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Austin, Hipstercrite Life, Writing

Beyond 6th Interview

On Sunday I was interviewed by the wonderful gang over at Beyond 6th.

Beyond 6th is a weekly love letter podcast to Austin. Hosts @EddieCantu @BriDraffen @JustinTArthur and @WadeofHonor interview local artists and talk about what is going on in this marvelous city. I had a blast meeting with them and I highly recommend subscribing to their podcast.

I met Beyond 6th in a swanky apartment above 6th Street. Did I think I would have the same fate as Paul Allen? Maybe. But that didn’t stop me from forgoing the beer they offered me before the interview and digging into the sweet, sweet sweet tea vodka. As you will notice, at some point in the interview I have difficultly finishing thoughts and sentences.

Listening to yourself is never a fun experience, but I was happy to notice that I didn’t sound like Kermit the Frog over the podcast. Not that Kermit the Frog sounds shitty, I mean, who the f doesn’t love Kermit the Frog? But Kermit is not sexy, you know? I’ve been striving for the (more…)

October 20, 2011 by
Writing

Scoutmob Is My Jam

I’ve had the pleasure of writing for a wonderful Mobile Deals company called Scoutmob. You’ve probably heard of it, considering they’re located in 13 major U.S. cities and are about to add 7 more. If you haven’t heard of it, you’re very much missing out.

Scoutmob is not your typical daily deal website. What makes them unique (besides their kickass old-timey branding and love for mustaches) is that they really care about sharing each business’ story. Instead of someone at corporate Googling a business located in another city and writing some weirdass blurb about them that never makes any sense, they hire local writers to interview and photograph the business. They encourage the writers to discuss their personal feelings about the experience. It’s been a blast writing for them and I’ve gotten to meet and speak with so many interesting  local proprietors in Austin.

The best part of Scoutmob? Their deals are free. No catch. We’ve featured some of the best restaurants in town too: Annie’s (more…)

October 17, 2011 by
Hipstercrite Life, Writing

No Bizness Card is Complete Without Chest Hair

Got my Moo mini business cards for my blog this week.

I’ve gone legit!

What do you think?

Not sure if giving a stranger a photo of yourself with a hairy chest is the best way to win them over, but what the hell, right?

I’ve totally fallen in love with Moo. I got this business card through a perk on Klout. 100 mini cards for free. Somehow I managed to spot the perk before everyone gobbled it up! Only had to pay shipping and I could have made all 100 have a different photo. The cards are otherwise $20 for 100. Love that you can have fashionable biz cards for cheap!

 

October 6, 2011 by
Hipstercrite Life, Writing

Writing Makes You Weird

Ever since I’ve started writing semi-regularly, I feel like I’ve gotten super weird.

Like I’ve lost all ability to socialize with other human beings and I just find myself standing crosseyed and painless in the world- as David Byrne would say. I look like I’m staring at a giant naked man disco dancing on top of yo’ head while you’re talking to me. Half the time I’m floating off into space with my lamé rocket suit because I’m thinking about what to write that day. I’m always thinking about what to write. The other half of the time I look like someone slapped me upside the head because I’m trying to find the words to say. Talking in your head a lot and regurgitating those words onto a keyboard, then constantly reediting those words and when you don’t like those words going to an online thesaurus to change them, makes for awkward fun time when you finally open your mouth in public.

“Grmerph!”

While someone is talking to me I begin a sentence only to find myself stopping because (more…)

October 5, 2011 by
20-Something, Austin, Hipstercrite Life, Writing

Occupy WallStreet Occupy Austin

Photo from ABC News

On our last night filming in New York City we were burglarized.

Our two lead actresses and female DP had their computers, camera, and tax paperwork stolen from the apartment they were staying in. The apartment is located in a co-op in Brooklyn that has a locked main entrance and individual locked doors for the apartments. This particular apartment door was left unlocked for a few hours and within this time, someone stole the items mentioned above.

When the three individuals discovered that their belongings had been stolen, they immediately called the police. The dispatcher told them that a police officer would not be sent to the apartment and that they needed to go to the police station to file a report. The three women all headed on foot to the police station. A male crew member called 911 not knowing that the DP had called the police and they dispatched a police officer to the (more…)

October 4, 2011 by
20-Something, Hipstercrite Life, Writing

How to Become a Social Media Manager

I mentioned two weeks ago that I finally made the leap from 9-5er to freelancer. I’m still acclimating to the change and trying not to feel guilty about waking up at 9:30AM and working in my underwear. Listen, I know that sounds all wonderful-like and you’re thinking, “Shut your face!”, but I have to figure out stuff like getting my own health insurance, paying quarterly taxes and hoping that none of this falls apart, so there.

My freelance works involves two regular writing gigs and one social media managing gig.
It still dumbfounds me that anyone would pay me for my writing. There is this semi-prevalent concern that one day people will call me out on the fact that I can’t write at all. But if I’ve learned anything from my “How to Make it as a Freelancer” research, that attitude is a no-no. Believing in yourself is the only way you’re going to be successful. So far both publications I write for haven’t said, “Get lost, assface!” so I must be doing something right.

The social media (more…)

September 26, 2011 by
Hipstercrite Life, Writing

The Freelancer Diet

this stock photo came up when i googled “freelance”- obviously all freelancers are ex-businesspeople whose life choice banished them to walking the desert alone with birds

I’ve discovered the secret to losing ten pounds instantly: become a freelancer and live in constant state of fear.

Last week was my first week ever not working a 9-5.
It was exciting and terrifying and freeing and exhausting.
I’ve been working towards this goal both subconsciously and finally consciously for the past eight years. Now that it is finally here, I’m like, “Dear Mother of God! I’m a woman on the loose!” I enjoy the analogy that @bbrosmarty shared with me: “We liken it to becoming a wild animal. You’re free from the zoo- but you have to find your own dinner.” Does this mean I’ll have to grow my nails out and sharpen my teeth now?

Earlier this year as my freelance writing began to pick up I finally came to the conclusion that these 9-5 office jobs were getting old. Even when I worked (more…)

September 12, 2011 by
Writing

When Are You Most Creative?

source

Some days you have it and some days you don’t.

It’s a total mystery as to the why either one happens.

As a friend pointed out when we had a discussion about this over the weekend, Steve Martin once said something along the lines of, “Forcing creativity is like trying to force a shit. You just can’t do it. You have to let it flow naturally.” Now, I tried Googling this quote for verification, but I can’t seem to find it anywhere which leads me to think that my friend is full of shit. However, I did find two OTHER delightful quotes from Steven Martin on creativity:

“Writer’s block is a fancy term made up by whiners so they can have an excuse to drink alcohol.”

and

“Despite a lack of natural ability, I did have the one element necessary to all early creativity: naivete, that fabulous quality that keeps you from knowing just how unsuited you are for what you are about to do.”

(I beg to differ Martin’s claim of “a lack of natural ability”- he seems (more…)

August 22, 2011 by
Writing

I Need A Blog Mentor

I wish I had a blog mentor.

Someone who can tell me if I’m making the right decisions in regards to my almost-complete blog redesign. Someone who can tell me what blog resources I’m missing out on.
Someone who can tell me which of my content sucks ass and which one shines.

Blogging seems easy enough that you wouldn’t need someone to hold your hand, but I so desperately want to be coddled.

There are three types of bloggers in this world- A.) people who use their blog as a means of expression with little to no concern of traffic B.) people who blog every day and care about their traffic C.) people who end up viewing their blog as a small business- whether it be for monetary value or brand value.

I fall into category B. I never wanted to be that person that closely watched their analytics each day. It’s added a thin but nonetheless real level of anxiety to my life. My blog started out like category A for a very long time. My blog got about ten hits a day and they were all from (more…)

August 10, 2011 by
Writing

How to Survive Your Twenties

Last week I wrote a post about how self-help/how-to lists are often written by people completely unqualified to tell you how to live your life.

This week, I’m writing a self-help/how-to list about surviving your 20’s.

Hey, my blog is not called Hipstercrite for shits and giggles.

I’m not even finished with my twenties, so I’m certainly not the best person to heed advice from, but I’ve come across many articles about how to survive your 20’s and I think they’re full of crappola. Most of the articles will say something like, “Find balance” blah blah blah. Well, that’s bullshit. You’re going to be a basket case of questions and worries and imbalance for a good chunk of your 20’s. The best you can do is try not to let yourself go insane.

Looking back on my 20’s, no amount of advice or wisdom from others was going to prevent me from making the choices I did. I was going to do what the hell I wanted to do, but looking back, I certainly learned a lot from my mistakes and wished maybe I at least (more…)

August 1, 2011 by