Quote of the day from Work day 1

"I need to do some work in between these meetings."

Army Regimented Work

There is so much work to do. So much it hurts my little tall head. Recruiter lists got sent out today which made it even more real that this is all coming to an end. There's a good turnout and its exciting to be the center of attention of a group of people. People who haven't seen the work before. But its scary as well.

I've heard from some previous graduates that the session doesn't produce jobs. At least not immediately. Its a conversation starter, a formal meet and greet. Who knows what jobs are really out there? Its going to be a tough market out there, so I've also prepared some backup plans as well. I've been saving frequent flier miles for a lot of years and there's a lot of places where a tall norwegian boy could do well for a few months.

It feels good to have a backup plan. Takes the pressure off these next couple weeks. A little. But I've put the pressure back on. From now until the recruiter session my alarm goes off at 9:30 and I'm in bed at 1:30 am. Its gonna be a interesting few weeks, ill keep you posted.

1:30 am. Buenos Noches.

The new workout.

When you start working out with more weight or different machines I have usually beaten the shit out of myself after the first day. That bad curl up and die the next morning, hurts to cough, cursing the strong kinda hurt. Mark Fenske's workout is making it hard to laugh.

Fenske believes in one thing for his portfolio class: volume.

Instead of light reps over three weeks. Full projects are due every week. More weight less time. I was concerned when I first started. How in the hell could you produce quality in 2 weeks let along one. I thought I was going to leave in May with a portfolio full of one offs and puns.

But like everything I've learned here, everything the professors do here is for a reason. Doing work in half the time produces work twice as good. It focuses your mind, makes you think simpler, and produces work at volume. Now of course not all of it is good, I'd say 50% is bad but better than a lot of other things we've done.

If anything, there is one thing that I have learned here. When you force yourself to work hard, you surprise yourself with what you get back. Time for some more reps, gotta get ripped before May.

All nighters do nothing.

It took me a year to figure this out. Spending 24 hours on any one thing is not productive, but it feels necessary sometimes here. The projects mount up and first your free time disappears, then your weekends, then your exercise, then your food, then all you have is work. It happens to everyone here. Everyone jokes about eating Hohos and Twinkies as three course meals and try to remember what a "weekend" was.

But after a year I've broken the spell. If I don't feel like working. I don't. That doesn't mean it doesn't get done. It just means I know myself a lot better after a year and a half here. I cannot do work by forcing work on projects. Shit in shit out.

It is such a fantastic transformation to see yourself not stress about things that drove you batshit a year ago. The real question is, will I be able to do this in the real world.

Books

The Brandcenter isn't a portfolio school.

But you need one to get a job, don't forget that. I've been away for a while working hard, feeling the time creep up on me as I see that May 15th date get closer and closer. So I thought I would discuss my book as of now.

If I was going to call it I could put a book together in two weeks. Yes two weeks with the work I have now. Would it get me a job? Who knows. I would like to think so, the problem is it wouldn't be the job I want. I have 2 pieces that I can see in my final portfolio, maybe three.

The only thing is I don't want them in my book. Its my goal to get rid of every single one of them. How? By replacing them with something better. As of this moment I have 6 months to replace 1.5 years worth of work. See you at the Brandcenter.

129.

Days this semster.

Work:












DO NOT PUBLISH WITHOUT MY APPROVAL.

I now know the definition of work.

I didnt work at all through undergraduate. Im not being modest. I did good work, I graduated with good grades. But that was not work. This is.

This week has been a nightmare. I've never had to work this hard and it's a scary feeling to work hard for the first time. I don't sleep well, eat well, exercise. I'm grumpy moody and frustrated at the same time. But the best part of it is that I'm starting to like it.

I spend 14 hours a day sometimes in those four walls down the road, and then come home and work some more. I wake up and read client packets on the way to school, and then repeat the process.

This process is insane. Its like mentally sprinting at all times. And for the first time ever I like it. I can see why adcenter students do well outside. We don't know how to stop or how not to finish a problem.

I now know the definition of work. Now all I need is to know how to make great work.