Seriously.

It was awesome to see the outpour of Louisville, Wichita State, Syracuse & Michigan fans throughout the streets of not only downtown (where all the Final Four games and events are held) but even in Buckhead around where I work. (We ate brunch at Bricktops on Sunday and so many yellow, red and orange shirts passed by, we even started trying to judge which was the majority fanbase at one point.)

FYI – this is brunch at Bricktops. Didn’t realize that this place known for its pizzas would have such a-m-a-z-i-n-g brunch.

And THEN! the concerts! All the concerts! 3 days of concerts!
Yes, CONCERTS CONCERTS CONCERTS! And they’re FREEE!

Okay so there was, My Morning Jacket, Zac Brown Band, Ludacris, Muse, Macklemore, Sting, Dave Matthews Band, Grace Potter and more more more. And no I definitely did not attend all of those because I would not be alive. But I did attend a good bit of Friday and Sunday night concerts and it couldn’t have been more fun or a more crazy Marta experience on the ride back! Think about fans/fans/Atlantans/concertjunkies all crammed together in one lovely Marta experience.

Sting!

And that was.. close to the stage. Imagine 12x that many people back! And for Dave Matthews? Even crazier. Still, awesome. And did I mention that it was freeeeeee!

And the next great thing about Atlanta? Baseball. Baseball. Baseball.
Beautiful weather and baseball, man – it doesn’t get better than that.

See? It doesn’t get better than that.

And I did all of that – in one weekend. Thank you Atlanta, you rule.

Reblogged from So Delushious !:

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I am insecure with many things I cook. But scallops? Oh I'm good at scallops.

My favorite things about scallops: their delectable sweetness, their ability to morph flavors and be perfect with whatever surrounding you choose, and the fact that all you need is salt and pepper to make them the bomb.edu (people take .edu things more seriously I don't know why this hasn't caught on)

Read more… 691 more words

It’s hard to believe the amount of people that have affected my life in this one year. They come in and out here quickly – as at any major advertising agency. But a lot of them have become friends, even beyond their stay here – and I’m grateful for all of those. Even those that have come and went, that have challenged me – those people are still special to me too. They made me make my mark here. People know my name and respect what I do. Well – most of them anyway :P.

Working full time is an entirely different world than college, yes. But let me tell you this – there’s no such thing as getting a job as being in “the real world.” You’re in the real world every time you step away and sit and enjoy what’s in front of you. Whether that be in college or working full time. The real world is your family, your friends, your relationships, what brings you back to the center. That’s what’s real. I’ve learned that you can’t let what you do during the day to make a life for yourself affect who you are outside of that space. A job no matter how glorious will always feel like work. College isn’t any easier than a job. A job isn’t any easier than college. It depends on the amount of effort you put into it – and what you expect out of it. And sometimes, expectations can be low – but don’t stifle yourself from growing. Ever. Let every experience be a learning one, don’t let it be a waste of your time.

This year has been one giant learning experience – and I can’t wait to see what the next one brings.

From the intern, to my first full-time job, and then promoted. All within a year. I may not know what lays ahead of me, but I’m proud of who I am and what I’ve accomplished so far – and that’s a pretty good feeling.

I’ve officially had my first big-girl full time awesome sauce job for one whole year.

So as a gift to you – here’s my new resume with my recently promoted position on it! Check it out.

You can find the whole thing here: http://melissaabeja.wordpress.com/resume/

Feel free to post any feedback – let me know what you think. A more detailed reflective post to come.. I think.

On 3/3/12 – I participated in Atlanta Dance Marathon. The city’s first annual dance marathon – of many to come. We raised $31,254.97. It was a day of crying, jumping for joy, and of course dancing. We looked weird and at times a little off our hinges – but we had an amazing time. And I couldn’t wait to do it all over again.

In June of 2012 – my friend Chloe put me in touch with the head of their exec. board – Daniella – and I joined the exec team. Now here we are.. a year has gone full circle and it’s that time again. Tomorrow we embark on what is officially hashtagged as #ATLDM13.

I can’t believe it’s been a year since the last Dance Marathon and we’ve worked so hard over so many months to get to this point. Through event after event and meetings to plan, we’re at the big day. Tomorrow – we dance for 13.1 hours for the kids of Children’s Miracle Network and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. We do it up, and we do it big.

Let’s. Do. It.

You can donate to my page here:

http://secure.choa.org/atldm/melissagonzales

And find out more about ATL Dance Marathon:

http://atldancemarathon.com

Well, I think it’s about time I get back to it – quite a bit has been going on!

Firstly, guess who got promoted! And not only that, I’ve been with BBDO for a whole year since my internship now and coming up in March I will have been at my first full-time job for a year as well! So, yes you can call me Project Manager Melissa now! (But please don’t, that sounds weird.) Expect an updated resume to be uploaded soon!

Secondly – That also means it’s been a year since I’ve moved (back) into Atlanta – so guess what I’m doing? Condo hunting! Which is a very weird and interesting process. The real world likes to fling you into situations without any prior education, and this is one of them. No college course has taught me how to apply for mortgage loans and speak to realtors or make offers/bargain. It’s been one grand learning experience, with loads more to embark upon – so hopefully I’ll be sharing exciting updates with you all as the process progresses!

Also – it’s the new year! (Yes, it’s February so I’m about a month and a half late, nevertheless..) Happy New Year! I rang in the new year with a great group of people including ..drumrolll…. my new awesome/fantastic/prettygreat/amazing boyfriend! Yay! No more single me, but don’t worry still having the time of my life exploring Atlanta and making it home. I just have someone great to share my experiences with! A group of his friends and my friend Sowjanya came into town and we went to the Chick-Fil-A bowl game.

Let me tell you, for a Gamecock fan attending the game with LSU fans – it was not my favorite experience. A Gamecock never wants to see a Clemson victory. We still had an awesome time and rang in the new year at a restaurant down the street from the Georgia Dome.

And at the end of the month we took a (bumpy) flight out to Vail, Colorado. Where I attempted to ski for the very first time! Can we please talk about how great I am at falling? However, terrible at getting up. And even worse at actually skiing. But I still had an awesome time and I definitely would love to go again! Vail was b-e-a-u-tiful. It snowed the first few days and the sun came out for our last few days. Truly remarkable and awe inspiring place.

There’s way more pictures where that came from, eventually I’ll upload to flickr or something of the like to share with you all.

More trips are in the making, in the meantime I’m enjoying Atlanta and slowly and surely it’s becoming home. Will definitely share some of my fun Atlanta adventures soon! Until then, hope you all had a great President’s Day Weekend (I know I was slow to get up this morning!) and wish me luck on the condo hunt!

Only six months late, but all the same. Check it out!

Click to see the whole thing!

I didn’t truly understand what it was until I attended USCDM 2011. What a crazy, awesome night. I was there to take photos for the organization and I can’t begin to tell you how in awe I was of the cause these students stood for, the people that led and reminded them why they danced, and the children that inspired them. Families made us cry, dancers made us laugh, victories made us leap for joy.

One of my favorite moments from USCDM Keldon Hemingway teaching us all how to REALLY dougie!

I was so inspired by the events that transpired that day and the wonderful people I met. A few of the people that led the day have become some of my greatest friends. One of them was my friend Chloe, who served on USCDM’s executive board. She moved to Atlanta around the same time that I moved last year and she was the first person I called to let know I’d be joining her in the big city of the South. Of course she met alumni from other Dance Marathon’s in the area and became a part of the first ever Atlanta Dance Marathon.

So she brought me into the craziness that is Dance Marathon. I participated in the inaugural ATLDM in March and had a BLAST! It was a beautiful day at the zoo full of dancing, zumba, even some CAPOEIRA!, scavenger hunts, stories and most importantly fundraising! We raised $31,254 that night FOR THE KIDS! (You’ll learn this is a dance marathon mantra).

The Flamingo team at the 2012 Atlanta Dance Marathon!

I had such an amazing time that I had to know how I could get involved. 4 months later I was asked to join the team and run social media (some might say that it’s one of my great strengths, though they might say it begrudgingly). So here I am spreading the word about Atlanta Dance Marathon every chance I get and loving every minute of it. We have so many great mini fundraisers over the year that are just a ton of fun. I am so glad that I got to join such an amazing team. This organization has introduced me to quite a few awesome people who not only work professionally, but additionally work so hard to make a difference in their community. I’ve got to say, it’s a good feeling!

The ATLDM team at our SweetWater Brewery event!

Basically, get yourself prepared for one too many posts about ATLDM and to learn more about Dance Marathon! And for me to harass you to join! Trust me it’s crazy fun and worth every moment :) Look out for a blog explaining just exactly what Dance Marathon is all about! Until then Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter: @ATLDM

Oh and check out our blog too, I have to say it’s pretty snazzy. Our new website will be live soon!

Sorry – sorry – sorry – sorry – sorry – sorry – sorry!

I have been incredibly absent from this blog, and it’s rather tragic. I do have the time to blog, but I’m not so sure my life is that interesting. Not that the ad world isn’t rather exciting (trust me, it. is.) but there’s a bit of an internal struggle as to how to best represent the agency on here (and at some point I will figure that out).

And then there’s the fact that I don’t do much outside of work, nothing so inspiring to blog about really. (Or maybe I’m just lazy – it’s probably that.) But from time to time, I do rather fun and cool things, because I am rather fun and cool! (Seriously!)

This past weekend I ventured to Savannah with my former roommate Sowjanya. It was exactly what I needed, a summer retreat to unwind. We stayed in the historic district and took a beach day to Tybee Island. It was, to put it bluntly, hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot. I sweat everywhere I went (attractive, I know). But it was worth it – kind of. We could only do two hours at the beach before we retreated into a recovery nap in the hotel, before hitting the beautiful streets of Savannah. It’s a gorgeous place guys, I highly recommend a trip there. You don’t have to expect much out of it and it will reward you plentifully, and it never expects much out of you. All it wants you to do is explore.

The quiet calm of the river and ocean will welcome you and restore you.

Sowjanya and me, by the Savannah River.

Walking through the streets at night we wandered upon little park after little park after little park on each block. It was heaven to find a music venue where a band full of soul belted beautifully and man pushed his heart out of a harmonica, then walk home through green and rustic brick. We paused at each little park, and enjoyed the community of quiet conversation. The joy of Savannah is that while it’s a tourist attraction, no one is rushed to see sights or angrily honking in traffic, everyone is there to relax.

Forsyth Park

See what I mean?

Ah, heaven.

Oh, did I mention we got honked at twice by truckers on the way to Sav because we were ‘those girls’ with the top down? (At least we know someone is attracted to these single-for-too-long ladies, btw boys – we’re taking applications.)

Savannah bound!

See, I can be fabulous ;)

Are you ready?

1. The beautiful, powerful and impressive Malia Griggs landed a sweet little gig as the Editorial Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief of Cosmopolitan Magazine. Yeah, seriously. What’s wrong with this girl? Why do the people I know have to be such over-achievers? Sheesh.

2. One of my dearest friends Michelle and her husband greeted their new baby son into the world a few weeks ago.  Their baby is ADORABLE and I can’t wait to meet him and watch him grow. I am so happy for her new little family.

3. I danced for 13.1 HOURS straight in the first ever ATL Dance Marathon. Bunches and bunches of fun – bigger recap & pics to come soon! We raised $31,254.97 for the Children’s Hospitals of Atlanta and most importantly For The Kids! It was an amazing experience that I hope to do again!

4. I survived Valentine’s Day guys, who would’ve guessed?

5. Drake is coming to Atlanta! After the fiasco that was the reschedule in Columbia, I couldn’t be more excited. He’s touring with J. Cole, Waka Flocka & more this time. I am so ready.

6. My first big girl purchase with my first big girl check? Guesses anyone? A round trip to NYC for Memorial Day Weekend aka Malia’s birthday (see overachiever from bullet 1).

7. I’ve also purchased a lot of other things, which is why once the next payday rolls around it’s going to be personal budget creation time. Anyone have suggestions or tips? I’ve already gotten a seriously sweet iPad app for it. Anything can be solved by my LiliPad!

8. New apartment applied to! Pending approval, I’ll be set to move in the end of April!

9. My phone calendar and email has been overrun by work things, so I bought a physical planner to help me plan my personal life. I tend to do this thing where I go home, cook and fall asleep and forget about all the other important things. But now, I plan! 

10. I bought a gym membership! Last week! And I still haven’t been! YES! I’m going to the gym soon I swear. Going to yoga on Saturday, fo-sho. It’s just so hard to resist the outdoors this time of the year. And by the outdoors I mean sitting outside of a Starbucks with a good book. You know you’re jealous. 

That’s all for now! I’ll have more with more detail and more amazingness to come next time.

Till then, love MG.