Hong Kong Or Bust!

We're taking off for China tomorrow! We'll be back in a little while, with plenty of pictures and stories, I'm sure. I'm not sure if we'll be able to blog from China, so you probably won't see another post from us until we get back. Until then, take care and we'll see you later!

Weekend Wind-Down #96

Well, Missy and I are going to be going to CHINA for work...we spent most of the weekend trying to tie up a bunch of loose ends. One of our errands was taking NILLA in for her check-up. I like to call it Nilla's yearly "oil change". We took her to the FIREHALL 4 ANIMAL CLINIC, which is right around the corner from our house, next to the fire station. Even though it was a short minute-long drive, Nilla meowed the entire time there and she was visibly nervous, shaking the entire time we were at the vet. She also shed a whole lot of fur! We're glad to say, she's A-OK...just still a little sore in her rump where the doctor stuck her with her rabies shot...













FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - I liked getting pizza...
RAOUL - All those few moments I actually slept!

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - My computer crashed!
RAOUL - 12+ hours at work this past friday.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY- Libby saying, "Baby hungry!"
RAOUL - Libby saying, "Baby want pie!"

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Baby want pizza!"
RAOUL - "Baby want pizza!"

IF YOU HAD AN EXTRA DAY BEFORE OUR TRIP TO CHINA, WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH IT?
MISSY - Rest.
RAOUL - Sleep!

THE ONE THING YOU ARE DREADING MOST ABOUT THIS TRIP?
MISSY - Probably the flights.
RAOUL - The long flight...I can't sit that long!

THE ONE THING YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST ABOUT THIS TRIP?
MISSY - Coming home!
RAOUL - The long flight...I need the sleep!

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - This American Life and Craftsanity podcasts.
RAOUL - Best Coast, The Smiths, Vampire Weekend, Pixies, Th' Faith Healers, PJ Harvey, The Magic Numbers, Beirut, Lush, M Ward, His Name Is Alive, DJ Shadow.

Hey, Printer!

Printing kit I got at the OCAF sale for $4!, originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

So we went shopping LAST WEEKEND at OCAF's thrift sale. it was alot of fun! I found this neat little printing kit. My dad is a printer, so I think he will be proud.




All the letters are teeny tiny rubber stamps. I had to break them apart in order to spell out messages.


Then I placed the letters on the templates. The templates are the yellow "billboard" pieces in the kit. This is the hardest part, so I can see why someone would give this item to the thrift sale!


I used the oval template for my design. I made my stamp for my Etsy orders that were shipping last week. I think it looks pretty good!




I think it looks really cute! It needed some help on the bumpy padded envelopes I use, so all I had to do was press the envelope into the stamp more than the stamp into the envelope to get a clear image.


I added some cute Relaxed Bear decorated tape to the envelope, and they were ready to ship the next morning!

Occupational Hazards 7

So, this past week has been very busy and stressful at work. Lots of long hours at work AND at home - there's not enough hours in the day at work, so consequently, I've been having to take my work home with me. One thing I've been working with at home is this stupid computer that I have to take with me to China. It's called a TABLET and supposedly, I should be able to write notes on it with a STYLUS, and then the computer is supposed to be able to turn my handwriting into PRINTED TEXT. It would be cool if it actually worked - but so far, it hasn't. I spend more time correcting misspelled words than I do actual writing, which is counter-productive on top of being super frustrating - and that was only when the computer wasn't crashing mid-way during my training sessions. All week I've been training with the computer, trying to get it to learn my handwriting style to no avail. So, I've simply given up and resolved to take notes the old-fashioned way, like I have always done on past work trips to China - with a STENO PAD and PEN, later transcribing and typing up my notes into the computer. I understand that using the Tablet is supposed to eliminate that extra step, but if the computer is going to misspell every other word I write or crash in the middle of my note taking, then it's totally not worth it. Working with the Tablet all week has just reinforced my belief, one-hundred fold, that PCs SUUUUUUUCK. They're confusing, totally counter-intuitive, unpredictable, and...the hardware is just plain ugly. I totally understand why most professional designers (and other creatives and design-savvy folks, for that matter) prefer MACS over PCs. I totally get it. Give me a Mac any day. Or pen and paper.

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2010!

We celebrated ST. PATRICK'S DAY by going out and getting a big-ass Italian pizza at TRANSMETROPOLITAN tonight. Haha. No green beers were imbibed. Shamrock 'n' roll, everyone!

Weekend Wind-Down #95

Holy crap...a week from now, Missy and I will be back in HONG KONG! How did that sneak up on us so fast? It was about two years ago since the last time Missy and I were both in China for work. In anticipation of our trip back, I pulled out some of my favorite photos from our adventure...if you're reading this on our blog (and not on Missy's Facebook page), you can access our old posts about our times in China by clicking on the "CHINA" button under our list of tags...

























FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Getting to stay home!
RAOUL - The OCAF thrift sale was pretty cool...lotsa cool deals.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Being sick.
RAOUL - Missy being sick.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Getting lost on the way back from the OCAF sale.
RAOUL - Driving around in circles friday night.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Eggs and erasers"
RAOUL - "Eggs and erasers"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Stir frys and "sick people food"
RAOUL - The spicy mock-chicken / seitan that Missy made the other night.

FAVORITE CHINESE RESTAURANT DISH?
MISSY - "Happy Family"
RAOUL - Mock Kung-Pao Chicken.

FAVORITE THING ABOUT TRAVELING TO CHINA?
MISSY - Getting to see some new places...
RAOUL - The shopping is awesome!

WORST THING ABOUT TRAVELING TO CHINA?
MISSY - Having to work 24/7!
RAOUL - The long flight sucks big time. I hate sitting for that long!

SHANGHAI OR HONG KONG?
MISSY - Hong Kong!
RAOUL - Hong Kong, hands down.

THREE THINGS ON YOUR TO DO LIST FOR THIS WEEK?
MISSY- Draw extra comics, wash clothes, feed the pets.
RAOUL - Put a vacation hold on our P.O. box, train with the tablet, pack.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Beulah, Quixotic, Pipas, Lou Barlow, Craftsanity podcast, This American Life podcast
RAOUL - Yo La Tengo, Madness, Pixies, Devo, The Hidden Cameras, Architecture In Helsinki, Spank Rock, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Herman Dune, Human League, Abe Vigoda, The Magic Numbers, Anti-Pop Consortium, Beans, Peanut Butter Wolf, Lazer Sword's "Future Blappin'" mix on XLR8R podcast.

Nilla Eighty-Three

NILLA was overseeing ZINE PRODUCTION at the Ranch last night...the FLUKE ZINE AND COMIC FAIR is just around the corner, and with our pending work trip to CHINA, we're going to lose a couple of weeks of production time. Hence, the jump start. We've missed out on Fluke the past couple of years, usually, because we were busy working in China. But this year, they moved the date as well as the location, and luckily, we'll be able to participate this time!