I’m jkhinzman.
people used to know me as Phlooid. Others knew me as SPoT!, dungeon boy or simply schwa. But truthfullly I am simply jkhinzman.Hello jkhinzman.
I am currently an employee at a well known clothing store, but this is still relatively new. My previous long-term employer was of another sort. You see, some years ago during a training session at my job as a customer service rep for a large mail-order pharmacy I began to see things. Scary things that appeared while I was training for the last job I would have in my 20’s. I saw the walls starting to bleed, the ceiling began to breathe and my instructor turned into a demon.It was a very, very bad day to be me.
I went to a community mental health center and got some help. When I told them my rather extensive history with the government’s mental health system, the social worker told me I could probably get on Disability. Apparently two hospitalizations, five years of medication, and many, many, many jobs lasting no longer than three weeks at a time is a sign of an unstable mind. Who knew?
But when I have worked, I have done been a telesales rep for ticketmaster (I held that one for a year, almost.), worked as a customer service rep for a large mail-order pharmacy(Mentioned earlier.), filled out applications for the victims of a hurricane, a burger maker at burger king, a graphic designer, a stock & sales associate and general geek for a small record label.I enjoyed filling out applications for victims of a hurricane, the pay was great and I felt like I was actually helping people as opposed to selling them useless poop they neither wanted nor needed. Working for the record label was, in retrospect, a great thing. I got to work for someone whom I had idolized and revered and who was truly filling out the punk-rock-DIY spirit. Looking back, I realise I should not have taken the job because I was in way over my head in terms of knowledge and kung-fu, and I was trying to do it on equipment which was obsolete and useless a decade previous, and I wasn’t ready for the challenges of working for someone I respected that much. Working and living with your heroes is a very good way to destroy your image of the hero in question. Suddenly, you realise that they are human, just like you. Presuming Martin were to ever read this, here is a great big apology for my lack of judgement…
So what do I do to pass the time?
Right around the time I got fired from my last job for attendance violations, I met a guy who introduced me to the world of computers. I had always had an interest in art and music, but never had the patience to learn how to do either. I have a tremor which causes me to shake, sometimes uncontrollably (think Michael J. Fox), so learning to draw or play an instrument was very difficult, but I had always thought I could fake it somehow. Geek Dave showed me how to use Photoshop, and I was hooked. I’ve been creating with a Mac ever since. I taught myself for many years, then went to school and got a certificate for Design with Computer Tools. I chose to learn Macintosh at the worst possible time for Apple. I chose Apple during the Amelio years of the 90’s. In the mid-9o’s Apple was not the unstoppable juggernaut it is now. They were very badly managed and there were many calls to either sell the company or dismantle it. I chose Macintosh because at that time, wintel machines did not have the abilities to do graphics or sound. So, the Mac seemed the obvious choice for me as someone who wanted to do both graphics and sound.So what have I done with all this knowledge?
I have done a CD cover for a friend’s band, and a few of my own CDs through <MP3.com> and other outlets. I think my music belongs in film soundtracks. A few of my friend’s have agreed with me on this point. My designs tend to be of a more rock-n-roll or Grunge style. But with clean, modern typography. I have, however, been known to do more traditional styles. I am a bit more fond of vector-based than pixel-based work. While I recognize that Adobe software is still very necessary, I am also amazed at what developers are coming up with as alternatives. I have all but replaced PhotoShop and Illustrator with Pixelmator and ArtBoard. Plus I would much rather give my money to Apple and small developers than Adobe. But I digress.So where Do I live?
I am originally from the suburbs of Washington, DC, but I have lived in Chicago, Lancaster and Columbus as well. I liked Chicago a lot. Columbus was not my first choice of places to spend several years, but it was a learning experience. Currently I am living very close to Bethany Beach, Delaware. This is an area I have been coming to all my life, and as far back as I can remember I have always wanted to live here. The people are warm and accepting, and the sunsets are simply unbelievable. Hell, just the cloud formations have stopped me in my tracks a few times.The Validation of my existence
For most of my adult life I have been working on developing the music in my head. First as a vocalist in a truly bad punk rock band, and then in various capacities as a synth player, samplemeister, DJ and engineer. I have been mixing and pretending I was a DJ as long as I can remember, making tapes and CDs for other people and myself. After building some confidence I have also done a bunch of parties, a smattering of radio time and a coffee house. I’ve always been a doodler. My dad tried to help me get into a more serious aspect of visual art a long time ago. To the best of my knowledge he still has the first drawing I ever did framed on one of his walls. When I first tried to do graphics on a computer it was pretty abstract (never have to worry about copyrights when you make you’re own blobs). following the evolution of computing they started out as just black and white, went to full color, and now they are just plain loud. Working for a small print press is certainly a good way to get experience and I am thankful for that time.I have also done some video and motion graphics. I enjoy the editing of video a lot and when I can remember how to do the motion graphics I am astounded at what you can create with a simple laptop. For that matter, a tablet or phone. I am amazed almost every day by where we have managed to take technology. Almost every time I use my iPhone it’s a revelation. I, for one, did not see that particular revolution in technology coming.
