Sunday Social II - Growing Up

Linking up with Neely at A Complete Waste of Makeup for Sunday Social! 

1. What was your first car?

I drove an red '92 Chevy Lumina Euro, which met a tragic end at the front end of a Jeep. I should probably blog about that wreck at some point. I don't have any pictures of it handy, but it looked about like this:

Yes, yes I did go hunt down a red one for accuracy.

2. Who was your favorite childhood teacher?

That would require me to remember my childhood teachers. I have a terrible memory when it comes to school, and most of the teachers I remember are those who were my least favorite. I did have one who told the class I was "a bad seed that is heading down the wrong path." Suck it, Mr. Seal!

3. Were you involved in any sports/extracurricular activities? Share pictures if you can!

Nope, I was definitely the awkward social outcast. This is different from today, when I'm just socially awkward.

4. What was your favorite birthday party?

I haven't had a birthday party; I usually just do a quiet birthday get-together with a few friends and then another with family. God, this Sunday Social has taken a tragic turn. #pityparty

5. Who was your teen celebrity crush?

Any guy my age who answers someone other than Tiffani Thiessen or Danielle Fishel is a damn liar. 

Btw, y'all, @DanielleFishel is actually an entertaining follow on Twitter. And she's tweeting about the Boy Meets World sequel Disney is making that way too many adults are excited about.

6. What show/movie did your parents not allow you to watch?

My dad actually let me watch most movies and TV shows. Which, in hindsight, was probably not the best idea. Predator stands out because that movie is amazing when you're 11. It scares the crap out of you and includes scenes like...

"GET TO DA CHOPPA!"

Assorted Nonsense IX - Pixar and Fantasy Football

Pixar artist Austin Madison has been doing a series of Fantasy Football pieces on his blog. I only put a few below and encourage you to check out the rest. Obviously a talented guy with a good sense of humor. And it's your civic duty to keep the folks at Pixar happy so they keep making amazing movies. Except Cars and Cars 2. Those sucked.

Star Wars and Fantasy Football? I'm in.

He expected the Spanish Inquisition! No one does that!

Easily my favorite: Buffalo Bills Cosby, Gates, Clinton and Murray.

At Work V - Ermagerd Bidness Kerds!

Happy Friday, y'all! After yesterday's somewhat sad post, I figured I would share something about which I'm unreasonably happy. I've been in the new role for three months but...BOOM:

Note the bottom-right. Mission accomplished.

For whatever reason, I've been putting off getting business cards. It's not a money thing - the company covers them - but more a priority thing. But now that I have a big sleeve of these, I'm pretty thrilled. Not Patrick Bateman thrilled, but y'know, happy nonetheless.

Not only do these help the new job sink in, you'll note that my Twitter account finding its way onto the card. This is a small victory.

A few years back, when I asked about adding my Twitter handle, my boss at the time gave me an emphatic No. Once he was ousted, I brought it up with the new boss, who gave me a less-emphatic-but-undeniably-clear no. When it came time for new cards this time, I repitched it and actually got it. So kids, let that be a lesson: make sure you're persistent and annoying on unimportant crap until someone finally caves because they got sick of hearing about it.

At Home VII - My Rut Rut

I have a rut problem.

I'm in a rut right now. I get up, go to work at 7:00 am, walk the dog at lunch, get home around 6:00 pm, walk the dog again, go the the gym, eat dinner, go to bed, repeat. There are variations in there - go out with friends, read, work late - but it's roughly the same.

But my rut isn't the problem. My rut problem is the problem. I get into ruts on a semi-regular basis; this is just my latest rut. I allow myself to get into a rut, then don't do a good job of getting out. I'm in a rut rut.

I'm not writing this post as a pity party - quite the opposite. Recognizing a problem - sounding it out - is how I most often begin resolving that problem. Plus I'm a big believer in some Jack Sparrow wisdom.

Not to be all Pinterest with the dude and quote, but...

I don't have a resolution to my rut rut quite yet - aside from "Stop it." - but I'm working on it and figured posting something would be good motivation.

Marketing V - Do the Dew

Not to keep harping on soft drink marketing, but I just saw a commercial on TNT for Diet Mtn Dew and had to share. The voiceover, verbatim:

"People keep telling me Diet Mtn Dew tastes awesome. And I'm like, 'What's awesome taste like?' So I tried it. Aaaand if I had to describe the taste of Diet Mtn Dew, I'd say it tastes...awesome. Yeah, it tastes that good."

And that's the ad. No more. No, seriously. Don't believe me? Look. Who wrote that? Did they crowdsource it to a local middle school? Or was the copywriter high and staring down an end-of-day deadline?

A quick search online shows BBDO as their agency of record. I'm not sure if this is one of theirs or if a competitor to Diet Mtn Dew has started airing ads to make mess with Diet Mtn Dew's branding. I know of someone who needs the help...

By the way, it almost killed me to write Mtn instead of Mountain. That's such a moronic decision. Bring back the old spelling. And bring back Do the Dew!