Let me steal this moment from you now…

So many of you may have probably noticed that I haven’t been around the net much over these last couple of weeks.  My blogging has been scarce and off topic and my presence on a number of social outlets has been slim to none.  Let me assure you I am near my return and hope to have the blogging and social networking back in full swing in the coming weeks.

The last couple of weeks were spent in the process of a transition from one company to another.  During that time a lot of my creative and topical writing efforts were geared towards pumping out eight blog posts for my previous employer.  Each post was geared at giving real estate professionals a primer on how to better their websites and better their brand using social media.  Even though I left the company my written posts will be released weekly through March 4.  So far they have released Real Estate Content Writing, Social Media Awareness, How To Connect With Potential Clients Using Q&A Sites, and today the posted Blogging For Your Real Estate Website.  Over the coming weeks the final posts will come out and cover topics like call to action, landing pages, getting your website organized, and giving your website a checkup.  Again these are just primers for real estate professionals, but I welcome your thoughts or feedback if you have any.

Let’s exchange the experience…

The departure from my previous employer of course prompted a few celebratory / parting dinners for me, so that cut into a bit of my time also.  Needless to say there was plenty of good times to be had and shenanigans to unfold.

Then last Thursday I began work at the new company.  I think this is going to be a great opportunity for me and I am really enjoying the people and the atmosphere already.  The most amusing facet of the transition so far though was having the news picked up on by Read Write Web’s Jobwire.  I spent the first few days at the new place looking over someone’s shoulder and learning the ins and outs of how their SEO team does stuff, but as of today I was set free to unleash havoc in the form of SEO on websites.

Sadly I am getting over this weeks hump on sort of a crappy note.  I’ve been sick the last couple of days which has made me very out of it and very blah.  One of my first ventures when I return to actual blogging will be updating the song links in my Twilight Soundtrack as well as the other Twilight inspired playlists I created.  With Mixwit closing down visitors have been unable to hear all of the songs that I chose.  Once I get that out of the way I have a few posts in mind that I hope to have up in the coming weeks.

Over the last 6 months or so I’ve been mixing it up with the likes of Mr. David Harry AKA ‘TheGypsy’.  We’ve had some interesting conversations and more recently joined forces to combat the attack of the killer bounce rates.  But apparently camaraderie only goes so far; you see yesterday this fine chap from the great white north tagged me in a meme he got mixed up in. Following his post of 14 things you may not know, that might be interesting and definitely odd, he tagged me and a handful of other internet geeks to tackle the same task. Fortunately for us we were only tagged once and therefore only need to give 7 facts.

So here I am, about to regurgitate 7 things you probably didn’t know about me…

1.  In my lifetime I’ve only ever broken one thing in my body and it wasn’t even a bone.  In the 4th grade I took a line drive to the face while playing softball and broke my nose.  Jammed my nose clear up into my head, they said if it had been any worse it could have killed me.  Fortunately it didn’t and after some minor surgery they were able to tweak it back into place.

2.  It took me 9 years, 5 majors, and 4 schools to finally finish college.  I now have my associates degree in Graphics Design.  I was on my way to completing my BA in Visual Communication, but due to the birth of the twins and some hardships caused by the 14-16 hour days I decided it was best to stop at my AA.

3.  I spent five years of my working life at The House of Mouse, or as you probably know it The Disneyland Resort.  In 2001 I was hired on as a ride operator to help aid in the opening of Disney’s California Adventure.  For the next five years the Walt Disney Company would teach me a lot about what I know in regards to customer service and how going the extra mile for your customers really makes a HUGE difference.  During that five years I climbed the chain of command and gained a ton of attractions knowledge before leaving in 2006.  At the end of my career with the resort I could operate 8 attractions, train and  manage 6, and was lucky enough to do walkthroughs of Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion.

4.  This one ties in with the last one.  Because I did walkthroughs of both the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean I have some incredible pictures of both attractions, unlike anything the general public would get. Some pictures include Pirates of the Caribbean with no water in the flume, a pirate animatronic without its outer skin and clothing, and some shots from inside the ballroom of The Haunted Mansion.

5.  My body does not take well to the feeling of falling.  While most people probably feel some sort of panic or fear when riding on roller coasters, or rides with sudden drops my body has a very different way of reacting.  My body begins to shake uncontrollably.  While mentally I enjoy attractions like this, my body doesn’t do well with them at all.  Because of this I am usually the guy who will try anything once and depending on how my body reacts I might sit out from that point on.  Disney’s Tower of Terror or Knott’s Berry Farm’s Supreme Scream are two perfect examples of rides I went on once, but will probably never go on again.

6.  I was in a handful of bands during and after high school.  In high school I was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for an alt/grunge band Another Alternative and then after high school I continued the role of lead singer and guitarist in a couple of bands that were similar to the likes of Something Corporate without the piano.  An interesting tidbit on each.  My first band, Another Alternative, recorded our demo with Bob Moon who recorded albums for bands like MxPx and The OC Supertones.  In the later bands I was working with Chris Salomone the younger brother of James Salomone who at the time had just finished as the bassist for ska outfit Rx Bandits.

7.  I didn’t get into SEO…SEO got into me.  I had been building websites for a number of years and was aware of some of the basic principles of SEO, but had never really given SEO much thought in terms of an interest or a career.  It wasn’t until an employer promoted me to their website marketing division that I was thrown into the realm of SEO.  Once introduced I got the fever and have been sucking up everything SEO and internet marketing related that I can.  One sickness lead to another and I am now diving deeper into things like social media and SMM, though my love for SEO is very much still at the helm.

So there you have it 7 things about me you probably never knew and many of you probably never cared to know. But now that we’ve got that out of the way there is one thing that my fine gypsy friend has always emphasized and that’s pay it forward, so since he got me wrapped up in this mess I will do just that.  The following 7 souls have been tagged!

Audrey Seiberling
Anna Bourland
John Jones
Katherine Keller
Kristina Sanchez
Tamar Weinberg
Troy Ready

Yesterday was the first political protest of any sort that I recall ever participating in.  If I have at any other point it would have been in high school and I’m sure it was on a much smaller scale.  My choice to do so however was not planned.  Though I belong to a number of various action and political groups online such as MoveOn.org and Defenders of Wildlife, I have never actually participated in much aside from petitions and the spreading of information.

Yesterday I had a few errands to run and on my way to Target I noticed a row of Yes on 8 protesters lined the street at the corner of Ontario and California here in Corona.  If you’re not familiar with Prop 8 here in California you can read my Prop 8 – Prop Hate post to get some more info and my opinion on the measure.  The sea of Prop 8 supporters was merely freckled by the No on 8 supporters and honestly seemed like an unfair representation of No on 8 support.  As I drove by I decided that after I finished my errands if the protesters were still out I would join them.

Sure enough on my way back from Target the protesters were still out there, thankfully by then there No on 8 support had grown, but it still was lacking in comparison to the Yes on 8 support, which now spanned all 4 corners.  So I took a quick detour to the Wal-Mart around the corner and bought some poster board and a giant marker, returned to my car made a “No on Hate, No on 8” sign and headed down to join them.

When I reached the spot where the majority of the No on 8 protestors were a few of them looked at me and smiled and then when I mentioned that I was driving by and thought they could use some help one of the guys I was talking to recognized me.  Turns out that one of the No on 8 protesters I had seen earlier was actually someone I went to high school with.  In fact he was the cousin of the lead guitarist in the band I was in that I used to spend quite a bit of time with; such a small world.

Overall yesterday was an incredible experience for me and I could break down the whole event based on the four hours I was there, but honestly there isn’t much to tell.  I got to meet some really cool people and I got to make a difference in my community.  But more than that I realized just how amazing of a country we live in and yet how scary of a country we live in.

Making A Difference Through Community

Throughout the day the Yes on 8 and No on 8 protestors protested side by side with little to no serious confrontation.  The confrontation that did come about was mild and mostly verbal and had a peaceful resolve that simply added in separation.

The sense of unity between all of the supporters even though many of us did not know each other was empowering.  We united for a common cause and built our bond on that alone.  The support for No on 8 was made up of both gay and straight protestors, men and women, and even a teacher/mother who’s argument was, “I’m old, I’m white, I’m a teacher and a mother and I’m voting No on 8”.

Though lines were clearly drawn between no and yes supporters, many of the opposing individuals sat and talked with their differences aside.  Conversations completely unrelated to the protest went on with the mindset that they could both have their opinion on an issue without it having an affect their ability to interact with one another on a totally separate level.

In addition we had a handful of people drive by and say things like, “I’m glad you guys are out here” or “I don’t agree with you, but I’m glad you’re exercising your right to do this as an American.”  Things like this show that there is still some love and tolerance in the world.

Ignorance Will Be Our Downfall

The sheer number of children that were brought to join in the Yes on 8 protest was discomforting.  To know that so many children, all seemingly under the age or 12 were being taught intolerance at such an early age; some looking as young as maybe 4 or 5.  Furthermore they were in full yellow garb and holding signs in support of something they probably had no real understanding of.  I wanted on more than one occasion to approach one of them and ask them what they thought Prop 8 was about, but I feared that the parents would get a bit defensive about that so I refrained.  To give you an idea of the mindset of some of these kids here are a few of the things I overheard kids saying, “Yes on 8 and yes on ice cream.”,  “I love my mommy and daddy vote Yes on 8.”, and “Vote Yes on 8 and get a free car wash.”.

The ignorance of the general public amazes me.  One of the Yes on 8 protestors was screaming at the top of her lungs that we were voting no on 8 because we wanted to stop procreation and destroy the human population. In another instance we had a truck full of meatheads drive up to a red light and ask what Prop 8 was.  When one of the girls, who happened to be a lesbian, told them there was some snickering from the car.  Then as the light turned green the truck sped off and the guy who asked the question screamed out the window, “Fuck you, you faggot ass bitches”.  This all in addition to the fact that myself and a number of the other guys had “Faggot” yelled at us as people drove by because they assumed that since I was No on 8 I was gay.  And of course there was also the random car that drove by the just screamed “Fuck you!” out the window and gave us all the finger.

Though the day was filled with some really good moments and really disturbing moments it was not short of some more light hearted moments.  Some of the highlights included a guy driving by and screaming, “I love cock!” and a car full of girls with No on 8 painted on their windows blasting Katy Perry’s song I Kissed A Girl and I Liked It.  It just goes to show that while hot issues are often serious there is still fun that can be had in this kind of political climate.

Ultimately I think the protest went well.  Thought the Yes on 8 protestors outnumbered us for a couple of hours because of the number of children they had involved they left long before the No on 8 protestors did, and for the last part of the night we controlled at least 2 of the 4 corners.  This was a really positive experience for me and I think a really good way for me to act upon my vow to live every day like it’s my last. I really hope in the future I have more opportunities to be involved in things like this.  Not always protests, but events or acts to better society and my community in relation to things I am passionate about.  There are a lot of great causes out there and a lot of great people who need help and support and I hope in the future I can be part of that.