Merging Media and the Market

“Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self”
Cyril Connolly
(1903 – 1974)

Hmmm. Where to start? 

The beginning was too long ago, and the end is yet to come, so I guess we’ll start with the now.  My name is Arin and I’m just about done getting my master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from West Virginia University.  I went mildly insane last year and decided leave Arizona and move to Minnesota.  I guess you could say I like the extremes: moving from the state with the most days over 100 degrees to the state with the most days below zero.  But I’m not an extreme kind of girl, just a family one, and being closer to my family and friends is one good thing about living in Minnesota.  I grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, but I quickly acclimated to being a city girl in Arizona and the heat – I don’t care what anybody says: It really is a dry heat, and it’s fantastic.

After graduation, I’ll be attempted to return to world of advertising, despite the current economy.  I used to work for an advertising agency in Phoenixand have experience in the sporting, tourism, and gaming industries.  I had to stop working after developing a sudden and horrible case of Rheumatoid Arthritis, which is what brought me to the IMC program at West Virginia University.  I guess my getting RA was the world’s way of making sure I went to grad school.  I always wanted to get my master’s degree, but I’m fairly certain I wouldn’t have returned yet if I hadn’t gotten RA.  At any rate, the RA is under control now, I’m working part-time in human services, and grad school is going great.  I joke with my husband that we’ve gotten the poorer, worse, and sickness part of our marriage out of the way early so from now on all we have left is the richer, better, and health. 

Trev definitely has my vote for best husband in the world.  We’ve been married about three years and he has been amazing the entire time.  He’s great at dealing with the many facets of me; and went/goes above and beyond to help me when my RA is/was bad.  Any one who knows my husband knows he’s a hero in more ways than one.  No kids for us yet, just a dog.  My in-laws are boxer people and I too have developed a bias for the breed over the past five years.  Our boxer, Fierce, lives in Arizona with the in-laws right now because they surprised us with a puppy right before we moved. It was a sweet of my in-laws to get us a puppy, I just wished they would’ve asked us first.  Our boxer, Boo Boo, got really sick a few years ago and we had to put him down.  My in-laws are really great and I love them to death, as are my parents, husband, and friends.  All in all, I’m a very lucky girl. 

I’m looking forward to increasing my blogging skills over the next couple of months and hope that the masses, or at least a few, will tune in to my weekly exploration of innovative mediums and their ability to merge media and the market. 

All the best,

Arin