Vansinnesprojekt!

Okej, om några veckor ska det första utkastet till debutromanen vara klart. Det är tänkt att hela projektet ska gå att följa här på bloggen. Jag lägger därför upp en kopia på det bindande kontrakt jag skrivit under.

I, hereby pledge my intent to write a 50, 000-word novel in one month's time.

By invoking an absurd monthlong deadline on such an enormous undertaking, I understand that notions of craft, brilliance, and competency are to be chucked right out the window, where they will remain, ignored, until they are retrieved for the editing process. I understand that I am a talented person, capable of heroic acts of creativity, and I will give myself enough time over the course of next month to allow my innate gifts to come to the surface, unmolested by self-doubt, self-criticism, and other acts of self-bullying.

During the month ahead, I realise I will produce clunky dialogue, clichéd characters and deeply flawed plots. I agree that all of these things will be left in my rough draft, to be corrected or excised at a later point. I understand my right to whithold my manuscript from all readers until I deem it complete. I also acknowledge my right as author to substantially inflate both the quality of the rough draft and the rigors of the writing process, should such inflation prove useful in garnering me respect, attention or freedom from household chores.

I acknowledge that the monthlong, 50, 000-word deadline I set for myself is absolute and unchangeable, and that any failure to meet the deadline, or any effort on my part to move the deadline once the adventure has begun, will result in well-deserved mockery from friends and family. I also acknowledge that, upon successful completion of the stated noveling objective, I am entitled to a period of gleeful celebration and revelry, the duration and intensity of which may prelude me from participating fully in workplace activities for days, if not weeks, afterwards.

Novel Start Date
24/04/07

Novel Deadline
23/05/07

Årets kulturhändelse

Amex - the Quiz!

Jag må vara gammal stormästare, men för den sakens skull vilar jag inte på lagrarna, utan söker ständigt nya utmaningar.

Just nu pluggar jag till exempel hårt för att lära mig allt om American Express: dess företagsstruktur, historia och framtidsvisioner. Mina chefer kan nämligen när som helst, och utan förvarning, slita bort mig från min kontorsstol och tvinga mig att skriva ett test, där mina kunskaper om företaget ställs på prov.

Här kommer några möjliga frågor som ni kan roa er med där hemma:

Q: What is a brand?
A: A belief that exists in a consumer's mind. A Promise made, delivered through experience. both rational and emotional.

Q: What does the Blue Box represent?
A: Amex as a whole.

Q: What do we want our customers to think when they think of the Blue Box?
A: Customer Commitment, Trust and Integrity, Security all over the world, Quality and Innovation, Support and Success.

Här kommer en annan favorit från utbildningsmaterialet:
Non-Parts:
A Non-Part is the name that we refer to Merchant customer's who do not hold an agreement with us.
Occassionally a Non-Part Merchant may submit an American Express transaction in error or as an one-off transaction on behalf of a Cardmember.

Non-Part, smaka på det ordet! George Orwell hade inte kunnat göra det bättre.

Det roligaste med jobbet är dock Genesis, en databas där man kan se alla American Express transaktioner som görs i hela världen! Genesis, som går i färgskalorna svart, grönt och lila, bygger på samma banbrytande grafik och obegripliga kommandon som gjorde Atari till ett ledande datorföretag under 1980-talet.