I’m Done?

17 May

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It’s been a few weeks, but for awhile I felt like graduating from college was a stretch. Not that I couldn’t do it, but this whole semester has been a clusterfuck for my focus and motivation. I treated three of my classes as a joke (two were pass/fail) and I didn’t put in any effort. (They were repetitive subjects, and were just filling degree requirements). I slept a few hours each night, then napped about every day, much to my friends protest. It was amazing. HA! However, when it came down to it, I buckled down. I passed all my classes beyond even what I even thought I was capable of. I’m a college graduate (grammer and spelling doesn’t reflect that)!

Its strange. No summer internship, classes, or plan – I haven’t gone insane yet, somehow. Well, I haven’t really slept a full night in awhile. Every night I have a dream that I’ve forgotten something; an assignment, a project, meeting, or homework. Sweats, and waking in a panic doesn’t help either. I’ve checked my grades more now than when I was waiting for them to come in, just to make sure I’m done. To be honest, I’m not too worried about college ending. Friends come and go and I can’t express enough how thankful I am for all of them, but cell phones and the internet will keep us connected. My worry is – what’s next?

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last night of everyone all together (minus Nate and John)

So many cities, so many agencies, too much idle time. One day is blending into the next and its relaxing in its own way. Hell, its 7am in Boulder and I’ve been watching Gordon Ramsay’s ‘Kitchen Nightmares’ for hours. My worrisome thoughts and fears of growing older are simmering down. Nothing in the present is clouding my mind, well, besides finding a job. I have time and I have focus when I need it, however for now, I just want to reflect on my past four years. Anyways I’m rambling, its late. Even though some friends have left, my memories, experiences, and life lessons will forever be with me. As much as I hate airports, I can see some future trips in the future, and I can’t wait to see where everyone ends up!

Let us not forget my parents, they are my heros. I couldn’t have made it this far without them. Aaaannnnddd there’s little Oreo – she made it to graduation and got to finally party with everyone. Everything from the past years all came together for the perfect graduation party and dinners. Lets keep moving forward. Goodnight(morning)

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What Boating Means to Me

18 Apr

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A little background, I’m considered the Boulder Bureau for my Dad’s blog, Woody Boater. I’ve been to quite a number of boating events, as well as spending a majority of my high school summers and college breaks hanging with my parents and numerous dogs on boats. With my own college graduation weeks away I was asked by a friend to reflect on my life and what specific events made me who I am today. Kinda funny actually, one of the events I talked about was going to Buffalo, NY, with my Dad in seventh grade to pick up a boat. First off, I love roadtrips and secondly, I loved getting to miss school. I remember waking up at 5am and hitting the road, we even got McDonald’s breakfast (my Dad used to love that stuff). Anyways a few hours into the drive we stopped off in New Jersey to see the SS United States, my dad’s previous obsession, which I’m sure added to his boating hobby. Skipping ahead a few hours of me listing to my iPod, we arrived in Buffalo. The boat was a 196(?) Whirlwind, that I could pick up on my own since it was made of plywood and aluminum. It seriously felt and looked like a speeding plywood death trap. My dad told me that it was for me and my brother to be able to drive around the river with him and my mom, which was cool.

My brother and I driving around

My brother and I driving around. (I’m on the right)

The first time we put the boat in the water back in Virginia, it sucked, seriously. I just sat there and listened to my Dad cuss at the engine that wouldn’t start. Hell, it even caught on fire with me driving one time. The months passed with a new Nissan engine and nothing bad happened. In fact, I got really good at dealing with all aspects of the boat, my dog Zipper even would ride around with me. Funny, the boat was even named ‘Yip-Yap’ which was Zipper’s nickname. The moral of the story was before that roadtrip to Buffalo I never really understood hobbies and having a passion. As a teenager, fads come and go, and until then, I never really connected the dots on how people could be so knowledgeable and involved with something that wasn’t taught in school. It was such a major concept that really isn’t highlighted in school. At the time I had a guitar, but just played a few songs and that was it. The trip to Buffalo and seeing how knowledgeable and interested in boats my Dad was gave me a reason to start learning about music and guitars. That started everything, I knew all the models of guitars, who used them, what they should cost, how to fix them and so on. This eventually lead to me building my own guitar.

Zipper, who looks surprisingly like Oreo

Zipper, who looks surprisingly like Oreo

It seems like such a simple event, but it taught me to reach beyond what you are told to know, and focus on what you feel passionately about. I would be a different person if I hadn’t have been to Buffalo, because even beyond hobbies, it showed me how working hard and caring about everything you do will only make you a better person. Passion and caring is something not taught in school, but it has always made my schooling and working experience more enjoyable and brings pride with everything I do.

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My College Guitar (Update)

14 Mar

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Hhhheeeeellllllllllloooooo. Its now 4am, I know, It seems like I’m already awake at this hour. It dawned on me while laying in bed hopelessly trying to sleep for the past 3 hours that I should provide some updates. My post from first semester explained how I wanted to make a guitar that embodied my college experience. Rather than calling it a yearbook, or even a fouryearbook, I have been collecting signatures, and sometimes messages. I’m just gonna dump some photos now since there isn’t much explaining to do. Enjoy.

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Can I Call This a Miracle on Ice?

27 Feb

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With all this snow, my car is constantly being buried. Don’t worry mom and dad, I dont risk driving in this weather. It’s actually becoming a pain in the ass though. Each time the roads finally permit me to drive, it snows again! Thats what I get for living in Colorado I guess? Anyways, each time I’m driving in the snow I can’t seem to forget what me and my friends call, “the Miracle on Ice.” No, not the hockey game. This happened last year.

Right after moving to my favorite house in college with my homie, Richard, who actually just graduated and moved away from Boulder. Our house was quite a distance from school, but when driving the streets made the route kind of complicated. Our street (Inca) had a few twists and turns, and if you weren’t familiar with the neighborhood, you’d get lost. But like I said, last year my friend and current housemate came to pick me and another friend up from my house during a snow storm to get sushi. The roads were a mess, but he had a Jeep and didn’t seem worried, and frankly, I didn’t care either way. So we have our dinner and on our drive back decide to stop by another friend’s house who was hosting a party. Her parties always suck, but we thought it’d be a nice gesture to show that we kind of care.

bye Inca

bye Inca

Now there are some strange ass streets in Boulder, particularly Grandview on the Hill. Its narrow and a one-way (a lot of drivers don’t seem to notice that key aspect). There is also a slant to the street as well. As we are driving down Grandview in the snow my friend slams on the brakes all of a sudden. Someone in a tiny car is desperately trying to drive up hill, going the wrong way on the one way. However, since we slammed on the brakes our Jeep skid in the snow and with the slant, stopped maybe five inches from a car parked on the side of the road.

We froze, not from the temperature either. What the fuck were we supposed to do. Its now 11pm, since we are cheap and wait for the late night happy hours at restaurants. No one is outside, on the roads, and no witnesses. Well shit. We start Googling ‘tricks’ on how to get out of the snow/ice. Nothing. Thats when they came, the angels. Actually it was a group of dudes from the Christian Fraternity across the street. They, unlike us, knew every. single. trick in the book to how to get a car moving after being stuck in the ice. As the story goes, they were inside playing board games and drinking hot coco (I shit you not) and they heard us struggling outside.

The moral of the story is sometimes help comes in the most unexpected places, and if your car is stuck, try driving over your floor mats. Peace

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My Biggest Fear Came True (Kinda)

11 Feb
she doesn't want any trouble

she doesn’t want any trouble

Hey! Whats up everyone?!? So, its been awhile since we last spoke. How’s your day? As the title reads, one of my biggest fears came true saturday night. I actually have a few fears: total darkness, snakes, itchy/sticky stuff, and someone breaking into our house. Well, the last thing came true. It’s actually kinda strange, just about every friend of mine in Boulder has a story or two about someone trying to break their house. Boulder is a great place, don’t get me wrong – but there are some fucking creeps. Actually there are quite a few colonies of creeps wondering the city.

For example, some of my friends who live near my old house on University (across from campus) got their door kicked in the day before winter break. To make my fears come to light, two of my best friends’ apartment got robbed a few weeks ago. Computers, iPods, jewelry, and random other shit. There door wasn’t broken, their lock was intact, and the burglar was even nice enough to bring their mail up. Now their stuff is gone, and their home is violated.

Fast forward to last night. I’m in my room alone watching rock videos on Youtube and I decide I need a snack. I go downstairs to heat up some pizza. I hate reheated pizza, I actually would go as far to say I loathe it. This should have been my first clue that this night was gonna be fucking weird. Now for a little setting to set the mood. I’m standing in the kitchen in my boxers and a tank top, its just past midnight and the smell of Papa Johns is filling the air. My armpits are slightly sweaty as the heat rises waiting for my slice of chicken pizza. Someone’s trying to open the front door, which is strange because one room mate is in his room and the other is in Denver for another two hours. *BOOM BOOM BOOM* The person is throwing himself against our door. I’m in my underwear and stuck in the kitchen. I run upstairs, and try to get a weapon. By the time I go downstairs the person (or mythical creature) is gone – you can never be sure. Twenty minutes pass and loud smashing/ thuds are coming from the basement unit. Calling the cops wasn’t even on my mind, I don’t know – (who would have thought something like this was happening, and what can they do for me in the heat of the moment?)

all still there

all still there

I finally go downstairs and check out the basement, its the new room mate who just now is showing his face. A ton of bicycles are in the basement (hints the loud noises). Problem part two: solved. However, he said he never was on the front porch. Strange. A few hours pass, and I’m finally asleep. Dreaming about the usual stuff, I can only assume. Next thing I know I jump out of bed to the sound of a car door slamming shut and our front door flying open. Pounding, crashing, and stomping around – someone is in our house. I actually wasn’t even sure if I was having a nightmare but within a minute or two, the slamming stops. Its the incident at midnight all over again, but this time someone was in our house. I go downstairs to see whats up. TV, there – Christmas Tree, there – Car Keys, there – Gummy Bears, there. Thinking we have a really shitty thief on our hands, I notice the front door wide open and lock-picks all over the floor, and a strange car is outside with its lights on.

I clean up the lock-picks and realize that I recognize these picks. My evil twin brother, Thomas, has found me. HA! No, they were the room mate’s who was supposed to be in Denver. I call it a night, my heart beating like a drum set. I go up in my room and for the next two hours listen to my roomie come inside stomp around, talk to himself, then leave and go back to the random car outside. Its now 6am and I hear some cars screech away. Fuck this shit, I’ve been up more or less all night – I’m getting Chickfila. WAIT… its now Sunday. Fuck you chicken hoarders! They’re closed on Sundays so I had to settle for eating McDonalds in my car… alone. Weirdest roller coaster night ever.

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The Best College Advice I Received

20 Dec
I think I was trashed in this pic (sorry)

I think I was trashed in this pic (sorry)

I’m gonna start by saying this has nothing to do with the basic shit you hear people tell you all the time about doing your laundry, eating healthy, and calling home every once in a while. Its actually kind of a strange story. Between freshman and sophomore year of college I lived in Los Angeles. I worked for an Advertising production agency in Culver City and well, actually lived in Westwood across the street from UCLA. I was thrown into the open that summer, I knew no one and knew really nothing about living on my own. Just leaving the dorms you aren’t exactly prepared for everything. Anyways I met a few people who ended up becoming some of my best friends during a study abroad trip to Italy who live in LA and helped me out some. However, I still had to find a house and so on. That part’s boring, more the take away is that the four houses I’ve had during college are all modelled after this house in LA (roommate rules, parties, etc).

The main focus of this post actually starts with some errands I had to run one day. Every now and then we would have a client come through LAX and it was my job to go pick them up. Since I had a car and knew how to drive in heavy traffic it was fine with me actually. I knew this commercial shoot was with William Shatner and I was gonna have to wake up at 4am to pick up people and drive them to Study City. Here’s the spot with me in it, just walking around in the background. The key part comes in as I’ve driving one of the clients from Studio City back to LAX. Being stuck in my car for about two hours obviously we started talking about random shit. I actually don’t remember much about what was said actually, but he did start talking about how he made it through under-grad and grad school. He started talking about how many parties and crazy things would happen once you had a house off campus. Since I had just left the dorms, it was actually quite interesting.

from the shoot

from the shoot

What I got out of the talk was that our last shot at not being responsible for anyone but ourselves was in college, however that comes with a price. If you’re far away from your parents like I am, they can’t exactly be there on call. We can party, get drunk, play video games, and sleep all day if we want. But shit has to get done. Tests, presentations, essays, and the occasional class just to let people know you’re alive. There is always a party and the opportunity to hang out, but there is only that one test. Meaning every night holds the opportunity for fun, but you can only take that first Anthropology test once (unless you fail the class). It may seem obvious to do your work first, but people think they can always put it off until later. And fuck it, sometimes I just don’t care.

However, being a senior this year, the advice I got sitting on the 10 and the 405 for two hours finally came to light. I spent an entire week preparing for my Marketing final. I needed to pass, I just couldn’t retake it. I stayed in every night and juggled that class with the work from my other courses – as well as not ignoring my friends. After that final was over, I got started on the others which were back-to-back. I got it done, but never before had everything been crammed together like that. Sure, I could have celebrated with my friends every night but I had to be up early to work every morning. Happy break and I’m not proof reading this.

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Just A Update – Something Short

18 Dec

Hey Everyone! – Sup?

Anyways, I’m in the middle of some finals, nothing I’m worried about (maybe). I have a ton of new material to kickstart over break… or knowing me, by the New Year… ok, ok – soon! I just wanna let you all know my internet still works and what not. But I just wanna take this time to give a short shout out to some of my friends. Although its not the whole group, these individuals kept me together the past year and managed to make it down to the bars for this stressful weekend. Seriously, the CU Advertising Program would not be the same without each of you (hold back tears, ha).

Becca, Christian, and Ember - just a portion (yet coolest) of the regular Advertising group

Becca, Christian, and Ember – just a portion (yet coolest) of the regular Advertising group

I know the two on either far side look like they’re in pain, but trust me they aren’t. Especially, the one on the left… she’s a trickster. So yah, everyone else in the Ad Program reading – thanks! I have a larger post for that. Finally, here’s a picture I posted on Twitter (@TheMrHankSmith) of the one person in class who gave me a run for my social media money, Vince aka Tweet-Master V (yes, very original).

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Talk to you all soon!

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