Welcome to My World

As I sit here drinking a Beam and Coke, I'm reflecting on how tired I am from my work day and how fried my brain feels. I'll ramble...cause I can...

Mind you, I've been busy the whole week (haven't we all?) but today was just icing on the freakin' cake. I'll try not to bore you too much with what I do, but this is a prelude to why I look forward to class and a future in the world of design. Suffice to say that "Retirement Plan Coordinator" isn't a glamorous position. One of about 10 things going on today illustrates this... High level, I have a client who let about 110 people contribute to their 401K accounts from 1997-2008 erroneously (yeah, 11 years). This population previously took hardships and should have been suspended from making contributions for 6 months. It actually gets quite sticky when you consider account history and stock diversifications (huh?), etc, etc. At any rate, I've been working on 6 different mail merge populations for the communication about this debacle, tweaking language in those letters, and staring at spreadsheets...for the better part of 2 months. Corrections were actually started in 2008 for this, but this kind of thing drags out. Luckily, this animal should be off my plate in the next 2 weeks...and will leave room for some other shit-storm to fall in my lap. There is some silver lining to these kinds of projects however...I've developed into an Excel master, my internal and external client communication skills are on-point, and I've been offered a job internally by our Control Dept who processes the fix for this. Think my job is glamorous?...mine doesn't hold a candle to that one...I appreciate the kudos, but no thanks. Today sucked. I can totally deal with normal workloads of "tasks I don't enjoy" on Fridays...but when I've been at this for the whole week, am short on sleep, and would love to spend some time researching a project for school...a pounding workload at week's end is unwelcome.

Now, on to school..
I have to say, I'm kind of shocked and disappointed that some Pub Designers are intimidated by Amy and Stephanie, and in some rare cases avoid their classes. Look, I don't have a background in design. I was really good in art in high school, aced a drawing class in college, then went into a Mass Comm/Advertising major at Towson. I've been at T. Rowe for 11 years this October, and worked in a restaurant before that. I sat in with a designer at T. Rowe in Fall 2006, and the light went on. I started the M.A. program in Spring 2007 with the mindset that I wanted it tough the entire way because that's the way you get better. I would rather it that way than get to graduation never having been challenged. Who in the hell wants to look like a deer in headlights when you get challenged at a job outside of school?...and it will happen sooner than later. This brings me to our last class. I heard that Amy was a tough critiquer (sp?). I knew my logos for Flagship weren't even close yet, but I prepared myself to get shot down. Know what? She's right...they aren't cutting it. I knew it, and she just validated that thinking. I want to be pushed and am thrilled that it's happening. I may be tired from work, and projects, and two kids at home, and lord knows what else, but I'll be a better designer and much more confident about my work when I leave this place because of the professors that want to see top notch output. They expect it, and I expect it of myself. Don't take critique personally...use it to your advantage. I think any students who avoid tough classes, or professors, or whatever, are doing themselves and the program a disservice. They are doomed to fail.

Eat or be eaten. "No Mercy...sweep the leg Johnny!" Okay, I'm done...