I’m starting a new freelance gig tomorrow at a non-profit organization. I’m pretty excited to be taking a hopefully permanent break from working in advertising. I don’t talk very much about that other side of my life because I think it’s rude and unprofessional, but I haven’t been truly happy doing it for a really long time. I had breakfast with my brother and K and the kid the other day and when I talked to them about my desire to find a new path, K said, “You’ve outgrown it.”
When I first moved to New York the advertising world was really exciting, especially because that was when all the dotcom stuff was kicking in. There was this late night buzzy camaraderie in the industry, even at like, 11 in the morning. There were all those parties, and more and more money to be made. (Job hopping was the best.) Plus on the right project there was the opportunity to create great work, and that was always so thrilling. And I met some awesome people over the years, kind, generous, interesting people who were sharp as shit.
But I don’t think anyone who works in the industry would argue with me that it’s a young person’s game, and while I am not necessarily old, I am no longer young either. And as a creative person, it’s pretty natural to evolve. Writing books has spoiled me rotten, and not much else feels as good as that, but I am going to try and shoot for greatness in all areas of my life, and working in advertising doesn’t make me feel great anymore.
(This reminds me of a discussion I had with a friend who had decided to go on OKCupid to try and meet a man, and I said, “Why would I go on something that’s only OK? I want to go on AWESOMECupid. Where’s that site?”)
(Don’t worry, I’m not even remotely considering internet dating, not even for the source material, because if I’m too old for advertising, I’m sure as shit too old for internet dating.)
(Please do not suggest an old person’s dating site to me now or I will punch you in the head.)
So! New job. Won’t say anything else besides that because that is how we live in the world today, or should anyway. But I can say that I’m glad to try something new.
