Fixpert

2006 has been a whirlwind for me. The themes this year have been challenge and change. There have been moments of great joy, and moments overwhelming sadness. But I’m happy to say that apathy and stagnation did not rear their ugly heads, and I think that alone is a bit of an accomplishment.

In fact, now that I’m thinking back to one year ago, it’s hard to believe that this much experience and living has been crammed into just 12 short months.

• Fixpert Inc’d then Un-Inc’d - Put this one in the emotional roller coaster category. I got Fixpert Inc’d at the very beginning of the year and worked for myself for a few months. It went really well, client work poured in immediately. There were some things I really like about working for myself, like being able to go outside and go for a run in the middle of the day. But, I really missed the social aspect of working with other people. When a great job opportunity came along, I took Fixpert Inc apart. I think it was the right thing to do, but it was a really difficult decision and a sad time.
• Hit by a car - Those that know me know that way-back-when I spent a couple years as a bike messenger, including some time in the saddle in NYC. Amazingly, I managed to emerge relatively unscathed. Well, 6 weeks after moving to LA I was hit by a motorist while riding my bike simply because he failed to use his turn signal properly (please signal before you turn). Luckily, I wasn’t too badly hurt, but I’m still receiving physical therapy for my shoulder, my bruised/cracked rib seems all healed up. This event really shook me and opened my eyes to the seriousness and danger of my choice to be a bike commuter. Unfortunately I also had some friends that were struck by cars while riding bikes in LA this year, resulting in some very serious injuries: punctured lungs, burst kidney and liver, broken jaws, broken orbital bones and noses, on and on. Please respect cyclists! Slow down, be patient, give them room, and for god’s sake use your turn signal! It could save someone’s life. Please! Human beings are soft squishy things that break easily when struck by 2+ ton behemoths.
• Single again - I don’t want to get into this one too much, but my boyfriend and I parted ways last Winter after 3 years together. We’re still friends and keep in touch, but this was a really hard thing to go through.
• Moved from Virginia to California - There’s so much I could say about this one. A source of many ups and downs, many challenges. Overall, career-wise I think it was a good decision, although I am still wrestling with being 3,000 miles away from my friends and family whom I love dearly. Christmas was my first time home in 8 months, and it was a bittersweet occassion.
• Leaving my dog Pizza behind - Because of the move, Pizza had to stay behind in Virginia, and my ex-boyfriend got custody of him. This was totally and completely heart-breaking for me, but resulted in a better life for Pizza, so I think it was the right thing to do. The thing about leaving your dog behind is you can’t chat with them on the phone, and you can’t explain why you had to go, it’s just utterly heart-breaking. I still miss Pizza all the time.
• Daily sketchbook journal - This year I began a new ritual of drawing in a sketchbook every night as a way to document my day — a concept stolen from Chris Ware. This has been a great addition to my life, and as a visual person, a great way to document what I’m going through. I hope this is a habit that sticks with me for the rest of my life, and I totally recommend it to any of you doodlers out there.
• Loneliness - Having moved so far away from home has resulted in a lot of loneliness for me. Unfortunately, if you are lonely and admit that you are lonely, you run the risk of sounding pathetic, but I think being lonely is very human and natural for us as social creatures. Doing my nightly sketchbook journal has helped me to see that this is a theme that consistently pops up in my drawings, something I might not have noticed otherwise.
• Lots of time for hobbies - The up side of loneliness is that I have had a lot of time to pour into my side interests and hobbies. The key is not losing focus or momentum, and just having fun! I’ve learned to write down goals for myself, even for the fun stuff I do so I don’t forget why the hell I started certain projects in the first place.
• Learning Spanish - Los Angeles is a great opportunity to be exposed to a variety of cultures, and it’s a great place to learn and practice Spanish. So, I’ve been brushing off my high-school level Spanish skills and studying that language once again. It’s a lot of fun and I have a practical opportunity to use it every day.
• Learning Japanese - My brother is fluent in Japanese and resides in Tokyo with his wife (who is Japanese). This year I started studying Japanese (spoken and written) with the hopes of being able to speak a bit in future visits to Japan.
• Riding the velodrome - This year marked my first ever ride on a Velodrome, something I’ve wanted to do for a long time! This was a high point for me. I’m lucky enough to have the ADT Event Center velodrome in Carson, CA just 20 miles south from here. It’s indoor, wooden, with 45 degree banked turns — the only velodrome of it’s kind in North America.
• Music! - I have reunited with an old love of mine — music! I’m playing guitar regularly again. I won a Fender Stratocaster from my previous job at Crutchfield, and it’s amazing what a quality guitar can do for your skills and enjoyment as a guitarist. I also bought a practice drum set that I’m able to play silently in my apartment. I’ve been recording little musical doodles on GarageBand and hope to polish them up for public consumption soon — you’ve been warned.
• My hair got really long - Ok, haha, this one is dumb, but my hair hasn’t been this long since I was 6, and as a tomboy it’s nice to have an undeniably feminine charactaristic like long hair. And the dudes seem to dig it, totally understandable since I’m not into dudes with lady-hair.
• Travel - I got to visit some sweet places this past year: Hawaii (first time there), Florida, Austin, NoCal, San Diego and Coronado, and just generally exploring the vast city of Los Angeles.
• Web Generalist to Interaction Designer - Along with many other changes, this year marked a huge career shift for me. I started the year as a Senior Web Designer (generalist), then I was self-employed, then I was an Information Architect, and now I hold the title of Interaction Designer. Without all the other stuff in my life going on, this big career change could have been enough to keep me busy and challenged this year. I’m really happy with the move towards Interaction Design, and I think this move is helping me to develop myself as a “T-shaped” person, as described by the folks from Ideo. This means I have a breadth of experience and skills, with depth of knowledge in one key area — Interaction Design. But, it’s been a big change, and a big challenge redefining myself in the workplace.

What’s to Come in 2007?

Short answer? Who knows! It’s an exciting time for me. In March, I’ll be speaking on a SXSW panel called Uniting the Holy Trinity of Web Design with Dustin Diaz, Jonathan Snook, and Cameron Adams. Aside from that, who knows what this year will bring. Hopefully lots of fun and friendship, lots of safe and healthy bike riding, and more career development. Less talk, more rock!