The Jamo Periodical

This post is actually the email that i wrote last weekend but it needs to be here. So ja - get a load of it:

YES I'M OK! For those of you that have been worrying.

So it's been a week and I’ve been pretty busy. Not so much at work actually - more just busy with trying to keep busy outside of work. Ever come home to an empty flat? It's weird. So I try to go out again as much as possible.

So far I have managed 2 after-work surfs. The first on Tuesday and the second on Thursday. Zac (who is Jess's boyfriend if you don't know. And Jess is my cousin if you don't know that either) took me out to Umhlanga on Tues - it was pretty difficult to catch waves cos over there they break straight into the ground - not gradually and gracefully like they're supposed to. Thursday's waves at North Beach were huge - not that I caught any then either. It's a bit daunting catching a wave twice as high as you on which Zac looks like a dwarf. (Oh, woops, um... wait. Maybe Zac is kind of a dwarf. Sorry dude, should have been more PC there. Oh well.)When I tried to catch one, and looked over the crest at the shear drop, I just couldn't. It might be a good idea to learn how to stand on my board first... Anyway - it's great just being out there on the water after work.

Work is just a pile of meetings at the moment. I say meetings but I should probably say lessons. Our 'induction process' involves visiting all the various departments and getting information on how they all fit into the business. It can be fascinating but it also gets tedious - some okes just repeat what the last oke said and then add in a bit about what they do. But we’re really getting a grip on what the business does now. We is me and Jason – he studied with me (for the first 3 years before I failed) and he’s also starting with me. I love how clever, dynamic and entrepreneurial this business is. So even if I do get frustrated in a creative sense there’s always so much I can learn and take out of being there.

I wish I could explain in a few words what they do but it’s easier just to see there website for yourself if you’re interested. It’s pretty complicated and difficult to some up. Ok I’ll try… Retail Display Solutions. So that basically means that everything that gets sold in a store we would find a creative way to display it – the idea is to increase impact of the brand and/or increase sale of stock. It’s very commercial and really it fits into the “360°” marketing strategy that most large companies adopt. It’s “below the line” advertising if anyone reading this knows what that means. I kinda do but don’t really yet.

This is what the studio looks like. All open plan.

The Canteen - where everybody, including the management and the factory workers, sit, together.

They put my face up on these big screens that are posted all around the site. It's pretty weird but you know - it happens to everyone so it's not too bad. They use those screens for all sorts of studio happenings and announcements, as well as bits and pieces from the world of design - it's meant to help us keep in communication and keep inspired.

So ja – it’s slow days at work and then trying to make the most of being in Durbs outside of that. Visiting Aunty Cath a lot – but I’m not the only one – Drew is also around here most of the time when I am. The place I’ve rented is beautiful – well not so much in looks but in how much of a sweet deal it is. I’ve got air-conditioning, lights and water, TV, all furniture, cutlery, crockery, stove for R2500 a month. Which by the look of things when I came down to find a place last weekend is pretty well unheard of. Ok it’s not big, but all the better to cool it with my aircon.