Integrity is All You Have

This morning I read It's Thomas Midgeley day, a blog post by Seth Godin that had my head spinning.  He wrote in honor of what would have been Thomas Midgeley's 124th birthday, and what the consequences can be, "when short-term profit-taking meets marketing."  Read Seth's full post here.

Midgeley worked in the gasoline industry and he helped his company delude the public and government into believing that leaded gasoline was not a threat to health and well being despite knowing otherwise.  It is a horrific and inhumane thing to put other people's lives at risk without giving them full disclosure about the possible side effects, consequences, or outcome.  I was appalled.

I have always said that I will not perform a job or participate as a part of an organization that compromises either my personal or professional integrity.  I firmly believe integrity is the only thing that we have that cannot be taken away.  People can't steal your integrity.  You choose to sell it, give it up, compromise it, etc.

That said, it's very interesting that I've chosen to make a career in marketing.  Although I don't enjoy admitting it, marketing doesn't have a great record with integrity.  Here's a quick list of offending industries off the top of my head:

• Cigarette Industry (Joe the Camel; The Marlboro Man)
• Oil Industry
• Fast Food Industry
• Politics 

The wikipedia definition of Marketing Ethics provides compelling reasoning behind the shifty choices made by marketing professionals and their superiors.  Reading it almost seems like the backstory of a TV show or dramatic movie instead of a description of the real world of business marketing.

Still, I hope that the information age makes hiding the unwanted side effects of products or the truth about recipes or the motives behind military strikes will become less and less possible.  Today, we have very little ability to mask information.  We leave a digital trail almost every time we access the internet, travel, make a purchase and so forth.

I hope that my generation of marketing professionals will leave the unethical marketing behind and maintain our integrity.  At the end of our lives, I believe it's the only thing we take with us.

Ryan, DDS

Sophomore year in Isla Vista 

Tomorrow I get to take the day off of work and attend a very special graduation ceremony for Sam's college roommate, Ryan, as he becomes the first DDS (and I think doctor of any kind) in his family.  

Ryan and I became really close during undergrad because he and Sam shared a room Junior and Senior year, and because Ryan and I have very similar families.  From the get-go we meshed really well and I always loved making dinner as a house, hearing how his parents and sisters were doing, and spending free time down at the beach.  As you can see from these photos of us, there was also quite a bit of drinking... but I will say this, I only had to take him to urgent care once (that I remember) for injuries sustained while drunk.  

Junior year in Isla Vista

Ryan is one of those guys who is actually a wonderful person.  It's hard to come by guys like that these days, although I am certainly blessed to know quite a few upstanding dudes.  Ryan was always a great moral compass without judging too much.  He had good advice for me and sought out advice about his life from me.  I would say Ryan is someone I absolutely consider to be a brother from another mother!

Anyway, poor Sam is stuck at work tomorrow, oh the joys of residency and especially 2nd year of residency.  So I will be attending Ryan's graduation solo (and meeting up with lots of the old UCSB crew.  We bought him a gift to commemorate the occasion, something he will be able to have a long time and enjoy.  Or so we hope.

Ryan is definitely one of those friends that I know Sam and I will be close to for the rest of our lives.  Just like some of my parents' friends who they've been tight with since high school and college.  Despite the distance we'll face as Ryan moves back to Northern California to start his career in dentistry, I am sure we'll still keep in touch and visit each other as often as we can.  That's just the kind of guy Ryan is.  Thoughtful, kind, someone who makes the effort to spend your birthday with you- even if it means driving out of his way and changing his plans.

Senior year at the Del Playa house in Isla Vista

Will This Ever Get Old?

I wanted to share some cool news articles published from the press release I set out on the wire Tuesday morning.  It's still so cool to see my name listed as the release contact!  I wonder when (if ever) that will get old?  Probably eventually.  I especially love that we get picked up by all my "hometown" newspapers from the San Francisco Bay Area.  And most interesting of all, I made it into the Contra Costa Times, my hometown county paper, for something other than water polo.  Wow, I feel so grown up!

(Disclaimer: all of these are pretty much the same article, don't feel the need to read them ALL unless you want to!)

Contra Costa Times

SF Gate (Chronicle Website) 

Sacramento Bee

LA Daily News

OC Register (This little blurb was written by an Acalanes grad who I have gotten to know fairly well- networking plus!)

Loving my Puppy

It seems that Sam has been on call every other night since I've been back from New Orleans, which has left me with quite a bit of free time.  Once the laundry has been done, the floors vacuumed, and the surfaces tidied there isn't so much to be done.  So tonight finds Hunter and I sitting on the couch watching some of the 3rd season of Downton Abbey- OMG I can't believe Sybil died and I really hope Tom and Matthew end up running the estate together!

I have to admit, Sam was smart to have given in to getting the puppy last January.  He is quite settled into our routine now, and he's so well trained (for the most part).  Hunter took to me almost immediately, that first night he was here he was so frightened and those first 4 days he spent most of his time snuggling with me.  The relationship between he and Sam was much slower to blossom, but when I came back from Michelle's graduation last June I found they were fast friends.  :-) Every night without fail, Hunter runs to the door when Sam comes home, squealing for joy and waiting for as much love as possible.  It's even more of a show when Sam has been on call, Hunter just fawns all over him. 

It's not exactly the same as how he is beside himself when I come in, but it's so sweet all the same.  He snuggles with me every night- either under the covers, between Sam and I, or on my pillow so that his head rests upon my shoulder.  He is just absolutely the most precious puppy.  As I type this, he is nestled beside me with his head in my lap.  I am absolutely Hunter's mommy, he comes to me when he wants to be coddled and loved and snuggled.  He comes to me when he get spooked and when he's cranky and tired.  

And even though the weight of his care falls on my shoulders, I bear it gladly.  He is the perfect little companion.  And I am so thankful to Sam for making this all possible.  

Go Gauchos!

This was another very fun weekend.  My grandparents drove down from NorCal to watch my cousin Ali play volleyball for UCSB against UCI on Friday and CSULB on Saturday.  I arrived early to work on Friday morning and skipped my lunch so that I could leave early and spend as much time with my grandparents as possible.

We grabbed sandwiches at Boudin SF on our way to her game at UCI.  Sam timed everything perfectly and met us at will-call where Ali had put us on the Pass List and given us VIP tickets.  Inside the gym, we found Auntie Lori.  She had flown in from Hawaii on short notice when she didn't have to announce the UH college football game.  It was REALLY good having her with us because I have very limited volleyball knowledge.

Saturday, we walked Hunter to Einstein Bros Bagels for breakfast and then went grocery shopping.  The beautiful thing about having my family stay with us is they usually treat us to grocery shopping.  :-)  So off to Whole Foods we went and picked up some lunch items as well as a litany of items for me to make Weight Watchers meals this week.  WOOHOO! 

Saturday afternoon we headed up to Long Beach and met Lori for dinner at the Crooked Duck- which was FAR better than we had imagined.  I brought along a Boudin sando for Ali to munch on after the game when the team drove back up to SB since she wouldn't be stopping for dinner. 

Sadly, the team lost both matches, but it was really good to watch Ali play regardless of the outcome of the games.  I could not be more proud of her! 

Sunday morning, we repeated our breakfast routine before Hunter and I went to his very last Therapy Dog training class.  Do I think he could be a great therapy dog?  Yes, someday.  But he's currently too much of a puppy and has unpredictable ADHD.

We came back to the apartment and watched the end of the 49 defeat in Minnesota before Nona and Papa hit the road and headed home.  Sam got back from being on call and was so exhausted he passed out on the floor from 5-9 PM, only waking up when I told him he should go hop under the covers and call it a night.  The poor guy has to take call again tomorrow night!

Career Milestones

This morning I submitted my first-ever press release to a wire service for mass distribution.  Wow. 

Not only did we get picked up by a few online news channels- yes, we actually did get published- my contact information was listed as the person to direct questions to.  Wow. 

I feel like a big girl with a big girl job today.  Sometimes I really amaze myself.

Also, Sam received word that he officially is licensed by the state of California to practice medicine (or at least write prescriptions) yesterday.  I am very proud of both of us today... dare I say our careers are on the right track?