I’m so tired today, I guess it’s because I stayed up all night to sort out some Flash problems. I’m supposed to meet up tonight with C. and go to a pub somewhere near Bethnal Green to watch a colleague of her play in a jazz band. I so feel like staying home, cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie with my other half… Is that bad? A. will be flying off to the south of France tomorrow for a week, I’ll be staying home, I need time to finish my business website. It should’ve been done by now but I keep changing my mind and come up with different things and ideas, since I tend to be a perfectionist it will probably never be finished, there’s always something else I will come up with. I just need to get my portfolio ready and then I’m ready to face the world.
I’m planning on doing an action scripting course, a three days course will be slightly over 750 pounds which is quite cheap compared to the courses I checked in the Lowlands. I noticed a huge difference in wages; with my skills and experience I could earn 55k a year which is a much better pay than a graphic design job. Graphic design seems to be extremely competitive out here which is surprising to me. I’ve been discussing this with some of the people I met last Thursday at the exhibition and I must say it left me slightly disappointed. But, I would love to do that course and it will get me in a better position so I’m up for it. A. found it online, it’s a really good deal because I know quite a lot already I don’t need to start from scratch and this course seems to be just the perfect fit. It’s at this Adobe Authorised Training Centre so it will be a quality course, and so cool and so what I wanted to do for a long time!
But first I need to focus on my website upcoming week and finish it. Then the week after I will be in hospital on Thursday and Friday, then I’ll probably need a full week to recover from the surgery and then after that I can finally plan the course. My blood tests came in today, the doctor called so hopefully I will hear more about the results in two weeks. I’m not sure what to feel or how to feel about the surgery and biopsy really, it’s scary and I would like to get it over with asap. Having to spend a night at the hospital is not really something to look forward to though, I’d rather be home with A.. He took those days off to take me to hospital and collect me the next morning and look after me. I’ll be in pain and probably in bed for a few days. I really will have to rest and stay away from my computer which is going to be tough. Anyway, it needs to be done and I still have a week and a half to cut down on computer activities… Let’s just stay positive and hope the bad cells will be gone after this one night stay…
I’d better get ready and wake up A., he’s having a kip, old man *grin* Ciao!
——————————
Course Prerequisites:
To take this course, you should have:
• Completed the Adobe Flash 8: Rich Content Creation course, or have equivalent experience.
• The desire to learn how to program Flash content using ActionScript.
Unit 1: Introducing the Course
° Understanding the course format
Unit 2: Controlling Visual Objects with ActionScript
° Declaring variables and their data types
° Introducing core properties of visual built-in classes: MovieClip, Button, and TextField
° Introducing core properties of non-visual built-in classes: Math
° Using mathematical operators
° Understanding data type conversion
Unit 3: Using and Writing Functions
° Converting values returned from functions and assigning them for display
° Writing user defined functions
° Returning, or not returning, data from a function
° Understanding variable scope
° Understanding object methods
° Understanding cross-domain security issues
° Dynamically referring to instance names and property names at runtime
Unit 4: Using Text, Dates, Math, and Paths
° Using Date objects
° Working with String concatenation
° Generating random numbers and integers using the Math class
Unit 5: Understanding and Handling Events
° Understanding event driven programming
° Working with event handler syntax
° Moving from symbol-based to timeline-based event handling
° Calling a single function from multiple event handlers
° Referring to a parent object from within an event handler
Unit 6: Managing Color, Sound, and Data with Built-In Classes
° Understanding complex (aggregate) variables
° Working with Arrays
° Working with generic Objects
° Creating audio feedback with event-driven sounds linked from the Library
Unit 7: Making Decisions and Repeating Yourself
° Understanding conditional code execution
° Surveying the comparison and logical operators
° Using if/else comparison to toggle MovieClip visual states
Unit 8: Animating with ActionScript
° Dragging and dropping a MovieClip object
° Testing for collision between MovieClip objects
° Initializing attached MovieClip objects
° Testing and responding to position at runtime
Monthly Archives: March 2007
Grand Soiree
I had such a splendid evening, it reminded me in a way of hanging out with some of ‘my’ students at the Rietveld Academy, we would always end up in weird places, meeting people and not knowing what would be next. I went to the Times by public transport and called CS. to come and collect me since you need a special pass to get into the building. CS. and Christina both had to finish off some things and then we took a cab to Saffron Hill.
The exhibition was not really what we expected it to be, it wasn’t actually photography but more like collages made of photographs, some odd and some beautiful. I brought my camera but forgot to take pictures because I ended up talking to MvdM. who invited CS. to the exhibition. It turned out he’s Dutch. I’ve met the first Dutch person in London but I still wonder where the others seem to be hiding… MvdM. showed us around the building, the office etc. and we got a gift from one of his colleagues which was in a white carton box.
Anyway, we left after about an hour and half to get something to eat. I had two glasses of wine on an empty stomach which wasn’t such a good idea… While we were talking outside the building MvdM. came to us and told us he was on his way to another exhibition of a Dutch photographer and invited us to come along. So we did… We took a cab up north but to be honest, I have no idea where I was… Daft, I know, but my brain gave up on me by the time we got there and it refused to work till about 16.00 this afternoon. [It was Hoxton… found out later when I was sober again.]
We found the place and I ended up talking to several Dutch people which was actually quite cool and at times confusing [I tend to mix up English and Dutch when I’m drunk, or forget Dutch words and come up with the English translation… what’s wrong with me?] The exhibition was nice, but we were late and it was about to close. We ended up going to a pub which was around the corner, there was a crowd of us, about 20 people all different nationalities, all creative people, photographers, graphic designers, web developers etc.
People kept asking me questions about the contents of the box, since I was ‘a bit’ drunk I kept telling them my dead hamster was in there, while shaking the box. I told them he was so stiff you could hear his bones rattle. You should’ve seen their faces, hilarious! I met a really nice English lady who asked my phone number, she’s a photographer and would be in Amsterdam next week, she wanted to stay in touch so I gave her my business card. Met another photographer who gave me his business card. Met a Swiss girl who studies graphic design and her boyfriend a photographer who was also showing his photo’s at the second exhibition.
The pub was closing so we moved on to the next pub which was about a five minutes walk. There was a bouncer at the door [that’s odd to me but a good thing!] so I opened my bag to show him the contents, he just smiled at me and showed me in [that feels good actually… especially when you’re drunk] *wink* The pub was crowded but a fun place and again I had to keep a poker face while telling some people about a dead hamster in a box. I found myself talking to this English guy who told me he was a *ta da* graphic designer in the music industry. By the time I got fed up and tired the pub was closing and we took a cab to CS.’s. MvdM. came along, he lives just around the corner.
AS. took me home and had to put me to bed, I was too tired and drunk *yes I know, I’m terrible!* It’s been ages since I have been this drunk, I was in control till we got home, then I lost the plot completely. When I woke up at noon I could still feel the alcohol rush through my veins. Never again will I drink on an empty stomach, that’s a promise! I shall behave… honestly! We [MvdM. and myself] are going to organise a Dutch evening for English people, so they can try all the Dutch ‘goodness’: oliebollen, frikandellen, zuurkool met worst, hagelslag, Unox erwtensoep and haring met uitjes en zuur. I will prepare an Indonesian rice table [rijsttafel], it will be a blast.
I’ve met some really nice people and handed out a few business cards and got some in return, who knows what will be next…
My ‘dead hamster’ that I managed to get home in one piece 