I’ve spent the past three work days immersed in Scarborough market research. I really need to be kicking off the Send-A-Child-To-Camp Fund, at least scheduling the stories so I’ll have one monkey off my back, but this was a rush job, needed for a presentation today.
These marketing reports have only been part of my job for six or eight months. It’s a long learning process, complicated by me having no background whatsoever in marketing, advertising, or statistics. But I’m getting it, and the weird thing is I’m starting to like it. At times, it’s almost like a computer game. You have to figure out where and when to click, what to combine, how to get what you need out of its archaic set-up and labyrinth of screens. When I succeed, it’s like earning the high score.
What’s hard, though, is shifting gears–going from numbers and a best-approach way of thinking to writing a column. I usually write on Monday nights, but last night—after a day spent with numbers—I just couldn’t get out what I wanted to say. I stayed in at lunch to work on it then, but again, the words wouldn’t come.
I’ve noticed that many people who are good at writing aren’t so good with math, and those good at math often suffer with words. For me, it’s like the part of my brain that can do the one thing overpowers the other and won’t let it go. Hopefully, once I’m more fluent at operating this software, that won’t be such a problem. For now, though, pass the Excedrin.
