Saturday, February 9, 2008

Visual Process Meets Mortality?

Monday morning, halfway through my quarter-mile walk to work, my left leg began to ache. Cramp-like, on the side of the calf. No explanation, no indication of a running injury. I hobbled across the street, and then on and off the pain was worse, the kind that periodically takes your breath away. Blood clot? Stroke? I got an appointment with my MD, and as I walked in I noticed the pain leave. No doubt about it. An x-ray showed a slight misalignment of two vertebrae in an area where sciatic symptoms originate. It was explained that I apparently got something just a little out of place, and then it went back into place on its own.

How did that happen? My 20-hour weekend graphic-on-the-fly? I had spent the previous week conducting 15 one-hour interviews with participants in a coming planning workshop. I had only the weekend to process the info for presentation and discussion, so early Saturday morning I sat down and began grinding it out on the tablet PC. Under normal circumstances I’m a noodler, reflecting and second-guessing, but there was no time for that here. I noticed each idea and acted on it. Far fewer breaks than normal, even during the 12 straight hours on Sunday. The graphic was successful – all 11 feet of it - but at too high a price?

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