Black Tie Lounge

Fam, it's been a long time coming. My focus for the past six months has been on all 70 odd students that I have taught this semester. I can say that I'm talking to you just after I've reached the end of the first semester. It has been crazy. Crazy good, crazy strange, crazy awkward, crazy inspiring, and all around a crazy learning experience for me. I'm very proud that I have been slightly initiated into higher education and I want more. More for myself. More for others. I'm in a good place. So while I'm in that good place, never actually attaining all of the top things I've been reaching for, I get an opportunity to possibly go back to NYC. I'm in talks with a recruiter who thinks that I may be a good fit for some of the agencies on her list. With that said by mid June I'll be taking a trip back to the big city to see about it all. What's funny is that I haven't thought about working at an agency since leaving NYC back in 2009. When...

I've been playing Donny Hathaway's Someday We'll All Be Free throughout the evening. I'm in that sorta mood where I'm reminding myself how bomb I really am. I'm reminding myself how my dreams are right around the corner and how I haven't knocked the hustle out completely. I have a few new developments on the job front. I have an interview at Weber Shandwick in NYC. I got a call from an ad agency I interviewed with previously and they have an opening on one of their account teams. The product deals with women's sexual health. Yes there was a serious smirk on my face. I also found a job with DC Public Schools which is completely up my alley. We'll see what comes of what. I figured that I am entitled to see how each interview goes. Here's something to chew on if you need motivation .

Before I start my daily job search and before I devour this vegetable platter because it's lunch time, even before I write the long over due thank you cards to my mentor and his staff for letting me use their office space to conduct my job hunt I must blog. After about three weeks away from the city, I have returned for an interview--an informational interview to be more specific. I just got off the bus from D.C. and luckily it was right around the corner from where the office was. It feels good to be back in New York, even if it is for a brief amount of time. As the bus drove down Fashion Ave (7th Ave) toward Penn Station, I couldn't help but say to myself "I'm home!" New York has the ability to make every other city look like a town. New York's public transporation system makes every other cities' look slower, clearner, and less crowded--but I can't help but love it because New York's is more reliable. Shopping in New York makes every other pla...

So, I left New York! I thought I was walking in the unexpected when I came to the city with the hopes that my hustler's drive would land me an immediate opportunity. The opportunity came but it wasn't for me. I think I was a little too honest about myself in the interview. Either way, the lease ran up, no money was coming in and I decided to leave town to visit my ailing grandfather, of which passed away while I was on my way. My intent in blogging is not to vent about all of that though--I've got other ways to handle that one. Suprisingly, I'm not frustrated about my circumstance. I'm a bit anxious, but that nervousness will pass away as I get time to deeply evaluate what I want in this next phase of life. Truth be told, I was confident something would pop up for me even before I got the opportunity to work in New York. This summer, I learned more than I can write in one blogpost. My former media writing professor encouraged me to blog about it and I will as soon a...

I get so easily distracted. I'm trying my best to think clearly while there is a conversation being had outside the office I'm occupying. Yeah, I can close the door, but I think I'm going to fight through this one. Last night I was privileged to attend a meet and greet for Council Woman Inez Dickens at a investment banker friend I made out here in Harlem. Ms. Dickens is running for her second term and used the time to encourage about about 20 middle class black professionals in their mid 20's to 30's to get involved. The key take away for the evening was that I need to get involved and gain an understanding of how public affairs works in my community. Her charge was that there is no economic advancement without political advancement, which I agree with. She encouraged us not to forget about the underclass. Strickingly, the face of the black population is consistently characterized by those in poverty or fall into anti-social behavior while the black people that work...

I'm very optimistic right now. I've been unemployed for about 3 weeks but I have strickingly regained my sense of hustle back. I'm not complaining --to be honest I'm actually in a better position than before. Last week I got a chance to connect with some very senior people in the advertising and PR field. No they haven't dropped my name to get a management position, but they have been very helpful as far as directing me to agencies and careers that may be a good fit. It is amazing how willing senior level execs in this industry are to help a young brother like myself. I am lucky that they were even down to earth enough for me to feel comfortable around them. Imagine this, a CEO of his third corporation sitting down with you and telling you that he's having lunch with another CEO of the largest PR firm and that he is going to be intentional about finding something for you. Or how about hitting it off with someone that works for a major communications holding comp...

Well New York, tt's been a rocky one but we've made it to two months. Already I see that you are trying to get rid of me, but I'll be faithful and love you because I know I was meant to be here. All the afternoons in the parks, late nights walking from midtown to the bus, all the millions of people that have a part with you I'm gonna stay true. I'm gonna stick this out with you. We'll see where I am by the end of the month. The internship has ended and I've had a lot of time on my hands. Last week I took a lot of down time and got a lot of rest, which was good. I was going to head to Boston to get away for a bit. After some serious encouragement from a person that I consider my professional mentor, I sense that there is a greater ray of hope for me in the job market here than I once did. I want to take the time to thank Bill Heyman and his team at Heyman Associates for spoiling me to death. They put me up in a corner office with a great view of the Empire S...

I'm so behind in the world. I am just now trying to figure out how to upload pics and vid from my phone to my computer. Right now, I am not having much success. I caught some good video of Q-Tip performing this past weekend at Summer Stage in Central Park. It was a totally free show that featured Chester French , Little Dragon, and Benji B. If you ask me who the other three are I don't have much to tell you. The show was live. I withstood the aroma of ganja in the atmosphere and the blazing heat to watch the former member of Tribe Called Quest pull out old and new hits to keep the crowd moving. You would have thought I was going crazy when Vivrant Thing and Bonita Applebum came on. It was even crazier to see the thousand person crowd jump up and down as one as we shouted "Here we go yo! Here we go yo! So what, so what, so what's the scenario?" I was geeking like crazy! I remember the days I was afraid of hip hop. The days I used to listen to house music. I was n...

Advertising!! I definitely did not set out on a path to go into this field. Now that I'm here, I want to get all I can. The agency is treating me well, but today I reached my point of being challenged. Yes, the working under the pressure of deadlines is rough--especially when you find out 30 minutes before the supervisor wants it. Doing research just to come up with two items isn't all that great too. What keeps me here? Well, seeing as how it's only been dang one month, I have a lot to learn. So today, I vented to a fellow intern about how you spend time doing things just to get a recommendation to go into a different direction. I had to disappoint my supervisor when I could only find a few items online when I know there were more. Long story short I hit my few walls where I felt like I was screwing things up. I'm sure there will be more, a lot more. Most of all, I went into this opportunity keeping in mind that I'd screw up. That I'd get yelled at. That I'...

My blog looks a little different now. I wanted to use a new template but that template turned out to be bogus. I switched back to my old template but I deleted all my widgets. Now you are stuck with a blog that is just plain text on a black background. It will have to do for now until I feel like changing it. After sitting around most of the day watching work out videos and not really working out to them, I headed out to 12 Ave to see the fire works. I'm still new to NYC but I guess the tradition is to watch fire works over the Hudson River. Going out there reminded me of how crowded things were in when I was in D.C. for the Inauguration. (I think I spelled that wrong, but hey!) I forgot all about the crowd so I was not mentally prepared to be there. Still, my friends and I were able to move our way to a decent spot to view the show. I'll upload the video shortly for your viewing pleasure. While I was out there watching the colorful explosion and plethora of shapes created by t...

After about 10 minutes of looking at other blogs and listening to Floetry's demo of Butterlies , made famous by the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson. On that note, I'm blown by his death but I got a bit cynical because it was like people were idolizing him. He revolutionized the music industry and helped make it possible for so many artist, which I respect. I just got a lil uneasy because his death made me think of how people are so star focused. People fall out on the floor for celebrities but forget what really matters is eternity. We're quick to respect the gift of life when someone dies but not on a day to day basis. I had to fall back when I found out that he accepted Christ. Moving forward, I've lived in NYC for a total of 3 weeks. A little less if you count the fact that my past two weekends were spent moving out of my apartment in VA. I'm still eating on a budget. Fruit stands on the corner are the best thing that has happened to me in this city. Strawberri...

I'm catching up on my favorite show--The Office. I took a stroll today and realized how close my apartment is to a lot of parks. I'm near Union Square and Washington Square, which is NYU territory. I'm really digging this. Today I thought that it would be funny to run into someone from Tech on the subway. That didn't happen but I did run into someone from school while I was walking out. If I haven't said it yet, I'm definitely loving where I am. Mind you I wish I knew more people and was a little bit more settled but that's ok. I'm at a good place. It's been a week and I have no complaints with the agency. Oh yeah, I'm not working full time. This whole internship things is really a gamble because I'm not sure exactly how things will pan out for me in about a month. To be honest, I'm not worried. I'm not concerned. I have the same attitude I had about finding a job after college. I'm not concerned because I know something is going ...

I survived my first week as an employee and resident of New York City. I was homeless all last week and have settled into an apartment in the East Village close to Alphabet City . I feel like a kid in a candy store with all of the shops, bars, restaurants, and parks to visit in this area. I'm such an explorer, but for these next couple of weeks I'll be exploring on a budget. I got through last week surviving on the free lunch that the ad agency provided for attending seminars and pizza stands where I could get a slice for under $2. This is definitely going to be rough. As much as I want to work out and stay healthy, my diet is out the window until I can come to a place where I have a decent amount coming in. I'm definitely not here for the money. Yeah I could have stayed in SWVA or Nova and found a decent job but when I got the call to come up here and work for the summer, I knew I had to see if I could do it. Today's Father's Day and I told my uncle that I had to c...

So I'm about to take my first step into conquering this city. I'm not in the city but while I wait for my final interview, I need to look for a place to live. My plan is to find a summer sublease then by the end of July find a more permanent spot. This way I can save money my first couple of months living in the city. Time is ticking. Knowing that this in NYC, I expect prices to be high for next to nothing type space. Still people are making it work. This is my journey to see if I can make it work. I visited one place while I was there last week but I was not impressed. I got off the phone with one offer out in the East Village and I don't like to be rushed into making a decision. So my search continues. Like I said, there are people making it work so why can't I. In other news there really is no other news. Two teams I don't really care for have made it to the Finals and I hate being on the fence about what team I want to see win. I'll leave it at that. One of ...

It texted my friend that is finishing her MBA at Harvard Business School and she informed me of her blog. Then I thought about how I have not blogged since Oscah became the headlining act for Radford University's Spring Concert. To his credit he was featured in WUVT's Radio-a-thon, which was a great prep for the concert in about two weeks. I just came from Valley Towing, my car was towed while I was hanging out with some co-workers at the local spot. Now that's one more headache to get my credit card balance down. I'm not worried. I'm really not worried. I'm not sure if I told you all about my visit to NYC the week before Easter. Three of my closest friends traveled up for my friend's birthday --a female friend that I've known since sophomore year. It is always good to have good people in your life and that has been a common theme for me this past year. We made it out to the Nuyorican Cafe & Poet's Society. We did some shopping in Soho and visite...

I've been in Jersey for the past couple of days catching up with old friends and considering my options for possibly making moves up this way. I can say that I'm a bit nervous about landing a good job here considering the harsh economic times but I am excited to go after the opportunity. On Friday, I attended a career development workshop hosted by THE LAGRANT FOUNDATION and Ruder Finn. The practitioners at Ruder Finn were helpful, and it was nice to meet the more people in the travel and economic development practice. This practice is one reason that I am attracted to Ruder Finn. Walking around 5th Ave and looking at the scenery so characteristic of NYC made me feel at home. I hope there is an opportunity this way. Thinking about all of this makes me want to work even harder in school and not slack off. It is really good to be here. I fly to Charlotte and then drive back to Blacksburg tommorrow. I'm flying out tommorrow primarily because I don't want to be on the road ...