Where I'm At...pt. 1

So, I'm falling into the trap that I wanted to avoid with this blog...neglect. I'm going to work on that, I swear!

Right now, I'm in Vegas for a conference. 37th floor of the Four Seasons, sunshine beating through my floor-to-ceiling window, and I feel so....blah. Blessed that I have this experience, but blah nonetheless. A lot has been going on, and the trappings of this corporate life filled with schmoozing, drinking, chats about golf and cottages and who is cheating/pregnant/getting divorced really don't appeal to me anymore. There are two reasons for this - one is the fact that I've been shook to my core with death and sickness around me, and the other is that I'm going through a life lesson on taking chances and having faith.

They say nothing in life is certain except for death and taxes. Tax season is here, but it seems like death season is always around. In the past 2 months, my life has been touched by the deaths of two people who made an impact on my life and the lives of those around me. I may not have been the closest to the ones who passed, but their deaths touched me because of the resounding circumstances around both. As I type this, a good friend of mine, who is more like family, is in the hospital putting up a hell of a fight for his life. Just got off the phone with my Mom, who is at his bedside...she put the phone up to his ear and let me speak to him...not sure if he heard, since he's under heavy sedation...but his lids fluttered and to me, that means something. Regardless of the fact that I have enough medical knowledge to know the docs will say it's just a reflex...it means something to me.

My homegirl Ro has gone through a tough few months as well, with recent deaths in her family. We've had talks lately about living your life, not waiting to go for the things you want, and all those things that seem cliche until you're faced with someone losing - or fighting for - their life. I tell you...your health is your wealth. Once you have that, you can do almost anything. 

Sigh. I'm kind of zoning out into my own thoughts now, so I'll just close off this blog entry. Just 3 little words, but they mean so much when you ingest them: LIVE YOUR LIFE. And with that, I'm going to get ready for our conference's cocktail reception...uncomfortable clothes, fake smiles, and counting down the minutes until I can jump back into bed....all in a day's work.

Happy Birthday, Bob!

No words can describe what this man, his music, and his life story mean to me...pure genius. Celebrate him today!

Hope I'm Still A Straight-A Student

“The rattler is a ventriloquist. His whirr sounds to the right, to the left, straight ahead, behind, close under foot--everywhere but where it is. Woe to him who guesses wrong unless he is prepared to hold up his end of the argument! Sometimes he strikes without rattling at all."
- Zora Neale Hurston

This quote is pretty fitting for the week I had – after thinking about some of the goals I have for myself, and thinking about how much I’ve procrastinated on taking the first steps, I finally bit the bullet and registered for a post-grad certificate in Health Promotion at George Brown College. I feel almost like that rattler Zora spoke of, b/c sometimes I choose to make moves at times when people don’t expect them, and this is one of those times!

My ultimate goal is to pursue a Masters. However, I had to set aside plans for registering for September 2011, because this year has more than enough going on, plus I still need to work full time! So I decided that in the interim, I’d go with this post-grad certificate to get my feet wet. I’m hoping that out of these courses, I can gain some new knowledge and skills, meet some new people, and have something extra to add on to my resume.

I had a serious internal debate of whether to pursue a Masters vs. a college certificate program. A Masters has always seemed more prestigious, and seemed to open more doors of opportunity. However, I’ve been doing a lot of reading on the benefits of a college certificate, and find that, if utilized the right way, it can give you just as much knowledge and opportunity. Ultimately, a very smart friend of mine reminded me that networking is key. He said, “I know a lot of people who do a Masters, then they come out and know NOBODY.” So while schooling is important, it’s equally as important to remember that you have a heads up on others if you’re known in the industry and community that you want to be in. I’m hoping that with my current skill set and experience, plus this new education and improved networking skills, that I’ll be able to make some major moves in the near future…

If you’re considering going back to school, think about where you want to be, career-wise, and then figure out what you need to do to get there. At the end of the day, ain’t nothin’ to it but to do it! So get on it and start making those positive changes!

Abracadabra!



2011 has started off great thus far! Won’t get into details, but this New Year’s celebration was unlike any I’ve had before. I did one thing that I’ve never really done before, and at that moment it hit me that THAT will probably be the theme of my 2011 – doing things I’ve never done, and growing in new ways…I feel infinitely blessed and ready for what’s to come!

I was just looking in my journal, which I’ve written in sporadically since 2008. I read one entry dated May 17, 2009, where I titled it “Write it, Speak it, Believe it, Create it”, and quite simply, wrote in point-form what I wanted to accomplish. Most things popped out on the list because they actually came true the way I wanted them to, and it just shows me the power in thoughts becoming things.

I read something on Twitter about the origins of the word abracadabra, and I thought it was B.S. until I did some research. There are a few different definitions (most of them strained), but the most consistent seems to be that the word is based on the ancient Aramaic language, and translates directly from “abraq ad habra” = “I will create as I speak”.

Something interesting to come across, especially at this time of the year when everyone is wiping slates clean and starting off fresh with new resolutions and the like. For me, it’s just fortified the fact that I need to be clear about what I want in this life, speak it so that I can’t dismiss it as a random thought in my mind, and act on it. I know that what’s meant for me will be mine, but it’s a wide world out there, and there is much to conquer!

Take some time to think about what you want out of life. Write it down, visualize it, pray on it, do what you need to do – but continuously revisit your journal, Blackberry clipboard, scrap of napkin or wherever else you jot your goals down. One day you’ll revisit, and realize that you’ve accomplished one, some, or all of the things on your list. As I felt today, there ain’t no better feeling of accomplishment than that.

2010 In Review

2K10 was the year I:

• fought hard for, and won (!) a major promotion in my career
• traveled: saw Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Miami, Boston and Bermuda
• made some strides in patching up certain relationships
• got engaged!
• got surprised a couple times - Miami trip and birthday dinner!
• saw 2 of my fave artists, Teedra Moses and Jay-Z in concert
• had some health setbacks directly related to my elevated stress levels :(
• worked on conquering my fear of heights by sitting on the glass floor of the CN Tower
• got better at networking and getting involved with initiatives outside of work

Boston: Where everybody knows your name

Miami surprise!

On top of the CN Tower

Hamilton, Bermuda

Gonna be a Mrs!

Jay-Z concert in the D

Miss Teedra killin' it on stage in Toronto

Won't bore y'all with too much, but these are my major events of 2010 - can't wait to see what's in store for 2011!

The Jump Off...

Well, it's technically December 31, 2010 - last day of the year. Just so happens that I got the itch to start yet another blog, but I'm determined to keep this one up...I promise!
I wanted to call this blog "Life As I Know It", to reflect just that - my life. However, that name was taken, so here I am :) Regardless, the point is that this blog is not a gossip blog, a fashion blog, a wedding planning blog, a natural hair blog, or anything else, but at any given time will be any one of the aforementioned. Just my life, as I know it, documented in Internet form. I'm big on the old-school art form of journaling, and will keep that up, but I'm a visual person and like the creativity I can have in the blog world...so there's your intro to '83 To Infinity!
Getting caught up in the excitement that the cusp of the New Year brings, today I worked on a vision board for 2011. I didn't have any glue sticks or bristol board, so I hit up Oprah's site and worked on her Dream Board application. Tons of fun, easy to navigate, and was strangely therapeutic to put the text and images together to represent what I want in 2K11:





I'm sure you can't see all the fine detail, but here is my smorgasbord of thoughts, goals, dreams, and affirmations to start me off right in 2011. I'm determined not to make any resolutions this year, since they usually fade into obscurity by March...but with my vision board, I'll have a tangible reminder of all the good things I want for myself - from there it's up to me to make things happen!

*B*