Top 5 Reasons I’ve got Nothing But <3 For Apple

I switched to an Apple laptop in October of 2006. Up until then, I had been a PC gal, with various HP and Dell products. I mostly switched because my boyfriend at the time worked for Apple and got me a sweeeet discount. At least I can thank him for something! Over time, I’ve accumulated 3 iPod’s, an amazing wireless router, and most importantly, the iPhone. I’ve since reached the point of no return, and here’s why.

User Experience: Using any Apple product is simple. Plug something in, and my Mac recognizes the device. Want to do something you’ve never done before? Think of the simplest way, and it’s probably the right way. Still having problems? Search the help or spotlight, and your solution will pop up quickly. After using 3 different wireless routers, I finally switched to the Apple Airport Express (why it took me so long, I’ll never know). Within 5 minutes of plugging it in, I was connected and surfing the web. The router updates itself constantly, and even allows for wireless speaker and printer setup. So neat. Apple makes using an electronic painless.

Festivals, Concerts, and Sunshine: It Must Be Summer Time!

I’m going to stop apologizing for my lack of blogging, since I’m pretty sure only 3 other people (if that!) besides me actually read this thing. Work is keeping me pretty busy, but I’ve had some great opportunities to check out some marvelous events in California in the past few weeks. Here is a summary of April and May: San Jose Visit, LA & Venice Beach for my sister’s bday, The Elemental Experience, Karl Strauss Beach to Brewery Festival, Greg Laswell, Vision of a Dying World, Margot & The Nuclear So & So’s, Paramore and Graduation Weekend with old friends. I took some cool photos, and will share them with corresponding info below.

In April, I visited my best friends from College, Tanya and Dustin, in San Jose. Not only did we wrap things in bacon (see below!) but we also went to this rad flea market/festival, Vintage San Jose: Rocks & Rolls. There were classic cars and craft beer. What could be better?! We visited Santa Cruz beach, went out in downtown Campbell, and I also got a chance to visit the Silicon Valley and Mountain View.

Next, Chliana and I went to LA to celebrate my sister Jackie’s birthday. We dined at Baja Cantina, a delicious Mexican restaurant in Marina del Ray, and then headed out to Lucha Libre inspired bar, The Cha Cha Lounge in Silver Lake to get our celebration on. It was a great time, and we drank too much!! A few of my friends came to her party of sorts, which was a fantastic plus. The next day, we headed to Venice Beach, since Chliana had never been. We paid too much for parking, took a long stroll along the boardwalk, shopped for some cool souvenirs, and even saw the weenie mobile! It snuck away before I could get a good pic though. Damn you WEENIE MOBILE, DAMN YOU!

Check out more Photos and Recaps after the jump…

Oh No.

Not at single Blog Post since JANUARY?! That is re-dunk-ulous. Horrible. Against the Blogging Code of Ethics or something! Truth be told, I’ve been busier than a mad woman…no, busier than a one-legged man in a butt kickin’ contest!

Life has been running pretty smoothly for me. After working internships and part-time jobs for 6 months after graduation, I finally secured a full-time position at Thunder Internet Marketing as the SEO and SEM Manager in January. Working in the online marketing world has been truly fascinating, and I’m constantly challenged by the powerful lessons I learn daily. I couldn’t ask for more from an employer either, as my boss Max is an incredible businessman, mentor, and friend. Managing others has been very cool too, and I’m finally getting to participate in things I dreamed of in Business School like attending client meetings, building strategic marketing campaigns, and learning from my peers.

Events in San Diego have been kick-ass too! Monthly gatherings such as the SDTweetUp, the Thursday Night Thing, and the City Beat Beer Club have added immensely to the wonderful life that is mine, and I am meeting new techies, hipsters, and beer connoisseurs  in SD continuously. I’ve really started to see the power of Twitter for networking within the community, and I’ve made new co-working friends like @downtownrob, @mymelodie and @sdtips. I’ve attended some great events for causes like The Thirsty For Change Benefit and the upcoming Cause for Drinks at the Starlite. The more I discover, the better San Diego gets, and I am eternally reminded why I have chosen to make the “dirty waffle” my home.

So this post is short and sweet, and I’m sick, but just remember to STAY CLASSY!

ePromos Helps Chiquita Find the Perfect Promo

Today I was reading some of my favorite blogs, and came across this super cool promotional product from ePromos for the Chiquita brand. They were hired by Chiquita to come up with a unique corporate gift that rewarded their employees for downloading their Facebook application. Here’s a quote directly from the post:

“…Account manager Lonni Ornstein… recommended several new items that would match Chiquita’s criteria: they were seeking a fresh, funky, new product that would appeal to younger generations. And Lonni was not at all surprised by the team’s choice: a silicone, banana-shaped USB. Making the giveaway even more clever, the “banana” would be imprinted with a blue Miss Chiquita “sticker” on one side, and with the campaign Web address on the other.”

The Promo:

Chiquita USB Drive

Kit Kat Bench Advert

Hilarious!

Saw this while blogging today, and laughed out loud for a few minutes! Thought I would share a lovely bench ad with you. Creative, don’t you think??

HAHAHAHAHA!

A Reason to Write

I’ve been neglecting my own personal blog lately, mostly because I’ve been SO busy blogging on behalf of Thunder. I find it hard to even turn on my computer once I get home from a long day of Internet Marketing, as I have been staring at a tiny screen for 8+ hours. I’m really enjoying this job though, as it is cool and different and I learn something new everyday. Working out of DT is super fun as well. Just being around those guys inspires me daily, and I feel like they’re always on the verge of something creative and innovative. A rad company to work for, and oh yeah, they are looking for an account supervisor if you need a job. Still working a lot with Local Search, Blogging and other Social Media stuff, and some SEO techniques (building keyword maps, market research, etc.).

Of course, I’m still stressed about the near future (i.e. 6 months from now, where will I be? I don’t know!) Looking for a steady gig, and possibly  taking on an additional job in the near future. Living alone has proven to be expensive, yet awesome. I can’t imagine not living in San Diego, and South Park has been my favorite all time place to live, ever. I find that living alone inspires me to get outside my box and do interesting things alone (like watching a screening of Julian Lennon’s Whaledreamers at the San Diego Center for Spiritual Living or an upcoming event I’m considering attending this weekend, The South Park Peace Concert to Benefit Indian Orphans). I have also been hanging out with a variety of old friends. Maybe living with my best friend for 4 years started to inhibit my friendships with others, or maybe I was just lazy. I neglected my oldest friends, but none-the-less, I am happy to have them back in my life.

Purple Pen

My first day at NABC, I acquired a pen. This pen wasn’t just any pen, it was my favorite type of pen; the Uniball Vision fine-tipped pen. You know, the kind that dispenses fresh ink and has viewing holes on the pen’s shaft (?!) so you never feel cheated or surprised when your ink runs out? And to top it off, the ink was purple. That’s rare and fun at the same time.

Local Search

I started doing some freelance work for Thunder Internet Marketing, and so far it has been really cool! Max Thomas, my boss, is already teaching me some great things about SEO and I’m doing my best to enlighten him on social media. Today, I’m working on optimizing some of his clients for local search lisitngs. It’s a very niche area of SEO, but it’s really cool. Basically, I’m adding all of these companies to local directories and listings (i.e. Yelp, YellowBot, OpenList, and MerchantCircle) so that local residents will be able to find goods and services that meet their needs faster (for Max’s detailed blog about Local Search, click HERE!). It’s actually really cool, and something I never thought I would be working on. This is also changing the way I find places to eat and things to do around San Diego. Of course I had heard of Yelp or City Search and more recently, MojoPages,  but I am learning about tons of new directories that might shine some light on new and interesting things to do! Also, Max sometimes co-works at Digital-Telepathy, so I’m going to get to visit the old office here and there! WooHoo!

Remote Control

So I have once again LOST the remote control to my TV in my room. This wouldn’t be that big of a deal, except for the fact that I always fall asleep with my TV on. I usually activate my sleep timer, but instead, now I wake up with the remnants of whatever channel I was watching the night before. Case in point: Nick at Nite. I frickin LOVE Nick at Nite because I get to watch reruns of Fresh Prince, Home Improvement (I love you Randy Taylor) and Full House, and I’m even starting to watch shows I didn’t like when I was younger like The Cosby Show, Family Matters, and Roseanne. BUuuuUUuuut, when I wake up in the morning, it is usually some crazy kid cartoon. Which brings me to another point: HAVE YOU WATCHED KID CARTOONS lately? They are absolutely crazy. Mind boggling. Intense. Crazy characters. And, as a marketing/advertising lady, the commercials FREAK ME OUT! Who is in charge of the creative behind these messages? Maybe I haven’t been a kid in a while, but I can’t imagine relating to “EXTREME” fonts and a guy screaming about a toy no one likes.

Success

The People in Planes show was a SUCCESS!!!

Here are a few photos to prove it: