In response to the news that I am going to be living with two girls:

Big Rob: just dont dip into the gumdrop valley without a suger proof raincoat :-D

Take it as you will, but it has surpassed "taking a ride on the pink lincoln" as my all-time favorite euphemism. And I will be saying it as much as possible.

Tonight's the Night

SET YOUR VCRS & TIVOS

Record setting Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings is going down for the count tonight. Not since, "Down goes Frazier!" has the call for defeat been so highly anticipated. What happens to the KJ? A blaze of glory or a horrific flameout? What whiz kid David knocks out the genius Goliath? Tune in and find out.

What's Hot?

Unlike a lot of people that I know, I am not ashamed to admit that I'm looking forward to watching VH1’s Big in 2004. It’s ok because 1) I’m a slave to all things pop culture and 2) I can justify how it is essential viewing for anyone making a living in the field I do.

About a month ago I attended an Ad Club forum entitled Trends: A-Z. The seminar, presented by Topic 101, was a forecast of the trends that marketers and communicators are envisioning for the ensuing years. A little background info: Topic 101 is a market research company that focuses on students and their opinions on a variety of products and entertainment issues. Topic 101 claims that, unlike MTV, they do not chase (create) culture, but merely want to understand it. Marketers value this information because the 18-25 year old demographic is the holy grail of branding, assuming that product adoption at age 20 will lead to 60 years of brand loyalty.


Trends: A-Z:
A= Atari
B= Blogs
C= Celebrity
D= Dinosaur
E= Environment
F= Fat
G= Gaming
H= Hand-Crafted
I= Individualize
J= Jet Plane
K= Killers
L= La-Z-Boy
M= Male Magazines
N= Nesting
O= Obsolete
P= Plastic Surgery
Q= Queer
R= Retail
S= Safety
T= Toyota
U= Unknown
V= Vote
W= World
X= X-Rated
Y= Youth
Z= Zen


Quite an interesting list. And like most lists of this nature, I am sure much debate will ensue. Personally I feel that the trend with the most long-term impact is the call to Individualize. From Apple’s iPod to the Toyota Scion. From the way that Blogs have changed the media to the popularity of the home improvement channel DIY. From the way people have adapted religion to suit their own lifestyle to the advancements of cell phone technology, due to the desire for instantaneous pornography.

America is becoming an on-demand society and those companies that can meet this call, or more likely give the appearance of meeting this call, will thrive. Maybe Burger King had it right all along. “Have it your way” indeed.

Turducken (A Chicken in a Duck in a Turkey)

I am thankful for spending time with my family and having so many great people in my life. I am also thankful for: getting out of work early, having a really awesome car to drive around in, having had Kelly give me courtside seats to the C's game, having been able to live at home for free for the past year plus, having the balls to finally ask the cute architect out, having her say yes, going to Vegas in January to see my boys, living with two really cool/cute chicks in the ensuing month, having lived in the past with two really cool/cute chicks in the past, generally living a happy life and all the other great things that I haven't mentioned. Oh yes and the Red Sox giving me the season of lifetime, during my lifetime.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, fixings and all.

It's a beautiful day...

Ever have one of those perfect nothing can go wrong days?

I totally nailed my interview today. I think I handled all the questions well and everyone seemed to really like my book. Lots of good feedback. That's such a good feeling. Of course nothing is guaranteed till I hear the final word, but I feel really confident. It's out of my hands now.

Is Christmas already upon us? Ha it's not even Thanksgiving, but the holiday spirit is teaming. Downtown is really starting to have that feel. Macy's has started to put up their holiday window decorations. Heard my first Salvation Army Bell. Dunkin Donuts even started offering holiday lattes, Peppermint and White Raspberry. Yum.

I just saw David Ortiz! He was signing copies of the Red Sox World Series DVD at the Strawberries in Downtown Crossing. He is as big and loveable as he seems to be. I think he really would make a good Poppi.

My most recent theory regarding women: pursue that, which retreats, seems to be paying off. I've been playing it cool and she seems to be interested. At least things are back to the fun flirtations that were once part of my day. I was looking particularly sharp this morning, in my suit and stylish tie. It must have worked because shewas totally digging me. We discussed the finer points of architecture and its impact on pop culture. Not to mention the importance of stuffing for Thanksgiving. Intelligent, witty banter at its finest.

Two of my favorite things in the world: sports and advertising.

cranberry sauce

What are your feelings regarding cranberry sauce? Pro. Con. Fresh. Canned.

For me it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without that gelatinous orb of maroon jelly amongst the turkey and stuffing. Ocean Spray jellied is the only way to go. The indentions left by the can. The pop/slurp it makes coming out of the can. That is what I give thanks for.

Tis the cola

My plan this weekend is to find some of this and be a sloth.

I was supposed to post this a few days ago, but got distracted and hit Save as Draft as opposed to Publish Post:

I am going to be going on a blogging hiatus for the next few days. I am simply swamped with so much. For those who I have been talking to, or those reading my blog, you know the deal. So yeah real life decisions and deadlines beckon. Hopefully I'll have good news to share by the weekend. And no I am not going to be a daddy for anyone who thought that.

God, I just want it to be Thanksgiving. A tryptophan-induced hangover would be wonderful right now.

But yes the heavy workload is finally done, at 4 AM this morning no less. The apartment hunt/decision is over (more on this later). And now the weekend is upon us.

Checking out the Celtics game tonight, some comps from work. Hot. I'm pretty excited. I haven't been to a C's game in quite some time. They are playing the Spurs so on paper it looks like a potential L, but whenever you have a team full of high school kids things are bound to be interesting.

Thoughts from the past few days:

• SURPISE-Happy Birthday Krissy! Had a lot of fun at Vox last night. I'm really glad that we're hanging out again. Besides being a rad girl you have done wonders for my ability to network, both within the industry and meeting cool people in Boston.
• Big props to Samir who scored himself a date. Been living vicariously through him of late, counseling and playing virtual wingman. He's a sweetheart and a stud; more chicks need to dig him. Hope the date went well and he got to 2nd-base. UPDATE: Just got a text message from him saying he's smitten. Well he didn't say he was smitten, but that's what he meant.
• I think I wasted a lot of money on a T pass this month. I've driven to work at least six times and with the Thanksgiving holiday coming up that's more days of not commuting.
• Free cinnamon rolls!!
  

I love posturing. Especially from girls or my overpriced baseball heros. Come on Pedro, they already offered you Schilling money.

But it's OK because the Red Sox won the World Series.

In Theo we trust.

in a nutshell

I am "Dizzy and Giddy"

What Japanese Smiley Are You?

I am a Snarky Blogger!

You've got a razor sharp wit that bloggers are secretly scared of. And that's why they read your posts as often as they can!

What kind of blogger are you?

I am a New School Democrat

You like partying and politics - and are likely to be young and affluent. You're less religious, traditional, and uptight than most Democrats. Smoking pot, homosexuality, and gambling are all okay in your book. You prefer that the government help people take care of themselves.

What political persuasion are you?

First snow of the season yesterday and I missed it. I was in Maine for the night and it proved to be as dry as a bone. Funny, but I always imagined Maine to be an arctic outpost similar to Siberia in terms of climate and metropolitan area. Surprisingly there were a few things to do that did not involve ice fishing or snowshoeing. I even happened upon a decent Tex Mex joint.

Driving back this morning, passing exit 4 to Portsmouth, NH... bums.

Epic Chinese buffet with the family at the Mandarin. God, we sure can eat a lot.

Why am I up this late if I am not working on writing the NOLS guide? I used to think that I learned my lesson about procrastination. It was second semester senior year and there was about 3 weeks left before graduation. My final paper on McDonald's being the downfall of Western Civilization for Verret was done. I had to miss the Goriallz Avalon to finish it, but that's what happens when you wait till the last minute. Granted it took me 3.98 years of college to figure that fact out, but I did. Or so I thought I did. Tomorrow... it's going to be done because it needs to be.

Everyone I know is working today, but the funny thing is they think they are the only ones working. I'm working as well, but the office is closed tomorrow instead. So three-day weekend here I come. HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY I will be taking advantage of the time off to visit a friend up in Maine. I don't even know where she lives exactly but I know it is going to be cold. Weather.com says the nightly temperature will be hovering around a frigid 20 degrees. Time to get the artic-wear and flannel pj's ready.

Good news on the career front. I don't want to jinx anything but I have a few things lined up. Things are heating up. HOT: like Laura Prepon on the cover of this month's Maxim hot! Not to mention the copywriting I'm doing at work now. I got a busy weekend ahead of me, but yeah this is fun.

On a side note, I wish someone in the office had a daughter that was in Girl Scouts. I have a mad hankering for some Thin Mints right about now.

Head case

So my entire life I have been living a sham. I bought into it because my friends, the people I trusted and loved the most told me it was true. But they were wrong... and I feel so vindicated.

For the longest time I was convinced that I had a huge head. My melon was gargantuan. An orange on a toothpick if you will. But you know what, my head isn't that big. In fact compared to my good friends, my head is downright tiny. Well maybe not that far but still.

I have recently bought my first fitted baseball hat and this revelation was amazing. I don't have an exceptionally large head. 7 3/8 perfectly normal. I didn't have to special order my hat from some sort of Big and Tall store. Frank's dome piece is even slightly bigger than mine. Samir and Ben, negligible. Now Matt on the other hand... I love the big lug.

My one remaining caveat is the fact that my head is so completely, utterly round (and my ongoing battle with growing my hair out). That is why it is impossible for me to wear hats and most other forms of headwear without looking silly. But I still fight through it because as a guy, I wear hats on occasion. And I still consider my inability to wear a baseball hat for longer than 45 minutes at a time the sole reason my career as a Major League Baseball player never materialized. Another large hang-up I have is the fact that I cannot wear any kind of winter cap without looking like a phallus. Granted I live in New England and it is downright frigid 6 months out of the year, but I can deal.

Does my head block out the sun? No. Does it in fact look like a chili bowl? Yes, but I can take pride in my average size head.

Here's to the three-day work week!

Monday off for doctor appointments. And Friday off for Veteran's Day, actually Thursday, but moved for good reason.

california...

Good buddy Matt agrees: hey, this OC show isn't half bad

Here's my chance

So my boat has finally come in or at least set dock in my port. After six plus months toiling at work they are finally giving me a shot to do some copywriting. FINALLY. This is what I've been waiting for. This is what I want. This is what I went to university for and this is what I want to do... I think.

This opportunity is pretty funny because I just had my six-month review and let's just say it went less than stellar. Don't worry I am still gainfully employed, but there wasn't the promotion/raise that I received at my three-month one. After talking/thinking/hashing things over I guess it was what I expected. Things have been become rather monotonous at work of late. There are a myriad of reasons for that I suppose: six-months is a long time, office politics blow, kissing-up gets you everywhere (loathe), managers (grr) and I don't think my mind could regress anymore, no matter how many reports I come across. But that is old news and this is my chance to really show them what I'm made of.

"Alright rook let's see what you got?"

You know what I'm going to be writing about? NOLS , the National Outdoor Leadership School. Yup, that's right: some sort of outdoor adventure leadership extravaganza. Because when people think of Michael J. Quan, outdoorsman jumps right out at them. I admit I'm not much of the outdoorsy guy. Never have, never will be. Not that I don't wish I could be more in touch with nature, but unless it has running hot water and electricity it's not for me.

In fact when I was dating Katie I always pressed to go camping with her. But she knew I wouldn't enjoy it and in hindsight, it was probably for the best. Krissy (rutabaga)'s dad was a Scout Master so she was woodsy from the start. But she was sweet and let me pretend I knew what I was doing. Being the perfect boyfriend that I am, I insisted on rowing the canoe while we were in the lake. Of course the fact that I freaked out when we drifted into some lily pads and we couldn't get out didn't help things. What about the time I went snowshoeing with Alice? That was fun, but it's because neither one of us knew how to ski. Lauren and I went up to New Hampshire once to watch the leaves change colors. Now that's what I'm talking about. And the best part of that was stopping at Fudrucker's on the way back. Mmmm... yumminess.

In fact, all my remotely outdoor adventures have been with girlfriends and who was I kidding, sleeping bag nooky was the main reason. So I am going to call upon my extensive experience of "roughing it", write my ass off and see how things go. Talent, don't fail me now.

Do it!

It's not Vote or Die, but vote or don't complian about it!