Perseverance. -noun – steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement. This little word has stuck with me ever since I was a wee little lad growing up in South Africa, it was the motto of our school, Springvale Primary School (logo pictured left). I always loved that logo- a key (wisdom) and a sword (strength). We all had to wear a uniform and the shield logo was imprinted onto our blazers. I loved it. Looking back it was so interesting how the school’s main objective seemed to be instilling the value of perseverance into each of its students, and even more so interesting just how GOOD at it they were. This past year I have truly been reminded of the value of perseverance, but there is one particular memory I should highlight– One late afternoon earlier this year I was out on the beach with a good friend, we were having a great time running around on the sand, being kids again, kicking a tiny soccer ball amongst washed-up old seaweed, watching other people run and play with their dogs in the water, it was a beautiful evening. All of a sudden she turned to me in true dismay and explained she had lost her car keys in the sand at some point while we were running around—her keys being our only way home and access to our belongings. Thus we began our search… we tried to backtrack our steps but it was nearly impossible, we did the usual sweeps as the sun faded behind the blue curtain of the ocean… it began to get dark and increasingly difficult to make out shapes of things in the sand below our feet. Off into the distance I saw her slump down onto her knees, she was sitting folded over as if she was crying. I went over to her and said “We’ve gotta find it, we still have about 10 minutes of light, lets keep looking”. “Lets just go… its useless- we’ll never find it here…” She started walking back towards the car though—I was not about to give up until it was impossible for me to see– so I kept sweeping the area’s I suspected it may be, picking up random dark bits and pieces of driftwood or stones… It was now officially impossible to distinguish pebbles and driftwood from all the random bits of seaweed lying around. There comes a point when its so dark you can’t see anything and I knew that it was that time… just then I pick up what looked to be a black volcanic rock– only to find that it was in fact… her missing keys, our way home and the key to our belongings!!

I was reminded that evening about perseverance, even when the odds seem stacked against you… even with discouragement… even after failing so many times… I increased our chances of finding the keys by hanging in there just that little bit longer.

I’ve discovered this whole year that perseverance has been the theme… through my work, through my personal life and accomplishments, personal growth, relationships… even through sticking to my values when they were challenged. If I just gave up when I couldn’t solve a problem, if I just gave up when I didn’t understand something… I wouldn’t be strong, and I certainly wouldn’t be wise.

This month so far has begged the question- Why do you do what you do?

Doing is half the battle– starting something, and motivating yourself to persevere is the other.

Why do I do multimedia projects? Why do I seek out new clients all the time?

I am driven to be independent and I push myself to find work that can support me. But it is more than just the money that is behind the effort. (Though being able to support yourself financially through something you enjoy is a huge motivation.) Working on entertainment related projects or exciting new start-up companies can be very rewarding. These small projects allow me to focus my personal creative energy and diversify much more than a long and arduous project involving large teams of people.

That’s why I have chosen to focus on the small business and entertainment areas, and that’s why I can continue to have the energy that I do, because I can continue to challenge myself through each new project and the vast differences each one brings. That, and having this experience and knowledge may someday help me get to a point in the future where I can spend a lot more time on my own projects.

So… why do you do what you do?

In other news… I’ve got some good news! I’ve got some new clients for this month, as well as a few new developments of my own that will hopefully benefit me in the long run.

First– I put up a Website Development Portfolio for Stuart Lawson Design Services, if anyone is curious:

http://design.stuartml.com

…have a look, please let me know what you think.

I’ve also started a project to do with web development but I can’t say much about that yet. I am creating the website now, I think it will be released some time next month due to client work being a priority. Hopefully it will bring in more projects. It is basically a Small Business Web Design Studio. My web portfolio and this should help very much if I market them as effectively as I have been marketing my Design Services.

As for clients this week has been a good one, I will soon be involved in an iPhone game, and the other, a website for a hollywood-centric web channel!

WESTof1 PRODUCTIONS is currently doing video editing for high-level Ice Hockey Academy here in SoCal. More on that to come once it is good to go!

I currently have a cold but it isn’t stopping me too much from getting work done.

Unfortunately, only a small amount of work has been done on the Glow music video due to all the focus I’ve been putting on maintaining an income and maintaining a balance in life.

Anyways, I’m starting to feel things are… finally… starting to get just a little bit less stressful… Just a little bit. My goal is not money or material things, it is a journey to personal success and for the enjoyment of others when I can oneday focus a whole lot more of my energy on music related and entertainment related projects. Stay tuned!

One thing I was a bit confused about and I know others will be, once my Gmail App inbox filled up to 400+ messages it started to slow my phone down. I was stumped how to clear the entire inbox, I have copies in my gmail.com inbox as well as my email client on the desktop. So I just wanted to clear the inbox entirely.

Well, first you need to login to the webmail at gmail.com and archive all the messages.

Once that is done, on your phone press:

Menu – > Settings -> Applications -> Manage Applications

Scroll to find ‘Gmail’, press that and hit “Clear Data”.

That should delete everything and the Gmail App will now re-sync with an empty gmail.com inbox.

Please note, if you have stored anything somehow on the phone, those messages will now be gone, but from what I can tell, anything in drafts and trash is stored on gmail.com draft folder and trash folders anyway.

Hope that helps someone out there!

** Also : For those who don’t know, there is a searchable online database of apps on the marketplace here: http://www.cyrket.com

** Keep track of the latest apps using the recently added feed!

I got the HTC G1 phone that utilizes the Android OS not too long ago and I’ve spent some good time with it, I have come up with a list of the 10 most useful apps that have practical value that can be used daily (THUS FAR- who knows what’s in store for us!) and would like to share it with those who recently picked up the phone/OS, as well as hopefully post some links to where one can find out more information on the apps.

I’ve sorted them where 1 = the most useful and most frequently used of all apps. 10 = least frequent but still useful.

Keep in mind these are personally what I find most useful. Your results may vary. So here it is:

10 Most Useful (and free) Android Apps with Practical Value, and Why:

10. TED - This links to the latest video’s on TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) to view on your phone, I watch one before I go to bed. I feel this is a very practical app because Education that is actually Entertaining and Interesting is priceless. If you have not heard of the TED Conference before, I would definitely recommend checking out ASAP: http://www.ted.com/  

9. Paypal - Also very practical, you can use this to send payments and check history of payments. I have not used it to send money yet but should in the future. https://www.thepaypalblog.com/2009/05/new-paypal-application-for-android/

9. Bank of America App - This is very practical and useful for me, I get to keep track of my bank account on the go, I’ve already used it quite a few times to make sure check’s have cleared. http://mobilebanking.bankofamerica.com/category/android-mobile-banking/

3. ShopSavvy – This is really savvy shopping and very practical and useful. Use your phone to scan a barcode and have it look up alternative prices or places to order the item online - http://www.biggu.com – I should mention there is a similar app called CompareEverywhere, Read a comparison of ShopSavvy and CompareEverywhere here: http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-10075405-12.html

11. TuneWiki – A very cool Mp3 player actually downloads lyrics and views them while the song is playing, among other features like streaming radio. I’ve found this practical while I go for jogs, its always great to have something to listen to. Although I’m sure there are other simplistic mp3 player apps out there, I just like the additional lyrics features of this one. http://www.tunewiki.com/

5. Calorie Counter by FatSecret – Helps you track your calories and weight change. I’m looking to buy a scale for this very app, I can’t wait to have it graph my weight changes. I’m also excited to keep somewhat of a record of what I eat and estimate my calories. Using this in conjunction with CardioTRAINER is very practical and useful. Learn more here: http://www.fatsecret.com/connected/android

6. CardioTRAINER – I’m really enjoying this app, I use TuneWiki to listen to Mp3’s on my SD card, while I let CardioTRAINER record my jog route/track, jog speed/pace per mile, distance, even how much of a hill I’ve climbed, and estimated calories burned. What an incredible and useful application. Its free, but you can upgrade it for additional features such as the ability to race against yourself. Find out more here: http://www.worksmartlabs.com/products.php

2. Shopping – A simple, clean, highly effective shopping-list app Developed by Martijn Schuemie: http://grocerylist.schuemie.net/

2. 3Banana - Online notebook/pad, I prefer this over the others because not only can you share notes (over a bunch of services), you can store them online, it also allows you to attach pictures or barcodes into the notes. Hear something interesting? Get an idea for a new project? Inspiration for new Lyrics/Video, jot that down and access it later from the computer! Check it out: http://3banana.com/

1. TooDo - Ahh.. TooDo, my favorite. The most practical app of all. I sync it up to www.toodledo.com  (an amazingly useful todo-list website by the way, there is also www.rememberthemilk.com  but I’ve found toodledo to be more extensive). If ever I think of any task that needs to be done, I add it using TooDo. It stays out of my mind but its stored online, easily accessible with any computer and there are a few great ways to sync it up to the computer.

Learn more here: http://edouardmercier.fr/toodo/

As for ways to sync it up, If I would like to add a task I use the highly effective desktop application ToodleAir- http://www.jga23.com/tag/toodleair/  - which uses Adobe Air.

I also get a quick list of my Todo’s thanks to ToodleDo’s RSS list or Dashboard Widget.

Access a slim version of your list at: http://www.toodledo.com/slim

I should not forget to mention that the android app PureRSS (or any RSS reader app for that matter) can integrate with your todo list and give you a quick way to see the latest list. If you use TooDo, make sure you follow the instructions carefully to sync it up, as well as turn on Sync settings when you exit or start TooDo from the settings.

Special Mention: Flashlight - Well, this is pretty much what its called, it turns the phone to full brightness and makes the screen white. Simple but effective and useful, it lit up my dark room and the back of my car trunk and has already proved to be a practical application- I’ve dragged it onto my home screen so that its quickly accessible. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a link for this one. There’s another Flashlight app that was reviewed here which uses a Red Light (incase you would like to read a star-chart or the likes. Not that you would need that thanks to the Sky Map app.) http://phandroid.com/2008/10/28/android-flashlight-apps-compared/

Also- Lets not forget all the extremely useful apps that come with the phone, Gmail/email- Calendar (that syncs up with calendar.google.com and you can sync iCal if you want.) Google at your fingertips, Youtube App, a great SMS system, As well as some third-party apps (some not exactly useful but still awesome): like FBook (Facebook), Twidroid (Twitter), Myspace, Shazam, Scoreboard, GKCD to name my favorites.

If you think I’ve forgotten anything highly PRACTICAL – please drop a comment with why you think your suggestion should be included in this list of Most Useful Apps with Practical Value. (Ideally ones that would/could be used almost daily).

Okay… So I lied about the “those days of 4 hours sleep are over.” *Sigh*. Tonight will be one of them. Thank goodness for the alert feeling of melatonin. I remember taking serious advantage of that when I worked the 4am shift.

So what’s been up with Stu anyway? In summary: Work, Car, Phone, KROQ Weenie Roast w/ Maureen & WESTof1 PRODUCTIONS! I’ll start with the latter.

I’m excited to introduce our company – WESTof1 PRODUCTIONS

We spent some time getting the website up and running and now its ready to rock. Using our combined past experiences we have a decent portfolio and are ready to start bringing in some new clients, the good news is we’ve already had some successful video shoots!!

Booyah!

My client list has picked up again and now I am cramming work in each week so that I can make an extra buck or two. I am currently juggling 7 projects but wish to focus most of energy on one in particular of the likes I cannot discuss. Exciting projects though, looking forward to displaying them and hopefully continuing to be involved in the future. I am finding it semi enjoyable to… stay up and code basic websites– what happened?!?!? Oh well… It is also mostly web work but some graphic work too– I am pretty much starting my own business and helping start two businesses on the side. I’m really hoping that one of my leads will bring me the amount of work he is promising… If you know anyone who needs a website, graphics, or multimedia- you know who to call– and its not the ghostbusters.

Unfortunately– With all this focus on work I haven’t had any time to devote to music and the music video. So much for a 1-2 month deadline, and I knew this would happen too. Thats why I was so pressed to get the music video done in the first place so I could actually get it finished! Now half the clips are sitting on the external drive gathering dust while I try to sort out my financial situation which could only be stable 5-6 months down the road if that. Life caught up and reality set in– I just don’t have the time right now to devote as much as I wish I could to my music. Its my top priority to get out of this poor financial situation and unfortunately the reality is that I cannot spend as much time (if any) on what I love to do. *another sigh*.

My car’s allotted mileage has run out– so now its going to cost .15 a mile. I’ll probably get it up to 500 over so that will be around $75. The lease will be ending in a month- so thats not too bad, a small price to pay for the huge return on fun– it sort of reminds me of that “surprise! you went over the text-message limit!”.

I’m really sad about the lease ending though. My parents helped me pay for it a few months- to my dismay as I was hoping it would be my first car I entirely paid for. Perhaps I can pay them back if things work out. I’m going to miss it terribly, its been one hell of a fun car to drive. *final sigh*

Some good news… I got a new phone– my old Helio Ocean (as awesome as it was), couldn’t receive calls anymore. I decided to save $20 a month with a new G1. This thing is NUTS. I’m going to post some app reviews on this blog soon. I’ll be writing a post soon about the best and most useful apps- or at least my favorites.

I was super lucky to have the opportunity to witness the KROQ Weenie Roast Y Fiesta 2009 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater @ Irvine, CA– thanks to the wonderful, Maureen. Weezer put on a great show as did Jimmy Eat World, Cage the Elephant, and Silversun Pickups- finally a good performance by Rancid and Travis Barker with DJ AM bringing some Electronic awesomeness to the mainstream (I hope.) It was an extremely memorable day not only because of the music, but the exceptional company as well. Thanks Maureen!

So that’s what’s been up. Oh yeah I went to vegas thanks to my friends to celebrate their birthdays… but… I can’t really talk about that. What did I do for my 25th birthday anyway?? Sad I can’t remember. Oh well- guess vegas was my birthday gift too.

I’d better get some sleep so I can be semi-alert for my client meeting at 10am. Expect some G1 app reviews soon and hopefully some good news on all fronts – especially music.

Yes, I didn’t post anything on April 1st because I was too busy. I am stayin’ alive (barely) by scratching and finding new contracts, seems to always be a source of income- even though most of the contracts I’ve been getting lately range from as little as $25 to $75. (These are a lot more common, like once every two weeks.) I’ve been doing contract work for 8 years here and there, mostly small jobs like logo designs, banners, a small website here and there, a video project or other multimedia project here and there… But now is the most difficult period yet to find new contracts. I love how most of my Blog posts are when I don’t actually have time and end up posting at 2:30 AM instead of SLEEPING. I used to get by on 4 hours of sleep– but those days are OVER!

The good news?

After injuries, tears, laughing and cheers, Filming for “Glow” is complete, and editing has begun. It took 6 days to film, approximately 4 hours each day. Saturday was the longest with about 6-8 hours of filming. Starting in the morning and finishing a shot up on “Turtle Hill” (on the appropriate ’starcrest’ street). The first few nights involved getting used to the using equipment and lighting, resolving snags/complications/missing equipment, and getting used to set-up times. Working with such a low budged forced us to…

Continue Reading »

The long day continues to rain as the clock reaches 4:42pm. I’ve started work at a college bookstore now, a temporary position to help get me by until I can find some real work again. Before that I worked at Boston Market temporarily as a food catering delivery driver… The first day of work at BM started the day after my cast came off from my broken finger… at which point I discovered I was required to carry heavy insulated food carriers with my still recovering broken finger that looked like this:

….sometimes 5 of them which I had to fill with scorching hot plates of macaroni, mashed potatoes, chicken and stuff… mashed potatoes can be really heavy! …Oh well… before working at boston market I worked for awhile at… *shudders* …Target. I can’t believe I am an ex Target employee… I woke up at 3am everyday for awhile to go breath in some gas, floor wax/polish, dust, toilet cleaner and get a glimpse of 3rd-world work in a 1st-world environment… half the employees were like zombies, and when the store lights turned on at 8am four hours later, then came the zombie shoppers, a terrifying species seemingly bred purely to shop mindlessly and move aimlessly at less than snails pace.

But I did what I had to do, and for that I am proud. I’ve met some cool people at my new bookstore job so far which is fun. I’m also really crossing my fingers and watching my mailbox like a hawk to see if I got a check in the mail soon for some contract work I did during the holiday season. Since august last year I’ve applied to over 400 design jobs and I’ve gotten 3 interviews with similar feedback- hiring freeze. Why do they even post job offers? I can’t seem to understand it. The consequence is that I will probably be staying with my parents, downgrading my car, hardly going out, and focusing on other things until this economy starts recovering… if it does. (Article: The Other Unemployment Rate) I’m just hoping sooner than later things start picking up- because I’m tired of this feeling of being stuck in a rutt. I really wish I could slow down time and focus on what is important as I constantly feel like my time is running out for some reason, maybe its just the debts and the feeling of helplessness that a lack of personal funding provides for my passionful endeavors and dreams. I know I can do great things if I am just given the chance.

Speaking of which, I’ve found a few places that I might be able to do some vocal recording. I’m also still trying to work out some kinks for the music video I plan on making- one of them is finding a decent HD video camera to use. I think I’ve found a cheap rental service, $400 for one full week. Now all I need to do is set a date. I am thinking the week of February 16th – 22nd.

Awhile back I made a remix of “Dayman” from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, a great comedy show on FX. Well, I’ve decided to give out my version of the amazing Dayman song on youtube as well as a downloadable mp3 right here: Dayman_Remix.mp3

Youtube version.

For those that didn’t know, back in February I made my own “Yes We Can” song after watching one of our next President’s speeches, shortly before Will.i.am made his extremely popular version. It is very interesting to read all the comments: Yes We Can (Rock You Beat)

I’m starting some part-time work, and I also have a new contract finally… The part time work is difficult, carrying a lot, somewhat stressful, but on-call so it gives me some time during the day to work on some of my own things when they don’t call me in… that includes updating blogs, newsletters, uploading new videos and music, etc. Look out for an update on Aflare on some new music and check out Aflare’s Virb Page for some free electronic tracks.

I moved all my stuff into my brothers living room, for now I will be staying here while relatives are visiting. My dad is using my beloved car and helping me pay for it while my fingers recover and get strong again. The past few months have been rough, but thanks to friends and family and some truly good experiences, I have survived, and I’m keeping my head up and movin’ forward.

Doh! I broke my finger in one hell of a bar fight…. punched a guy in the nose and knocked out his tooth. Pic

Actually I was hang-gliding and got it stuck in a zipper mid-flight and I fell out of the air…. and then landed on the finger.

Truthfully I was street racing in my Ferrari Enzo and crashed it and I managed to survive by jumping out the window and grabbing onto a line dangling from a police….no, swat helicopter that was doing loops and selling those awesome hotdogs you get OUTSIDE the ballpark for $5, except when I didn’t buy one the swat guy broke my finger….

No, I was catching a football and it hit my finger, breaking it.

But alas…I can hardly type for the next few weeks, so of course I would decide to write a blog. I’m pretty excited about some future prospects, namely AFLARE. But I’m also excited to see who will be the next President.