Digests: Covid & Commencements

#digests  #design  #covid  #leadership 

It’s never a dull moment round here.

Having had a month between jobs to lay low, I was itching to get back into the swing of things. The month rolled by rather uneventfully, barring some domestic and admin stuff, and with a new job on the horizon, lo and behold my youngest (9) wasn’t feeling great.

As per the new normal we tested her, twice in 12 hours for COVID, but both times the tests showed negative.

So she went to school the next day feeling ok, but came home early, not feeling great. Then I started to feel terrible, tested, but got a negative result. So we all put it down to a bad cold.

The weekend rolled around. As my youngest started to feel better, I started to feel worse. By Sunday my body ached and hurt with pangs and flashes of pain. I had a fever that seemed to bounce between chills and red hot. I had a sore throat like acid, and a wet chest to top it all off. Overall I felt like I had been hit by a truck, but still (mistakenly) put it down to a bad cold.

https://twitter.com/Aizlewood/status/1488409804691460096?s=20&t=2_3D__iWDYpyW3__I-oLOQ

By Monday night I started to feel better, more to do with the excitement and trepidation of starting a new job the next day! Out of habit more than anything else we all tested, and both me and my youngest came back positive. 🤦

The timing — starting a new role where I was looking forward to going into an actual office to meet people — was impeccable. But if there’s one thing COVID has shown everyone, it’s that sh*t happens, and that flexibility and remote working are the name of the game. I won’t be forgetting my first week for a while.

All clear

COVID notwithstanding, this past week I’ve been meeting new colleagues and getting a handle on things, as my daily LFTs have been showing less and less of a positive line. (Update: All clear, huzzah!)

How it started, how it's going

It’s been a throwback to 2020, given my whole family have succumbed to COVID and battled through it, with my eldest doing remote learning as I’m on calls all day.

New digs

My new role is Design & Product Director at a small but growing agency called ASquared.

We’re an agency that can take an early-stage idea and turn into a useable product or app in record time, and it’s pretty fascinating to see it in action. Our sweet spot is with start ups and SMEs who need quality and expertise to see their idea become a reality. My joining will see design become a staple in the service offering, something that’s been lacking thus far.

Admittedly the app world is pretty new to me, so there’s a definite learning curve to be had. Overall however it’s much of the same as Clearleft: running a design team, winning and talking new business, liaising with clients and generally making it a great place to work with (as clients) and at (as practitioners).

More updates as events warrant. Til then: onwards and upwards!



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