A Day of (rather unpleasant) Firsts

Well, I sent out my first personal promotion book today. Oh, my... can you say nerve wracking? I mean, I'm no longer just in a classroom, and not sending some blind application out online. I actually sent a piece of me, my work, my craft, and my ideas, and now I have to wait and see if it's loved or falls flat on its face.

Now, I imagine most of you are wondering, "What the heck is she talking about, a 'personal promotion book'?" Well, it was my final project at RIT; I suppose you could almost call it a thesis. It's a project sent to potential employers to make me stand out from the crowd. Essentially it's supposed to be a concentration of my best, most marketable qualities. So... do you understand the stress and paranoia yet? One piece, one single object, to sum me up and scream "Hire ME!"

What is my project? A book. Yeah, a book. BUT, I make really cool books. It's hand-made from materials (papers and cardboard) purchased in about 20"x30" sheets. I forgot to take any pictures before I sent it out, but I'll be making more books to send to other studios and will take a picture of one of those. It's gorgeous with gold covers and a navy-blue, accordion style (concertina) spine.

Now, it's not just an empty book, either. Actually, the concept is pretty heavy, and personal, too. The title is "Kunst. Функция. Design. The Language of Design" (translation: "Art. Function. Design."), and is about the correlation between the elements of design and language. So, I'm basically hoping it will wow employers with my superhuman constructive skills as well as my scintillating intellect (hahaha).

Anyway, I've been incredibly uptight about sending out this book, and getting (or not, in the worst case) the coming criticism. I wanted to send it out early this morning, but didn't get to the post office until late. I wanted everything to be perfect with the package when I sent it, and took a long time just tearing over the little details. When I finally did get to the post office, I made my acquaintance with another rather unpleasant first.

My first auto accident.

It felt rather strange, being 22 and not really knowing what insurance information I was supposed to get. I probably didn't do it all right, but I think the girl that hit me is very honest and won't try to cheat on anything. We were in the most horrendous parking lot I have ever experienced, with perhaps half the needed parking spaces and too many people desperate to find a spot. I had pulled in off the street and was attempting to merge with traffic in the lot when an SUV in front of me decides to back up for someone leaving. She never even saw Ant's tiny Mustang. I put on the horn, but I wasn't quick enough for her to react in time, and it tore up the front quarter panel and scuffed the bumper pretty well, too. Thankfully it was nothing more than body damage.

So, that's my thrilling day of firsts. I'm glad that Anthony's coming home on Thursday, and I'm hoping his insurance covers additional drivers in his car (otherwise the other driver's insurance won't pay). In the end, I'm hoping for luck with my promotional send-out, and smooth sailing processing the repairs of my boyfriend's car. What a day.