Lessons on a Day Off

March 25, 2011March 26, 2011
by Victoria J

It seems as though lately I am always doing work of some sort. Whether I am working in the classroom, working on lesson plans to get ready for the classroom, working on classwork for my professors, working on a web project, or just working on photos, there is always something to be done. I did not even mention the other important administrative tasks, like taxes, billing, etc. (If you were wondering, I am not complaining, just observing)… Anyway, last weekend, I had an opportunity to take a day off and hang with the ladies (those people with the XX combination). Anyway, our posse included a fellow photographer – Syreena B – an up-and-coming physician, my mom, and the other ladies’ mom, as well Syreena’s baby boy. This gathering had all of the makings of a good time: great food, stimulating conversation, the swapping of ideas and tricks, chocolate, and window shopping.

We started at the National Harbor in Fort Washington, MD. Though it was not optimal shooting weather (it was extremely sunny), we managed to get some good photos in! Kudos to Syreena, who worked her magic using my Nikon (even though she is a Canon lady). She took all of the photos of me that I have included in this post! She even told me about a few new tools that I used to edit/stylize these images.

So I came to some conclusions after our outing. #1 – We really need to prioritize spending time with people in our lives. It is easy to be “busy” all of the time, but ultimately, you will make time to do what you want to do. Make sure that in all your doing, you make time for people because there is something special that happens when people connect. #2 – I also learned a thing about being a professional. In the classroom, I regularly see collaboration sans competition. But as I look back over my work history from the law firm to the accounting firm, it was all about competition. You competed with so-and-so to get the job. Then you compete for the promotion or the recognition. As a competitive person, I know that competition has its place, but just because two people work in the same field does not make them enemies. Syreena and I spoke for hours about our businesses and our business models and the lessons we learned over the past year, and I gleaned so much from that conversation. By the time we parted, I had a new found respect for her as the great mother/entrepreneur/designer/wife/daughter/friend that she is. So I encourage you all to prioritize people and save the competition for a good game of Monopoly (I need to do a future post about that topic). I wish I would have done this more my early years, but it’s better to learn late than to never learn at all.

… Another Year

March 6, 2011
by Victoria J

Several weeks ago, I posted a sneak peek of things to come (Be-You-tiful)… and a car accident and a computer hard drive failure later, I am finally posting the entirety of that post. Anyway, in January, God blessed me with one more year (thank you)!!! And I can truly say that this was the best birthday I have had in some time. I was blessed with the presence of family and friends, going out to eat, attending two concerts, and getting all of my favorite things! From the chocolate cake to the photography gift of shoes to the tea and music to the journals to the chocolate covered strawberries and the DARK chocolate… and then to my favorite gift of all: The KithchenAid Mixer! Yep! It is official! I am a pastry chef (now all I need is my chef’s hat and jacket)! See images below of some of my favorite things AKA my birthday gifts!

I Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Winter

February 22, 2011February 22, 2011
by Victoria J

What started as a HS fling
Became a college thing…
Then my sort of joy in spring…
At a time, my only source for bling…
That which I only saw departing with a ring…
The one that did not mind listening to me sing…

And then in an instant…
11 years were deemed unimportant…
11 years were deemed a loss…
Our friendship torn apart…
All because he was “distracted”
And “they” wanted to do the bare minimum…

But what about our joy rides…
Oh the memories that will never be replaced
Even with my version of “something new”
It is you that I was not ready to let go of…

Baby, I never dreamed you’d leave in winter!
I thought we would go then come back home…
Oh, I never dreamed you’d leave in winter,
Now my quiet nights will be spent alone…
Why wouldn’t “they” pay!

This poem was written at the loss of my “Baby” – my 1999 Corolla – the first car I ever knew how to drive… I wasn’t ready to let her go 3 weeks ago, but the insurance companies weren’t willing to pay for her restoration… Sometimes when we let go of old things, we have room for something better… but often times it’s really hard to let go of the old, especially when that’s all we really knew…

For the majority of the time between the accident and now, I have gone between feelings of disbelief, frustration (mostly with the insurance companies), and dread (at the thought of paying for a new car). There was a little thankfulness thrown in at the beginning… But this past weekend, I saw some things that put my car accident in perspective. As I prepared for bed one evening, I looked out the window quickly and saw the aftermath of a very serious car accident. Both cars were undeniably totaled, and both cars had to have firemen remove the doors to pry out passengers. Of the four involved in this collision, 3 were rushed to the hospital in serious condition and 1 was in critical condition. I watched the fireman and paramedics do their jobs as tears rolled down my face. As I prayed, I found myself battling thoughts that the people in the car wouldn’t make it, so I continuously rebuked those thoughts. I then thought of how “inconvenienced” I had been over my accident. I thought of the fact that I was able to walk away from my accident virtually unharmed (as were the other 3 involved). I thought of how I was able to drive my car away from the scene and then to the body shop. I remembered how the firemen drove by us at the accident scene and asked if we needed paramedics… and we were able to say no. So many thoughts ran through my head that evening, but the prevailing thought was “Thank You Jesus!” because I was kept from a much worst outcome. Be sure to count your blessings, because sometimes, we get blessed with and from things we did not even know were out there!

Revisiting Sea World of Texas!

February 5, 2011February 6, 2011
by Victoria J

My first real job was at Sea World of Texas, where a 16-year-old can not only be a manager, but also sign a waiver to not get paid time and a half for hours worked in excess of 40 per week (in the height of the summer, I remember working 50 hour weeks regularly). Back then, we did not even realize that we were missing out on anything. I can remember, being excited about the $300+ checks I brought home each week, and by having teenage labor, Sea World knew how to make a little extra money by charging the employees a check cashing fee, so that we could instantly turn our checks into cash. Even with my deeply-rooted frugality, I will admit that many a Thursday/Friday afternoon, I cashed my checks at the little van in front of the employee entrance.

The point of this blog is not to talk about the exploitation of young workers, but rather to share images from a recent visit to Sea World of Texas. As a matter of fact, I had not been there since I stopped working at the park in 2000. In this over 10-year time span, the park underwent several changes, but many things did stay the same. The biggest changes I noticed were the hand sanitizer dispensers visible throughout the park, the electronic ticket scanners, and the fact that they changed my old restaurant from the Oaks to Seafire Grille. I remember back in the day, the Oaks was the restaurant that was always open, no matter what life-threatening storm was going on – we were still opened and serving customers. Literally, one day, there was a serious storm, well-equipped with long streaks of lightning, earth-shaking thunder, flickering lights, and more, and our restaurant stayed open until the park closed while all of the other restaurants got to close early. Still, I enjoyed my time at Sea World because there I learned how to work efficiently, quickly, and hard! These values have carried into many other arenas, including school and my own business.

Below are images from a trip to Texas around Christmas time. By the way, I included a throw-back photograph of me when in my “flattering” uniform after a hard day’s work. If memory serves me correctly, this photograph was taken by my uncle.

SNEAK PEEK :: Be-YOU-tiful!

January 24, 2011January 24, 2011
by Victoria J

I am excited about my next post, and hope to have it up later on this week, if not early next week… In the meantime, here is a sneak peek! Let’s see if you can figure out what it’s about!

Levi Stephens :: In Concert

January 24, 2011
by Victoria J

Last year, a friend and I went to a PJ Morton concert in DC, and to our surprise the opening act could hold their own – Levi Stephens. I ended up purchasing the artist’s album, desiring to support a great local act and hoping that I would like several of the tracks. To my surprise, I ended up liking the entire CD, though the Nashville track took a minute to warm-up to. By the way, this CD was in the mix during a road trip from DC to Atlanta and back; we probably listened to the CD straight through at least 4 times. Anyway, this past weekend, we went to his concert in Bowie, MD, and he did not disappoint. From original tracks to some Tracy Chapman (an all-time fave) to some Al Green (Love and Happiness)! If you have not already, please check this guy out (“When I’m Rich“, “This Way” – Title Track)… He’s on his way up, and I look forward to the day that I hear him on the FM station because unlike most of the mainstream R&B artists that are coming down the pikes now, Levi Stephens offers content lyrically, musically, and compositionally! Check out images from his recent concert, and pick up his CD!

Celebrating Dr. King & Mr. Black

January 24, 2011January 24, 2011
by Victoria J

A few months ago, I attended a School Reform Town Hall Meeting in DC, and then I went and saw Waiting for Superman, which is a documentary about the American public education system. Both experiences positively impacted me, and fueled me to continue moving forward on my course to complete my Masters in Education and then move into the classroom as a teacher. Well, last year, I met a young man, who was then the Student Body President of Howard’s School of Education, and he graciously shared information about my business with others in the School of Education. From what I could see and have heard since, he was always willing to give, ready to keep people informed, and had a heart to serve. So, a week before our observance of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday, he asked me to help him out with an event that the organization he works with (Heart of America) was sponsoring. For me, I did not have to think twice about taking the project on. I have not been too excited that our observance of Dr. King’s birthday has turned into a day of service because his life involved so much more than volunteering, but I knew this would be a meaningful way to spend this day as I think about where we as a nation have come from. Anyway, when Mr. Smith told me that this event would also honor one of the students, Anthony Black, featured in the movie Waiting for Superman, I was even more excited about the opportunity because it gave me an opportunity to really show my support of education, literacy, and closing the achievement gap in communities that need it the most. Below are images from this event that took place in Howard University’s School of Medicine on January 17, 2011.