Sometimes I feel trapped in my current job because of Visa sponsorship. I can only work full-time in this country because I need to have my employer sponsor the Visa. There were few opportunities that I couldn't pursue because of this issue. A job offer that I couldn't take because of this issue,

Frustrating.

But… it also has built me. This situation has taught me to persevere and forced me to deal with projects and circumstances that I normally wouldn't want to face.

I've been wanting to start my own business for a while now. I figured that since I run the entire production process in my current job, I might as well do it for myself. If I could make the creative team grow from 2 designers to 18 with 4 teams that run 24 hours a day, why can't I do the same for myself?

The answer is, I might play it too safe, thus the growth won't be as rapid.

Although there are many times when my boss' "faith" in me scares me, I have to give him credit for it. He constantly pushes me to go to the next level, whether it's in the work quality or turn around time. These things that have produced growth in my professional life would not have happened if I run my own company.

I believe in divine appointment. I believe this is God's way of training me.  

Sometimes I don't feel like working.

I think to myself "If only I have the perfect job that has this and that, I'd be more effective and I'd give it all." So I look and wait for another opportunity with those variables.

But then I realize that I'm setting myself up for apathy by dwelling in that kind of thought.

If I cannot learn to be effective in my current job, I cannot be effective in any job. I'll always find an excuse and blame the job situation for my own mediocrity. 

There is no perfect job. 

If I let that kind of thinking trap me, I won't get anywhere. For example, if I'm not willing to work hard because I don't like my boss, then I can't really gain any experience that can bring me a better job.

While browsing threads on flashkit actionscript board, I came across the following tutorial that shows how to adjust a certain portion of your movie while making other parts static when the browser dimension changes.

This tutorial has good explanation, sample movie, and downloadable fla file. here's the link to the tutorial at tutorio.com Intro to Flexible Flash Layouts

I worked on a presentation cover that has Oscar (Academy Award) theme today. 

As I did a little research browsing around their official site, I came across the page where the official posters from the last few Academy Awards are displayed.

My initial reaction as I browsed through the older designs was "Hmm… these look pretty cheezy." Particularly the ones from the year 2004 and 2000. I expected moer sophisticated designs.

As I thought about this in my evening walk after work, a thought came to my mind. I realized that just because they don't fit in the "sophisticated" box according to today standard (or to narrow it even more… to my standard), doesn't mean they're bad. 

They were done during a different period, which had different trend in style.

Style is like a language. Different languages or dialects may sound "funny" or "annoying" to you, but what matters is the message that's being communicated.

You can click the thumbnail image above to see my "language" of design to communicate the sohistication and glamor of the Academy Awards.

The organic shape above that I used in that design is available for your project.

Click here to download the eps file . 

I played around with pattern today.

It's pretty cool how the object that we create can be used as fill pattern. This is probably a very basic thing for people who use Illustrator a lot, but this is something that I just discovered today. Needless to say, I got carried away.

Feel free to use this for your project. Here's the link to download the eps file.  

Today I tried to just let myself free to try out various styles in one illustrations. Basically I just let my hand wander and do what it pleases.

Here's what it looks like.

If you would like to use this for your own project, download the eps file here .