New job, snow, and creativity

It's been a couple of months since my last post.

My reason? I took a new job! I'm now an Assistant Professor in the Safety and Health Management Program (Department of Engineering Technologies, Safety, and Construction) at Central Washington University. At the very end of August, we packed up our meager belongings and Alaskan Malamute and drove up to Ellensburg, WA.

This is Central Washington University (CWU):

Image credit CWU

The campus is gorgeous, with red brick buildings throughout, grassy areas, a canal, several bike paths, and my personal favorite location: a Japanese Garden (video tour on YouTube here). There is also a Starbucks on the edge of campus, so I can walk over within 10 minutes.

Ellensburg is also a spiffy college town - the weekend after we arrived, it was the annual Ellensburg Rodeo for all of Labor Day weekend. This rodeo started in 1923, so it is one of the oldest rodeos. Where we used to live, in Prescott, AZ, they have had a rodeo since 1888 and rock the "World's Oldest Rodeo" vibe throughout town. 

Ellensburg is a town of ~18,000 people and the speed limit around town ranges from 20-35 miles per hour. After our experiences in Phoenix the last few years, with a population of ~1.5 million people and some really aggressive drivers, this has been a nice change. Seattle is about 2 hours away, and Spokane is 2.5 to 3 hours away.

My colleagues and family keep asking how we are adjusting to life in the Pacific Northwest. My answer is usually congenial, something along the lines of: "It's ... fine?" We haven't explored around much and I have been working consistently long hours, as is expected when you are new faculty. Last week, when we had our first real snow, I freaked out a little bit, but have since learned how to drive in snow (with my fancy new snow tires), how to walk in snow (with my fancy new YakTrax), and learned the value of layered clothing. We raided the Columbia outlet in Anthem, AZ on our way out of Phoenix.

The Alaskan Malamute is deliriously happy, building himself little dens in the fresh snow, and bounding inside covered in snow flakes. We are deliriously happy to not have to answer the "How does he do in the summer? Do you shave him?" questions we were asked by everyone in Phoenix. (He did great, he's an inside dog).

Shadow practicing his best "stoic" look in the snow.

I'm preparing some exciting new content for the blog over winter break. But I'm also working on two academic research papers, one on construction project EHS budgets and the optimal budget amount for reduced injury and illness rates (co-writing with two excellent CWU professors), and one on "Practical Tools for Gender Equal Protection in OSH Programs" that will be presented at Safety 2017 in Denver, CO. 

On a professional note, I've had some fun new volunteer experiences arrive this fall/winter: (1) I was elected the Assistant Administrator of the Training and Communications Practice Specialty within ASSE, (2) I was asked to step in as Secretary of the Industrial Hygiene Practice Specialty within ASSE, and (3) I get to serve on the Editorial/Press Advisory Board for the National Safety Council. So things are very busy for the Industrious Hygienist, but as always, I am up for the challenge!

The Making of the 2015 Holiday Manga

In keeping with requests from my loyal readership, here is the "making of" for the 2015 Holiday Manga. The following steps and associated pictures explain my very un-scientific process at completing a manga. 

Step 1: Find relevant portions of Fullmetal Alchemist that portray roughly what I'm trying to draw. This is for several reasons, including my limited time and limited talent - I'm pretty decent at revising an existing work, but have difficulty "seeing" the layout and characterization on my own. Plus, it is significantly faster for me to use existing work.

Step 2: Develop the layout and story for the page.

Step 3: Pencil sketch each panel to make sure it will fit and makes sense.

The Industrious Hygienist's 2015 Holiday Manga - pencil sketch and layout planning.

Step 4: Ink each panel with changes in the outfits and facial expressions as needed.

The Industrious Hygienist's 2015 Holiday Manga - inked product just before full coloring.

I'm pretty dang proud of the center middle panel. The hatching and ink work turned out much better than I anticipated. I'm less proud of the right hand lower panel - the only excuse I can give for that panel is my 100-pound Alaskan Malamute being bored and nudging my elbow while I was drawing. Close-up of my favorite panel is below.

The Industrious Hygienist's 2015 Holiday Manga - snatching the "last perfect gift."

Step 5: Color in the panels using, you guessed it, Crayola colored pencils. I'm pretty low tech with my art. A smaller version of the final product is below for your enjoyment. 

The Industrious Hygienist's 2015 Holiday Manga - sketched, inked, and colored.

I hope you enjoyed this "making of" blog. I'm working on new art and posts for 2016.

Holiday Manga - 2015 - Mall Safety Tips

In this year's much-anticipated Holiday Manga, the Industrious Hygienist takes you to the mall (a place she dares not venture alone). If you're shopping for holiday gifts this week, remember to focus on your personal safety and security while attempting to adhere to your budget. 

Some mall safety and security tips from the Industrious Hygienist:

• Make a list. Check it twice. (Otherwise you'll end up buying a bunch of random useless stuff.)
• Shop with a buddy. (This helps with safety, security, possibly reduced spending, and more fun.)
• Be aware of your surroundings. (Park in a busy area with good lighting.)
• Don't overload yourself with gifts. (Maintain proper visibility, and if you're a safety nerd, use the NIOSH Lifting Equation.)
• Practice defensive techniques.
• Escalators are scary things. Watch for pinch points and use the handrails.)

The Industrious Hygienist's 2015 Holiday Manga - with mall safety and security tips.

Since the Industrious Hygienist's family and friends pretty much all wanted gift cards, we weren't able to do much local shopping this year. However, we have been participating in Amazon Smile for most of our random purchases, which means that 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible items is donated by Amazon to a charity of our choice. 

We picked Brambley Hedge Rabbit Rescue as our charity of choice - it's a Phoenix-area rabbit rescue that we've donated to in previous years. And when we're ready for a new bunny, it's probably where we'll go. If you're looking for a new rabbit in Phoenix, take a look at their adoptable rabbits. 

Happy Winter Seasonal Holiday of your choice from the Industrious Hygienist and family! Be on the watch for the New Year's Holiday Card and a post about recycling or properly disposing of old electronics after the holidays. 

2015 Holiday Manga Preview

(The following is a lightly edited and dramatized build-up to the awesome holiday card I made for a colleague at Apex Environmental Safety and Health Consulting Inc.)

Industrious Hygienist: "Hmmm, let's pop into LinkedIn for a few minutes and see what everyone is doing. A message? I rarely get messages!"

Nira (Message): "Hi Morgan, thought I'd take advantage of your artistic talent and see whether you can design us a Christmas card for Apex with an IH theme. We can have Shutterfly print it for us. Love the blog. Mahalo, Nira."

Industrious Hygienist: Holy fudge muffins, somebody actually reads my blog? No way! Wait, a Christmas card that other people will actually see? Keep it together and sound professional, dang it.

Industrious Hygienist (Message): "Hi Nira! I'd be happy to - how soon are you wanting it? Did you want something like the elves from last year's holiday blog, and do you want it to be a cartoon (I assume so)?"

Nira (Message): "A cartoon. Probably by November 15th."

Industrious Hygienist (Message): "Ok, I'll send you two sketches this weekend and you can let me know which one you like more."

The 2014 Holiday Manga was distributed in four parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. But a Christmas card requires a more focused approach. Thus commences a furious couple hours of thinking, pondering, hemming and hawing about how to do an industrial hygiene themed Christmas card that wasn't incredibly nerdy.

I sent her the following mock up to get approval for the design and content.

Mock up of the Christmas card for Apex Environmental.

Approval obtained, I went to work inking and coloring the manga with special care, since it would be printed and needed to be as crisp as possible. The main character was designed to look like the Principal Hygienist of Apex Environmental, Nira Cooray. The final version is shown below.

Happy Holidays from the Industrious Hygienist and her colleagues at Apex Environmental!

The inside reads:  "Join us in sharing random acts of kindness during the holidays. Mahalo from Apex Environmental." We're excited to see how Apex's clients and colleagues respond to the colorful cartoon. More Holiday Manga coming up in 2015!