A Request This St. Patrick’s Day

I am proud of my Irish heritage, not just on St. Patrick’s Day, but throughout the year, and claim that portion above the other cultures in my family line. I am also a part-time student (very part-time) of the customs and traditions of my Irish roots.

There are two local “traditions,” however, that are not celebrated on St. Patrick’s Day or any other day in Ireland. The first is preparing a corned beef and cabbage dinner. Although arguably tasty (providing my grandmother is cooking), it is not an Irish meal. This annual dish originated with Irish immigrants wanting something that tasted of the old country – but that is another conversation.

The other tradition, and I use that term sparingly, is the consumption of green beer. Even now, I struggle to find adequate and PG-rated terms to deplore this offering. While I ponder, let’s move on.

I do enjoy beer, but am more of a scotch and whiskey drinker. Many of my college drinking companions acknowledged scotch as an acquired taste. And by my own consumption history, I acknowledge truth in that statement.

As a younger lad, supervised by family and parents, I was permitted to enjoy a sip (keep in mind “sip” is a relative measurement) of scotch and water. During my college years, my choice became scotch on the rocks, and as my palate refined, the order became scotch neat.

What I acquired during this evolution was the taste of the actual spirit. Like good wines, scotches and whiskies also offer subtle flavors of their respective ingredients and the barrels in which they are aged. For me, the water and ice diluted the hints of oak, smoke and other earthy notes.

But while water and ice are reasonably acceptable bedfellows for Jameson Irish Whiskey or The Macallan, they are not appropriate for beer. No respectable beer connoisseur or even casual consumer such as myself would water down a beer. Isn’t that what so many light beer commercials advocate a bold beer flavor, without a watered-down taste?

And while back on the topic of beers, consider the traditional Irish variety. There are those not of the Irish persuasion who do honor the Saint’s Day by toasting friends and family with Guinness, Harp, or a Murphy’s Irish Stout. Someone adding anything to these brews is not the full shilling (insane).

Even among those who enjoy lighter, domestic brews (there are friends who argue they want to drink their beers, not chew them when asked about Guinness or other Irish stouts), I suspect none have any ingredient added after the top is pulled, cap removed or draught completed.

So why on the Lord’s Green Ireland would you add food coloring to a beer and claim to be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day or the Irish? Still unable to appropriate pen my vehement opposition to this bad habit, I consulted my younger sister – a beer aficionado in her own right. In doing so, she loosed an invective-strewn tirade of impressive proportions that I will not reprint here. Amid the barrage, however, I did glean this repeatable statement:

“No self-respecting Irish person, friend of the Irish or Irish-for-the-day celebrant would drink green beer, let alone the cheap, flavorless swill used to create it, during St. Patrick’s Day.”

Perfect. So I implore you, dear reader, to grant me this boon. Avoid the green beer. Spend a little more on a genuine Irish brew (or whiskey), and on St. Patrick’s Day, do as the Irish do (and not just this Saturday, but everyday) as noted in this simple rhyme:

Let’s all put on our dancing shoes, and wear our shamrocks green,

And toast our friends near and far, and all those in between.

Sláinte!

~Kevin

Wedding Crashers: The App

Photo from http://crashcorsage.com/

“Rule Number Six: Do not sit in the corner and sulk. It draws attention in a negative way. Draw attention to yourself, but on your own terms.”

The hit movie “Wedding Crashers” took the country by storm in 2005 with its unique and fun way of taking wedding crashing main stream. Seven years later, an app has been developed to help you take wedding crashing to a whole new level.

Crash Corsage is a database of information about every wedding near you, including details on dress codes, schedules, the bride and groom and the wedding party, arming you with just enough information to pass as a distant relative of a dead cousin (rule 14).

According to their latest newsletter, Crash Corsage is on track to be available for the upcoming wedding season, giving you plenty of time to map out your plan. RSVP for the occasion now on their website.

Disclaimer: The Firm does not support the crashing of weddings (or funerals). We just think the app is humorous.

Welcome to Our Blog

Welcome to our new blog. It’s something we have been talking about for years and that I have vehemently opposed. As an agency we help clients develop blogs and we even write posts and recommend  and implement strategies for them when it’s appropriate.  So why am I against it for The Firm…sheer laziness and commitment fear. I did not want to commit to writing something pithy and profound on a regular basis. But our team has assured me I don’t have to be brilliant, I just need to post.  So now that we have set low expectations we can begin. Ta da!

March 1 is our 19th anniversary of being in business. Quite an accomplishment these days. As I reflect back to the beginning, I remember just wanting to work with clients that I wanted to work with. To do great work and make a difference for businesses. It was no big deal to me at the time to launch The Firm. It’s just what I did. But now looking back, I can’t believe I did it and was successful. So many things could have gone wrong and so many things did but we persisted and never lost focus.

So why have we been so  successful all these years? In the beginning it was because I had a vision and passion, was great at what I did, did not compromise the work and had outstanding clients to do great work for. As we added staff, I was lucky to work with some very talented folks and it’s those people who helped propel us to where we are today. We are also fortunate to work with some of the best clients in the universe. And the one mantra that still drives me and The Firm is “Never, never, never give up.”  Winston Churchill said that and it’s my favorite saying of all time. 

We were tested as many of us were in 2008 when the economy in Vegas took a huge hit. We lost more than half our business in a matter of months. We had to make some tough decisions but we did not give up. Two years later, I lost my husband of 20 years and I was sure that was the end. He was the CFO for our company and I had not been dealing with the financial aspects of The Firm for quite some time. I was devastated in so many ways but I had a young son, employees who counted on The Firm for their livelihood and had become family to me and clients who relied on us…I still did not give up…but I wanted to. It was a dark time. Thankfully I still love what I do and had The Firm, our team and our clients to keep me busy and of course my son Nicholas needed his mom.

Fast forward to now and life looks very different for me as well as The Firm. Business is coming back in a big way for us, we have one of the most amazing teams of professionals I have had the privilege to work with and clients are counting on us more than ever. We are doing the work we love and making a difference for our clients’ business. On a personal note, I am engaged to be married (more on that in another post) and have started the next chapter in my always entertaining and surprising life. So Happy Birthday to us and a special heartfelt thanks to our team, our clients, family and friends and to my son Nicholas and my fiance Joe. I couldn’t have come this far without you all.

~Solveig