The world will never know.

Today I learned of a great friend/colleague/boss' passing. So sudden and so young.

Its at times like this that I realize how short life is, and how you can be gone in the blink of an eye.

The last thing he mentioned to me a few weeks ago was how truly excited he was to move forward with his life, as he had just started his own business. He said, "I had the best Monday morning of my life today"

Had the world by the balls.

I hope he knows how amazing of a man he was, how inspiring he was to such a junior art director as me.

I also hope that I can live up to the high expectations he had of me and become just as great of a creative director as he was.

Whatever is on the other side, I hope that I meet you there in peace.

Rest in Peace TM you are missed.

Not enough hours in the day.

I hope you all enjoy the latest from my new contributors Susie and Bridget. Both very good friends, knowledgeable in just about everything-but more importantly both live amazingly interesting lives.
I love hearing their stories and the things they run into on an everyday basis.

I've been sort of out of wack lately. Too much free time for my mind to wonder. So i decided I am going to spend more time writing here at the big O, working on my shop, and getting my act in gear for my professorship (gasP!) this coming fall. I'll elaborate on that once my class/students is/are finalized.

The move also took so much more time and energy and MONEY than expected. I can't believe that we are just now finishing it all up. I'll be sure to take some photos once everything is in place.

For now, here are a few things I've been working on.

anniversary invitation

More cute stuff after the jump!

Roll Out the Orange Carpet

Hello hello! My name is Bridget, you can call me Bridge. Gabrielle has been waiting anxiously for me to make an appearance at The Orange Octopus. Here I am. Roll out the orange carpet.

You may be asking yourself, where the heck have you been Bridge? Gabbi presented me with this awesome opportunity in the midst of me finishing up my thesis. Well, that's almost all done. In fact, I graduate in less than 2 weeks. After graduation, I'll be blogging live from New York City!

Here are some quick facts about me:
1. I'm a copywriter
2. I hate meatloaf
3. I ran a half marathon in February
4. I want to be a stand-up comedian
5. I have a plaid back pack
6. I only write with Sharpie Pens
7. I have a puppy named Pickles
8. My parents are my rock
9. I hate cooking
10. I have a slight addiction to Starbucks

Be brave and do brave things,

Bridge

Hold It In

Jukebox the Ghost is not only local to the Philly/DC area, they are also awesome! They have already toured with Ben Folds, Jenny Owen Youngs, and Nightmare of You. They were even on The Late Show With David Letterman this past September. Let's hope they keep getting more buzz for their talent. I personally think they kinda sorta sound like Chester French, but I'll leave that up to you to decide. Here is their website for more of their music too! http://www.jukeboxtheghost.com/ *Enjoy*

Jukebox the Ghost - Hold it in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIJTDwyQw5Y

PS- Here is the Chester French website for you to enjoy too!
http://chesterfrench.com/

Sleepyhead

Hello Orange Octo World! This is Susie giving you your Orange Fix of the day! *ENJOY*

This morning was one of those mornings where I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Hated my hair, my outfit, had no time for breakfast, dealt with stupid school buses and trucks in front of me, etc. So I really needed a fix to get me out of my rut. As soon as this song came on, I perked up and it made me smile and even move a bit in my cube (which is like unheard of in corporate world). Passion Pit has many great songs that get me going, but this one really did for me. It's called Sleepyhead, which is what I certainly was. It was once used on a Sprint cell phone commercial and I'm sure you'll recognize it. It's a crazy video too, so that will give you something interesting to watch. *ENJOY*

Passion Pit - Sleepyhead
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0RvPYRRRbE

Epic Changes Coming to the Big O

Lets just pretend the huge hiatus I took from blogging, never happened. Okay, great, glad you understand.

New changes:

1. Bridget Kelly, a copywriter, dear friend, grad school colleague and artist, will be joining the Big O.
Her post will include anything and everything. Her wit, charm and hilarious nature will bring a fantastic change to the blog. I know all of you will love reading about her antics.

2. The look is constantly changing. I know I know. But I think we've got it this time.
Hopefully sometime this summer the website, blog and shop will all be complete.
*fingers crossed*

3. If you would like to be featured on our blog, please e-mail: TheBigOrangeOctopus(at)gmail(dot)com

Tomorrow will start a full day of posting!

Happy Cinco! <3