New Blog

I have a new blog. Please visit…
http://www.wraycreativeservices.com/blog/
Gracias.

3 1/2 years with Scarlett…

Violet the Purple Unicorn

Keeping tradition of starting off with a cliché (see earlier posts) here goes… it's the little things that mean the most. Since birth Scarlett's best friend has been Violet. Violet is a purple and pink stuffed unicorn. Scarlett's favoritism has never wavered between a blanket or a binkie or a toy. It's always been Violet. Violet, who tough for an infant to pronounce, became known to our family as Vi-Vi. Vi-Vi the unicorn rarely leaves Scarlett's side; she sleeps with her, eats with her, goes to play group, the park, and occasionally even bathes with her.

After a vacation in Palm Springs two Februarys ago we realized 60 miles closer to Vegas that we'd left Violet in the hotel. Did we turn around, add an extra 120 miles to our trip home, and get her? Yes, of course we did. Otis, this year's 45-pound Christmas puppy, has enjoyed a few tastes of unicorn. She's a little worse for the wear 3 1/2 years later - faded, a few rips, and threadbare but still Scarlett's favorite.

Anyway, two Wednesdays ago Scarlett took Vi-Vi to her hip hop class (yes, three-year-olds learning hip hop). Our after class tradition states that Scarlett MUST go to Starbucks for a juice box and a treat. Well, Violet somehow didn't make it home that fateful day. We called the dance studio, Starbucks, library, highway patrol, and animal control. Nope, no Violet the purple unicorn.

Scarlett was so upset. She cried the entire day and night as we frantically searched for her. No luck. Fortunately we remembered the toy manufacturer's name to order a "new" Vi-Vi, but it turned out this model of unicorn had been discontinued and apparently in creepy furbies world had become a collectors item. I found two new Violets online – both over $100. Scouring ebay, I found one - slightly used - from a woman who apparently didn't know the pot of gold she was holding and immediately hit the "buy now" button for $17. 

To say the next five days crept along as we waited for Violet's return would be an enormous understatement. The week before Chirstmas we had surprised Ellie (big sister) with Otis (the puppy) by leaving him in a box on the front porch with a red bow, ringing the door bell, and having Ellie answer. New Violet finally arrived. Nice, clean, and good as new. We put her in a shoe box with a red bow, rang the door bell, and told Scarlett someone was waiting for her. The look on her face, to see Violet staring up at her from the tiny box, was … wait for it… Priceless! (Thanks Visa.) She was so happy and relieved.

That night Scarlett was ecstatic. She hugged Violet so tight, constantly telling her how much she loved her, how happy she was that she's home, and that she promised to never lose her again. Without a doubt, the best $17 I've ever spent and a moment I'll never forget.

Last week the 10-year-old nephew of a friend of Holly's died from a horrible disease. He fought valiantly for six years. Two weeks ago he left the hospital and went home to die knowing his organs were shutting down. He spent a week playing video games and hanging out with his siblings and family. We didn't know him but read his parent's blog daily and agonized over what they were going through.

Until last month I'd been working from home as we got settled in Austin. Working from home was a challenge, at times chaotic, and not always conducive to a very productive environment. Today, as I sit in my new office and reflect, I got to spend over a year being at home everyday and watching Scarlett grow up. Yep, it's the little things.

Life's Short. Cliché, I know.

I don't blog that often but when I do (like drinking Dos Equis) I've noticed I often start with a cliché. Here is today's… "life is short." Genius, I know. Two Friday's ago the wife, her best friend, and I went to see the band Delta Spirit. The fact we actually got a babysitter and out to enjoy Austin nightlife and live music is a post in itself but I'll save that for later. Anyway, as usual, I digress. White guy head nodding to Delta Spirit I felt a buzz in my pocket as I received a text message. Baby sitter? Problems at home? No. Instead a text from one of my best high school buddies – Parker. Essentially it said, "you're a good friend and I miss you." I showed it to Holly. It's a little weird to get a text like that from a grown man but he's kind of a sentimental guy so I didn't think much of it. I texted him a photo from the concert and told him to come visit Texas. Last week I was in Utah for work. It crossed my mind more than a few times I should call Parker. Work was hectic and I didn't follow through. I got home Thursday and received word Friday that Parker was dead. I don't know the specifics but putting two and two together have figured he was fighting some horrible demons that on early Friday morning got the better of him. I'm so sad for him, his wife and his three young boys.

A month to the day earlier, another friend / bike racer / cancer survivor / scholar / all-around good guy died unexpectedly. Cancer took his leg and his hot tub took his life. I don't get it. That's just plain cruel.

My mom has been fighting a valiant 20 year battle with Parkinson's Disease. I saw her last week while in SLC. She's still fighting a good fight but it's the 10th round and the disease has gotten in a few sucker punches to the kidneys lately. Second cliché coming… the one about how at some point the tide turns (make that three) and instead of our parents taking care of us we'll be taking care of them. Moving to Austin, having a two-year-old, questioning my career choices, sick parents, etc. have lead to some extended periods of introspection lately. I used to laugh at the idea of a "mid-life crisis" but now I think I get it. I haven't run out and bought a fancy sports car, had Botox treatments, or had an affair with a 20-year-old but I do spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about life – the half behind me and the half (hopefully) ahead. When I'm out riding my bike I spend less time worrying about my heart rate and the quality of work out I'm getting but more about collecting my thoughts and just thinking about stuff. This morning, a Wednesday, with Ellie at school and Scarlett at a friend's house, Holly and I hung out in bed for an hour reading and chatting. Not a big deal but definitely out of character. Little things are important.

Tomorrow is Parker's Memorial. I wont be in Utah but I'll be there in spirit. Coincidentally, it's also the debut of our episode of HGTV's "House Hunters" and my fams move to Austin. I'm petrified and likely wont be answering phone calls, checking email, or visiting Facebook, Twitter or my blog on Friday. Embarrassment. Sadness. Laughter. Anxiety. Introspection. Gratitude. My 15 seconds of fame. It's going to be an interesting, bittersweet day I'm sure.

If you're having a tough hour, afternoon, day, week, month, or year. Please reach out and ask your family and friends for help. That's why we're all here.

Six Months in ATX

Well, we've been in Austin six months now. Cliché I know, but in some ways it feels like we just got here, in other ways it feels like we've been here an eternity. We spent the first five months in a very average rental house that we found out, after the fact, was being foreclosed. I'm no lawyer (see post below) and I don't claim to play one on TV but I'm fairly certain not disclosing this small fact before we signed the lease was illegal. (The Property Society gets zero stars on Yelp). Fortunately, everything worked out and we didn't get the boot from the bank before our new house was done.

The week we moved into our new house we also filmed our episode of HGTV's "House Hunters." As I said, I don't play an attorney on TV but I can act like a dumb, skinny guy from Utah moving to Austin pretending to be surprised walking into his new "big kid" house for the first time that he's built from the ground up and already visited about 200 times. Reality TV = more TV, less reality. In retrospect it was fun and I'm glad we did it but at the time with work, packing, moving, wrapping up mortgage loans, swapping utilities, etc. it was kind of nuts. For a 23 minute show it was pretty much a full time job for the week. Our episode is scheduled to air in April or May. You know how they say everyone hates their voice on tape? Well, I really hate mine and feel like a giant grapefruit sized head on a toothpick whenever I see myself on film.

Bike racing is the real deal here. If you race cyclocross in the fall and winter then you can definitely race year round if you like. I jumped into the last few "Thursday Night Worlds" crits last fall and made my debut at two road races (more like circuit races) this season. The Driveway crit series is a P/1/2/3 race so I've had a chance to rub elbows with the Elbowz team, Bissell, Lance's Junior LiveStrong team and the Garmin Chipotle Junior team. "Rub elbows" is really hang on for dear life and stay out of the way. Good fun though for an old guy.

Speaking of cycling, I've already had more road rage encounters on the bike in six months than I had the past five years in Utah. Austin is a hip, progressive, healthy, athletic town for the most part but, man, watch out for the redneck and his Texas-sized truck. One such redneck, for no apparent reason other than perhaps being jealous of my girlish figure, decided to lay on his horn right behind me. I responded with my favorite junior high, one-fingered salute. I kept riding, around the bend, only to see him out of his truck waiting for me on the side of the road. Fortunately he was about my size, my age, and equally as lame. We both swung our manhood around a few times, impressed each other with our monosyllabic vocabularies, and he got in his truck and drove off. No harm, no foul – but maybe I need to learn to keep my finger to myself?

Anyway, in a nutshell that's it for our first six months in Austin. No Jesse James sightings. No Lance Armstrong sightings. Holly and I saw Pennywise at SXSW this week which totally rocked. Can't say I miss snow or winter at all. I'm happy to be here and really like Austin. I'm withholding judgement on Texas as a whole for now but our house, neighborhood and Austin are great. Adios.

I’ll Take a Scoop of Ice Cream with my Giant Slice of Humble Pie

The past year I’ve pretty much gone silent on my social media outlets. On the down low I was scheming a way to take my career to the next level. Honest Holly said I often come across as very negative and basically a douche bag on my blog and Facebook page so I wiped them clean and hit the off switch. (Diplomatically she also told me I look like I’m trying way too hard in my profile pictures. Delete those, too.) Word on the street is admissions counselors often search FB pages, blogs, twitter accounts and online photo sharing sites to get a better sense of their applicants. Any idiot can get a least one former employer, professor or a friend to write a sensationalized reference letter. The drunken Friday night when you decide to post a picture of your junk is probably a better character indicator.

I digress.

So, 20 years of advertising, art direction, graphic design, print services, and project management later, I decided it was time for something new. Not totally reinvent the wheel, just incorporate a breadth of experience and knowledge, wrap it up into a cohesive tin-foil wrapped package, and take it to a new (and hopefully more lucrative) level. The goal - incorporate the knowledge gained of 20 years in media, a journalism degree and some fairly interesting life experience. Just what could that be?

Wait for it.

Law school. Yes, law school and a mid-career transition into Media Law. Throw in some Entertainment Law for good measure and maybe even try my hand as an agent for some up-and-coming bike racers, triathletes or the next Social Distortion. Brilliant. Full-steam ahead.

Thanks to the recession, job shortages and a bunch of twenty-somethings not in a hurry to start paying back student loans, the applicant pool for law school is at an all-time high. At this point I began to wish I’d worked a little harder in college and spent a little less time hair farming and enjoying the sunshine and liquid lifestyle of the University of Arizona. Unfortunately, I’d soon learn, a 3.3 GPA is marginal at best to get into a top law school.

Regardless, I buckled down and studied my ass off for the law school admissions test (LSAT) – all while working full time, trying to be a good dad to an awesome new baby, a respectable husband and step-dad, still riding my bike and motorcycle, and spending some quality time with my tattoo artist. Needless (or needles) to say, I didn’t kill it on the LSAT. Just above the median score. Applications, references, personal statements in process, I kept my fingers crossed that my age, work history, life experience, and being a small business owner would trump a very average test score and GPA. Sealed with a kiss I fired off ten applications to top tier law schools.

The waiting game was slow and arduous. We’d been trying to sell our Utah house, suffering through one of the longest winters in Utah history and just living in limbo with hopes that next year would bring a new and exciting (and warm) locale for the family and a stimulating learning environment for the old man.

Cut to the chase.

Nine rejections and one wait list letter filtered through my mailbox last spring and into the summer. Apparently age and life experience don’t mean much and admissions truly boils down to a number generated by incorporating your LSAT score and undergraduate GPA.

Ironically, our Utah house sold just as school would have started. We decided SoCal lifestyle + Maui weather + Utah cost of living = Austin, Texas. Two weeks ago we packed up, poked it with a toothpick and called Utah good. Career-wise, for now, I’ll keep doing the same thing. Not the desired change in substance but the change of scenery definitely helps. In the next few months I’ll reevaluate, research Texas’ second tier law schools, and maybe throw out a couple more applications. Stay tuned. I plan on testing the new local beers and posting a couple weiner pics. (I have great PhotoShop skills).Welcome back.