Sales and Centipedes: Is This My Job?

A few years ago I did a fast-pace hotel marketing stint where I posed as an extrovert at wild sales rallies.  At these events, thousands of sales and marketing managers take over towns like New Orleans, Vegas, or San Diego.  The food is impressive, the entertainment the likes of Circus Ole (literally at times), and the cocktail bar well-stocked and complimentary.  Sounds pretty spectacular, right?  And it was.  Until the the party was over and we slumped back to our windowless office in the basement of the Sheraton.

My division was a team of five, crammed into a storage closet that had been converted to “office space” by adding wallpaper, carpet, and Internet cables.  The most annoying moments were simultaneous conference calls and the grossest moments were when the giant house centipedes crawled out of the woodwork and scurried across the walls.  And if you don’t know what those look like, I encourage you to do a quick image search (I won’t avert your attention by posting one here) so you’ll see the kind of horror we were dealing with.  …See?  Bleck!

In short, our task was to wrap up Hot Rates and Deals of the Day in glitzy packages to boost online acquisition and increase revenue for 20+ hotels.  Not to sell it short, the job was incredibly analytical and involved daily strategy with the hotel manager and exec committee.  It was quite the process.  However, the daily grind was at its best when I designed banner ads and selected photography for email blasts.  How I longed to open Photoshop and tweak the skyline of San Diego to create the perfect sunset for a shiny ad.  Or design a poolside email promotion for summer vacations.  Those were the zen moments.

Even now, three years later and working in a different job and new city, I still find myself grasping for art at the office.  I keep a stack of neon Post-It’s on my desk and doodle stars when I get the itch to feel the soft graphite on paper.  All these year, working in cubicles, swollen with administrative tasks, my career(s) have fallen flat.  There’s always something missing.  And I think it’s art.  And I intend to pursue it!  I’m currently taking a few inspiring classes through Foothill College, including Printmaking and Graphic Design.   I’ll be posting my progress and sharing my work….so please stay tuned!

Here, on Revolutionary Verb, we’re dedicated to living with creativity. Thank you for supporting mine.