As readers of this blog may know, Bishinspeaks was originally a portfolio, and became a blog when an old colleague of mine planted the seed in my head almost 3 years ago.

A few weeks ago, my friend Alex complained that my blog was naked. As a designer, he couldn’t understand why I would take the time to update something that looked essentially like a word document. In fact, he found it so irritating that he’s begun doing a gradual redesign of the blog. I’m delighted. You may have noticed we’re using a new WP theme already’

This has got me thinking about video blogging again.

What do you think?

Since that fateful day, I’ve been a dedicated Pearl user. It took me about a week to get used to the functionality – after all, it was my first Smartphone. I’d always been a Motorola cell phone user before that. It’s a touch-type system, and it takes some getting used to. I’d say it took me 2 weeks to really get a hang of the keys. But before long, I had become a staunch Pearl advocate. It’s got a lot going for it – after all, it has all the functionality of a full sized Blackberry, but it’s the size of a small cell phone. The best of both worlds.

Over the next two years, I continued to love my Pearl. When my rollerball broke and Rogers agreed to give me a new phone, I asked for the same model. When I got drunk and left my Pearl in a taxi cab, I once again, replaced it with the same model. Little things changed – My black Pearl was exchanged for a red one. I tried a few different protective covers. But the phone model itself remained consistent. I became one of those people who raved about their Blackberry model. “There isn’t anything better than the Pearl,” I’d say. “It’s small and convenient, but has all the functionality you could ever want.” And, it was true.

When my birthday came around in January, my dad surprised me with something completely unexpected: A new Blackberry Curve. “But Dad,” I said, “There isn’t anything wrong with my Pearl!”
“True,” he replied, “but you’re a writer, and I thought you’d enjoy having a full keyboard.” That stopped me in my tracks. It’s true – in all my years embracing the Pearl, I’d never really felt comfortable writing a blog post on it.

For two weeks, the Curve box sat unopened on my kitchen table. I made excuses about why I hadn’t opened it. I needed to buy a protective cover first. Then I needed to have time to transfer my data. But really, I just couldn’t let go of my Pearl. If you’re not into Smartphones, you may think I’m nuts, but anyone who’s got one knows how attached you can become to it. My friends refer to it, quite aptly, as the crackberry.

Last week, after much hemming and hawing, I finally made the switch from Pearl to Curve. I figure I at least have to compare the two before I can make an informed decision. Despite having a full keyboard, I can’t say that I find the Curve any easier to use. The keys are tiny, and at this point, I still type faster on the double-lettered Pearl keyboard. But, like anything else, I think this may just be a matter of time. I’m certainly enjoying the larger screen, but that also means the device itself is larger, and chunkier. It’s easier to find at the bottom of my purse, but doesn’t fit –as the Pearl did- in a lot of pockets.

So, I’m still in the process of figuring out which one I prefer. What’s your favorite Smartphone?

I find myself asking the inevitable transition question: Will I be as happy there as I am here? When I realize that I don’t know concretely, the nerves kick in.

It’s easy to freak out at the mere thought of change, because change really means “stepping into the unknown”, and as humans, we are fundamentally uneasy about the unfamiliar.

However, there is a difference between good scary and bad scary.

Bad scary is turbulence on a plane, or falling down a well.

Good scary is starting a new relationship, or starting a new job.

I guess there’s also funny scary, like when a drunk homeless guy yelled and whipped a sandwich at my girlfriend Steph’s head the other day, but I’m getting off track (as usual.)

Anyway, my point is that starting a new job is scary. There are so many things to be learned, new co-workers to figure out, a new office to navigate, etc… It’s nerve-wracking, but it opens up a multitude of really positive possibilities as well.

So, this is clearly good-scary stuff. But dealing with it still requires some tricky emotional navigation, especially since I tend to deal with major life changes in one of two ways:

1. Freak out to the point where I become paralyzed and can’t do anything
2. Step it up and deal with the situation

While this is the beginning of another chapter in my life, it’s all the same book: I know the relevant life experiences – and people – that I’ve come to appreciate in this job will stay with me long after I’ve left this place. It is with that knowledge that I excitedly walk forward, eager to turn the page and see what comes next.

It’s one of the things that led me to go back to full time work: I wanted to really be able to dedicate myself to something, without always thinking about the next paycheck, that other job, etc. There was a time when I thought creativity and success were mutually exclusive. I just hadn’t found the right job yet.

When I did find a place where I was happy, I thought I’d want to write less – I even considered relinquishing my hosting space. But something unexpected happened: The harder I worked, the more I learned, the more I wanted more. More intellectual stimulation. More banter. More to do.

I’ve never disliked bringing my work home. There’s something fun about curling up on my sofa with a cup of hot tea and a red pen. I’m a copywriter. I don’t stop being a copywriter just because I’m at home. My brain spins.

When I run out of work, and my world is quiet; Adam is asleep, I’m too tired to read, it’s too late to call my friends, and even the dogs are passed out- that’s when I start to write. Sometimes it’s on my laptop. Sometimes it’s on the paper towel I rescued from the dog’s mouth earlier. It doesn’t matter. I sit, I spin, and I think about the day. So, I’m going to try spinning here.

I’ve decided that the bloggers I like best – hell, the people I like best- are the most honest. So, I’m going to be honest to myself here. I thought a lot about the voice I should adopt for this blog, and I’m going to write the way I speak. If I’m going to be able to reach any body, it’ll be because I’m a genuinely interested person. I like other people. Meeting them, getting to know them, Learning about them. There isn’t really anything more enlightening than seeing the world through other people’s eyes.

The smartest people I know are those who admit they don’t know everything – because they’re the ones who keep striving for more knowledge. If you think you know everything, you won’t ever learn anything.

So, this blog is going to be about life. I’m not going to talk about work. This isn’t a marketing blog, or a copywriting blog. That being said, I am a digital marketing copywriter, and I’m sure to some extent my personal life and opinions reflect that.

This has been an awfully long post. But hey, it’s the first one. The first real one, anyway.

Welcome.