the business

Quick side note: At one point during the lecture Prof. Mike Press gave on Tuesday I thought to myself "right now he kind of reminds me of Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest, who had the insight to rap 'industry rule #4080, record company people are shady'". If you are a fan, you may know what I mean. Q-Tip was able to be both industry-member and critical observer at the same time. Mike Press seems to be the same way.

Among the many tips he offered on carrying out a research project, two really stuck out in my mind: work with the best people and work with other specialists.

Obviously both are cut from the same cloth, and I am aware of why they struck a chord with me: I can't stand working alone. This has the potential to be a problem, as our research projects are, almost by default, solo adventures. While we will all have the privilege of a mentor, it seems as if everybody is gearing up to work by themselves.

This both scares and confuses me. Why should I work alone? I will almost certainly always be working in groups in any endeavor that I take on after the research project concludes—why should I practice working alone?

There is also the slightly related problem—where the hell do I want to carry out my project (don't worry, we'll get back to working alone in a second)? Since my research involves understanding what makes a city bike-friendly, I can conceivably carry it out in any bike-friendly city on planet Earth. When I inform people of this dilemma, they usually offer one, or both, of the following responses:

1) This is your chance to live anywhere for 3 months—take advantage of it.
2) What a good problem to have. I wish I was a student of Design Ethnography at the University of Dundee. (I made that last sentence up)

While I can respect both answers, I think that they are a bit misguided. We are told on a regular basis that the most important thing is this life is to make ourselves happy. Can I really be happy living by myself, away from the people that I need most in my life, even if it is in a location that offers cold cerveza and beautiful landscapes at the end of each day?

I don't think I can. As independent as I like to consider myself, I can't live without the support network of friends and family that I have established (and I'm sorry, but Facebook just doesn't do it for me). One of my greatest fears is finishing a day and not having any person (in physical form) to share a meal or beer with. Perhaps I am just not interesting enough to survive on my own.

So here is the tie in to working solo: it is in my established network places (New England and NYC) that I would be able to work with the best people (that I know) and specialists (again, that I know). There are people there that could supplement my work—even if we are not directly working together—to an astonishing degree. Also, let's not forget that I have actual bike-riding experience in both areas, which can't hurt.

Shouldn't this close the deal for me? Haven't I answered my own question and solved this problem once and for all? You would think so. But, for some reason, I am keeping myself on the fence.

Maybe I just like the thought of living in Barcelona or Amsterdam for three months.