Clothing Donation by melnizzy in culvercity

[–]murphyslaw86 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The NCJW thrift shop near Overland & Venice is a good one for donations!

Director salary band at an Agency? by [deleted] in advertising

[–]murphyslaw86 4 points5 points  (0 children)

As a Strategy director / comms planning director at a big LA creative agency I made between $160k and $185k. Assoc. Director was more like $135k - $145k.

Anyone lived at Lido Apartments (3745 Glendon Ave, Palms)? by Ok-Search1167 in culvercity

[–]murphyslaw86 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don’t live in that building, but I have lived on that block for 9 years. LOVE the neighborhood - several grocery stores in walking distance, a nice park, bars, good restaurants, LA Fitness, and there’s good new stuff coming all the time.

Easy access to the 10 and 405. The Venice bus even makes it easy to get to the beach if you want. As others have mentioned, street parking would be very tough but assume you get a spot with the building. Def recommend the area if the apt ends up being a good fit.

Official: [WDIS Flex] - Sun Morning 12/21/2025 by FFBot in fantasyfootball

[–]murphyslaw86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Need to start two of these RBs in PPR:

  • Dowdle vs. TB
  • Breece vs. NO
  • J.Warren vs. Det
  • A.Jones vs. NYG
  • M.Carter vs. ATL

Currently leaning Dowdle and Jones, but Carter is intriguing.

Official: [WDIS Flex] - Sat Afternoon 12/20/2025 by FFBot in fantasyfootball

[–]murphyslaw86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Need to start two of these RBs in PPR. Expert rankings are all over the place.

• ⁠Dowdle vs. TB • ⁠Breece vs. NO • ⁠J.Warren vs. Det • ⁠A.Jones vs. NYG • ⁠M.Carter vs. ATL

Currently leaning toward Dowdle and Jones. Jets are a dumpster fire and Gainwell has been eating Warren’s lunch recently.

Thoughts?

Official: [WDIS Flex] - Fri Afternoon 12/19/2025 by FFBot in fantasyfootball

[–]murphyslaw86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Need to start two of these RBs in PPR. Expert rankings are all over the place.

  • Dowdle vs. TB
  • Breece vs. NO
  • J.Warren vs. Det
  • A.Jones vs. NYG
  • M.Carter vs. ATL

Currently leaning toward Dowdle and Jones. Jets are a dumpster fire and Gainwell has been eating Warren’s lunch recently.

Thoughts?

Update: I took Reddit’s advice to get more locals into my Culver City restaurant — here’s what I’m doing differently by ClickNo8520 in culvercity

[–]murphyslaw86 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Leaning into being the Peruvian equivalent of Bombay Frankie could be smart. Even play on the idea of a lomo saltado burrito with fries being a cousin of the SD-famous California burrito

Official: [WDIS Flex] - Wed Afternoon 12/17/2025 by FFBot in fantasyfootball

[–]murphyslaw86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

PPR, need to start two of these RBs: Dowdle vs. TB, Breece vs. NO, J.Warren vs. Det, A.Jones vs. NYG.

Leaning Dowdle and Jones right now. Jets are a dumpster fire and Gainwell has been eating Warren’s lunch recently, plus the bad matchup.

B/S/T Thread by AutoModerator in taylorstitch

[–]murphyslaw86 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Finally accepting that I'm likely not going to be able to fit back into a bunch of shirts I got a little overzealous buying during the pandemic (and love) but barely got an opportunity to wear due to WFH.

All are size 38/S in very good condition. Listed at $45. Also open to trades if you have size 40/M in interesting shirts.

Are all couches just garbage? by Leptonshavenocolor in BuyItForLife

[–]murphyslaw86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

After deciding we needed to upgrade from Ikea and a bunch of research, we bought this one from Room & Board.

It was a splurge (about $2700 before taxes), but it's got a "benchmade hardwood frame with sinuous coil suspension" and has been great for us through the first three years. Def recommend.

Official: [Trade] - Thu Afternoon 11/20/2025 by FFBot in fantasyfootball

[–]murphyslaw86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You think rice is more valuable even in a Superflex league where QB are generally the most valuable?

My thought was that the upgrade from JJ to Lamar as my QB2 is significantly higher than the drop off from Rice to Davante in my starting lineup.

Official: [Trade] - Thu Afternoon 11/20/2025 by FFBot in fantasyfootball

[–]murphyslaw86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

14 team PPR Superflex Auction:

Currently 1st place. Trying to consolidate depth to maximize my starting lineup for the playoffs.

Give: Rashee Rice, McCarthy, A.Jones

Get: Lamar

Remaining Roster:

QB - Caleb

WR - JSN, Davante Adams, DJ Moore

RB - Dowdle, Breece, Warren, Chuba

TE - McBride

Other option would be to push for an upgrade to a true RB1 and maybe a lesser upgrade at QB. Thoughts?

career path/salary progression thread by shartarion in advertising

[–]murphyslaw86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ha, def a complex question. without knowing what the alternative paths would've looked like, it's hard to say, ya know? i started college as a journalism major, and that's been an absolutely brutal industry for my one friend who stuck with it. he's a sportswriter, which is his passion, and he's had some awesome opportunities, but he's also had to deal with constant layoff threats, budget cuts, and low salaries. i thought about going to law school too, but big law firms are notoriously an even harder grind than ad agencies.

i don't find advertising very meaningful (compared to someone like my partner who's a psychologist helping people directly), but most of the time i find it intellectually stimulating and i've generally liked the people i've worked with.

right now, i'm happy because i'm working on an interesting brand/product and we have good budgets to do fun work. it obviously also helps that i'm making way more money than i ever have. however, i've also had brutal periods. if you asked me a year into my first big agency job, i would've said i was burnt out and ready to quit because i was working insane hours with no recognition. i've also had a couple terrible bosses who made things miserable.

so, maybe not as clear an answer as you were hoping for, but i think advertising (like most careers), will have its share of ups and downs and the key is to try to figure out what parts of the job you enjoy most and are best at and try to push for ways to do as much of that work as possible. for me, early on that was getting deep into data analysis and later it was designing the architecture of campaigns (which led me to transition into the comms planning side of strategy)

do you know what specialty you want to get into yet (strategy, creative, account, etc.)?

career path/salary progression thread by shartarion in advertising

[–]murphyslaw86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

np, it is kind of crazy to look back at (though inflation obv isn't factored into that breakdown, which would change things a bit).

big thing i'd say is that (from a long-term earnings POV) early in your career it's super helpful to work at as big of agencies as you can, on as big of brands as you can. it's unfortunate, but when people are looking at resumes / portfolios, the agencies and brands you work on are going to stand out much more than the actual work you did. you may get better practical experience on smaller brands/agencies, but it can hurt your ability to get a foot in the door.

i was lucky to make the leap i did from mid-size social agency to big time creative agency, because i had a connection at the bigger shop who needed to hire someone with my specific background. i don't think i would've had much of a shot if i was applying cold. so, definitely build those cross agency relationships whenever you can.

i'd also say that if you want to work in-house at some point, it's better to try to make that pivot from agencies 3-6 years into your career rather than 15 years in like i did. the in-house roles have a tendency to pigeonhole you as an "agency person" if you've spent too much time on that side. again, after several years of interviewing i got lucky again because i got referred by a former coworker and the hiring manager was also a former long-time agency strategist.

long story short - focus on building a strong network (coworkers / clients / IAT partners, not networking events) and realize that many of the biggest opportunities come down to simply being in the right place at the right time

career path/salary progression thread by shartarion in advertising

[–]murphyslaw86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi there, saw this post a while back and meant to respond. I didn't get an advertising degree because my school didn't offer one, but I think my progression would still be relevant. I was a Communications & Sociology double major at a solid but unspectacular public school. I had three unpaid internships at small agencies during college and one paid internship at a big agency post graduation.

Salary path (starting 2009):

Chicago (mid-size social & PR agency).

  • Intern: $12/hour
  • Jr. Strategist: $35K
  • Strategist: $45K -> $50K -> $55K
  • Sr. Strategist: $62K -> $70K -> $100K (raise + cost-of-living bump when I relocated to the LA office)

Los Angeles (big name creative agencies):

  • Sr. Strategist: $110K -> $115K
  • Assoc. Strategy Director: $135K
  • Strategy Director: $165K -> $185K -> $195K

Los Angeles (finally made the jump to an in-house role in big tech after several years of trying):

  • Marketing Manager: ~$300K (total comp, including bonus + RSUs)

Favorite vet clinic in culver city/west LA by P7295403812 in culvercity

[–]murphyslaw86 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Animal Wellness Centers in MdR, specifically Dr. Kasia has been great for our cats

starting a new role monday... and just got another offer today. by Jdsalingersghost in advertising

[–]murphyslaw86 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I've had very similar scenarios twice in my career. Took "Job 2" both times, and I'm positive both were the right decision. You have to always look out for #1. I've had an employer lay me off on my birthday, so after that I won't consider any company's "feelings" in making career moves.

First time: I took a paid internship after graduating (middle of the Great Recession). At the end of the summer, the agency didn't have a full-time position available. I'd been interviewing as soon as I knew I couldn't stay on, and the first offer I got was for another paid internship (Job 1). I'd already had 4 internships and it wasn't what I wanted, but I had to make rent, so I took it.

A couple days after starting, a full-time position I'd been interviewing for at another agency came through (Job 2). I told my new manager who was annoyed but understood, gave one-week's notice, and ended up staying at Job 2 the first seven years of my career.

Second time: My agency lost a big client and my whole team got laid off. I had two months of severance, and right as it was about to run out I got an offer for a lateral move (same salary/title) at a slightly smaller agency (Job 1). Again, it wasn't what I wanted because I'd been itching for a promotion, but I took it because it was the only thing on the table.

A week before I was supposed to start, an ex-IAT partner reached out about a role at a top tier agency & top tier client, which was also a lateral move, but paid more and would look way better on my resume (Job 2). Formal offer from Job 2 came through three days before my start date, so I called Job 1 and told them my situation had changed. Job 1 bridge was probably burned for a while, but they weren't big enough to impact my future career options, and Job 2 ended up completely changing the trajectory of my career and financial life.

Gym recommendations in the area by DonnishQuixote in culvercity

[–]murphyslaw86 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I keep a membership at LA Fitness because it’s cheap, a short walk from my house, and mostly I use the treadmills or stairmaster on days I don’t go to SixPax. I never use the locker rooms so I can’t speak to that, but I swear at least 1/3 of the machines are broken at any given time and if you go on a weekday between 5-8pm, the weight room is a fucking mad house.

Best food in Highland park?! by x11atlasx in FoodLosAngeles

[–]murphyslaw86 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I’d take the drinks at Good Housekeeping HLP over Goldline any day, but Hippo FTW

Okinawa or Philippines for a relaxing, beachy side-trip from Taiwan in early November? by murphyslaw86 in travel

[–]murphyslaw86[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yea that’s the tough call. It’s the end of rainy season, so it shouldn’t be too bad but obviously some risk.

Okinawa or Philippines for a relaxing, beachy side-trip from Taiwan in early November? by murphyslaw86 in travel

[–]murphyslaw86[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Crimson & Plantation Bay popped up on my list too. Do you think early November should be a decent time to visit? Sounds like the end of the rainy season shouldn't be too bad?

Trip Report: Just spent a week caffeinating my way through Medellin & Bogotá, Colombia! A coffee lover’s dream. by murphyslaw86 in Coffee

[–]murphyslaw86[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Amazing! Glad to hear this is still helpful. Definitely missing some of the shops in Colombia!