Earlier today I gave away my HP desktop computer for free.  I am just realizing that it was my first brand-new computer and I have been lugging it around for the past 10 years, plus it had my sticker collection attached to it's outer casing.  I thought it would be a lot easier to let go, but it appears not as a whirl-wind of memories come flooding back. 

When I was 18 I saved up enough of my own money to by my very own, brand new hp desktop computer from a friend working at Best Buy.  I have been working and playing with computers since I was 10 but this one was brand new and exactly what I needed at the time. Before I took it home my friend Charlie helped me network it with our friend's computers to share our music libraries, something that got me through having my own music collection stolen out of my car and also opened my eyes to different genres with a deeper appreciation of music.  When I met Cleveland film director Bill Johns, he gave me my first copy of editing software, Sonic Foundry's Vegas, and also the Final Draft script writing program.  Both were for a PC and perfect for my HP desktop computer.

Film editing, script writing and listening to music on my HP desktop computer became my life for the next few years.  Along the way I would go to events and get stickers from the band we shot or etc.  I didn't want to lose memory and wanted to always be able to pull inspiration from the resource, so I would stick it to the HP desktop computer's outer shell figuring that would be the most long-lasting spot and convenient spot.  Almost everyday after school and or my part-time job I could be found editing home movies or screenplays.  I became accustomed to seeing the welcoming glow of Windows XP startup sequence in my daily routine – and I liked it.

When long-time friend Ryan Smith asked if I wanted to move out to California with him, I quickly jumped at the chance and hit the road within a couple months.  On May 14th, 2010 I drove from Ohio to California with my mom in my Saturn.  With a desktop computer and a huge monitor (remember the time) there wasn't much room in the car for much else.  That didn't matter to me, though, because I had my dreams – and my HP desktop computer had them all safely stored in my backseat.

When I got to California I was confronted with a rude awakening about the hard-knocks of LA.  As a 21 year old kid with little money but a lot of passion, I found myself once again in front of my HP desktop computer editing digital video almost every night.  When I became bored and needed a break from editing I would surf the web or hop on my old Myspace account to chat with friends in Ohio or try to meet new friends in LA.  I had just received my first copy of Adobe Creative Suite and had been learning photoshop to enhance my videos, but now I had a new interest in designing backgrounds and graphics for my Myspace page.  Of course I couldn't design my own page without learning html, but fortunately I had all the resources (and let's not forget the time) right in front of me.  Thanks to my HP desktop computer and the world-wide-web, I could stay connected with my old friends and learn new things.  I was almost always alone and yet never lonely thanks to my HP desktop computer, plus it kept me out of trouble. 

While working as the Distribution Manager at DNA Studio, I had the opportunity to work behind the scenes on several successful aerobic workout series including the Carmen Electra Aerobic Striptease and Paula Abdul Cardio Cheer series.  I purchased my first pair of direct-drive turn-tables off friend and DNA co-worker, DJ Aske, and began to learn the music creation and editing software Ableton Live.  Things were looking up but I was working a lot of hours, so when I would come home late I would unwind by listening to music while learning new digital video editing tricks on my HP desktop computer.  It was during this time that I perfected how to edit silent video that goes to any music you currently listening to.  

Nonetheless I came to a hard conclusion about the film industry – it's not always as glamorous as it may seem.  The hours are long (from sun-up to sun-down … and then post set) and often the creative process becomes so structured and in accordance to time that it really isn't that creative unless you are the writers, directors or main editor.  As the Associate Producer, I had some of the longest hours and no creativity (unless it came to coordinating schedules or figuring out/finding out the impossible – of which I became very creative. 😉  Unfortunately this wasn't working out the way I had planned.

Lucky for me, however, I was in the right place at the right time.  As DNA Studio was primarily a web-based marketing and advertising agency for brands such as Best Buy and Coca-Cola, they quickly realized the potential for brands social networking in Myspace.  Luckily all those nights learning graphic design, video editing, music editing, html and social networking on my HP desktop computer finally paid off as I found myself in the right place at the right time and a valuable resource to a large and successful online marketing firm.

From there I never looked back!  Over the past 6 years I have become an award-winning Interactive Producer known for mixing social media with online marketing and traditional advertising.  I have been extremely fortunate to work with really cool brands like Johnsonville, Schlotzsky's, Dippin' Dots, Save-A-Lot food stores, Hefty and more while working with matrixx. I also had the opportunity to start my first company, Ferbs Cosmetics temporary tattoo cover up, after many sleepless nights of research, business plan writing, accounting and forecasting using my HP desktop computer.  I guess you could me and my HP desktop computer have been through "a lot".

I'm not sure things would have turned out so well if I didn't have my HP desktop computer along the way.  Sure we had some tough times; I had to replace the motherboard, had to replace the disc burner, had to reformat the hard-drives and reinstall the windows xp operating system several times too many – and we went through some changes as I had to get a laptop and a mac in order to make changes on-the-go and test campaigns using different user operating systems – but even learning about computers and how they work in general has proven invaluable.  I may never have learned so much or have had the opportunities I have had without first purchasing my very own, brand new HP desktop computer. 

In a weird kind of way, I will miss it, but I am glad it will be able to "power-up" with someone who needs it more than I do right now.  Thanks HP for the memory-ies…
-Anthony

DJ Aske replaces the Motherboard on my HP desktop computer:
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Posted via email from ntho: anthony cerreta