Tremendous Blondette

I’m breaking my rule; I’m writing about work.

Right, so it’s not the first time I’ve written something pertaining to my job or industry so let’s keep our cool. I do try to maintain this blog as a personal area, but my work is such a big part of my life (and sometimes it’s nearly my entire life) that it becomes unavoidable that I will write about it. Keep in mind my history in the industry, from intern to management with my primary focus and role being internet marketing.

Back to the point. As a growing agency, we often have the opportunity to interview for entry level positions. One of the questions we ask is “why do you want to work in advertising/marketing?” You can learn a lot about a candidate from their answer.

Here’s everything a job in Advertising and Marketing actually is and what they don’t expect:

1. Starting at the bottom and doing the shit work. Well, it’s doing anything and everything the people above you “delegate.” Be happy they are delegating because it’s how you learn.
2. A lot of hours. If you want to work 40 hour weeks you won’t be in the industry long. I work 50-70 hours per week. The 70 is extreme, but I’m usually working 55-60 hours a week.
3. It doesn’t stop on the weekends, in the evening, or well…ever. Clients will call you whenever they want. Your ads will run at times when you aren’t in the office. If you’re working in Internet Media, well, yeah, 24/7.
4. It’s not all about concepting and creativity. Sure, there are jobs and sections of the industry that focus on the “pretty”, but advertising is about strategy, research, and details. You’re reinforcing a brand image or trying to generate leads or influence opinion.
5. It’s not glamorous. At times you may wine and dine clients, but you’re still trying to keep up with your OTHER clients  and projects and everything that’s going on back at the office. You’re probably not getting much sleep either. Plus, you’re probably traveling.
6. Always changing. There’s always something new to learn and if you don’t do it fast enough, you stop making money.

Now, if you love a challenge, problem solving, dealing with people, generating results, and learning, well, then maybe you do want to work in Advertising and Marketing.

I’ve been using more social media sites and tools lately. In some circles I’m the expert but only because I am the only one trying to use the tools, but really, I’m just a fledgling. Sure, I have a blog and profiles and I use things on a daily and weekly basis, but am I using these social media tools to their full potential? Hell no, I’m not.

So, here’s what I think. Social Media is really Social ME-dia or a sharing of yourself daily. (get it, social + me + dia (day in spanish)) Gosh, I’m clever! But really, think about it- what is the shared purpose of Delicious, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc? It’s about sharing you- your passion, your knowledge, your life as it relates to each social site/tool and those with whom you are networked. It’s about who you are and what you got.

I’m currently watching/listening to Ramsey Mohsen’s presentation at the SMCKC meetup this week. It’s just reinforcing my belief that you just have to get out there and exist. I debate my focus- why would people know me? Well, because I’m open and honest about life.

I’m good at reading and researching and diving in, but I’m not great at the offline connections that can be vital to true social media/social networking success. I was recently accused of being an extrovert and laughed at in a meeting when I said “no, I’m an introvert.” I hold firm. I am an introvert. I can be outgoing, engaging, and dynamic, but I am most at home in my own head and I struggle with meeting new people in person. This is one of the reasons why I’m so uncomfortable attending conferences and meet ups. It’s the same as my party mentality; I’d rather be the hostess. With conferences and social events I’d rather be the presenter. Why?
1) People will know who I am without me having to individually mix and mingle
2) I get to prepare what I will say
3) People will be focused on me and I won’t have to try as hard to get attention
4) I know why I’m at the event
5) It feels good to share

And isn’t #5 what it’s all about?

New goal: complete posts when the emotion and impetus is fresh. Often times I start a post and edit it several times before I publish it (because I’m a perfectionist.)

Just a bit of earth. A teenage detective. A great man who falls victim to justice.

I’m in the backseat of my dad’s Chrysler New Yorker, the scent of coconut and cigarette smoke filling my nose, and I’m reading just about every Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Super Mystery ever written. I’m somewhere between 10 and 12 and we are driving from Eugene, Oregon to my oma’s (that’s grandma in German) house in Salinas, California. I remember a story where the super mystery solving teams are out camping and they catch the culprit based on her addiction to pink nail polish. I remember Nancy’s mustang and her attraction to Frank Hardy- so riskque considering her oh so special relationship with Ned. (for the record, I’d pick one of the Hardy Boys.)

I’m fifteen years old and switching schools for my sophomore year of high school. I’m in the advanced English class so of course we have summer reading and papers to write. I’m lazy but I like to read so I get through the books, but procrastinate writing my paper. (it was about Inspector Javier) I consider Les Miserables by Victor Hugo to be one of my favorite books. I get a C on my paper (which was proofed by my aunt, a college English teacher and deemed excellent) because I say things like “mankind” instead of “humankind.” Oh well, at least I got a good book out of the deal.

A love of words and books was fostered in me from birth by my mom and her family. It started with my mom reading Brier Rabbit (and doing the voices!), Cinderalla (it was one of my favorites), and A Little Princess and progressed into the all day reading binges of my formative years.

One of my favorite things to do is read a book. A nice, long book that overtakes an entire day. The feel, the smell, the words blurring together as I blink them into focus because I HAVE to know what happens next. Staying up until 3am to finish a book  without regret for the lost sleep is so rewarding.  So, why is it that I can’t seem to connect with any books I’m reading? Where is that thirst? That anxiety? Where is that physical, psychological and emotional connection to the written word?

Have I changed? Have I just been picking up the wrong books for the last 6 months?

When I was growing up I relied heavily on books for entertainment and fulfillment. Now, I am by no means fulfilled in life, so shouldn’t I still need books for that? Dammit, my tortured soul still needs to live vicariously though the imaginary lives of others!

1. drinking Ballerina tea
2. staying in bed an extra 10 minutes
3. eating a second piece of cake
4. saying I love you
5. staying up until 3am to finish a great book
6. adopting 2 kittens
7. being too honest on your blog
8. staying up late and getting up early on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day
9. wearing a little too much makeup (rawr!)
10. waking up early to get some work done
11. spending time on your hair and makeup
12. an extra bit of time on the treadmill
13. saying yes to a tight deadline
14. joining Weight Watchers (and sticking to it!) or counting calories
15. making lists
16. saving for a down payment on a house
17. not buying the iPhone even though you have the money because of #16
18. singing out loud
19. chair dancing

Readers! Oh dearest, loveliest readers!

I felt like being dramatic. Really, I just wanted to call to your attention a few changes/additions that I made today. In general, I’m pretty lazy with keeping up-to-date, so I tend to make a few changes all at once instead of one here and another there. So, what did I do?

1. Added a plugin that will allow you, my dearest, loveliest readers to share my wonderful words of wisdom and humor with others via several social media sites. You’ll see icons beneath each post- simply click on the icon and you can pimp my content to others.
2. I added a plugin that allows you to quickly access my profiles on several social media sites. This plugin displays in the right sidebar. It will also make sure you are getting the real me if ever you search. I have two main screennames on my social sites: Katedid and Trmndsblndtte. I’ve been moving away from the Katedid moniker, only because I like having the tie-in with my domain and screennames. Feel free to add me as a connection on any of the sites. I have other profiles, so let me know if I’m missing one you’d like to see and I’ll add it. These are just my current favorites and most used.
3. Behind the scenes, I added an SEO plugin. This just neat things for the Search Engines. I’m tired of results for my name being polluted by that wrestler girl.
4. And last, but not least, I added two new pages! Cast of Characters serves as a quick reference for the wonderful people who allow me to be part of their lives, and to write about them. Essays and Non-Fiction serves as a partner to my page of Short Stories and Fiction to showcase my days (and nights) as a creative writer.

Enjoy!

On my way to pick up a salad for lunch today, I started thinking about my slogan and tag line. Currently, it’s “a girl in sales and marketing” which is in tribute to the song-spiration for my domain name. But, I don’t actually blog post about sales or marketing. One could argue that of course I don’t need to blog post about sales and marketing because the blog is about me, the girl. The girl in sales and marketing. (and come on, I spend 12+ hours of my day on sales and marketing already)

Anyhow, it got me thinking, “to what would I change my slogan/tag line?” Here are a few of the ideas:

• Big, Beautiful and Blonde
• Making Blonde Smart
• Because Blonde is Awesome and So Am I (okay actually I just made this up because I couldn’t remember what I thought up earlier)
• Not all Blondes are Tiny
• The Life of Katie Leas
• Where Blonde Meets ___
• Geeking Up the Peroxide Factor
• The Dirty Side of Blonde

There were two that were actually good that I, of course, cannot remember. This is the problem with being creative while driving- you can’t write things down!

I decided to see if the Internet would help me with my quest- so I hunted down my two favorite time wasting sloganizers.

1. http://thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan.cgi?
2. http://www.sloganizer.net/en/

Here’s what they came up with:

• “Naughty, but Tremenous Blondette.” This came up a few times which is a bit frightening. I’m a reformed lady!
• “For the Tremendous Blondette You Don’t Yet Know.”
• “8 Out of 10 Owners who Expressed a Preference said Their Cats Preferred Tremendous Blondette.” Back to that cat lady thing.
• “Tremendous Blondette Unscripted.”
• “The Tremendous Blondette with the Hole.”  Is a comment really needed for this?
• “The Tremendous Blondette Goes Straight to Your Head.”
• “A Day Without Tremendous Blondette is a Day Without Sunshine.”  So true.

So, what are your suggestions?

Readers- how are you adding avatars to your comments???

I cannot for the life of me figure this out.

Assistance appreciated. (and I HATE asking for help)

First, the credit for the term “house porn” needs to be given to Amanda. Now that I’ve taken care of that detail, let’s get down to business.

I decided that I am ready to buy a house when my lease is up in October/November. I’ve been scoping realtor.com for the past few months, just searching and viewing (this is house porn) to see what the Kansas City area market is like. I know what I’m looking for in a home: 2+ bedrooms, a fireplace, non-galley style kitchen, hardwood floors, architectural details a bonus. What I’m learning through house porn is that what I want may not exist in my price range.

The other catch is the little issue of a down payment. I haven’t exactly saved anything yet. Yesterday during knitting, we tried to figure out how I can acquire some extra cash to add to my kitty. (hehe, I said kitty and wasn’t talking about cats!) I’m debating between running a 900 number and just being a hooker. According to the ladies, I can charge more than $5 per customer. I offered up my level of education and ability to converse on many topics and was promptly mocked. “they don’t want to talk.”

Okay, so, maybe prostitution is not the right answer for me. The real answer is plotting out income and all expenses (fixed and one time) for the next 7 months and determining how much I can put aside each month.

So, that’s my goal. I hate carpet, I want more space, and I have mold in my living room. I’ve researched moving to a different rental but I’m thinking if I’m going to commit to the increased costs and challenge of moving, I should just go for the gold. Right?

…I gave up booze and every day I am living a dual reality. I get up, go to work, come home. (Sometimes I go to the grocery store or Target on the way.) In one world, I’m bright, capable and in control. In the other world, I’m lonely and relearning how to live. My weaknesses and mistakes have lead me somewhere that I’m afraid to leave and in which I’m afraid to be trapped.

I’m still trying to figure out how to be this person and this is likely to be a topic for while yet (that’s my way of saying,
“get used to it–I figure things out through writing and guess where I write?”) There are some things that I can’t help thinking had to happen (bad things-things that make me hurt everyday-yay pain! oh wait, no, pain sucks), but I also have this Buffy-like hope that doing the right thing and making amends with the world will somehow set everything right again. And yes, I’m referring to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which I’ve been watching nearly every day on Hulu. I’m hoping her ass-kicking will help motivate me to get off of my ass. Wouldn’t it be great if I channeled all of my road rage and angsty “I’m so lonely, what have I done?” life-transition energy into something like working out? What a great idea!