Who took the Christ out of Christmas?

So it's Christmas Eve and I'm in an Idaho blizzard right now. I tried to go get one final present for Kim, but after fighting traffic in this snow I turned right around and came back. This will definitely be a white Christmas.

Christmas is an interesting time of year. There are numerous traditions we all love to follow. But at the same time, unless those traditions help us remember the true meaning of Christmas, I wonder how important they really are. It is so easy to get caught up in the gift giving and receiving. I, for one, love receiving gifts from others. I wish, however, I was better at remembering what this season is all about. I struggle with keeping the 'True Meaning of Christmas' top of mind. Leave it to this very imperfect society to turn the birth of Christ into a time of year when we all shop, spend and eat beyond our limits.

I need to talk to Kim about this (and I know this is cliche) but I would like to start traditions in my own little family that are more centered around Christ, his birth, and service. I feel like I need to do this more for me than for Kim and Mason so hopefully she'll humor me on this one. Kim is so Christlike that I don't think she ever needs a reminder about what this season is about.

I know of one person that reads this blog (Marianne) but hopefully as my readership grows the rest of you can give some ideas. Marianne, do you guys have any traditions like this? I want to do stuff like feed the homeless, give to charity and serve some of our neighbors that may be less fortunate. What about traditions that you can do throughout the holiday season to give us a reality check put Christ back into Christmas? Any ideas y'all have would be great.

Merry CHRISTmas!!

I took the job

Cicero wrote 'We must not say every mistake is a foolish one'.

I'm of course hoping this decision was not a mistake, but if down the road I find out it was I hope I can say it wasn't a foolish one. About 2 months ago I got an email from the VP of Client Services at Rastar www.rastar.com. I am familiar with Rastar because there have been times when I would join my clients at Rastar's print shop to do press checks for their direct mail creative. At the time I thought they only did print production. For example, Sundance hired them to print the 100+ page brochure they sold at the Sundance Film Festival. Anyway, it turns out that they now have a division that is similar to Datamark's client services division. Their clientele is different but it's the same type of marketing and advertising. The email said that they would like to interview me for a position. Something like this has never happened to me so I was a little taken aback. 'Where are the cameras' right? Who's punking me? I wrote back and found out that it was legit. Julie, from Rastar, saw my resume on Monster.com and asked me to interview for the position. The following Thursday I interviewed, the next day I interviewed again and then was told to wait until they were able to figure out some HR issues. For the following 2 months Julie and I traded emails. I didn't want this opportunity to pass me by so I wrote her about every week. Finally, Julie said that she would like to interview me again and the following day they offered me the job.

This has been one of the hardest decision I've ever had to make. Datamark wasn't always the best place to work but over the past 8 months things have changed. My supervisor is truly looking out for my best interests and he has found ways to give me more responsibility to prove my worth. Datamark is moving in a better direction and doing what they can to make it a better place to work. I gotta say, they are trying, but if they don't start increasing salaries more people will be lured away like I was.

In a way I feel like I'm betraying my supervisor but hopefully he understands why I'm doing this. So far I feel like this is the right decision, but only time will tell.

Oh Crap, I Grew Up!!!

I saw a Monster.com advertisement today that cracked me up. It made it through the Marketing and Advertising industry pretty fast, and once you see it you'll know why. The expression 'It's funny because it's true' has never been more accurate. (Warning this is PG-13)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaoIsPZAgck

It got me thinking about the things we want when we are kids. As children we usually put our rose colored glasses on when we see adults doing what they do. Dad would leave for work every morning with his fancy suit on in a nice shiny car off to this magical place called work. I wanted to be just like him, doing what he did. Little did I know that Dad liked what he did, but it was still work. And it was hard work. Mom 'got to' go shopping and buy us clothes and play with kids in her preschool and there was nothing wrong with the world. Mom, of course, was always happy but it wasn't the dream world I saw as a kid.

I know I grew up in a very blessed situation and never really saw the 'real world' but most kids don't see or experience the real world no matter what situation they grow up in. Many less fortunate children growing up in the slums of the world make due with what they have and have fun doing what they do. I guess it is better that way. If we really knew how things were going to work out, like the kids in this ad, I think we would lose all ambition and desire.

Now I'm in advertising, and once again I can't wait until I'm in the position my Dad is in. Retired, living in a new, paid for home, and loving every minute of it. At least that's what it looks like through these rose colored glasses I'm wearing.