2009 was supposed to be the the year I reconfigured my career, transitioning from a mainly photographic background to a broader design based one. This blog was meant to be a part of that transition, acting as a place to catalogue design inspirations, interesting trade articles and to showcase some of the talent I one day hope to be even half as proficient artistically as. The whole process started as a hard realization and then acceptance that my initial field of photography had changed so drastically after the birth of digital cameras (an event I still loathe and love simultaneously) that making a living as a printer and dark room tech was not a feasible avenue any more. After acceptance of course came the burning question; then what's next? I have always been drawn to the arts as a whole; film, music, sculpture, painting, as long as it is a vessel for emotional expression I am usually at the very least casually interested. So I knew that "next" would somehow fall under the arts umbrella. I thought long and hard about what mediums I am drawn to on a daily basis, what I might be good at and quite frankly what still made money. I finally came to the conclusion that design both graphic and web (which luckily often integrates photography) was the stepping stone I'd been looking for. I'd all ready had some experience in the field but knew I wanted to do things right and so I swallowed a bit of pride and went back to school to get a more concrete foundation. After a year or so of classes I finally felt poised to re-enter the career pool and start swimming, there was only one catch. A big ugly snag called cancer. This past December I was diagnosed with stage 2 endometrial cancer, something I would find out is linked to a genetic condition called Lynch Syndrome. Not exactly the best news to get when one is all ready facing the pressures of a career change in the middle of one the biggest economic dips the U.S. has weathered in decades. So things got put on hold for a bit including this blog. Surgeries were had, chemo is being administered (I reach the half way mark on the 16th!) and slowly but surely I'm getting back to dipping my feet in the pool. In some ways cancer has been the kick in the ass I'd been looking for both personally and professionally. It has made me re-access what is truly important in life, that pursuing your dreams is never a waste of time, and that we only get one go on the roller coaster (so buckle up and don't keep your eyes closed no matter how scary it is; it all goes so fast you might miss some of the good bits mixed in with the bad.) In the end this post has served a duel purpose; a) to explain my absence from posting and life in general and b) to let people know that life is often tough, it's often not fair but it's also worth pushing forward, taking that big ol' horkin' bucket of lemons and making some god damn lemonade (or better yet a lemon drop or two -cheers!) I'll be posting as often as I can threw the rest of my treatments and adding a few new features, like healthy recipes and reviews of organic/locavore restaurants and products. So here's to picking up where things got left off and to enjoying the the rest of the ride!