Why Advertising Sucks

Social Media, explained with Pee.

2012-01-27T14:45:00.000-04:00

Fuck you clock

2012-01-27T10:16:00.000-04:00

Eyes are bloodshot and weary. Breathing is labored. Neck is sore from constant nodding. And it’s only 10:00 AM.

What the hell is the matter with time? Has the viscosity of the space time continuum increased from last I checked? My tasks are done, I’ve read what little news isn’t blocked in my company and time idles by like a root canal. The papers are organized, the pencils are sharpened, the pens are categorized by color and I’ve just returned from my third piss. Fucking time.

Where were you last week? Nowhere to be found, or just peeking your head while I barely made deadlines. While I was just able to get to a toilet before I juiced my shorts. Last week, hours, turned to minutes, turned to seconds. Now you’ve suddenly become the most generous intangible concept ever. Now seconds are minutes, now minutes are days, now days are weeks and I suddenly have all the time in the world… Why do you insist on being an ill-timed booty call. Never there when you need it and always there when you’re unavailable or just plain interested.

Thing is time isn’t fickle… we are… and that’s the truth. We have too many trinkets to squander time and no real focus to squeeze that last drop of juice from a minute. Think about it, with just a little focus, how many pages could you read in an hour? How many short stories could you write in a day? How many lunges, push-ups, jumping jacks and pull-ups could you do? How many miles could you run? How many new dishes could you try? How many chores could you finish?

And that’s all that’s missing from that fucking moment when you want to spit at the clock for mocking you with its creepy-crawly seconds. Focus. The concentration of will and energy to do what you will tell about to people when you’ve achieved it. Sometimes we actually run into drive and focus… sometimes we wield time like wisps of ether that are alchemized into concrete results… and other times the hands of a clock align themselves perfectly so that one is on 2 o’clock, another is at 10 o’clock and the third is at 12 o’clock so time itself is basically giving you the finger.

Fine, you’ll have it your way on this occasion, Mr. Time. But pretty soon, I’ll make you my bitch and take over the world.

Cheers

WHY? WHYYYYYYY? Ferris Bueller 2 Official Teaser

2012-01-27T00:22:00.000-04:00

Shit White Girls Say...to Black Girls

2012-01-26T12:46:00.000-04:00

Bound by the chain of command

2012-01-25T08:44:00.001-04:00

We want to be creative, we want to make a difference, we want to work hard and we want rewards… but unfortunately there’s a chain of command. Hierarchies tend to bring out the worse in the human spirit in the sense of frustration, disdain, envy, back stabbing and what have you.

Unfortunately, most places do have some type of chain of command one is supposed to follow. This can be, good, it can be bad… but most often, it just is and we’re the ones who embed the existing system with positive or negative connotations.

If you’re fed up with your chain of command, you have four options: fight it, bypass it, acquiesce or learn to tango. I’ve tried all of the options and only recently have I tried to truly tango with the system. I’ve stood by and done nothing… sucked, I’ve fought it…. No results and SUPER sucked… I’ve tried to bypass it…. Almost cost me my job… am trying to tango, yielding some results.

Am I telling you to be the company bitch? No. Never. This blog is about resistance, personal growth and revolution, not about tradeoffs and complacency. I’m telling you to know the system and play it like a fucking fiddle. Earn a reputation, always be accountable, put people on the spot, ask, make it seem as if other people have ideas, put stuff into action and eventually you will see some result. Is it easy? No… that’s why you need to develop patience.

Some people are rewarded for sucking ass. Other people are rewarded for backstabbing. I’m recommending you learn what gets results in the system. Think of it as if you were working on a shitty campaign… anyone can get a great ad for a kickass client with tons of cash to burn… not many people can turn shit into gold.

Be an alchemist, play the system and focus on you and what you need to do to not be a sellout and hate yourself.

Godspeed and cheers

And this is how Skynet starts. Spooky.

2012-01-23T17:41:00.000-04:00

5 places to eat at San Francisco

2012-01-23T08:27:00.001-04:00

If life’s greatest pleasures are drinking, pissing, shitting, fucking and eating, well here’s some 411 if you’re ever up and about the city by the bay. As a mini continuation to my post about my experience in San Fran for my 1 year anniversary with my wife, here’s a brief rundown of five places we’d definitely go back to.

1. Fog Harbor Fish House

Great seafood + wonderful beer = happy joker. Fog Harbor offered me a seafood basket including crab, prawns, mussels, clams, and calamari. The price was fair, the view was pristine, the attention was top notch and the food was good. I know it’s in the middle of tourist trap hell, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s good.

2. Sushi Groove

We didn’t have much sushi in San Francisco but this was out back-up after having a faux pas moment at San-Ra-Ku. That place wasn’t much to write home about… sure the sushi was fresh, but you’ll get a lot of people defending it because it’s the proper way to eat sushi… Like I said, it was fresh but me and my wife barely registered the wow factor and I’ve had better sushi elsewhere. Actually, on a trip to Puerto Rico we went to eat at a place called Nikko Sushi… best… eel… ever. Anyways, I digress, so we went to Sanraku, it kinda sucked and we went to Sushi Groove… why we even bothered with the other place is not beyond me (Trip Advisor said it was the shit while we thought it was meh. The ONLY time Trip Advisor wasn’t spot on). So we went to Sushi Groove, luckily got there before the rush hour and had three rolls, some nigiri, plum wine and two big ole sloppy smiles on our faces. Props go out to Michelle, a friend of mine who was a local and recommended the place. She was soooooo right.

3. Swensen’s

Turkish coffee ice cream sound like a good idea? Why yes it does. The original Swensen’s is in San Francisco and it gave me the desire to visit San Fran in summer just to enjoy that experience that much more. Good variety, great quality, fair prices and right on a cable car stop. Need to get your ice cream on? Pass on the Cold Stone and get yourself some bona fide Swensen’s. NOTE: since this is the original store and not a chain, it is quite possible your favorite flavors are not there (cantaloupe and bubble gum come to mind).

4. Scoma’s

This place felt like I slipped into a mafia establishment in part because of the décor, in part because of the employees and what they wear and in part because there were a few questionable clients lounging about. The place has two bars and talented bartenders tending each bar and a menu that provided ample options. The sword fish, the pasta, the wine and the dessert were all fantastic. Imagine, it was so good we didn’t even notice the earthquake that gave the place a little shake. Now THAT’S good food.

5. Mama’s

I would have never thought that in my life one of the best meals I would ever have would have been a breakfast. Mama’s shut me up something fierce. The ONLY place we went to twice during our stay in San Francisco, Mama’s is far and above one of the best culinary experiences in my life. The French toast sampler should come with a warning to bring diapers or an extra pair of shorts. The pancakes are amazing, fresh berries make it even better and the banana pancakes? Jack Johnson would be proud. So if you’re in San Francisco, make the line… it’s worth it.

I left my heart a little North of San Francisco

2012-01-21T08:22:00.002-04:00

WARNING: LONG ASS POST BELOW. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

Recently I had the wonderful opportunity to go on vacation with my wife to San Francisco and Napa Valley and let me tell you, those are the first vacations I take in which I’m able to fully disconnect from the world at large… but it wasn’t because of San Francisco.

Ok here’s my two cents for whatever it’s worth… (probably less than two cents, but whatever), San Francisco is a fantastic place to visit and most everywhere you look is picture worthy. I swear it’s that pretty. Rolling hills, cable cars… hell, the whole city is interesting in its approach… but I don’t think I’d ever live there for three main reasons:

1. It didn’t feel like a practical city to get around in for my taste. I know it may sound like a dick thing to say, but at least for me, moving around in a city like NYC is pretty easy in comparison. The subway rarely let me down during my adventures there. In SF, the transportation feels like it takes a lot of getting used to and though you can eventually get the hang of it, it isn’t spot on flawless… a lot of it feels like you wing it depending on what options are available and contrary to most other places I’ve visited or lived in, the bus system was the most efficient mode of transportation for me. I’m sure I could find short cuts up the wazoo, but it’s not like you can walk anywhere since the relationship between gravity, my calves and 38 degree incline hills wasn’t always awesome. Again, I’m sure I could get used to it and that I could even get magnificently tight buns, but I don’t see myself saying “epic, let’s walk it”. It’s a city that demands to be studied to avoid congested routes, tourist traps and surprisingly for me, dick people. I was quite surprised at the dickishness of some people, but hey, more on that later.

2. The amount of homeless people in the city really left an impression on me. I was there 4 days and I’d dare to say I saw between 200 and 300 bums between SF and Sausalito. It was pretty shocking to me because it wasn’t that they were in areas that you’d say, yeah that place is frequented by homeless people… it’s that they were everywhere. Fisherman’s Wharf, the Financial District, Union Square, at the bottom of Coit Tower, in front of Sak’s and Fifth… you name it and there was company.

3. Reality kicked in. Truth be told, if you’re used to the shitty airports I frequent, when you arrive in the SF airport you go wtf is this Utopia? Seriously, there is NO other airport I’d rather spend a layover in than San Francisco’s… period. The thing is that the city didn’t live up to the hype. I was expecting super gay people and green crusaders on the rampage with a Captain Planet tattoo etched onto their arms… Maybe I went to the wrong places, but SF didn’t feel that green to me… actually, it didn’t feel that clean either. And gay people? I felt jipped because I had prepared myself to be bombarded with a tsunami of gayness only to find out that it was normal for what I’m used to. True, I saw some flamboyant gays, but I NEVER felt as if I was fresh meat or anything. I guess the main thing was that people weren’t a third of how laid back I’d imagined them being. People were in a rush, they drive awful, and though me and my wife were able to find some extremely friendly people along the way, it wasn’t the norm. Maybe my expectations were too high, maybe a person too many told me that I wouldn’t want to go back home or maybe it’s just that SF is a fantastic place to visit, but not necessarily one I’d want to live in.

Highlights in San Francisco included the food, the Japanese Tea Garden, the California Academy of Sciences, Alcatraz and Amoeba Music. The food was wonderful and I’ll write more about the places that blew me away later.

The Japanese Tea Garden was absolutely beautiful. We spent close to two hours there, drank some tea and really relaxed the way I wanted to do throughout the entire trip. It was peaceful, serene and super lovely.

The museum visit was impromptu and one of the highlights of the trip because it wasn’t planned and was very gratifying on so many levels. In 31 years, I’d never gone to a Planetarium and the show there was awesome. The Green Rooftop and the exhibits were also super highlights and the aquarium was extremely noteworthy. When we go back, we’ll go to the Aquarium on the Wharf, but at least this one was great. Side note: one of the friendliest people we met on the trip was actually a guy who worked at a gift shop in the aquarium area. You could tell he was cooped up and was super friendly when we visited the shop and were there for more than 30 seconds. Also, there was an older man with fascinating info just walking around, so if you’re there and you happen to see an old man in the aquarium handing out nuggets of information, feel free to ask him anything marine related. It was ridiculous how much he knew and for parents, he was great with kids. I mention those two people because they embodied what I expected from most people and really people who love their job; something pretty consistent with most people who worked at the museum.

Then there was Alcatraz and if you go, take the earliest tour possible and pay for the audio tour. It’s worth it on both counts, the audio tour has tons of information and the earlier you go, the less farty people you’ll encounter… not exaggerating, it seems we had a farty people magnet and the later it got, the more crowded it was. Lucky for us, the day we went, it was overcast but not foggy so it added to the experience, and Alcatraz was surprisingly light in atmosphere in most areas. Solitary and some cells were a bit creepy but for the most part, the air wasn’t as thick as I imagined it’d be. Maybe enough people have gone to dissipate the negative energies or something but it’s a cool tour.

Then there was Amoeba Music… a place which merits its own post.

Outside of San Fran there was Downtown Napa and Napa Valley. The definite highlights of the trip centered just north of Downtown Napa… why do I make this distinction? Because people think you arrive in Napa and that everything is rustic, countryside and wonderful… after the 5th car dealer and second Wal-Mart on the main strip, again, reality set in for me and my wife and we were forced to adjust expectations… which was awesome because everything else EXCEEDED expectations.

What most people call plain ole Napa is really Napa Valley and if you want to relax, it is a super treat. We went to 5 vineyards, every experience was special in its own way and the relax-o-meter was going off the Richter. I loved the morning fog, the delicious breakfasts, the wonderful meals and the excellent wine but more than anything, I loved how it didn’t matter if I had a watch on or not. We had to keep our appointments to most vineyards and trust me, a paying tour in Napa is worth it. We went to one free tour in Sonoma and it blew. To get the shitty vineyard out of the way, google Jacuzzi Vineyards, browse briefly then come back to the next paragraph.

Jacuzzi’s wine is shit, the place is a big Disney Store and the vineyards out back were the shittiest ones we saw the entire trip. The tasting is free and that should be an indicator of what you’re going to get. We saw drunk people, to be expected, and we sampled some overpriced shit wine. The service in the wine side was God awful and I would have gladly pissed in a cup to offer them a better vintage. But wait a minute, why did I just write the wine side. Well this store complex is a two parter. On the left side there’s the shit wine, some culinary stuff and a funky atmosphere. If you go out back, you’ll be treated to faux everything. I’m telling you everything was fake, stone was fake, fountain was busted, vineyards were torn to shit and everything was just fake and commercialized to the point where I expected some guy dressed in a Super Mario outfit to jump out of a pipe and scream, “It’s a me!!! JACUZZI!!!” For some reason we swung by the Olive Press… the right side of the store… and people there were not only friendly and knowledgeable, but actually enjoyed being there. So if you want olive oil or vinegar, that’s a place to go, otherwise. AVOID!

Now that we got that shit stain of a vineyard out of the way, how about some positive experiences. Ok so if you want really good wine, go to Joseph Phelps. It was the best wine we had throughout the trip though the experience was a bit detached since it wasn’t a tour. But the estate is just gorgeous. Our tasting took like 90 minutes and it was just a peaceful beautiful morning hang out session where we had breakfast in a glass and some friendly advice from one of the local servers called Pilar. Trust me, you want good wine? Go to JP. One thing though, there are two tastings. There are two differences between both options. One is $30 and the other is that you get to try to extra wines. If you want to have a sample of wine that goes for over $200 a bottle, by all means try it, because the Baccus and the 2006 Insignia they had are ridiculously good (though I don’t think I’d ever buy a $200 wine). But seriously, you can live without those two wines and save $30. To sum things up, the place is pristine, looks like it came from a scene of What Dreams May Come and has some of the best wine in California.

Second up on the list, Cakebread Cellars. It’s pretty simple, if you like white wine, you should go to Cakebread. This informative tour tells you some interesting details about the winemaking process. They show you the facilities, let you in on how they get such damn fine Chardonnay and really show that they’re proud of where they work at. When we go back, we’ll definitely return for the food and wine pairing because the place has one of the best organic gardens in Napa and two house chefs specifically for these tastings since they don’t have a restaurant. The wine is great and if you happen to get Bob on your tour, send him my regards because he was one of the best guides we had during the entire trip and one of the more knowledgeable.

Third on the list is our second favorite spot on the trip: Schramsburg Vineyards. Why is it so special? Well because it focuses on sparkling wines and because the tour takes you into the cave system they use to store all their wines, sparkling or otherwise. The experience here was just awesome and the tasting was surprisingly delicious. Let’s put it this way, my wife isn’t that much into champagne and she loved it enough to buy a bottle. The cave system you get to see is an iota of the whole thing and it’s quite an interesting experience. It’s cold, musty, a bit gothic and you get some awesome information on the differences between the wine making and sparkling wine making processes.

Lastly… the highlight of the trip… Terra Valentine Vineyards… wayyyy up in Calistoga, Terra Valentine offers an offroad tour that left us breathless because I was able to see one of the most amazing views in my life. Our tasting was on the veranda of an estate house that is the closest thing I’ve ever come I contact with that I could call a dream house. Our guide was Coben and the tour was singlehandedly the highlight of our trip. The wine is very good (I recommend the Marriage, Amore and Wurthill reds). It was done as a food pairing with cheeses, almonds and chocolate. I got to taste grapes off the vine and taste and feel the difference between cabernet and merlot fruits and I can’t speak highly enough of the place. Some of the friendliest people during the entire trip and a place me and my wife are doing our best to tell the most amount of people possible for the quality tour and exceptional wines they offer. Simply put, if you’re going to pay for one tour, go to this one though get ready, the adventure to get to the winery is a hell of a trek and you’ll believe you’re lost before you get there. Get a GPS, and don’t miss out.

As for food… wow, if it weren’t for the hills in SF I would have gained like 8 pounds. But that’s another kilometric post. For now, I leave you with that tidbit of my experience to share a little of one of the definite highlights of 2011 and my life. Opinions, comments and questions are always welcome. So by all means, tell me I’m a douche for not falling in love with San Fran, or ask me how it went.

Regardless, be it with a great brew, some tasty wine or your spirit of choice,

Cheers.

5 Random Things you don't know about: Me

2012-01-19T17:47:00.000-04:00

Hello boys and girls! Traditions are meant to be celebrated, so here we go again, the first Five Things list of the year. Feeling a bit better after a shitty week - I decided to write down the five most random things about Me. I hope that you join in the fun and actually write back to us - feelin' kinda lonely here... is anybody out there?

In this exercise, I am not supposed to think too much about it. I need to write things down and not save this post or go back to it later. See if you can do yours this way... Here we go.

1) If something is not working, like a computer, a phone, a tv, whatever... I can't function unless I fix it. All jobs, dates, things I have to do must be stopped in order to solve whatever is the problem. Not working is not an option. Either it gets fixed, or I go mental. OCD, people. OCD.

2) I usually can't stand bright desktop wallpapers. I don't know why that is, all my images are dark and gloomy.

3) I am sometimes a hard core cheapskate. I refuse to pay that little extra dollars to get my Sirius on my computers, so I end up listening to Howard while parked because I can't do it on my office or at home. I also will wait until the last drop of shampoo has been used, the last glob of cream or my lipstick is almost dry from no substance. Then I go and buy stuff. Weird where I draw the line on spending more.

4) I need silence when I am writing a long copy. Talk to me and I will bust your balls about it. Nope, no music can be heard either. I need absolute extreme silence.

5) The one thing that makes me gag is strawberry shakes. That is, for me, the most horrible thing you can give me to drink. I will pass on it, every single time. I prefer to die of thirst rather than drink it. It's just... nasty. Ugh.

There it is. Simple and to the point. Please write. You can do it on Twitter if you want to! #5RandomThingsAboutMe.

Much love and try to be stress free. Me.

7 Stages of Skyrim Addiction

2012-01-18T14:45:00.000-04:00

STOP SOPA: The Day The LOLcats Died.

2012-01-18T14:43:00.000-04:00

Yeah. Posting this could also make our website be bye bye. And to kick, Google as well. And the talented dude gets in trouble too. This is absurd. Call your congress dude. Tweet. Be annoying. Stop this shit.

:)

WAS SAYS SOPA SUCKS.

2012-01-18T13:57:00.000-04:00

Please retweet or share this post. Nope, this is not for more followers. This is because if SOPA is approved, WAS is no more. Yup. We are one of those websites who for some loopholes, can be shutdown. Help us out and stop this bullcrap.

Sign the petition by going here:

http://www.fightforthefuture.org/pipa

Deadline? Sure thing, more if you want your ad to be dead.

2012-01-17T20:41:00.003-04:00

According to Google Search, a deadline is:

The latest time or date by which something should be completed: "the deadline for submissions is February 5th".

Let's examine this. A deadline is a date in which X thing has to be delivered to X place. It can be an ad, it can be a shitload of ads, it can be a huge ass campaign, it can be a revision, it can be anything in this godforsaken business that we call advertising.

The thing about a deadline is that it has two very interesting characteristics. Ah! No worries my friends, Me is here to explain:

• The Perfect Deadline:
A thing of fairy tales, storybooks and full moons. Ancient story has it that ages ago, people awarded others what they called a "decent" time in which they were able to work on their craft with patience and dedication - so that when they delivered their requirement, it was done perfectly, creative and amazing. Under this type of deadline, great pieces of art and creativity has been done. Ad agencies at one point, tell the elders, were able to enjoy this great thing - and their clients were impressed with the outcome.

I would also like to point out that, with a little bit of research, I also found that it is documented that the creative department ended up feeling satisfied with this anomaly of life, they felt that they had decent time to think and really develop an idea, so they were damn proud when the date came to show their masterpieces. Everybody was happy to work and produce, it was the greatest of times.

• The Bullshit Deadline:
This is what we have today. Technological advancements and, well, people losing some basic social and human skills have turned time into a luxury that all clients cannot afford. You can really go fuck yourself if you can't create a decent and amazing ad in less than 24 hours. You are the Monkey and you need to jump now. No, no later, jump now, bitch. Go to your corner filled with toys, message tshirts and Rolling Stone magazines and you come up with greatness in a couple of hours? No? You can't? Well how about that? I can hire ANYONE and pay less for them to do what you can't do. Oh better yet, I can take away the account faster than you can say "I need at least a day".

Oh and let me catch you delivering a crappy ad, you hear? I'm a client that wants results! What do you mean, crap is a result? Oooooh you're being creative now, huh? Didn't take you THAT long to come up with that witty line, huh? Now can you go and squeeze out a decent ad? I still need it for tomorrow. But I haven't told you the cool thing, you wacko creative. I'm going to call you every 60 minutes to see how you are doing. Because there is no greatest tool to make you more creative than pressure. Good old stress will get those endorphins running, the anxiety will kick in and bingo, you'll be cornered into delivering something. Oh and you know what? I won't like the first round of creativity, but keep working, monkey, 'cause the deadline will not change and who cares that you might have a life... I tell YOU when to get home, not the other way around.

Yeah. Whoa. I feel dizzy. Releasing anger is very cool.

...

Where was I?

Oh yeah. Deadline. My point is, if you want to kill creativity and demean the people that are working on your campaign or products, there is no greatest error than to give them a real tight or bullshit deadline.

WE ARE NOT ROBOTS. There is no command-print ad, no command-ALT-campaign, no command-shift-creativity. It all comes from our heads, our experiences, our knowledge, our feelings, our day to day and our inspiration. If you come and shit all over that, you basically are KILLING your ad. It will be dead. Like your deadline.

The sad thing? This is a wasted post. Nothing good will come out of it - well, I am getting my anger release on, but that's about it. Not one client will read this and think - maybe this chick has a point. Not one Creative Director or Account Director will read this and think about all those times that he has said YES to a client - because YES is the winning word - instead of ASKING THE CREATIVE DEPARTMENT how much time do they need to make that great ad that the client needs.

So please, I'm so sorry that you wasted your time reading this as well, because if I am correct, the only people that actually read our tiny space in the web are people like me. Creatives. Angry creatives.

Comrades, I salute you. Today, let's say it with pride. Advertising sucks.

Dear Client: We are not your servants.

2012-01-17T20:09:00.000-04:00

There are different types of people in this world, granted. For every nice human being there has to be a total douche dickwad. It has to be like that, because in the universe, there is a thing called balance. If all people were decent, sensible and loving - then we would not be able to talk about the people that just don't deserve to breathe our air and share our planet, right?

Today was one of those days where I lost my faith in humanity. Because of only one person. One idiotic, moron, total sorry excuse of a client. What, prey tell, exactly did she do? Giving me a two hour deadline on a job? Giving me change after change after change and not organizing herself, ending up wasting my goddamn time? Not answering her email or her phone - even when her artwork was due? Making changes AFTER the artwork was sent to the printers? Oh yeah, all that happened, but that was not the thing that made me angry. I am paid to do all those things and smile.

What I am not paid to do or endure is being treated like I am a servant. And tonight, my friends, all my anger is pointed out to that fucking fuck waste of blood and organs. Belittling people is - and will always be, THE single worst thing you can ever do to another person. For me, it is even worst than insulting them right to their faces. By making someone feel or talking to them in a demeaning manner they THINK they have the upper hand. With attitude and snide remarks, they think they can make us reach the deadline earlier or make a more creative ad.

To that way of thinking, I can only say: suck on my imaginary balls. Really. How sad it is for that lonely, not-getting-laid-so-often, boring, unimaginative homo sapiens (and I'm beginning to have doubts about her origin), the only way to get things moving is by making every person who is her supplier feel like they are nothing. Like I am here to serve you, I am waiting for your command, yes ma'am, sure sure, I'll drive you Ms. Daisy.

Today was one of those days that I hated this business with all my heart and hoped that I retire tomorrow.

But alas, it won't happen. Tomorrow will be another day. Maybe I'll be really annoying and turn in my jobs a little late.

Revenge is best served on a really late job. Bitch.

Interesting point. Why I hate Religion but love Jesus.

2012-01-13T16:00:00.000-04:00

Wait for it... wait for it... Wait for it... wait for it... Wait for it... wait for it...

2012-01-13T15:50:00.001-04:00

WHOA. This is spooky.

2012-01-13T12:20:00.000-04:00

It's too hot for Gus.

2012-01-13T12:13:00.000-04:00

2012 is Off and Running!!!

2012-01-10T15:07:00.001-04:00

The Mayans were way off when they predicted that the world would end in 2012. If anything, 2012 seems to be the Year of New Beginnings… and it has started off with a bang. Just two and a
half weeks into the New Year, and already things are looking bright.

Two people I deeply care about and consider much more than friends, closer than family, have had doors open for them in both professional and personal realms. These are people who, thanks
to their immense talent, uncompromising commitment, and sincere sense of purpose, are currently on the cusp of embarking on new career journeys, a chance to finally reap the fruits of their labor, payback more than a decade in the making. Though nothing is set in stone just yet, the fact that opportunity has knocked on their respective doors is the ultimate reward and validation.

After years toiling away at the agency life and offering his ass for clients to feast on, Friend A is now getting his due, accepting an offer for an executive management position tailor-made to make the most of his skills and talents. He is ecstatic, needless to say. But I think his new employer is even more excited to have him, which is great because for the first time in a long time what he brings to the table is being valued, and not just in the financial sense. And best of all, he did not seek this opportunity; it came to him.

As for Friend B, she is currently entertaining an offer to become the Creative Top Dog at a respectable agency... the very same agency where she began her career many years ago. Even
though the situation is delicate (for the past eight years she has owned a successful business), in this case it’s the context that matters: her former bosses are asking her to come back and fix their agency. The message is clear: “We underestimated you, we never recognized your worth, we never acknowledged the fact that you would grow up to do bigger and better things. Please help us.” No executive pay package can top that. Also, like Friend A, this opportunity just fell on her lap one day, out of the blue.

I am very happy for these very special people not because they are about to cash in. I am happy for them because they are getting what they deserve: RESPECT. So many years defined by so many sacrifices, by so many tears, by so little acknowledgement, have finally been put right.

Friend A and Friend B are fantastic individuals, people of enviable moral character whom I admire, respect, and love. This is why I wish them the best and am confident that no matter which path they choose, victory is already theirs.

Kids eating lemons for the first time - LOL!

2012-01-08T23:04:00.000-04:00

Little Girl Slams Marketing

2012-01-08T16:03:00.000-04:00

Meet One Amazing Little Girl: Ava (24 months)

2012-01-08T15:50:00.000-04:00

"Qué Golazo, viejo." Top 10 FIFA Goals 2011

2012-01-08T14:49:00.000-04:00

Nope, I'm not sick of the Muppets yet.

2012-01-08T03:22:00.000-04:00

And I will never be. Enjoy "Life's a Happy Song".

Black Swan Belt

2012-01-08T00:46:00.003-04:00