Seven Things

I was tagged by Chez to share seven things about myself then ask seven people to do the same. I hate these types of things, but I hate being a grumpy meme-killing curmudgeon even more.

So here are seven things you may or may not know about me.

ONE
I am the youngest of five brothers plus one adopted, making six boys in total. My oldest brother is 18 years older than I am. Each of my brothers either own or have owned their own business, just like my dad.

TWO
In addition to coming from a family of entrepreneurs, I also come from a family of artists. Many in my family are accomplished artists or musicians. The arts was something that I was highly encouraged to pursue growing up. I even had my own weekly comic strip that I used to publish and distribute to my family when I was in elementary school. The only career aspirations I’ve ever had have been in the arts.

THREE
I’ve always wanted to be a filmmaker. Before the days of DV, I learned how to write, produce and direct a movie in good old 16mm film. I’ve written several feature length scripts and attempted to produce two animated series when I was younger. I later worked at the film center where I met and worked with some big names like Kenneth Anger, Crispin Glover, Gus Van Sant and many more I can’t even remember now. During my time there and my close contact to so many independent film celebrities completely dissuaded me from pursuing a career in film, as everyone I met was a complete asshole. It was got me started in the web as I saw it as the future of narrative storytelling.

FOUR
I worked as a barista at Starbucks in the mid-90’s. There was this girl, Cyndi, that used to come in everyday and order a double tall nonfat mocha with whip. One day she called me up (at the store) and asked me out. We went out had one of those life defining moments that you will always remember. We were married three months later. We’ve been happily married ever since.

FIVE
While at Starbucks I wrote two 20+ page manifestos to radically transform the Starbucks business model to focus on drink quality and foster passion in employees. The first one I personally handed to Howard Schultz (The CEO). The second version I interoffice mailed to every executive in the company. I quit a month later. I still keep an unopened copy of the proposal that I mailed to myself to remind me to never stop trying to make things better.

SIX
I have been fired for freelancing. When I sought to use my work in my design portfolio I was preemptively sued (long story). The resulting months cost my a lot of money in lawyer fees (that I didn’t have) and took a significant personal toll. The lawsuit was later settled (mainly because I also did freelance work for the CEO). I got my portfolio and I recovered personally. I learned a lot from the process. While it dealt a significant blow to my trust and faith in people, I continue believe that most people are good, only the circumstances that make them douchebags. It would mark the last time I would work for anybody but myself.

SEVEN
I’ve never learned how to swim.

Who’s next?

Now to pass on the pain to my friends.