It always gets a bit dicey for me when, meeting someone for the first time, I’m asked what I do for a living. The answer isn’t as easy as it sounds, because I first have to qualify my response by describing the sort of work we do here at helveticka. Once that’s established, I try to explain where I fit in.
“So,” my interlocutor will say. “You’re in advertising.”
“No…not really,” I’ll reply. “It’s more…”
“Technical writer?”
“Not so much. I’m…”
“Have I ever read anything you’ve written?”
“Doubt it. The thing is…”
“But you write stuff.”
“Yeah. It’s just that…”
“And you get paid for that?”
“Well, yes. You see…”
But by then it’s too late. Look, I get it: It’s hard to imagine how, in a just society, a guy like me could make a living banging out words on a laptop. I don’t make the rules, though. I simply take advantage of them.
Which brings me to the point of this post. Even if I can’t adequately explain what it is I do for a living, I can now—courtesy of McSweeney’s—offer a glimpse into what it’s like.
by Kate Vanskike