stargazer

Hi there! Thanks for visiting my site. And let me start off by saying, no, it’s not misspelled. It’s Dutch. My name’s Jules Maas – thus the terribly clever title. I’m 31 and just moved from Salt Lake City, where the first question everyone asks is “Do you have kids?” to Seattle, where the first question everyone asks is “Do you have kids?”. Jesus. No. I DON’T. Let’s move on, SHALL WE?

Before moving to Seattle, I worked at eBay for six years. Six. Freaking. Years. Factoring in all the growth, the change, the members, the questions and controversies and fraud and freak-ass items, that loosely converts to some hyper form of dog-years which makes me about a hundred years old.

I spent my last three years as a Communications & Recognition Specialist. Although I can’t answer any super technical questions about selling or buying or someone taking over your account, I CAN write an awesome email telling the troops that everything currently wrong with eBay is being pinned on them and get them excited about it by putting together a productivity contest. Not that I would. Which is pretty much why I left.

Now I’m working at Microsoft as a contractor while I earn my certifications in Adobe CS. My goal is to get a job in web/graphic design or desktop publishing. I’m also working on offering freelance services for small businesses and individuals (it’ll happen, really), writing more often for my blog (shut up, I’m getting better) and finishing any one of the two novels I’ve been puttering with on and off for the last few years (ok, quit with the laughing).

Originally created in 1999 to teach myself HTML, Maas Publications was a collection of pages and images about me, my husband and our gi-normous cat. (He’s a Maine Coon and weighs about 17 pounds. Guests often mistake him for a small farm animal.) Since then, I’ve published numerous websites for family, friends, eBay and Microsoft. In the process I’ve learned Photoshop, Illustrator, FrontPage, and Flash and developed my writing, design and administrative skills.

I get a total kick out of designing things for web and print and pretty much anytime I come across new software or internet programs to figure out. I was a huge fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation (yes, I had a crush on Wes. Shut up.), played Dungeons and Dragons, collected comic books (yes, I also had a crush on Wolverine. Boy, THAT’S BACK. Hellooooo!) and rode a dirt bike until I was about twelve. Somewhere along the line this gal gave up the tomboy, and although I’ll always suck at math, I think it’s safe to say I’m something of a geek at heart.

I hope you enjoy my comments, tests and random musings. Feel free to leave questions comments and opinions on posts – I love ‘em – and be sure to tell me when something doesn’t work.

Thanks for visiting!