I score!

Along with the zoological experiences acquired while roaming the streets of German football-mania, I need to declare two matches that have ended in my own favour.

Johanna – Joomla 1:0

It took time but it’s there – my new and very self-made website, put together with my weak white hands in the late hours of restless nights. You can take a look at johannamai.pri.ee.

And more good news, I’m playing German in the higher league now. It’s a bit weird how quickly the language sticks when it’s around you all the time. I started at B2 in April and have been upgraded twice. I’m the worst loser of the group but it’s better than being bored among people with lower level. Give me more of those tasty modal particles of yours!

Learning to

I snatched a nice book to read from the meeting room shelf. “Learning to see, A Matter of Light” by Howard M. Brandston. 2008. It’s cool. It’s very much about the creative “Rules are a substitute for thinking” and “You can’t think of something you know nothing about”. In my opinion it makes sense. People believe too much what they are been told, spending their lives imitating other people. The book featues a Richard Brimsley Sheridan quote: “The burden on the university is to increase the number of those who are willing to undergo the fatigue of judging for themselves” Nice and inspiring words, and quite true.

It’s still good to be helped by rules and traditions until you really know what you are doing. “Know the codes, rules and recommended practices so well to be able to decide when not to be bound by them”. And it’s hard, bad and ugly work striving towards the level of proficiency where you can just tell it all “screw you” and do it your way.

Masterplan

I’ve got a masterplan. It’s been years since I knew what I was doing. Everything has been uncertain, people have been uninformative and ideas have died before they were born.

I’m the kind who has to know what I’m doing. A direction, an idea, something to work for. I think I’m a control freak. I need the Point to live for, it’s kind of lame to float around waiting to see what floats by. At least for a while I know what I need to do. Will start now.

And just you wish I’m going to tell you what the masterplan is.

Links to Preview Imagemaker and Evoluxion

You can spend a day surfing Preview Imagemaker. They have documented their graphic design projects to detail and show the dirty backstage how world-class ads are born. Click on the post-production wizard hat to see what digital editing is done, on the camera to see the final ad and then the pre-production globe to see how the material was created. This is great fun.

The Evoluxion magazine of ProLicht (click Service>Evoluxion) is fun, too. They don’t have their latest one online but maybe it’ll appear sometime. It’s both in German and English and they have nice pictures of new widgets (not only lighting, but also interior design and media) and cool book recommendations to take a hint from.

Reporting of duty

It’s been hard to find any time blogging, thinking, writing or anything alike. Days have become a twirl of life, work, day, night, food, sleep and summer. It’s hot here.

I’m the queen of AutoCAD. Yeah, I did it.

It took weeks of agony, pain, frustration and suicidal whining but I am now able to produce accurate technical drawings that might make sense to base any constructions on. I’m glad I got here. In the last two days I did a ground plan – section drawing of a exhibition room and a detail construction of a custom ceiling fixture. Drawn from scratch. I can even configure the settings in the german-speaking CAD.

In addition, I am continuously forming a better understanding of the technical qualities of light, lighting fixtures and the practical difference of light bulbs (ripe vegetables thrown at my school curriculum, in a friendly way, of course).

I’ve gotten to know Berlin, too. A city feels familiar when you establish familiar paths. When it’s not the first time you spend the morning hours at the bar you like so much. When it’s rare to have a cashier at the grocer’s you don’t know yet. When you get excited and make a list when asked to recommend a good place to eat.

And, something I’m really proud of, got promoted to a higher level at the language school. I’m learning C1-German (and there’s only one level higher than that). Bite me.

Leather Lighting

THIS is a webdesign worth.. (fill in the gap)