I had dinner last night with my favorite Mad* Genius, and was reminded yet again how much I thrive in a supporting role like Pepper Potts to Tony Stark… He just needs to become independently wealthy so he can be my employer. He’s inspired and inspiring, with vast sweeping dreams of what could (and should) become reality… if only he can recruit the right talent at the right time. It’d probably help if he actually was a Time Lord.
One thing I always find after our irregular and far-too-infrequent coffeeshop or dinner-table meetups is a renewed sense of purpose and vigor for our various mutual projects. XML has been on my radar for a while, but filed under “yes, I know I need to learn it to advance my career, but I don’t really want to mess with it right now.” Now it’s a few steps closer, perhaps even re-filed as “why, that’s something I can do in my ‘spare’ time, and it’d be easy to do with this material.”
I’m coming to terms with several facts…
1. I’m an editor, not a writer. Yes, I can write prose (QED), but it’s not a talent, just an extension of understanding the language.
1b. Actually, I’m not sure I’m wholly an editor — but I don’t know enough about Information Architecture, indexing or any other technical writing sub-topic to have a better identity to claim yet. I’m support staff — I rearrange, collate and organize. I can design small things, and I can mimic and reverse-engineer, but I don’t quite have the scope of vision necessary to be a leader or innovator. And that’s okay.
2. Deadlines are not an enemy. In fact, they are a mark of the structure that I thrive within. When a project can be done “oh, just any old time,” it’s only chance of not being procrastinatingly shelved is if it inspires a burning, consuming passion that leaves me no choice but to obsessively fill my days with it.
3. “Impossible” deadlines are an enemy. When I can’t see a clear path to the goal, when everything seems to conspire against my success, Avoidance kicks in and I fulfill my own pessimism.
4. I say that I “love a challenge,” but what I really love is Performing The Rare Deed — excercising my [existing] skill for something unique or something that nobody else has been able to do (at least, in the eyes of the audience).
Oh look, lint!
* “Madness is just what Genius looks like to small minds, and we’re all small minds compared to The Doctor.” — Steven Moffat
