I realize that I haven't written much, if anything, about my work. I'm not sure why that is, entirely, but it's at least partially because I still haven't adjusted yet to just how much work is a part of my daily adult life.

(School, in contrast, was never a significant part of my life. Not at any point at which I'd have been journalling it, at least. So this does mark a contrast for me.)

But as it turns out, I've been doing graphic design (or web design, or web development, or the various permutations of title and responsibility that I've gone through) for the better part of a decade. And I've made a lot of... things: websites, and banners, and flash widgets, and emails, and posters, and flyers, and multimedia DVD's, and I'm sure there's stuff I've long since forgotten.

And here's where I stand, in general: I'm very, very good at the technology of my trade. What skills I don't posses, I can fake or pick up quickly enough that I almost never have to say "I can't do that." I've never felt that I possess the soul of an artist -- Lisa, for example, could outdesign me in her sleep, I'm sure. But I have a good enough design sense, and a deep enough well of experience, that I'm not embarrassed by what I make at this point in my career. And that's a big step for me, because I'm terrible at liking anything I've made.

But today, I got a nice little boost.

If you spend much time on Youtube, you've probably seen their "Invideo" ads -- little animated banners that pop up at the 15-second mark in some videos, at the bottom of the screen, and go away after about 10 seconds. They're ads, yes; so I'm sure none of you are very fond of them. But ads are a big part of what I do, so I was very pleased to see this page, this morning: Google's Youtube Invideo Ad information page.

See those ads? The square on the right with a man holding a Python, and the Invideo with the translucent snakeskin pattern that says "Dr. Brady Barr vs. Giant Python"?

I made those as part of a campaign for National Geographic. And the guys at Google who put together their Invideo information page, who had to select a good ad to teach people how to make Invideo and to convince people that it was a good format to invest in, chose my ad to do it.

They didn't even tell me about it; I found out when I went to look at the specs this morning. But I made that ad months ago.

It's weird, but looking at this sent a rush through me, of what I can only describe as legitimacy. Because Google and Youtube are companies, you know? And they've invested a chunk of money into this ad format.

So, yeah. That's pretty cool.

How've you been?