where the chips fall

Sometimes writing in this manner is really strange. Take the title of this post, for instance. I didn’t give it any thought beforehand, but at the same time, I had to tell myself that this was the title I was going to accept because it was the first thing that came to mind. Strangely, I couldn’t shake the thought of it, either.

And thus, a title was born.

Does it have any meaning? At this point in the text, I suppose not. At least my mind hasn’t really connected any virtual dots with it yet.

Perhaps it will in the next 5 or so paragraphs… Wouldn’t that be killer?

I’m starting to think that trying to work without performing an exercise like this is a little like jumping out of bed with no coffee. It can be done, of course, but things are shaky. And slow. And groggy.

Let’s face it, this is no way to produce!

back to the title

When I think about the title of this entry, I am reminded of poker chips, Las Vegas, and the now-irrelevant PartyPoker.com. Strange indeed, but not too much of a stretch when you consider the parallels between the different types of “chips.” Also, I suppose the phrase “chips fall” implies a bit of uncontrollable fortune, much like a game of poker.

So what I’m thinking to myself now is this: what on earth does poker have to do with my life right now?

Not a frickin thing.

At least I think it doesn’t.

Maybe it does, hell, because when I think of poker, I often think of my friends who play poker. I haven’t talked to some of those guys in years, so that could be part of it. I dunno, doesn’t matter right now. The only thing that matters for me today is knocking out this crapstick design for a client who’s not even really a client.

What’s even worse is the fact that I am stuck working with a color scheme that I’d rather not have any part of, and I don’t want to get too outrageous with the design because I’m not being paid for my time. I guess in the interest of disclosure I should mention that I am being paid in an offhand sort of way, but the amount of questions I’ll have to answer in the future will be significantly less if I just conduct a “simple” design instead of something that has tons of character.

On top of that, “good design” and this color palette are basically square pegs and round holes.

And now that I’ve wrapped up a topic that I don’t even care to speak about—much less think about—I’m not sure what else to say. My mind is so trapped in this stifling bit of garbage that I can’t even think outside of it right now. Frustrating!

It just occurred to me that I feel like I ought to reach some significant conclusion during the course of writing here. Like there has to be some sort of justifiable revelation at the end in order to warrant my being here in the first place.

But then you have to consider that the activity itself is, in fact, the goal of an exercise such as this.

More creepy evidence that my left brain is trying to creep into a party to which it wasn’t invited.

creativity in all of us?

I wonder if people are more creative than they let on. Like, maybe some folks are so controlled by their left brains that their rights never get the chance to shine.

What if they live their entire lives stifling a side of themselves that could change their outlook significantly? Conservative circles might say, “Well, they’ll make less money, of course!”

And then on the other hand, you’ll have your radicals who will die a little inside every time they hear something like that.

But really…Can you know yourself entirely if you remain strictly regimented until the day you die? I, for one, am an unbending creature of routine. I do the same freakin things every morning, only with a few notable, less-compulsive exceptions like showers and grooming rituals. Does this mean I don’t use my right brain? Nah.

I know for sure that my right brain is hidden away in a corner when I’m in front of my computer, needing to create something, and just coming up with piece of crap after piece of crap.

In a way, my experiences creating themes have probably pigeonholed me as a designer. At this point, I have trouble thinking outside of the frameworks that I’ve created because I know just how much additional work needs to be done in order to go from “somewhat custom” to “completely custom.”

Then, of course, I can contradict myself by pointing to Search Engine Journal, which was a site that I built using a heavily modified version of the Cutline theme.

Maybe I’m wrong about everything.

Maybe I just need to step outside my own box.

Maybe this will help me do it.