Jesse Lavery

Starting February 8th, I will be the new Web Content Coordinator at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. I’m leaving behind the agency world and moving to high-ed. It’s a pretty big change for me and one that I’m super excited about.

My reasons for changing, in a nutshell:

1. More money. A no-brainer, but not the sole factor.

2. Opportunity for growth. At my soon-to-be-former job (henceforth known as “The Agency”), I would never have the chance to sit in any other chair than I’m already in. I’m not trying to rule the world or anything, but it’s nice to have the option / ability to advance.

3. Stability. The Agency is heavily tied to the tooling and manufacturing industry, which has taken a major hit in the economic downturn. Sure, the company has withstood similar downturns before, but every situation is different and there’s no way to predict what will happen this time. Allegheny’s not going anywhere. I have no fear of them shutting their doors within the next six months.

4. Perks. Free education for me and my family? Work on a brand new giant 27” iMac? Gym facilities? Good retirement and health benefits? Yes please!

5. Clients and the work itself. I won’t be sad that I no longer have to deal with some of the more, shall we say, “difficult” clients that we have at The Agency. More than that though, I’m excited about developing a given project or site over the long-term. As it is now, we finish a site, hand it off to the client, and maybe never see it again for two years until they want sweeping changes. I often wonder if design or development choices that I made were successful; if users were actually benefiting from and enjoying them. Now, I’ll get the chance to stay with projects longer and to see, evaluate, and learn from user interaction in a way I haven’t had a chance to before. That will be pretty cool.

Now, the one major drawback:

Khakis. No more jeans for me. Some will say that it’s a sign that I’m moving up in the world, that it signals more civilized environs. I say, not being able to wear jeans is un-American. But it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make for a super-cool job that I’m crazy excited about.

Wish me luck!

- “Born To Run”, Bruce Springsteen

An under-appreciated verse from one of the greatest rock songs ever. Pure poetry. Paints such a vivid picture. You can hear it, see it, feel the mist from the crashing surf. And you know that feeling of longing, loving, and desperation. Awesome.

Cool, quirky blog idea. Rules: Set camera self-timer 2 seconds, get far away as you can before it fires.

Strangely captivating. (via @Pogue)

- Chinese Proverb

Last night and all morning I’ve been super tense, stressed out about the crazy week I saw lining up in front of me. There were major computer issues at work. My car is banged up and going in to a body shop tomorrow - and I’ll have a rental car while it’s there. As soon as I get my car back, I take it to another shop to get inspected. Then my Grandmother and I head out of town for a quick weekend road trip.

Did I mention that in the midst of that, I have an important personal appointment? (More on that at a later time.)

To me, this quote speaks to the fact that it does me no good to worry about all of those things now. There’s nothing I can do about them until they get here. The only things I have control over are (a) my mood and (b) my approach to the work in front of me.

The issues of the coming days belong to the coming days. Right now, “Tuesday morning me” has nothing to worry or be tense about. Be me. Today. Right now. In the moment. The rest will take of itself.

It’s incredibly late in the season to feature this, but this site is a great resource for someone who’s a fan of an out-of-market team - or someone in search of a meaningful game for fantasy or playoff purposes. Awesome Google Maps mashup!

Since the days of the old 43 Folders forums, I have been a fan and admirer of Patrick Rhone’s writing and his wisdom in the ways of all things Mac, minimalism, and productivity. Inspired by his recent accounting of last year’s new years resolutions modest goals, I present a few of my own.

For the past nine years, I’ve (more or less) made my living on the web as a web designer and developer. I’ve become an avid user of social media and many of the more popular web apps. Yet surprisingly, I don’t have much to show for myself online. I’ve started and stopped blogging numerous times, never lasting more than a month or two. I have a number of ideas for web apps of my own, yet I’ve never followed through on developing the ideas further - and in a few cases have seen others implement similar ideas with great success.

Now, on the threshold of a new year and a new decade, I feel like it’s time to put up or shut up.

With that, and with Patrick’s inspiration, I’m laying out a few of my own modest goals for my life in 2010, online and off:

1. Write at least one “significant” blog post per week. Or in more general terms: become a “producer” and not just a “user”. To make that easier, I’m not limiting myself to any one topic. I’m a designer, a Mac nerd, a musician, a music lover, a lover of any creative pursuit, a sports fan, and a lover of my family. Any and all of that could appear here. And being that I’m using Tumblr (at least to start) I’ll also be able to quickly post links, videos, photos, etc. to pad the time in between more substantive posts.

2. Reduce the digital clutter of my online life. Much like Patrick, I’m realizing more and more that I’m drowning in online noise. And in truth, I’ve already started the pruning process. I’ve mostly stopped using RSS, instead relying on people I follow on Twitter to post interesting links and discussions. Twitter and Facebook are the next areas I need to tackle. I follow people on both that bring little (if any) value and I’m ultimately doing myself a disservice by following them.

3. Learn to play the banjo. I’m already a solo musician/singer/songwriter and a singer/guitarist in a part-time classic rock cover band, but I’m getting bored with rock music. I’m currently obsessed with The Avett Brothers and am more and more intrigued by the idea of creating “rock” music without falling back on the traditional rock instrumentation of loud drums and louder guitars. Can I rock out armed with nothing more than good songs, an acoustic guitar, a banjo, and occasionally a bass and some hand percussion? We’ll see!

4. Get one of my web app ideas off the ground. I’m playing coy on this one since I don’t want to tip my hand just yet. I have a few ideas. Within the next few weeks I’ll run some ideas past a few trusted friends, advisors, and allies, prioritize, and go from there.

5. Be the best I can be at home. This is my top priority. I know there are times when household projects fall by the wayside. I know there are times when I’m a useless zombie when I come home from work. I want to do a better job at this, finish what I start, and be more present for those that need me most.

I think that’s plenty to start with. I’ll post updates here throughout the year (assuming I keep up with goal #1). Wish me luck!