Today's debacle du jour -- chest pains! All day long!! All the classic symptoms of a heart attack (yikes!!!) which almost had me convinced to go to the ER around noon. ALMOST. I weenied out, partially because I hate the whole hospital thing, and partially because I had really bad chest pains before -- about 10 years ago and the doc said it was all stress-related.
So I didn't go to the ER, but to hedge my bets I opted for a way-expired aspirin (do they expire?) that has been bouncing around the significant other's truck for lord only knows how long instead. Don't they tell you to take aspirin for heart attacks to make it less fatal or something? Made me feel like I was doing something proactive anyway.
It's almost 12 hours later and I'm not dead yet, so I'm taking that as a good sign that either the aspirin is truly magical or this is a stress episode again. If I take a really deep breath my hands go numb, and then go back to normal when I exhale (how weird is that??) so I'm thinking lots of tense muscles and pinched nerves at work here. Perhaps it may have something to do with working like a lunatic, not eating or sleeping (full time job, classes at night, and a REALLY active toddler) and my significant other being a bit of a butthead of late. This latter point I believe was what pushed the arrow way over on the anxiety meter.
Level of buttheadedness: I ask if we have aspirin and he asks why. I say because I've been having really bad chest pains all day. He goes out to the truck, gets the aspirin, hands me the bottle, and never says another word about it. No "don't you think you should call the doctor?" or "are you feeling better?" Gee honey, thanks for your concern.
I SOOO NEED A VACATION!!!!!!
Okay, done bitching now, you can go back to your regularly scheduled whatever. Me and the chest pains are off to bed. Hopefully I'll wake up tomorrow to post another day.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Forget the printing jungle, go to the Zoo
There are certain printers who will always be near and dear to my heart for special projects that need significant hand-holding (or projects that I need hand-holding through). That being said, I must admit that I get most of my basic printing done through online printers these days.
One of the best I've found is Zoo Printing. From overall price to print options, quality to turnaround times, they've pretty much got it covered. If you do minimal printing, their main retail site is the place to go. If your print runs are large and often, you'll probably qualify for a trade account with EVEN LOWER pricing. Gotta love that!
One of the best I've found is Zoo Printing. From overall price to print options, quality to turnaround times, they've pretty much got it covered. If you do minimal printing, their main retail site is the place to go. If your print runs are large and often, you'll probably qualify for a trade account with EVEN LOWER pricing. Gotta love that!
Monday, July 02, 2007
BUZZZZ-ing away on Monday Morning
REALLY didn't need that second cup of coffee this morning. But the first one tasted so good going down that I just had to have another! By noon my hands were shaking and driving to lunch was like playing in some kind of odd video game. On the flip side -- I got A LOT of projects done this morning!!
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Following the money
Stopped by the local WaWa yesterday and noticed as I walked out with my change that one of the bills was stamped in red: Track this bill at www.WheresGeorge.com.
Well of course I had to check it out. It's apparently a do-it-yourself-project of someone's (and a pretty sleek one at that) that allows you to track money circulation. You put in the Series and serial numbers for any ol' bill you have, and it starts a tracking file for that particular piece which gives you it's origin city and state, and every city and state thereafter provided people keep logging it in. It also gives cool stats as to how many miles it has traveled, how long it took to get there, and approximately how far it travels per day based on this. A travelogue of sorts for currency. If you become a member, you can continue to track your money's adventures across the continent.
My bill, despite the nifty advo-markings, hasn't been tracked too often -- the tracking started in 2005 in North Carolina, and I was the 1st person to log it in after that...
So my bill was a bust, but check it out and see if your ones and fives fare any better.
Well of course I had to check it out. It's apparently a do-it-yourself-project of someone's (and a pretty sleek one at that) that allows you to track money circulation. You put in the Series and serial numbers for any ol' bill you have, and it starts a tracking file for that particular piece which gives you it's origin city and state, and every city and state thereafter provided people keep logging it in. It also gives cool stats as to how many miles it has traveled, how long it took to get there, and approximately how far it travels per day based on this. A travelogue of sorts for currency. If you become a member, you can continue to track your money's adventures across the continent.
My bill, despite the nifty advo-markings, hasn't been tracked too often -- the tracking started in 2005 in North Carolina, and I was the 1st person to log it in after that...
So my bill was a bust, but check it out and see if your ones and fives fare any better.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes...
Well okay, it's been quite a while since I've posted. (Bad blogger... Bad...)
I finally decided to hop back on the wagon and get posting again, mainly because my typing skills were starting to suffer from lack of use. Oh, and I need one more thing to do to keep me up in the middle of the night. Who needs sleep anyway?
I finally decided to hop back on the wagon and get posting again, mainly because my typing skills were starting to suffer from lack of use. Oh, and I need one more thing to do to keep me up in the middle of the night. Who needs sleep anyway?
Friday, July 15, 2005
speaking of creatives... know anybody??
I posted the following on CareerBuilder today -- if you know anyone who fits the bill, have them reply to either this blog or click here to go to the job post and apply from there. Thanks!
_____________
Greetings! I’m the marketing manager for a small yet very successful specialty chemical company located in scenic South Jersey. (Well, the surrounding area is nice, but to tell the truth we’re in an average industrial park just off 295. It’s easy to get to, though, which is always a plus.)
We in the marketing department have a bit of a dilemma… We have LOTS of advertising and collateral projects that sail through here on a daily basis, but alas – we are currently lacking a full-time in-house creative to handle them. Let me stop you here for a moment and ask you to go back and re-read that last line. Notice that I distinctly said “creative” and not “graphic designer?” There’s a reason for this.
Graphic designers are exactly that: designers of graphics. While I’ve met many that have phenomenal technical skills and can do things with software I can’t even dream of, they tend to put “pretty” ahead of “meaningful” in the hierarchy of what’s really important for an ad or collateral piece. Not that I mind pretty – I’m all for that – but meaningful definitely has to come first.
What we’re really looking for is a hybrid of sorts. A true chimera of the creative realm, if you will. First and foremost, we need an innovative problem solver who uses intuition and logic in equal measure in their work. We need a writer who can bridge the gap between our company and the consumer through metaphor and emotion. Someone who can make simple images speak volumes, as well as use concise prose to create voluminous images in the reader’s mind. We also need that same person to have the technical ability to bring these ideas to life within the specified media format. (This is where the graphic design skills need to kick in.) We need someone who is able to communicate complex concepts clearly and innovatively in a variety of ways.
I won’t ask that you fit into narrow parameters such as a certain number of years of experience or a degree in a particular field; I know that the paths to great marketing are as varied as the day is long. I will ask, however, that you will have garnered intimate knowledge of both basic advertising and visual design principles somewhere along that path. Software skills will be assessed. Portfolios will be reviewed.
If we choose you for the position, you will be responsible for advertising concept, design and placement, collateral design and copywriting [editor’s note: If your English papers were routinely covered in red pen, kindly move on to the next ad], trade show visuals and booth construction, and whatever other corporate creative needs get lobbed through our department’s door.
You must be passionate about your craft and possesses great internal motivation to continually learn new things and rise to new challenges. You must be able to think on the fly, work independently, pay attention to detail, handle deadline pressures with grace and a sense of humor, and juggle multiple projects without letting any of them hit the ground with a resounding thud.
This position offers lots of variety (from the cool whiz-bang to the utterly mundane) and affords a great degree creative latitude. It also comes with mediocre wages, generally normal hours, and an exceedingly respectable benefit package, as well as an office with a real door and a functioning window. The people here are great to work with, and we occasionally have free pizza days.
Now for the moment of reckoning: do you apply or not?
If you have even the slightest doubts about whether this position is right for you, you’re probably right. Follow your gut. Put this ad down now and walk away. Don’t look back.
If you feel your talents might be tailor-made for this position and you’d like to check the fit, write me a letter. Sure, we want all the normal resume facts-and-figures stuff, but really – write me a letter. Don’t stuff it full of the normal cover letter blah-blah-blah; really introduce yourself. Tell me about you, your abilities, your experiences. Intrigue me. Make me want to call you for an interview.
_____________
Greetings! I’m the marketing manager for a small yet very successful specialty chemical company located in scenic South Jersey. (Well, the surrounding area is nice, but to tell the truth we’re in an average industrial park just off 295. It’s easy to get to, though, which is always a plus.)
We in the marketing department have a bit of a dilemma… We have LOTS of advertising and collateral projects that sail through here on a daily basis, but alas – we are currently lacking a full-time in-house creative to handle them. Let me stop you here for a moment and ask you to go back and re-read that last line. Notice that I distinctly said “creative” and not “graphic designer?” There’s a reason for this.
Graphic designers are exactly that: designers of graphics. While I’ve met many that have phenomenal technical skills and can do things with software I can’t even dream of, they tend to put “pretty” ahead of “meaningful” in the hierarchy of what’s really important for an ad or collateral piece. Not that I mind pretty – I’m all for that – but meaningful definitely has to come first.
What we’re really looking for is a hybrid of sorts. A true chimera of the creative realm, if you will. First and foremost, we need an innovative problem solver who uses intuition and logic in equal measure in their work. We need a writer who can bridge the gap between our company and the consumer through metaphor and emotion. Someone who can make simple images speak volumes, as well as use concise prose to create voluminous images in the reader’s mind. We also need that same person to have the technical ability to bring these ideas to life within the specified media format. (This is where the graphic design skills need to kick in.) We need someone who is able to communicate complex concepts clearly and innovatively in a variety of ways.
I won’t ask that you fit into narrow parameters such as a certain number of years of experience or a degree in a particular field; I know that the paths to great marketing are as varied as the day is long. I will ask, however, that you will have garnered intimate knowledge of both basic advertising and visual design principles somewhere along that path. Software skills will be assessed. Portfolios will be reviewed.
If we choose you for the position, you will be responsible for advertising concept, design and placement, collateral design and copywriting [editor’s note: If your English papers were routinely covered in red pen, kindly move on to the next ad], trade show visuals and booth construction, and whatever other corporate creative needs get lobbed through our department’s door.
You must be passionate about your craft and possesses great internal motivation to continually learn new things and rise to new challenges. You must be able to think on the fly, work independently, pay attention to detail, handle deadline pressures with grace and a sense of humor, and juggle multiple projects without letting any of them hit the ground with a resounding thud.
This position offers lots of variety (from the cool whiz-bang to the utterly mundane) and affords a great degree creative latitude. It also comes with mediocre wages, generally normal hours, and an exceedingly respectable benefit package, as well as an office with a real door and a functioning window. The people here are great to work with, and we occasionally have free pizza days.
Now for the moment of reckoning: do you apply or not?
If you have even the slightest doubts about whether this position is right for you, you’re probably right. Follow your gut. Put this ad down now and walk away. Don’t look back.
If you feel your talents might be tailor-made for this position and you’d like to check the fit, write me a letter. Sure, we want all the normal resume facts-and-figures stuff, but really – write me a letter. Don’t stuff it full of the normal cover letter blah-blah-blah; really introduce yourself. Tell me about you, your abilities, your experiences. Intrigue me. Make me want to call you for an interview.
Moe and his creator get weed whacked...
Oh well, looks like Moe won't be gracing the pages of anything anytime soon. After review with the sales guys we decided to "go in a different creative direction." (They didn't like the ad.) Back to the drawing board.
This would not be too big of a deal (happens more than I care to think about), except that I fired our designer two weeks ago. (That also happens more than I care to think about.) Finding someone with any kind of creative smarts AND technical skill AND a modicum of professional / artistic integrity is apparently like trying to find a fish on the moon.
It amazes me that there are so many uncreative "creatives" out there. They come in, putz around FOREVER to get an ad together, end up with some pathetic mediocre thing that just begs to crawl under a rock and never see the light of day minutes before the deadline , and then they call it a day. Never even lose a minute's sleep over it. And they have the nerve to call themselves "creatives." Ugh, makes me crazy...
Where's the PASSION!?!? Where's the CREATIVE DRIVE?!?! Where's the VISION?!?! Don't even get me started...
So now until we find a replacement I'm doing my job AND his. Oh well, not like I was trying to get anything on MY desk finished this week...
This would not be too big of a deal (happens more than I care to think about), except that I fired our designer two weeks ago. (That also happens more than I care to think about.) Finding someone with any kind of creative smarts AND technical skill AND a modicum of professional / artistic integrity is apparently like trying to find a fish on the moon.
It amazes me that there are so many uncreative "creatives" out there. They come in, putz around FOREVER to get an ad together, end up with some pathetic mediocre thing that just begs to crawl under a rock and never see the light of day minutes before the deadline , and then they call it a day. Never even lose a minute's sleep over it. And they have the nerve to call themselves "creatives." Ugh, makes me crazy...
Where's the PASSION!?!? Where's the CREATIVE DRIVE?!?! Where's the VISION?!?! Don't even get me started...
So now until we find a replacement I'm doing my job AND his. Oh well, not like I was trying to get anything on MY desk finished this week...
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Revolution -- It doesn't get more stress-free than this!
Meet Moe. He's the newest member of the Aquatrols family, and you should see him popping up in GCM and Golfdom in the next couple of months. Moe (get it?-- Moe, "mow"... He's turf... I'll stop now...)
Anyway, Moe is out for conceptual review now and will possibly be our stress-free spokesmodel for the glories of Revolution -- provided the review board doesn't weed-whack 'em. ;o)
You know what they say about opinions... everybody has one. (Thought I was actually going to quote that saying, didn't you??) So let me know what your opinion of Moe is. Go ahead, be brave -- hit the "send" key!!
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