mindplunge

Birthday weekend at Big Sur

We just got back from my pre-birthday weekend at Big Sur. My actual b-day is today (yay me!) but due to a time schedule we decided to leave for the Big Sur area on Thursday. It was an amazing trip and the Big Sur/Monterey area is simply breath-taking. We stayed at the Deer Haven Inn in Pacific Grove, a small town which is part of the Monterey/Carmel area.

We traveled down South exploring Big Sur and it’s dramatic ocean views. The views are truly amazing. We had lunch at the Post Ranch Inn, an upscale restaurant with a stunning view over the ocean. Of course we did the 17 mile drive through the Pebble Beach district. Below a few pics of our trip. More to come soon as I’m going through all th pictures. Click the images to enlarge!

A new beginning, a new design

I’ve been working hard for the last two weeks to complete the new design for mindplunge. As you might have figured out I’m starting as a freelance web designer and needed to dust off my portfolio. What better way than working on my own domains!

Color scheme is slightly darker but overall the same kinda blue-ish. Sidebar has been stripped to an accordion-style navigation. Click the large buttons to reveal more content! I’m sure you can figure it out.

There are still some elements I need to work on (pagination, trackbacks and several plug-ins) but I couldn’t wait to put some stuff already live. More soon!

Update: Apperently the wp_head() function isn’t playing nice with accordion.js. Had to roll back to the old theme. Oops

Update: All good. The ‘lightview plus’ plug-in was interferring with the accordion. Lightview plus is now replaced with shadowbox.

So here we are…

It’s been a while and for a reason. Last month I quit my job and I’m sorting things out. I know, I get a lot of comments about quitting your job in this kind of economy. I still believe I did the right thing, tanking economy or not… To me personal health is now priority #1 and if this means sacrificing stability so be it.

On the other hand, numerous doors have opened up and it feels to me all the pieces need to fall into place. I’m currently drawn to being a freelance web designer again and yes, it’s not an easy road but it is something I really enjoy doing. I’m just fascinated by the web and I love creating for it. The last 3 weeks I’ve been updating my two other domains eightdegree.com and richardlemon.com. Both are portfolio sites and powered by WordPress. Next up is mindplunge! Design is already in place but I need to convert it to a WordPress theme.

Besides tinkering with my 3 domains I’m working on a Construction site. Once completed I’ll give you the link.

I’m really happy I have the full support of my girlfriend. Without this it would be an impossible situation but she totally rocks and knows what I’m going through. I’m thankful she can see and understand the various options we have right now so this makes things easier.

I’m sure I have other things to say but for now I’ll keep it at this. More to come as I have a sea of time!