Random ADHD Thoughts...

Vampires
I am really getting tired of all of these Vampire related shows and movies. I mean in this day and age, how realistic is it to be a vampire? You can't just go around sucking on anyone's neck these days, otherwise you will be spending your days at the free clinic instead of napping...


Verizon FIOS
Have had Verizon FIOS for a little over 24 hours now and have mixed emotions about leaving Brighthouse. On one hand I love the channel lineup and all of the options that I have from Sports, to movies, etc, plus the super fast internet. On the other had, the installation took too damn long, customer service isn't 24/7 like Brighthouse, and managing/setting up the account online was a major pain in the ass. So if I had to grade it thus far I'd give it a B-, mainly due to customer service issues.


Jurgen Klinnsmann
ESPN reported late last night that Jurgen Klinsmann has spoken to Sunil Gulati and about possibly taking over for Bob Bradley. Anyone that knows me and reads this blog knows I have been wanting this move for awhile, as the former World Cup Winner with Germany is the best man to come in and take over. Let's hope this change happens...

Deals Plus
If this website were crack, I'd be in rehab by now. I keep finding stuff on here that I need and all for a great prices. If you haven't heard about it, I suggest you give it a try, but first make sure you have someone hide your credit card.


Manchester United
Another three points today for my Red Devils, and to top off a great victory, we got goals all from guys that needed to get on the scoresheet. Rooney from the penalty spot, Nani with a great run at goal and finish, and my boy Berbatov with a trademark side volley beauty! I know we are only three weeks into the season, but at this pace Paul Scholes is going to run away with Player of the Year honors. Another masterclass performance in the center of the park today.


Strippers
Well I don't really have anything to say about strippers... just thought I would throw my readers a curve ball with this one...

2010 Thus Far...

Okay so once again I have been slacking and this is my first post in months. Figured it was a good time to check my progress on some of those goals that I had set going into the new year. Not doing bad as far as reaching them, but not doing great either as you can see:

1. Still no progress on this girlfriend thing obviously, and I am not optimistic at all.
2. No promotion yet, but I am more optimistic about this than I ever was about getting a girlfriend.
3. No luck on the MBA Program as of yet, as the UT thing fell through.
4. First one! Did finally get the car about two weeks ago, and loving every second I am in the car.
5. After being in the workforce for going on 6 years now, I am finally taking a full weeks worth of vacation. Hard to believe huh...
6. Doing okay with this one, as I have done a few speaking engagements to a couple of groups this year, minus the big one at UT a few months back. We have Popeye's Chicken to thank for ruling me out of that one and putting me in the hospital.
7. I knew this one was a long shot when I type it in, as far as taking a trip out of the country goes. Who knows though, as I got a good amount of vacation time to use and we still got a few months till the end of the year.
8. Not quite an expert in my field yet, but definitely at a good place with it as I feel we are doing some good things at work and we'll just wait and see what happens.
9. Haha, why the hell did I even put learning salsa on the list. Wish I had the time and energy though as it would be good to work up that sweat.
10. Still dodging 30! At least for a few more months...

Well that is the update for now, and as I said, its not going great, but its not going bad either so just keep plugging away as I'd like to be at 70% by the end of the year with these goals. 

Hopefully we won't have to wait another 6 months or so for my next post, keep checking me out here to get the latest!

Speaking Engagement at the University of Tampa #UTampaSocMed

Been a while since I last wrote a post, so figured it was time to hop back on here and attempt to get into the habit. I actually think it was one of my New Year's Resolutions to blog more, but I guess that speaks more to how people tend to not follow through with resolutions.

Getting to the point, I wanted to hop on and talk about an event that I am working on with the University of Tampa and the TECO Center for Leadership. First though I need to give a little background on how this all came about.  

Dr. Judith Washburn is a former professor of mine from UT and over the years we have kept in contact. About a year ago, I agreed to in front of one of Dr. Judith Washburn's graduate level marketing courses about my job and responsibilities at Tampa Bay & Company. At first I can honestly say that I was hesitant to accept the offer as this was my firs real speaking engagement, but I decided to do it anyway, if for no other reason than professional development.

I ended up doing the presentation and rather enjoyed the experience. It was really cool to see how many questions the students had about my job and interactive marketing in general. I think I ended up speaking well past my allotted time, because we had such an energetic group. The next day I got back in touch with Dr. Washburn to thank her for having me, and we started to brainstorm about how we can bring great content to the students, but do it on a much larger scale.

That's when we came up with the idea to put on a few events or panel discussions that are centered around Internet marketing trends and techniques. The first one that we decided to do is Social Media Marketing Panel where we invite local and national experts and help the local business communities to leverage Social Media within their marketing mix. We were able to partner with UT and Dr. Michael Weeks, Senior Associate Director, TECO Energy Center for Leadership. Together we were able to put together a great program, with Dr. Weeks moderating and thus far have a little under 100 people registered.

Myself and Travis Claytor, our Communications Manager at Tampa Bay & Company will kick off the event with a brief history of the Tampa Bay & Company Blogging and Social Media program. Afterward the panel will begin, and we have some great panelists line up to participate, such as:

• Doug Karr – President & CEO of DK New Media 
• Anne Fischer - Lifestyle and Digital Marketing Senior Manager Busch Entertainment Corporation (Busch Gardens, Islands of Adventure, SeaWorld, etc…) 
• Kevin Hourigan – President & CEO Bayshore Solutions 
• Tom Wagner – Public Relations Manager The Florida Aquarium

The event will be held at the University of Tampa on the 9th Floor of the Vaughn Center on March 16, 2010.The event will run from 7:30 - 9:30 am. If you or anyone else you know is interested, please feel free to register and spread the word for us. Admission for students is $10 while general admission is $25, which is a steal, believe me!

I'll have updates as we draw closer to the event, but hope everyone can make it out for the event!

What Does 2010 Hold for Jerm You Ask...?

As a follow up to my post earlier today regarding what I learned in 2009, I also wanted to take the time out to talk about what I hope to accomplish in 2010.


2009 was a great year for me professionally as I excelled at work and was very proud of my efforts. On the social/personal side however, the year was very much so a let down, and I look to rectify that in 2010. Don't get it twisted though, as you won't see me in Blue Martini every weekend or out on the town 5 nights a week, as I am too old for that shit in addition to the fact that its never really been my style. Having said that, I will take a step back from my workaholic nature and try to focus more on that side of my life.


With all of that said...here goes:

1. Find a "woman" not girl, but "woman" that is worthy of my time, energy, and love. I am prepared to wait until 2011 to find this woman. I have no intentions of settling just for the sake of not being alone. I'm stronger than that.
2. Get a promotion & title change at work.
3. Enter an Executive MBA Program.
4. Drive a 2010 Volkswagen GTI off of the dealers lot. Nope, not a test drive either.
5. Take more vacation time.
6. Do more guest lectures/speaking engagements with regards to my profession. This includes successfully putting on my Social Media Marketing Panel discussion at the University of Tampa.
7. Take a trip abroad for the first time. No... Canada doesn't count.
8. Become an expert in my field, with regards to digital marketing techniques in the Hospitality & Tourism Industry. I am pretty close now, but still got a few areas to improve upon.
9. Taking up salsa again... don't laugh... I was actually somewhat good at it in college.
10. Dodging age 30 for just one more year. FYI I turn 29 at the end of this month.

What I Learned in 2009...

So as we toasted to 2010 at midnight last night, I found myself thinking about 2009 and decided to collect my thoughts here on what the year was and what I learned from it.

It was without question an up and down year but here are the top ten things I learned from 2009...

1. There is nothing in this world that I can't achieve when I put my mind to it.
   
2. I can't continue to live in the past. No matter how much it hurts, I have to move forward.
3. Learned who my real friends are and who I can place my trust with.
   
4. Some people get it, and some people just simply don't.
   
5. My mother, sisters and brother will always have my back. So I need to make the effort to see them more often.
   
6. My two best friends are borderline alcoholics... they know who they are!
   
7. While I never thought I could love someone else's kids, Penelope and Anahi changed that in the blink of an eye. I'd do anything for those two little girls.
   
8. Women are and will for the foreseeable future remain a mystery to me.
   
9. There is always someone who will let you down, so only depend on yourself.
   
10. Taking care of a dog is not an easy thing to do.

Stay tuned for later as I update you on what I hope to achieve in 2010.