musings of Mother Hood

Monday March 26, 2007

So I had the best Fun Friday activity EVER and no one was around because of Spring Break! Which is probably for the best considering what I posted was probably illegal and against at least one confidentiality agreement... Anyway, it's gone now -- so if you missed it I apologize.

My latest irritation -- and it's a small one. These commercials that start out describing this luscious meal of salmon in a "delicate sauce" served with greens and yada yada. And then they carry the plate out of the kitchen and give it to a cat! It grosses me out. They get a shot of the cat chomping on the food with it's big fat face and they're careful to get the sound just right so you feel like you're right there... sharing your delicate salmon with a big white cat. It's a total turn-off. "Restaurant Inspired Food for Cats." Phooey.

Just had to get that out.

Friday March 23, 2007

(Sent on behalf of Britt Nevetsky, Account Director, Saatchi & Saatchi X New York)
 
Everyone at Saatchi & Saatchi X, we could sure use your help!

Wendy's is launching their new "Blended Frosty" product and we need your help giving it a name.  Following are some product details and naming parameters for your review.  Your naming suggestions, no matter how descriptive, suggestive or abstract are very welcome.  Let your imagination go wild.  Please feel free to include a rationale for the names provided.

Respond to this email with names by noon today (Friday, 3/23).  If the client chooses your name, you could win a $25 Wendy's Gift Card and enjoy a Wendy's Frosty on us!  
We appreciate your help.

The Product:

• Choice of Vanilla and Chocolate Frosty
• Blended with Oreos, Butterfinger or M&Ms
• Frosty point of difference: The quality, great taste and creamy texture of the Frosty loaded with candy (more than the competition).

The Competition:

• McDonald's McFlurry
• Dairy Queen Blizzard (considered premium in the category)

Naming Parameters:

• The name should include the brand name Frosty
• Names can fit into one of the following category buckets (or feel free to create your own bucket)
  • Blended
  • Cold
  • Weather
  • Candy
  • Fun

Thank you!
Britt Nevetsky

Friday March 23, 2007

Ding.

Thursday March 22, 2007

Dear Readers,

 

I feel the need to post a retraction to my post dated March 21, 2007 - 9:08am. My intention was not to incite a riot, but rather to take advantage of a seemingly appropriate opportunity to quote Seinfeld.

 

Though I am rarely an expert on subjects I attempt to tackle in this space, I do know my Seinfeld. I do not, however, allege even the slightest level of expertise in the fields of meteorology or astrology.

 

I made the fatal mistake of trusting pop culture to provide truth—though I also used context clues such as the calendar at my desk (compliments of Procter & Gamble). After what history will no doubt refer to as “The Great Debate”, I decided that I owe you – dear readers – the truth. So I have gathered several sources with varying degrees of bias. I am in no way attempting to present certainties – rather to provide you the tools necessary to draw your own conclusions. Here goes.

 

• Source #1 Wikipedia: “In astrology, March 21 is regarded as the first full day of the sign of Aries. It is also the first day of the astrological year; International Astrology Day is also often celebrated on this day, though it is celebrated depending on the exact day that the Equinox actually occurs (varies year to year between March 20-21, though it usually falls on March 21).”
•  Source #2 Space.com: “Avid "Seinfeld" fans might remember the episode when Jerry’s friend, George, was desperately trying to find a way to postpone his impending Christmastime wedding with his fiancée, Susan. He finally comes up with a solution: "Have the wedding on March 21 – the first day of spring!" Unfortunately, if George had gone through with the nuptials (and Seinfeld aficionados know why he never did), he would have been a full day late. You see, in America, spring no longer falls on March 21. In 2005, for instance, the vernal equinox, the first day of spring for the Northern Hemisphere, comes on Sunday, March 20 at 12:33 GMT, or 7:33 a.m. EST (4:33 a.m. PST).”
• Source #3 www.xanga.com/Springmore: This site belongs to my Xanga-Friend and fellow blogger- Spring. After considering this issue from several angles, I realized that perhaps the most natural way to settle it may simply have been to ask Spring – whose birthday happens to fall on March 20.

 

I encourage you to visit these fine cyber-destinations and find what information you crave. I officially remove myself from this, “The Great Debate” and wish you the best in your quest for the truth.

 

                                                                                    Yours, Sarah

 

It never fails. The posts I think about for less than 2 seconds, those that are little more than throw-away nonsense – those are the posts that trigger oodles of comments and gads of attention. The posts of which I am most proud, those that showcase what minor literary talent I have and contain (what I consider) potential for real discussion ----- Crickets.

Wednesday March 21, 2007

Possibly the most effective advertisement I've ever seen --

Wednesday March 21, 2007

George: All right! All right. I'll tell you what. How about this? Got the date; March 21st, the first day of spring.
Jerry: Spring. Of course.
George: Huh? You know? Spring. Rejuvenation. Rebirth. Everything's blooming. All that crap.
Jerry: Beautiful.

 

Who's Benito Juarez? And why is he on my calendar - crowding out "Spring Begins"?

 

Tuesday March 20, 2007

I'm what you might call an aggressive driver. Well more accurately, a passive aggressive driver -- can you be a passive aggressive driver? I'm all bark and no bite. I'm the impatient person behind you at a GREEN light who honks when you sit there too long. But I would without a doubt cower and run if you stood up to me.

Here's the thing. I am able to recognize the difference between driving decisions that are judgment calls and those that are unforgivable stupidity. For example, I have [slightly] more patience for drivers who make poor merging decisions or those who go [what I consider] too slow in the "fast" lane. These are judgment calls -- and who am I to judge? However, there are some things that are not negotiable. Examples of these types of things: stopping at green lights, stopping at YIELD signs, and not using turn signals. There are others.

I am not a perfect driver. I'm not even what most people would consider a good driver. I do things like drive too fast over speed bumps and run my car out of gas -- yes, that has actually happened. But I know the difference between green lights and red lights.

While I'm up here- I think that there should be regional versions of Drivers' Ed. For example, everyone I know who has completed Drivers' Education has been tested on parallel parking. Why? How many of you use parallel parking skills on a regular basis? Correctly?? That's what I thought. I, personally, know how to parallel park and if given the option - will choose not to - EVERY time. In the void left by parallel parking, the Drivers' Ed curriculum should focus on Merging Skills. Now this is something everyone uses daily! This is all-inclusive: entering/exiting the freeway, utilizing Yield signs correctly, etc. It is my personal opinion that knowing how to merge is much more universally useful than parallel parking. There can be Urban versions of Drivers' Ed that include parallel parking - but I think that's even unnecessary. Soon there will be parking lots and parking decks as far as the eye can see. Parallel parking will go the way of the typewriter and the cassette tape.

In other news: I am reading the most bizarrely captivating book -- Running With Scissors. It is a memoir of the wackiest, most non-standard childhood a person can imagine -- which I think fascinates me so much because it's as far from my life as humanly possible. I am aware that it was made into a film last year -- and I can't WAIT till I finish the book so I can watch it -- and I know that Annette Bening plays the nut-job mom so as I'm reading the book I hear her voice and it's perfect! I love her and she makes such a GOOD nut-job -- think American Beauty. I wish I had more time to read -- and I should be done in the next few days. I am abnormally anxious to know how he wraps up the story.

Monday March 19, 2007

I had such a pleasant weekend. Saturday, I went to the 2007 Fort Smith Southside Forensics Olympiad – and had the best time. I was able to catch up with an old friend and revisit some favorite memories.

 

As I drove up to the school, I was overcome by a feeling of familiarity. I walked into the building and was comforted by the cliché that “some things never change”. I wasn’t scheduled to judge right away, so I roamed up and down the halls. There were students pacing – black notebooks in-hand – silently mouthing words in rehearsal for a round, partners preparing an improv scene in the stairwell, and random outbursts of showtunes. I found Balgavy – pen behind her ear, Starbucks in-hand, carrying a Harvard portfolio and upset-stomach medicine for one of her JV kids. 

 

We sat in the coaches lounge or the cafeteria between rounds of judging and chatted about family, friends, school, work – everything. And we talked about how, in a world in which “communication” now conjures thoughts of text messaging and Myspace – it was truly a treat to get to sit down with an old friend and talk.

 

It was also heartening to discover that the program I was a part of during high school – has not changed much. They have new facilities and twice as many students and new coaches – but the same person who taught me important lessons in poise, confidence and accountability – is still there. I loved meeting her students and hearing them talk about rounds or rehearsing. I loved standing in the sea of people while breaks were posted – witnessing joy matched only by reunited families in airport terminals. It was such a great day and I hope it’s not another 7 years before I get to go back.

 

Enough mush. J Saturday night was, of course, St. Patrick’s Day (Lonette – I thought of you ALL day!). We gathered the posse and hit Jose’s patio for some green beer and jig-dancing --

 

 

And though it looks like I was not in the spirit - I was wearing green pants!

 

Sunday was spent at the doctor's office for an ulcer in my eye... and now I have to wear glasses all week and put milky drops in my eyes every few hours for the next 7 days. Stupid contacts.

Friday March 16, 2007

   

So I'm back to Jazzercise - with a vengeance. Some of you are laughing right now - and there are those of you who scoff at Jazz. I am here to tell you that it is not for the faint of heart. I have gone to 5 classes in the last 6 days -- 1 of them being a new "Personal Touch" class that I will be referring to as Jazz Boot Camp. It's a 6-week class I've joined, in addition to my regular classes, that focuses on weight/strength training and toning-- no aerobics. Basically, my body has been in constant pain since my first class Wednesday night. Mostly my muscles are in shock, and probably confused that after 24 years of being ignored - they are suddenly called-upon to do their jobs. The first week of boot camp involved weighing and measuring -- stuff that regular Jazz does not bother you about. It's serious. Stay tuned.

Amanda and Bob Saget both played a role in the plans I now have for the weekend. Last week, I mused about getting to watch an AFV marathon and Amanda made the comment that my reminiscing sounded like it belonged in a Readers Theatre. It got me thinking that I wouldn't mind watching some RT and I emailed my high school drama coach with, "I know the tournament season is nearly over, but if there are any NWA tourneys left in the semester - let me know!" So a whole 5 minutes went by before she sent back a note saying, "OH MY GOD SARAH! We have FS Southside this weekend - are you available to judge?!" So... now I'm scheduled to report at the Coaches' Lounge at 8:00am Saturday. I'm pretty excited - and I was telling Jeff about it last night. He was asking me about the tournaments themselves, how they're structured, yada yada. I was telling him about it, lulling him to sleep, and he likened us to the weird kids who play Dungeons and Dragons! He called me a nerd! He's pretty dead-on, actually, so I didn't fight it too hard... Either way, I'm sure I'll have some good Drama Kid stories after my blast-from-the-past Saturday adventure tomorrow.

Mom: "The Chair" was on the radio this morning on the way to work!

Wednesday March 14, 2007

A little over a year ago – at my first SSX company meeting – senior leadership led a short exercise that means more to me now than it ever could have then. They asked us to assign ourselves “one-word equity”. This is harder than it sounds. Let me back up and give you the context in which we use the word “equity” around here.

 

Equity is a somewhat all-encompassing idea of identity. Every brand, every product – has equity. It includes any logos, colors, fonts, images, styles, etc. For example – John Deere green. It’s not just green. It’s John Deere green – and everyone knows what color that is. Every brand I work with has a feel, or style. Work that we do feels like Pampers, or it doesn’t. Brands are very deliberate about colors, images and tone that they use in advertising. On my team, I have writers and designers who “know the equity” of my brands – they’re familiar with them, they recognize when something is “off equity”.  

 

So the task: assign yourself one-word equity. Is the word you give yourself different from the word your friends and family would propose? Probably. The idea is to be deliberate in the way you present yourself – that your equity should be protected as a brand protects its assets.

 

I have thought about this a little lately. Should your personal equity change over time? Or should it be more consistent? Should you represent something you are – or what you aspire to be?

 

Thoughts?

 

(I can hear the heckling now – as this is not my usual dramatic rant. Be kind.)