Future, here I come

Graduation is just over a week away. For a long time, I didn't know where I'd be when school ended. But the right place came around and I couldn't be more stoked about it.

Check them out: AKQA.com

And as long as we're being honest, I still have no idea what the letters stand for. But that doesn't matter, because everything else is just what I I was looking for. AKQA is ideas first. They are all about innovation.They are a fairly small sized shop, and the creative department is a really close knit group. I feel like I am going to fit in just fine.

I contacted the recruiter through Twitter and found information about applying for internships. She asked me to send her my portfolio. A few weeks later, they contacted me about doing a phone interview with one of the teams from the DC office. The three guys I interviewed with were super awesome and I got an awesome vibe from their office. I've always found myself in a niche area for advertising, and everything they talked to me about seemed right down my alley. They said it might take a few days for them to make a decision, but that they felt comfortable letting me know that it was just between me and one other person. And the next morning, I had an email with an internship offer to join them.

So from June to August I will be a resident of our Nation's Capitol.

Come visit if you'd like. Or not. Whatever.

Just don't fax me please.

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Monopoly Money

I'm curious if I'm alone on this opinion, or if others feel the same way. 

Cash feels like Monopoly money to me. 

Anytime I have it in my wallet, I spend it. When you're playing Monopoly, you usually just drop the cash, buy up everything you can, and hope to land on free parking every once in a while. There's no accountability. Because ultimately, if you run out of money, you just get to step out of a meaningless game that takes up 16 hours of your life anyway.

I've grown so accustomed to swiping my card, that now it almost feels like my real money, and the real stuff feels fake. Here's my biggest problem: I hate receipts. I don't want to hold on to a flimsy, worthless piece of paper. Not even in my pocket. But I know that if I don't keep it, I won't remember where I spent that money. At least when I use my credit or debit card, every penny of it shows up on my bank statement. So it's like I have to deal with spending the money twice. Which keeps me in check. Spending the money once with cash isn't enough anymore. Some people may hate that because they feel guilty, but I'd rather feel guilt now than feel bankrupt later.

Sorry Mr. Washington, I hate you.

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California Christmas

For a change of pace this year, our family decided to forego presents and rent a beach house in California. We just happened to settle in Capitola, California, about an hour south of San Francisco. I had never heard of it until we came here. But I"m glad we came.

There's something about the coast that keeps calling my name. People are more friendly in a small coastal city like this because they seem to be more content with their lives. Example number one is the drivers. They are more than willing to wait a little while longer while a group of 9 people and a baby stroller cross where they aren't supposed to. Then they give you a smile and a wave. I could get used to that. 

I think more people would appreciate that sort of behavior. The world would be a much happier place if we all started living that way. So if I don't see you sometime soon, consider this my smile and wave. 

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Warming of the house

I have a few weird traits. Maybe alot. And one of them is a love for unpacking. Moving somewhere new, and figuring out where I'm going to put things. I can't figure out why I like it so much, I just know that I enjoy myself very much while doing it. Know what I mean? I consider it one of my pleasure pains. You know the type of thing You love to do but are never really sure why you keep doing it. Like having a bruised fingernail, for example, and continuously pushing on it even though you know it will hurt. As if for a split second you convince yourself the pain actually feels good. Because it hurts so good. 

In my recent move to a new house, I've had the opportunity to fully embrace my corkiness. I'm sort of a pack rat, and I love to collect all sorts of useless junk. I might need it someday, you never know. It's also a somewhat bitter sweet feeling. I'd like to just dive in and solve the puzzle or game of tetris, but I know that the sooner I do so, the sooner it's over. Then I'm just an ordinary guy living in a different location again. Like the feeling of reaching the final hundred pages of a really good book, and even though you want to get answers, you don't ever want it to end as to face the reality of life without being able to read it anymore. Anyone who watched the TV show LOST probably knows the feeling.

 As for right now, I'm still "moving". Which, again, seems more fun to me. I'm sure my roommates are not thrilled about this side of me. I have spilled out into the living room with all of my belongings. Clinging to the last few items that remain to be put away. I'll get around to it. I really will. I guess I like change. 

Just give me a minute.

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Get used to it

I walk past it every morning on my way to school now. The aroma is intoxicating. And I debate stopping every single time. I may have to find a new way to campus

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Creativity

From Hey Whipple Squeeze This:

“Creativity is like washing a pig. It’s messy. It has no rules. No clear beginning, middle or end. It’s kind of a pain in the ass, and when you’re done, you’re not sure if the pig is really clean or even why you were washing a pig in the first place.”

The creative process is basically chaotic at its core and, for me at least, the washing-a-pig metaphor works on several levels.

 

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Life on the road?

I've always kind of wondered if I could actually pick up my life and live out of a suitcase. After a 2 week vacation from coast to coast, i'm starting to second guess myself with that kind of lifestyle. I think there is a reason why people started going on vacation rather than just moving from place to place. It feels good to get back home and have some order in my life and not have to eat out every single meal. Or maybe I was just exhausted after 2 weeks of non-stop tourism. Although my wallet took a hit and got a lot smaller, so did my bucket list. I think a simple list of everything I did should suffice for the rest of this:

Road trip to San Fran

Client pitch to Haagen Dazs

Cal Berkley campus tour

Lombard Street

Fisherman's Wharf

Car robbery (Sorry Jeff)

Japan Town

Haight/Ashbury

Agency visits with DDB and Goodby, Silverstein, and Partners

Authentic Mexican Food.

US OPEN

Drive home

NYC flight

Central Park

Tom's Restaurant

Statten Island Ferry

Rocaway Beach

Lost on the Subway

Brooklyn Bridge

H&M

Movie in Bryant Park

Canal Street

Strand Bookstore

Donut Plant

Times Square

Jersey Boys on Broadway

Stardust Diner

South Street Seaport

Puma City

World Cup game

Coney Island

Agency visits to Ogilvy and BBDO 

Manhattan Temple

Rockafeller Plaza

NBA Draft

NYU

Washington Square

La Guardia Airport - 17 hours, no flight

Try again

Chicago

Green Bay

Lambeau Field

Lombardi Trophy

Chicago Airport - 13 hours

Home.

I never thought I'd be so happy to go back to work and have a regular schedule again. Yikes.

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