Bottled Sky

What do you get when you combine copious amounts of instant coffee with an ill-conceived plan to rid oneself of designer’s block? A new theme!

I’ve been in some kind of design funk this past couple of months, and I’ve had just about enough. I figured that the best way to crawl out of it was to impose a deadline, so I decided to force myself to participate in the Spring 2007 Reboot with only one-and-a-half days left. As you can see, I somehow managed to squeak through, albeit several hours off target. I blame my fandoms for distracting me

Anyway, this layout is entitled “Breathe” — as in “breathe easy” or “room to breathe” and not “the exagerated sound Darth Vader makes when he exhales.” I was experimenting with different drawing styles when I came up with the illustration I used for this layout. I loved how the swirls in her hair turned out, so I decided to make a theme out of it.

This is actually my second attempt at creating a layout around that drawing. I started working on the first version almost four months ago, but I lost interest in the design before I could even finish it. It looked quite different from this one — all soft and quiet with its pale pinks and minty greens. Hmm. Now that I think about it, maybe the reason I lost interest in the first version was that it wasn’t anything like me. Needless to say, I like this one a lot better, or it would have ended up in the reject pile, too.

Let me know what you think! Like it? Hate it? Found bugs crawling about?

As for my designer’s block, I’m cautiously optimistic that I’ve broken through it. I definitely won’t be ready for another caffeinated cramming session anytime soon.

An online acquaintance died yesterday. Hearing about the death of someone I know always leaves me feeling disoriented, but this one was particularly shocking since she was only a little older than I, and like many people, I associate death with old age. It really goes to show how unpredictable life is and how anyone can die anytime in a countless number of ways.

It also made me wonder how many abandoned sites out there belonged to people who have died. Not that I’ve never thought about that before, though. In fact, a couple of years ago I gave my FTP password to my friend Chrissa, along with instructions to post a quirky and light-hearted death announcement on my site just in case it’s still around when I die. Something morbid but funny and maybe even cute, I told her. Tall order? Nah. If anyone can pull that off, it’s Chrissa.

I mean, she wasn’t even weirded out by my request, as I’m sure my other friends would have been had I asked them instead. She actually likes the idea — at least enough to give me access to her LJ account every time she travels abroad, so I can do the same for her should her plane crash. (Hopefully I will never have to.)

This reminds me, I need to update her on a couple of password changes I’ve made since migrating to WordPress. Hey, it’s better to be prepared.

My computer mouse has gone bat-shit crazy. The left button is sticking, so almost every left-click behaves like a double click. It opens multiple windows and accidentally closes others, deselects things right after I select them, resizes windows at inopportune moments… the list goes on. It’s ANNOYING (note the angry caps locking).

We bought that mouse not even a year ago. The one that came before it lasted a good several years before croaking, so in my mind it has no business malfunctioning so soon. I’m going to have to buy a new one, unless one of you knows how I can fix it. Any suggestions?

Speaking of mice, here’s a cat drawing I made for Tracy. (Yay for segues that really aren’t!) I used it for a thank-you card I sent her in January. I love it when cats purr