GIRL TALK

Welcome, if it's your first time rocking with me and Welcome back, if not. I would like to start off by thanking, all the people who replied to my email blast. The feedback was awesome, you guys made request for things that you'd like me to blog about. I will certainly, honor those request.

So, last night I had a lot work to do and that included, getting started on two Media Kits. I did manage to start both, and I actually finished Washington Roberts Bio and Fact sheet; Kudos, for that. I had a goodnight, work was good, as well. Anyway, the craziest thing happens again today, that's good ole New York City for you. Yesterday, I saw a homeless man, wearing yellow shorts steal a bike. Today, as I'm getting off the train, this huge ass rat runs near this woman and I. OMG, I was so f-king freaked out, I HATE RATS-they're really "The Untouchables," of Earth. I hope you guys payed attention in History class and know who, The Untouchables are (Lol). The rat just ran passed us, it was gross.

Tomorrow, is Thursday and that means either, I go to the Salon or The Spa. Luckily, for me the Salon and Spa are on the same street. I go to "Salon 804," in Harlem, New York. See their website, www.Squad804.com. I've been going to Salon 804 for a long time now, since they were at another location in Harlem. My beautician name was JerseeMonet, interestly enough, she use to be a singer. I guess, she had one hit ?...idk. Anyway, Jersee did my hair for a while, and when she left the shop, I followed her. However, after a while, Jersee and I relationship didn't work out, due to her lacking ability to style. I left Jersee and went back to 804 and the owner, Rochelle Mosley, became my new beautician. I pay for what I get, she uses top of the line products that work with my hair. One day my Dad said me, "you have to pay, how you weigh in there." That definitely is a true statement, my hair is $40 every two weeks, minus tips. When I need a relaxer, cut, and color, it can cost me up to, $120. Funny thing is, recession or not, I'm always going to pay it, because I have short haircut and I like to keep it styled. What do you expect ? I'm a lady and I like to take care of myself.

Salon 804 is not your advantage Salon. I would say that 90% of the clients are young African- American Professional. The client's are classy and always stylish. You can always expect to see what's hot, in fashion. I think it's great to see young women of color doing their thing. The "who of who's," get they're hair done there, Serena Williams and Judge Karen, are both client's of Rochelle. Their product list includes, Mizani, Paul Mitchell, Design, Bed Head and, more. I'm in love with the Mizani Butter Blend relaxer, it works like a charm. I recently purchased, Paul Mitchell, Extra Volume hairspray and a hair dress cream called, "Glo and Grow." "Glo and Grow," is really a funny name, it reminds me of "Soul Glo," from Eddie Murphy's, "Coming to America." Lol-Ridiculous. Anyway, it's work likes magic, it's excellent for dry hair. The products are up to $10 each, that's awesome, because these are products that you can not purchase in stores, including, Beauty Supply stores. On the Paul Mitchell hairspray, it reads, something about only buying the hairspray from a Professional Hairstylist, due to knockoff brands. So people are bootlegging hairspray now ? Really, is it that bad ?

The name of the Spa that I go to is called, "Toni Touch Day Spa." It is a full service salon meaning, they do everything from Manicures to Brazilians. The Spa is has 2- floors, the downstairs is for Mani's and Pedi's. The upstairs is for massages and waxing, they also do facials and body tanning. Anne, is my manicurist and the girl does a manicure like no one else in New York City-I promise you that! Make an appointment with her today.Their products include, OPI, Essie and China Glaze. My favorite summer color was, OPI, "Get in the Lime," it's a greenish color and it worked for me. Toni and Anne talked me into trying a China Glaze color called, "Shower Together," how sexy is that ? Instant message to your man, just wiggled your fingers Lol. It's a teal color and I got so many compliments on it, I liked it. I'm currently wearing my favorite color, OPI, "Lincoln Park after Dark." It's almost like a dark purplish-brown ? If that makes sense? Needless to say, I love it! It's a great Fall color. Check out the website at: www.ToniTouchDaySpa.com.

I also, checked out this spa in Brooklyn, also owned by a young Black Women called, "The Polish Bar." It has a cute pink decor, that reminds me of strawberry cupcakes. It has a "Make-up Bar", where you have your make-up done or purchase everything from lipstick to blush. The only thing The Polish Bar, does not offer are massages, I guess the Make-up Bar makes-up for that. I do enjoy their wide selection of brand polishes, which includes, YSL, Essie, OPI, China Glaze, and more. I tried a red color by YSL, it was almost the exact color of a candy apple and extremely glossy; that's a good polish. Visit the Polish Bar of Brooklyn website at: www.polishbarbrooklyn.com. It was worth a train ride to Brooklyn. I think there website should list the nail polish brands they use, because that's a benefit to their business. Many Spa's only have only OPI and Essie. They also do the Minx nails, which is like a film on your nail. Their website is advertising a promotion, $55 for a minx manicure, $65 minx pedicure.

How ironic is it that on the same street as 804 and Spa, another young African-American Women named Rashida, owns an A-list Shoe Source boutique called, "Bourgeoisie." Three Black Women owned businesses on the same street is BIG BUSINESS. That's inspiring and I'm thankful, that I can support and keep them in my community. "Bourgeoisie," sells high end names from Stewart Weitzman, Casadei, Devi Kroell, Giuseppe Zanotti, Lamb and more. I have a pair of Casadei Croc loafers from there, they are absolutely adorable and classic. See the Fall 2009 collection at: www.bourgeoisieshoes.com.

Signing off for the night, remember to always, keep it sexy.

Peace,

A.

TRUE LIFE: I'M A PUBLIC RELATIONS PROFESSIONAL

Hello, hot people reading my blog.....today was a very long day, I had a tremendous amount of work. However, ya girl managed to get it done. So anyway, I'm sitting here listening to Trey Songz, who did an outstanding job on his album (Clap, clap, Bravo). I'm working on two Media Kits. One for a Fashion Designer named, Washington Roberts. Washington line is self-entitled and was started in Fall 2007. Check out his Spring 2009 fashion show @ www.picasaweb.google.com/washingtonroberts , its hot. The other Media Kit that I'm working on is a Brooklyn born, Harlem raised rap kid named, Stress. I must say the kidd is nice. Check him out rapping over Hov's DOA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEN4fX1drfQ .

A lot has happened within the course of two days , I've decided to "take action," and do some freelance PR work. I don't want to hold out too long and lose my talent. I'm excited about this, it's going to be something I enjoy and can earn extra income from-it works. I'll post some of my work so you guys can see it. I'm making progress in building up my PR Agency, ConcreteRose PR. I've been doing my research and all the good things I learned in College. I was thinking of posting ads for interns, to help built my client list. I also researched information on grants for small business owners. In order to get the grant, I'll need to explain how my agency benefits my community. I'm a persuasive writer, so that is going to be easy to do. So watch out for ConcreteRose PR, revamping PR at an event near you....

So listen to this, today I seen the funniest shit ever. I'm walking with my two co-workers after work, to the bank and we see this homeless guy with yellow shorts, stealing this bike, off the chain (excuse me, because I'm dying laughing) As he's stealing the bike, a Chinese girl comes out of the Deli and starts yelling, "Hey, that's that's my bike." The homeless guy was so determined to steal the bike, that he broke the kickstand off of it, trying to run LMAO-Hilarious. He pushed this lady and damn near knocked her down, as he attempted to get on the bike, it was a disaster. The girl was running so damn slow, that she had no chance of catching his ass. The funny thing about the entire situation is that the cops rode by while she was chasing him. They were in the last left line of the street, opposite the sidewalk and didn't see what was going on. I felt sorry for the chick, but that was the highlight of my day, a bum stealing a bike, wearing yellows shorts. Only in the Concrete Jungle, New York. He should have stole a pair of jeans, as cold as it was today. This is definitely flu weather, my job is mandating all employees to have both, the flu shot and the M1 ,H1 shot. I'm not too happy about this, because I've never had a flu vaccine in my 23yrs of living. Some people have claimed to become sick after they were vaccinated, so it's a tricky decision.

Btw while you're checking out Stress on Youtube, please check out Lil Mama, explaining why she rudely interrupted Jay-Z and A. Keys performance at the VMA's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLzvH1qtszc&feature=related. Let me just say that her Publicist sucks, what kind of crisis management is that ? Her words were over exaggerated and she delayed her points. If nothing else, that was an awesome publicity stunt.

Kudos to me for keeping up with my blog! My co-worker told me that it looks great and I actually got her to start blogging. Follow her @ www.Kishabetterdays.blogspot.com. She said, I look different in all of my pictures, lol, I agree. That's the beauty of a rose, it blossoms ;)

I'm signing off , I have a lot on my agenda. I'm going to have a glass of this delicious wine that I purchased in Harlem, NY at this fab winery, which is called, "The Winery." It's incredibly cute and inexpensive, loved it. Check out the website, www.thewineryonline.com . If you're a red wine lover, I recommend the Aresti, Pinot Noir 2007. It's perfect in taste, pairs well with full-flavored fish, red meats and pasta. It's a $14 bottle with a $100 taste. See everything that starts with an "A" taste good. "How you doing?" (in the Wendy voice) Lol.

I'm out, follow me on Twitter coming soon, interested in having some PR work done email me @ Concreterosepr.com. Pricing available upon service request, packages are available-(This is not an attempt to solicit) LOL.

Thanks for rocking with the best.
Peace,


TheRealA**

Flashing Lights:Ambitious A

Sunday, September 27, 2009

So I suck at blogging, I'm not keeping up with it and that goes back into my first blog about procrastinating. Last night the beau and I were just hanging out drinking and talking. He was playing Jay-Z's new album and a song called, "So Ambitious" was playing and my baby asked me if i was listening to the lyrics. It was my first time hearing it and I'm a fan of Jay, so I was listening and basically, in the song he talked about always living with ambition. So my baby said, babe, listen to what he's saying because it makes so much sense, you always have to live with ambitions and take action. If you have a dream to do something, you have to be willing to get to that point at any means necessary. He went on to compare that idea to me and my personal goals. I will take time to plan out what I want to do, but I don't follow through with those plans so it never becomes an action. In those situations that I do take action, I get comfortable and don't try to progress. I don't know what I'm lacking, maybe it's motivation. I know for a fact that I've become a bit discouraged in shit that I use to believe in. When I was younger, I never knew what I wanted to be, it was just a question that I struggle with. When people use to ask me, I'd always say a lawyer, but I was lying to myself and the people-I'm not a lawyer kind of chick lol. First and foremost I went to college, not by choice, but because I know, "we do what we have to do to do what we want to do" (Denzel Washington, "The Great Debaters). Anyway, when I was in High School, I was in this organization called, The Children Aid Society, shout out to them for the free book money. I use to go after school and they had a program called, Sistanet, where we would discuss young women topics. Each girl had a mentor and my mentor name was Olivia. Olivia was conservative in my opinion, but she kicked it to me like a real sista. She was very knowledgeable and had a warm personality. One day, Olivia asked me that dreadful question, but in the adult version, "what kind of career are you interested in." I thought to myself, "O fuck, here we go ago," I was 18 and I still didn't know what I wanted to be. I forced myself to believe a Lawyer, because I lied so many times lmao. Anyway, I don't remember what I said to Olivia, I don't remember answering lol.....(shrugging shoulders). Olivia told me that base on her observation of me, she think I would enjoy the Communication field. I thought about that before, but always felt like I had to become something like a Doctor or a Lawyer. When I was 15, I interned at Bad Boy and that sparked my interest in entertainment industry. So I asked Olivia, what could I do that mixed both Communication and Entertainment. That's the first day I got introduced to Public Relations. She explained the basics to me, I did some research and I was all about it, from that day I now knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. Needless to say, I graduated High School, the program ended, I took Olivia's contact information. I majored in Communication focusing on Public Relations, I graduated, came home and begin job hunting. One day, I was going through some old paperwork and I found Olivia's number. I believe I only spoke to her once while I was in College. We spoke on the phone and caught up, I told her I was looking for a job in PR. She said she knew some people, I gave her a copy of my resume, we revamped it and eventually, I did get a job, but not in PR. I had to send my resume out to every PR firm there is, I revised it several thousand times, I made follow-up calls, I exhausted myself. One day, I was even bold enough to walk inside of the Baby Phat and Phat Farm office and damn near demanded a interview with my resume in hand. That's when I had ambition, I was determined, I was a beast, I felt fearless. I knew that I had my shit together and someone had to hire me. PR was what I wanted to do, I'm a smart chick, I envisioned myself being a great Publicist for people like Kanye, who always seems to need crisis management. It just never happened, I moved on, I got a little depressed, I was frustrated, it was one of those "wtf moments" forreal. I begin regretting going to College, I felt like I went to pay back loans for an education that wasn't efficient enough to land me in the career that I wanted. Furthermore, I moved on and fell out of love with PR, I remember writing in my journal, "fuck em all" lol, it was like a bad break-up. I moved out from my parents, got an apartment, and I've worked as a Medical Secretary for an Ob/Gyn Doctor ever since. I worked at my job for a little over year and I'm grateful; I'm 23, I have my own place, a job, my own independence, I have nice things and doesn't hurt that I'm a nice arm look....okay, okay, I got something going for myself, but it wasn't until that conservation with my baby, that made me realize that I'm comfortable. I'm not making any moves, I look for jobs here and there online, but that's not good enough; I need ambition. I need that walk into any office with confidence attitude back. I have 2 portfolios, that I put together my Senior year in College, they're both Media Kits, I need to do something with them. I worked hard as hell on both pieces and I need to take pride in my work, it's just dusting. Nike has a ad that reads, "Yesterday you said today, Just do it," whoever wrote that must know me personally, because that shit describes me to the T lol.....So with all of that said, today I become "Ambitious A"-how corny is that lol, but seriously I'm going to start making moves.I got what I payed for in College, a textbook and a lecture, the rest is my responsibility, it's fucked up, but so are a lot of other things. This is part of being an adult; it's time to woman up. If no one in PR wants to give me a job, I'll just have to thug my way thru it. Jay said it best, "can't complain about what they ain't gon' give ya, that ain't gon' get ya shit-mind as well, give up." My baby told me, he wants his children not only to be able to look at their father and say "Daddy gets in it," but also look at their Mom and say the same.....don't worry Daddy, Mommy will get it in.....

Stay Tuned.....I got next.

Peace,

A.

The Blogger Virgin

Mmmm.....I guess I should start off by saying hello ?! It is 12:52am on Sept 17. 2009, and I decided that I want to start blogging. Actually for a while i've wanted to take a shot at it, but I have a tendency of procastinating; but, thats too be discussed later on....I entitled my blog "The 20's Travels" because, I intend to write about my day to day as a 23yr old, college grad, in a recession and health care reform....I graduated in Communication, focusing on Public Relation. Had I known we were going to be in a recession, i would have went to school to be a damn MD...Lol. Seriously, this shit is out of hand, ever since I turned 20, life has been moving quickly and shit got real. I had a lot of goodtimes in this short time of being in my 20's, i also had a lot of bad times, but those stories are too be continued....Thank you for checking for ya gurl, read on....


Peace, A