Come Alive

It's time to roll again

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 12:38:22 -0700

Me and my suitcase have been on some crazy adventures these past few years. Traveling to Amarillo, Houston, Corpus Christi, Lake Charles, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Cambodia and now London.

It’s a little surreal at this point in my life to look back on this blog and think that it started as a place to digitally archive my Cambodia travels three years ago.

I mean I’m not that old, but Cambodia has taught me lessons that I continue to internalize and harp on to this day. Lessons that can’t be taught in a classroom environment. Lessons that going abroad can teach you about not only yourself but how you as a person fit in to society overall.

London is going to be a different story. Literally. I’m packed. I’m ready. Let’s leave already? Is It 5pm yet!?

I’m still not sure what lessons I’m going to learn or what will come from me traveling to a country that speaks English, where I’ll stay in a nice hotel, and have more of a touristy experience. I’m sure they are there.

Well goodbye good old U S of A. See you in a few days. I’ll be writing in my journal and will be posting those digitally here of my London travels. Ta-ta for now!

Denny's does real time Twitter ad

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:18:09 -0700

Taking a lesson from Oreo, Denny’s posted this tweet in response to the NSA controversy:

https://twitter.com/DennysDiner/status/344205950271488000

Not really sure if this aligns with the brand or not? But it’s good to see some humor mixed in with the news.

"We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone."

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 10:37:44 -0700

“We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.”

- Ronald Reagan

Making strides

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 10:00:46 -0700

I promise this is the last time you will ~~hear~~ read about my half marathon experience. But you have to admit, running 13.1 miles is pretty impressive for anyone.

I had mapped out a three month plan to run, but like always things never go according to plan. About a month into my running, my wisdom teeth got infected and I took off a couple of days for that. Then the following week I started having troubles with my left knee which cut out about a month of my training.

You see that good looking fellow above this text? Yeah, that’s me holding my finishers medal aka I ran 13.1 miles in 1:48 (please don’t read that as one minute and four eight seconds…I’m not that fast). I placed 122 out of 441 in my division. Not bad for my first half marathon! I always did better when I ran longer distances in cross country.

This whole half marathon and starting to run again thing started because of my New Year’s resolution list which included being fit (Yes, I’ve kept to it - but that’s another blog).

Oh yeah, that’s me being a dork in front of the San Diego Zoo. I put that on my New Year’s Resolution list as well. They had so many cool animals! Make sure to check out my Instagram feed as I’m posting some of the animal photos I snagged there.

This weekend also had me eating locally in San Diego and it was quite the experience! Max and I ate at a local Italian restaraunt and had some of the best food I’ve ever eaten.

So there - that’s my personal update. I really want to run another half marathon, and am looking into one in LA sometime soonish. Any suggestions?

I went to the zoo!

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 11:33:05 -0700

I went to the zoo!

And you thought you had an odd job application process…

Fri, 31 May 2013 10:50:48 -0700

And you thought you had an odd job application process…

Social Media inception

Wed, 29 May 2013 13:10:53 -0700

Social Media inception

Great game tonight @dodgers. Had a blast! (at Dodger Stadium)

Mon, 27 May 2013 21:31:49 -0700

Great game tonight @dodgers. Had a blast! (at Dodger Stadium)

Why Twitter's Two-Step Authentication Won't Stop Big Twitter Hacks

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:20:39 -0700

Why Twitter's Two-Step Authentication Won't Stop Big Twitter Hacks:

It’ll help! But hackers’ most valuable targets will still be vulnerable.

Pretty accurate actually. The trouble will be for larger brands with agencies who typically login with various devices and methods. Most of the time they aren’t even logging in through Twitter, but through a third party application.

I've been a lucky guy.

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:00:00 -0700

It all started last fall whenever Joanna and I walked into a movie theater and filled out a form for a sweepstakes. A few months later and bam! I get a phone call saying that Joanna and I had won a couple’s trip to Hawaii…awkward. In case you didn’t know Joanna works with me at RPA and in order to win the contest you had to be a couple with more than 75k annual income.

Then little things started to happen. I would find a quarter on the ground…yes I consider this luck. But eventually big things started happening, a trip to London, Muse concert, Killers concert (both free events via some friends), Logo TV awards, and finally today’s Ben & Jerry’s yogurt experience.

Ben & Jerry’s is doing a West Coast tour where their bring around a food truck full of free yogurt to business via you tweeting at them. Well, I and a few other’s had been tweeting at them and then they direct messaged me saying that they would love to come to RPA!

Thus 300 RPA associated could enjoy free yogurt via Ben & Jerry’s and enjoy sunny california. I was a little nervous at first when the truck didn’t arrive right on time - I would have made a lot of people angry.

I’m super thankful for California and all the fortune that I’ve been having lately. I sure do hope it continues!

WHEN AMY'S BAKING CO HAD A MELTDOWN:

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:14:40 -0700

whatshouldwecallsocialmedia:

OMG THIS IS THE BEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN.

Facebook page here.

Article here.

This is absolutely out of control. Like WHAT?!

I bought one of those new paper shirts. I didn't like it - it's tearable.

Tue, 07 May 2013 11:46:18 -0700

This past Saturday I was lucky enough to start part of the London experience with a $1,000 Topman shopping spree in L.A. Yes, that’s 1k! All. On. Clothes. And if you know me, I don’t typically sport much more than a v-neck and some jeans.

I brought Max along with me, who will be going to London with me in one month’s time. We arrived at Topman and met with my personal shopper, Travis who was very fashionable himself. I knew I wanted to grab a topshop suit as my first item and that’s where we ended up.

I put the coat on and it was love at first fit. It was like butter. Paula Deen had baked me a suit and laid it on me. After looking down at the price tag, I gasped - $400 for the suit…uhhh what? Well Yolo.

Yes you are reading correct I just typed Yolo. ~~Don’t judge me.~~ That’s what you must say when you drop that amount on a suit you could never afford.

Anyway, I proceeded to walk around the store to grab some button downs, a swimsuit, chinos, shorts, a denim jacket, and a graphic tee. I was really surprised how much a grand actually got me a Topman but I was overall pleased with the experience.

Thank goodness for Travis and Max or I probably would have been a lost puppy buying who knows what after the suit. And thanks once again to Topman for randomly selecting me for this awesome prize.

One month till London!

Seriously one of the most rewarding texts I’ve ever...

Sun, 05 May 2013 19:18:08 -0700

Seriously one of the most rewarding texts I’ve ever gotten. Still so cool to see Shedding Ignorance and the Cambodia trip still having an impact.

Well somebody told me you had a boyfriend who looked like a...

Fri, 03 May 2013 11:26:00 -0700

Well somebody told me you had a boyfriend who looked like a girlfriend #TheKillers (at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena)

instagram: Introducing Photos of You Photos are memories of...

Thu, 02 May 2013 12:26:55 -0700

instagram:

Introducing Photos of You

Photos are memories of the people, places and moments that mean the most to us. We have always sought to give you simple and expressive ways to bring the stories behind your photos to life. Your captions and hashtags capture the “what?” and your Photo Map answers the “where?” but until today we’ve never quite been able to answer the “who?”.

Today, we’re excited to introduce Photos of You and bring you a new way to share and discover stories on Instagram. When you upload a photo to Instagram, you’re now able to add people as easily as you add hashtags. Only you can add people to your photos, so you have control over the images you share. And it doesn’t stop at people—you can add any account on Instagram, whether it’s your best friend, favorite coffee shop or even that adorable dog you follow.

There will now be a Photos of You section on your profile. When someone adds you to a photo, you’ll receive a notification and the photo will appear in your Photos of You. Want to make sure you like the photo first? No problem: you can easily adjust your settings so nothing appears on your profile until you approve it. Before your Photos of You section is visible to other people, you’ll have until May 16th to play around and get used to the feature. You can find more information about how Photos of You works and how to control your visibility at help.instagram.com.

Instagram for iOS version 3.5 is currently available for download in Apple’s App Store, and Instagram for Android version 3.5 is now available on Google Play.

Well this certainly changes things. This will make brands have easier acces to UGC content once users start taggin them in photos. It could potentially make it harder for moderation as well.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me."

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:29:21 -0700

“I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me.”

- Dudley Field Malone

Max walking through the gardens at Greystone Mansion. This house...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 13:34:36 -0700

Max walking through the gardens at Greystone Mansion. This house has 55 liveable rooms and is now a park in Beverly Hills and oftentimes the set of movies. (at Greystone Mansion & Park)

instagram: @Ravivora’s “An Instagram Generation” Want to host...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:36:38 -0700

instagram:

@Ravivora’s “An Instagram Generation”

Want to host your own InstaMeet or photowalk? Be sure to check out our blog post with tips on how to organize and throw a great event.

On April 13, @projectlife365, @christianflorin, @alexanderpavone and @mattbg held an InstaMeet at the Santa Monica pier in Los Angeles, California. 115 people turned out for the event, and one of them, @ravivora, decided to put together a film about the day and what happens when the Instagram community comes together. Check out his short film, “An Instagram Generation,” above and browse more photos from the InstaMeet under the #santamonica0413 hashtag.

Read more about this short documentary on Ravi’s website.

So cool! A small video about Instagram and meetups.

Photo

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:24:45 -0700

@rpa_advertising celebrates #earthday with dirt cups. #RPA...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:02:03 -0700

@rpa_advertising celebrates #earthday with dirt cups. #RPA recycles year round and always encourages its associates to use a glass cup that they give them when they are hired on. (at RPA Courtyard)