home land security - my way

it’s a slow day today. they keep saying it’s supposed to pick up in the near future, so i shouldn’t be worrying this much. that’s easy for them to say – they’ve been here for a while. i happen to the fourth writer out of four, which pretty much means the chopping block is closer to me than to anyone else.

i don’t know.

this is my first job, so i’m a little paranoid. well, not really first job – that wonderful distinction goes to malibu grand prix – an evil place if there ever was one. so this is my first real job, in that i’m doing what i’ve wanted to do for a very long time.

except that i’m not. i am updating my blog because i have absolutely nothing else to do. i’ve asked all the creative directors, the other writers…even the interactive guys. nothing.

it’s probably my upbringing. my grandfather – now retired and in a state of constant intoxication – has an eighth grade education. his one job that put him and his family through depressions and economic downturns was the local coal mines. he put everything he had into the mines, including a partial finger and most of his left lung.

and his work ethic.

he pretty much delivered to my mother and uncle a frenetic desire to work insanely hard and deliver quality results every time. now, don’t get me wrong. this isn’t a bad thing at all. compared to the unmotivated, dimwitted people i was inevitably paired with for group projects in school, it’s wonderful to have people who are dedicated to creating a great product – annual reports, krispy kreme, or otherwise.

but from what i’ve seen in advertising thus far, is that the whole ‘hard work ethic’ thing really only amounts to a little piece of the pie. it seems that seniority is the overwhelming, dominant cause for having your name listed as “writer” on the project briefs. and i am okay with this. i understand it. in advertising, you have to pay your dues. very rarely are you working on full-color or tv right off the bat; you’re usually relegated to small newspaper and online buys.

believe me. right now, i’m begging for small newspaper and online stuff. my projects (all two of them) are awaiting client feedback, so i’m stuck in this weird void. projects are not coming in and my current stuff is on hold. not exactly the ideal situation for staving off my job secutiry paranoia.

so, that said, everyone says this is how the ad biz works and that i’ll be eating these very words in a couple weeks or so when business picks up for the end of the fiscal year.

unfortunately, they’ve been saying that for the last three weeks.