesome times, and we had a great weather. We went to the Museum of Antropology, Teotihuacan, the Castle and Lake of Chapultepec, and nice walks and talks by Paseo de la Reforma and the "Zona Rosa"...

It was not only showing her my country, but it was rediscovering as well!... I learnt a lot I didn't even know about Mexican history, and it's always see the same "usual" places through the awed eyes of a foreign.

I did get to share time with some friends, and a lot with my family and my brother... As usual, it was impossible to do everything we wanted to do, visit every city, etc... but we did a lot!... (( sigh )). It's always fun and write about this things, eventhough they happened a while ago, it just makes me remember and smile!... ^__^ I guess that is one of the main posts of this blog after all...

Cheers and good vibes!!!!

---

By the way... Albane made a slideshow with many cool pictures of us from Mexico... In "La Paloma", Teotihuacan, etc!... Here it is. :-)

About this blog...

I just figured something out... I really don't like the new layout that I made for this website... It feels ackward, and weird... And not "like home". I have been VERY busy this f***ing term, so I have not posted as much anyway... But still, it's like... "pffft"... I... Don't like it?. O.o

Really...

** sigh **

Ok... I may change it, if I ever have the time. I am thinking about oranges, blacks and... Grays and white and... much more contrast and eye candy... Isn't it dull now?... Whatever... I should be writing anyway.

Time in Mexico was damn cool, and I am already going to France again soon!... If I don't keep writing I will never catch up. :-(

Mexico: albane arrived, victor's graduation... fun fun!. christmass and all this thingies, family meets albane!... he he he, good times. New Years and all that... Zapopan, Tlaquepaque, Tonala, Chapultepec... Chapala... Mexico CITY!... Yay... Good times Chapultepec Lake, Puerto Vallarta... I miss her too much now. :-(

Really, I promise details!. :-P

Where is hector?...

Hector is working...

A lot... TOO MUCH!!...
But all goes well... I got a new job with San Francisco based "slide"... You can see the stuff I just recently did on this posts on their blog: post about crush, post about cupid. ^__^

Or... If not, you can see this and get an idea. ;-)

back...

I am back from a great break... Yet... Having to get caught up with so much work... ** sigh ** So... It will be a while before I can start posting regularly again... I have A LOT to say about my break... It was very VERY good times... Albane was there all along and... Well... Things keep getting better and better with her... Friends and family, as usual, good times.

... As well, I am thinking the color layout of spacingout.net, currently, has me very unimpressed... So I will do something to fix that... Any ideas?

Cheers
- hector