The Michael Swayne Story V: King of his Castle

I arrived at work at the usual time of one hour early, and proceeded to work on the December 6 issue. My main job of the day was to get the full page for the Shoe Mart completed. Like how I dream about how to get through difficult parts of videogames, last night I dreamed about how to tackle the ad. In order to not have to keep switching from the template I was sent and the actual ad making software, I made a hand-drawn copy of the template.



Then, I added the pictures needed to complete the ad. Unfortunately, I didn't send the Adobe file to myself so I could show you, but trust me in that it looks nice. At first, I had it with a green background because of it being a Christmas sale, but then I remembered that the ad was going to be in black and white, so I wasn't sure how it would look printed out. I asked Misty when she came in, and she said to change the green to white. It makes the pictures pop. So I did.

Then that afternoon, I worked on a couple more big ads (Super eighth, and a quarter). Both were for car lots. The S8 has a picture of one of their cars right in the middle, with the business name on top and their contact info and hours on the bottom. And the quarter has eight car pictures with info about each of them. Which struck a question in me: What is the difference between a sunroof and a moonroof? One car has a sunroof, another has a moonroof.

I still haven't received approval on the Shoe Mart ad, because the person who approves it wasn't at her office today. So that ad is still in the tray, along with one ad I didn't have time to work on today.

As I was getting ready to leave the office today, the owner showed up. She said that the paper looked great, and complimented me on how I was progressing at such a high speed. Then, she asked if I would be interested in doing specialty print projects. There is a menu that needs to be finished, and offered the project to me. It is a $1500 deal, and that is big-time for the office right now. So, I of course accepted.

I am quite amazed that I would be offered such an important project so soon. Anyway, I will get more info on it Monday when I come in. I will now be doing both the paper every week, and working on the menu when I can. One thing that makes me nervous is the looming possibility that I may be getting my time in the office cut from three days to two. With money coming in as it is, it is possible I may have to work more efficiently. This makes me a little nervous, because though I am catching on fast, I am still not confident in my skill to finish a paper in only two days. The slowest, and most important part, is to make sure everything is sent to press correctly and on time. If for some reason the paper is late to press, we could be charged $175 for it being late.

But otherwise, work is great! I love what I do. I asked Iris what I am supposed to put on my timesheet for my composing work, as it has been two weeks. She told me that we would have a meeting on Monday to discuss it. So, I left it blank. I didn't get a chance to tell her what I mentioned in here a couple days ago, because I was so busy. But, I was never too busy to help everyone else. If someone needs something done, I will gladly do it. Today, Iris and I talked about how Gabby wasn't motivated to sell ad space. She was more interested in Instagram on her phone (what is Instagram anyway?). Iris tried to get her to call people for ads, but it just didn't sink in too well. Iris asked if she was maybe pushing her too hard or not enough. I said that maybe it wasn't enough, because if Gabby doesn't sell ads, then I can't build ads, and Iris can't bill ads. And if there isn't any money coming in from ads, then none of us have a job.

Anyway...

As I was leaving town, Suzy pulled over to the side of the road. She stopped to ask if I wanted a ride. I said no thanks, and went on my way. I knew what she was doing when I saw her. Part of me wanted to just keep pedaling. But I stopped. When she asked me, part of me wanted to say "No, because I don't like you." But I was polite. I continue on my way, thinking that maybe I shouldn't be so nice, maybe I should have been mean that way she'll take the hint and maybe not come over to the house so much.

She's here again. I fully plan on talking to Dad again. I don't care about what the outcome is. I won't stop until he realizes what he's doing to his family by constantly disregarding what we want only to please himself.

The plan for tomorrow is to play video games. After this week, I think I deserve a long gaming session. That's all for now. I hope to see you around the forums, and until I do...

Later!

Michael