Andrew Schroeder

During times of serious decision making, I’m always drawn back to one of the core theories of quantum physics: every time we make a decision, the universe splits into another fragment of possibility. Or, more simply put, there is an infinite number of outcomes possible from any choice we make – serious or not.

A big part of my thought process behind deciding to move to Green Bay and start up Pig & Weasel Press has been weighing all the “what if” scenarios that come from this crazy little idea. In one universe, I stay at my day job. I work there until I retire and my life is the same as it is right now: listless, unsatisfying, and dull.

My point being, simply, sometimes in life, it is better to make a major decision based on knowing which outcomes you definitely do not want to realize.

After some very careful consideration (and a considerable amount of wine) I’m packing up shop and moving to Green Bay, Wisconsin. I’m forming a small (yet mighty) letterpress studio called Pig & Weasel. Without further ado, I’d like to officially use this post to debut my new logo… soon to be printed on some beautiful brilliant white cardstock from Neenah papers.

At what point does it become acceptable to take on risks and seek out a future in line with one’s values? That is the question I have had on my mind the last few weeks. A new opportunity to engage in work that is more satisfying than sitting in an office for 45 hours a week is appearing on the horizon. I may be able to move to Green Bay, WI (or another similar city) and open a press. Nothing fancy. Think: a press wedged in the garage next to the cat’s litterbox at first. However, eventually there is the opportunity to make something that could actually be a satisfying way to spend my days and nights.

One nagging question keeps me from diving head-first into the world of being a small business owner: can I make it work? Is it worth it to have something to be passionate about and also give up a healthy paycheck from a soul less employer?

It appears that within American culture, there are three times it is acceptable for a man to be an enthusiastic gardener: either when young in rural Nebraska, when in one’s late 60s, or when one is British. Although I am technically none of the above, I am incredibly thrilled by the variety of things growing this summer.
I’ve been somewhat of a flake when it comes to the actual work, but I have had the extreme pleasure of sharing a community garden plot with two good friends. The concept of urban gardening is truly something that any resident of a major city should not take for granted. As I was walking around the garden this afternoon taking photos, I started to wonder about the evolutionary effects of our species movement to urban areas will have on the plants we bring with us. Will we engineer and come to favor planting pollution resistant variants of spinach? Or, instead of changes to the plants we tend, will our cities take on the positive qualities, biodiversity and egalitarian aura of the average garden?

Although for the most part this blog is pretty lighthearted in nature, ranging from items that I jam into my face to various bits of photography from my surroundings, I am actually debating something of more consequence this evening. For the last couple of months, I’ve toyed with the idea of getting “serious” about photography again. You see, in the three years since I finished my MFA, I haven’t really had any ideas for new work, nor have I had the studio practice to back it up. I find myself, now in a non-glamorous or satisfying state I like to call “post-practice”.

I’m weighing my options and thinking of ways that I could start to build up a solid portfolio of more commercial-oriented work and also make moves toward freelancing. I have a great job, although it is often frustrating and I easily feel like an insignificant cog.

It is times like these, like the true nerd I am, I turn to philosophy to help me make decisions.

Particularly, The voice I find myself turning to is William James. His notion of acting as if what you do makes a difference has me taking this decision on, full force. A basic butchering of his thoughts, which I will now attempt, looks something like this:

• If I am lost in a forest or hostile environment and I stumble into a path, I have two choices of action.
• Option 1: I can do nothing and believe the path goes nowhere. By doing nothing I will freeze, starve, and die.
• Option 2: I can believe the path leads to food or shelter. I could then follow the path out of the forest to food, shelter, safety.

In both options, the actions taken have made the belief true. One should always act as if what they do makes a difference.

So. Do I take the leap, follow a path, spend some more money, and start up working as a photographer?

Something really amazing happened to me today. I was headed to the Northern Lights Tea Shop (link) when I was stopped by three people attending a conference about using technology to organize information, notes, etc… I couldn’t resist when they inquired if they could ask me a couple of questions about the ways that I organize information and make lists in my life. Really, how could I? This is something I obsess about; something that kicks into high gear all the archivist tendencies I try to suppress throughout the day. I am obsessive-compulsive when it comes to organizing data and it often takes all my strength not to completely reorganize the database I manage at work. (more…)