it's getting hot in here!

vancouver weather - current conditions
(as of 20:00 PDT, Jun 17 )
Mainly Sunny | Temp: 22.60°C | Humidity: 53%

it's hot, and muggy, and sticky...unfortunately for those of you expecting a show, there will be no removal of clothing.

philadelphia weather - current conditions
(as of 22:54 EDT, Jun 17)
Cloudy | Temp: 24°C | Humidity: 89%

....and it only get hotter in july and august, or so i've been told by my pal, Auntie Gwen, who calls Philly home - or has for the past few years. As it happens, I'll be there when the weather is muggily armpit-like. Joy! She's also warned me of locust infestations around that time of year. If I didn't know better, I'd swear she was trying to stop me from visiting. Luckily, I hear that her home is outfitted with not one, not two, but yes (count 'em), three air conditioning units. La Casa Gwen will certainly be one of my first stops!

Lisa e-mailed me from the project site to reassure me that air conditioning was one of the first things they installed in the building, just before they moved everybody in from the trailer offices. The graphics area, at least, will cool and breezy when I arrive. Call me self-centred, but that's all I care about. The interior decorators and visual merchandisers can melt to the ground for all I care. (No really, I'm not that cruel. I'd let them seek relief from the air conditioner for a few seconds before i shove them away and resume my rightful place in front of it.)

parade of the expensive sweaters
Yesterday, the company bigwigs descended upon our little hole in the wall as part of their whirlwind cross-country tour. The self-important name that they dubbed this momentus occasion? "The Board Meeting." I called it "Parade of The Expensive Sweaters."

don't hate the player; hate the game
Why, you ask? Well, we have pictures of the country bigwigs adorning the hallways of our offices with little blurbs soliciting feedback from co-workers on how to make the company better, make more money, take over the world, etc. In those pictures, said bigwigs look friendly and approachable in their expensive sweaters. In real life, they're not so friendly and approachable, but they still don those expensive sweaters instead of power suits and ties in an attempt to make themselves seem as such. Hence "The Expensive Sweaters," a nickname which Auntie Gwen bequeathed to them during one of our back-and-forth rant e-mails at work last year.

Whenever they visit, everyone seems to go into panic mode, as if preparing for the Queen's visit or some such festive occasion. This often means my inbox get piled with useless creative briefs 'in preparation' for their arrival. I usually ignore the particularly stupid briefs because I'm a rebellious bad ass with no regard for authority, and I can sense that this makes many of the 'yes-men (and women)' managers nervous. But from my perspective, whenever the bigwigs visit, all they do is tour the store as a pack, point out flaws, and hope that we address them. (Hence the "Parade.")

I've spoken with one of the bigwigs before and he's admitted that they're only there to offer suggestions. Whatever we do with their feedback is our decision, as it directly impacts our own store's bottom-line, and as a result, our jobs and futures. Plus, we know our market better than they and can more accurately determine whether a particular solution would succeed or fail, based on our market conditions. Funny thing is, many of the 'yes-men (and women)' managers forget this and revere the words of the bigwigs as scripture, which in turn, makes them fill out ridiculously stupid creative briefs which just end up in my recycling bin anyway.

Oh the joys of working in retail graphic design!

i say "hip-hip," you say "hooray!"
On a more positive note, the bigwigs took notice of a piece that I've been working on. It's now going to be printed and distributed nationally once I finish making it less market-specific and have it translated into French. My portfolio cheers!