2008 January | Loving Jacqui

Things Are Changing

I’ve retired Loving Jacqui’s old header graphics for both the original blue and ghastly pink themes:

… and replaced them with new ones. The background image of the new headers is where we spent our first truly romantic five days alone together at the Forest Rise Eco Retreat in Western Australia.

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Dinosaur Technology

I received a fax:

Photo of Jacqui's fax saying 'I love you' in both our hands at the same time'

… using ancient, primitive technology. But it was a nice fax, so I forgive her. On the technology front, at least we were able to see each other 14,822 km away using the internet.

Why do I have a feeling in a little under a decade that will be outdated technology too? Is this the future? Or just plain silly?

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Good Taste

Except when it comes to women, where I have impeccable taste, Jacqui has better taste than I do.

For example, her Christmas present for me included a horizontally striped brown polo shirt, which goes against all of my internal “rules” on what I should wear: to wit, horizontally striped, brown.

Yet it looks great on me.

I spent the last few days designing a website header graphic and/or business logo. Whatever I liked, she didn’t like. Then I’d ask a friend. And she’d say, she doesn’t like it either.

Whatever I didn’t like much, Jacqui did. And her tastes forced me to create a new one I like even more!

For starters, here is my old business header graphic. I liked it, but very few other people did. Rob Neppell, founder of blogging and media consulting company Kithbridge, told me it was the least professional aspect of my site.

So… naturally… I developed this cartoonish logo with a child’s faux clock.

Then I remembered all the cheesiest self-made real estate salesperson websites and vacation time-share sites and said, “I can do that!” I really liked this one. Jacqui hated it and said it looked like something a flashy loud salesman would use. Oi!

I next returned to B&W simplicity. I thought the checkmark was so cool because you see I make bulleted lists and check them off when I’m done and… Jacqui said it isn’t cool.

She liked this one though. No checkmark. I liked the border especially and she said it didn’t work because of my photo to the left of it and another image to the right… so it broke everything up.

She really liked this one. I didn’t! So plain. I showed it to a friend of mine and she liked it too. She also hated the other ones I liked. I began to notice a pattern.

So why not take my favourite picture I’ve taken, a night shot of the ocean and Washington State near my home (click above image to see), and turn it into a website header graphic? This was MY favourite so far. Bear didn’t like it. Neither did my friend. ‘Cause it was dark. Dark! It suits the website. “But you can’t really read the text.” Hm. “And you can’t make out the background ’cause it’s so small while the original is big.” Ugh.

Then I hit upon a new approach and spent a significant amount of time on it. Since I use machine labeled manila file folders like there’s no tomorrow, why not go with a folder? And, better, I can colour code the top so when a person clicks on my coloured navigation tabs, the top changes colour. Sweet! I loved this. It was so cool. Jacqui didn’t like it, but oh well. Can’t please everyone. ‘Xcept my friend hated it too.

So I pushed forward and made this:

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That’s by far my favourite one, and Jacqui likes it too. It also makes good letterhead:

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Christmas Present

It’s January 15th and I just got Jacqui’s 2008 Christmas present 345 days early! She sent it to Canada from Australia by Express COURIER International to make sure it would be here in time.

She sent it over 11 months early!!

With THE AUSSIE HOMESICK PACK hanging
on the wall in the back. Click to enlarge.

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I MISSED HER! Yet I was glad to have some space to myself.

Her Bearness, Jacqui the Magnificently Silly, went down to Busselton, WA, Australia for almost a week with her family…. it’s strange not to see her on web camera for so long. I enjoyed focusing on me for a bit, but it ain’t as much fun as focusing on her.

She’s back safe and sound and that’s what matters most to me.