Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. People think it’s this veneer — that the designers are handed this box and told, ‘Make it look good!’ That’s not what we think design is. It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.
-Steve Jobs

Every now and then, I remember why my job is awesome.

Such are my pleasures these days: Miso udon soup, Green Day’s Dookie played over noise-cancelling headphones, an unannounced, open-ended project, new people to impress, finally deciding to do what I’ve been waiting all year to try.

A year ago, this was the album I constantly played as I worked my last few weeks at the hospital. My office was stripped bare, my speakers were turned up to a bold volume, and I counted the days until I left for the museum, a gig I couldn’t wait to start.

Six months ago, this was the song I rediscovered after I heard a segment on NPR praising the album. I had just gotten back from my first real web development conference and was filled with so much zeal for my job I didn’t know what to do: I ate, drank and breathed web development day in and day out.

Two days ago, I heard this song while browsing a mall with my brother, at a store that sold overpriced, pre-distressed jeans. I sat down at my desk today and stared at my monitor, unsure what to do. So I tore my desk apart, rearranging, cleaning, rewiring, until it was arranged exactly as it was a couple months ago, the last time I felt something akin to excitment for my job.

There’s me, somewhere.