SCA is the poison. SCA is the remedy. – By @itsjackwalsh_
SCA is the poison. SCA is the remedy.
Almost two months in at SCA and it’s fair to say that shit’s got real. Apologies for any students reading who are preparing an eye roll upon hearing me mention the full time job again – but it’s going to happen again for a bit here. The first month of SCA was a dream – my calendar was free and I could dive in daily. I was smug in my apparent time management skills. I whistled when walking down the street, and ruffled the hair of ruddy faced children as I passed. Life was gooood.
Cut to late October and me and my office colleagues embarking on a hilariously hubristic marathon meets adventure weekend meets boozy celebration, which was planned around the Arts Council grant we were 99.75% sure would be coming in. The news came through 3 days before that we had, in fact, failed on every criteria (depsite running huge music and culture venues across the UK) and were not getting penny one from the esteemed benefactors after all. Needless to say – the weekend was a flop and meant I couldn’t jump on and help properly with the final stages of the “name your agency” brief, unfortunately a foresight of things to come. This was the start of the (insert tiresome cliche number 6) month from hell…
November has been a fucking nightmare – multiple furloughs to sort (including my own), numerous redundancies and three office clear-outs. The burly debt collectors had seen the news and we couldn’t placate them any longer (this is only just a joke). Needless to say, SCA suffered and my work got cruddy. I pissed off some partners who were rightly exasperated with my lack of time and commitment and it was a sweaty, stressy, blurry mess. BUT – despite the stress, SCA was also the fabled light at the end of the lockdown tunnel. Having an escape from the drudgery and the ability to, say, invent a new animal, was a panacea. It’s exasperating but it’s wonderful – and the joy far outweighs the pain. SCA is the poison. SCA is the remedy.
December starts soon with the grim ringing of Slade and Shakin Stevens – but with a more settled calendar and the chance to improve at pace. I’m putting SCA first and cracking on with squeezing as much as possible from this maddening and brilliant place. Any future potential partners reading – it’s calm. Trust me!
This SCAB was late. Of course it is. Amy’s message arrives in my inbox like clockwork and I feel another pang of guilt that she’s had to reach out. Sorry Amy – this is (almost certainly) the second to last time that it happens.
Avoir