I'm not dead! I hate to say this again but I've been crazy busy. Hare the things that have happened recently:

+ I'm now a high school graduate! I even have the dilpoma to prove it.
+ I recently turned 18, and celebrated with a big house party :]
+ I now work at ALDO Shoes! (So long Hollister, I'm moving on uppp.)
+ Best thing yet: I was accepted to my top college choice!

So that's what I've been up to lately. Working, preparing for college, etc. Rewindd unfortunately gets put on the back burner when it comes to income and education. Hey at least I have my priorities in check right? I'm terribly sorry I haven't been giving this website enough attention since.....November? Oh god it hurts me to say that. But summer's here and that means more free time! (Well a little, I'm still working heaps at ALDO.)

I really wanna take Rewindd in a new direction actually. With less time to do the MySpace gig, I'm thinking about focusing more on graphic resources/tutorials, that type thing. That way Rewindd could be your go-to-place for whenever you want a fresh resource, or say, want to learn how to do something new. We'll see what happens, but I'm making my comeback so keep your eyes open. I'm a college student now, I"ll be learning new things everyday and I plan on sharing that new information with you guys.

Thanks again for all your support everyone! I learned a lot about design through ZA!D/Rewindd, and now I'm taking those skills and putting them to the challenge with college. I'm 18, my career as a designer is just getting started and I hope you'll stick with me and see where it goes

Just so I can prove to you I haven't been sitting here twiddling my thumbs for the past couple months, here are some of the projects I've been working on. They're just previews for now:

Lastly, a few business related things:
- Advertising will be closed until I can get a hold on things. I'm falling behind on updating the ads and I've gotten some dissapointed emails. I hate that I'm losing you guys, you know I'm not this behind on updates unless it's serious.
- When will there be new layouts, comment boxes, divs, etc? Ahh I'm not sure? MySpace has been changing their coding so much lately it's hard to keep up. I'll do my best though, I've got new graphics for you guys, I just need the time to turn them into layouts.

A final message, thank you to everyone who's kept on visiting the site hoping for new anything. I feel pretty guilty that I haven't been able to keep you guys as updated as I should have. I'm not dissapearing anytime soon so don't worry. I just need a little time to get into college, then I can finally take a break from how crazy my life has been these past two years. I think I'll take a vacation. Er wait, too broke for that. How about a nice long day at the beach?

(click to enlarge)

So in other news, I got into my very first car crash. No worries, I'm totally alright, and so is the other driver, but our cars got a major beating. In a nutshell, here's what happened: She was coming out of a neighborhood and didn't see me because her windows were foggy (this was bright and early Monday morning) and assumed no one was on the road. So, she went.

Problem was that I WAS on the road, and since she decided to go last second, I had to swerve out of the way so we wouldn't collide. As you see from the picture, I didn't succeed. I swerved so that I wouldn't have T-boned her (which would have been BAD BAD BAD) and in the process I tore off the entire front end of her car and destroyed the entire right side of mine. Her car was totalled and wont even start, while mine has a jerky wheel and needs: both passenger side doors replaced as well as the headlight, side mirror, and front bumper.

So sad. I love my car and now I have to wait for it to be repaired. I LOVE INSURANCE THOUGH. Her insurance covers it all and I don't have to pay a penny. I'm just glad no one got hurt. Cars can be replaced, people cannot ;)

On another note: The Cobra Starship concert was great!! [Click in between the brackets to see some pictures.] I went with [my friend Taylor.] We saw [Sing It Loud], [Hit The Lights], [Forever The Sickest Kids] and of course, [Cobra Starship!] We even got some kickass new [tshirts.] Haha, we had a great time, every band was high energy and played well.

In other news:
- Because I'm bored, here are five random things about me:
1.) I'm addicted to gossip blog ONTD. I check it daily
2.) I have about a dozen blue jackets/blazers/and hoodies. Blue. They're all blue. All of themmm.
3.) I honestly can't remember the last day I DIDN'T drink a Coca-Cola.
4.) I prefer typing to writing and I prefer writing in pen than with pencil.
5.) I have a morbid fear of being alone in a parking garage. Or a stairwell. Especially at night.

- As usual, here's what I'm listening to:
+ "If You Seek Amy" and "Circus"- Britney Spears (Leaked singles off the new album. I love them, I'm a shameless Britney fan.)
+ "Mercury" - Bloc Party (New Bloc Party is VERY different from old Bloc Party. I love it though?)
+ "My Worst Nightmare" - Forever The Sickest Kids (Finally saw these guys live at the Cobra Starship concert, they were great!)
+ "Campus" - Vampire Weekend (I'm a new fan to Vampire Weekend. This song is my favorite.)

Thanks again everyone!

^Check out Rewindd.com/halloween for some Halloween themed things for your profile! Most are fan favorites from last year's Halloween update, but expect some new things soon.

So as you guys know, it's my senior year and things are crazier than ever. (I know, I know. I say that a lot...) I'm getting myself and the site back together though! I'm still super busy, but it's getting a little easier now that I have a few less things to keep up with. (ex. the temporarily closed Rewindd Store.) I just wanted to let you all know that Rewindd has not been forgotten about. It's just that college preparation kinda takes priority. I'm sure you understand that, what with it being my future and all

In other news:
• I'm seeing Cobra Starship in concert on November 11th! They've quickly become one of my favorite bands and I can't be more excited to see them live. I've heard they're not as great live, but I don't care all that much because I know their concerts are famous for being so high energy.

• Halloween Horror Nights was a lot of fun this year. I went twice actually, once with my cousin and once with some friends. The actual "Bloody Mary" haunted house wasn't all too amazing, but the zombie-filled "Dead Exposure" and "Scary Tales" were more than great. Also, did anyone go to Howl-O-Scream this year? I'm curious how it went.

• As usual, here's what I'm currently listening to. All certified to get you going and keep you dancingggg:
+ "Spiralling" - Keane (Kinda quirky, but I'm loving the new upbeat Keane.)
+ "The Queen and I" - Gym Class Heroes (Heard this one while cruising in my friends car. Older but still good.)
+ "One Day Robots Will Cry" - Cobra Starship (One of my favorite Cobra songs. I play it religiously in my car.)
+ "Can You Keep A Secret?" - The Cab (So much win. So much.)
+ "Womanizer" - Britney Spears (I'll admit it, I'm a Brit fan. This is crazy club stuff. I'm sorry, I. can't. resist.)

Alright, that's about all I've got to say. Sorry I haven't been able to reply to everyone's comments in the last couple posts. I'm starting fresh with that though, you'll definitely get a reply from now on. Thanks again everyone! I know there haven't been many new things, but I'm glad you're still visiting and showing your support. New things coming soon

**PS: If you have an account with CreateBlog.com, please leave Rewindd a comment? Pretty please?

My senior year starts up on August 18th, and I gotta say it's bittersweet. I'm stoked because I'm almost out of this annoying little thing they call high school, but sad because I'm never gonna see 90% of my friends ever again. I'm sure you all know where I'm coming from....bittersweet, just bittersweet.

On another topic, I've been moving nonstop these past couple weeks. You may not see it because Rewindd.com has been slow lately, but let me just say: 1.) I worked six out seven days this week at Hollister, 2.) I had plans with friends four of those days, 3.) I drove up to Tampa Saturday and successfully made my back pain worse, 4.) I'm busy reading two books I need to finish for my English IV class and Econ class this next Monday, 5.) I'm still scrambling to keep up with the Rewindd Store orders that are coming in, and 6.) I'm still getting everything together for school in one week. So much to do so little time!!

This time of year is especially hectic so I hope you all understand why I haven't been updating as regularly. I'm absolutely exhausted, (what's new?) but I'm still gonna try and deliver some new stuff each week. It'll be pretty random since school is starting back up, but feel free to comment with your ideas and requests so I've got something to go off. Send in your thoughts, it gives me something to focus on

In other news:
• Since I always enjoy sharing what I'm listening to, here are my latest song obsessions:
+ "Flux" - Bloc Party (Heard it in Hollister, fell in love)
+ "My Moves Are White (Hot That Is)" - Cobra Starship (Another Hollister tune, great party song.)
+ "The Enemy" - The White Tie Affair (A mix between Panic! and Cobra Starship)
+ "15 Step" - Radiohead (Not for everyone, but relaxed and cool nonetheless)
+ "Pocket" - Sam Sparro (Electro-club-pop, I love Sam Sparro's debut album)

• Also, is anyone else frustrated over the elimination of Fanny Pak from ABDC? MTV rigged the whole thing again to put the two best crews against each other and to keep the weaker of the three. Same thing happened last season! With my favorite crew then, Kaba Modern! This just sucks. Why do my favorite crews always end up in third place when they deserve a spot in the finale!? akjdfkasdjfaskdf.

• Lastly, shoutout to all my Hollister work-buds! Especially Miguel (always telling me to slow down, hahaha), Meghan (hilarious and just plain awesome), Kaila (my fellow stockroom slave), Stephanie (sweethearttt), Taylor (funny & chill), Ryan (hilarious x2), Belinda (another sweetheart), Lexie (new buddy!), and Mitchell (likes my music & is overall fab). You guys make folding clothes and dealing with crazy customers for five hours everyday worthwhile

(Let me take this moment to shamelessly advertise the ZA!D/Rewindd MySpace.
There are some extras at the MySpace that only profile friends can view. You'll also
receive weekend bulletins whenever I make a larger update! So...add it sometime, haha.)
+ last name "rewindd" to add +

Ahhh, ok so working at Hollister is so much more tiring than you'd think. But before I get to that....I've worked two days since my last post, and so far things are going well! The managers are all really nice (and pretty funny) and have been nothing but awesome since I've started. This one manager, Marlon, worked everyday this week without a single day off. I want more hours as much as the next guy, but that's Hollister overkill. I'll stick to my part-time-couple-shifts-a-week-gig, thank you very much.

So, what's so tiring about working at Hollister? Two words, USR and BACKSTOCK. See, when we sell an item, we need to refill it (so to speak.) That empty spot in the store needs to be restocked so we can continuing selling things. There's this list of things we sell and it's my job to make sure those items get refilled. Today was super-busy for some reason and I spent two and half hours just refilling those clothes. It was insane. Now, backstock....adsfjsdg, backstock is a gigantic pile in the backroom where all the extra unpurchased clothing goes. THE CLOTHES YOU LEAVE IN THE FITTING ROOM AND AT THE REGISTER, YEAH, THAT. There was soooo much to put back today; I must've restocked at least a hundred different items back onto the shelves. Needless to say, it's a time-consuming task. Think about people like me next you don't feel like putting something back where you got it from

Overall though, working at Hollister is simple and fun. You can't be lazy though. (Three people were fired today because of their long-term laziness. Good for me, cause now I get an extra shift this week!) It also depends on the people you work with too. Luckily I haven't had to deal with any (as Diddy would say) bitchassness.

In other news:
• the Rewindd Store is going nicely. I've made a few awesome graphics that I'm really proud. If you've got a couple dollars to spare and want me to whip up something for you/your site, give it a look here. Thanks a ton!

• I've been getting new music like crazy lately. My favorite songs of the moment include:
+ "Just Dance" - Lady Gaga
+ "Chasing Pavements" - Adele
+ "Sick" - Sam Sparro
+ "We Break The Dawn" - Michelle Williams
(I recommened all these songs. They're so great.)

• Ok, America's Best Dance Crew. Any other Fanny Pak fans out there?! I've been a huge fan since the casting special and have been voting like crazy every week to keep them in the game. Did you see them completely smash the speed up challenge?! America needs a slap if that crew is in the bottom again. A giant, stop the presses, shock to the system, bitch slap. (I love this crew in case you couldn't tell.)

Mkay, still workin' each week to bring you new content! Keep checking the updates section of the sidebar for all that's new. I update it everytime something new is added. Thanks again for the support everyone

[EDIT] I just posted...another new site layout. The last one wasn't even a month-old but I was already tired of it. I need to slap myself everytime I use the color gray. SRSLY. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the new one. Things at home have been really depressing lately (long story) so it put me in the mood to give Rewindd a facelift. It's more playful, I hope you like it! [/EDIT]

Exciting! I've been working on The Rewindd Store for two days straight and now it's finally done. For those of you who want requests and are willing to purchase them (they're affordable, promise) then do give the new Rewindd Store a visit. As usual, you visit it simply by going to Rewindd.com/store. I'm only offering banners and buttons at the moment, but with time I plan on offering layouts, premades, logos, etc. I really hope you enjoy the store, I'm excited to start working on those new projects for you and/or your site

In other news, I got a job! You're looking at the newest Hollister Co. employee. -nods head- (Hollister is only in the United States I believe, but for those who don't know what it is, it's a clothing store branch of Abercrombie.) Simple job really, all I have to do is be enthusiastic for customers, keep the store tidy, and just overall be awesome. Simple! My first day is June 30th, I'll let you know how it goes, haha.

If you read my blog about my financial situation, there's really not much progress on that whole issue. I haven't been too involved with the whole mess, but my parents are assuring me they'll handle it. If worse comes to worse we'll have to declare bankruptcy (which would.....suck.) On the brightside, if that happens, think about all the financial-based-need college scholarships I could get! Hahaha. Whatever happens though I'm sure we'll be fine. I've got this website for my own personal income so that's something right? It could be worse, it really could. -holds head up high-

Lastly, just wanted to say a big thank you to all the visitors here at Rewindd! I know I say that a lot, but you've all been so supportive lately and I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate it. I've got big plans for Rewindd this summer, I hope I can repay you that way. I'm trying hard to expand the site in case you haven't noticed. I just want to create a bigger and better Rewindd.com for everyone

Just to do something a little out of the ordinary, I thought I'd show some of my really old graphics along with some of my newer ones. It's unbelieveable how much my style's evolved, huh? Click:

(lmao at flashback #3.)

Anyways, just wanted to give a huge thanks to those of you who have known about (and stuck with) the site for these past two years. (Extra bonus points for those who knew me back when ZA!D was still "za!divs" on MySpace.) To those of you who are new to Rewindd, I hope you'll realize how much time's gone into this site (and that you'll stick around for a while.)

So, two long years. I'm still wrapping my head around that. I'm gonna be in this for a while, don't expect me to just fall off the face of the planet anytime soon. See you at ZA!D/Rewindd's third birthday!

[EDIT] I posted a new site layout! I'm (once again) experimenting around with organization and layout style. I realize it's pretty different from Rewindd's usual organization, but give it a chance, I think you'll grow to like it. You'll also notice the new motto at the top, "Every style, every attitude." What I'm trying to say with that is that Rewindd has a lot of variety. I try really hard to do a little bit of everything so that there's something for everyone. The character cutouts represent the different styles people have and how Rewindd.com tries to cater to them all. I do hope you like it

One last thing, you guys are absolutely amazing. Reading all your comments and seeing your support makes me feel like a million bucks. Thanks so so much.
[/EDIT]

First off, my friend E. Bennett Jone & I opened up a request-type site! Over at diFRACTURE.com we'll be doing custom websites/banners/layouts (for a price of course), so do check it out if you're interested.

In other news, my family has run into a bit of a financial snag. In a nutshell, one of my dad's old business partners has completely screwed us over. They owned a company together, but turns out that this business partner was pocketing the money and evading taxes. To make things worse, he took his name off all the documents and now MY FAMILY is responsible for $58,000. The most frustrating thing is that we had no part in taking that money and now the IRS is all over us because of it. We're taking this to court soon so hopefully we'll get all this behind us

This means I'm no longer going to the MICA Pre-college program in Maryland (yeah, the one I've been raving about for the past couple months.) It sucks, but financially we're just not capable of it right now. Instead, I'm going to be getting a summer job and doing my best to help out the family. That also means putting more time into this site, since it's (as of now) my only income. Good news for all you I guess, haha, that means much more content this summer

Things will be fine for us, just need some time to get things together. Thanks for all your support!

So it's summertime at Rewindd.com! (Actually, summer doesn't start for me until May 30th, but it FEELS like summer so I'm celebrating early. Shhh.) I love making sunny, bright stuff so I figured I'd open up a new part to the site just for the summer season. For fresh content with a summer twist, just visit Rewindd.com/Summer over the next couple months. I'll be adding stuff to it randomly

Alsooo, my birthday is May 28th! (I'm gonna be 17 years old jsyk.) Should be fun, I think the family is going out to dinner to this nice italian restaurant that night. Then I can have the waiters/waitresses all walk around the table having to clap and sing for ME. Hah, I love it, the whole restaurant will know it's my birthday.

In other news:
• "Golden Skans" by The Klaxons has recently become my new summer anthem. Along with "L.E.S. Artistes," "Listen Up," and "Check Yes Juliet." (Oh come on, you expect me to pick just one?)
• I'm finishing up all the paperwork for the Pre-College Program in Baltimore! It's finally sinking in that I'm going. It's going to be soooooo amazing.
• Yes I now realize "Je Veux Te Voir" is a scandalous song talking about scandalous things in a scandalous foreign languange. I love it more now

So in the spirit of it feeling like summer, I'm off to the beach now. See ya!

I'm back! Things at Rewindd.com have been pretty slow lately (to say the least). I just needed some time to get my energy and drive back. This whole website gig can get pretty exhausting. I actually started getting hand cramps a few weeks ago

I took a short break from the site because I was completely burned out. It was a combination of a lot of things, but I'm feeling a lot better now. I wont say I'm bouncing off the walls with happiness, but I'm content I guess. Hah. So I'm back to the grind now! Also, I'm really tired of the site's whole vibe right now, I think it needs a major kickstart. A new layout might do the trick. ;)

OH OH OH BIG NEWS. I got into the Pre-College Program at MICA! (Just in case you didn't know, I applied for a summer art pre-college course at the Maryland Institute College of Art.) So yeah! Exciting! The program is from June 21-July 19, it's in Baltimore, and it's gonna be superfantasticamazing. I'm gonna learn so much about design, the business, and even some art history. The money shouldn't be an issue anymore, my parents say it's do-able. So, there you have it. I'm going to Baltimore this summer! I'll be sure to write!

In other news:
- Icons are actually really fun to make. Expect more of those randomly.
- Apparently I've been going to the beach way too much lately? Pfft. It's Florida, it's sunny, and I'll go to the beach all I want. Can I get a witness?
- If you speak French (or understand it), check out this music video! It's by Yelle, and I have no idea what she's saying but I don't care. I love that song more than anything right now

Lastly, I just wanted to say a big big thank you to everyone who commented the last blog with their support. I really appreciate the kindness you've all be showing. I can't ask for better visitors and fans of the site.

I sent in my application for the college-level art course at MICA in Maryland, now I'm just waiting for a reply. The form says I'll have an answer by the end of the month! I just have to be patient now I guess. Wish me luck everyone, this is really something I want. It would be the best experience as a designer and as an artist.

Alright, lately things in my life have been....overwhelming to say the least. Personal issues mostly, but there's also school stressing, friends, family, the usual I suppose. (I could go deeper but I don't want to get into all that. It gets messy.) I try not to let it affect the site though, and I always try to be a professional and kind site owner.

In all honesty though, I'm falling apart here and slowly falling into another depression. I don't want to go through that again, the last time was a few years ago and I just don't want to relive that part of my life. It was a turning point and not the good kind. I'll deal with everything and pull myself together, but I just want Rewindd visitors to understand that I'm not neglecting the site, just trying to get perspective and focus on more important things.

I'm still going to continue with my weekly updates, but please understand that my creativity has hit a kind of wall. I'm not at my best right now, but nonetheless I'm trying to continuously create quality content. (wow say that 5x times.) I'll be alright, I just need some time to get things in order. I hope you're all still enjoying the site. Thank you to each and every visitor who's ever stopped by. I run this site for you.

Yesss. I finally got the time to revamp one of my favorite parts about Rewindd.com, the Music section. The last layout was way too crazy, so I cleaned things up and even added a new section: "Music Bits." A Music Bit is just a random music news article scrunched up into a paragraph. Quick & easy. I've also added five featured stories, which I'll rotate out every once and a while. Kinda cool right?

Alright! -Phew- That's one giant thing off my shoulders. That section was dying for the longest time. Please let me know your opinions! I'd love to hear what you like and don't like about the new look of Rewindd Music