NEVER FINISHED

every once in while i'll latch on to something.

and once i'm 'latched', i don't let go.

just ask my parents.

two summers ago i was a recluse.

i spent every day reading and learning, drawing and designing, thinking and solving. i wanted to make a game. and i wanted to more than anything. just ask Joh Donaldson. she was the only girlfriend i had in high school. we dated for (we debate about this) a month. and then suddenly i had this extreme desire to learn to 'code'. and so i stopped seeing her, i distanced myself from her and pretty much everyone around me. but the thing about me is that coding isn't enough. i want to control it all. i want to design it. i want to make the animations. i want to lay the foundation. i want to say that i did it. all. so i went at it alone. i got pretty far and i was a few months away launching my summer project. and then something happened. i received a phone call. Clay, this is Nick, from the Apple Store. we want you to work for us. can you meet me at the Store next week? i remember it all. and so i forgot all about my app. i let it go saying, i'll finish you later. in my free time. little did i know that my free time would soon disappear as work would dominate my schedule. and then, another phone call. Clay, it's Nick again. listen, we just got approval to hire you, but i need you to answer this question honestly. you said you were working on app- how devoted to it are you? i immediately knew what he was saying. i cut down the bush he was beating around and briskly answered not as devoted as i am to Apple. we started speaking legalese, going over my contracts- the things i had to stop doing- and i agreed to everything. over the next few weeks we finalized my hiring in ink. i said that as long as i worked for Apple, i would no longer code- seeing as i would have (limited) inside access to upcoming products and services. i stopped working on my app.

i'm glad i did.

i know how to do it better now. i'm a better coder. i have a better eye and appreciation for great design. i've learned to say no. Steve said a lot about narrowing your focus- about saying no.

"It comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don't get on the wrong track or try to do too much."

i had way too many ideas for my app. it was complicated. it was crowded with noise and confusion.

"That's been one of my mantras- focus and simplicity. Simple can harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains." -Steve Jobs

and so- i think i can do it better now. i have a lot to learn and i don't know anything about half of the stuff i run into. but it's fun and it keeps me thinking. i've always wanted to do this. and now that (legally) i can. i will.

this is small piece of what it looked like right before it was shelved.

everything is hand drawn. i didn't really know how to use photoshop.

i still don't.

i need to start there.

as well as fifty other places.