The babysitting copywriter.

Awesome web banner.

2011-06-08T11:50:00.001-05:00

Well done TalentZoo!

Sweet moves.

2011-05-06T11:05:00.001-05:00

This made me smile. Enjoy.

How ideas spread.

2011-05-04T11:12:00.001-05:00

I've been gone too long, I'm sorry.

2011-03-18T15:51:00.000-05:00

Updates coming soon...I promise.

Merry Christmas (to me).

2010-12-14T22:28:00.001-06:00

Quote.

2010-11-03T14:12:00.000-05:00

A-muck, a-muck, a-muck, a-muck, a-muck.

2010-10-31T02:16:00.004-05:00

Happy Halloween.

B/W.

2010-10-29T16:33:00.000-05:00

Neat stuff.

2010-10-27T20:47:00.000-05:00

Cool blog. Check it. Burlesque of North America.

If a boat shoe and a boot had a baby.

2010-10-26T20:44:00.003-05:00

These are slick.

Coolest font ever.

2010-10-23T10:27:00.000-05:00

Glasses.

2010-10-16T20:40:00.003-05:00

I first started wearing glasses in 1993. I was in 3rd grade and I hated them. My first pair was ugly and so huge that the bottom of the frames rested on my cheeks and cut into them. Now I love my glasses. I recenlty found Warby Parker, a company that sells really slick glasses for $95 and that includes lenses. Check them out my four-eyed friends. I'm really digging the Whisky Tortoise Huxley's.

Coffee with cream and one jerk.

2010-10-05T15:31:00.003-05:00

This doesn't make me want to visit a McDonald's and it sure doesn't make me want to try their coffee. What it does is make me wonder why is this guy such a huge jackass, and why anyone would want to use such a douchey character to sell their product?

So you fancy now?

2010-09-20T22:08:00.002-05:00

I got another cool blog to share with you. It's called Youth Excuse. The main focus is fashion but it covers everything from photography, design, music and art. What more could you want, right?

Jimi.

2010-09-19T11:44:00.000-05:00

Life lessons for a digital world.

2010-09-15T07:24:00.000-05:00

That's clever.

2010-09-08T17:38:00.003-05:00

Fall, football and Sean Astin.

2010-09-06T18:03:00.004-05:00

Fall, my favorite season, is upon us and with that unfortunately comes football season. I can't stand football. The thing that annoys me more than the actual game of football is the football bandwagoners.

No team seems to attract "fans" like Notre Dame. Even people who don't like football will pack up the car, drive to South Bend and sit through a Fighting Irish game. Why? I have a theory. People who say they like Notre Dame football that didn't attend Notre Dame themselves are really just people who like the movie The Goonies. Let me explain. They saw The Goonies and loved it, can't blame them it's an awesome movie. Who was the star? A young, adorable Sean Astin. What other awesome movie has Sean been in? Rudy. What is Rudy about? An underdog trying to achieve his dream of playing for...that's right Notre Dame.

Cool ads.

2010-08-28T17:57:00.001-05:00

Check out this great collection of really awesome ads from The Cool Hunter. A lot of "I wish I'd thought of that" work.

() and ().

2010-08-25T13:33:00.009-05:00

Some very cool work by Dan Beckemeyer. Check out some more of his work.

Career advice for jr's.

2010-08-24T15:53:00.003-05:00

Career advice for advertising juniors from Marcel Knobil. (Via Cecilia Gorman's blog Confessions of a Creative Recruiter).

Photographic proof that your parents were once awesome.

2010-08-17T18:48:00.002-05:00

Another cool Tumblr blog to check out---> My Parents Were Awesome.

Tasty.

2010-08-10T12:32:00.000-05:00

Project time.

2010-08-05T18:12:00.002-05:00

I love getting mail. The only problem is the only mail I ever seem to get is from people who want money from me. Every month like clockwork the student loan company and credit card carrier demand I cut them a check. Maybe those envelopes wouldn't be such a kick in the teeth if there was some "fun-mail" thrown in there too. With that thought Letter Love was born. Letter Love is a collection of simple, mostly funny (hopefully funny) cards that are meant to be printed, folded and sent on their way. Check it out: Letter Love.

I heart Tumblr.

2010-08-04T18:36:00.002-05:00

I really dig Tumblr. There are some really interesting, fun and creative blogs. Nerd Boyfriend is the latest and greatest one I've come across. Check it out.

No real reason. I just love the Golden Girls.

2010-08-02T21:09:00.001-05:00

Whoa, cool.

2010-07-30T17:28:00.002-05:00

Looking for some coolness? Check out DesignYouTrust.com. An awesome collection of all things cool from advertising to web design.

I want to do work like this.

2010-07-22T19:08:00.003-05:00

I love the work Wieden+Kennedy is doing for Levi's. The Go Fourth spot from last year was awesome and they have have followed it up with an even better one. The new commercial is called Ready to Work and it documents the struggles of Braddock, Pennsylvania; a steel-mill town that has been struggling, to say the least.

W+K and Levi's could have stopped at just drawing attention to a town that's hurting. Instead, Levi's has funded the rebuilding of the Braddock Community Center and is also supporting an "urban farm" that supplies the town with fresh fruits and vegetables at a discounted price.

It's work like this that the ad industry should be striving to do. An industry that can have such a powerful affect on society and culture owes it to itself.

Check out more of W+K's "Ready to Work" campaign for Levi's on their YouTube page.

Movies.

2010-07-18T10:59:00.001-05:00

2010-07-16T19:57:00.001-05:00

Sometimes unbelievable stuff comes out of my mom's mouth.

2010-06-15T21:39:00.002-05:00

*Norman is a dog. Pictured above.

Mom: "I wonder where Norman is from."
Me: "What do you mean? We got him from the animal hospital."
Mom: "No. I mean where was he conceived?"

Small Talk.

2010-06-14T11:35:00.003-05:00

This has happened to you too right?

Alright, so you run into somebody you haven't seen in awhile. It goes like this:
YOU: "Oh wow. Hey (insert name). How are you doing?"
OTHER PERSON: "Oh my gosh! Hi. I'm going good. Look at you. You look great."
******************************STOP*********************************************

So here what do you say? How do you respond? Do you ignore the "you look great" part, say, "thanks" and move on, or do you return the compliment? If you return the compliment does the other person know that you're just saying it because they said it to you. I mean if you really thought they looked great you would have said that first right?

Now you're thinking to yourself do I really "look great" or was this person just being nice? What did I look like last time they saw me? Was it really that bad? While you're having this internal dialogue you've completely missed what the other person was saying so you just nod your head and say, "uh-huh".

Now you're wondering what you just agreed to. Did the other person's statement even require a yes/no response? Did you just say that yes in fact you think the ocean had it coming and that BP should have dumped all that oil sooner?

And this goes on until one person, probably the other person. Does the "Alright. Well, it was great seeing you." and starts walking away. At this point the conversation you're having in your head stops and all you can do is respond with "Yeah".

God I hate small talk.

2010-06-01T22:52:00.002-05:00

Alright music fans, you've got to check out SoundCloud. It's this awesome music sharing website I recently stumbled upon. You can enter an artists name and search through radio edit tracks, covers done by fans, remixes and hard to find live tracks. Find something you got to have? You can download it (for free) and easily transfer it to your ipod. After searching the site for a bit I found this great mashup of The Beatles and Oasis.

The Beatles Vs. Oasis - Let it be in Anger ( Mix\Mashup ) DJ Y alias JY by Mixes and Mashups #2

2010-05-24T11:11:00.007-05:00

If you're like me and love music, quote collecting and kick-ass typography then you're going to flip over this awesome website that I came across. Music Philosophy (http://www.musicphilosophy.co.uk/) combines all those things into really striking posters. Great stuff!

Awesome posters

2010-05-16T20:56:00.005-05:00

These are great posters for the Minnesota State Fair by designer/art director Allan Peters. I love how the design of the posters, as fair food, directly relates to what I most strongly associate with when I think of festivals; the awesome food. Check out Allan's portfolio.

Write it down.

2010-05-15T18:40:00.000-05:00

For the antique fans.

2010-05-13T16:36:00.001-05:00

If you live for summer not because of the warm weather but because summer means garage sale season you'll love VandM.com .

2010-05-10T12:38:00.002-05:00

I totally love this logo. I found it on FFFFound! which should be no surprise since that site is a mecca of cool. After a little research I discovered that Riot is a computer accessory company. Check out their website.

Brain-food.

2010-05-02T23:03:00.003-05:00

I love to read but recently I have realized that there are a lot of great books, classic books that I haven't read yet. So, my goal for this Spring/Summer (aside from finding gainful employment) is to read every book on the Amazon.com "Books Everyone Should Read Sometime in Their Life" list. I figure it's a good place to start. Then I can move to on to the Moby Dicks and the Fountainhead's of the literary world.

Day made. Thanks Jin Ryu.

2010-05-01T11:12:00.003-05:00

I'm going to be attending Portfolio Night 8 this month and as a part of the review I filled out a bio/questionnaire to be included on the PN8 website on the "Ready to Shine" page. It was added to the PN8 site on Thursday and the next day I got a got really nice email from Jin Ryu an art director who will be attending PN8 in New York. He just wanted to tell me he came across my portfolio after seeing my bio on the PN8 website and that he enjoyed my work. He wished me luck at the portfolio review and said to keep in touch. Jin you totally made my day. Thank you so much for taking the time to send me an email. You didn't have to but trust me it was greatly appreciated. So if you have a minute or two take some time to check out Jin's work and show him some love.

Dunkin' Donuts > Starbucks

2010-04-27T16:21:00.004-05:00

1) I think DD coffee tastes better.

2) DD coffee is more affordable.

3) DD pink and orange color scheme is way cooler and more bold than Starbucks lame color palette.

4) At DD you can get a doughnut to go with your coffee. Vanilla Long John anyone?

5) Finally, I feel a lot less douchey holding a DD cup than I do a Starbucks cup.

Where have all the theme song writers gone?

2010-04-14T20:40:00.004-05:00

Remember when TV shows had really, really great theme songs? The kind of songs that would creep into your mind and latch on for dear life. What happened and who can I talk to about a TV show theme song comeback? Take a listen to these awesome theme songs from past TV shows: The Facts of Life, The Golden Girls, Cheers, Growing Pains and Full House.

2010-04-11T13:14:00.002-05:00

Post Secret

Sunday Secrets 4-11-2010

I love the Post Secret blog. Reading the Sunday Secrets is a weekend tradition of mine. This one really made me want to step up my job hunting game.

Sunshine and job hunting.

2010-04-10T15:39:00.003-05:00

Recently I've been feeling better about the whole job hunt situation. Seems like the massive layoffs in the advertising world have all but stopped, the blood has been mopped up and I'm seeing more job postings than ever.

Whether we're actually starting to claw our way out of the "R-word" (you know the one) or this optimism is a chemical reaction caused by a vitamin D high due to sun exposure I'll take. Damn, it feels good to feel good again.

This is probably true.

2010-04-02T17:43:00.000-05:00

Bad ads make kittens cry.

2010-03-27T23:16:00.002-05:00

The Last Advertising Agency On Earth from FITC on Vimeo.

compliments of PFTA

!

2010-03-27T12:38:00.000-05:00

True story.

2010-03-25T15:06:00.001-05:00

Logorama.

2010-03-08T16:02:00.000-06:00

Olympic advertising.

2010-02-28T16:44:00.002-06:00

There have been some really nice ads run during the Olympics. This one by Chevy is my favorite. Yes it's sentimental. Yes it's a little sappy. However, as someone who grew up playing sports and had many of those car rides to and from games and practices it captures that part of my childhood perfectly.

2010-02-20T15:05:00.001-06:00

I wish I'd thought of that.

2010-02-10T15:17:00.004-06:00

I came across this poster campaign for a sound studio on Ads of the World and I think it's really smart.

2010 Super Bowl ads & my two cents.

2010-02-08T15:00:00.002-06:00

I am far from an expert on the topic of advertising. My experience with the industry is limited to my time at portfolio school, a few freelancing jobs, and an internship. I do love it though and my limited exposure has allowed me to see a side of it that most non-ad-people are not aware of. The side filled with creative people who love the challenge of trying to capture the Big Idea, the balls it takes to present an idea, your idea, have it torn apart and then do it all over again with a smile and finally the existence of truly brilliant work that you won't see in between your favorite prime-time TV shows.

So I look forward to the Super Bowl every year; the one time the ad industry is embraced instead of muted. After watching the ads this year it seems to me that apparently the industry has been hijacked by a bunch of crotch-punching frat boys. Don't get me wrong I can appreciate the humor in a crotch-punch but I know that advertising is capable of so much better especially when the whole world is watching. I thought the one bright spot was Google's Parisian Love ad. It was simple, told a story, showed what the product does and didn't try to beat the viewer into submission with played out and tired playground humor.

Have fun in the basement!

2010-02-05T09:54:00.001-06:00

This is the best radio commercial I have ever heard.

Moonwalker.

2010-01-31T21:45:00.002-06:00

I am lucky enough to be a child born of the 80's. As a result I unapologetically love Michael Jackson. I would wear the white glove with my pants rolled up,showing my white socks, around the house. To date one of my favorite birthday gifts of all time was a Walkman and Dangerous cassette tape I got when I turned 7. Recently I saw This Is It and thought it was totally awesome. Michael Jackson may have seemed strange to us at times but maybe it was the ability to let himself be strange that made him great.

King of Pop.

2010-01-30T16:26:00.004-06:00

It's finally here. The finished commercial that I worked on during my summer internship at Sticky. We worked really hard on it and I hope you dig it.

Thanks Twitter.

2010-01-25T21:43:00.002-06:00

I totally dig Twitter. I've found it to be a place filled with interesting people and interesting things. Check out this cool little video. Tips for Better Ideas.

Cool (to me).

2010-01-24T12:48:00.002-06:00

I'm not nearly as cool as my haircut may suggest but this week I did stumble across a few things I thought were pretty awesome and I wanted to take a second to share.

The first is this really great website Core77. I haven't fully explored it yet but the best way to describe it may be to say that it's like FFFFound! but with products and ideas instead of just images. One of my favorites so far is a t-shirt that uses augmented reality to allow the wearer of the shirt to play Rock, Paper, Scissors against the t-shirt.

My second cool find of the week is DRY Soda. Their unique pop comes in cucumber, vanilla bean, lavender, juniper berry, lemongrass, kumquat and rhubarb flavors. I tried the lavender and it was totally weird but in a really tasty kind of way. The bottle design is really beautiful and if you care about these sort of things the pop is also all natural and low-calorie.

Cool.

The Eight Irresistable Principles Of Fun

2010-01-21T16:30:00.002-06:00

The Eight Irresistable Principles Of Fun

Posted using ShareThis

Bedroom excavation.

2010-01-18T19:56:00.007-06:00

I was feeling a little stagnate, like I needed a little change so last week I rearranged my bedroom. Now I would say I'm a neat and organized person but I have always kept, what I call treasure chests. These are just usually cool little boxes or tins and I put little odds and ends in them. While reorganizing I came across some good stuff and some stuff I didn't know why I still had. Here are a few of my favorites.

1) My orginal WORKING GameBoy and TMNT Fall of the Foot Clan game.

2) The candles from my 21st birthday cake.

3) Valentines Day stickers from the 5th grade.

4) George Bush's Dumbass Head on a String air freshener.

5) A disposible camera from God knows when with 9 pictures remaining.

6) A flamingo pencial (still unsharpened) I got from my 1st grade teacher on my birthday.

Merry Christmas.

2009-12-24T22:24:00.002-06:00

WWJD? (What would Julia do?).

2009-12-16T21:51:00.003-06:00

Inspiration can come from anywhere, anything. Last weekend I watched Julie & Julia. I took two things away from that movie 1) the strange urge to ingest large amounts of butter and 2) a renewed excitement for the job hunt process.

Like a lot of people 2009 has been kind of rough. I finished portfolio school right as The Economy took a header and have spent the last year looking for my dream advertising job. However instead of that dream job I've been moonlighting as a babysitter.

Don't get me wrong it hasn't been all bad. I interned at a little agency in Chicago called Sticky and had a commercial produced. All the babysitting has actually paid off too. I have a library of Disney/general tween knowledge that no other person in their mid-twenties can touch. One day I'm sure that knowing the name of Miley Cyrus' TV brother on Hannah Montana will win me some major dough on a quiz show.

So what does Julie & Julia have to do with any of this? Julia Child worked on Mastering the Art of French Cooking for eight years before it was published. Eight years. How giant of a baby am I for bitching about job hunting for a year? Just one year. Not just a normal everyday kind of year but a year that mirrors The Depression era of the 1920's.

So I'm taking a cue from Julia. I'm going to buck-up, get back on the job hunt horse and make 2010 awesome.

Marker comps and verbal abuse.

2009-11-10T20:36:00.003-06:00

The babysitting and copywriting are in full swing, hence my absence from the world of blogging. This week I've got three new campaigns to the point where I think I'm ready to start comping them up. I'm feeling confident that my new copywriter portfolio will be ready to go come the new year. I also had a 3 year old tell me she hated me. All in all not a bad week; and it's only Tuesday.

Writer.

2009-09-22T16:42:00.003-05:00

So it's official. I have decided to kiss art direction goodbye and pursue a career as a copywriter. I'm equal parts excited and terrified at the prospect of starting my book over from scratch but at least it should be a fun ride. Art Direction, it's been real.

That's a wrap.

2009-09-12T13:50:00.006-05:00

We wrapped shooting on the Filbert's Soda commercial I was working during my internship about 2 weeks ago. It was an intense, fun, tiring, busy, frustrating, cool, eye-opening, awesome experience and it confirmed that advertising is a game I want to be a part of. The editing process is in full swing now and I'm hoping I'll be able to share the finished piece in a month or so.

Internship update.

2009-08-06T16:22:00.002-05:00

We are in the process of getting ready to shoot a commercial, which will air online, for a client. While scouting a local soda fountain for a possible shoot location the owner told this really great story that I wanted to share.

(The current soda fountain is a near exact recreation of the one that occupied that space nearly 50 years ago.) On opening day an old man, who was a child when the original soda fountain opened, came in. He sat down at the counter and ordered a lime rickey. When it was brought to him the man began to cry. The owner went over to him and asked him what was wrong. He told her that this was the first time he had been able to walk into the soda fountain and have a lime rickey. When he was a boy his family couldn't afford it. Now every Sunday after dinner and a movie the man and his wife go the the soda fountain and have a lime rickey.

I don't know Banksy but I think (s)he makes a good point.

2009-07-10T15:40:00.000-05:00

A good general rule.

2009-07-08T15:37:00.000-05:00

Tie-pography.

2009-06-24T13:39:00.000-05:00

Rudy was right, Notre Dame is awesome.

2009-06-20T08:22:00.003-05:00

Early this week I was on my way to my internship and I got stopped at a red light behind a car with a Notre Dame license plate framed by a Notre Dame license plate frame and two Notre Dame decal stickers on the back window. At first I thought to myself, "How obnoxious is this guy?" I get it. You or your kids went to a prestigious (and expensive college). Awesome. Good for you. Then I started thinking that Notre Dame had done what all brands should strive for; made people proud to use its product. As advertisers, we should try to do the same thing. Come up with ideas for products so that people want to put a sticker on the back of their car and let the whole world (or at least those behind them at a red light know) "I love {insert product here}".

Annoying suggestions are much better in t-shirt form.

2009-06-08T15:17:00.000-05:00

Google, you're so cool.

2009-06-06T12:14:00.002-05:00

Intern insights Vol. 1.

2009-05-29T21:22:00.004-05:00

Today was the end of week one at the new internship. It was a short week because of the Memorial Day holiday but I've already learned a few things.

1) People who use rolly backpacks during the morning and/or evening rush hour commute are the worst people on the planet. They're even worse than "pageant/stage moms", "movie talkers", and "STL Cardinal fans".

2) Advertising is damn good gig.

235 days later.

2009-05-26T16:45:00.002-05:00

As of today, I've been at the job search for 7 months and 24 days. Tomorrow I start an internship. Stay persistent.

New glasses.

2009-05-18T12:35:00.007-05:00

When I talk to my non-advertising friends about my experiences with the ad world so far be it portfolio school, freelancing, or the interview process the one thing that they are blown away by, even more than the fridge's stocked with beer, is that one day, when I land an ad job, I'll be able to wear jeans to work.

However, If I've learned anything from my limited exposure to the ad world it's that just because coming to work in jeans is totally acceptable doesn't mean that there's not a dress code.

For the most part I think I've got it down. Take one part jeans add a t-shirt then finish off with some kind of cool/casual footwear for that "I'm-put-together-but-didn't-try-to-hard" look. Then if you're lucky enough you can top it all off with a great pair of new glasses.

Sing-a-long.

2009-05-03T13:07:00.002-05:00

I really love the T-mobile "Life is for Sharing" stuff. ( No charge for the smile).

The up side of rejection.

2009-05-01T22:45:00.004-05:00

About two weeks ago I had an interview at a well known agency for a spot in their summer internship program. I've been waiting; compulsively checking my emails and staying so close to my phone that I was genuinely worried it would become fused to me, to hear if I got it.

A few days ago an email from the agency finally arrived in my inbox. I didn't get the gig. But here's what I did get/learn.

1) The knowledge that things aren't as bleak and dead out there as I was beginning to believe. Agencies are bringing new people in.

2) The satisfaction of knowing that I have a strong book. During the interview I learned I was 1 of 5 people they brought in to meet with out of the 100 plus applicants.

3) You don't actually die from rejection.

I've always believed in the idea that "things happen for a reason" and I'm excited to see what The Universe has in store for me. Stay tuned.

2009-04-27T14:22:00.001-05:00

Patience may be a virtue but the waiting kind of sucks.

The power of Twitter.

2009-04-21T15:36:00.002-05:00

At first I was weary of jumping aboard the Twitter train. I didn't really get the point of it and I didn't want another thing to keep track of on top of Facebook and my two email accounts.

Well I joined and I've actually found Twitter to be really useful. Twitter is different than the other social sites like Facebook and Myspace because you get out of it what you put into it. If you want to use your Twitter account purely as a way for you and your friends to have an on-going play-by-play of each other's lives you can do that.

Twitter can also be a very useful tool. A way to connect with people who have similar interests as you. I've connected with a lot of really interesting people who work in the advertising industry. My Tweeps (go with it) pass on useful information, job openings, and even kind words about my portfolio.

Still not convinced? I've recently gotten some freelance work from a person who found me on Twitter. When's the last time Facebook got you a job?

Follow me on Twitter.

2009-04-09T22:30:00.001-05:00

Career Evolution.

2009-04-03T15:20:00.001-05:00

I found this, liked it and wanted to share it.

Baby-sitting bucks, like Monopoly money only stickier.

2009-04-02T20:55:00.004-05:00

I don't look at price tags and think dollars and cents anymore. For me things cost."baby-sitting hours" (since I finished portfolio school I've been building a small baby-sitting empire in the Chicago-land Western Suburbs while trying to land a job as an art director).

So when I pay $7 dollars for a drink at a bar that $7 represents so much more than just $7. For me that $7 represents nearly an hour of my life spent doing things like: changing diapers, wiping boogers, building paper airplanes, watching crappy kids shows like Lazy Town (google it and tell me those puppets are not truly terrifying.), negotiating the importance of wearing socks or that yes, in fact your pants are on backwards because the butt pockets go in the back, on your butt.

Interviews.

2009-03-27T14:50:00.005-05:00

A few days ago I had my very first, legit, adult interview, since finishing portfolio school, at a small local ad agency downtown Chicago. It probably goes without saying, but I was nervous and had myself worked up over it for days leading up to the meeting. I'm sure the owner of the shop sensed this and his efforts to make me feel comfortable did not go unnoticed. I'm not really sure what, if anything is going to come out of it but I am grateful to have one done and under my belt. At the very least I learned some important things that I think are useful for other jr. level creatives in the same position as me.

1) Just because you don't hear back from an agency right away doesn't mean they didn't see your portfolio and like it.

I sent this agency my book back in the Fall. They just didn't have any need for new people so they didn't call me.

2) If they're asking you to meet with them they already like your portfolio.

This seems obvious to me now, in retrospect. I think the main purpose of an interview is so they can feel you out. Get a sense of the kind of person you are. Are you nice? Do you seem cool, like the kind of person they would be friends with? Or are you a total douche bag? Because nobody wants to spend the day with a giant d-bag. When you think of it that way the pressure is kind of off. All you have to do is be yourself. Which shouldn't be hard, unless you're a douche then you're probably screwed.

To-Do.

2009-03-21T10:59:00.005-05:00

In no particular order...

1) Get a job I love.

2) Own a mint green Vespa and start a (friendly) scooter gang.

3) Invent a dance more annoying than the Macarena and once it spreads worldwide pretend like I had nothing to do with it.

4) Figure out exactly where Donald Trump's comb-over starts and stops.

5) Reach a position where people may assume that I'd be a total jerk then surprise them with my kindness.

6) Have a house with a tree in the yard worthy of an awesome tree-house.

7) Build an awesome tree-house.

8) Incorporate a lazy-river into said tree-house.

9) Witness a Cubs World Series win.

10) Start a public sing-a-long akin to the one in the movie My Best Friend's Wedding.

11) Be able to effortlessly make small talk.

12) Have enough life experiences to be able to routinely do stand-up comedy (that's funny).

13) Make it socially acceptable to mix patterns like polka-dots and madras.

14) Harness my Irish heritage to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

15) Find out why shows like My So-Called Life and Freaks and Geeks only ran for 1 season but Bret Michaels' Rock of Love is in it's 3rd season.

16) Finish #'s 1-15 and keep on going.

2009-03-19T16:17:00.003-05:00

Meet Norman, a 9 year old Boxer/ German Shepherd who likes bananas, warm-sunny spots on the floor and has the ability to teach you a thing or two about life. Six days a week for every week for Norm's life the mail has come. And every single time the mailman closes the lid to the mailbox Norm goes nuts. Every time it's like he's never heard that sound before, like it's a brand new experience. I'm confident that Norman knows exactly what that noise is and he recognizes it as a perfect opportunity to do some first-rate barking. If that's not a lesson in making the most of every situation, no matter how tiny it may seem, then I don't know what is.

Ready for Spring.

2009-03-15T22:02:00.003-05:00

Quote Collecting.

2009-03-11T20:33:00.002-05:00

I collect quotes. When I hear or read something I like I record it in a notebook. The latest addition to my collection is, " What if where you are right now is exactly where you're supposed to be? What if what you have right now is exactly what you need?"

Isn't it Alanis Morissette's 1995 hit?

2009-03-10T16:47:00.005-05:00

There is a great used bookstore in my town. I love it. The books are cheap, there's tons of them, and the people who work there are super friendly. Every time I go there though I can't help but think to myself how, ironically, the statement, "Don't judge a book by its cover" dosn't really apply to books. Honestly that's generally how I choose a book. When you're standing in front a wall of books its kind of hard to not be drawn to the one with the bright pink cover and cool, funky typeface. Have you looked at the cover of a dictionary lately? No wonder copying pages from it by hand was my 6th grade teachers favorite form of punishment.

Worst invention EVER.

2009-03-07T23:04:00.003-06:00

In my humble opinion the lowest point in all of human history was the exact moment that the first hat washer rolled off the assembly line. What is sanitary about washing an article of clothing that sits on top of people's heads in the dishwasher? Presumably, the same dishwasher where the plates and utensils that we eat our food with are then also washed.

Padding the resume.

2009-03-06T21:22:00.002-06:00

AIG has received another bailout from the government. If you're keeping track that means that we, the public, now own 80% of that company. Instead of getting all angry about those out-of-touch, selfish bastard executives having their problems cleaned up for them without any real consequence I plan on taking full advantage of the situation. I will be adding CEO of AIG to my resume. I urge everyone to do the same. We do own nearly the whole company after all.

Yes, Lenten is a real word.

2009-03-05T08:36:00.004-06:00

As you may or may not know Lent has started. (Don't worry I'm not going to get all crazy religious on you. This is not that kind of posting and I'm definitely not that kind of person!) Anyways, during Lent my church does this thing on Wednesday nights where different groups within the church fix a dinner and then a short service is held. I've always really enjoyed this tradition. Mostly because the music during the Lenten service is kind of cool and it's a lot shorter than your traditional Sunday service (which I'm not a fan of at all, I mean I get God loves us and Jesus died for our sins. that doesn't need to take an hour). So when I was handed a smooth stone before the service yesterday I was curious how this was going to play into things.

The pastor starts doing his thing and when he finally gets to the stone he said something that was oddly relevant to my life and the lives of most of my friends who are all trying to find jobs. He said that, just like that stone, sometimes life takes a little while to smooth itself out. You just have to be patient.

I know first hand how tough that can be. Especially today when having a job to go to everyday has become a privilege and not a right. I'm confident things will smooth themselves out. I just hope it's sooner rather than later because whoever first said, "Patience is a virtue" probably didn't have student loans to worry about.

Employed (kind of).

2009-03-03T20:53:00.002-06:00

Most people who know me know that I've been at this job hunt thing for going on 5 months now. Well it seems that the universe is starting to smile upon me (kind of). I've nailed down a bit of gainful employment for myself (kind of). I currently am a professional child-care technician and canine fitness coach. You laymen's out there may refer to that as babysitter and dog-walker but you know, whatever. I'm pretty psyched about it (kind of).

Papyrus: the cake of the font world.

2009-02-28T12:23:00.004-06:00

First, I just want to say that I'm well aware that what will follow in the posting may make me sound like a no-talent hack to some but it's a risk I'm willing to take.

I don't mind Papyrus. It's not my most favorite font in the history of fonts but everything in moderation right? Papyrus is kind of like cake. I wouldn't eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday of the week but if I'm at a birthday party you can bet your ass I'm gonna have a slice.

Slater.

2009-02-26T15:41:00.003-06:00

Is anybody else annoyed by the blatantly obvious difference between the Mario Lopez we see on the show Extra and the Mario Lopez on America's Best Dance Crew? Maybe the problem is just Mario Lopez in general.

To write or direct? That's the question.

2009-02-25T20:27:00.003-06:00

When I started portfolio school I had to make a choice. Did I want to become an Art Director or a Copywriter? It was a tough decision but in the end I choose to follow the A.D track. The reason for this was actually quite simple. I'm a control freak, I'll freely admit that, and it seemed to me that at the end of the day the A.D kind of gets to call the shots.

It's tough sometimes because I love words. For me there's nothing more striking than a beautiful phrase. Take the song Summer Breeze by Seals & Crofts, "Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind." The phrase "blowing through the jasmine in my mind" is near perfection. In order to satisfy my craving for words I began collecting quotes when I was younger. If I hear or read something that strikes me I record it in my book of quotes. Sometime though, that's not enough. I want to write my own fantastic phrase. Enter Someecards.com, maybe the best website ever.

If suddenly I come up with, what I think, is a brilliantly clever line I can just head over to Someecards.com and turn it into the next ecard sensation. What's even better is fellow Someecard.com users can browse my creations, vote on them and send them if they like. I have to tell you it honestly makes me happy when my cards are given high marks. God bless you Someecards.com, God bless you.

Top Marks.

2009-02-23T14:02:00.001-06:00

Today my car and I went to take the vehicle emissions test. We passed. Normally, this would have just been another mundane outing; a pain in the ass kind of thing enforced by "The Man". But when you're an unemployed grad deep in the trenches of the job hunt it's important to celebrate small victories. I considered buying some cheap champagne but I think drinking alone in the afternoon comes off more as sad than celebratory.

Oh my God Becky...

2009-02-22T14:40:00.001-06:00

Like most people I plan on watching the Oscars tonight. I don't really care about who wins and who doesn't. I just know that for weeks afterward I'm going to have to hear about So-and-So's fashion disaster or triumph and I want to have a personal point of reference.

Cool as a cucumber, or something like that.

2009-02-20T20:57:00.001-06:00

I've never really thought of myself as one of the "cool kids". I'm more of your average run-of-the-mill, normal kind of kid. A good balance between lameness and a totally normal level of social skills. That is until I put my ipod on shuffle. Nothing makes you feel like the biggest loser to grace this planet like the sound of the Backstreet Boys playing through a set of ihome speakers. Trust me.

Leave Gumby out of this.

2009-02-19T16:01:00.001-06:00

I think Pepsi's "Refresh Everything" commercial, which first aired during the Super Bowel is great. It's got good music, it's clever, and it manages to be sentimental without triggering the gag reflex. Solid work. There is one thing that I take issue with though.

Alright, it's one thing to compare Bob Dylan to Will.i.am. It seems ridiculous to me but I'm not going to lose sleep over this. I do, however, have a huge problem with Shrek being compared to Gumby. Even on his best day Shrek is nowhere near as completely awesome as Gumby. I'm willing to go to the mat on this one and ninja kick anybody who disagrees.

Some may say ugly, I say awesome.

2009-02-18T22:23:00.000-06:00

I love paisley.