Archive for category General
Labour Day Weekend
I’m a Caribbean Girl.
This year I decided to do j’ouvert for labour day celebration. I had never been, not even in my country. J’ouvert “is a large street party during Carnival in the eastern Caribbean region. J’ouvert is a contraction of the French jour ouvert, or dawn/day break. J’ouvert is celebrated on many islands, including Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, Sint Maarten, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands. It is also a feature of New York City’s West Indian Day Parade held on Labor Day, in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn and Notting Hill Carnival in London, both areas that have a large Caribbean ex-pat communities.” (source)
My friend Kim and I started the night off by picking up a friend at a nearby party where I was introduced to a cousin who I hadn’t seen in over 15 years. We brought him along and his cousin.
We started walking to the general direction of the bands but they were steel bands not the actual j’ouvert party. We didn’t know this. We had walked over 20 blocks. Frustrated we decided to call it off. One of us got on the train and the rest of us started walking back to my apartment. Lucky for the rest of us remaining: we met the actual band coming up the street — so we got in.
We started dancing in the street to the music (also trying to avoid the folks wearing oil and paint). One of my friends showed up with some friends and danced with us.
We went all the way to the end ( it was probably 7am) and headed back to my place to shower and sleep (by 9am).
We got up at 12:30 to head to the parade. The best part of the parade is the food (to me).
Unfortunately the parade wasn’t great and we west Indians say that we won’t ever go again but we end up there anyway.
Jadersworld.com is 10! #giveaways
It was 10 years ago that John purchased Jadersworld.com for me. I had been working with him for a year.
Right now, it’s only parked but the tutorials that I wrote still exists. Here’s the very first one.
I added a quick splash on jadersworld.com to celebrate a decade of my very first domain (not my first site). I’m also giving some things away! You would have to follow @jerlyn on twitter and join designladynyc on facebook. The winner is completely random but it doesn’t hurt to comment to increase your luck! 
Yup that’s me 10 years younger 
.
The Graphic Novel Project
Posted by Jerlyn in General, Inspiration, Tutorials on August 26, 2010
I’ve been really into Graphic Novels lately because I discussed a project with some of my close friends and they thought it was brilliant. I decided to work on a graphic novel (to add to my other millions of projects — I intend to complete something before I’m 30 so have patience with me) because I love to draw and I might consider having a gallery show out of it. This also means that I also get to write – Joy! The novel will have 14-15 short stories, the great part is that they are quite humorous to tell (I just hope they translate well with drawings).
I really enjoy drawing (the following image is a pen drawing from the Design Lady NYC fan page ) and I enjoy telling stories so I’m pretty excited. The only thing I will dread is writing everything — it’s difficult enough to blog.
By the way, don’t you just love the internet? I searched for How to make a graphic novel and these two links came up:
1. How to Make a Graphic Novel on EHow
2. How to Create a Graphic Novel on WikiHow
However, books aren’t a bad idea either.
——————–
I found a document by Ruth McNally Barshaw, author of the Ellie McDoodle books – www.ruthexpress.com
1. Write a story. For best results it should be a really good story, revised and honed until it’s great. Script form is best. Pretend you’re writing a movie. Think about stage directions and character movements.
2. Create character sheets so you know what the characters look like from all sides. Keep them consistent from page to page (a sure sign of professionalism).
3. Decide on the look of your graphic novel. This is entirely up to you. Realistic – cartoony – abstract – superhero – manga – there are a million styles. Do what you love, and what’s easy for you to do, since a GN is a huge undertaking and you want to still be interested in it when you’re in the middle of it.
4. The lettering: Use a nice font on the computer or learn to hand letter. Legibility is what matters most. Decorative fonts are hard to read.
5. The layouts: Use variety to your advantage (if the tone is supposed to be boring, then it’s ok to use boring art). Dynamic camera angles keep the reader wanting to see more.
6. Drawing skills: Even the pros still take art lessons sometimes. Push yourself to do your best. Push yourself to always improve, even if you’re already great. Draw from life. Draw people, animals, plants, everyday things. Draw scenery. Try to take things down to their essence using the fewest number of lines possible.
7. Roughs: Draw in pencil to start. Don’t ink until your book is completely done and you’ve thought about revisions.
8. Intended audience: Your audience is your first concern. Make sure they understand what you’re saying.
9. The hook: The thing that reaches out and grabs the audience. Hook them early and give the audience a reason to read beyond the first page – and a reason to keep turning the pages.
10. Pacing: Give the appropriate amount of time to what needs to be said or accomplished. Example: Person is running to the store. Do you show every frame in a series of panels? Do you show him running in one panel? Do you just use narration and no picture? It depends on how important the action is to the story.
11. Action: If you can show it in pictures, don’t say it in the words.
Keep your characters moving, keep the plot moving forward.
Once you have all that mastered, try this:
Spice it up with quirky stuff.
Use fun words and lots of expression in the characters’ faces.
Use metaphors and similies and symbolism.
Be yourself. Do what only you can do.
Play with contrast. On a white field, the eye is drawn first to black, and vice versa.
Repeated motifs or themes or callbacks are fun for the audience to notice and remember.
——————–
I’m currently reading AYA of Yop City by Marguerite Abouet illustrated by Clement Oubrerie. I read the first volume and decided to check out the other two.
(images from Amazon.com)
This is the first one that I read.
This is the final version.
What Graphic Novels are you into?
Have you ever created a graphic novel?
I heart books
Posted by Jerlyn in General, Jerlyn, My Life in NYC on August 23, 2010
As soon as I realized that I could escape into tiny printed words and create any fantasy that I desired, I became absolutely addicted. It began when my mother taught me how to read.
I remembered my first book without pictures. I can’t remember how old I was but I remembered when my mom handed it to me, I asked her, “Mummy*, where are the pictures?” I remembered that I frowned. My mother sat down and explained how to visualize the words and imagine the scenes from the book. I sat with her, closed my eyes as she read a few sentences and imagined the characters being me and anyone else that I chose. I created them, sometimes not specific — tall or short, genderless, fat, skinny — I controlled the characters. I don’t remember reading many books with images after that. The first book without photos that I ever read was the Education of Little Tree which I found out later has a great deal of controversy now that I’m an adult. I found it again while passing by Strands Book Store in NYC.
Photo credit: Propeller Books.
It was probably 75 cents, a steal really. I’m a tiny bit appalled when books are that inexpensive but I bought it again to remind me of my childhood. I don’t remember what the story was about now since it’s been many years. However, I hope to reread it and for 75 cents, it’s not that bad.
This was my childhood in Wesley, Dominica:
For much of my childhood, I lived in Wesley ( a small village in the island of Dominica — Wesley, was named after the methodist, John Wesley) with my grandparents. It was a simple community with mostly farmers. Next to our house was a garden that led to a drop into a valley — it was very beautiful. Whenever I got a new book to read, I would sit next to that area overlooking the valley and imagine myself in new worlds, countries, and cities that I’d never been to. I’d have careers dreamed up, lifetimes imagined, families created etc. My grandparents had no electricity (or running water) so most of my time spent reading was during the day before twilight. I was warned by my grandparents that the Kerosene lamps would make us blind or “strain our eyes” — oddly enough, I still have 20/20 vision *knock on wood.*
By the time I was 9, I had read most of the books in the small library in our village. I had also read many of the books and encyclopedias that my parents sent us from St. Croix. I was into Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, James Joyce, etc. Then a friend of mine introduced me to a woman from the U. S. who had moved into our village. She had a huge collection of Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, V. C. Andrews and Goosebumps (some of my favorites back then). She would distribute the books much like the library (writing our names down and the books we took).
Childhood in the Virgin Islands:
When I moved to St. Croix, I was exposed to the rest of the series that I missed out on: more R. L. Stine, V. C. Andrews… and I was exposed to Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, etc. I continued reading. My mom had a great collection of romance novels that I absolutely abhorred so she purchased books that I was into also and our apartment ended up looking like a library (still sort of does).
Now:
With the digital age and my own reasons for not getting the iPad or Kindle (well that, and financial reasons), I still read books. The best year that I have had in NYC was actually reading 86 books while riding back and forth to work for a year. I’ve been more into podcasts than books lately but I’m writing a few myself. I have two book cases filled with books currently.
I love reading science fiction however, my love of history and people allows me to enjoy non-fiction and biographies. For a period of my life I read self-help books but realized that, according to the subject, many of the “help” isn’t applicable to your experiences. I certainly adore a great mystery novel on my downtime. Here’s list of my books that I’ve read here on Visual BookShelf.
Which genres are your favorites? What got you into books?
*We spell Mommy as Mummy in Dominica since it’s British influenced. I’ve only started writing mom instead of mum when I attended Junior High.
Doeth thy words rhyme
Posted by Jerlyn in General, My Life in NYC on August 23, 2010
Does it have to all the time?
Or can it be told
Possibly in a haiku
I will let you know…
This past Friday, I decided to check out a live poetry reading/open mic/poetry slam in my neighbourhood, since I’m sick. To be honest, I wasn’t really into reading poetry. Although I have favorites like Langston Hughes, James Joyce, Maya Angelou that I grew up with, I tend to stay away when people ask me to read their poetry. I have, however, written so many of them that I hope to publish them soon (they are being edited).
It might be because I assumed it was just angst or frivolous things that I wouldn’t be bothered with or just me not being amused. I used to prefer reading short stories.
However, this Friday changed all that. I had prior plans that got canceled and I walked around the neighborhood with someone and we went to a gallery with many people gathered. They asked us whether we would be interested, all they ask was for a $5 donation (fair).
We sat and I enjoyed it!
I recognized one guy from the reading. His name is Brad Bathgate aka Blue. I encountered him on the train last year January 2009. He was selling his book “Pretty Ugly,” I purchased it with the last $10 I had in cash. This time around, he was carrying a book that I also wanted that day but couldn’t afford called, “Don’t beat your kids or they will turn out like me” — I bought it this time around.
Some impressive recitals were also done by Yung Remix (an impressive 16 year old kid who rapped and it’s on his youtube page), Mike, Nikki Dee, Blue, Soulful John, etc. (I hope I spelled their names right).
Most of the deliveries had me close to tears. I look forward to attending more of them.
A few new things added to this site.
I’m still revamping this site but in the meantime check out these new features:
You can now call me with my google voice number. I actually love chatting on the phone (texting can be overwhelming sometimes). Depends on what time, but I’d rather that you call to offer jobs haha. By the way, since this is Google Voice, I totally screen my calls (duh). This is a test though so don’t abuse it.
Facebook Like for Design Lady NYC Group.
 |
Jerlyn Jade M. Thomas likes |
I’ll be adding contests soon so be ready for this. It’s in celebration of my 10 year old domain. Yes, my first domain is making 10 years in about a month! Countdown! That means I have been blogging and coding for over 10 years.
Also, you should interact with the poppy’s to the left because you can win cool prizes, also join the contest!
Fried foods would be the death of me…
Posted by Jerlyn in General, My Life in NYC on August 11, 2010
So I woke up yesterday and did my third bootcamp session. I have yet to be fully rested the night of any of my classes. For each class so far, I’ve had a different teacher. For every class so far, I have drank the night before (Apparently I lack the discipline).
I hope that over 800 calories have been burnt like they advertised because I am completely drained. By the way, update on my vegetarian diet: I had 3 BBQ wings two nights ago. Something must have been wrong because I felt really tired and drained that day not sure if the meat helped though. I did feel a little gross having it.
Yesterday morning I felt like poo, trying to decide if it’s the food or guinness. I decided to simply cut down my intake than remove it altogether. The truth is: I need a nutritionist if I am going to make a significant change. I tried vitamin supplements and protein shakes but my energy level didn’t rise. I did feel great the first couple weeks. I sort of felt like a failure temporarily but I will get over it.
I also did something awful: I had a Ranch Crispy sandwich from McDonalds and I received complete hell from my peers. They were right, I did feel like shit after.
Anyway, now I am sick and not sure from what.
As for diets, I will continue having vegetarian inspired diets but with the right to have meat when I listen to my body. Replacing things like eggs and yogurt to me was very difficult. Also, I ended up having too much fried foods, like falafel.
By the way, shout out to Brian who I met yesterday because I don’t like adding people that I haven’t met to my facebook. Not sure if he wants to be linked. Brian’s a chef and he also criticized my McDonalds experience. If you’re on my facebook list and we haven’t met I think it’s time that we do. I decided to make that change about a year ago. I like this because I can put a face to you and your mannerisms. Also, we usually become genuine friends that way. I’m not in any way interested in being popular so I don’t randomly accept requests because I am in fact pretty opened about a great deal on facebook than I am on twitter or my blog.
For everyone else, you can join Design Lady NYC on facebook, it’s sort of the same but stripped and it’s all aggregated in one spot. Soon, I’ll start adding prizes (joy)!
Jerlyn knows the last digit of pi
Posted by Jerlyn in General, My Life in NYC on August 9, 2010
This was based on me being obsessed with MacGyver when I was a toddler. My dad used to introduce me to other toddlers as, “This is Jerlyn, she likes MacGyver.” MacGyver was hot, and I knew this when I was just a kid. Who’d thunk? Chuck Norris has nothing on MacGuyver! There I said it! Rumble in the comments sections with facts please, or else you’d just be wasting time. Keiron posted it on my status earlier and Rey decided to side with Norris… this means 1 for Norris and since I discussed it with Revi, there’s now 3 votes for MacGuyver!
Anyway:
This was today’s look, I started a new gig where I will be styling and animating for the iPad and iPhone… haha irony that I don’t own either but I do have an iPod Touch (sorry messy room!)
I figured I’d add some “Jerlyn fashion” in here since I did join the poppy project (to the right of this blog)! If you like this blog tweet “Grow, poppy, grow! #jpoppy #coachpoppy” Thanks! There’s some awesome prizes and I heard that there’s a $2500 – really, who wouldn’t want a $2,500 shopping spree? Rhetorical!
This post will be semi-intimate. It involves my dating life (in a way), love life (in a way) and maybe touch base on my job life.
Dating and Love: “With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
My life is quite content despite random set backs in the recent months. This is exactly what has made it extremely exciting in the past months. It would be quite disappointing if I lived the exact way everyday. I get to observe others as they go into work and see the gloominess that I hope never to have — I smile. I just appreciate my life where it is right now, I’m happy. However, I had another set back today where I absolutely poured my heart out to someone. It’s something that got ruined because of timing and an insignificant person (an ex gf surprise, surprise). C’est la vie right? I still love with reckless abandon despite what my heart goes through. I often imagined how my heart looks like, possibly beaten up from the torture that I have placed it through in the past months.
Yes, it was someone from the past. When I reflected this evening of how our life would be now I realize maybe I wouldn’t like it. I did consider him a great friend for 2 years but when I think of the time that has past, it won’t be able to be exactly how it used to be. I have been single for 2 years, since my brother passed away. I did grow up in the past months — figuring what I wanted. We aren’t the same anymore. I’d moved on from everything else. Then I snapped out of it and reminded myself about living in the now. I won’t say I’d never ever see him again, we never know what life does to us so, I just won’t give it a second thought.
By the way, photo credit goes to Newsy who captured my element.
I don’t normally pour my heart out on my blog (I used to when I was younger) but it feels right sharing this since many of you admitted reading it (Thanks). I just feel like mutated angst that I need to get over. Other than that, I just have hilarious dating stories (I have a 2nd blog for that). Maybe I should turn it into a book someday (by chance the next person I go on a date with will read this post – ouch!).
Job: Don’t let the past steal your present. ~Terri Guillemets
Very few know this story but I haven’t worked at Aviary since May. If it’s a shocker to some of you folks, I guess you missed that entry it’s here. Don’t worry it needed to be done. It was definitely a dream of mine and I did it. I was on their beta since 2008 and I reached that goal but when you reach goals you have to make more right? Well, it has been uphill since then. So far, I’ve been freelancing in these past months and I learned so much. I’ve done things like designed devices, websites, pitches, brain storms for fortune 500 clients, banks, traveled, etc. I’ve learned:
1. It can be intimidating but freelance can be quite flexible if done right.
2. Reach out to all your connections:, I’ve had some pretty sweet projects these past months and it’s because I had friends who believed in me and my work (my job was not to let them down).
3. You can never have too much money if you didn’t have any to begin with. (Save, save, save). Luckily I saved enough as emergency fund.
4. I’m easily stressed (Yes I am) if I’m not in reality. I can’t help it that my creativity leaves me in an imaginative state.
5. You might have to pretend to be the mafia to get paid. I haven’t been paid on time by an agency that I worked for since June 29th. It’s now August 9th, I had only been paid 1 check. I was supposed to receive 2. They weren’t on time with the first. I had to send them a very strong email earlier. Hopefully I will get paid by this weekend. Apparently everyone I owe wants to get paid on time, doesn’t seem to be the same for people who owe me.
6. Balance is essential. Sleep, diet and exercise! (I have bootcamp in the morning).
7. Your friends and family are supportive (well most are). Keep them close! I have undying love for my friends now. They have been so great to me. I LOVE them and I wish I could tell them everyday how I feel. I feel honored/blessed to be inspired by them and appreciated by them and the feeling is mutual! Plus, my family just rocks – enough said.
8. I’m talented. F’ it! I said it! I earned it! I’ve been coding since I was 11. I’ve built my PC, crashed it, formated, and installed OS on it. I went to a really great school even if I grew up poor. Got scholarships, came to a country that I had barely visited and made it my home. Made honor role all through High School and Deans List all through college. Became a published illustrator reached my dreams and more. Felt heartbreaks to sustain my dreams! F’ it, I earned it. *insert Mel Gibson catching his breath here [haha if you don't know what that means you fail pop culture]* This is the first time that I had to admit that I deserve being conceited and I WORKED hard. (It’s possible that God might not like this post).
9. Keep setting goals. My ultimate goal is to reach a point where I can work pro bono. I want to make others happy. A wise man told me that in order to helps others I need to help myself get out of my situation first, I’m doing that and giving good back into the world while that happens.
<3. Good night.
Quarter Life Crisis?
I posted this before (source). However, I shared this with a lot of my friends in the recent months since we are all in our early, mid or late twenties and go through the same issues. So this is quarter life crisis:
It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are a lot of things about yourself that you didn’t know and may or may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.
You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren’t exactly the greatest people you have ever met and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you do not realize is that they are realizing that too and are not really cold or catty or mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.
You look at your job. It is not even close to what you thought you would be doing or maybe you are looking for one and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and are scared.
You miss the comforts of college, of groups, of socializing with the same people on a constant basis. But then you realize that maybe they weren’t so great after all.
You are beginning to understand yourself and what you want and do not want. Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging a bit more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and add things to your list of what is acceptable and what is not. You are insecure and then secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.
You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you or you lay in bed and wonder why you can’t meet anyone decent enough to get to know better. You love someone but maybe love someone else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you are not a bad person.
One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap and getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision.
You worry about loans and money and the future and making a life for yourself and while wining the race would be great, right now you’d just like to be a contender!
What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.
Vegetables never looked so good
I started a vegetarian (pescevegetarian because I may go back to fish sometimes i. e. Sushi) diet a couple weeks ago. It wasn’t long after I came from St. Croix. No, the food there didn’t make me sick or anything… I just needed a lifestyle change and I was curious as to what it would do to my body. This will go for 30 days (I believe I started this on the 9th).
Portabello Mushroom Melt from Overlook in Manhattan.
I always wanted to have a vegetarian diet actually. My mother got me back with an Italian sausage pizza when I first tried being one in highschool (unfair). I understand why she did it now, but back then that pizza was my favourite and it was easy to influence my life (plus she controlled the diet in the house even if she entertained my diet for a week).
Lunch options from New Fancy Food on Broadway
Portabella etc from Red Bamboo in the West Village
Besides reading the literature, I did notice I made meals with less and less animal parts. Don’t get me wrong, I am a complete foodie (that might not change). However, this transition was easy because meat was 1. Way too bothersome to prepare. 2. I almost never knew the expiration date. 3. So many are bad for you (watch Food, inc).
I think in the upcoming months I might transition from vegetarian to pescetarian. There are so many rules that we are simply making them up as we go along aren’t we?
The most difficult thing was going to my favourite Indian restaurant and realizing that I salivated when I looked at the meat menu but settled for the vegetarian section which turned out incredible!
Although I am not going to use my blog to convert anyone. I will share some of the information that was discovered:
- Consuming too much animal protein leads to Osteoporosis (If you wonder where we get protein, since that’s what some friends argued, there’s whole grains, brown rice, lentils (I love!), tofu, soy milk, nuts, seeds).
- Fish contain high mercury levels.
- They are right, “no species naturally drink milk beyond the age of weaning, and no species would naturally drink the milk of a different species.” Ever wondered why so many people are lactose intolerant.
By the way, I am not going to go PETA on anyone… in fact, I was raised on a farm and I did enjoy having produce from our farm, so I would simply be a hyprocrit, especially if I ever chose to have a Chicken Salad in the future. However, some animals are treated cruelly in the U. S. and my take on that is: well, humans are on the top of the food-chain and I don’t know if veggies have feelings but it’s still no excuse to have them suffer (watch Food, inc). I’m merely concerned with how the hormones affect my body. If I raised my own animals, it would be a different story.
Currently, I am replacing the meat parts of my meals. I’m not too sure about “fake meat” yet because I’m not interested in tricking my body or mind, but I tasted tofu BBQ ribs and they were pretty good. Don’t worry I will still cook meat-based meals for my friends when they visit (I can still cook!), thankfully this diet change isn’t religious.
Have you done any diet changes? What was it and how long did it last?
I like you too
My Flickr
-
You are currently browsing the archives for the General category.
My name is Jerlyn Thomas. I run this site as my design filled life in NYC and my portfolio can be seen at my personal domain.
Latest Tweets
-
I just became the mayor of House Of Snacks on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/cIhdvJSeptember 8, 2010 at 10:44 pm -
http://bit.ly/aHvRVL Michelle Obama's hawt!September 8, 2010 at 9:33 pm
-
Recent Comments