Where I have been

Hope this entry finds everyone enjoying the holiday season.  For me, the holiday season starts with Halloween.  Emma's birthday is on November 7 with Thanksgiving quickly following. Then I brace myself for all of Emma's end of year activities. We observe Hanukkah in our home. Emma is now old enough to light the menorahs.

Every year I struggle with my latkes. I always feel supported knowing that Grandma Zuckerman in New York City is working tech support just in case the latkes won't stick together in the pan.  I must remember that there's lots of room for error with these potato pancakes.  I've discovered you can't really taste the latkes too much after you slather them with apple sauce and sour cream.  I like creating olfatory memories for Emma. I hope she will fondly remember the house and her mama smelling like fried potatoes and hot oil.

We celebrate Christmas at my mom's house.  This year my mom and aunt plan on making Bacalao (codfish with tomatoes, olives and chilies), a traditional Mexican Christmas dish.

I also have a personal anniversary tucked between Halloween and Emma's birthday.   It was two years ago when I first struggled into the doctor's office with severe pain in my abdomen. ( I was later diagnosed with stage 4 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.)   What a life transforming chapter in my life that was.

I have been in remission for almost two years now. I am low key about the diagnosis anniversary. In my mind, I acknowledge the date and move on.  The red leaves on the trees in Austin around this time of year remind me of the little things that I started to see when life seemed so fragile. I am thankful for health, family, friends and the color red -- not just on the anniversary of my diagnosis, but every day. (I recently painted one wall in my home office red.)

The new normal for me now also means returning to my professional life with renewed purpose, with little tolerance for things that don't contribute to what I think is important.  I think the cancer experience plus being in my mid 40's has helped me focus only on things I consider meaningful and enduring.

After finishing chemo treatments,  I returning to consulting (freelance research) and teaching at Texas State.  I wasn't as active on this blog as I no longer had cancer stories to tell. However, I was active in other online forums. I started a blog for my account planning class at Texas State.  (Account planning is essentially advertising research ---big idea strategy plus creative development).

In keeping with my "meaningful and enduring" criteria,  I teach account planning. Understanding the consumer's perspective helps copywriters and art directors create ads that are "good," meaning ads that respect the consumer and touch a universal, emotional cord. In addition, research is the first internal line of defense against stereotypical, offensive, and annoying ads. I teach advertising research because I want the next generation of creatives to make ads that are clever, insightful and truthful.

I realize that not all of my students will become account planners in advertising agencies, but my goal is that every student will leave my class with an appreciation for the importance of research in strategy.  The link between research and decision making applies to just about everything---advertising, marketing, management, public policy, career planning, etc.

Here is the the link to my account planning class blog.  I am more like an editor on the class blog as most of the content is student-generated.  Check out the YouTube research videos made by my students.

  I have also been active on Twitter. Frequent updates are much easier to maintain with a 140 character limit. I follow 249 people. I have 261 followers. I don't know most of these people. Many of them are advertising professionals from around the world (account planners, advertising agencies, copywriters, art directors, creative directors, research firms, media planners, advertising schools, advertising clubs, professors, advertising headhunters, even Mad Men impersonators).  Unlike this personal blog, my "tweets" on Twitter are either about strategic planning or teaching. Like Linked in, I use Twitter as a professional forum.

Here is the picture associated with my Twitter account. I am still love those red lipped styrofoam heads from my wig shopping days.