flash website.

check out my portfolio website i designed in flash. not that i'm biased or anything, but i dont think its half bad for a copywriter. although, i've already decided i want a different one for real. and while this one needs a few tweaks, check out the first draft fully functioning and on the web.

www.carrenokeefe.com [because we all know how narcissistic i am]

i'm basically a clone stamp master.

a favorite tutorial on the only tool in photoshop i know how to use: the clone stamp. basically, if it can't be done with the clone stamp tool, i can't do it.

i need motivation.

for some reason, i've been completely boycotting doing my final radio assignment. it's due tonight at 7pm, i've had a week. and i finally opened the document. this is not good. heres a little motivation from alyssa:
thank you for the inspiration alyssa. unfortunately it caused me to blog about my procrastination rather than actually doing it.

just a little something we threw together.

so here's a few videos i helped out with for fun this quarter.

how dew does diet: surprising facts campaign contest.



post-its contest: there's a note for that.

i like my friends. we're fun.

here's a little video made by the one and only christy pregont capturing our memorial day celebration this year.

happy hurricane season.

so today kick's off the first day of hurricane season. now i consider myself a pretty strong, independent person who can handle just about anything, but i have to admit that i'm terrified of hurricanes. my only thought when considering the move to miami was the hurricanes. so far so good. only a few semi-bad storms. but now its officially hurricane season and i heard the first tropical storm is already on its way over the yucatan peninsula. people tell me i'm crazy for being so scared, but tell me this isn't intimidating.

looks like the eye is heading right for miami. anyway, in light of the opening of the season here's a checklist for hurricane survival:

FOOD SUPPLIES
Get enough nonperishable foods now for two weeks. Then put them in a box and leave them alone Don't buy foods that are salty or dry or high in fat or protein; they'll make you thirsty.

Water: 2 quarts to 1 gallon per person (get a week's supply)
Ice
Shelf-package juice and milk boxes
Canned and powdered milk
Beverages (powdered or canned, fruit juices, instant coffee, tea)
Prepared foods (canned soups, beef, spaghetti, tuna, chicken, ham, corned beef hash, packaged pudding)
Canned vegetables and fruits
Dried fruits
Snacks (crackers, cookies, hard candy, nuts)
Snack spreads (peanut butter, cheese spreads, jelly)
Cereals
Raw vegetables
Sugar, salt, pepper
Bread
Dry and canned pet food
Extra formula, baby food

HARDWARE
Hand tools - hammer, screwdrivers to use now, shovel and pickax for after the storm
Power screwdriver
4-by 8-foot sheets of plywood 3/8-inch to 1/2-inch thick to put over your windows. Make sure you ask for exterior plywood.
1/4-inch machine screw sockets and screws
Plastic sheeting to cover furniture
Rope
Sturdy working gloves
Duct tape to waterproof items. Masking tape isn't strong enough
Canvas tarps
Nails. There are many kinds, so look over your home now and determine what you will need. A nail too small, the wrong shape or hammered in wrong will fail, and that will give the storm the breach it needs to get into your home.

EMERGENCY TOILET
Small can or garbage can with tight lid
Plastic bags for liners
Disinfectant or bleach
Deodorizer

HURRICANE KIT
Assemble this now. Put aside in a special box in garage. Keep heat-sensitive items inside home and rotate stock throughout season. Batteries can go in refrigerator.
Flashlights and extra bulbs
Battery-operated TV or Radio
Fully charged battery-operated lanterns. Don't get candles and kerosene lanterns. They are fire hazards.
Extra batteries
Matches
Clock (wind-up or battery- operated)
Plastic garbage bags
Working fire extinguishers
Scissors
Toilet paper
Clean change of clothes, rain gear, sturdy swamp boots you won't mind throwing away later
An inexpensive rabbit-ears television antenna to use when cable goes out
Map of the area
List of phone numbers
Copy of insurance policy

KITCHEN SUPPLIES
Manual can opener
Bottle opener
Matches in a plastic bag
Pocket knife - preferably Swiss Army-style
Camp stove or other cooking device and plenty of fuel. Use canned fuel, not charcoal or gas
Ice chests or coolers
Paper plates, napkins
Plastic cups, knives, forks, spoons

so there you have it kids. my apologies to morgan now for the stock pile of supplies that will soon be appearing in the living room. i intend on completing this list. twice over.

minnie plays for the colored team.

despite how glorious i look after a day at disney [and a drenching at splash mountain] i made sab take this picture in honor of all my girls who play for the colored team. those past [ming mei, tara] and present, this is for you. because even minnie mouse plays for the colored team.

last soccer sunday til the end of the summer today. color for life.

miami ad school gets a face lift.

so many from home have often wondered if i 'dreamed up' this miami ad school that i would have thought of, [and lets be serious, i wouldve come up with a better name than 'miami ad school'] i finally have proof that our school does exist.

so while our school spends our tuition money on many beneficial things like kegs, Heineken soccer sunday prizes, just to name a few. the new addition to miami ad includes numerous flat screen tvs to 'showcase' our work instead of hanging it on the old boards. all in a movement to 'go green.'

the lobby: [points of interest: clocks from all miami ad locations, giant giant screen for soccer posters.]


work space in the gallery: [points of interest: seven televisions not including the two mounted to the side with the Xbox 3 and Wii]


gallery/stage for guestspeaker: [points of interest: orange foam seats.]


so there you have it. it's real. and congrats to miami ad for going paperless to be green. let me know how much CO2 those new tv's emit with all the new electricity needed.

next picasso.

to try and unlock some creativity and showcase other creative talents on my portfolio website, i've decided to get back into painting. starting with water color
beef would be so proud.

dun dada daaa, dun dada, dun dada daaa, dun dada da daa!

in light of the indian jones movie coming out tomorrow, or in 14hrs, 44mins, and 46 secs according to the beautifully crafted flash site, i thought i would share a very insightful someecard.com [an obvious current obsession. but hey, nothing makes you feel better than some glorious cynical saracastic humor. at least me anyway.]
just a little something to ponder. funny part about it, i don't even like indiana jones. or burger king. so i guess the fact that im blogging about it is the power of advertising.


what i DO like however is sex and the city and all the new advertisements and trailers for the release of the movie are getting me excited. [just about the movie] thank you hugo for rescheduling another glorious radio class from 6-9 on the night it opens. because this isn't a movie you can just see. this is monumental to a lot of people. i think a cosmo, manolo blahniks and about 3 girlfriends is required for entrance.



so while i may not one to be a girly girl, this is one day/event i'm all about it. cheers girls.

sinking.

this may be the first post where i actually rant a little. sorry i havent posted in awhile, i've been too busy spending ours of my time doing fruitless labor. i'm just so frustrated at this point in the quarter. this time last quarter i was finishing up a few solid campaigns and feeling really good about the quarter. that was only q2. here i am in q3 where we're supposed to get the most stuff for our book and i see potential in one maybe two things, when i ended up with 5 campaigns from last quarter. all ones im excited about.

i keep trying to make excuses like 'im so uninspired by this brief. and this wont go in my book anyway. or we arent supposed to have nonprofits.' but maybe i just suck and got lucky the first quarter. i got all of my good ideas out the second quarter and im washed up. it really shows me how working with a good partner can make or break you and even still, if they're a good partner and they don't inspire/motivate you through your brainstorming, the ideas will never come. or maybe it was just the partner that did all the good work and i suck all together.

the thing that has been getting me recently is im starting to feel like all of my ideas are being used up on other peoples projects. not projects i'm working with them on, that i could then in turn use in my book as well, cause thats one thing. but people run things by me and im like oh what about this or this, and then it completes their campaign and makes it a really good one. now don't get me wrong, i dont want credit, i just wish i could get some reciprocation. or maybe i'm just finding another excuse for why i suck. i feel put in the hours, hours and hours of hours, and still nothing.

i just don't understand what was working for me last quarter that isn't this quarter. one, i took more vacations. i had so many visitors and people coming i prioritized. maybe i'm putting in too many hours. but if you dont crack something you cant just give up on it. and when you have four days to do three full briefs actually being presented to the client, there isnt time to take a picnic and relax. maybe it was less pressure, because i really only had one demanding class and it wasn't demanding, i just made it so. or maybe it was i had a partner that i knew i worked good with, but after this quarter, i didnt realize just how well.

regardless, i need to figure out what it is or stop wasting my time and money in ad school. and some people may say 'well you had something presented to the client', but really that doesn't mean much. because while what i've been producing is 'smart' or 'strategic' its not creative. i may as well go to the account side.

so with that said, i'm going to keep some words of advice from our friends as someecards.com in mind:

dreams.

so i dreamt last night that i had really bad cancer and less than a year to live. creepy. so while having my coffee this morning i decide to use a dream interpreter to see what it meant. i think our mind is too complex for dreams to be completely random. dreams themselves are so sophisticated that i really believe there's some meaning in at least some of our dreams.

so this is what it said:
Cancer - Dreaming of cancer is not necessarily a negative thing and does not mean that you have or will have cancer at any time. However, to dream of cancer often indicates an unfortunate condition in your life that has been consuming you physically, mentally, or emotionally for too long.

hmm... wonder whats been consuming me for too long? because i obviously need to get rid of it. theres numerous possibilities. input or ideas welcome.

shameless indulgences of the day.

one thing occurred to me tonight as i sat drinking a glass of wine, watching an educational lecture from a french buddhist monk on TED about what it means to be happy. my freshman-year version of myself would think i am so lame and make fun of my ass hardcore.

but i love it. it's indulgences like these that get my through the 12 hour days of work. that and the duck hunt i just downloaded to my igoogle homepage. along with a 'fishtank' with five fish that i spent ten minutes watching swim around and i feed about fifty times. i like these fish because i know i wont kill them. and if i happen to, i dont have to flush them. basically its win, win. in honor of coke and diet coke back home, thats what i'm going to name two of them. but three fish are still nameless. opinions welcome.

congrats kids.

d&ad finalist were released today. congrats to branden, jan, brig, tara, jermey, and everyone else who got short listed that i don't know about. so exciting. while awards may not mean but to some people, everyone has to admit it brightens their day a little and being shortlisted for d&ad is definitely something to be proud of.

in other news, the one show was this past thursday. congrats to everyone who received awards in that too. brent, olle [or karl, whichever you prefer] and i finished up with a merit. while its only merit, i'm still very satisfied with it. especially with only being a second quarter at the time. we've got at least one more shot at it before we're done with miami ad. i have to admit it was super exciting to see our work and our names on the one show website.

to check out our stuff on the site go to: http://www.oneclub.org/os/osc/showcase/?year=2008&id=7303

or to see the full site and all the videos go to:
http://www.olandnorthshore.com/doritos/

ok. enough patting myself on the back. time to do real work. because despite all the effort and endless hours of work this quarter, i feel like it just hasn't been paying off. it's time to mend that, because we've got our sights set on future lions now.

star struck?

ok, so if you know me at all you know i'm not one to keep up on celebrity gossip or get super excited because so and so is in town or will be here, etc. but i have to admit im a little, just little, excited that justin timberlake is working out at my gym [i work there] this month.

apparently he's in town because he's opening a new club with his friend or may or may not live in my building. :) and justin may or may not be staying with this so called friend in my building. i believe times like this exceptions may be made and being a creeper is allowed.

i just think its kinda sweet that i can say he's staying where i live. oh and jennifer aniston and owen wilson were at the marlins game i was at this saturday filming for their new movie. so when 'marley and me' comes out, look in the crowd at the baseball game, i may be there.

anyway, i have to go, just got the text he's there. i think the gym would appreciate me coming to work an hour early. just trying to be a good worker. that's all.