My trip to the south is the first of many, since my future in-laws live down in Gainesville, Georgia. But as this is my first time here, I had to get all the touristy stuff out of the way, like buying cowboy boots and consuming an unhealthy amount of biscuits, fried chicken, and sweet tea. We had plans to ride horses and shoot a shotgun with our family friends, but the rainy weather isn’t agreeing with us.
This year, I’m spending Thanksgiving with Mike’s family in Florida. We drove seven hours from Gainesville, Georgia to Destin, Florida in a van packed with six people, two dogs, and enough food to survive a zombie apocalypse.
I’m in Georgia! I’ve been looking forward to this trip. It’s my first time here – my first time in the south, actually.
I’m staying with Mike’s family in Gainesville, Georgia. In case you’re confused, my Asian looking fiance is actually only half Asian. His parents are divorced and remarried, with one family living out in the Bay Area, and the other half (Caucasian side) living in north Georgia. They’re wonderful people who have practically adopted me into their family.
After leaving my job at Mule Design, I finally had some time to myself to think about what I wanted to do next. It was a bold move to leave a job that I enjoyed so much, especially without a plan for what’s next. I still get crazy looks from other designers.
Anyway, I gave myself about a month to ponder over this, while I worked with Mike to get Tinkering Monkey up to speed for the holiday season. (Side note: We launched our holiday luminaria today) It was bliss. I loved working for myself, and at my own pace. Mike is working on Tinkering Monkey full time now, so it was wonderful to work on our business together, in our pretty new loft.
Then I got a job. To leave that lifestyle and go for a full time job meant that the work had to be amazing. It needed to be challenging, influential, and something I’m really passionate about. Life is too short to do anything else.
Today is my last day at Mule Design. Crazy, right? Most designers would kill for this job. It comes with dream projects, great clients, and some of the smartest people in the industry. I wasn’t here for long—only a year, but I’ve learned more in that time than I have doing anything else.
Working at Mule was the best place I’ve ever worked (really). Everyone is amazing. Everyday we work together to solve problems, get things done the right way, and don’t give up until we do. My design director Mike is a great mentor that I wish I knew a long time ago. You should hear what he says about running a design business, because he’s damn good at it.
Why am I leaving Mule? To be honest, I don’t have a good answer. It’s more of a gut feeling. Unlike most people, I start to feel uneasy when I get start to feel comfortable somewhere, which to me, is a good indication that I should try something new that terrifies me. Don’t ask me why. It’s just how I tick.
People ask me all the time what my plan is. I’m proud to say that for the first time in my life, I don’t have one, but I know things are going to turn out great. I’ve learned that the big successes in my life were from listening to no one else but myself. These were the decisions that were rebellious, difficult, and risky. These were the moments where I’d quietly listen to what people want me to do, and choose to go the other way. It’s makes me trust my gut more often, because somehow I know what I’m doing is right.
So here it goes.
I sold my car, quit my job, and moved to the other side of the bay. I’m closing one chapter of my life, and opening up another full of uncertainty. I have no idea how it’s going to turn out, but I know that my deep desire to solve problems and help people will lead me the right way. I’ll always stay curious, find meaning in what I do, and hopefully, leave my mark in the world.
I’m a little terrified, but it feels right. This time, my life is up to me.
I’ve been engaged for five whole months! It has been great. In fact, nothing has changed other than:
The good thing is that I’m lucky that 1) we think that weddings are overdone anyway and 2) I have the best friends and family in the world who are ready to help at a moment’s notice.
So here are answers to the most frequently asked questions. The truth is, I really don’t know what’s going on, and I’m okay with it. We’ve both been busy, we’re in love, and we’re happy. There’s no hurry.
I moved! I’m now living in an amazing work/live loft in Oakland, and I couldn’t be more excited about it. It’s my first time living in an open space like this, AND it’s my first time living in the East Bay. I never thought I would do either, but I’m loving it so far.
The place I’m moving into is called Cotton Mill Studios. If you live in the Bay Area, you may know what I’m talking about – its the big brick building where 880s turns in Oakland.
The building is in a small area on the industrial side of Oakland called Jingletown, where there are a cluster of buildings like ours which houses art studios. I don’t know much about Oakland, but so far it seems like a suburban extension of San Francisco.
The thing I’m most excited about is community here. Everyone in our building is an artist, designer, or creative business owner. People say hello and hang out quite a bit at the BBQ area downstairs. It kind of reminds me of being back in school, where those around you have different backgrounds but share similar interests.
There’s also an quarterly event here called F3 which I’m looking forward to participating in. It’s an opportunity for artists and designers in the building to showcase or sell their work and open up their studios to the public. There’s even a fashion show that takes place on my floor.
The question that’s been going around lately is, “Should designers know how to code?” My answer is yes. If you’re serious about your craft, it’s essential that you know how it’s produced.
Coding is to web design as typography is to visual design. It’s not the final product, but it’s essential to understand before anything good happens. —Brian Haslanger
At one point, anyone who made anything was required to know about the materials and processes that they had to work with before their jobs became so specialized that they didn’t have to anymore. But why so? If you’re a chef, shouldn’t you know where your food comes from? As an industrial designer, shouldn’t you know how things are manufactured? If you design websites, shouldn’t you know how they’re made? How else are you going to know about your abilities and limitations, and how to fix something when it breaks?
Here are ten reasons why I think designers should learn how to code.
Man, sorry for the grainy images. That’s all I got.
Whenever I see “Cupertino, CA” engraved on the bottom of an Apple product, I can’t help but feel a little bit of pride. Though I’ve lived my entire life in the Bay Area, I have a soft spot for Cupertino, because that’s where I spent my childhood.
It seems like I’m not the only person with a soft spot for Cupertino. Steve Jobs is too, which is why he’s keeping Apple there by putting their new building close by. He lived there, worked there, and started his kingdom there, so it only makes sense that he’s finishing his legacy there (sorry, but we all know he’s not going to be around forever).
I just watched him present his plans to the city council. I grew up miles from the headquarters so I’m familiar with the places he’s talking about. I know those roads! I’ve eaten there for prom! I’ve even seen that awful power plant he talks about! My dad used to take me to the headquarters on weekends—back when their signs had the old rainbow logo.
Mike proposed to me last night, which means I’m engaged! WHAT? I know! It’s crazy talk.
It didn’t sink in until this morning at 5am, and then I couldn’t sleep, which is why I’m writing this on my hotel balcony now. (I’m currently on vacation in Hawaii). Total shocker. I mean, I knew it was going to happen eventually…maybe in the next few years or so…but I didn’t know it was going to happen now.
