Today I was informed that as of February I'll no longer have a job. Apparently my entire department is getting laid off and all of the work we do is going to get out sourced. I'm pretty disappointed. It is not the end of the world, I'm sure I could find another job in four months; I'm just going to miss the people I've met at work.

It also means that I need to reevaluate my current priorities. The illustration projects I have been working on and planning to start soon need get put on the back burner for now. I'll have focus in on finishing up my website and getting my resumé up to date.

My to-do list:

1. build a flash based splash page
2. remove my front page PHP redirect
3. update my web design portfolio
4. remove a bunch of my older illustrations from the site
5. double check the HTML and CSS mark up
6. post up a resume with printable CSS style
7. build new "contact" and "about" pages

My plan to take a break from being a workaholic for year is totally kaput. At least it was fun while it lasted.

Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot...

It's Guy Fawkes day; remember to question your leaders, remember to oppose tyranny, remember to fight injustice in all of its forms. Remember that our freedoms were granted to us by our revolutionary founders. Founders that were once called terrorists. Take nothing for granted.

I think I need to start using my humidifier. I think that my apartment is so dry that it is keeping me from getting a full night's sleep. This fitful sleep nightmare BS is just ridiculous, I'm 26; I should be sleeping like a log.

It is funny for me to think of love as a drug, but I was reading this article on howstuffworks.com which takes a look at the chemical responses in the brain during relationships. Being in love literally releases hormones that give you a high. Oxytocin, Vasopressin, and endorphins seem to help create emotional bonds and instill a general sense of well being. When the relationship stops, the hormones stop getting produced. While we are emotionally most vulnerable our bodies start going through withdrawal. It isn't pleasant to live through, but the science behind it is pretty cool.

Meeting people is like trying to solve a puzzle with shifting pieces. As you talk, ask questions, and tell stories an image of the person begins to form in your mind. If you are lucky, the person you meet is actually someone you want to get to know. If you're not lucky, you waste time and suffer through awkward moments, embarrassment, and irreconcilable differences in opinion.

But when does someone cease being a stranger? At what point do you know someone enough that you start to care about their life? Is it a matter of how much you know about them, or is it what you know about them?

I think that it is what you know about someone that makes them seem closer to you. Because there will always be little details about someone that you'll never learn. The important parts of them are what help us envision the big picture. Knowing that someone is bright, that they love their dog, or that they are close to their father are all pieces that fit together. Learning more about them certainly changes how you look at them, but the big pieces, the pieces that make you like someone; they are already in place.

Isn't there ANY way Santa could fit this into my stocking?!?