The Adnostic

It feels like I haven't blogged in ages. I think three and a half months adds up to something like ten years in blog time, but I lacked the motivation to blog lately and once I stopped, it was hard to get started again.

To start off the missing story of my life, I made a valiant effort to find a job in London. I cashed in my miles, met with as many planning directors as I could (thank you Russell), and earned tendonitis in one of my ankles from walking around London in high heels for five days. On the surface, it seemed like the perfect compromise for both Dave and I. I could probably find a planning job there fairly easily and he could get a working holiday visa as a citizen of the commonwealth. Unfortunately, the finding a job part got in the way. People seemed perfectly willing to speak with me considering my qualifications and what not, but they were unwilling to make the extra effort a visa would have required.

I did manage to snag one job offer, but they low balled me to the point that I couldn't accept it. Maybe one day I'll be able to transfer through another company, it just would have been nice for Dave and I to live abroad at this time in our lives.

Once London didn't seem like it was going to work out, Dave and I started to look at the plan of last resort - me finding a really great job in the US and making our relationship more permanent. I applied for an opening at Crispin Porter + Bogusky in Boulder, Colorado. I never thought they would consider me, but I figured that I should at least try. When I got the call saying that they wanted to meet me in person, I was on Cloud 9. I skipped merrily down the halls at work. I could not have been more excited and everyone who knew was excited for me.

The experience of interviewing there was amazing. They had a driver on staff to take me to and from the airport. During the tour they showed me the desks for the Quality of Life department (aka HR), the gym, and the office of the concierge (that isn't a myth, he's real). The concierge's job is to get CPB employees into the Colorado lifestyle. If you want to go dirt biking with Alex, he will set you up with a dirt bike. If you want to take up mountain biking or road biking, no problem. Are you interested in snowboarding? You can borrow one of the snowboards from their collection and the concierge will tell you the best mountains to go to depending on what you want and your skill level. The overall consensus from the people who worked there was yes you worked really hard at CPB, but they took excellent care of you.

Everyone I met with was very nice and very smart. None of the attitude that people seem to expect from the top agency in the country. I was really thrilled to be there and I desperately wanted the job. Alas, it was not to be. Maybe another time. At least I didn't have to worry about how Dave would adjust to Boulder if I had gotten the job.

Then I lost my job. It still stings, but severance and unemployment insurance heals all wounds. My take on what happened is not fit to be discussed in a public forum. If you really want to know then email me and we'll talk, otherwise leave it be. Besides that, I am grateful to all my old coworkers and clients who left wonderful recommendations on my LinkedIn profile. It is yet another reason why the internet is wonderful and that you will hardly ever find a place that is 100% bad.

Since then, I have interviewed at two other agencies and am looking eagerly for more. I'm hoping that I can hold out for the perfect position. A lot of the feedback I'm getting is that I seem great, but they really wish I had broader full-service agency experience. A friend of mine wants to submit me for a job at a digital shop, but I don't think that it would set me up well for the kind of larger planning jobs that I eventually want. He's asking the hiring manager if they're willing to take me on as a freelancer instead. I hope they do.

If anyone asks, Tara Frabotta at Ad+One and Lee Weil have been amazing recruiters. They are both personable and work devilishly hard. I have little doubt that I will be able to find my next job through them and recommend them highly.

I was reading this short article in Fast Company a little while ago titled How to Work Extremely Well and thought it was interesting that it basically advocated a work/life balance philosophy which I have been attempting to practice for years - don't be 100% about your job.

Here are a few of their tips:

1) Think of things you like to do outside of work. Pick one.

To be honest I have a few - horseback riding and competing, dancing, cooking, and going to concerts. But, if work forced me to choose just one, I would choose riding and showing horses.

2) Nurture your relationships.

Okay. This hasn't really been an issue so far, considering that I have yet to meet a man who was sincerely interested in having a serious long-term relationship with me. Hopefully I can put this in practice when I do meet that person.

3) Make time for friends.

Check. I make time to meet with anywhere from one to many friends at least once a week. It's usually in the form of an activity, like a BYO Wine/Alcohol Tasting Party, a concert, or a performance, but I think that part of the fun is having a shared experience. Besides, I can't imagine any of those things being nearly as fun flying solo.

4) Build little rewards into your daily life.

Um, check? I think I do this, but I can't say I've taken a real vacation in quite some time. I think I incorporate this rule with "making time for friends." Dinners out, organizing parties, taking in the culture of LA, are all mainstays of how I live; but seriously, I need to give myself a real vacation.

I'll probably end up visiting Jen in Ireland or joining her on her graduation wine tasting trip through France. The details haven't been worked out, but I know that I will finally be spending some time in Europe. Something I've been meaning to do for years.

I found a job! I'll be doing Account Management and Planning for another interactive agency in Marina Del Rey! Yeah!

The interview process was bizarrely quick. I interviewed with a recruiter on Wednesday for a job I considered myself to be under-qualified for. He assured me that I had the strategic background they were looking for and my lack of experience managing clients and projects wouldn't be an issue. I had my doubts, but tried to think positive as I researched their accounts and tried to think of new directions for the current program that would fit with the brand.

I barely slept the night before the interview because I was so nervous. Would they like me? Would they see right through me? Maybe I should bring a knife so I can kill myself in case I burst into tears during the middle of the interview like I did the last time some evangelist recruiter tried to make me believe that a job I was totally unqualified for was the absolute perfect position for me. (My worst interview EVER)

I went in for the interview that morning, met with two people, showed them my portfolio, talked about my experience, personality traits, how I got into interactive marketing, etc.. Nothing out of the ordinary and I made an effort to put a positive spin on what I knew I lacked. What struck me as odd is that the VP of Client Services was already calculating my weekly rate and I had only been there for an hour.

They called a few hours after I left offering me a temp to perm position because they couldn't give me a supervisors position given my experience level and I was asking for more than their account managers. This way I would stay at my income level and get the experience I needed to be hired as an Account Supervisor before the end of the year. It just doesn't get much better than that, so I accepted immediately.

I was gushing to possible romantic interest about the deal and being interviewed and hired all in one morning, and he laughed an chided that I probably wasn't supposed to do that, but how could I possibly sit on an offer that giving me everything I wanted? What would be the point?

I can now breathe easier and not worry about how I'll pay next month's rent. [Exhale]

Last night I had dinner with a few of my former coworkers at the Farmers Market. I love the Farmers Market. It's probably the only place on earth where you can get together with any number of friends, eat a plate of nachos, wash it down with German beer, walk a few feet and sit down for some French food, and gently sip on a good glass of Beaujolais while talking boisterously amongst each other. If you can't love that then you have no sense of casual adventure.

I talked with Jay about a possible freelance gig I may have lined up. I asked him how much I should charge and what I could expect. I also discussed the possibility of working as his assistant on some of the freelance market research projects he takes on from time to time. He seemed to like that idea, especially after I told him that I could help him remove bunnies from hats and he could saw me in half from time to time as long as he didn't make me wear a sequined bikini or a feathered headdress. They make me itch.

I exchanged phone numbers and email addresses with some of my old colleagues whom I never got the chance to say goodbye to as I was unceremoniously hustled out of the building (btw - unnecessary and rude).

I got to kvetch to another person who was kicked out with me about the whole process and how if we were in charge we would have handled it much better. She had the brilliant idea of giving the person you are about to fire a choice:
A) Leave now and enjoy so much severance
B) Leave a week from now, say goodbye to people, finish your projects, behave, and receive an ample severance
C) Leave a week from now, do something stupid, and get paid only for the time worked. No severance.

Doesn't that sound so much better than simply kicking someone out the door without so much as a nod? I hope she runs her own company one day, because she would make it a great place to work.

Anyways, I'm really going to miss those people. I'm sure I will run into them again, either professionally or socially. Advertising is a small word and we tend to bounce around a lot.

I have a multitude of reasons to like my job:

- I get to surf the net all day and call it "research."
- Last week we had beer during our status meeting.
- I get to travel on the company dime.
- The work I do get is challenging and always a little different.
- I don't have to deal with clients!

Guess what campaign we just finished working on? No, I'm not giving you hint.

(I'm the one doing jazz-hands.)

I was staying at a rat hole of a hotel in New York this week because all the good hotels were taken by people in town for Fashion Week, the US Open, and the UN meeting. A trifecta of a global conspiracy against my personal comfort.

From the outside, the hotel looks okay. Good, recently updated aesthetics. A staff that speaks English. My standards really aren't that high, but I have to draw the line somewhere and that line starts at furnishings, goes midway into personal space, and is blown through the roof by poor hygiene.

I arrived in my room and called Kevin to make plans for dinner:
Kevin: Well, how big is this place?
Me: Let's see... I'm starting at the door. One, two. Two steps to get past the bathroom. One, two, three, four. Four steps to cross the actual room.
Kevin: [laughing] I guess that hotel budget just doesn't go as far as it used to.

Jay called to tell me that he made the front desk change his room because some of the furniture was held together with duct tape.
Me: Does your comforter fit your bed?
Jay: Yes. Why?
Me: Mine looks like it was meant for a twin, but they just said 'what the hell' and put it on my queen. It covers the top of the bed and that's about it.
Jay: Do you have any counter space in the bathroom?
Me: No.
Jay: Me neither. I find this very disappointing.

Then I called Jodi after dinner just to catch up.
Jodi: How bad is it?
Me: Jodi, there's mildew on the ceiling.
Jodi: What ever you do, do not use the comforter.
Me: Good point.