Ad it up

Saturday, June 22, 2007
Last night, I met out some old advertising friends for Happy Hour at Pontiac in Bucktown. A lot of musicians and artists live in Bucktown, and then a lot of yuppies who gravitate towards those areas, because it’s cool, hip and they like to be around artistic types.

The Pontiac has a big outdoor patio with great people watching. A middle-aged man with a scowl on his pucker and a parrot on his shoulder walked by on North Avenue. Another lady walked by with a young man—who was either her son or her young lover.

I had a great time re-connecting with some of the advertising folk. They work really long hours and remind me a lot of the crew on the ship---they are in this career, and don’t see another option that involves a bit more work/life balance. When I worked in advertising, I regularly worked 12 hour days, for multiple days in a row. That’s how it is for the crew on the ship, too. Even though they’re dressing up in their little 70s wigs and churning out theme parties, they are still working a ton of hours.

Consequently, in both industries, they embrace the idea of “Work hard, party hard.”

It’s also tough to grow older in both industries…it’s very rare to find someone over 50.

And they sure all like to drink.

I left after about 2 hours to ride my bike home. Sober.