Apr 30, 2011
a MUST for art directors/designers in the making!!!
The 50 Things Every Graphic Design Student Should Know.
http://www.jamiewieck.com/visual-essays/the-50-things-every-graphic-design-student-should-know/
http://www.jamiewieck.com/visual-essays/the-50-things-every-graphic-design-student-should-know/
Apr 29, 2011
The Royal Whoop-dee-dooooo
Oh Hooray it’s the Royal who gives a fuck
If anyone is enthralled, enthused and enraptured by the Royal Wedding, I apologize for this tirade. Everyone has the right to be a fan of any type of social event they choose and if I can froth about a boxing match, people should have the right to be able to go apeshit over the Royal Wedding. But seriously… what gives?
Starting with the fact that this monarchy is a paper monarchy, has no say whatsoever in anything and that the event is long as fuck, I simply have to stare and wonder why the hell people insist on this being such a big deal.
“What will the dress be like?”
“Would you marry a prince?”
“I can’t believe she’s going to really be a queen!”
And other superlative sentences that read as if they were pried off some lame daytime drama or British kiddie book. I just don't understand what all the chatter is about. These people don’t matter. They’re stuck up, pretentious, spoiled and irrelevant. Yet every time some royal couple is getting married, people seem to hoot and holler while I can’t even find myself even remotely giving a fuck.
People, these are pompous people getting married. I know I’m not British, but I think the same could go for any monarchy. Queen Elizabeth? Woohoo. Like I give a shit her face appears in currency. Seriously, if I had a list of 1,000 people whom I could have lunch or dinner with, no king or queen would be on there because face it, it’s been centuries since a truly interesting monarch has been on a throne ruling.
Today’s monarchies are nothing more than grownups playing dressup with a very expensive wardrobe. It’s kiddies having tea with tangible albeit still imaginary friends (seriously, how many real friends can royalty have?).
This whole ruckus with the Royal Wedding serves more than anything to serve notice that our priorities are still fucked in the head and that as a species, our evolution has been dedicated to finding better ways to entertain ourselves more instead of improving ourselves.
Oh wait, I'm missing out on the 7th hour of E! coverage. Be back in a tick... what the bloody fuck?
If anyone is enthralled, enthused and enraptured by the Royal Wedding, I apologize for this tirade. Everyone has the right to be a fan of any type of social event they choose and if I can froth about a boxing match, people should have the right to be able to go apeshit over the Royal Wedding. But seriously… what gives?
Starting with the fact that this monarchy is a paper monarchy, has no say whatsoever in anything and that the event is long as fuck, I simply have to stare and wonder why the hell people insist on this being such a big deal.
“What will the dress be like?”
“Would you marry a prince?”
“I can’t believe she’s going to really be a queen!”
And other superlative sentences that read as if they were pried off some lame daytime drama or British kiddie book. I just don't understand what all the chatter is about. These people don’t matter. They’re stuck up, pretentious, spoiled and irrelevant. Yet every time some royal couple is getting married, people seem to hoot and holler while I can’t even find myself even remotely giving a fuck.
People, these are pompous people getting married. I know I’m not British, but I think the same could go for any monarchy. Queen Elizabeth? Woohoo. Like I give a shit her face appears in currency. Seriously, if I had a list of 1,000 people whom I could have lunch or dinner with, no king or queen would be on there because face it, it’s been centuries since a truly interesting monarch has been on a throne ruling.
Today’s monarchies are nothing more than grownups playing dressup with a very expensive wardrobe. It’s kiddies having tea with tangible albeit still imaginary friends (seriously, how many real friends can royalty have?).
This whole ruckus with the Royal Wedding serves more than anything to serve notice that our priorities are still fucked in the head and that as a species, our evolution has been dedicated to finding better ways to entertain ourselves more instead of improving ourselves.
Oh wait, I'm missing out on the 7th hour of E! coverage. Be back in a tick... what the bloody fuck?
Apr 27, 2011
Apr 26, 2011
Want to get a Job in Advertising? Make your resume THIS amazing.
Click of the name of the post for the original link and much more great examples. I remember mine, and I'm proud to say that it still belongs in this list... sad that I can't dig it up and show you guys. 
Apr 25, 2011
The Joy of Feeling Tired.
Sometimes you don't realize how often you see the glass half empty, instead of half full. Case in point: it's sometimes very good to feel extremely tired. The kind of tired when your body hurts, when you really are trying not to cry from frustration, the kind that makes you sick, that makes you not sleep, worry for days and days. The tired that makes you a true total asshole, that makes you not laugh at anything and makes you crave that hit of alcohol like a drug.
I do have a point. Stay with me.
For the past two weeks, I've been sort of MIA because of a shitload of work. Not only have I been working non stop - and I really mean without one single weekend or even seeing the light of day for exactly fourteen days - I have to add that I had to endure the worry that normal ad people don't have to think about: corporate taxes, the office budget, making sure our clients' campaigns were done on time, the payroll... it can go on and on.
Even when I came home, I had almost no time to take a nice time to write or do something beside collapse on my sofa. Then... it got even more interesting: the last week, I had extreme insomnia. That meant that even when I felt so tired, I got to bed and didn't go to sleep. I even tried sleeping pills to no avail. My body just gave me a huge "Fuck you" and made me suffer even more. I'm telling you, it was no picnic.
Suddenly I get to finally finish all my things and had the pleasure of enjoying my first weekend all to myself... and here comes food for post.
Man... Have you ever truly enjoyed your time off? Have you ever noticed how amazing it is not to have to think about work, how you don't need to worry because for at least 48 hours, you are covered in the "biz" department? Trust me, it feels incredible.
You start to notice normal things. A sunny day. A nice moment of silence at home. Your remote control clicking away while you really don't think about what you are doing. A nice and very cold glass of white wine. Feeling sleepy at three o'clock in the afternoon. Deciding if you eat in or out on a Saturday night. You get to read that book you've been meaning to, or at least move along some decent chapters.
You feel your body recover. It's slow at first. For me, it started with long hours of sleep. I thought that my body was giving me permission to enjoy it - or maybe it was holding me back so I could go all out and sleep like I've never done before. Then all the aches went away... it truly is very weird to look at yourself just getting back to normal.
I think sometimes we take so much for granted... or maybe we just don't realize how little mundane things have so much meaning. Maybe the next time I feel so tired I have to think about how good it felt to finish, it will be easier to remind me that I need to hang on for a little bit more time.
Try it one day. You'll see what I'm talking about.
Much love from the very rested Me.
I do have a point. Stay with me.
For the past two weeks, I've been sort of MIA because of a shitload of work. Not only have I been working non stop - and I really mean without one single weekend or even seeing the light of day for exactly fourteen days - I have to add that I had to endure the worry that normal ad people don't have to think about: corporate taxes, the office budget, making sure our clients' campaigns were done on time, the payroll... it can go on and on.
Even when I came home, I had almost no time to take a nice time to write or do something beside collapse on my sofa. Then... it got even more interesting: the last week, I had extreme insomnia. That meant that even when I felt so tired, I got to bed and didn't go to sleep. I even tried sleeping pills to no avail. My body just gave me a huge "Fuck you" and made me suffer even more. I'm telling you, it was no picnic.
Suddenly I get to finally finish all my things and had the pleasure of enjoying my first weekend all to myself... and here comes food for post.
Man... Have you ever truly enjoyed your time off? Have you ever noticed how amazing it is not to have to think about work, how you don't need to worry because for at least 48 hours, you are covered in the "biz" department? Trust me, it feels incredible.
You start to notice normal things. A sunny day. A nice moment of silence at home. Your remote control clicking away while you really don't think about what you are doing. A nice and very cold glass of white wine. Feeling sleepy at three o'clock in the afternoon. Deciding if you eat in or out on a Saturday night. You get to read that book you've been meaning to, or at least move along some decent chapters.
You feel your body recover. It's slow at first. For me, it started with long hours of sleep. I thought that my body was giving me permission to enjoy it - or maybe it was holding me back so I could go all out and sleep like I've never done before. Then all the aches went away... it truly is very weird to look at yourself just getting back to normal.
I think sometimes we take so much for granted... or maybe we just don't realize how little mundane things have so much meaning. Maybe the next time I feel so tired I have to think about how good it felt to finish, it will be easier to remind me that I need to hang on for a little bit more time.
Try it one day. You'll see what I'm talking about.
Much love from the very rested Me.
Apr 23, 2011
Fortune Cookie 500#'s 486-490
On company motivation
All work and no play makes you the employee they want you to be.
On taking yourself too seriously
The ability to do something fun and stupid makes you more mature than people who are always serious.
On manners
Smiles are free because they are priceless.
On communication
Unlike telegrams, it’s actually more costly to write a two word email rather than a well explained message.
On work hours
Unlike humans, vampires have to force themselves to sleep to have a healthy life.
All work and no play makes you the employee they want you to be.
On taking yourself too seriously
The ability to do something fun and stupid makes you more mature than people who are always serious.
On manners
Smiles are free because they are priceless.
On communication
Unlike telegrams, it’s actually more costly to write a two word email rather than a well explained message.
On work hours
Unlike humans, vampires have to force themselves to sleep to have a healthy life.
Labels:
Fortune,
fortune cookies,
would be wisdom
Apr 22, 2011
Apr 17, 2011
To thirty-year-old men living with Mom: I'm going to rip you a new one.
For as long as I can remember, I've always known that the age of leaving home was around 18-21. At least, that was the magic number in my generation. If you were living at your mom's at any point after that allotted time slot in your life, you instantly became a loser douche who had no life. No. Sorry, there were no excuses. By that year, a decent job must have been under your belt and no, you didn't have to have big bucks, but you HAD to have at least some to pay the bills, eggs, milk and bread. People who lived with their moms in their thirties - again, in my generation - were the guys who you would read about in the news who killed a shitload of people and ate them... or stored them to have weird things done later. Your garden variety Son of Sam, if you know what I'm saying...
So when the fuck did living with Mom became a normal thing? What happened to this generation, where it is ok to go boldly near even the forties and never know what it really means to be independent? JESUS H. CHRIST!
I write this because I've noticed this time and time again, and while there are some exceptions that I can even acknowledge as decent excuses (sick parents or you being the breadwinner because mom/dad/grandpa don't have enough money to live are the only ones that I accept) - I cannot fathom people not understanding that there is NO WAY you can actually earn the title ADULT if you've never been fully responsible for yourself, alone at your own apartment/house.
I cannot give a shit if you tell me that you pay the bills. Sorry dude. If your mom cooks your shit when you get home, if you find your lovely briefs all white and perfectly placed in your drawers, if your porn collection is spotless even when you think it is safely hidden, if your bathroom floor shines like a glass even when you cannot remember the last time you wiped it... then you are not worthy of the adult license. Go fuck off and learn how to do the dishes, do the laundry, go to the supermarket, fight with the plumber for that pipe he didn't fix fully, leave work early so you can wait for that installer to get to your house late and all the shit we adult people do when we leave home.
I cannot understand or even grasp the idea of being such a dependent human being. I can totally understand men who do this because out of the norm situations like I stated above... but besides that, there is NO reason, NONE, that you can say that makes it ok.
No. Your mom is NOT your roommate. No. It is not ok. If your mom is healthy and doesn't have any financial situation that affects her or her way of living, if she can totally live and exist totally on her own, then... well, I have a beef with you. And you know what? All the women you meet will think it's weird too.
How do you get laid? I mean... at thirty something years old, you should have even a small apartment! I'm not talking about an expensive crib with a view! I'm talking a 10 x 10 space where you have a bed and a fridge. No... No... do... you... do you go to a Motel? YUCK! What are you, twenty?
Oh but the thing is that I have too much debt and I cannot pay the rent. Well stop driving that BMW, asshole. Get yourself a Toyota Yaris and join the rest of us who have some kind of dignity and have roughed it. It means not having that much money for food, not going out because we have to pay the bills, sleeping with no air conditioning, not seeing a raise for a gazillion years but living OUTSIDE our parents walls.
The evolution of men is simple. Women take care of you, teach you how to walk, how to read, then they send you to school, they pay your shit until you have a decent age to go to college, get a job... AND THEN GET THE FUCK OUT OF THEIR HOUSE. Why?
Because they EARNED time for themselves. Because your Mom and your Dad want to go on vacation. Because they want to get laid in the living room and they've been waiting 20 damn years to do so, because they don't really care about meeting your 20th girlfriend, because they HATE doing YOUR dishes and cleaning YOUR shit. Being a parent involves having some time to enjoy watching YOU walk out that damn door and exploring the world without them.
So! For you thirty something boys who are still sleeping in a twin bed and saying Good night to mom... unzip your jeans. Take off your briefs. Look at your balls. Yeah, take a good hard look.
They are just for show. Earn them. Go and be a grown up, will you? Thanks.
With love, Me and all the women you've tried to have sex with.
PS: "Fuck Off Me, I got laid at my mom's plenty", you said? Ha. It's called low standards. Women do that shit from time to time. Bookayasha.
So when the fuck did living with Mom became a normal thing? What happened to this generation, where it is ok to go boldly near even the forties and never know what it really means to be independent? JESUS H. CHRIST!
I write this because I've noticed this time and time again, and while there are some exceptions that I can even acknowledge as decent excuses (sick parents or you being the breadwinner because mom/dad/grandpa don't have enough money to live are the only ones that I accept) - I cannot fathom people not understanding that there is NO WAY you can actually earn the title ADULT if you've never been fully responsible for yourself, alone at your own apartment/house.
I cannot give a shit if you tell me that you pay the bills. Sorry dude. If your mom cooks your shit when you get home, if you find your lovely briefs all white and perfectly placed in your drawers, if your porn collection is spotless even when you think it is safely hidden, if your bathroom floor shines like a glass even when you cannot remember the last time you wiped it... then you are not worthy of the adult license. Go fuck off and learn how to do the dishes, do the laundry, go to the supermarket, fight with the plumber for that pipe he didn't fix fully, leave work early so you can wait for that installer to get to your house late and all the shit we adult people do when we leave home.
I cannot understand or even grasp the idea of being such a dependent human being. I can totally understand men who do this because out of the norm situations like I stated above... but besides that, there is NO reason, NONE, that you can say that makes it ok.
No. Your mom is NOT your roommate. No. It is not ok. If your mom is healthy and doesn't have any financial situation that affects her or her way of living, if she can totally live and exist totally on her own, then... well, I have a beef with you. And you know what? All the women you meet will think it's weird too.
How do you get laid? I mean... at thirty something years old, you should have even a small apartment! I'm not talking about an expensive crib with a view! I'm talking a 10 x 10 space where you have a bed and a fridge. No... No... do... you... do you go to a Motel? YUCK! What are you, twenty?
Oh but the thing is that I have too much debt and I cannot pay the rent. Well stop driving that BMW, asshole. Get yourself a Toyota Yaris and join the rest of us who have some kind of dignity and have roughed it. It means not having that much money for food, not going out because we have to pay the bills, sleeping with no air conditioning, not seeing a raise for a gazillion years but living OUTSIDE our parents walls.
The evolution of men is simple. Women take care of you, teach you how to walk, how to read, then they send you to school, they pay your shit until you have a decent age to go to college, get a job... AND THEN GET THE FUCK OUT OF THEIR HOUSE. Why?
Because they EARNED time for themselves. Because your Mom and your Dad want to go on vacation. Because they want to get laid in the living room and they've been waiting 20 damn years to do so, because they don't really care about meeting your 20th girlfriend, because they HATE doing YOUR dishes and cleaning YOUR shit. Being a parent involves having some time to enjoy watching YOU walk out that damn door and exploring the world without them.
So! For you thirty something boys who are still sleeping in a twin bed and saying Good night to mom... unzip your jeans. Take off your briefs. Look at your balls. Yeah, take a good hard look.
They are just for show. Earn them. Go and be a grown up, will you? Thanks.
With love, Me and all the women you've tried to have sex with.
PS: "Fuck Off Me, I got laid at my mom's plenty", you said? Ha. It's called low standards. Women do that shit from time to time. Bookayasha.
Apr 15, 2011
5 ways to work in advertising and be happy.
I just realized that I don't talk about advertising that much with my friends, but we do keep repeating ourselves in one specific theme time and time again: we talk to death about work. Work, work, fucking work. All we talk is work, how we'd love to quit, how we'd do things differently, how work affects our day, how people enjoy less because work is screwing everything up.
Restrictions and I have a thing about calling each other on almost a daily basis just to compare notes about anything related to working overtime, to weird workaholics that we know, about how we'd be doing something else than being at the office... and about how cool we got it that we truly enjoy our lives outside our little cubicles.
Joker and I, on the other hand, are in the middle of an extreme and intense discussion on how work is not that important, on the pros and cons of focusing energy on stuff that truly matters. He believes in career, being the best you can be (man, you KNOW you do) and I believe in the great frosting that is life, that work is not that big a deal. While we both want to do good at what we do (and again, my man - I know you are reading, haha - you rock hard core at what you do), he is truly dedicated to be the best in the work environment, while I believe that's all relative. I am dedicated to the quality of my work... but my interest in it has shifted a little.
All these conversations with these great men have left me wondering about... if I could give young people out there 5 simple tips for you guys to be happy - in ANY job you have, what I would say? If I could go back in time to have a chat with myself... what would I tell that little young chick, starting out and having so much passion?
Here we go. 5 easy tips to a happier career. Enjoy.
1) Don't take ANYTHING personal.
Aside from an insult, and I mean a true insult like "Go Fuck yourself" or "Your mom is a whore", anything else should not be taken personal. Period. Work is sometimes stressful and people are not nice all 365 days. In fact, some people are meant to be at your job so you can not disagree. But you cannot take anything personal, ever. Trust me, I've had my fights, I have screamed and gotten screamed at. Never, EVER did I take it personal. Frustrations, stress, bad manners, this is all natural in your work and in your personal life.
2) Focus on being the best, but don't OBSESS about it.
I stopped focusing all my energy on wanting that "you are an amazing worker" medal. It never came. I thought that by being awesome at my job, my superiors would tell me so or reward me in any way shape or form. You know what? They did, but they didn't voice it out. I was so obsessed about HEARING it, I never realized that I was getting the respect I deserved. Your boss will NEVER tell you to your face how amazing you are. He or she will think it, and that will be the end of it. You know what? When you are the best, not only your boss knows it, your clients, coworkers, suppliers... they know it as well. Instead of wanting that pat on your back, think about how important it will be when people recognize you years down the line for a job well done, think about all the good people that will recommend you for a job. That is the recognition you need. Not a memo, not an award, not a golden watch.
3) Remind yourself that you are a human being.
The thing about humans? We have flaws. We break down. We get sick. We get anxious. We get unfocused. It is natural, it is ok. You need to allow this information to reach your brain and accept it. You cannot work yourself to death. You cannot work yourself to sickness. You need to take a break, you need to give fuck about work once in a while - and then, even more often. Work is not that important. You are. And you know what? If you break down, you cannot work, hence, you cannot enjoy life. So go home, rest, relax. It's just a job. It will be there tomorrow... hopefully.
4) Control your anger/frustration/attitude.
This should be the top advice in this list. Like credit, the way you conduct yourself will be with you until the end of your life. If you don't control your anger, your frustration and act out, then be prepared to get that "difficult to work with" invisible tattoo for the rest of your life. I don't care what argument you tell me, trust me if you scream, act out in rage, have bad moments and cannot control your contempt for people, it will haunt you and your resume for a very long time. Yes, you can have a discussion, and yes, people will use sarcasm or even insults to get you off your feet. But that doesn't mean you got license to destroy your career... or tarnish it. Being in control is the sign of greatness. Besides, you can always lock yourself in the bathroom or in your car and scream your lungs out. Let me sum it up easily: never, ever let them see you sweat.
5) Not all people agree with you and they will make your life a living hell.
Clients will fuck arts up, big time. Account executives will deliver impossible deadlines. Your creative director will want to change your award winning concept into a turd. Let this go. If your client wants to change the concept, by all means hear them out and see how you can do it. If your CD wants that slogan that you hate, just write it and go home. By fighting over what is the greatest concept, by spending hours debating changes or anything related to another vision of your work, you are wasting valuable time. Your life is waiting for you back at home. Your loved ones, your family. Your dogs. Your cat (did I mention cats suck?). Don't you see? Not all people think like you. Witty for you is not the witty that I know. Funny for me is maybe offensive for you. Just fight the decent fight, but accept that you only have a decent amount of rounds until you are beat. Go home, enjoy life. Don't stress about the little things.
Hope this helps, hope that one day you will remember this list, turn off your work computer and go home early. Be happy. Love, Me.
Restrictions and I have a thing about calling each other on almost a daily basis just to compare notes about anything related to working overtime, to weird workaholics that we know, about how we'd be doing something else than being at the office... and about how cool we got it that we truly enjoy our lives outside our little cubicles.
Joker and I, on the other hand, are in the middle of an extreme and intense discussion on how work is not that important, on the pros and cons of focusing energy on stuff that truly matters. He believes in career, being the best you can be (man, you KNOW you do) and I believe in the great frosting that is life, that work is not that big a deal. While we both want to do good at what we do (and again, my man - I know you are reading, haha - you rock hard core at what you do), he is truly dedicated to be the best in the work environment, while I believe that's all relative. I am dedicated to the quality of my work... but my interest in it has shifted a little.
All these conversations with these great men have left me wondering about... if I could give young people out there 5 simple tips for you guys to be happy - in ANY job you have, what I would say? If I could go back in time to have a chat with myself... what would I tell that little young chick, starting out and having so much passion?
Here we go. 5 easy tips to a happier career. Enjoy.
1) Don't take ANYTHING personal.
Aside from an insult, and I mean a true insult like "Go Fuck yourself" or "Your mom is a whore", anything else should not be taken personal. Period. Work is sometimes stressful and people are not nice all 365 days. In fact, some people are meant to be at your job so you can not disagree. But you cannot take anything personal, ever. Trust me, I've had my fights, I have screamed and gotten screamed at. Never, EVER did I take it personal. Frustrations, stress, bad manners, this is all natural in your work and in your personal life.
2) Focus on being the best, but don't OBSESS about it.
I stopped focusing all my energy on wanting that "you are an amazing worker" medal. It never came. I thought that by being awesome at my job, my superiors would tell me so or reward me in any way shape or form. You know what? They did, but they didn't voice it out. I was so obsessed about HEARING it, I never realized that I was getting the respect I deserved. Your boss will NEVER tell you to your face how amazing you are. He or she will think it, and that will be the end of it. You know what? When you are the best, not only your boss knows it, your clients, coworkers, suppliers... they know it as well. Instead of wanting that pat on your back, think about how important it will be when people recognize you years down the line for a job well done, think about all the good people that will recommend you for a job. That is the recognition you need. Not a memo, not an award, not a golden watch.
3) Remind yourself that you are a human being.
The thing about humans? We have flaws. We break down. We get sick. We get anxious. We get unfocused. It is natural, it is ok. You need to allow this information to reach your brain and accept it. You cannot work yourself to death. You cannot work yourself to sickness. You need to take a break, you need to give fuck about work once in a while - and then, even more often. Work is not that important. You are. And you know what? If you break down, you cannot work, hence, you cannot enjoy life. So go home, rest, relax. It's just a job. It will be there tomorrow... hopefully.
4) Control your anger/frustration/attitude.
This should be the top advice in this list. Like credit, the way you conduct yourself will be with you until the end of your life. If you don't control your anger, your frustration and act out, then be prepared to get that "difficult to work with" invisible tattoo for the rest of your life. I don't care what argument you tell me, trust me if you scream, act out in rage, have bad moments and cannot control your contempt for people, it will haunt you and your resume for a very long time. Yes, you can have a discussion, and yes, people will use sarcasm or even insults to get you off your feet. But that doesn't mean you got license to destroy your career... or tarnish it. Being in control is the sign of greatness. Besides, you can always lock yourself in the bathroom or in your car and scream your lungs out. Let me sum it up easily: never, ever let them see you sweat.
5) Not all people agree with you and they will make your life a living hell.
Clients will fuck arts up, big time. Account executives will deliver impossible deadlines. Your creative director will want to change your award winning concept into a turd. Let this go. If your client wants to change the concept, by all means hear them out and see how you can do it. If your CD wants that slogan that you hate, just write it and go home. By fighting over what is the greatest concept, by spending hours debating changes or anything related to another vision of your work, you are wasting valuable time. Your life is waiting for you back at home. Your loved ones, your family. Your dogs. Your cat (did I mention cats suck?). Don't you see? Not all people think like you. Witty for you is not the witty that I know. Funny for me is maybe offensive for you. Just fight the decent fight, but accept that you only have a decent amount of rounds until you are beat. Go home, enjoy life. Don't stress about the little things.
Hope this helps, hope that one day you will remember this list, turn off your work computer and go home early. Be happy. Love, Me.
Apr 13, 2011
Apr 12, 2011
It puts the lotion in the basket or it gets the hose again. WHAT THE FUCK?
Via Copyranter (copyranter.blogspot.com).
Thank you for posting this. You made my year.
Apr 10, 2011
Apr 8, 2011
Apr 7, 2011
Apr 6, 2011
A toast to the Brave People who quit with no other job: A sort of true story.
There are some questions we seldom ask ourselves because we don't think we need to. I for one think that it's maybe because we never picture being at particular moments in life when, well... a tough moment comes along. We always think we'll be ok, so when bad things happen we usually feel lost. At first, anyways.
In my ad life, I've hated - and I mean TRULY hated some places I've worked at. There is one agency that I refuse to drive even near to because it just makes me anxious. At another agency, I developed a sort of anxiety attack so bad, it has never truly left and when I'm really stressed out, it manifests to this day. Another agency made me cry myself to sleep everytime I came home from work for five months straight. You see kiddies, there is no crying in baseball but there is a shitload of weeping and going all out bonkers crying in advertising.
But in all those miserable years, I never could muster the guts to quit my job without a backup plan. I claim to have balls... but not that kind. Those balls are more than golden. More than anything. People who actually quit their jobs without having anything to back them up are the soldiers of true valor. I have always have had much respect for those people, because they quit on moral grounds. They are willing to leave all behind on the premise that they are unhappy and that they do not deserve to feel that way.
I have a theory that I could have never done that because I come from poverty. I already know how it feels to have nothing and work your way up to at least a decent living. I saw my Mom and myself have nothing to eat. I remember candles, I remember welfare. I remember getting hand-me-downs. I remember my mother crying, not knowing what would happen next. Those types of memories impress you so hard, you grow up different. You grow up knowing that no matter what, you have to work for a living, you have to give it your all just so that you don't suffer like that, ever again. It becomes a thing that you don't want to go back to. So then, not working, the uncertainty of life... well, it's not your cup of tea. So in all my life, I just grinned and held on, bleeding and crying all the way to a better job (if that is even possible). I never played with fire and I always thought that making that "no-backup-I-quit" is a gamble that is a complete mistake.
I thought so... until today.
Now, I am torn between applauding true grit... and worrying myself to death. You see, my best friend is thinking about quitting her job and starting all over - just because she truly, and I mean TRULY hates every single second of her work. She doesn't even hate it mildly, like we all do our jobs. She hates it with sheer passion, she cannot handle even one day more.
I don't know what to think. You see, it's kind of different when you think of people who you don't know doing this valiant thing... and then there are people that you truly care about, that you truly love and would give an arm or a leg for them in a split second. She is the sister that my Mom never had, the friend that people wish for and never get.
What is the right choice? Should you leave and find a decent and happier life without knowing what will happen next? Or should you hang in there, gird your loins and hunt your way out of hell? Jesus. What a difficult choice. Because there is getting fired - it was not your choice. But this is one decision that is like a leap of faith like no other in the whole world... you are choosing to risk it all, to maybe experience what could be the worst of life's moments... just so that you respect yourself and feel truly happy.
I honestly don't know what to tell my dearest friend of all time. I for one think that she deserves to be happy and that this current job is truly hell. I've heard her reasons, and they are rock solid. This is not caused by frustration alone, or boredom. This comes from an abusive work environment. The worst of its kind. So it makes perfect sense. If your husband (or wife) beats you to death, you pack up and leave. You don't wait around to see if you meet a better person, right?
But on the other hand, I worry that she is not thinking clearly, and that she might end up in a rot that is too deep for me to get her out of. She does have responsibilities, she does need to pay her bills. But in the other hand, seeing her so miserable, so stressed out, so truly sad breaks my heart on a daily basis.
What to do... what to say.
All I said to her today while we were talking about her choices - which, by the way, are very complex because of other reasons besides her alone - is that she needs to be where she feels better. If she feels there is no other possible way and that she truly cannot even just do it mechanically, then she should quit. If this job puts her health and mind in jeopardy, then there is no other choice but to leave.
I still am at loss of words, and for sure I will not sleep for quite a while, worried for one of the greatest friends that life gave me. But this problem, I cannot solve. I cannot tell what to do, I cannot even give an opinion. 'Cause I never had those balls. Maybe I'm too methodical, too organized... or too chicken shit to do that.
A toast to ballsy people, all over the world. My hat off to you. And to my friend... you don't need to worry. Get in there and jump.
No matter what, I'll catch you. Somehow.
In my ad life, I've hated - and I mean TRULY hated some places I've worked at. There is one agency that I refuse to drive even near to because it just makes me anxious. At another agency, I developed a sort of anxiety attack so bad, it has never truly left and when I'm really stressed out, it manifests to this day. Another agency made me cry myself to sleep everytime I came home from work for five months straight. You see kiddies, there is no crying in baseball but there is a shitload of weeping and going all out bonkers crying in advertising.
But in all those miserable years, I never could muster the guts to quit my job without a backup plan. I claim to have balls... but not that kind. Those balls are more than golden. More than anything. People who actually quit their jobs without having anything to back them up are the soldiers of true valor. I have always have had much respect for those people, because they quit on moral grounds. They are willing to leave all behind on the premise that they are unhappy and that they do not deserve to feel that way.
I have a theory that I could have never done that because I come from poverty. I already know how it feels to have nothing and work your way up to at least a decent living. I saw my Mom and myself have nothing to eat. I remember candles, I remember welfare. I remember getting hand-me-downs. I remember my mother crying, not knowing what would happen next. Those types of memories impress you so hard, you grow up different. You grow up knowing that no matter what, you have to work for a living, you have to give it your all just so that you don't suffer like that, ever again. It becomes a thing that you don't want to go back to. So then, not working, the uncertainty of life... well, it's not your cup of tea. So in all my life, I just grinned and held on, bleeding and crying all the way to a better job (if that is even possible). I never played with fire and I always thought that making that "no-backup-I-quit" is a gamble that is a complete mistake.
I thought so... until today.
Now, I am torn between applauding true grit... and worrying myself to death. You see, my best friend is thinking about quitting her job and starting all over - just because she truly, and I mean TRULY hates every single second of her work. She doesn't even hate it mildly, like we all do our jobs. She hates it with sheer passion, she cannot handle even one day more.
I don't know what to think. You see, it's kind of different when you think of people who you don't know doing this valiant thing... and then there are people that you truly care about, that you truly love and would give an arm or a leg for them in a split second. She is the sister that my Mom never had, the friend that people wish for and never get.
What is the right choice? Should you leave and find a decent and happier life without knowing what will happen next? Or should you hang in there, gird your loins and hunt your way out of hell? Jesus. What a difficult choice. Because there is getting fired - it was not your choice. But this is one decision that is like a leap of faith like no other in the whole world... you are choosing to risk it all, to maybe experience what could be the worst of life's moments... just so that you respect yourself and feel truly happy.
I honestly don't know what to tell my dearest friend of all time. I for one think that she deserves to be happy and that this current job is truly hell. I've heard her reasons, and they are rock solid. This is not caused by frustration alone, or boredom. This comes from an abusive work environment. The worst of its kind. So it makes perfect sense. If your husband (or wife) beats you to death, you pack up and leave. You don't wait around to see if you meet a better person, right?
But on the other hand, I worry that she is not thinking clearly, and that she might end up in a rot that is too deep for me to get her out of. She does have responsibilities, she does need to pay her bills. But in the other hand, seeing her so miserable, so stressed out, so truly sad breaks my heart on a daily basis.
What to do... what to say.
All I said to her today while we were talking about her choices - which, by the way, are very complex because of other reasons besides her alone - is that she needs to be where she feels better. If she feels there is no other possible way and that she truly cannot even just do it mechanically, then she should quit. If this job puts her health and mind in jeopardy, then there is no other choice but to leave.
I still am at loss of words, and for sure I will not sleep for quite a while, worried for one of the greatest friends that life gave me. But this problem, I cannot solve. I cannot tell what to do, I cannot even give an opinion. 'Cause I never had those balls. Maybe I'm too methodical, too organized... or too chicken shit to do that.
A toast to ballsy people, all over the world. My hat off to you. And to my friend... you don't need to worry. Get in there and jump.
No matter what, I'll catch you. Somehow.
Apr 5, 2011
What's your iDeal
When you think of what is ideal, what do you come up with? It’s a hell of a question to ask, but it’s also sad to see that so many people fail to even attempt at answering it. Since so many people are so fond of to-do lists, why don’t you write a to-do list of what you need to do in a given set of time to have a good day?
Think about it, the American Dream used to be that whole bullshit about the white picket fence, the 2.3 kids and the comfortable mortgage. The thing is that times change and in this day and age, the answer cannot be the same. Think monetarily, think in tangible and acquisitive terms, dare to answer what you would do in an hour, a day, a week, a month, or a year. Jot down what you would consider a successful career and try and achieve the to-do list. Just the fact that you can get some things done just from focusing and putting them on a list should be incentive enough. Consider this a call to arms in terms of defining your ideal life or what you picture what your ideal life is.
Here are some of my ideals in bullet form:
My ideal day
• Wake up feeling refreshed
• Surf
• Write
• Spend time with my wife
• Read
• Talk to friends or correspond with them
• See my mom
• Play guitar
• Help people and do something meaningful with my life
• Make people smile
• Be productive on a personal and professional level
My ideal week
• Finish something I’m writing
• Surf on a regular basis
• Learn new information and share it with someone
• Finish a project (Personal or professional)
• Feel as if I’ve been able to connect with the most important people in my life
• Feeling consistent in what I think are my main goals in life
My ideal month
• Get a couple of freelance gigs to have some extra cash to treat myself and the missus to a better life
• Write a song
• Learn a new skill
• Surf on a consistent basis
• Have all my payments up to speed
• Finish writing a couple of things
• Being in touch with all my loved ones, having had dinner with them
• Exercise regularly
• Make a difference wherever I’m working at
• Help at least a dozen people
My ideal year
• Go to regular doc checkups
• Eat pretty well but occasionally indulge in culinary vices
• Travel someplace old and two new places
• Feel as if I’m surfing like I was 20
• Write a book, script, or series of short stories
• Learn a lot of new skills.
• Be in touch with everyone and go to most of the events I’ve been invited to
These were truly off the top of my head and though I could really give this some thought, I thought better of it. Now that you’ve answered each, allow yourself to remember your list of ideal characteristics in a man or woman. It’s possible you may be going out with someone who fulfills each and every criteria in that list… but it’s probably more that you’re going out with someone whom you just clicked with and who went beyond your supposed ideals and showed you what you wanted without even knowing it. It’s not that you were wrong in the first place, it’s just that after you’ve put some effort into defining your ideal, you quit stressing about it and let things flow. Call me crazy, but maybe this same principle can apply to jobs and lives and not just to the people we end up in a relationship with.
Maybe we need to define the ideal so that we may allow ourselves to find the true ideal in every aspect of our lives. Or Maybe I just wanted to write something positive for a change.
Cheers
Think about it, the American Dream used to be that whole bullshit about the white picket fence, the 2.3 kids and the comfortable mortgage. The thing is that times change and in this day and age, the answer cannot be the same. Think monetarily, think in tangible and acquisitive terms, dare to answer what you would do in an hour, a day, a week, a month, or a year. Jot down what you would consider a successful career and try and achieve the to-do list. Just the fact that you can get some things done just from focusing and putting them on a list should be incentive enough. Consider this a call to arms in terms of defining your ideal life or what you picture what your ideal life is.
Here are some of my ideals in bullet form:
My ideal day
• Wake up feeling refreshed
• Surf
• Write
• Spend time with my wife
• Read
• Talk to friends or correspond with them
• See my mom
• Play guitar
• Help people and do something meaningful with my life
• Make people smile
• Be productive on a personal and professional level
My ideal week
• Finish something I’m writing
• Surf on a regular basis
• Learn new information and share it with someone
• Finish a project (Personal or professional)
• Feel as if I’ve been able to connect with the most important people in my life
• Feeling consistent in what I think are my main goals in life
My ideal month
• Get a couple of freelance gigs to have some extra cash to treat myself and the missus to a better life
• Write a song
• Learn a new skill
• Surf on a consistent basis
• Have all my payments up to speed
• Finish writing a couple of things
• Being in touch with all my loved ones, having had dinner with them
• Exercise regularly
• Make a difference wherever I’m working at
• Help at least a dozen people
My ideal year
• Go to regular doc checkups
• Eat pretty well but occasionally indulge in culinary vices
• Travel someplace old and two new places
• Feel as if I’m surfing like I was 20
• Write a book, script, or series of short stories
• Learn a lot of new skills.
• Be in touch with everyone and go to most of the events I’ve been invited to
These were truly off the top of my head and though I could really give this some thought, I thought better of it. Now that you’ve answered each, allow yourself to remember your list of ideal characteristics in a man or woman. It’s possible you may be going out with someone who fulfills each and every criteria in that list… but it’s probably more that you’re going out with someone whom you just clicked with and who went beyond your supposed ideals and showed you what you wanted without even knowing it. It’s not that you were wrong in the first place, it’s just that after you’ve put some effort into defining your ideal, you quit stressing about it and let things flow. Call me crazy, but maybe this same principle can apply to jobs and lives and not just to the people we end up in a relationship with.
Maybe we need to define the ideal so that we may allow ourselves to find the true ideal in every aspect of our lives. Or Maybe I just wanted to write something positive for a change.
Cheers
Labels:
ad thoughts,
deep thoughts,
Ideas on the Ideal,
reflection
Apr 4, 2011
New Epidemic: MDD – Motivation Deficit Disorder
We’ve seen AH1N1, avian flu and SARS, but I don’t need to verify the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to know there’s another much more subtle epidemic running amok throughout the globe. It’s called apathy and not giving a shit.
The reality is that there is only a set amount of times that people can listen to the broken record about how we have to be thankful for the job we have, and so on and so forth. It’s corporate rhetoric that looks to promote complacency through humility, fear and various other mechanisms. It’s also a tactic and technique that is clearly losing its effect since even in an economic crisis, there’s a lovely percentage regarding turnover. Whereas you’d suppose everyone would shut up and put with their job, people are slowly but surely getting sick of just tolerating a work environment.
My name is Joker and I have MDD. I feel better about recognizing it. It’s a step in the right direction, one that ideally leads out the door into another company or into a future where I am my own boss for a change. It’s a scary road, but I’m confident that I can turn a negative into a positive, and so should you.
Ask yourself, truly, why do you work where you work? Do you feel you have to? Is it because there are no more opportunities for you? Do you feel stuck between a rock and a lame place? If your main motivation to stay at your work includes reasons such as money to pay the bills and job stability, let me be another in the long line of people who should tell you that you are kidding yourself.
In advertising terms, it’s funny to see how creative people swear they’re so creative in regards to fashion, campaigns and lifestyles, but are as lame and one dimensional regarding their skillset as a data entry person. We proclaim ourselves thinkers outside the box and pretty much every time you see creatives changing to shiny boxes, prettier boxes, less boxy boxes but still staying within the box of their chosen profession.
We live in times where true universal thinking is a thing of the past. People specialize, and specialize within the specialty. We become genre, recreational and professionally specific and we forget that beyond those reflective windows there’s a damn world you could live in if you didn’t have this particular 9 to 5. There’s also something more to you than a clever t-shirt, trendy glasses and a faux hawk. You don’t have to be a special snowflake, you can be anything you want to be and the fact that you’re not happy should be an indicator that you’re not at the right place. But alas, everything from self esteem to fear to what’s on your résumé seems to be a crutch many of us depend on and I just need to see the people around me to truly recognize that with some discipline, I can be whatever the hell I want… and so can all of us.
So why do we settle? Because though MDD is a madeup epidemic, the reality is that pretty much 95% of everyone you know could be diagnosed with it, including yourself. So from your resident Joker doctor, don’t take two in the morning… quit taking your complacency meds. Quit having a beer to calm down at the end of the day, drop your latté to get past the morning, and stop treating yourself to DVDs, books and shoes to reward yourself for a job well tolerated.
Don’t fight the power, don’t fight the man and most importantly, stop fighting that voice inside you that wants out. Speak your mind and soul, take a paper, write what you want to do and stop kidding yourself or postponing. Don’t bank on reincarnation, don’t think you’ll get a mulligan, make your own fate, commit mistakes and live.
It’s not that hard, you just have to stop telling yourself it can’t be done.
Cheers,
The reality is that there is only a set amount of times that people can listen to the broken record about how we have to be thankful for the job we have, and so on and so forth. It’s corporate rhetoric that looks to promote complacency through humility, fear and various other mechanisms. It’s also a tactic and technique that is clearly losing its effect since even in an economic crisis, there’s a lovely percentage regarding turnover. Whereas you’d suppose everyone would shut up and put with their job, people are slowly but surely getting sick of just tolerating a work environment.
My name is Joker and I have MDD. I feel better about recognizing it. It’s a step in the right direction, one that ideally leads out the door into another company or into a future where I am my own boss for a change. It’s a scary road, but I’m confident that I can turn a negative into a positive, and so should you.
Ask yourself, truly, why do you work where you work? Do you feel you have to? Is it because there are no more opportunities for you? Do you feel stuck between a rock and a lame place? If your main motivation to stay at your work includes reasons such as money to pay the bills and job stability, let me be another in the long line of people who should tell you that you are kidding yourself.
In advertising terms, it’s funny to see how creative people swear they’re so creative in regards to fashion, campaigns and lifestyles, but are as lame and one dimensional regarding their skillset as a data entry person. We proclaim ourselves thinkers outside the box and pretty much every time you see creatives changing to shiny boxes, prettier boxes, less boxy boxes but still staying within the box of their chosen profession.
We live in times where true universal thinking is a thing of the past. People specialize, and specialize within the specialty. We become genre, recreational and professionally specific and we forget that beyond those reflective windows there’s a damn world you could live in if you didn’t have this particular 9 to 5. There’s also something more to you than a clever t-shirt, trendy glasses and a faux hawk. You don’t have to be a special snowflake, you can be anything you want to be and the fact that you’re not happy should be an indicator that you’re not at the right place. But alas, everything from self esteem to fear to what’s on your résumé seems to be a crutch many of us depend on and I just need to see the people around me to truly recognize that with some discipline, I can be whatever the hell I want… and so can all of us.
So why do we settle? Because though MDD is a madeup epidemic, the reality is that pretty much 95% of everyone you know could be diagnosed with it, including yourself. So from your resident Joker doctor, don’t take two in the morning… quit taking your complacency meds. Quit having a beer to calm down at the end of the day, drop your latté to get past the morning, and stop treating yourself to DVDs, books and shoes to reward yourself for a job well tolerated.
Don’t fight the power, don’t fight the man and most importantly, stop fighting that voice inside you that wants out. Speak your mind and soul, take a paper, write what you want to do and stop kidding yourself or postponing. Don’t bank on reincarnation, don’t think you’ll get a mulligan, make your own fate, commit mistakes and live.
It’s not that hard, you just have to stop telling yourself it can’t be done.
Cheers,
Labels:
ad thoughts,
deep thoughts,
motivation,
REAL winning,
thinking
Netflix Queue alert: LOW. Help!
It's that time of the year, kiddies.
My Netflix queue list is dying.
I need help.
Please recommend any movies you think I will love.
Documentaries are more than welcome.
You should avoid movies with Ashton Kutcher or Matthew McConaughey.
I also will ignore Chick flicks.
Blood, zombies and gore is more than ok.
No vampires. I will hunt you down if you write Twilight in any way shape or form.
Help!
My Netflix queue list is dying.
I need help.
Please recommend any movies you think I will love.
Documentaries are more than welcome.
You should avoid movies with Ashton Kutcher or Matthew McConaughey.
I also will ignore Chick flicks.
Blood, zombies and gore is more than ok.
No vampires. I will hunt you down if you write Twilight in any way shape or form.
Help!
Apr 3, 2011
Top 10 Men I'd love to take home to Mom.
I have to say that I've never taken ALL the men I've dated to Mom... and thank God for that. There are dudes out there that serve one purpose and well, it's not Meeting Mom worthy. But since Joker took on his list and people asked me about my men, I will try - I repeat, TRY - to attempt at least 10 men I'd actually think about bringing home to meet the family. My choices are based on whatever. Maybe handsome, maybe funny... who knows. These are the men that are king of my domain.
1) George Clooney
This is a man I would take home to mom in a second. Intelligent, socially conscious, can actually survive malaria, handsome, has a great voice, has an amazing smile. And the fact that he doesn't want to get married is the kicker. Ah. Just perfect.
2) Bruce Willis
All I can say is... he saw me in person, he actually looked at me and waved, he knows I love him and this is totally true. My life is perfect now because of that fact. Still wearing my watch on my right hand, Bruce. I heart you.
3) Bradley Cooper
I just watched him on The Hangover and I lost it. He's such a cool cat! This dude seems like the man I would totally have fun hanging out at a bar and could surprise me with some cliché romantic date that I would not mind going along with.
4) Brad Pitt
Perfection after Clooney. That's all I'm saying.
5) Cary Grant
We didn't have the alive or dead rule, did we? Mr Grant was the original George Clooney and boy, I cannot change the channel everytime I see him. The voice, the elegance. This is what a man should be.
6) Marlon Brando
Another Not alive but still on my list dude. This is the only man in my list that I consider beautiful. Besides, I would have had the honor of telling Mom: "He's the guy in Godfather!"
7) Quentin Tarantino
This man has a direct line to my heart. He makes everything perfect. My favorite movies of all time are his. This would mean the world for me to date him... but just for a while. I have this weird feeling that he would freak me out over time.
8) Nev Schulman
Sitting alone in the Angelika NYC theater watching Catfish, I realized that I had fallen in love with this amazingly charming and handsome man. One talented photographer, a great documentary... and one unforgettable smile. Catfish is great because he is compelling to watch. You start to care about him instantly and you worry about him every step of the way. I hope to see more of him soon.
9) Nate Berkus
Ah... the one that got away. Everytime I see Nate on Oprah I cannot help myself but smile. Nate has the charming dial up to eleven. The man that he's dating is very, very lucky.
10) Robert Redford
The original Brad Pitt, this man IS SEXY AS HELL! I mean... look at him! Oh and to boot, he from a very young age started producing his own films, started Sundance... this man knows how to do stuff perfectly. Let me put it this way: if the he had made an Indecent Proposal to me, I would have GLADLY screwed him FOR FREE. And I would have stuck with him at the end, forgetting everything. No questions asked.
1) George Clooney
This is a man I would take home to mom in a second. Intelligent, socially conscious, can actually survive malaria, handsome, has a great voice, has an amazing smile. And the fact that he doesn't want to get married is the kicker. Ah. Just perfect.
All I can say is... he saw me in person, he actually looked at me and waved, he knows I love him and this is totally true. My life is perfect now because of that fact. Still wearing my watch on my right hand, Bruce. I heart you.
I just watched him on The Hangover and I lost it. He's such a cool cat! This dude seems like the man I would totally have fun hanging out at a bar and could surprise me with some cliché romantic date that I would not mind going along with.
4) Brad Pitt
Perfection after Clooney. That's all I'm saying.
5) Cary Grant
We didn't have the alive or dead rule, did we? Mr Grant was the original George Clooney and boy, I cannot change the channel everytime I see him. The voice, the elegance. This is what a man should be.
6) Marlon Brando
Another Not alive but still on my list dude. This is the only man in my list that I consider beautiful. Besides, I would have had the honor of telling Mom: "He's the guy in Godfather!"
7) Quentin Tarantino
This man has a direct line to my heart. He makes everything perfect. My favorite movies of all time are his. This would mean the world for me to date him... but just for a while. I have this weird feeling that he would freak me out over time.
8) Nev Schulman
Sitting alone in the Angelika NYC theater watching Catfish, I realized that I had fallen in love with this amazingly charming and handsome man. One talented photographer, a great documentary... and one unforgettable smile. Catfish is great because he is compelling to watch. You start to care about him instantly and you worry about him every step of the way. I hope to see more of him soon.
9) Nate Berkus
Ah... the one that got away. Everytime I see Nate on Oprah I cannot help myself but smile. Nate has the charming dial up to eleven. The man that he's dating is very, very lucky.
10) Robert Redford
The original Brad Pitt, this man IS SEXY AS HELL! I mean... look at him! Oh and to boot, he from a very young age started producing his own films, started Sundance... this man knows how to do stuff perfectly. Let me put it this way: if the he had made an Indecent Proposal to me, I would have GLADLY screwed him FOR FREE. And I would have stuck with him at the end, forgetting everything. No questions asked.
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