About
Okay… So I moved to Dallas, TX in August 2009, after spending the previous 11 years of my life trying to “figure it all out.” The funny thing is, I still haven’t accomplished that. I was born and raised in Somers, NY (roughly an hour north of Manhattan) and at about age 13, fell in love with my video camera (which my father won in a card game) and the whole idea of movie-making. I honestly–and naively–thought I would be the next Spielberg. I graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Cinematography, but during my senior year, decided I was more interested in being in front of the camera than behind it.
So in 1998 I set out to be an actor… starting in New York, then out to Los Angeles, then back to New York. For three and a half years, I worked as a full-time “temp” at Grey Advertising, and did some bartending here and there. I enjoyed my adventure, but finally decided I had had enough — acting is a really tough way to make a living. 
So I started taking classes in graphic design, and landed a marketing/design position with a real estate agency — about 15 minutes from the house I grew up in (yes, I was living with the parents again… which, contrary to popular belief, worked out quite nicely). In the spring of 2004, I had a strong desire to move to Boston, and was able to secure a sales position at a company that provided telecom services to small and medium-sized businesses. Thinking this would be my ticket to making the “big bucks,” I spent the next year cold-calling and door-knocking… ultimately hating every minute of it. But I learned a lot about myself.
In 2006, I moved out to Denver, because. Yes, just “because.” I was tired of the east coast and wanted to live in an area where I could ski a lot more — in better snow. [by this time, my parents were both pretty frustrated... but supportive] Once in Denver, I landed a more “consultative” sales position with an executive marketing firm. High-ticket intangibles. Essentially I was selling 5-10K packages to six-figure executives who needed to learn how to market themselves better, while getting access to the “unpublished” job market in order to rise above their competition. Some of these people were employed, some weren’t. This was NOT an easy sale. After only two months, I was ready to move on, but was convinced into staying with the company in a recruiting capacity. I had never thought about being a recruiter before, but I had nothing to lose. I did this for a couple years and realized it was something I was pretty good at, and something I actually enjoyed doing. I started missing my right-brained “outlet” after awhile though, and decided that if I was to continue recruiting, I needed to do it in more of a creative/interactive environment. I have been doing just that since early 2009.
The reality is this: I have a myriad of interests, ie. writing/blogging, photography, design, travel, meeting new people, music & movies, research, presentation development, mentoring… and the list goes on. My generation is faced with too many options — and this actually can be more of a detriment than a benefit. My father has spent over 40 years selling insurance and financial services. Fortunately for him, this is something he has always enjoyed — and he’s made a helluva living doing it. He was never a great student, but he possessed street smarts. This was one of the few “options” he had. And he made the most of it. My mother, on the other hand, was an excellent student. But she had limited options for another reason: opportunities for women in the job market in 1968 were fairly scarce. You could be a teacher, nurse, secretary (or professional stay-at-home mom). So, she became an English teacher, and ultimately secured a Masters degree in English as a Second Language. She recently retired after 40 years of teaching.
So hopefully this offers some insight into where I’m coming from, and why I choose to write. In summary, this blog is about my love for music (in particular, punk rock), my love for photography and design, my experiences in domestic travel, my experiences in recruiting (and what I learn about social media along the way), and all the really cool people I have formed/will form relationships with. My friend Neil says it will take me awhile to find my “voice,” so I look forward to seeing this all take shape. I’d like to extend a big THANK YOU to those who I consider to be Dallas’ true “Social Media Enthusiasts”: Neil Lemons, Colin Alsheimer, Alyssa Gardina, and Mike Merrill.
BjC