5.29.2008
Eek! I love today’s Daily from blogger Vic over at a fantastic Aussie blog, Lost. If you’re not familiar, you should be— she covers the BEST stuff! Thanks, Vic— it’s a pleasure to have you! :)
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6.30
I wake before my alarm. I’m such an early riser these days. I check my email, bloglines, and flickr from bed. I stumble across a few nice photography sites, bookmark some for later and blog quickly about another. Out of nowhere I have a small revelation about a project I’m working on and jot down a few ideas. I never used to be a morning person but now it’s when I work best. Yesterday I was up at 6 madly writing down ideas from the side of my bed!
6.45
My alarm goes off and I get up and shower.
7.00
I can’t decide what to wear today and change outfits four times before I’m satisfied. I’ve recently started choosing my outfits before I go to bed to avoid this happening but nothing I put on feels right today. I finally decide on a striped dress from H&M and Camper boots. (Did you notice my wardrobe is organised by colour? My friends tell me this is weird but it makes things so much easier to find! I do the same with my books too.)
7.30am
The best thing about today’s outfit is that I can wear my new favourite accessory, a fob watch I picked up at the Portobello Road markets for £5 a few weeks ago. I’m heading out after work so decide it’s the perfect day for my favourite earrings, bought for me a few years ago by my Dad on a business trip to Dubai. With my make-up and hair done, I’m finally ready to go.
I’m ready early enough today to walk to work. I listen to the music of my friends and pass so many different things on my way. There’s the street art of Hoxton, a cemetery in Finsbury, there’s the bankers in their uniforms of pinstriped suits and solemn faces. The writer in me sees a story in every face.
8.15
I stop at Elsey and Bent at Borough Market to pick up some berries for my breakfast, then head down to Monmouth for my morning coffee. Monmouth makes the best coffee in London and I come here every morning before work. I’m not sure I’d get through the day without it.
8.20
I get my coffee and walk the last 10 minutes to the office. On the way I pass my favourite graffiti, the site of Shakespeare’s Globe and Bear Gardens, a place where they used to hold bear fights in the 1600s! Bear fights! In the 1600s! I love this city!
8.30
I pass security, and go through the corridors. On my way upstairs I pass the company’s motto, emblazoned on the wall in bright blue neon lights.
I am a copywriter for an integrated marketing/advertising agency. My job varies so much from day to day it’s hard to explain exactly what that means. Sometimes I sit in a room for a whole day and brainstorm with other creatives (or, if my boss gets his way, we go to a café or even the pub. He is the best boss ever – hilarious, honest, hard working, inspiring and kind – so let’s call him BBE). Other times I write headlines, scripts, creative rationales, help plan executions for campaigns, chat through creative work with strategists, attend briefings and make tea. I make a lot of tea. And I work hard, often well into the night and sometimes even on weekends. Most of the time, I love my job.
I make my breakfast of homemade granola and raspberries and chat to one of my favourite colleagues (FC1). I feel so lucky to work with him. Not only is he brilliant at his job, he’s absolutely fearless, hilariously filthy, incredibly well dressed and actually inspires me to be a stronger, braver person.
9.10
I have a quick catch up with a senior art director, another of my favourite colleagues (FC2), about some creative concepts we have to pitch at 11.00. He heads to a meeting and I madly spend the next hour giving them some structure.
10.30
I sit down with BBE and FC2 to map out the main talking points for the meeting. This is a big job for an important client. We’re a little nervous.
11.00
FC1, FC2, BBE and I head upstairs to face account directors, board members, MDs, heads of strategy and BBE performs some magic. I say nothing (a very bad habit). It goes better than expected.
12.30
I eat lunch at my desk, gather my thoughts and catch up on my email. I’m a little confused and stressed by how much work has to be done before the next meeting.
13.00
FC2 and I sit down by his desk and start mapping out a plan of attack. We research, we brainstorm, we draw silly marketing diagrams with curves in different colours to represent varying campaign lengths, he puts together mood boards and macs up some visuals while I write. We sporadically freak out. Someone makes us coffee. We eat M&Ms. At some point we discuss the awesomeness of red pandas.
17.00
I switch projects for a while and sit down with another creative (FC3). We’re creating some animated characters for a client and I need to give them names and personalities. We decide they each need their own distinct noise so we brainstorm noises for a while. Seriously. This is when I have one of those moments where I can’t believe that this is actually my job.
18.00
I’m lucky enough to work for the same company as one of my closest and oldest friends. We work in the same room but things have been so busy for both of us that we’ve barely seen each other lately. We have plans tonight and leave work together.
18.30
Once in Covent Garden, we go for dinner at Food For Thought, a great vegetarian restaurant that’s always so busy you have to grab a seat anywhere you can. We share some quiche, salad and a delicious Gobi curry on a table with strangers. We catch up on the usual girl talk, which for us includes questions about which animal trait we’d most like to have and why. We’re far from your normal girls…
19.10
Now for tonight’s main event: we’re off to the opera!! I’ve wanted to go for so long so we finally decided to do it. Our seats are some of cheapest and we have to lean right forward to see the stage but we are too exited to care. The Royal Opera House is stunning and the audience is made up of cute old men with bow ties and ladies in magnificent dresses and hats. We’re seeing Tosca and soon the orchestra tunes up and the curtains open…
22.30
Amaaaaaazing!!! The voices, the costumes, the sets were all absolutely stunning. We’re now both considering a career in opera. It can’t be that hard, right? RIGHT?
10.45
I jump on the tube home, passing the time with a copy of Frankie. Two of my friends are contributors for the magazine and when I open it I see there’s a photo of one of them on the contents page. I get so excited I actually hug it for a second which I quickly realise is maybe a little weird. Sometimes I have the biggest pangs of homesickness. I have the most amazing friends and I miss them so much.
11.45
I get home, plan tomorrow’s outfit (that’s partially inspired by my favourite movie, Annie Hall) and get ready for bed.
I’ve been up all night [seriously!] working through Pentagram’s cryptogram series. I feel like Ralphie trying to decipher Little Orphan Annie’s secret decoder ring—- only way cooler.
[thanks, lintcoat!]
5.28.2008
Kate just reminded me that Frank Chimero’s prints are now for sale. Are now for what? Are now for sale.
For what? For sale. For sale? Yes.
