SWAG!!

Posted on February 8th, 2007 by Jeremy.
Categories: Personal.

swag

Any corporate/branded merchandise given out for free in order to promote the company/brand. Usually little trinkets or doodads, sometimes clothing, and always cheaply mass-produced

Swag. As in I gots me some! As in watch me swagger like jagger.

Ok maybe not.

As some of you may or may not know I have a permanent job. Though this should not be something that one would brag about, it is a feat, if you were to know my intrepid adventure of the last year.

But let’s not rehash the year of joy (2006) and talk about the present, the now, the glories of working at an Ad Agency.

I’m embedded with a rather large Ad Agency that has offices throughout the country. It’s a hip, pop culture headquarters for the latest in fashion trends and frivolous paraphernalia. They have a photo booth in the lobby and everything moves easily from some 50’s style art posters and furnishings to the present day, beautiful flat screen tv’s, state of the art conference rooms and a integrated computer systems that actually makes my jaw slacken a bit.

It feels like a startup/dotcom place of toil. There are the friendly faces and carefree smiles that make you wonder if work actually ever gets done. People are often overheard talking about last night’s Grey’s Anatomy episode or seen breaking balls on the mini pool table. But I know the truth, there is a lot of work, hard work, and long hours that is put in and the people here are dedicated to work hard and yes…play hard.

So, in all, it’s a great place.

And I my friends have been blessed by the Lord above to be stuck here.

I have two bosses, one male and one female, both wonderful human beings. The male is the main boss and regularly makes it his point to esteem and lift up those around him. A leader of considerable talent and someone that I hope to glean a lot from during my tenure here.

The girl who is a Senior VP is astonishingly funny and witty, relishing the sarcastic humor that I usually dole out and taking her verbal backhoe to toss a large portion back towards me.

I didn’t know what to expect working here really. I thought that it was more mindless monkey work that would dull the hours between the here and superstardom later. But it’s become a bit more.

It’s become about the swag.

It’s about the freebies and the tickets and the wonderful opportunity to lay my grubby little hands on stuff that I have no use for but which is very VERY cool to get.

The first brush with the swag was how I commented to the CW execs that had come over that I am probably their oldest and most knowledgeable fan (let alone their only male one). There was disbelief in their eyes…that was until I basically told them the plot breakdown of Gilmore Girls, Beauty and the Geek, Smallville and Veronica Mars (admonishing them that if they cancelled the show I’d have to do something sinister…lex Luthor sinister to them).

So, this is what I got.

Very cool is what I say.

Following that the Cartoon Network people have given me some notebooks, a cool scarf with eyeballs, a shot glass and some other toys. I’ve gotten a bunch of DVD’s, books, tickets to movies and most recently tickets to a Kings hockey game that was beyond sweet.

I’m bragging. I know, I know. But I kinda have to. I’m just expressing how blessed and how much fun this is, despite it not being the place I want to be for eternity.

And it’s my way of saying that though I was getting all these “things”, I never thought that the conversation that took place the other day would have taken place…at least not with regards to me.

“I’m too old to go” An executive was muttering this to my employer. She is early 40’s and beautiful. What could she possibly be too old for I thought flippantly while filing some papers away.

“Give them to Jeremy” My older, wiser boss, said back.

She had come out to my desk and plopped two tickets in front of me.

“Here you go.”

Here I go what, I’m thinking.

“What are these?” I asked

“Tickets to the Grammy’s”

My insides did an involuntary CLINCH and I looked at the tickets again trying not to visibly shake.

Now I pause here to be totally candid and also to NOT illicit some kind of sympathy. BUT, some of you know the serious bouts I’ve had with my personal self confidence. I’ve mentioned it in passing here and there. But it’s a very real thing that I’m in decidedly concentrated prayer about (and please feel free to join me in those prayers).

I don’t know if it’s from a youth spent being told that I was a geek, or some other personal moments that solidified my confidence as being totally dependent on the views of others, but it’s there and it reaches out with its nasty claws time and time again.

“I don’t even have the clothes that would allow me INTO the Grammy’s”

Both my boss and the executives just eyed me with an amused smirk.

“You can wear what you are wearing now! It’s the Grammy’s for heavens sake!”

Oh…just the Grammy’s huh, no big deal whatsoever. I mean it’s not like THE POLICE ARE REUNITING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 30 YEARS!!

“No thank you…I can’t” I sputtered

And I handed the tickets back to the executive all the while avoiding eye contact. She looked at me and then set the tickets back down on my cluttered desk, crossed her arms, and looked at me in what I can only describe a “motherly” pose.

“Are you saying that you have prior plans on Sunday? Or are you saying that you don’t feel worthy?”

“…the second one?” I meekly replied. Too meek looking back on it. I’m a MAN gosh dang it! What’s this meek crap!?

“You’ll go and then you’ll thank me on Monday”

That was that. She walked away and I was told to go to the Grammy’s despite my self sabotage attempts.

But thank goodness I am going. I’m sure I’m going to have fun, maybe even a blast as I spend time gawking at those around me.

In all, this place is a GODsend. And I mean that with all seriousness. It’s amazing how God can take the circumstance around you to help perfect HIS will in your life. How he answers your prayers in the most unlikely, yet O so divinely way.

“I want to be more confident” I have said more often than not, and the Lord above could just very well have taught me these lessons with mundane tasks, or persecution of belief (for what promotes confidence than defending ideology?), but no. He decides on the Grammy’s.

Walk out your character defects next to Puff Daddy see how that feels why dontcha.

These and many more experiences in my life make me think that God is whimsical, fun, and excited to see us pursue our destiny. For every fearful circumstance, there is an element of excitement. Like Moses, as he brought the Jews out of Egypt, a scary task, frightening, even life threatening, but HOW exciting to see a people freed. How awe inspiring that God might use THOSE circumstances to make a weak speaker step out of weakness and into strength!

Did I mention that Justin is bringing sexy back?

And I’ll be there to see it.

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