4°C

I got up before 6am and tossed some clothes into the washer. I also resurrected my travel bags and a thick winter jacket from its plastic bag under my bed. That's going to be dry cleaned today. Next I tossed the bags into the washer and cleaned the dust under the bed.

For some reason I woke up with AAA School of Advertising fizzling in my brain. I googled one of the guys name's I studied with, and sure enough it turned up. He's working for Musica - a position I was poised to take while I was working at The Jupiter Drawing Room. I browsed around until I found an article about Kevan Aspoas, Managing Director of TJDR (what a name!).
http://www.marketingweb.co.za/news/advertising/349206.htm

The article was interesting because it covers an area of particular concern to me, which is ethics in advertising. My opinion is that there is none, and I have worked briefly at Jupiter so I wondered whether there has been a radical shift in their strategy. Also both the Joahnnesburg and Cape Town agencies recently won Loeries (what is that again?) for best and second best agency in the country this year.

According to the article (link above) Aspoas says:
“This is where advertising agencies must step in. As the ethical backbone,” says Aspoas, “we must lead clients in responsible and meaningful marketing directions. For the moment, it seems that agencies are satisfied with taking money and running from responsibility.”

The comments under the article though, were more illuminating than the article itself. The first one was 'Get Real'.
Here's the last, written by someone who calls him/herself, 'ex-Jupiter toddler':
I am not surprised by this sanctimonious, self-righteous drivel from Kevan, who in my opinion is the most overrated bullshitter in the industry.

My year at AAA was awesome, so I always feel it is a pity that I didn't find a niche in advertising. It is a double edged sword though, as the above illustrates. One side is about being creative, really using the right brain. The other side is competitive, and that often means nasty.

One or two nasties were in store for me at AAA, but overall the experience was a huge positive. It was great to be studying and loving every moment of it. At university, especially initially, studies just seem so much hard work. No doubt at AAA we were up until the wee hours of the morning brainstorming, or producing documents or artwork, but at least it was fun, something I enjoyed.
It also required so much of your entire thought process to be effective, and when we (as a team) could access the truth, the underlying reality, the unique message of a brand or product in relation to the perceived market, that was always a great breakthrough and once you'd made it you knew it meant your strategy was on track, and you could start getting creative. That's how we won Best Campaign of my year. That was so cool.

I enjoyed AAA because my heart was in it. But my heart did enter my studies once I changed to Economics. I found it interesting, in the same way I found Law interesting. I also enjoyed, eventually, Applied Mathematics and Physics, when I was doing a B.Sc. I just found it much less accessible. Maybe I don't operate as logically and rationally as you need to, to be an effective mathematician or scientist. But I am a natural when it comes to the psychology and strategy and creativity that goes into, for example, turning something like a black sugary drink into Coke, and getting it into your hand.

Accounting was my nemesis, not because it was rocket science, but because it is so mind numbingly dull, for me anyway. I tried to wake up and smell the accounting coffee, but to no avail. It's a pity in a way because pretty pennies are waiting to be made in accounting. Everybody needs an accountant.

The same goes for triathlon. But at some point, when the thrill of doing something wanes, you have to bring discipline to the table. And that is where I stand now with the Ironman training. It is just so damn cold and miserable here, that training just feels like a bad idea.
So now is when I need to take control of my feelings, manage the process, and organise a new pattern.
This week I will add running back to the mix, albeit gradually.

I need to decide this week whether I'm going to cycle or not, because I have two bicycles that need to go in boxes. If I don't box them this week, I either have to get out in this icy weather (possible) and maybe do some easy laps around the park, or go to the bike shop, exchange the sprockets, and mount the Trek on the indoor trainer. Will have to go back to the bike shop to reverse the process just before I leave, and I'm not lus (not keen) to do that. It seems more practical just to cycle on the crappy bikes in gym and then get on with real training under the sunnk Cape Town skies when I get there on December 27.

Jeanne d'Arc was on TV, with Milla Jovovich - while I was packing, and cleaning.
Not the best movie, but she says, I want to join with Him (God) now. That's passion. At one point, still a little girl, she runs into church, grabs a goblet, pours wine into it (the blood of Christ) and drinks it all up, spilling wine down over her mouth and throat and dress. It suggests that passion can bring about the miraculous, or seem to, but passion can also be rash.

I don't mean to be rash this time round.