Last Day

I could write lots of mushy compliments to iii design about how much I learned, and how much I loved my time there. But that would be boring and make wyatt roll his eyes, and make missy throw up in her mouth a little.

SO, I'll just summarize:

The interview: I sat down, in a room smaller than most bathrooms that was filled with macs, toys and plants, with this crazy lady with short curly, orange streaked hair, and this guy with odd facial hair. I showed them my portfolio and explained some of my theories about design. At the end Missy told me I didn't have to dress so nicely- I wore a black collared shirt, with a lime green tank and nice slacks. I got the job.

The first day: In my bathroom-sized office there were three desks, three computers, and a huge printer. They gave the computer that faced the only tiny window. We watched a few StrongBad emails, and I was introduced to a few projects and shown where we hid all our supplies. At the end of the day missy had to leave early with wyat and I had to stay after with a client named Katy mcmc and go through revisions for something called the Mozart Festival. Later, Katy and the Mozart Festival would take over my life multiple times a year.

The new office: After a few months or so iii moved to the upstairs office. I got my own desk, set of rolling drawers, lamp, chair and window. This time the window was behind me. The office grew by three or four bathrooms, and sprouted a kitchen with dishwasher, fireplace, bathroom, and washer & dryer. (It used to be an apartment.) We added Space Invaders to our ceiling, and put our Webby award on the fireplace mantel. At different points an orange phone, orange roller skates and Evil Knievell action set where added to the decor.

The "activities:" In the first year we would combine with 20/20 design and do different activities that required you to dress up. The first was White Trash day on Lake Naciemento. On this day, instead of working, all the employees of both companies dressed as white trash and spend the day taking jello shots and eating canned cheese on a boat in the middle of Lake Naciemnto.
The next 20/20 /iii activity was the mystery activity day. We all arrived at 20/20 ate pizza for breakfast, and then crawled into one of those disco suv limos. We split into teams- my team was called "The Sippies" because our team leader brought a sippy-cup to drink white russians from. After shopping at a thrift store and walmart for mystery themed items, and doing various activities along the way, we ended the night at one of 20/20's huge homes where we used our purchased props to perform a choreographed routine for the other group and a judge. The goal was to earn points along the way and at the end of the night we would each get to choose a prize based on our points. I came in second- But I had to ride a mechanical bull and dance in an adult diaper to get there.

III grows: We got an intern named David, whom I love love loved sitting next to because we watch all the same dumb shows and it was the first time I had someone to talk to who I didn't feel intimidated around. It was really fun to mentor someone for a while. We also eventually got Liz who brought a whole new genre of music to the table... Michael Jackson. Our Pandora was never the same.

I leave: III hired a new girl named Ashley who is my exact design clone, just one year younger. I felt like a five-year-old who just got a new little sibling- pissed off at the sibling for coming into existence and replacing me. But then after a week of having the new sib sit next me I realized she was really the best thing to replace me. I had to go sometime. And so I left.