You may have seen me talk about the valley of suck before. It’s that place you visit when you have something you do that you decide to do differently and while you learn that different way of doing it all the progress and comfort you had gained from the way you did it before is no longer there. The initial results of your efforts don’t turn out the same caliber or quality of what you were doing before you decided to change things up. And it’s always tempting to go back to the original way of doing things. This is the Valley of Suck.
When Switching from this to… 
…this based on book thickness, it looks like it might be easier. That is a delusion.
You can also enter the Valley of Suck by making a seemingly small shift in required knowledge. As an example. I am studying for another test for the day job. I started out studying for the 2012 version of the test and got quite comfortable with the material and thought I was ready. And then the collective decision was made that I should take the 2016 version of the test. After getting all the way through the book I thought I was doing ok. The first practice test I took was dismal. I was plunged directly into the depths of the Valley of Suck. Sigh.
The Valley of Suck can also be found when software you are using changes significantly and changes the layout or interface a lot. No matter how great the change are going to ultimately be. No matter how exciting they are they all still require adjusting. And the time it takes to adjust can feel like a trip through the Valley of Suck. The changes may slow down your work so something that took an hour is now taking two. It looks the way you want and expect, it just takes so much longer. Or maybe the algorithms have changed and it takes more work to get used to it. And those are just a few examples. And a lot of what I am going through with the new release, or release candidate for Blender. Blender 2.80 is quite cool. And the changes and improvements are absolutely worth it. I still have to revisit the Valley of Suck at least to some extent while I get to know the interface and learn new ways of doing certain things.
And then there is the trip through the Valley when you haven’t been performing for a bit. Be that Taekwondo or playing at a blues jam. You can practice at home to try to get ready as much as you want. When it comes time to get up on that stage and play with others that’s when you find another Valley of Suck that you forgot about.
Oh. And one other area it turns out has a Valley of Suck. Relationships. When it’s been a while since you had one or just been awhile since you had to make new friends, you can get out of practice and it can take a little time to get the hang of them as well.
As you can guess, lately I’ve felt like I was living in one version of the valley or another. It takes some persistence and bullheadedness to keep going and to not let it get to you too much.
As you might also have guessed, I made it back to a Blues Jam. It went ok. I did debut that song I was working on. I also have video that I will try to get posted in a timely manner.
Note: I first heard the term “valley of suck” used by Danny ‘Pointpusher’ Williams at a Zbrush Summit. Just want to give some credit.