Moem's Journal
It's not Myspace...wait, it's not even LiveJournal.
Recent Entries 
readme.txt
Hi! You've found me. This is kind of an experimental / placeholder journal, since the way LiveJournal has been changing recently worries me.
You can find me there under the username m03m. That's m-zero-three-m.

Since I'm (for now) primarily an LJ user, these entries have been copied from there. Some have even been copied from MySpace first!
That causes some problems with linkage. And if there's something about site changes and other ongoing events that makes you go 'huh?' because it doesn't seem to make any sense, it's probably about LiveJournal, not Scribbld. I apologize for any confusion and other kinds of inconvenience.

Oh, and copying the entries from elsewhere means losing all comments, as well.
23rd-Sep-2009 02:44 pm - Networking
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...is more than just a buzzword. Or so I hope.
Recently, I've been working on doing it better. I've not been very busy this year, work-wise, and I've had plenty of interesting, non-work related things to to; all very nice, but I figured it's about time I invest a bit of energy in getting some nice projects in the future.

Here's what I did... )
10th-Feb-2009 10:57 am - Quick fix
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I broke the zipper on my new working pants. Not nice. And I was so happy with the pants... I've only worn them for a few days and there's just a bit of paint on them so far.
They're really neat pants, too, all professional looking and full of funky little pockets, loops to hang your keys and tools from, and most importantly: pockets for knee protectors.
And I really really want to wear them to work today.

But replacing zippers is kind of hard, and I'm not much of a seamstress.
So I replaced the zipper with Velcro.

Think it'll work?
22nd-Jan-2009 08:52 pm - March sure is early this year!
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Normally, this time of the year business is really slow for me. Usually, it starts to pick up in March. But this year appears to start off with a bang. I've already been asked for two price quotes, and today I was requested to make a third one!
This is what may be coming up:

  • The exterior of a shop in Amsterdam, very close to Dam Square. It was originally painted 'faux bois' (fake wood) but it's in disrepair, so it needs to be redone. Not certain yet. But interesting.
  • A large windowsill and a mantle to be painted to resemble marble, and some odds and sods in granite effect, in a private home. Price quote is approved. I'm starting on Monday.
  • And just in: the steering hut of a boat, made from steel, to be painted in teak effect. I'm going there tomorrow to check it out.

Neat, huh? Looks like it may be going to be a good year.
Crisis, what crisis?

10th-Nov-2008 02:57 pm - This makes me happy
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  • I just sent a price quote for an interesting art project. Fingers crossed that I'm within their budget, it involves painting with glow-in-the-dark paint and it sounds like fun.
  • I found a shop that sells fire bellied newts, it's so close that I can go there by bicycle, they have three newts at the moment and they're open tomorrow.
  • An acquaintance I just painted something for gave me, as a sort of tip, 50 euros that are meant to go into the BCX 'Hairy' fund. Which means that that one is now ahead, with 9 days to go.
  • [info]stoneshop  is coming home early today.  Yay.
  • I did a bit of cleaning up. I put on some music as I was cleaning, and cleaned and danced at the same time. No, I do not look like Freddy Mercury in the video for 'I want to break free'. And my Teasmade hasn't exploded either.
  • There's a BookCrossing meeting coming up in Amsterdam, next friday. Since I have to be in Utrecht the next day, I'm thinking of going. And we're having one in Nijmegen on Thursday. I'm going to that one for sure.
  • When cleaning, I found about 100 euros that I'd forgotten I had.

15th-Jul-2008 10:58 am - My latest T-shirt
kladderkatje
This one just arrived from Vistaprint.
I was wondering how their prints would look on black shirts, the answer is: not great. It's not a big deal because the shirt was cheap (one of those 'try one free' deals, where you have to pay for postage and handling and end up paying a reasonably low price, which does not equal 'free', but still equals 'reasonably low') but it's not something I would gladly have paid more for.
Still, I'm wearing it today.
The toothless tiger (nothing a bit of correction fluid couldn't fix) is one of their standard designs; the text was found in many places on the internets and goes: 'I can only please so many people a day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look good, either.'



In other news: I'm recovering from a bad cold and will finally be able to start my latest project tomorrow, if the weather permits. I hope it will.
23rd-Mar-2008 10:59 am - I'm celebrating
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Or, to be more accurate, I was, but it was Content Strike day so I didn't post.

I started my own business 18 years ago, on March 21th. That's right, the first day of spring. I chose that because it seemed like a nice symbol of starting something new.
On that day, I first went to the Chamber of Commerce to have my business registered. That wasn't all that easy because there wasn't such an entry as 'signwriter' or 'signwriter/decorator' in the database and they kept asking me if I painted houses or made paintings, and I kept saying: it's something in between those two. But they finally worked out a way of doing it, so I was in the records and out of there.
After that, I went to Social Security and told them they could remove me from their records, as I wouldn't be needing them anymore, and anyway, being registered with the Chamber of Commerce cancelled my right to get any money from them. They were friendly and very concerned, asking me: are you sure you want to do this? I told them yes, and that I'd already done it.

It felt great. Cheerful and heroic music was playing in my head and I felt as if the sun were shining down on me all day long. It was a very happy, exciting and hopeful day.
Now, 18 years later, I'm still happy I took that step. Sure, I'm still not rich and I guess I never will be, unless playing in the lottery finally pays off. But I'm doing something that I like, that I'm good at, and I've learned so much. The 18-years ago me would be very impressed with the level of skills I have now acquired. And I'm looking forward to learning much more.

So, here's to my humble business. It started out from nothing, and it's still not much, but hey, it's how I've been making a living. The business is something I have created; it wouldn't exist if not for me.  And it's a wonderful thing to have.
11th-Mar-2008 09:45 am - Writer's Block: That's the Power of...
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[Error: unknown template 'qotd']Doing what I'm good at. Using my skills. A feeling of 'Oh yeah, I can do this.'

Using your skills, especially skills that you have worked on to aquire, feels good in and of itself. Much in the way that flexing your muscles feels good. It makes you aware of the power they carry. It makes you aware of your possibilities.

Having aquired certain skills, and using them, is one of the greater plesures in life and it's one that I can't remember ever having been told about.

Company logo icon, because 'work' was the first thing that came to mind when reading the question. And that's a Good Thing.
10th-Mar-2008 01:27 pm - Finished the sign yesterday
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and here it is. It turned out OK, but it'll be a good reminder not to do any lettering this small anymore if I can help it. The green letters were much faster and easier to do. I'm mailing the sign out tomorrow, the paint needs to harden a bit more before I do.

click makes big
31st-Jan-2008 10:29 pm - Writer's Block: An Artist Is...
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[Error: unknown template 'qotd']No. I'm not an artist, I'm a craftsperson.
Artists express themselves in their work. I don't. Even though I use paint, which makes most people think of art and artists, I don't use it (mainly) to express myself; I merely strive to create a fine looking decoration or advertisement. If I've done a good job, then my work is artful. But that doesn't make it art.
28th-Sep-2007 12:27 pm - Finished!
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(Originally posted on MySpace)
This is a Very Good kind of day. My big project, that I've been working on since April, is finished!
As you may remember, it consists of four murals in Amsterdam.
For now, I'll just post a pic of the last one, that was finished just yesterday, and then I'm off to celebrate  :-D



You can probably understand why I'm proud of this!
20th-Apr-2007 05:10 pm - Busy busy busy... and loving it!
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(Originally posted on My Space)
You won't see me blogging much during the next few weeks or even months (not that anyone's looking). I've started working on my biggest project yet: the four big murals in Amsterdam I mentioned earlier (not that anyone listened).
It's going well and I'm enjoying it, too. There's some commuting involved, but only every other day because I'm borrowing an apartment right in the center of Amsterdam. (How cool is that? Well, pretty damned cool if you ask me.)
Here's a pic, and if you'd like to see more, see my homepage (yes, it's in Dutch) or see a whole lotta pics on Photobucket.


21st-Mar-2007 06:29 pm - Back on the boom lift... YAY!!
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(Originally posted on MySpace)
Spring is definitely here! Not only is today the seventeenth anniversary of my company (as you should know by now, I'm a self-employed sign writer / decorator), but my business is springing right back into bloom.
I just got an official 'go ahead' on the biggest job I've (n)ever done. It's a series of four (count them: F-O-U-R) large murals about nautical history. The biggest one will be over twelve metres high!
So it's back in business, and back on the boom lift for me!
Here's a pic of me on top of the world, four years ago:



I was painting the logo you see on the left on the wall of a brewery. Needless to say I took some lovely and tasty farewell gifts home when I was finished! More pics can be found here.

I just love working on boom lifts, or cherry pickers, as they are also called. I really enjoy being able to see so far, and I don't find the gentle swaying scary at all... just annoying if it gets windy, because it's hard to paint a straight line when you're standing on a moving platform!

This particular contract has been in the making for a year. There were so many bureaucratic hurdles to take, and by the time I could have begun it was way too late in the autumn. But I knew it was coming and I was looking forward to getting started.
Right now I'm busy thinking of clever ways to enlarge the designs to 10 X 10 meter, and making a list of all the stuff I'll need. First thing on the list is the boom lift itself. I could rent one, but it would swallow a third of the budget, so buying one (and selling it afterwards) is going to work out cheaper...
I'll be the proud owner of my very own diesel-powered dinosaur for the next six months!

Now if you don't think that's exciting, you would not recognize exciting if it would be dancing on the piano in a pink tutu while singing 'I'm exciting, I'm exciting'.
29th-Nov-2006 10:27 pm - Ups and downs of being a self employed signwriter-decorator
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(Originally posted on MySpace)
Today I was informed that a certain assignment I was going to do next week was postponed.
The guy who was supposed to make the wall nice and even before I would be able to paint a marble effect on it, has a badly infected joint and can't work, so I can't either. There goes my income for December!

So I decided to try something I haven't done in years: go out and find some shop and café owners willing to have a temporary decoration painted on their windows for Christmas. Sint Nicolas would be nice too, but it's a bit late for that now.
I found the designs of frolicing Christmas trees I made at least five years ago, and even the HTML to advertise my temporary activities on my business' website. So now that the page is back up, the next step is to dress in nice white-with-paint stains and hit the street. I'll take prints of the designs (or if I can find them I might even laminate the original drawings and take those), some flyers to leave if I can't talk to the person in charge, and business cards.

I haven't done this in years, but it's probably a good idea. I might even come home with some new assignments for 'real' work. Wish me luck.


26th-Sep-2006 11:43 pm - A slideshow with some pics of my work
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26th-Sep-2006 11:41 pm - A slideshow with some pictures of my work
avatar met molen
See it here.
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