supamanu

wow, it’s been THAT long since I wrote this goal! Scary… but, hey, so much has happened since that fatefull day.

First I took a year off to reflect and get involved in a whole bunch of creative activities. It was a great year. It could have been more productive, I could regret a number of things I did or didn’t do, but I want to focus on the positives of which there were a lot.

The reflection did bear fruit, because I realised there’s a job out there that would really combine a lot of the things I like to do. Not a DREAM JOB, because I don’t quite know what that is or if that’s even how I should think about work. But a job that makes me want to get up in the morning, and that allows me to be creative AND show leadership in helping people in organisations have more fun working together.

The job is that of a video game producer (basically a creative project manager). For the record, I used to work in the oil industry, and I did lots of different jobs but a lot of them centered on managing projects and helping people solve problems.

I even found a job, but only lasted 6 months. Since then I’ve been looking for another opportunity, but it’s been tough and I’ve now been unemployed 5 months. It’s kinda tough, but I have no regrets because I FEEL that I’m heading in the right direction. My calling, if you will.

The latest development is that I applied and got accepted to a great master’s degree program in video game and interactive media design, it’s a very good school. But I have to take a big decision, made even harder because of my age (40) and the fact that there’s never any guarantee in life. Do i go for it, and risk two years of my life (and living costs out of my savings) with the hope of finding a great job, or do i keep looking, with the risk of never finding the right job or struggling to make my mark because I don’t have all the necessary knowledge…

the motivation goes up and down. sometimes i’m practicing almost every day for a couple of weeks, then i can go a month without touching a string. overall i’ve definitely made a lot pf progress, but i’m still way to far from where i want to be in terms of ability, and I wish i could keep more focused on working it every other day at least.

for years I thought about how I needed to learn at least the basics of drawing and paiting. and one day, after an introspective experience on the coast of Maine in the gorgeousness of fall, I realised that the only obstacle between me and art was…me! So I signed up for a summer intensive course a Parsons in NYC, and, voila, turned out to be one of the most memorable summers I’ve ever had in my life. It’s made a difference in my life, even though i’ve only just began to explore what it can offer.

I’m not a developer…but I’ve always had a small fascination for developing code. And I love web applications. A few months ago I bumped into a link to Ruby, and instanlty fell for it. As if the timing was right…I’m about to take a sabatical, and here is this beautiful language which will allow me to learn how to design web applications. The community seems great, the help and resources are massive, and, I dunno, there’s something about Ruby and me that just FITS ;)

cliche…but true. the rat race. wtf? we’re sooo good at shutting out our own voice and pretending to be who we’re not. “who do you want to be?”... i freeze like a deer in headlights…afraid of…what? But I’ll keep on getting asked. I need it.

Ever since I left college and worked as an engineer, I always felt something was wrong. Truth be told, even going through college I felt something was wrong. Doh! It took 9 long years of work to slowly come to the realisation that the thing I was really interested in wasn’t engineering but design … aesthetics… user interaction… experiences. 50% of my time at work is wasted because we can’t design the right processes, we’re useless at offering user-centered tools, and we bluntely ignore human behaviour. So, tough as it will be, I want to start a new career as a designer at the advanced age of 36!!!

Some of my friends are scattered around the globe and I hope to get them to look after Lee and Sachi somewhere, somehow, as they coast from one country to the next.