Totally Wink.
What a strange surname and domain title. What kind of person uses such a creative and thought provoking alias?
Well, it’s not so thought provoking as one might think, but it still catches folks’ attention.
So, here’s the story of how Totally Wink became such a phenomenon (well, at least in my head).
Years ago, when I was a young lad, I was in a cover band that was going to focus all its songs on the 1970s. Didn’t matter who the artist was (Captain and Tennille) or what the song sounded like (‘September’ by Earth, Wind and Fire). We were going to do the songs our own way (damit!).
One night, during a band meeting at the local Chili’s Restaurant, we reviewed our set list, pondered gig schedules, and discussed attire. Everything was going very smoothly (as were the industrial strength margaritas – on the rocks with salt) when it dawned on us that we lacked the one thing a working band needs, a name.
“Who were we?” we thought in between bites of our epic beef nachos and salsa. “What’s our niche” we deliberated while alternating our margarita and beer consumption. Finally, the lead singer announced, “We need a 70’s icon that we can have as the face of this band, so everyone start thinking about that” (this was before smartphones were invented). Well, that only left me (the bass player) and the singer as we were both born in the 60s and the drummer and guitar player were born during Disco’s peak (i.e. they had no clue).
So, names were launched out – Mr. T? Nah. Fonzi? No way. Poncherello? “What the hell is a Poncherello…” the drummer asked. Anyway, we continued and the guitar player says, “Who was this guy Wink Martindale? I remember my parents saying that was a funny name.” Like a ball peen hammer hitting your pinky toe in the middle of the night, it came to me. I said, (and probably was slurring a little when I said it) “Man, that’s totally wink…” The other guys waved me off like the drunk bass player I was and continued with their search.
Me? The next day at my job, working for an internet service provider, I bought the domain name Totally Wink (that was in 1993) and still have it. As for the band, we lasted about as long as a contestant on Tic-Tac-Dough and called it quits soon after. But the name, Totally Wink has lived on.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Still Networking...
Well, here I am, now having surpassed a year of not working, and the one major accomplishment so far, is that my lawn is the best looking one on the block.
Really.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy having an awesome green, well manicured lawn that stands out from the slightly more yellow in hue looking lawns that surround me, but I would rather be employed.
Upon further inspection, I have noticed that two other lawns, further up the road on my street, are in competition with me for the ‘best lawn on the block’ award (I just made that up). And as I drive by these masterful putting greens, the men in charge of these tour de forces are all (get this) retired.
Retired? I’m competing against retired men? Can’t be.
Well, I thought that when I RETIRED, I would have conversations with other retired men about our lawns (Say Bob, what kind of weed killer are you using? Well, Skip, I just used Ortho Weed B- Gone MAX in the spray bottle that you can get at the local Ace Hardware for only…)
I’m not there yet!!! I’m in my forties and can’t even think about retiring let alone what I’m even having for dinner tonight (I checked – leftovers). This is like a bad dream that has come true. So, what’s an able bodied person such as myself going to do? Well, I’m still networking with the New Jersey Open Coffee Meet Up about Social Media and Digital Marketing on Thursdays (http://www.meetup.com/New-Jersey-Open-Coffee-Montclair) and I’m getting ready for my awesome class at the Rutgers Center for Management Development in Digital Marketing in July (It’s part of their Mini MBA program - http://www.cmd.rutgers.edu/mini-mba-digital-marketing.html). So, if nothing else, I’m keeping busy.
And I will get to all this as soon as I’m done taking out the Craftsman Gale Force gas powered leaf blower to rid my deck of the grass clippings that my Honda Elite Mulcher lawn mower sprayed all over the place. Well, at least there are no weeds in the lawn. Well, not yet.
Really.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy having an awesome green, well manicured lawn that stands out from the slightly more yellow in hue looking lawns that surround me, but I would rather be employed.
Upon further inspection, I have noticed that two other lawns, further up the road on my street, are in competition with me for the ‘best lawn on the block’ award (I just made that up). And as I drive by these masterful putting greens, the men in charge of these tour de forces are all (get this) retired.
Retired? I’m competing against retired men? Can’t be.
Well, I thought that when I RETIRED, I would have conversations with other retired men about our lawns (Say Bob, what kind of weed killer are you using? Well, Skip, I just used Ortho Weed B- Gone MAX in the spray bottle that you can get at the local Ace Hardware for only…)
I’m not there yet!!! I’m in my forties and can’t even think about retiring let alone what I’m even having for dinner tonight (I checked – leftovers). This is like a bad dream that has come true. So, what’s an able bodied person such as myself going to do? Well, I’m still networking with the New Jersey Open Coffee Meet Up about Social Media and Digital Marketing on Thursdays (http://www.meetup.com/New-Jersey-Open-Coffee-Montclair) and I’m getting ready for my awesome class at the Rutgers Center for Management Development in Digital Marketing in July (It’s part of their Mini MBA program - http://www.cmd.rutgers.edu/mini-mba-digital-marketing.html). So, if nothing else, I’m keeping busy.
And I will get to all this as soon as I’m done taking out the Craftsman Gale Force gas powered leaf blower to rid my deck of the grass clippings that my Honda Elite Mulcher lawn mower sprayed all over the place. Well, at least there are no weeds in the lawn. Well, not yet.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Going to a State School
So, the Universe is taking pity on me and finally, throwing me a bone, so to speak. I attended several training workshops with the New Jersey State Unemployment and they have agreed to send me to school for some additional training (whoo hoo!!).
Now, unlike my recent venture into the world of community college (see blog posts dated January 27th and May 20th), this class I am about to take is geared toward a skill set that is very current. Anything to get an edge on the workforce.
This coming July, I will be taking a one week intensive in Digital Marketing at the Center for Management Development at Rutgers. This class is part of their Mini MBA program and even my Unemployment counselor has heard good things from this program. (http://www.cmd.rutgers.edu/mini-mba-digital-marketing.html)
My counselor has also told me that this career is still in its infant stages and to go to this class at Rutgers will certainly help my resume. So, I am a little over a month away from taking this class and I can’t wait. In the meantime, to sharpen my Digital Marketing skills, I’ve joined a Meet Up that meets every Thursday to talk about Digital Marketing and Social Media (http://www.meetup.com/New-Jersey-Open-Coffee-Montclair/). Could there be light at the end of the unemployment tunnel? Or is that still an oncoming train piloted by the Universe?
Stay tuned.
Now, unlike my recent venture into the world of community college (see blog posts dated January 27th and May 20th), this class I am about to take is geared toward a skill set that is very current. Anything to get an edge on the workforce.
This coming July, I will be taking a one week intensive in Digital Marketing at the Center for Management Development at Rutgers. This class is part of their Mini MBA program and even my Unemployment counselor has heard good things from this program. (http://www.cmd.rutgers.edu/mini-mba-digital-marketing.html)
My counselor has also told me that this career is still in its infant stages and to go to this class at Rutgers will certainly help my resume. So, I am a little over a month away from taking this class and I can’t wait. In the meantime, to sharpen my Digital Marketing skills, I’ve joined a Meet Up that meets every Thursday to talk about Digital Marketing and Social Media (http://www.meetup.com/New-Jersey-Open-Coffee-Montclair/). Could there be light at the end of the unemployment tunnel? Or is that still an oncoming train piloted by the Universe?
Stay tuned.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Getting the Band Back Together
Well, it’s happening. Something that I really didn’t think would happen but, I guess the Universe had other plans for me. Yes, it’s true.
“We’re getting the band back together.”
I’d never thought I would be a part of the famous 'Blues Brothers' movie quote but now I guess, I've come full circle, musician wise.
The band that is getting back together was a group that I auditioned for back in 1993 in a seedy rehearsal room in West Paterson. Well, they picked me and for seven years, we rehearsed in said seedy room and played out in the surrounding area. We called ourselves ‘Gang O’Kids’ after a phrase that the guitarist mom used to say about her neighborhood. “Look at all them gang o’kids running around…”
Nice.
Well, times change and lives change. The singer left in March of 2000 to move to Seattle and I left a month later to move to Colorado with my wife. Fast forward 11 years and I am now back in Jersey with my wife, a five year old daughter, a thirty year fixed mortgage and a dog. Wow. Our first rehearsal is at the end of June and I’ve started to relearn the demos and practice tapes of the band yet again. For this band, I have to break out the five-string bass for the deeper low end that the music demands (Thank You Modulus Flea 5!!) and because of everyone’s schedule, this will be a one-off gig. Ok, no problem. This should be fun. I’d like to thank the Universe for giving me a present during my unemployment time.
“We’re getting the band back together.”
I’d never thought I would be a part of the famous 'Blues Brothers' movie quote but now I guess, I've come full circle, musician wise.
The band that is getting back together was a group that I auditioned for back in 1993 in a seedy rehearsal room in West Paterson. Well, they picked me and for seven years, we rehearsed in said seedy room and played out in the surrounding area. We called ourselves ‘Gang O’Kids’ after a phrase that the guitarist mom used to say about her neighborhood. “Look at all them gang o’kids running around…”
Nice.
Well, times change and lives change. The singer left in March of 2000 to move to Seattle and I left a month later to move to Colorado with my wife. Fast forward 11 years and I am now back in Jersey with my wife, a five year old daughter, a thirty year fixed mortgage and a dog. Wow. Our first rehearsal is at the end of June and I’ve started to relearn the demos and practice tapes of the band yet again. For this band, I have to break out the five-string bass for the deeper low end that the music demands (Thank You Modulus Flea 5!!) and because of everyone’s schedule, this will be a one-off gig. Ok, no problem. This should be fun. I’d like to thank the Universe for giving me a present during my unemployment time.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Fifteen weeks in Thirteenth grade
OMG! WTF? LOL!
Is this Morse code?
No.
Some new Pharmaceutical ad campaign?
No.
A new kind of alien language?
Well, yes.
This little tidbit of information was brought to you by me, who just completed a semester at a local community college, or better known as, fifteen weeks in thirteenth grade.
Yes, fifteen weeks in thirteenth grade (now known as 15w13g, LOL) was quite the campaign by yours truly. Here I was, navigating thru a student body that was so strange, yet, seemed so familiar. After all these years, I was now on the OUTSIDE looking IN on these kids who probably looked at me with the same amount of perplexity as I did at them. Here are a few observations;
- Skinny Jeans can be worn by girls and guys. Back in the middle 1980s, this was all the rage. I know because as a musician, I did wear them (sadly). Then grunge came in and mercifully killed the look. Why it’s been reborn is anyone’s guess.
- ‘Heathers’ do exist.
- Every kid there is more important than you.
- Every kid would rather be somewhere else.
When you take a step back and look at it, community college is really just thirteenth grade. Most the kids know one another and it’s almost like a reunion of sorts, except they really are only one year (more like three months) removed from hanging out in high school. Whether or not they continue their education, all I know is that I will never wear skinny jeans again and my thumbs cannot text as fast as them. Maybe I really wanted to be someplace else just like them (like a job that I really like).
Is this Morse code?
No.
Some new Pharmaceutical ad campaign?
No.
A new kind of alien language?
Well, yes.
This little tidbit of information was brought to you by me, who just completed a semester at a local community college, or better known as, fifteen weeks in thirteenth grade.
Yes, fifteen weeks in thirteenth grade (now known as 15w13g, LOL) was quite the campaign by yours truly. Here I was, navigating thru a student body that was so strange, yet, seemed so familiar. After all these years, I was now on the OUTSIDE looking IN on these kids who probably looked at me with the same amount of perplexity as I did at them. Here are a few observations;
- Skinny Jeans can be worn by girls and guys. Back in the middle 1980s, this was all the rage. I know because as a musician, I did wear them (sadly). Then grunge came in and mercifully killed the look. Why it’s been reborn is anyone’s guess.
- ‘Heathers’ do exist.
- Every kid there is more important than you.
- Every kid would rather be somewhere else.
When you take a step back and look at it, community college is really just thirteenth grade. Most the kids know one another and it’s almost like a reunion of sorts, except they really are only one year (more like three months) removed from hanging out in high school. Whether or not they continue their education, all I know is that I will never wear skinny jeans again and my thumbs cannot text as fast as them. Maybe I really wanted to be someplace else just like them (like a job that I really like).
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Lost on Campus
Ok, ok, I know you all have a lot of questions regarding my sabbatical from this hobby called ‘blogging’ and the silly point of view that I have toward job-hunting. In all actually, I really had nothing to write about unless you call painting every upstairs room in my house blog-worthy. But I’m sure what you really want to know is, where have I been since Thursday, September 2, 2010? (aka, the date of my last blog entry).
Well, many events have taken place since that time but none more important than what happened today.
I went back to school.
Yes, school. Just so you know it’s not ‘Harvard’ or ‘Stanford’, or even an Adult Education night class held in a cafeteria at a local middle school. No, it is just ‘community’ college. Community is actually Latin for ‘really inexpensive’.
Say it with me – ka-moon-e-tea.
Excellent.
I’m attending a local community college to finish a Graphic Design degree that I started way back in the early 1990’s. We all remember the nineties, right? Well, here I am in 2011 back at school fighting my way through the North Face jacket wearing, iPod listening, two thumbs a texting, I’m cooler than you because I was born when you were in college, crowd. A fellow student actually called me “Sir” the other day.
Really? ‘Sir’? Ugh.
Talk about culture shock. Might be time to get a North Face jacket and take a black Sharpie to my grey beard (not really).
I am taking four classes at the local community college; Art History, Drawing I, 2-D Design, and English Comp II, and I’ve gotten lost looking for one of my class rooms at least six times. I’m hoping that once I’m done with about three semesters of classes, I can join the hearty folks of the working class. By then I should know my way around the campus.
Graduating with a degree in Design I hope will propel me into a fancy Art Director position with a nice window view and free coffee or working for a local t-shirt company. Either way, I’ll be in a cool creative environment (Hey, ya gotta dream it!).
I have been blaming the Universe for sending me on this crazy route in hopes of finding joyful employment and, moving forward, I will continue to blame the Universe for sending me on this crazy route in hopes of finding ANY kind of employment.
But in the meantime, I have a quiz about poetry next week and need to study the material. I’m betting that there is not one poem on the syllabus that starts with “There was a man from Nantucket…”
Hey look, I see that North Face jackets are on sale! (Man, I really need to get out of the house more often).
More to follow.
Well, many events have taken place since that time but none more important than what happened today.
I went back to school.
Yes, school. Just so you know it’s not ‘Harvard’ or ‘Stanford’, or even an Adult Education night class held in a cafeteria at a local middle school. No, it is just ‘community’ college. Community is actually Latin for ‘really inexpensive’.
Say it with me – ka-moon-e-tea.
Excellent.
I’m attending a local community college to finish a Graphic Design degree that I started way back in the early 1990’s. We all remember the nineties, right? Well, here I am in 2011 back at school fighting my way through the North Face jacket wearing, iPod listening, two thumbs a texting, I’m cooler than you because I was born when you were in college, crowd. A fellow student actually called me “Sir” the other day.
Really? ‘Sir’? Ugh.
Talk about culture shock. Might be time to get a North Face jacket and take a black Sharpie to my grey beard (not really).
I am taking four classes at the local community college; Art History, Drawing I, 2-D Design, and English Comp II, and I’ve gotten lost looking for one of my class rooms at least six times. I’m hoping that once I’m done with about three semesters of classes, I can join the hearty folks of the working class. By then I should know my way around the campus.
Graduating with a degree in Design I hope will propel me into a fancy Art Director position with a nice window view and free coffee or working for a local t-shirt company. Either way, I’ll be in a cool creative environment (Hey, ya gotta dream it!).
I have been blaming the Universe for sending me on this crazy route in hopes of finding joyful employment and, moving forward, I will continue to blame the Universe for sending me on this crazy route in hopes of finding ANY kind of employment.
But in the meantime, I have a quiz about poetry next week and need to study the material. I’m betting that there is not one poem on the syllabus that starts with “There was a man from Nantucket…”
Hey look, I see that North Face jackets are on sale! (Man, I really need to get out of the house more often).
More to follow.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
End of Summer Unemployment Blues
So, here we are at the beginning of the end – the ‘beginning’ is the long Labor Day weekend and the ‘end’ is the official end of the 2010 summer (although we all know we will certainly have our share of 90 degree plus days right up till mid October).
Recently the job search has been put on the back burner as A) its summer and anyone who is in charge of making any sort of decision is sitting on a beach chair somewhere dreading that they have to go back to the office to make any sort of decision, and B) duh, its summer. I did manage to get out a few resumes to the employed world, and I did sneak in a good networking breakfast with a few friends but here’s the real reason I’ve been slacking recently – my five year old daughter has had a two week break between the end of day care and the beginning of kindergarten. There’s that whole ‘beginning’ and ‘end’ theory again.
So, to fill the time, my daughter and I have been doing a lot fun things, like, watching a lot of Phineas and Ferb, riding our Razor scooters (yes, I have the adult version of the Razor Scooter also known as the A5 – it rocks!), going to the Children’s Museum followed by a trip to Micky D’s for a Happy Meal and then to the backyard to kick the soccer ball for a while.
And on those days when she was off on a play date, I painted the bathroom (a cool blue called Blue Moon), cut the grass, did the laundry, watched Phineas and Ferb (hey, it's pretty funny), built my daughters Barbie Dream House for her fifth birthday present as well as assembled the Zhu Zhu hamster tunnels. Then I added more idiotic apps on my smartphone (why?) all the while perusing the websites Monster.com and Indeed.com.
Ok, I’m guessing that after this long holiday weekend and next week, after I put my daughter on the bus for her first day of kindergarten, I will sober up (seriously) and get cranking on my job search. My unemployment is coming to an end and I will have to apply for an extension but I would rather be working. On the other hand, my volunteer work at the Seeing Eye is still happening, so if nothing else, it gets me out of the house.
Yeah, I was laid off back in May but overall I’ve had a good summer with the family. Thank you Universe for letting me have the ‘summer off’. But, we need to get going on that job search – see you the first week of September!
Recently the job search has been put on the back burner as A) its summer and anyone who is in charge of making any sort of decision is sitting on a beach chair somewhere dreading that they have to go back to the office to make any sort of decision, and B) duh, its summer. I did manage to get out a few resumes to the employed world, and I did sneak in a good networking breakfast with a few friends but here’s the real reason I’ve been slacking recently – my five year old daughter has had a two week break between the end of day care and the beginning of kindergarten. There’s that whole ‘beginning’ and ‘end’ theory again.
So, to fill the time, my daughter and I have been doing a lot fun things, like, watching a lot of Phineas and Ferb, riding our Razor scooters (yes, I have the adult version of the Razor Scooter also known as the A5 – it rocks!), going to the Children’s Museum followed by a trip to Micky D’s for a Happy Meal and then to the backyard to kick the soccer ball for a while.
And on those days when she was off on a play date, I painted the bathroom (a cool blue called Blue Moon), cut the grass, did the laundry, watched Phineas and Ferb (hey, it's pretty funny), built my daughters Barbie Dream House for her fifth birthday present as well as assembled the Zhu Zhu hamster tunnels. Then I added more idiotic apps on my smartphone (why?) all the while perusing the websites Monster.com and Indeed.com.
Ok, I’m guessing that after this long holiday weekend and next week, after I put my daughter on the bus for her first day of kindergarten, I will sober up (seriously) and get cranking on my job search. My unemployment is coming to an end and I will have to apply for an extension but I would rather be working. On the other hand, my volunteer work at the Seeing Eye is still happening, so if nothing else, it gets me out of the house.
Yeah, I was laid off back in May but overall I’ve had a good summer with the family. Thank you Universe for letting me have the ‘summer off’. But, we need to get going on that job search – see you the first week of September!
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