These BOOTS were made for Walking....

Oh yeah, Rockstar, BABY! 

Zara - Winter 2008

Reality Bites

So Mike and I ended up going to Splash and guess who we saw. A reality TV person. I was going to say "star" or "personality" but that might be stretching it a little.

He's the guy on Bravo "Make me a Supermodel" and stuff.

My AD baby!

You can play with my baby here!
http://www.vw.com/vwhype/babymaker/en/us/?mId=28371695

And talk about seeing the same situation the creatives had in mind for this McDonald's campaign....ha!

Busted my MOMA Cherry!

Oh I went to MOMA for the first time. Yes I know it's bee 4 months since I've been here but you know what? Better late than never. Here's some pics from there.

Almost a month!

So first off, I'd like to say a big THANK YOU to my girl, Kristina. For lighting a fire in my booty (trying to keep it G-rated here) because I keep saying I would update my blog more frequently but alas, I'm not that good yet. So expect something in the mail, Kristina.....that is if I remember!

So yes I said last month was nippy but I was kinda off. I am so used to Sunny San Diego that I thought 50 degrees was cold. Yeah, right. I can hardly feel my toes now! Now I remember that the East Coast don't play around. Definitely time to dust off those long johns I have in the closet. All things cold aside, I guess I should talk about work and life in NY.

Things are good. Work is progressing along fabulously. I am still working on some projects for the rebranding project. Now it's Shipper Box. That's right, shipper box. That brown box that all the goodies comes in. Now anyone can just slap on a color and the logo and call it a day but my CD was definitely looking for something cool, fun, and surprising. Definitely something unexpected that would not only catch your attention but keep you looking forward to what's going to be with the next shipment. So far Tomas (another AD) and I brainstormed and came up with some cool ideas. I will post some comps up as soon as I can but they're all work in progress and we won't even get the official brief until next week. 

Nightlife has been alright. Haven't been going out that much. More like going home to DC more than anything. The state of the economy right now is less than stellar so I shouldn't be spending money anyway. I do have an itch right now for a cool pair of boots for the winter. I've been looking for a month and have come up with ziltch....okay not ziltch but I'm not paying $350 for a pair of boots. No matter how rockstar I look or how many people think I look rockstar in it or how many times I try it on and then tell the shoe person that I'll think about it just to come back the next week to try it on again...yeah, no matter what.

A shout out goes out to my momz this month. It was her birthday on the 19th. She turns 45 for the 20th time! Also another shout out to my brand new nephew, Bank! Here's looking at you kid!

September gets Nippy!

Okay okay, so I haven't been updating my blog lately but I'm doing it now so leave me alone! I didn't even know who even reads this stuff (I hardly read it myself) but since my trip from Boston at least I know that Kristina's reading it.

So how has life been? It's been pretty darn good lately. Work has been amazing! Just finished up work for the big Gevalia re-brand presentation. I'm not sure if I've already said it in a previous blog entry but I was a part of the team that came up with the concept "Home is where it happens" which became the agency's recommended concept to the client! How exciting is that. I know that I was the one with the least experience but it's really satisfying to know I had a hand in coming up with that concept. I feel all ooey gooey inside!

I also just got my first printed piece back from production and it looks perfect! I'm so happy that it turned out so well and I am actually comfortable with the process of how everything works together around here now. I can officially now say I'm a pro!!!! HAHA...okay not so much.

Anyways, here's a pic of the new concept for Gevalia I worked on just a few examples. More pics to come! Brrrrrr....it's getting cold here!

August Lately

Okay, okay, so it's been a long while since I last blogged. It has been a crazy past couple of weeks (okay, a month) since the last time I sat down to blog. A lot has happened but I'll just condense it down for your reading pleasure....

Work - 

Well, work has been really great. I think I have officially become a part of the Gevalia team. We moved last week (because of the lay-offs) from one side of the building to another, the whole team is now together in one spot. It's a lot quieter too on the side of the building we're on now so the only conversations that are heard now are our own. It's really great. As far as actual work goes, I was working really hard the past couple of weeks on the Gevalia Rebranding pitch. I used a former freelancer, Adam's, design so it was easy for me to just flesh it out. I find that I have a knack for seeing a design and then rolling it out in the same look/concept. I guess emulation has always been a talent of mine. In this job, I think it's a necessity. I also was juggling some other side jobs, one for Rommel's web site, and the whole Ultimate Gift job as well. I better get to it so I can move on with those.

As far as my adventures go with the Nightlife, I can now check off some other clubs that I have been to. This week was a big weekend for going out since I just got paid. I went to Splash for happy hour on Friday with co-worker which was a real trip. We then went to G and ended going back and forth between the two. On Saturday, I took Creta out Morimoto (Fab, fab, fab) and then to some random bars a friend of a friend got us into. On our way to One Oak though, I thought I saw Vin Diesel but whatever. There were even some papparrzi too so that was  trip.  

Anyways, all in all, it's been a good month. I have high hopes for the rest of my time at DraftFCB and hope to get better with blogging! 

So just an update. Here's a pic from Draftfcb during the first every Draftfcb Olympics! The camaraderie, the human spirit, the feeling of one...the open bar!

First Day at DraftFCB

So today was my first day at DraftFCB. My first REAL day at work since, well, since the Navy really. It was actually refreshing to be able to not only SAY I'm working but KNOW that I'm doing something that I love and doing it where I want to be doing it at! I have to tell you though that I was extremely nervous this morning when I woke up. It probably be started when I kept waking up at various intervals last night. Just like a kid before his first day at school, I woke up at 4, 5, 6 and so on until I had to get up. Yep, I was a bit tired but super anxious to go. Who was I gonna meet? How were they going to treat me? And what if they don't like me or my work? Those questions ran through my head, naturaly.

So how did I do? I think I did alright. Here's the break down.

7:15 AM - Woke up and made coffee while Creta (my roommate) was in the shower.

8:00AM - We headed out the door and walked to the station. I had my breakfast - a bannana and a cup of coffee.

8:15AM - We got on the train and headed downtown. She got off at 55th and I headed down to 33rd on the 6 train.

8:45 - I made it out, walked towards the Empire State Building and sat down at the park to think. I was waaaay early (didn't have to be in until 9:30) so i just people watched and drank my coffee while concepting. I just scribbled some notes, nothing much.

9:15 - I headed for the building and signed in at security.

9:30 - Met Danna and she took me on a tour. Come to find out everyone in my department comes in around 10 - 10:30 so it was pretty dead in the office. I love being a Creative!

10AM - Went to my desk (I'm so freaking happy to have MY OWN DESK!) but didn't see a computer there so Danna went to take care of it. The not-so-new but highly usable MAC showed up on my desk about 15 minutes later. 

Well, not to keep doing the times break down thing but it all kind of muddled into one after that. I did things such as meet with my mentor, Justine, and my supervisor, Frank (whom I met on last Monday's reception). Met with my other co-creatives on the team (they all seem pretty cool). 

I wanted to kind of catch myself up on what the client was all about so I took some of the stuff they did prior and started going through it and reading the copy. It was pretty good from what I saw. Nice and clean and simple. Had a lot of humor and witty copy in it so I also sat in on a conference call with a client which was interesting. It kind of helped me get up to speed too on how the client wants the DM's and other things to look. 

So I ended up working on this project with Justine by about 2 o'clock. I really wanted to just get started working so I basically took anything she handed. It was pretty cool actually to work on something and show them how savvy I was in the programs. I asked another guy, Tomas, about giving me stuff too but since the original file was in Quark, I asked him to hold off on it since I'm not too comfortable in it. So the map came in an illustrator file but was very roughly done. I kind of knew that it had to be cleaned up and the color scheme/font changed to fit the look so I did that for the rest of the day. I didn't leave until about 6:30pm but time just flew by so I didn't mind. I hope I get more stuff to do tomorrow.

 I think I'm going to like it here. It's a very corporate yet laid back atmosphere. It reminds me somewhat of the Navy in a way in the sense that there seems to be a lot of structure and management going one. There's a lot of people working there so it seems like a hierarchy would make sense. I just hope there's none of the negative stuff that I remember in the Navy. Like people not pulling their weight or B.S.-ing around all day and leaving early. That totally irks me about it. 

Alrighty, off to look for apartments on Craigslist. Oh, I better call Sean too. I kind of miss him.

What a weekend!

Okay, so still not in New York but what a trip it has been! I just drove from San Diego to DC in about a week. That does seem like a long time, it usually takes 3 days driving but since I also stopped in Denver and Orlando, it took a bit. 

The adventure began with the drive from San Diego to Denver. I thought driving to Vegas was bad, this was ridiculous! I drove 1100 miles straight up and down the mountain on rural roads. What a drive too! My paranoia totally took over. Images of falling rocks, high-speed chases - a la "Grindhouse" - and even alien abductions ran through my head. That's what happens when imagination runs away with you!

So finally stopping in Colorado was fun as well as a good break from driving. I got to see some friends that I haven't seen for about 4 years now. Damon was my roommate while I was stationed in Japan. He certainly hasn't changed much which is a good thing. He's always been a very considerate and cool guy. I am glad I took the time out to see him. Josh is a great guy too and he looks like he's as happy as he's ever been. Sarah seems happy too. Certainly more calm than what I can remember from such a long time ago. I hope they all do well in the future.

The real fun begins next with the longest drive EVER from Denver to Orlando. A total of 1800 miles straight. Originally I was planning to stop at a motel for a night and then get on but since I figured that I should save some money, I just stopped at rest stops to nap then be on my way. I did that for about 100 times...lol. No, I didn't but it certainly felt that way. The first half of the drive certainly breezed by. Especially with Elton and George Michael to help me out. Now I can totally do a concert with them anytime...just ask!

Now the second half...was the longest, most exhuasting, and downright boring drive I have EVER done. I was struggling to stay awake, even with rest stops and all. I could not get up for the life of me. Karaoke, beef jerky, and soda did not work like it should have. Man! 200 miles doesn't seem like much but it felt like forever when it's 200 miles left out of 1800.

I got to Florida at about 7 in the morning and it was the happiest moment ever. I was ALIVE! Now all I wanted to do was sleep like the dead. I met my friends from San Diego and Tampa there so it was a good reunion. Met some new ones too.

The next couple days were, safe to say, full of ups and downs. I had the best time of my life but there were people around who were not as lucky and affected everyone around them. I think that there is a lot of maturing to do for this friend of mine and hopefully, after this, he will. If not, we might not be as close friends as we were anymore. No one needs that kind of headache and responsibility in their life.

So I need to save the juicy stuff for the next post. Or if you end up talking to me in person....just ask.

The Party

Okay, so not exactly in New York City yet but will be soon. Well, not soon enough. Probably in 3 weeks after a lot of driving and drinking red bull.

But I digress. What I really wanted to talk about was my party. It was FANTASTIC! Well, most of it anyway. I'm really glad I held my composure throughout the whole thing so that I could host. I mean, I kept getting specialty drinks (the "Art-ini") but I'm so glad I held up. It never fails that people will also show up about 2 hours after the time you tell them it's starting. But nonetheless, I think it was a success. Many people came to see me off. I loved the fact that Donna and Gina came too. They are fabulous and I really enjoyed their company. They complimented me so much though which made me a bit humbled by how high they think of me. I hope I make them proud.

I'm so happy to have most of my closest friends in  San Diego there.  It was an honor to  have them as friends and they'll always have me as one. I really hope I make them proud when I take over  New York. I will always remember.

So there were some notable other highlights.

Chris was an awesome bartender. Besides the fact that he was about as drunk as everyone  else too! 

Nicole and Angie (my gff's!) were so sweet. They got me that "Sexy Bitch" cup. I felt like Little John!

Tammy made me that fabulous cake in the shape of an apple. How crazy is that and how cute is she? We're going to have so much fun in NYC this summer.

Sean finally came after about 2 hours! Then he left early. I remember how sad I was when he left but he had some issues I didn't know about. I really hope he feels better by now. 

Chapter III

Since this is the first entry of my blog I should at least say why I started it. The reason I wanted to start this blog is because this is a really good opportunity to record my life as it happens. Something that I have always wanted to do was keep a journal. I remember when I first joined the Navy in 2000 and was moving to Japan, I ran out and bought one. It was a Superman journal which I still have. And even though I had entered only about 4 pages of entries (I hate writing with a pen!), I could remember what I felt like when I wrote it. It was a time of finding who I was and what I am meant to do. When I go back to read what I was thinking at the time, it makes me realize how much I have grown and how different my issues are between then and now! Oh, I would never relive those moments again for anything because I love who I have become but at the same time, that "Art" will never live again which is a bit sad. I guess a blog would be a way to keep my present "Art" alive. It's also that feeling of nostalgia and the experience of growing in which I want to document. So why not record it now as I begin a new chapter in my life. Even though I can not ever get the almost 30 years before this (Chapter I & II) back in blogs, I can do it now. Hopefully it'll be more than a few entries.

So let's begin, shall we? 

CHAPTER III