Just for Fun ... with Dave Conley & Elsa Conrad
Back in the saddle again
Links & Stories

DAVE'S PORTFOLIO

PLAYING HOUSE

WHEN DAVE MET ELSA

THE CATS

AD NAUSEAM

WAX TADPOLE AWARDS		 JAN. 1, 2003: At last update, yours truly was pounding a keyboard on the overnight shift at the post office. But no more. The job was outsourced in June, so I found another--sorting truckloads of bulk mail and letters in the early morning at the Nashua PO, then plopping it at the feet of 47 mail carriers for delivery  to the Greater Nashua Area. Hard work, friends. Just as I was starting to think of myself as forever postal, however, a call came in September ... from an honest-to-god ad agency.

The call was from Stal McLane, a Manchester, NH agency that I'd interviewed with back in 2001. A writer was leaving, so they dug out my old resume and invited me in to discuss the job. I was amenable, to say the least, and soon afterward found myself at a second-floor desk with all the familiar tools: paper, pens, an ancient Power Mac 6100, plus enough Mountain Dew to float a battleship.

Ahhh ... back in my element at last.
Chez
Stal McLane
An octagonal house, circa 1870. Enter via the front door, then go upstairs to the 2nd floor, and you'll find ...
Bill McLane, Creative Director
Stephen Smith, Art Director,
and Jessica Gwinn, PR Director
Scene from a Christmas Party:
Frisky Stal, President; Bill McLane, VP; Barbara Ellis, Office Manager; media consultant Alison Colby; and Stephen Smith, Art Director.

Montana, Agency Dog
And yours truly
In coming months, I'll update you on how well I adjust to a world of soft chairs, decent salaries and the occasional maddening client. But for the moment I can tell you it's damned nice not to be busting my ass sorting junk mail for $12.70 per hour. And from a personal standpoint, being a good copywriter is a lot more satisfying than being a clumsy postal worker.

Well, there you have it: the end of 18 months spent dangling on the horns of a recession.

I guess this long journey in the wilderness has helped me appreciate what I have a bit more ... but of course, I could be frothing at the mouth over some stupid client tomorrow. You know how I am. So until our next dispatch from the ranch, take care!
Since I began the job three days before Thanksgiving, there hasn't been much work to speak of ... touching up old ads and radio spots, plus the odd trade show or tagline project. Clients are maily  financial: two small banks, a credit union, an insurance provider. Throw in some local restaurants plus a few \others, and you've got a small agency that affords it bon vivant owners the leisure to pursue their passions of boating and fine dining.

So it's a laid-back outfit, with a warmth befitting an agency living in a house. Did I mention that the president's mother lives in a small apartment on my floor? It's odd to be at work on a brochure, only to have "Grammy" walk in with a fresh baked cake or loaf of bread. I feel like Fonzie after he moved in with the Cunninghams. 
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1