Sober Till It’s Over

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When most people hear or find out that I am sober, their immediate reaction is typically, “oh. Did you hit rock bottom?” After I’ve heard this over and over, I started to realize just how normalized social or frequent drinking is and if you don’t drink, it’s odd or you must have had a problem at some point. For me, what started as a practice in self-control, led to a promise that I made myself that I would simply abstain from drugs and alcohol. Here’s that story.

Growing up in a small town, attending college, and spending several years being a roadie, drugs and alcohol seemed to be around me as much as any teen / twenty something would experience in middle America. I always seem ed to have a pretty good group of friends around me and kept in good company.

Most people, including myself, like to indulge in some cheap beer at parties on the weekend or smoke some fine pine before going to a movie or any random social event or even enjoy 50 cent wells on Fry Street on Wednesday nights. But here is where I realized where my “problem” was. Most all of my friends never JUST wanted to hang out, or JUST skateboard, or JUST play video games. We would smash a 32 pack, or take shots before going out, or inhale the devil’s lettuce before attending some event. I could never just say, no. Sure enough, my friends, being the ever caring people they  were would buy me a beer or put a shot in front of my face followed by the occasional, “don’t be a bitch! Drink up.” This is when I realized I didn’t have the will power or self control to just not partake in that thing.

After coming to this realization, I finally thought to myself that this isn’t normal. I know this is an extreme example, but if I had substituted alcohol and weed for prescription drugs or any other heavier drug out there and could never just say no to those, then that seems like it would be a really big problem to me. So, I decided to do without. I gave myself a realistic time frame of one month of not having any alcohol, no ciggs (this was probably the hardest to part ways with), and no weed. A sort of cleanse if you will.

What started out as only a month, I started to learn some pretty eye opening things right away. I was sleeping a hell of a lot better, that’s for sure. The bigger thing that I begin to see, though is that a lot of people that I called friends, slowly started disappearing. I withdrew from some social events to not be tempted or peer pressured and when I would hit up the homies to hang out, they were either busy or all they wanted to do was drink or party. Almost immediately, my friends started to thin out. I also discovered within myself that I didn’t liquid courage to go out and about. I could go out to eat or to a bar and not have alcohol to have fun (albeit the fun that I had was watching the people I was with get drunk and make idiots of themselves).

Growing up around the hardcore music scene, I was well aware of this kind of subculture known as straight edge. People who claim edge have chosen a life of sobriety and live with a clean mind and open hearts. Something about straight edge had always peaked my interest. And as I found myself down this path of sobriety, I figured why not?

My one month of sobriety lead to three months. Which lead to six months. Which lead to a year. After a year of being sober I learned a lot about myself. A lot about others. And it was a testament to myself for overcoming the one thing that I saw was a problem: self-control.

That promise I made to myself five years ago has been one of the best decisions of my life. As I look back and reflect on those last five years, it’s taken me this long to realize one even more important fact and a pretty big life lesson at that: everybody likes to escape – long day at work? Let’s drink. Really stressed out? Let’s smoke about it. Feeling down and out? Let’s pop a pill and forget about it. What I started to see around me is that everybody is escaping from something. And a lot of times, they are escaping constantly. Is life so bad that you have to constantly escape it? Is your method for escaping a better reality than the real life you are in?

I started realizing that being sober this whole time, I never had a means of escaping. I mean, sure I would take my dog Sally on a hike, or go skateboarding as a means of “escaping,” but overall, I am constantly forced to face life head on and deal with shit when it gets real or heavy. I think it has caused me to look at life with a renewed set of eyes, treat people a little kinder (because you just never truly know what some people are going with).

In conclusion, I still have friends who drink. I still have friends that smoke. And it really doensn’t bother me. I’ve taken a sort of live and let live approach to the whole sobriety thing. It’s not my place to tell you how to live your life or what is right for you. But, if you have ever struggled with substances or thought about sobering up for sometime but worried about what your friends or society will think, just know you can do it, and I assure you, you will have the renewed sense of mental toughness about you.

Da Vinci Ice Cream Cured My Insatiable Sweet Tooth

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As a new resident of California, I just had to do some exploring of the new city that I am in. I like getting to know my surroundings, finding short cuts and back roads (especially with this California traffic), and finding new restaurants. Not only did I find this hidden little gem, but I was blown away at the concept of this delectable ice cream joint by the name of Da Vinci Ice Cream located in Carson.

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Coming from Fort Worth, Texas, I haven’t quite experienced anything like Da Vinci Ice Cream before. Da Vinci combines a trifecta of fresh-baked, warm cookies, over a dozen custom-flavored ice creams, and twelve unique toppings. There is also art located all around the shop that was made by local artists. Most all of that art work is pop culture related. I got to see a comical spin of some of my favorite characters from Harry Potter, BB-8, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. And proceeds from the art sales go to support local schools, which I thought was so awesome to see.

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At Da Vinci, you are the artist. You are in charge of creating a delicious masterpiece. When I first walk up, I was given the choice between creating a hand-crafted ice cream sandwich or getting a scoop of ice cream in a cone or a cup. I opted to try the ice cream sandwich. Part one of creating your masterpiece: Choosing between five different, fresh-baked cookies:

  • chocolate chip
  • oatmeal raisin
  • double fudge      <—- (my choice)
  • butter sugar
  • white chunk macadamia

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The next step in bringing your masterpiece to life is choosing one of fifteen unique, custom-made ice creams. As indecisive of a person that I am, it was awesome that Da Vinci allowed me to sample each flavor that I thought would be interesting.

  • horchata     <—- (my choice)
  • chocolate dipped strawberry
  • red velvet
  • coconut pineapple
  • cookie overload (most popular among other guests)
  • mint chip
  • florentine vanilla
  • Guiness Stout
  • Dutch chocolate
  • dulce de leche
  • banana walnut
  • green tea
  • peaches and cream
  • mango with tajin (SO refreshing)
  • watermelon with tajin (ditto)

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Lastly, as my artistic sandwich was finally taking shape, I was given the choice of a dozen different toppings (PRO TIP: your first topping is FREE!) that the sandwich would be rolled in. To compliment the cinnamon flavor of the horchata ice cream, I went for Cinnamon Toast Crunch for my topping.

  • chocolate chips
  • M&M minis
  • Oreo crumbs
  • Cinnamon Toast Crunch     <—- (my choice)
  • fruity pebbles
  • sprinkles
  • gummy bears
  • nutella
  • carmel syrup
  • chocolate syrup
  • marshmallows
  • peanuts

My work of art was now a masterpiece for a brief moment in time before I devoured it.

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I’m not sure if it was the extreme heat that California has been having or the fact that the warm, fresh-baked cookies paired PERFECTLY with the custom horchata ice cream, but I’ll be damned if that wasn’t the greatest, most refreshing ice cream sandwich / dessert / treat that I’ve EVER had.

(Second PRO TIP: Use your phone number to sign up for Five Star. Every three to five visits, you get free items, like a cookie or scoop of ice cream!)

Funky Town Donuts Is The Donut Shop Fort Worth Deserves

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I like donuts. I REALLY like donuts. So much so that when I heard Funky Town Donuts were finally having their grand opening and it is less than a 10 minute drive from my home, you better believe I was there at 8am to join the other deep fried dough fanatics for some oh, so sweet treats.

I’ve been very fortunate enough to travel and experience some of the great bakeries that this country has to offer. I’ve been to the ever popular Voodoo Donuts in Denver & Portland. I still lived in Denton, TX when Hypnotic opened. I’ve been to Springfield (yes, THAT Springfield) and had a very large Lard Lad donut, and I’ve been to the “local” Dallas donut shop, Glazed. You could imagine my excitement when it was announced that Fort Worth was finally getting a boutique donut shop in close proximity to me.

Around this area there are loads of your typical mom & pop donut shops. You know, the ones that open at 5am and close by 11am. The ones run by the sweet asian family who will occasionally tack on a few donut holes because it’s the eighth time you’ve been in there that week. The kind of donut shop where the most “exotic” donut you can get is a bear claw or a strawberry sprinkle donut. Don’t get me wrong. These mom and pop shops are great and do a great justice for the early risers of our community.

Fast forward to May 28th. I woke up early that morning knowing good and well that there would probably be a decent crowd for Fort Worth’s first gourmet donut shop. I arrived around 8am and there was a pretty decent turn out already. I waited a good hour and a half, I was only able to get six donuts, and Funky Town was sold out of most things. The half dozen that I did get were INCREDIBLE.

I’m a huge fan of The Samoa, The Witherspoon, The Double Stuff, and the S’moors. Runner up goes to Bart (mostly because the name is reminiscent of Bart Simpson). They also offer vegan and gluten free options!

Funky Town Donuts is located at 1000 8th Ave in Fort Worth. Check it out if you haven’t had the chance yet.

Funky Town Donuts Menu
Funky Town Donuts Wall Mural

 

“Empty Words From Empty Heads”

Posted on by Hello. I'm Trip

Yesterday, I spent the better part of ten hours making the drive on the 70E from Kansas City to Columbus. I really don’t mind driving. I spend that time turning my brain off, zoning out, finding new music, or my new favorite: audio books. But this drive was different. I spent the majority of this drive figuring out why in the fuck it’s 2016 and I’ve just experienced the worst extent of racism in the last eight years.

I have been very lucky & fortunate to travel the United States since I was 17 years old. On the surface (and especially at 17) traveling and touring the way I did was a dream. I got to meet a lot of really cool people, see a lot of really cool shit, and see some of my favorite bands. As I’ve gotten older and looked back on my experiences, on a deeper level, I have been given perspective. I’ve gotten to see the United States through different eyes. I’ve gotten to see what life is like outside of my Dallas / Fort Worth bubble. I’ve gotten to experience life and began to realize that for better or worse, it’s not all that is portrayed on the news or the media.

When I first started out with my travels, I worked for a Rastafarian by the name of Inoch. An ambitious black man with an entrepreneurial spirit from Trinidad / Tobago. He became not only a boss and a friend, but also a mentor. Living in my Dallas / Fort Worth bubble, I often heard about racism on the news or was taught about it from the history books of my public school education, but never REALLY though it was a real deal or a common occurrence in today’s age and society. But at a young age, I quickly saw how cruel the world can be.

After a long three-day weekend or before really long drives to the next show, it was common that we would get a hotel for the night. On several occasions, Inoch would walk inside to get a room and walk right back out. OK, not so weird. Big rock festivals. Loads of people in town. No vacancy. On to the next one. But after a few times of this happening, I decided I would go in and try to book a room. More times than I can count, Inoch would return to the van after being told “No rooms available.” I would then follow up behind him, ask for a room, and most times would have options between smoking or non-smoking, one or two beds, and floor level preference. The first couple times this happened, I was in shock.

Situations like that were shitty, no doubt. But all-in-all, the good times far outweighed the bad. Racism happened here and there, but at the end of the day it’s just words. You have to dust it off and realize that it’s intolerance and lack of education that makes people say or act the way they do.

Fast-forward to present day. I’ve been traveling and doing these rock gigs from nearly a decade now. And after these past three weeks, I can honestly say that I have not experienced racism to this extent EVER. It is absolutely mind blowing. Just when I thought I’ve seen or hear it all, some racist or bigot would go off on his tangent and leave me speechless.

My good friend and fellow road dawg, Rafael is on this six-week tour. A hispanic that seemed to be encountering and dealing with racism the most on this tour. Little nuances or subtleties would happen here and there, but in my head I was like, “Nah. He’s just taking things personal. People aren’t racist out here.” I sort of turned a blind-eye to the matter not wanting to believe it. But it happened. Over and over again.

Here’s what really kicked things off. Here is the main driver behind me writing this blog. Here is what caused me to snap: A guy steals a t-shirt from my booth. Not THAT big of a deal. It happens and usually results in me getting the product back and telling the person to kick rocks or they are getting kicked out. Not this motherfucker. He had the audacity to lie to me and say he didn’t steal it. To which I responded, “OK, man. Just answer me this. If you didn’t steal this shirt, how did it end up around your neck? I’m the only one here and I know for a fact I didn’t sell it to you.”

He took a step back and said, “I didn’t steal shit. It was your fucking nigger that stole that shirt. Not me.” That’s where I’ll end the story.

On this drive I could only ask myself, “Why?” Why does racism continue to exist? Why am I experience it tenfold than I have in previous years / tours? I can wholeheartedly say that I believe since Trump has gained the traction that he has and has risen to prominence in the manner that he has, it was made racism, bigotry, and hatred less taboo and more acceptable. These neanderthals are coming out of the woodwork and spewing the stupidest shit I have ever heard. And it hasn’t always been this way.

I fear a future where the next potential leader of the greatest nation on earth stands on a platform of hatred and intolerance.

*Featured Image by Scott Uchida

Best Pixar Film… Ever?

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I eagerly awaited  the release of Pixar’s 16th feature film, “The Good Dinosaur.” One hour and 40 minutes later after leaving the theater on November 25th (admittedly a little misty-eyed), it was determined that The Good Dinosaur was definitely in my top 3 favorite Pixar movies of all time.

After posting my short opinion on the film on social media, my good friend Mello and I realized we had a difference in opinions on the film. After some banter back and forth, we decided to list our favorite Pixar films in order from number one through sixteen. Below is my list of favorites:

  1. Toy Story
  2. Wall-E
  3. The Good Dinosaur
  4. Up
  5. Toy Story 3
  6. Finding Nemo
  7. Inside Out
  8. Monster’s Inc.
  9. Ratatouille
  10. Monster’s University
  11. Toy Story 2
  12. A Bug’s Life
  13. Cars
  14. The Incredibles
  15. Cars 2
  16. Brave (haven’t seen)

I went back and forth on this list several times. I know exactly what my top three or five were and I know which ones I liked the least. I reordered the majority of the ones in the middle more times than I can remember. But this is what I’m sticking with.

And don’t even get me started on the shorts… I’d love to hear from you. What are your favorite Pixar movies?

Free As You Want To Be

Posted on by Hello. I'm Trip

I’m going to kick off this blog by rewinding to almost two years ago. Really, that’s how this whole story molds into present day to this exact moment in time that my brain decided to sit down and write this blog at a mere acquaintance’s kitchen table in south Philly…

January 1st, 2014 – Less than a month ago, I graduated from college and landed my first “big boy” job in the “Live Music Capital of The World.” Nine months later, I lost my job and stuck out the remaining three months of my lease working as a server at a Vietnamese restaurant and a host at a ritzy wine bar to keep my head a float. After applying to several agencies and having multiple interviews with the same companies, I could only hear, “Everything is great, you just lack experience,” so many times before I called it quits. At the end of me lease and at the end of the year, I packed my bags and headed back to the Dallas / Fort Worth area.

At this point in time, I had been together with my girlfriend for nearly two years, and moved in with her. I lived with her just shy of three months before we broke up. I had no place to go or live. I hung my head in shame and asked my parents to move back home.

In just over a year, I went from a college graduate, being paid salary in one of the most booming cities in the country, to being broke, jobless, car-less(in my string of bad luck, a drunk driver totaled my truck right before I move back to DFW), and had my parents as roommates. TIGHT.

March 2015- It only took about a month before I got stir crazy and got sick and tired of life beating me down. I get a phone call from my good friend about going on tour in the coming months (to be fair, this wasn’t a completely out of the blue phone call. My friend and I had been talking for awhile about me working a few shows here and there, work permitting). I agreed and my tour season was getting ready to kick off. After several months of bad luck, there was finally a tiny little light at the end of tunnel.

October 11, 2015 | 7:17pm- For the most part, I’ve been on the road full-time for the last seven months. I’ve been very fortunate enough to have certain people in my life believe in me and show me love, even when times are rough. That belief and love have given me the opportunity to travel coast-to-coast several times this year, meet incredible people, and see just how beautiful (and in the rare occasion, how shitty) America really is and I couldn’t be more thankful. It took me seven months, thousands of miles of solo drives, and some harsh looks at reality to come to this conclusion:

You can be as free as you want to be. Don’t get sucked in to some life that you hate just so you can pay the bills.You’ve got a short time on this rock that’s hurdling through space. Make the very best of the cards you’ve been dealt. Find something you love and let it consume you. If you don’t love it, don’t do it.

college degree

Is a College degree worth it? Written by a recent college grad

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Just shy of 6 months since I graduated from the University of North Texas (holy shit, just typing that out made me realize time is flying by) and moved down to Austin where I got my first “big boy job,” and started my life and career in the “real world.”

college degree

Fortunately for me, the “real world” has treated me pretty well so far. I was able to snag a job in the field that I like pretty quick (cue the old adage, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know). I have heard war stories from friends and acquaintances who have been graduated for a few years now who have been steady grinding trying to find an internship or entry level job that puts their degree to use. With that being said, I feel very fortunate to be where I am at.

My significant other just recently graduated from UNT. My little brother just wrapped up high school and is about to embark on his journey into “higher education.” And I just made a spreadsheet, calculated absurd interest rates, and began my repayment on my student loans. In the mix of things, I can’t help but think, is this piece of paper with fancy calligraphy (that I still need to get framed, by the way)  really worth $34,570?  Here are my thoughts and reflections on my last five years at a public university.

Just about every summer from the time I was 16 up until the summer that I left for London, I spent my time traveling the country with a self-made Rastafarian who also happened to be my mentor. He has a different perspective on life that you and I might share, so I enjoyed hearing what he has to say. He was excited and encouraging when I told him my plans of attending college, but he would also bust my chops about it periodically. “College is nothing but parrots, Trip!” Inoch would say. “Professors just teach you to remember things and you say them back for presentations or tests, then forget about it. College doesn’t teach you how to make money.”

To an extent, I could totally agree with him. I knew or could see so many of my peers crammed into “Club Willis” cramming during finals week (myself included) just to keep their heads afloat after a semester of partying, many long nights on Fry St., submitting mediocre work and borderline passing their exams. And these are our leaders and professionals of tomorrow, right?

On the flipside of that, when I was accepted to the Mayborn School and really started getting involved with my classes and clubs such as SWOOP & AdClub, I could begin to see the value of my education. The students and work I surrounded myself with were so inspiring and engaging and intellectual and I just knew and could see that some of these students are going to be the future rockstars in the advertising business.

My professors came from various prominent agencies from across the country, worked on high-profile campaigns, and were very passionate on what they taught. And the flame from their passion caused a spark in me. I wanted to attend agency visits. I was glued to the headlines of AdWeek constantly seeing what was the latest in the ad world, and became an AAF member and attended luncheons with DFW ad and marketing professionals. IT WAS AWESOME.

Now, who’s to say I couldn’t have had those same experiences and opportunities without college and the price tag? I could have taken the old school route and self-trained myself through heavy reading of ad or marketing books. Surely YouTube university could have taught me something relevant or I could have taken online classes. I could have even worked as an apprentice and shadowed a copywriter. Who knows? At least I wouldn’t be in debt, right?

If you were like me at a younger age, I’m sure you were told to go to college so that you can learn the skills to get you a better job in order to provide a better life for yourself. Looking back on it, I feel that from my “college experience” the real value of my degree came more so from the life experiences as opposed to actual course material. Like, how to deal with a messy roommate, how to work with different personalities and work in group projects (god damn group projects), learning to make a meal that would rival something off an Anthony Bourdain show with just a loaf of bread, ramen noodles and chicken, how to confidently speak in front of groups (I still suck at it), and DEFINITELY time management (I’m still pretty bad at that too, but I learned!).

Don’t get me wrong, Peter Nobel’s campaigns class kicked my ass in the best possible way and it is now ingrained in me the process of running a successful campaign and “romancing the room” when giving a presentation. Dr. B’s passionate flame was the biggest spark in my personal passion for advertising and she made me want to be a better student. And Ford had no problem letting me know my work was shit and that I could do better. And for those people, I am eternally grateful.

But were those life experiences worth the almost $35,000 price tag? In my humble opinion, absolutely! College isn’t for everyone and I understand that. Steve Jobs put a dent in the universe and he did it after taking LSD and dropping out of college. My end goal is to start Trip’s Skate Shop. I could have totally been scraping through a 9-5 without a college degree and saved money to start the (future) world’s most kick-ass skate shop and restaurant. But I am confident in saying that the things I learned at UNT, the people I have met, and the life lessons that I made it through have all prepared me for something greater.

Final words: If I could do it all over again, I totally would and I wouldn’t change a thing. OK, maybe a little less alcohol and some more coffee during freshman year, but other than that, not a thing!

Sally is Back!

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After a year of living with my parents and after getting settled in to my new apartment, I made the drive back to the DFW to pick up my dog, Sally. With another 3 1/2 hour drive back, my newly acquired road dawg, and loads of traffic, we headed back to Austin after a long weekend.

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Road Dawg

 

Sally liked the new place a lot (so it seems). After work yesterday, we ventured over to Zilker Park and I let Sally run all of her energy out until the sun went down. While at Zilker, I had flashbacks to Primrose Hill in London, a very scenic spot that overlooked the London skyline. I didn’t think that I would miss London THIS much, but I have. I have kind of adopted the London approach and being in a new city since I have been here in Austin. I have substituted the Underground for the Metro (bus) and have slowly started to familiarize myself in and around Austin.

Sally at Zilker Park

Sally at Zilker Park

– Trip