A local design firm is being asked to use Adobe's InDesign for a project. That doesn't sound scary, does it? It does if you're experienced QuarkXPress users and you're being asked to put aside a very familiar tool and pick up a new, very different one -- and finish a big job by next Monday. My assignment: to help them over the initial hump.
At first, they were open, but reserved. I answered their list of questions, "translating" from Quark to InDesign. Their body language relaxed. Joking began. Then I found myself channeling for . . . someone, creating shapes and linking text frames, navigating menus, all accompanied with a stream-of-consciousness narration. Perhaps the combination of sciatica, pain remedies and the previous night's food poisoning [oh, it's been a *great* week!] contributed to it, but I was on a roll.
I forgot the muscle spasms, forgot how foreign this new program ought to be to them, and just sort of led them into a dance of enjoyment. By the end, it was like a revival: "oh, YEAH! Oh, that's GREAT! SWEET!" It was a great afternoon.
When I got up to leave, I was stunned at how stiff I was. I had completely forgotten how stove up I was, focusing on making these designers love the program as much as I do.
Is that so wrong?
9:10:58 PM 
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