The annual bGG Advertising Holiday Party was last Thursday. As usual it was the social event of the winter season in cold Southern New Hampshire. (What? Have you never heard an ad guy exaggerate?) Well the fun part of the party for me is that it’s like an Ad Club reunion because I invite a lot of our competition for many reasons: first of all, it’s my party and I can. But also because we work in a great area that fosters friendship along with competition.

If I heard it once, I heard it 10 times last Thursday from both our clients and the partners we deal with. They were amazed that so many competitors were in attendance. It’s always been our tradition and we will always do it.

It was nice to see Pat, Anders, (yes he’s baaaaccck) and Elaine from www.griffinyorkkrause.com and Fran from www.eastlantic.com as well as Warren and Judy from www.mannad.com, and of course my long-time golf buddy, Gary O’Neil (who brought Grace and George with him) from www.traceyedwards.com.

Why can this sort of gathering, which also included other agency folks (Lisa Arnold), happen here and not other places? I have a small theory…we are all getting a little older (and wiser) and realize that after all these years in the same market together we have survived. And we haven’t had to knock each other to do so. That’s one of the beauties of where we get to work every day, (although I might add I’m writing this from the bGG South office in Fort Myers).

Thanks to everyone who came to the party and thanks to my great staff who help make this such a fun gig.

Yes, this will be a rant so leave now if you are not emotionally prepared for it.

Last Wednesday some guy (older) in a red pick-up truck drove into my parking lot. Okay, so far so good. I don’t know who he is: delivery person, friend or parent of staff, new client–whatever. Well, then he and his dog get out of the truck. The first alarm bell goes off: AL DOES NOT LIKE DOGS. I don’t like them in my office, in my parking lot, or anywhere near me. Yes, a childhood incident with a dog that weighed 300 or 400 pounds and was 10 feet tall, (I was 9), has scared me.

So this person proceeds to walk the dog around my parking lot and the lot nearby and we all know he’s not just out for a little exercise. Sure enough, after about 15 minutes he puts the dog back in his truck in and gets ready to leave. Lucky for me, a member of my first-rate staff (probably knowing they would make points with me) confronts the idiot. She asks him if he is from the city. Is that a bomb sniffing dog? Of course he says no. She tells him this is a private business parking lot. He casually waves his hand as he says, “Just leaving!”

In hindsight I should have gotten a wrecker here and towed his car. But, he had a truck, was wearing a red shirt and for all I knew he might have had a gun or something. I just have to ask, “What was this guy thinking?” I mean I just don’t get the lack of courtesy, consideration, or even common sense. But, hey what do I know? Man’s best friend hates me anyway! But for the record, if he or anyone else with a dog comes back–BEWARE; this time I will call the wrecker.

I’m prompted to write about this topic for the simple reason that I sat beside a grandmotherly-aged woman on Friday on my plane trip to Florida. She carried on the plane with her the following: a cell phone, a PDA, an iPod, portable DVD player and a laptop. They were all hers! And in her carry on bag she had three Wii’s, the hot Christmas item.

I asked her why she did not pack the Wii’s in her luggage (which I knew she had since she told me). She said, “These are the hottest items in the world right now and I’ve got three of them; I don’t want them stolen.” So I asked the follow-up question: was she giving them to grandchildren? “Hell no,” she said, “I’m selling them on E-Bay.” She was convinced she was going to make a killing. I suppose the 46,000 other Wii sellers that where on E-Bay one week before Christmas thought the same thing.

So after the Wii discussion I commented on the other technology she was carrying around and wanted to know if it was all hers and I implied that I thought it might be a little too over the top. She looked at me like I was from another planet.

The plane ride got me thinking, so I clicked on Google when I sat down to address this week’s blog and typed in “too much technology.” I came across this great article; it is a couple of years old but in my mind still pertinent. I also got 12,100,000 other hits; however, for the sake of brevity I decided not to read them. Instead, I turned my laptop and cell phone off and went to play golf.