The Tom Party Post

Tom has accepted a position on a 3D team down in Louisiana that will need him to be down there and ready to work starting the 30^th of the month. Needless to say I am happy for the guy and wish him the very best, though it is definitely a shame to see him go after being in the Art Department for only a few months. This is a big opportunity for him (and a few of his former classmates that are going with him to be on the same team), though I do feel pretty bad that he’s got to make his peace with Orlando, find a place to live and get down there in less than a few weeks.

Last night I made the trek out to the UCF area to go to Tom’s going away party that his buddy Eddie was throwing for him. A fair few of Tom’s former co-workers and class mates turned out to give him a proper send off. I had a good time and I know Tom did as well. I can relate all to well how hard it is to know that you wont be seeing people again for a long time, and heading off to the unknown. No matter how promising an opportunity is there will always be those downsides, so I hope he is able to cope with being away from his home state. I ended up crashing at Tom’s place after the party saving me the long ride back late at night, and letting Tom have fun without worrying about driving anywhere. Win, win. Poor bastard had to head out to work at Universal first thing in the morning today though. With the heat at the moment I am definitely not jealous of that.

The 'snap yo fangas' Post

Our company recently landed The Doodlebops as one of our brands for Amazing Pictures and Tom and I have been working at getting some APs ready for approval. Not being 3 (or owning a child that is 3) I had no idea what The Doodlepops are so I logged on and searched them out so I’d have an idea what we where putting together. Turns out the Doodlebops are every bit as ridiculous as their name entails, but are very popular with the toddler-crowd. They sing and dance and dress like cracked out Teletubby-Wiggle hybrids pretty much. Oh and ride around in a ridiculous bus with Bus Driver Bob. Why tell you about this? Well in our searching for some Doodle-material Tom came across this little gem on YouTube. The usual little ditty ‘Get on the Bus’ has been replaced with everyone’s favorite gangsta rap of 2006*. What’s so great about it is how well it all ties up. I can’t help but crack up watching this, so I figured I’d share.

*Or whenever. I wont pretend to know the details.

The Manhunt Post

Last night I took Tom up on an invitation out to UCF to play Manhunt with a group of students. The game can best be described as a ‘grown-up’ version of hide-and-seek. A section of the campus is outlined as fair game at the start of the match and a ‘jail’ is designated. Teams are picked by the captains, one hunts and the other hides. The hiders are given 5 minutes to scatter while the hunters wait with chalk. After the 5 minute head start the hunters dash off in an attempt to catch the other team within the half hour time limit. If found the hiding-teamers can bolt and must be caught by the hunting team (tagged with chalk) before being escorted to jail. Jail breaks can occur if a hiding teammate manages to approach the jail un-apprehended and “free” his/her captured team.

The game sounds simple enough, but considering we had a huge section of the campus to hide/hunt in and the fact that it was a night made it a lot of fun. I’m a better hider than hunter I think, mainly because I’ve never been on campus before. I went undetected the first round, bothered only by the family of possum that apparently enjoyed hiding in the same place. Chasing someone at full pelt through bushes and across buildings is pretty cool. One guy busted through a fence after I gave chase and booked it right into some waiting teammates. I managed to make at least one catch in the last minute of the round when a guy made a dash for some bushes and up a wall. I assume he figured that by hiding out on a ledge none would bother going for him with only one minute left, but I leaped up after him and cornered him in the side of one of the student union buildings. I felt pretty cool making an obnoxiously large “X” on the guy with my chalk as he realized that a 2 story drop was probably not a valid form of escape.

I look forward to doing it again next time they have a meet. It was a pretty good turn out with a good 10 or so people on a team. Though I have to say hanging out with college students definitely makes me feel old by comparison, and somehow very mature, which is extra scary.

The New Guy Post

The Art Department grew in size this past week when Bruce hired on Tom to the crew. Tom originally worked out at one of our AP locations at Universal and has apparently been itching to get into the department for a while. It’s great to have someone in to help lighten the load as Bruce and I have been pretty bogged down in recent weeks with all the projects coming our way. Its actually crazy how much Tom and I seem to have in common; he’s a native Brit born the same year as me who moved to the states the same year as well. Over the past few days we have been talking movies, games and the like and turns out our tastes are shockingly similar. (He may even be as obsessed with Banjo-Kazooie as me, which is saying a lot). He’s also my new gym buddy, which I have sorely been needing since leaving Craig behind at Planet Fitness late last year. All in all a great friend to have at the office. Plus I get to call him newbie and make him get me coffee and stuff*

*Dramatization.