two steps forward

This morning brought a second good meeting with an area shop. But more on that later.

Yesterday, I met with JE (I'm withholding people's names for sake of privacy). the meeting went well. JE had an agency in Memphis for years. Much like my career, the economic turmoil ran his small agency through the ringer, and like Luca Brasi, it sleeps with the fishes (that's right, another Godfather reference). But it hasn't stopped JE. He's created a company that pulls together talent to work on specific projects for companies. Kind of like a freelance consortium. Kinda cool.

So yesterday's meeting has led to another meeting this afternoon with a big name brand about a project. Score! Gotta feel good about that. Anyway, JE and I have some similar thoughts about the industry locally and overall. We'll see where that all leads.

As for this morning, I met with a 3+ year-old design-focused firm. They seem poised for some growth from what I could gather. And any kind of growth now is good. Do they need a fulltime writer? No presently. But they do have some project work lined up. Projects that I may be a part of. Maybe another score. We'll see.

Well, I have to do some research before today's client phone call.

But before I go, I have to say, What about Josh Beckett yesterday? Nasty. Seven strong innings with 10 k's. Looking tough! And we have Lester going tonight. Lots of confidence in that stud lefty.

I'm out of here. Have a good y'all.

Week two

Well, it's the start of week two. 

I knew from the get-go that I was going to wait one week after my honeymoon before I started looking for work again. Who knew that the one week would blow as much as it did. My psyche has never been lower. 

After leaving my last job, I was full of optimism. If they didn't want me, someone out there did. I was going to find them and do the job I know I'm capable of doing. But after a week of cleaning and organizing my new home, running errands for my wife, and cooking breakfast and dinner for her before she leaves and comes home, I just wonder. Especially since my home is not even close to being organized. I need the kind coffee Michael Keaton drank in the second half of Mr. Mom to whip this place into shape, to relieve Kenny from his unhealthy, crack-like dependence on his Woobie, and to get back into shape again. 

I need a good bit of luck. And it may happen this week. I have two meetings with agencies here. One tomorrow and one on Wednesday. Not for full-time work. Heck, maybe not even for freelance. Just a meet and greet. With a possibility? 

Having moved from Atlanta to Memphis, my market has shrunk. Not that there aren't agencies in town. They're just smaller. Having worked here before, I know there's not too much movement from one agency to another. So finding my space has become harder. 

Maybe I need to create my own space. My own place. Necessity is the mother of invention, they say. We'll see if that's true. 

Nonetheless, even if the two meetings lead to nothing, I'm still playing the game. And that's important. Keeping my mind where it needs to be before it turns into a slimy goo that seeps from my ears.

Also, Betty and I received a new 35mm camera as a wedding gift. She thinks it's for all the concerts she goes to. Silly girl. I'm going wrap my meaty paws around that thing and shoot again. 

Anything to keep the brain occupied on creative endeavors. Even this blog. Though I'm not spouting anything that hasn't been said before by many talking heads, it's still a cathartic exercise.

Well, I'm off to clean the garage. My stuff is piled up in there, and Betty wants to be able to park in there again.

Also, the Sox open up today at 2pm. Opening Day at Fenway. Nothing more beautiful than that. Go Sox!

peace.

Coming up with the idea of this blog seemed so simple. One of those, "Well, duh." moments. Why hadn't anyone else thought of doing a video blog? I'm gonna be the first! 

Well, maybe not the first. Some dude in Uzbekistan may have a video blog. But is his about the trials of being laid off in the worst economy since my grandfather was a teen? And the subsequent, daily trials of trying to secure gainful employment in the advertising business? I think not. Our Uzbeky friend is probably blogging about this year's barley crop. To each his own.

So the idea was to film my last days at my former agency. You see, I was told in October that I was being laid off at the end of the year. How nice, right? It gave me time to get my files in order, contact all my friends, my friend's friends, and complete strangers to tell them that I'm soon to be a free agent. This blog was going to help to that end. I was going to capture everything I could think of. Phone calls with leads, meetings with prospective employers, random thoughts throughout the day, and most definitely my last day at work. 

I got the okay from HR to film my last day. So I borrowed a video camera from my, now, sister-in-law (I recently got hitched to a beautiful girl from Memphis). On the last day at work, the creative department was quite empty – end of the year and all. So I shot myself packing up my work space. I had my former partner, Lisa help me shoot this one scene of me pulling a dolly down a long hallway (would have been a good time-lapse scene, I thought). She continued to follow me as I wheeled my belongings to my car. Sure, we captured a shot of me outside of the office building, looking up to the 15th floor, then giving it the requisite bird. But the coup de grace was my exit interview. Yup. I was filming my exit interview.

Now you might think I was filled with anger. I wasn't. You see, This shit happens. I understand. Like Hyman Roth said to Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II, "This is the business we've chosen." Ok, so no one is getting whacked, here. We're only getting laid off. But sometimes, it kinda feels the same. Not that I know what getting whacked feels like. I'm sure it hurts a little bit more physically. 

Now I'm not a technophile by any means. I assumed my sister-in-laws camera would work. And it did, to some extent. It shot well. But when I tried to transfer the material to my computer, I couldn't figure it out. Upon reading the owner's manual, I found that it wasn't compatible with Macs! 

Awesome.

Now what?

Well, I would have bought a video camera. But knowing I was soon going to be unemployed, and being in the middle of planning a wedding, I thought the purchase was unwise. So I put my video blog on hold.

Shortly thereafter, I secured a freelance gig for a couple months leading up to my wedding in March. Only thing is, it was in Maine. I was in Atlanta at the time. But if you get to know me, I hate not working. So I packed up some things and drove to Maine. My blog would have to wait a little while longer. I was working again. 

For two months I braved temperatures ranging 3-33 degrees. It was tough. But invigorating. 

After two months, I moved back to Atlanta for 2 days. My fiancee was helping me pack my stuff, and I was moving back to Memphis. We got married that next weekend. Spent 6 days in Mexico. 

Now, I'm in her living room, writing thank you cards, organizing our presents, merging our belongings, donating things to Goodwill, planning a garage sale for bigger items (anyone want a sofa? Washer and dryer? Good price. Anyone?), and trying to cohabitate. I'm out of practice with the whole roommate thing.

Anyway, I thought this would be the best time to start up my blog. Seeing how I have some free time. So if you got through this verbose post, wow, you must be bored. But thank you. What do I plan for this space? I really don't know. Maybe some musings that are longer than the 140 characters Twitter allows me. Maybe I'll throw up some work I like. Maybe some work I don't. Could this blog morph into a critique site? Possibly. We'll just have to see, won't we. 

Thank you all.

Myself

I'm a freelance writer in the Memphis area. Worked in big ad agency environments, medium agency environments, and small agency environments. Unlike that single-minded tramp, Goldilocks, I can handle all three.
I'm married to a wonderful woman. I'm a consummate Boston Red Sox fan. But not one of those "new" Sox fans. I've suffered since the early 70's. I've been seen hacking it on the golf course. Scrabble is a nice, warm blanket. Thanks to my wife, the craziest thing I've ever eaten was chicken feet. No wait. pigs feet. I'm gonna draw the line right there.
Oh, and if you want to see some of the work I helped to produce, go here: dkmacdougall.com