The visual design will be changing too – working on that new template.

I’m baaaaaack!

1.) The work funneling through Caxiam Group right now is simply unprecedented. I finally feel that after 3 years of this venture, we’ve finally arrived on the marketplace. I know that sounds strange, but internally we’ve gone through a lot of struggles that has challenged us in every way possible. Low profit projects (sometimes LOSING money), inaccurate timelines, lack of a true definition phase and solid marketing materials, confidence, a poor presentation methodology, no market niche, no product w/ a recurring revenue model, finding and delivering for a large client, finding the right team members, no company capital (the beauty of having no investors), no personal financial stability – the list goes on. I honestly could fill this entire blog with what we’ve learned and gone through over the past couple of years but I digress.

Ethan and I just signed an extension on our lease, so starting this June we’ll be at this office space for an additional 2 years. I really truly feel confident that we’ve gotten over the hump, and now it’s “go-time” as I’ve explained it to close friends and family members. We’ve paid our dues, and have made many sacrificses to get the business to this stage. Caxiam Group has officially arrived – now lets get to work.

Just to give you some insight into the madness at CG – we’re booked solid until September. Yes, September. We physically are turning smaller projects away until then so that we can deliver high quality products for an array of large clients spread throughout the world. Lets not forget about a California trip to San Diego in a few weeks! Ethan and I are flying out there to present our ideas and vision for a Scuba Diving site to the board of directors of DEMA.org. If that presentation is a success, we’ll easily be booked from September to January of 2008. Very exciting stuff.

Here’s a snapshot of a project we’re currently working on for a resort in Puerto Rico:

2.) My recent trip up to Boston has inspired me. Yep, I’m going to say it. Now, don’t get crazy – I’m not running a FULL marathon (well, not yet at least) but I will attempt the HALF-Marathon on September 9th, in Chicago. www.chicagohalfmarathon.com I start a 16 week program, that I’m still working the details on, here in a few weeks. This will truly be a challenge for me for a number of reasons.

- I’ve always hated running
- I’ve never been good at running (probably why I’ve hated it)
- My frame is certainly not ideal for running (thank you Football, Weights & Softball)
- I’ve never ran longer than 3-4 miles without stopping
- My diet of high protein, and low carbs will need an adjustment
- I don’t know a lick about the sport
- I’m nervous (just being honest here)

I’ve feared long-distance running for a very long time – so in a way I’m out to tackle and elminate this fear and prove to myself that I can be successful at something that has never been my strength. I’ll be sharing my training experiences as we move along through the Summer – hopefully they’re good ones. The beauty of this is that the timing of the training couldn’t work out better. I’m healthy, ready for a challenge outside of the studio, inspired, and motivated beyond belief to run it under 2 hours.

Here are some pictures from the Boston trip. What a blast this was! We hit up a Sam Adams Brewery Tour, a Sox game, took a trolley tour of the city, had some amazing dinners, and witnessed the worst conditions ever for a Boston Marathon (forever known as the “Monsoon Marathon“).

I couldn’t even wait till I got home (which is an easy 5 minute drive by the way) to open the bottle and take a chug. Upon loading up the Jeep, I frantically searched for it in my bags of groceries. I retrieved, quickly ripped the foil off, twisted the top, kicked my head back, and let the lime sensation take me over. I think I scared some people in the parking lot because I stood there with Limeaid in one hand, and a container of honey roasted peanuts in the other, taking shots from both for a good 5 minutes in my gym clothes. Simply satisfying, yet bizarre to some onlookers I bet.

The moment could have easily been placed on a segment of Sprite’s new and deranged “sublymonal messaging” campaign they’re currently running (which is genius in my mind). Well, that’s if I could get as excited about Sprite as I do about this stuff.

Thanks House, you bad bad man.

www.myspace.com/sharpy79

“This Wednesday, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 am in the morning, the time and date will be 01:02:03, 04/05/06.”