How to be a Rockstar Freelancer

Has anyone read “How to be a Rockstar Freelancer,” the Official book of FreelanceSwitch? If so, what are your thoughts? Is it worth checking out?

Check out the book at Rockablepress.com.

A Day in the Life of a Web Designer

Your friend tells you that he or she is a web designer. You think to yourself, “Oh, that means he or she is a designer.” Wrong. It’s much more than that. Design barely graces the surface of the title, “web designer.” So just what does a web designer do? I can’t answer for all web designers, but I can tell you what it’s like for me. My routine consists of me juggling a number of tasks, which include:

• Emails. I’m constantly checking work emails for new web design projects (who isn’t?).
• Work. I am 100% passionate about my job, so when I work, I work hard. Projects usually involve creating multiple design comps, which can be quite time-consuming.
• Field trips. As a government contractor, it’s all about pleasing the client. Even if it involves field trips, such as running errands at the Pentagon.
• Twitter. I love using TweetDeck, a Twitter interface for my desktop, to read the latest hot finds that other web gurus have posted. You can follow my tweets at @kristinandrews.
• Other Blogs. I like to keep up with others in the industry, so during downtime, I scan my favorite blogs for today’s posts. My favorites: Smashing Magazine (by the way, they wrote a great post on 2009 Web Trends), Web Designer Depot, You the Designer, Just Creative Design, Outlaw Design Blog, and ILoveTypography. Occasionally I’ll drop by Cameron Moll or Jeffrey Zeldman’s place on the web.
• My Blog. When I feel inspired, I zip over here and craft up a post or two for the day.
• Tutorials. It’s imperative to practice design, so I like to work with Photoshop tutorials on the web.
• Code. A true web designer is a hybrid of web design and web development. A good web designer will take the time to write clean code. As for me, I can always use more hands-on time figuring out XHTML/CSS/Javascript examples.
• Play. When you work hard, you play hard. Web designers like to play, too. It’s not unusual to fire nerf gun darts and foam hand grenades at coworkers around the office.

Overall, good web designers do a lot to keep up with the industry. They eat, breathe, sleep web design. Oftentimes, many have a freelance business on the side or as their primary source of income. Either way, it’s a fun industry to keep up with. While I’m no expert, I am passionate about what I do and love to spread the word about great finds.

I’m always open to answering questions, so fire away!

Friday, September 26th, 2008

Four months into the working world and being on my own.

It’s been four months since I graduated from college. Within three weeks after graduation, I managed to get a job, move to a new city, and find an apartment, all while [barely] keeping my sanity. I dedicate this post to the changes that I have come to discover with this new phase in my new life…

My very own place.

In college, I would have a very random schedule filled with classes, activities, and lunch dates. No two days were alike, which I liked. You could say that I’m afraid of boredom, so the college lifestyle was a very thrilling time for me. Being busy posed problems with my roommate, especially since it felt like we always just missed each other. Nowadays, I live a very routine lifestyle with a few spontaneous activities thrown in there and with no roommate. I decided not to have a roommate, which I love because I can come home to a place the way I left it. Because of my choice, I live alone… very alone. It’s not easy to meet people and build friendships. Because of that, I’ll admit, it was nice to be able to have someone to talk to or to watch TV with. I didn’t like it sometimes because I would find the dishwasher still hadn’t been emptied, rent checks uncashed, etc. Nonetheless, I’m very content.

Bills, bills, and more bills.

Fall is here and I find that it’s a welcome change, especially in terms of the weather. I no longer have to leave the AC on in my apartment, which is the one luxury I can’t live without, but it’s also the most expensive luxury I have. Thanks dad (he’s the same way). Last month, my electric bill was about $75.00, which makes me wonder if that’s high? Seems high, especially because I’m the one shelling out money for the bills. 😛 Having a roommate is very helpful when it comes to splitting bills.

Being smart (or not so smart) with my money.

Ever since I started my job and moved out on my own, I’ve kept track of all my purchases. I figured it was a good habit to get into. I organized it by month, which is easy to do if you keep up with it at least once a week. It gives me a chance to take a look at my spending habits and where I could probably cut back, like my impulse buy last month of a $100 hookah (my guilty pleasure). Speaking of hookah, I got a new shisha flavor: cantaloupe. It’s a very smooth flavor that gives me a nice buzz. Definitely recommend it.

Rise and shine!

I find that my bed time is much earlier, especially since I wake up at 5:30am. If I go to bed past 10:30pm, it’s a struggle to get through work the next day. I feel old… so sad. But thanks to my morning cup of coffee, I manage to get through it just fine.

Working woman.

I. Love. My. Job. It’s been my goal to pursue my passion in life, which is web design. I always knew I loved computers and I am creative. What better than to put the two together? I am so fortunate to have a job that I can say I love. It’s also a job that stays in the office when I leave, I never have to take my work home with me. Amen.

More later…

September 20th, 2008: Irish brews, lightsabers, and Garrett popcorn.

Birthday celebrations continue…

Yesterday my coworkers and I went to Sine Irish Pub at Pentagon Row, which was a great time. It was a joint celebration with my boss, because his birthday is tomorrow. It was one of the best times I’ve had with my coworkers aside from our happy hours, which are far and few in between and need to be more frequent! We had conversations about many weird things, such as:

• light sabers
• future of web technology
• how Honey Bunches of Oats should have just a Bunches of Oats cereal
• how I am having a lucky charms breakfast date with Deepa, who has no idea why Americans put marshmallows in everything
• last Halloween, a coworker carved 4 pumpkins with President Bush, Osama Bin Laden, Hitler, and someone else’s face. Straange.

Our conversations taught me something about our team. Even though we’re so different and we all have our quirks, this is the best part about my job; I work with such an eclectic bunch of people, which gives me a lot to laugh about in the office. 😛

Anyway, they made my day very special. I’m so lucky to work with a kick-ass bunch.

Speaking of Lucky…

Tonight I’m headed to Lucky Strike in D.C., which is a bar/bowling alley/pool hall. I’ve never been, but I heard about it when I was in Chicago. My friend Diana, “Cagefighter” as I call her, is taking me. She recently moved back to the area from Brooklyn. I’m so happy, especially because she is one of my closest friends. She’s a solid girl who has her head on straight. How she got the name “Cagefighter” stems from our trip to Biloxi, MS during Thanksgiving ’05. It was during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and we both won a lottery to spend a week gutting and rebuilding homes. She worked her tail off that week and somehow gave her the nickname Cagefighter. She coined me Mighty Mouse.

Last night Marcus and I had dinner at Outback where he presented me with a card and a tracking number for a package from Garrett Popcorn in Chicago!!! This is not your ordinary popcorn, either. They have this mix called, “The Mix: Caramel Crisp & CheeseCorn.” Normally I don’t like my food touching. Okay, so call me 3 years old, but it’s the truth! However, this is an exception. The mix of the sweet and salty makes it easy to inhale in one sitting. 😉

He also ordered it in the Chicago edition tin, woop. Man, I miss Chicago… ::sigh::