Clicky!
I was successful in validating a page for the first time! Yes, the page has barely any content, but it's a start. Right? To me, this is a good thing. I am happy~!
Hey, everyone! Please come to
forums.projectfantasy.net and join me, okay? I am working on the new version, Memories, but I am going to need lots of feedback. I also want to have activity there. I feel so frustrated when I see that no one posts. It is at times like this that I wonder if all of this is worth my time.
The domain name is now functioning, although not as I expected. However, the Oekaki and Topsites list are ready to be used again. I am having trouble with the wiki, though. The wiki is not working, and I have searched that code to see what I can do and it is very hard to understand. They are using classes and advanced PHP that I am not very familiar with. All the configuration is set to match the new server and database information, but the wiki still doesn't work. I am almost giving up. I spent a lot of time trying to figure it out last night. If I am successful in recovering the few pages that were written in there, I am just going to start a new wiki and place the old content in it.
Well, my hopes are high and I really expect this new version of PF is going to bring old members back. PF is supposed to become an open network. In other words, members are welcomed to contribute in it with their own projects and ideas. But without members, this will not work.
I hope to see you there, and thanks for reading.
Project Fantasy has now been moved to its new home! However, many of the sub-websites are still unavailable, and the
projectfantasy.net domain is not working yet. We'll have to wait a little, as it is not under my control.
I will be installing the sub-websites this week as I can. And I am proud to say that no data has been lost to this date. So all the user information is safe! I hope the same goes for the wiki, the topsites, and the oekaki.
You can reach the unfinished home page of Project Fantasy
here.
You can visit the forums
here.
Feel free to leave your comments. They are always appreciated.
Thank you for coming!
... the quest begins.
I just had a long conversation with my mother and my stepfather (second dad for me). Well, they tried to explain to me how hard it is to get started with no experience in your field, once you complete your bachelor. Okay, I am fine with that. I had contemplated it already, and I know that things won't be easy, and that I have a very long way to go. The only thing I can do is accept it and continue to dream as I try to reach my goals in life; but without starting to feel the frustration that drowns so many adults in that vast sea of... helplessness.
The thing is that mom sent my resumé to a couple of people in need of web designers... and although I am very glad that she recognizes what I want to do with my life and that I have some potential for it, I wouldn't know what the heck to say if they suddenly called me and asked about my professional experience in the mentioned field. Because the truth is that I have none at all. All of my works are personal website projects, most of them unfinished. I still haven't even succeeded in validating XHTML and CSS in any of my pages. And most of these employers want their designers to know how to work with Dreamweaver. (Funny enough, one of the employers wrote that name in their ad as "dreamweaber". Jesus Christ...)
In addition to that, some insist in a bachelor degree. And you know, there is really nothing like a bachelor degree in web design around here; at least not ESPECIALLY in web design. There is GRAPHIC design, with a few web design courses included, but these courses don't exactly teach you how to code in HTML. They want you to design in WYSIWYG only, which is kind of stupid if later you want to fix your code and validate it. I don't really know how these visual programs work, but to be honest, I am not even interested. I stick to my text editors and coding from scratch. It is much more entertaining and challenging that way. So it is either that you need experience with WYSIWYG stuff, or they want you to know Javascript and AJAX, too. Bah. I haven't given Javascript any serious attempts, and AJAX... I am not in that level yet. SQL, I can handle the basics, and I have worked with MySQL and SQLyog (or something...) in my computer. I know the basics of managing databases, but I have a lot to learn, I think. PHP, I know a lot but not all. I haven't tried OOP (object-oriented programming, which can be done in PHP and has gotten better after PHP5) or GD (in general, manipulating images through PHP code), but I am working on both. Some of these things, I know I can learn them in less than five months. But I need actual experience, and that is why I started the iMagiNation project. I want to build a small social network so that I can show it in my portfolio in a near future, and demonstrate what I know. Of course that a social network is something big and complicated. It requires knowledge I don't possess, so I doubt I can make a basic release it in less than a year. Unless I base it off an existing engine, and I haven't found the right one yet. I think it'd be better to start from scratch and do the basic stuff, then improve in the meantime, adding more features as I learn and understand more things.
Well, the thing is that mom likes to send my resumé without even asking. That surprised me, because I thought she wasn't aware of what I really like to do. She took the time to search for vacancies in which she thought I could get started with my professional career, but she forgot that my resumé is quite... empty. I have only had one job in my life. I am enrolled in a study program that's got little to do with web design and development. And I don't even have a portfolio ready. As much as it really pains me, these are opportunities that I just can't get my hands on. At least not right now. Give me a year, and we'll see.
So after having that long conversation with both mom and my stepfather, they decided that the best I could do now was polish my skill and knowledge in web design and development as much as I could before January, and that I tried to find a job by then. Because the sooner I get started, the better for me and my future. I agree, but I am so scared... I know about someone who is much better than me at this, and he has not even dared to show his awesomeness to the world. He deserves to get a good job as web designer and have a successful career even more than me. If he doesn't get a job, how can I think of one for myself? That would be unfair. It would be cool if we could work together in the field, you know. But that will hardly ever happen, I think. :P
In conclusion, I got work to do this winter. A lot. I have to catch up and be at least as good as someone who is getting started as a web designer, so that I can at least have a chance of finding something, even if really small. It would be a start, and one step less from the many that my feet have yet to reach.
- Finish the 'Starlight Bookmarks' script.
- Finish the new version of 'Project Fantasy' before moving on.
- Create a couple of sample mini pages with validated code.
- Review my knowledge in CSS.
- Review my knowledge in general design.
- Research other professional portfolios for reference.
- Make a plan for my portfolio.
- Learn more about manipulating images in PHP and do some practice.
- Learn more about Object-Oriented programming in PHP.
- Study Web 2.0 and Internet Social Networking theory.
- Begin to prepare a professional online portfolio.
- Start planning on iMagiNation project.
- Have a nice Christmas Holiday with my family, and a virtual party with my online buddies and the people of Project Fantasy!
- Remain optimist about making my dreams come true, and never give up.
- Enjoy of life, because it's only one, and because it can be a really awesome one.
Back! October 24
Finally!
My entire hosting account has returned from, erm... suspension. And I got a few things to blog about. But I will do that only after I finish this VERY important home test for tomorrow. I also have work at 3 PM, so I won't be posting until tomorrow.
Sorry for the wait, and thank you for reading!