This is a strange color to epitomize March, but I opted to use web-safe colors which severely limited my choice. I must say I'm not very happy about web-safe colors from an artistic point of view, but I've been paying attention in class and I think it would make a nice change for my colors to look exactly the way I want them to in as many browsers and operating systems as possible.
Working with Photoshop 6.0 is disorienting at times. I'd gotten so used to 5.0, I knew exactly where everything was and what each tool and filter did. Okay, the tools and filters I liked. I didn't know everything because I didn't spend my time doing tricky things with photos. I mostly worked with fonts and easy graphics, a little drop shadow here, a blur there, a touch of desaturate, a delicate way with the lasso. Now I'm being forced to relearn this software, and lordy, they just released 7.0 so I'll just have to start all over again next year.
It'll be okay. My class is fun, challenging but fun. I have to create a whole new splash page on an educational or promotional theme; no more travel sites. I need to demonstrate all my new tricks on it. I really like image maps and slices, that's worth learning. I don't know if this is developing me personally (the requirement these credits are designed to fulfill are called Personal Development thanks to touchy feely California State University language) but I'm certainly stretching the limits of my knowledge and patience. Which is not a bad thing.
Work has been just fine since my last fit of angst. I got some serious suggestions for new job options, none of which were appropriate besides the ones that encouraged me to write about my wacky clients or to go for the time travel agency mystery romance. If I didn't make it clear before, I will do so now: I don't actually want to change jobs this year. I have plans, one of which is to graduate, and one of which is to go on an agency fam. So what I really needed was to find a new, engrossing, amusing hobby to take up the space between job and home and gym and pet care. I have been making notes on the novel ever since.
I am happy to report two of my insanely picky clients finally selected their trips and made a deposit for which all give thanks, hosannahs, etc.. I am sorry to report a third picky client has failed to commit to the trip for which I came up with four different options, all of which she keeps rejecting in a classic passive-aggressive method. I know she's working with another travel agent on this as well, so I have no faith that she'll really give me her credit card on Monday, but we'll see. I've stopped working on it until she does, which is all one can really do in these cases.
I got a phonecall at the end of the day from a guy who wanted to have me issue his airline tickets. I explained about our fee and he was fine with that. However, it turned out he had bought the tickets using his mileage. I explained I was unable to help him after all since he wasn't buying it with money. He said no, no, he'd pay the fee. I explained he had to go to the airlines directly, that no travel agency could produce a ticket purchased by redeeming airline miles. He got very upset with me and told me that the airline didn't have a city ticket office any more, so he needed me to print out the physical hard copy for him. I could not get him to comprehend that this meant he had to drive to an airport and get the airline to do it.
It was like shouting into the wind. My words kept coming back to me all distorted. He got madder and madder. I was as nice as pie, I really was, but he was shouting, "You a bad travel agent! You a very bad travel agent! Why you not issue my ticket? My money not good enough for you? You can't make me go to the airport!" It was hilarious and bizarre.
How could I ever leave this business? Writing novels at home would be so tame.
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