Field trip

Today was one of those perfect outdoor days. The weather wasn't too warm or too cool, the clouds were minimal, the sun was shining brightly. And there I sat, in my windowless workspace deep within the bowels of the building. I'm buried so deep in the building that my cell loses service completely. I can step outside and get 5 bars. That's the pit I've been enslaved to. Sometimes I feel like Frankenstein's brain-fetching assistant Igor, fearful of the light, only allowed out at night.

It kind of sucks being that guy, to be honest.

Luck was on my side today, though. There's the big Sea & Sky Spectacular air show happening out at the beach this weekend. There's the possibility of a photo shoot happening at some point. Only one thing can make it happen, though. Only one way that it can be properly pulled off. That's right... It was time for me to go on a field trip.

Those of you who have normal jobs with windows and chances to go outside and view the glowing ball of fire that floats around in the sky between the hours that I arrive at work and the time I leave will not appreciate how big this is. An entire afternoon to drive out to the beach, walking around and taking pictures? And I get paid to do it? You'd think I'd just won the lottery, I tell ya.

As I was walking around, it was as if I lived in a different universe from the people I saw there. The beach deck at Bukkets was completely full with people having a late lunch; an early dinner; maybe a beer or two. I was intensely jealous of these people who didn't have to hurry through their lunch to be back to the office in under an hour. People who could have a beer if they wanted. People who didn't have anywhere to be, any meetings to attend, anybody to appease but themselves. All they had to do was finish up their food and pay their bill. Not bad for 3pm on a Thursday afternoon.

I saw construction workers putting together the bleachers that would be used to watch the Blue Angels when they performed this weekend. I was jealous of them, as well. You know those guys don't take their work home with them. They don't have big projects months away that loom large in the backs of their minds. Once they're done with today, the only thing they have to worry about is tomorrow. The problem with being in a creative field like mine is that I can spend an entire week working on something until I feel it looks perfect. I can then turn it in and be told that somebody higher up the food chain than me doesn't like it, "because it's too subtle and not flashy enough," and I suddenly have another week of work ahead of me. I have to start over entirely. It can be terribly frustrating, especially when those with the least design sense are making the decisions. This was another part of the reason I was at the beach scouting out this photo shoot, hoping it would be my newer, less subtle, more flashy cover that hopefully wouldn't look like a tacky mess.

Once construction guys have put the bleachers together properly, their work is done. And they know it. Me? I never know if my work is done, unless it's already at the printer. Even then I worry if there's an error that snuck in. I worry that I may have forgotten something. I worry if I got the price quote and the invoice right. This is what makes me good at my job, because I care enough about these things. It's also what I hate most about it.

Then again, there are days where I get to walk around the beach. I get to help a little old lady find city hall. I get to talk to some beachgoers on the pier. I get to watch the Blue Angels practice a few nifty-looking aerial maneuvers. Even if I know that the photo shoot at the beach isn't going to work, it's okay now. I've got plenty of time to figure it out.

I hop back in the car, roll the windows down, hit shuffle on the iPod and head back to the office, my mind re-energized. It's amazing what just an hour or two of sun a day can do for your outlook, isn't it? Something tells me I need to really work on taking more field trips.