Portland, here I come

I got this sticker from Dan Balser over half a year or more ago. I think I got it because I just happened to be walking by his office at the time, no real reason. Still, I was pretty excited. I thought, "Wow, Wieden+Kennedy. Touching this static-cling decal will probably be the closest I ever get to that place. They're legendary. Waaay out of my league. Oh well, at least I have this sweet sticker."

Press fast forward to 8:39 Thursday night. My phone rings with an unknown number. "503? I wonder what area code that is." Luckily I love answering unknown numbers.

And luckily the person on the other end was Wieden+Kennedy creative recruiter, Lauren Ranke. I met her in Cannes, and we emailed back and forth a few times. All very positive, but I hadn't heard anything in a few weeks. This was totally out of the blue.

She asked if I was sitting down.

"I just did."

"How would you like to come out here to Portland to work with us?"

"Oh wow."

"Also—I know this is short notice—but is there any way you could start Monday?"

I'll spare you all the details, but basically I'm leaving on a plane, 11:09 tomorrow morning to fly out to Portland. It's a two-month freelance gig working on some new stuff for Starbucks. (If it works out well, it'll likely turn into a salaried position.) I'm also very luck to have a fellow Circus student and friend, Karen Gereffi as my art director partner.

It's going to be insane. I'm not even thinking about it. I'm just going to show up and do it. I'll write more as time permits. I have no idea what to expect. I'm not even expecting anything. I just want to get in there and kick ass.

To everyone in Atlanta that I haven't gotten to say goodbye to, take care. To everyone at Circus, thank you so much. You guys are amazing. I love you all. All my best.

The next time you hear from me, it'll be from Portland.

!!!!!!!