We lost one

One of our writers (Philip) decided that love was more important than advertising. The heresy. So he's off to be a freelancer in Los Angeles. To my LA friends, if you see the guy in the middle running around with a portfolio under his arm, hire him immediately. He will make you laugh. He will make you cry. He will make you money.

Get thee to the symphony. Seriously.

Buy tickets and go. There's really no other musical experience like a full orchestra and for some reason, the music just has a way of soothing the soul.

The show on Saturday was fantastic. Lots of Haydn. Lots of passion from the conductor. Lots of older patrons. I'd never experienced the symphony of a major city. Winston's is quite good for a city that size. But I think they have to stick to the more well known works as there isn't a population that can support less well known works.

Anyway, go. You'll like it. Your ears will like it. Your brain will feel relaxed and refreshed all at the same time. And no, the symphony doesn't make you older. That's time's fault.

Kumquats and Koalas

This was a brilliant Thanksgiving and once again I have plenty to be thankful for. Lots of new friends to start. An amazing city to live in, a roommate who's company I don't tolerate but actually enjoy. Plus an agency that's inspiring and trying everything it can to do things the right way. Not to mention a healthy family that loves me.

We created quite a feast this Thanksgiving. The attendee list: Jay, Allan, Celeste, Trav, Stephanie and Me. We feasted on brined turkey, savory bread pudding stuffing, asparagus with prosciutto, squash with candied pecans and goat cheese, bread of course, two kinds of cranberries, one with kumquats, scalloped potatoes, and some killer wine. Wine that was purchased and then stored 10 years ago. And then more wine that Mom and John purchased on their visit. Delicious. And of course we topped it all off with apple pie, ice cream and persimmon cookies. Incroyable.

On Friday, we headed off to the San Francisco Zoo. Really a great city zoo. There's not a ton of spare land around but they do a good job of maximizing the land as best they can. Bears and koalas have some room to roam, monkeys have a lot of room to swing and play. Do wish there could have been more but then, there's not a lot of spare room in this city. It's also one of the only zoos in the country where you can watch them feed the big cats. They bring in lions, tigers and siberian tigers. Pretty amazing. I saw one of the lions come in and you could tell he was a killing machine. He kept pacing and pacing until a small kid let out a wail. At that point, he zeroed in and straight up stared down this kid. It was unnerving.

I topped the day off by watching Carolina beat ODU. They are playing in Vegas but I couldn't find another Carolina Fan who would commit themselves to making the trip with me. And then tonight, I'm off to the symphony with Steph. My art director Jessica finagled some free tickets for me.

Yes, once again, I have much to be thankful for.

My Lying Ears

I heard a most extraordinary thing this evening.

Many of us are here at the agency working late. Big presentation tomorrow to one of our clients and we're presenting two different brand books. One for each of their brands. As a part of that one of our senior production people, Dennis, is here making sure the printer plays nice and that the books are put together properly. Earlier in the day we had sung Happy Birthday and presented this man with an ice cream cake.

So around 8:30 as we're eating dinner, my boss (amazing bit one, he's with us) walks up to Dennis and says, "You're still here? Why are you still here, it's your birthday." (Amazing bit two.) And then follows that up with, "Make sure you take the day off tomorrow and celebrate your birthday." (Amazing bit three.)

What the hell kind of advertising agency is this?

Perma-cloud

Winter has set in. I was warned there would be 40 days of rain and yet I have built no Arc. And by that I mean, I have not bought a winter coat. Apparently, San Francisco winters are much like Seattle's every day. Rain, drizzle, rain, fog, and repeat. It seems there's a cloud that comes to hibernate over the city from now through January. Supposedly there are some nice days in there when the sun manages to beat the fog back. As for me, its kind of a welcome change. I mean the city can't really be this perfect all the time can it?

I had a bit of a Winston-Salem reunion last night. I went to go see a DJ named Rick Preston. I'd met him through Cory Allison and Jason Cooper, the only DJs spinning house in Winston. Rick would sometimes do a guest appearance. An appearance that would fill my house batteries for many months. It seems here, I can get my fix whenever I please. With some rather top shelf talent to boot.

So now I'm procrastinating. In my head, I'm scheduled to be writing TV scripts for Infineon Raceway. Instead, I find myself here. With you good readers. Thanks for the break.

Parents Weekend

The padres came into town this weekend. Partially on business and mostly to see your truly. I'm so thankful to have them here to visit. I was able to show them bits and pieces that hopefully whet their appetite for the next return trip.

I felt a bit bad for John as he had a client in town and had to make sure said client was well tended to. He did a fine job. And if that's the excuse that gets them out here on the regular, I'm all for it.

I was tasked with finding eateries for three nights. And if I do say so, I did a fine job. Three restaurants, three fine meals. I even got John into a vegetarian restaurant for lunch on Sunday. A lunch which he actually enjoyed. The enjoyment level was a surprise. Especially to John.

So as my parents are the two people actually reading this blog, thanks for coming. I love you truly and appreciate your taking the adventure. I hope you were able to get a glimpse of how truly special my circle of friends is becoming, how blessed I am to have the job I have at an agency I believe in, how amazing this city is and how much fun I'm having.

I miss my family terribly. I hope they move out here soon.

It was only a matter of time

I just couldn't help myself. I'm a copycat. I'm a follower. I'm a sheep. I'm a loyal tither in the church of Steve Jobs and I just can't help myself.

My Art Director got an iPhone on Friday. By Saturday afternoon, I found myself at the Apple store. I have one. I love my newly dubbed ePhone more than any other phone I have ever used. I will not lose sight of the fact that the phone is an object. Not nearly as important as people. Merely a thing. But a damn cool, unfreaking believably useful object of my affection.