<editorsnote>Hi, I'm Jen Friel, and we here at TNTML examine the lives of nerds outside of the basements and into the social media, and dating world. We have over 75 peeps that write about their life in real time. (Real nerds, real time, real deal.) Sit back, relax, and enjoy some of the stories!!</editorsnote>
<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Meghan. She came on board months ago to write for us, and then very unexpectedly had her life change. No like for reals - her first email to me was how she was in this relationship ... and how awesome it was ... like literally a week later, they broke up. She hasn't been able to write for months and is now dipping her toes back in the water. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT MEGHAN!!</editorsnote>
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Meghan Brown
I’m a big Grey’s Anatomy fan (shut up). It’s my show. I love it best, even when it’s soapy and stupid and ridiculous and hello? Did I not tell you to shut up? Because I’m pretty sure I did.
ANYWAY. This week’s episode concluded with the remaining three members of the original Seattle Grace gang sitting around at Joe’s. Karev was apologizing(ish) for a comment he’d made earlier about George (WHOSE DEATH WAS VERY TRAUMATIC, THANKYOUVERYMUCH).
Alex:“O’Malley wasn’t a creep, OK? I just don’t like thinking about him because then I have to think about Izzy and I get all sad and sappy. George is dead and Izzy is gone, and we’re all different. We’re different.”
Ouch. Ouch the most.
We’re all different. And we really are, aren’t we? I look at my college friends, my high school friends. We’re all different! What a wonderful, terrible thing, to be different. To be grown or close. Self-sufficiency. Congratulations, us. We’re not in Millbrae or Irvine or Burbank anymore.
But I miss those co-dependent college days. Those high school nights spent singing in the car. I miss the days when my friends were like my family. I miss sharing books and music like secrets, sharing secrets like songs. I miss feeling like there were people who knew me better than I knew myself.
Because now? I know me the most. Learning to stand on my own two feet. Getting myself together. Putting down the phone and opening up Ommwriter. I’m on my own this time.
Relationships change. Everything does. I’ve lost the numbers of the people I used to call first. The first boy who felt like a brother hasn’t spoken to me in years. Girls who felt like sisters drifted.
Not all of them, of course. I’m remarkably lucky to have kept in fiendish touch with the vast majority of people I’ve been really close to throughout my life. But… even then. We’re different. It’s not the three of us at every party. It’s not movie dates and grocery shopping. It’s not a life entwined. And sometimes… sometimes I really, really miss that.
And I’m worried this just gets easier. Letting everything go. Realizing that we’re not the same people we were at sixteen or twenty or twenty-five. It won’t ever be the four of us, or the five of us, or the two of us again. It won’t ever be us against the world. There are new soldiers on our sides.
By the time you are reading this, I shall be on a plane on my way to NYC!!! Whoop whoop!! So stoked, man. I will be staying in a hostel tonight, followed by sitting my butt in a bunch of meetings tomorrow. UUUGGHHH!!! So so SO excited!! We've got so many cool things coming up, I am BUURRSSTTIIINNNNGGG at the seams with excitement. BAH!
Well it's either excitement, or a gnarly case of diarrhea. I sure hope it's just excitement because that could be messy on the plane.
AWWKKWWARRDDD
Either way, this is one of my favorite songs about New York, have a listen!!
SOOOOOOOOO ... yesterday was filled with all sorts of awesomeness. I totally started tearing up on the bus ride home at an incredible opportunity that was presented to me. Just ... incredible. incredible. incredible.
For reals - first up though, I have to preface this post by saying I am also still balls deep in editing the TV project. I adore it, totally an honor ... but editing to me is an art. If I put my name on something ... it has to be done to my satisfaction. I'm about as FAAARRRRRRR from being a perfectionist as humanly possible - I like to think of myself as more of a gett 'er doner, but either way, I am totally in hardcore producer/ editing mode.
See ... look at this hair ... this is editor's hair cause like I'm in a cave and no one can like see me ...
And I perpetually shove the hair from side to side as I work - it's weird, I know ... but the constant movement helps me think. Well, that and crack, but I've been doing my best to lay off that shit.
CRACK IS WHACK!!!
I digress ... so within the span of one week, this chiquita banana kept popping up on my radar screen. Literally - one week, three different people told me I needed to connect with this person.
Fortunately, one of the people that had contacted me about her had told me about a job opportunity. I'm not actively looking for work since we've gotz a lot of awesomeness going on that keeps me afloat - but I at least wanted to submit and see what was going on since it sounded like a super rad opportunity ... dudes, it was getting to do social media for literally a legendary rockstar. I kid you not. EPIC!!!!
I submit my thingie to her, and then I started connecting the dots saying, omg - this is the chiquita banana that my friend totally met with the other day. I emailed him and asked if it was true, he was all - yup!! And she's AMAZING!! You guys need to connect.
He then writes the RADDEST intro email EVVEERRRRRR .. and seriously man, this dude, I respect more than ANYONE in the tech industry. To like get an intro email the way that this dude wrote it totally made my life.
Incredibly. Incredibly. Incredibly. Humbling.
So, she and I go back and forth ... and then I get an email from this dude in her department and he's all hey! we wanna meet you, let's schedule a time to come in.
I say amazeballs - prolly literally hahaha ... and yesterday at like 8am I get an email asking if I can come in this afternoon.
PERRFEECCTTT, I thought. Way to be your own boss and just be able to accept opportunities like that.
So, then I hop on the city bus and head over to Beverly Hills to kick it at UTA.
UTA is one of THHHEEEE most powerful agencies in the world. Like for reals ... big. big. big. deal ... and I was going to meet with their digital department with people that had a whole lot of google-ness to their names.
I get there, and meet with the duderino - and he starts telling me about this amazing opportunity. I kinda scratch my head though saying this wasn't exactly what I thought it was. Albeit super super super rad, I'm a nerdy hippie - and this just wasn't really my speed. I then showed him the email I got about the job with the rockstar and he goes OOOOHHHHHHHH!!! We also wanted you for something else ... I then told him my spiel, and he just kept scratching his head. Wait, you crashed the Grammys? Wait, you barter social media? Wait, you are a personal brand? What?!
It was great!
I was like yeah dude, I know what you're presenting me with is something awesome - but literally I was made to handle the social media for a rockstar (mind you, this includes going on tour). I said I've already been doing it! It's my thing!! See last year's video with Billy Gibbons below:
I'm really good at breaking things down for people and helping them understand the value of social media versus just saying, oh you have to use twitter because the world is on it. This is my passion man, and I view it as an art not as this thing that twists most peoples arms.
He was intrigued, and I told him I would at least put out to my network to see if I can find him the right fit. Dudes, there is nothing worse than knowing you are GOD AWFUL for a job, and you take it out of desperation. Could I have taken that job and done it? Absolutely! But I don't have to take a job ... I really just wanted the experience of being around someone as creative as this rockstar and sort of coming up with cool shit to tweet out, and help the team execute this person's digital strategy in the field and grow their base. I can talk about social media for forever and ever and evveerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, but there is nothing better than having such a creative mind and having a SUPER SOLID knowledge on how to break it down for that kinda brain.
I then met with the chiquita banana, and she couldn't believe my story either. She's like this is NUTS!!!! I was super humbled but just kept telling her flat out that I just do it because I love it. It doesn't really make sense to me either, but it keeps working ... and because I'm following my joy and bliss opportunities LITERALLY fall at my feet. I just dig it, man!
She then told me she loved even my intro email for the position, because I didn't even attach a resume. She goes, that's the kinda brain we need - outside of the box.
HAHA resume? Dude! I LIIVVEEEE online! I just sent a series of links, and said there ya go! Let your work speak for itself, like energy will always align.
So yeah! Now I'm pretty stoked. I have to meet with the rocker next, but I'm a huge huge huge fan of their music, and you guys are gonna freak if I get it and you hear who it is.
But no matter what at the end of the day as cool as this opportunity sounds - it's just my passion. I really fucking love social media, and I have headphones in my ears 97% of the day because it's just how I think. I'm going with the flow of it all, so of COURSE opportunities like this would present themselves. It's going to be a lot of work, but I LOVE it!!! I don't ever feel like I'm working - I just cannot not be connected to social media or the internet in general. I LIIVVEEEEE in this space!!! It was my home for a year when I was without one. You all are my heart and my soul ... and I just like BAHHHHHHHHHH wanna make out with you all.
So thank you again TNTML for all the love and all that you all do. Should this opportunity come to fruition I will prolly pee my pants, but I can very happily say at the same time- it feels REALLY GREAT to have gotten this far!!! =) =) =)
Do what you love. always. always. always.
Peace love and lollipops! =)
PS. They also connected me with the people at the Summit Series. UMMMMMMMMM are you SERIOUS?!?!?!?! I didn't remember their name when she first said it, but DUDES!! That is like the most EPIC invite ever!!!!!!! Wow. Wow. Wow.
Totally humbled. Totally ... just ... fucking grateful. I'm not crazy, I just see things differently. Score 1 for the misfits!! xoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxxoxoxoxoxox
Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at 6:01AM
I’m a big Grey’s Anatomy fan (shut up). It’s my show. I love it best, even when it’s soapy and stupid and ridiculous and hello? Did I not tell you to shut up? Because I’m pretty sure I did.
