I’m really happy with how my house is looking, check out the pictures: http://www.Obeo.com/585718

Call me partial, but I have to say I think I have one of the coolest houses on the block, if not in all of Plano for it’s price range. Listed at 165,000 my home is a great first-time buyer property and the furniture, minus the green chair and the artwork, can be included with the property. I’m down-sizing dramatically and simplifying my life and I hope that this house sells quickly so I can get moved back to Denton. Am I a bit apprehensive? Yes. I’ve gotten used to having my own place with a garage and lots of space, but the trade-off is that you have more to take care of and the costs are really astronomical.

When you buy a house they don’t tell you that your mortgage can go up even if your rate is fixed due to increases in taxes and home owners insurance. My mortgage went from $1167 a month to $1451 after living there for 1.5 years. I asked why and they said, “Your taxes went up by 1000 dollars a year” and my response was that they increase the money they were taking from me by $3000.

Anyway, long story short, having a house is awesome, but as a single guy I don’t think the investment is worth it. I would have done better if I had just saved all the money I invested in this property… but on the upside, I got to live in a really great house in a really great location.

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http://www.songofsolomon.com/junedevo.htm

It’s simplified, less clutter.

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In an effort to improve the effectiveness of our Monthly SOS Newsletter I have updated it with more content.I’m trying to figure out how to create dividers to make it look more compartmentalized, but so far all of my attempts have only made it feel more cluttered. I’m also thinking about redoing the header image in something more fantastic…

It is now chock full of useful information and a free digital download of Romans Vol. II session 1 by Tommy Nelson.

You can checkout the Newsletter here.

Also, if you want to subscribe to the Newsletter then go to http://www.songofsolomon.com

(The Subscription option is on the left hand side of the screen.)

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I’m not sure if I posted on here about trying e-Harmony again in December of last year, but  I did. Surprisingly I was matched with very few women and the ones I was matched with weren’t a match at all.

What is it about online dating services that makes me feel like I am bargain basement shopping? It’s like I have this selection of women served up before me that are last year’s models or returned items that someone else didn’t want. I know what you are thinking: Harsh Much! But it’s true.

I’ve been trying Match.com for a month now and it seems that everyone they are matching me with is divorced. When did people start getting divorced in their twenties?

I’m probably being too judgmental or even unrealistic cause I know there are some amazing divorced women out there, but I sort of want to be my wife’s first husband. When someone has already been married then I feel like “Hey, you already had your turn, let some the rest of us have a shot!”

Match.com gives me 5 new matches a day and most of the time I can look at their profile and tell if we would actually be a good match. I have talked to a couple of girls through email and I can’t help but be bored.

One girl said, “It’s torture for me to get to know someone through email.” And I wanted to respond back, “If that is the case, then you should give me a good reason to want to meet you in person. Be interesting. Be funny. Be witty. Charming. SOMETHING!” Snore.

I have a tendency to quickly write out a long email that gives insights into who I am and what I am looking for without coming right out and saying it. I ask important questions up front like, “Were you ever a dude?” and “Are you a Wiccan?” It’s important to get these questions out of the way at the beginning instead of finding out on the third or fourth date and you’ve already french kissed on the front steps of her lair.

I promise that I am not hardened or set in my ways, but the last 4-6 relationships, the girls I took out from e-Harmony, Wilbur Smith novels and the 33 years I have lived on this Earth have wizened me and enhanced my bullcraptometer.  Online dating services allow people to put their best foot forward on an online profile but I think it also attracts people that fall into these categories:

• Desperate
• Shallow
• Married
• Divorced
• Perverts
• Crazies
• Hopeless Romantics
• Gold Diggers

I’m sure that makes me sound jaded, but I’m just drawing a conclusion based on my own personal experience and observation. But I also believe that in every field full of weeds you can find a beautiful wild flower… Somewhere in this great wide world there is a woman who will understand my heart and see me for who I am – flawed, but awesome.  She’s out there somewhere and I plan to find her.

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I sent out an email that I created for SOS that went out to 50,000 people.

http://www.songofsolomon.com/maydevo09.htm

I am quite proud of this even though it is just the beginning. I created all of those graphics, the header and footer even and this work is keeping me quite busy and I love it.

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1. Take the time to create a detailed plan

When I meet with clients you need to be sure and convey how much time it actually takes to do web design or anything technical. Even when you have been doing IT work for 10 years, a job done well is going to take some time.

2. Gather Requirements

I’ve been freelancing for years now and only recently have I started becoming truly profitable. Often times I would spend so many hours on a project that my rate of pay was below minimum wage. As a Business Analyst for Texas Instruments I learned that it is important to spend a little bit of time gathering exactly what the clients requirements are. You have to come in with a handful of probing questions and you don’t just ask the questions once, you ask them repeatedly in varying ways and then you repeat them back to your client. “So what you just said to me is that you want a blue website with florescent green font and a red logo?” 

3. Don’t Lower Your Standards

I had a client ask me to build them a website around an ugly logo. The logo as so bad that it was like asking me to take a turd and to bake a cake with it. I informed the client that they needed to update their logo and that it would be really hard for me to build something nice and visually pleasing around it. I actually attempted to make the site in three different layouts, but the font on their logo with the ugly background colors and clashing blue and green Times New Roman Font continued to  limit my creativity. I finally told the client that it wasn’t possible for me to work with this logo. I have to be able to do work that I am proud of in order to do an amazing job for my clients. 

4. Get the Money Up Front!

Whatever you do, do not start a project unless you get some money up front. Clients should be willing to pay 25 to 50 percent down and the rest of the money upon completion of the site. When you don’t get money up front then the client has the ability to draw out the project indefinitely. Instead, create a contract with simple terms stating the agreement, the expectations and when the site will be done. Hold up your end of the bargain and make sure they hold up theirs. 

5. The client is rarely right

I’ve found that most of my clients do not even have the faintest idea about design or IT work and how much time it takes to make simple graphics look good in multiple browsers. If it looks great in IE it might not look good in Firefox or Mozilla. Also, when it comes to design they often want to pair colors and images that clash or they want the logo bigger or something animated. Beautiful web design doesn’t have to be gimmicky and a good designer knows how to highlight your product without coming across as desperate. 

I don’t know everything yet and I’ve found some great sites to help me learn. One of them is smashingmagazine.com and the other is wakeuplater.com

Okay, I gotta get back to work!

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This post is for all my friends with kids… I’m talking to you Nikki J., Jenni C., Amber W., Amber N., Nikki H., Amanda B., Amanda M., Amy M., Alison L., and of course my sister Precious.  

Got questions about how to decorate your kids room? Are you tired of the same old car, sports, princess, barbies themes? Well, OhdeeOh.com is the place for you. With cool ideas, fresh color schemes and even design ideas on a budget you will love all the cool stuff on this site. I don’t even have kids but I think I want to use some of these ideas to decorate the spare bedrooms in my house. Let’s face it, we are all just big kids.

This site doesn’t just show you the cool rooms but also has a shopping guide so you can find the stuff you like. http://www.ohdeedoh.com/

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I was browsing around “Print” magazine and found this cool line of toiletries: Anatomicals.

These products might not be all that great, but the packaging is so clever and the titles so fun that you will want to buy them just to make showering more delightful. 

the seven deadly skins

the sleek shall inherit the earth

the grime reaper

the bender mender

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I’m using my sister’s laptop to write this posted note entry. I’m currently trapped in my house waiting for UPS to deliver my new MacBook Pro. I got a phone call yesterday that said, “Your delivery will arrive between 8am and 7pm. Yeah, an 11 hour window! So I am afraid to leave because I have to sign for my package and people I need that computer so I can start my life! I want to work on web projects and call clients but I’d really like to have something to work on before I start making commitments!

Other projects that I am working on:

• Texturing guest bedroom
• Painting Master Bedroom
• Painting a triptic painting for the dining room
• Working on http://www.corporaterambo.com
• Working on http://www.eddierenz.com
• Finish painting the garage
• Finding an agent and working on my book – no, it’s not the “Marry Me” book.
• Working on the Marry Me book cover and adding illustrations to it.

So those projects are in the works, but yesterday I got a business account setup for the DJ business – http://www.soundandshow.com as well as the car decals ordered for the back window of the Honda Pilot.

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Our niche? Those people who don’t have to have alcohol to have a good time and who want to raise money for Christian causes. We plan to donate a portion of our proceeds to ministries both local and abroad.

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Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat… all the while I’m sitting in my house preparing for the holidays and enjoying the challenge of decorating not only for Christmas but also just getting things done around the house that are extremely necessary.

I’m putting up curtains and since there is only one room in the house with curtains it is an expensive and timely endeavor. Do I go with a warm chocolate brown curtain or something in a cool crisp white? How about red or something in a pattern? What about a new rug and that vintage style clock that I saw at Target? And what about Christmas decorations, do I want to hang snowflakes from the ceiling or large silver ornaments? I’ll be ideating about all of things things endlessly and to further frustrate my creative flow I have to decide what color to paint my bedroom. 

 I recently picked up a nice shade of gray called “Winter Oak” and it turned out to look like light purple on my wall. Then I opted for a color called “Sand” but I’m afraid it looks too much like the gold/yellow color that is in my living room already.

What to do? What to do?

I am excited that right now I can afford to do a few small projects and get some nice things done to my house to make it feel more like a home. Like most things in life working on your home is a non-stop effort, but it’s worth it, because there really is no place like home.

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Recently I had a chance to meet with some clients about a web design. When I arrived at the Preston Hollow location I was immediately impressed with the high-end neighborhood and the stylish decor of the house. This particular client had ordered Thai food and said, “Come in, I’ve ordered some food, you can just help yourself.”

It struck me as odd to be in the house of someone I hardly knew and then to be eating with them in a matter of minutes. “Ricky will be back soon the client said, his voice filled with expectation.”

“Who’s Ricky?”

“My Fiance”

I continued to pile some sort of spicy seafood melange covered in a yellow curry sauce onto my plate. I couldn’t help but think, “Is this guy saying he’s gay?”

I sat at the table with my plate of food and my chopsticks making small talk that was intended to unearth more information.

“So have you lived here long?”

“Actually this is Ricky’s place, I went through a divorce a while back and I’ve been living here for a while now.”

The plot was thickening like a nice gravy but my question still remained unanswered. I’ve met some homosexual people in my life but none of them had been over the age of 50. In my guesstimation this guy was knocking on the door to 60 and they were saying, “Come on in, we’ve been waiting for you.”

My Thai food was spicy and room temperature and the wine that he served with it only seemed to enhance the spicy curry and heat my mouth up. We weren’t talking about business and I wasn’t exactly enjoying myself and so I didn’t have much to say.

Finally “Ricky” showed up and she turned out to be a woman and “Ricky” was just a nickname. I was relieved, not because I’m a homophobe but because I often feel more comfortable working with women on projects over men who think they know all about web design.  

“You want your site to look like that?” I couldn’t help but say it like I had just smelled a dirty diaper. The site she showed me looked like a pile of crap with a few words of garamound font slapped on it.

“Yes, this woman does things similar to what I do.” I wanted to reply, “So you bore people with droll websites?”

I held my tongue and suddenly realized that this was going to be an evening of educating the customer. However, after an hour of discussion I left with nothing. No plan. No design ideas. No domain name.

I gave Ricky a list of action items and it’s been almost a week and I haven’t heard anything and I’m not surprised. This is the world of web design and this is why before I start working I require a down payment.

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