Thought of The Day

"I know what it is to be in need & I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any & every situation..."
-MATTHEW CHERRY from Twitter

Thought Of The Day

My friend Joi tweeted, "Life is always more enjoyable when you're comfortable in your own skin."
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Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time ...

I was the man with the master plan.

I knew what I wanted to be doing and when.

Now there are days when someone's ask where I want to be personally and professionally and I don't quite know the answer.

When I graduated college I said I wanted to become a T.V. news producer.

There are days when that's still the case, and there are days when I feel as though I should be aiming to do something else.

As much as I tell others to reminder to stay flexible, I don't quite I think what staying flexible means for me personally.

But I guess patience is a virtue and it's part of my reality at this particular moment.

Quote of the Day

You're an ambitious man and an ambitious man is never happy with what he has.
-From "Mad Men"*

I'm watching my first episode ever, let's see if it becomes a favorite.
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I Am Finally Back In Bmore

I am finally back in Bmore after ten days away.

I left on Sunday, August 2 to go down to Tampa for NABJ 2009.

It was a great experience as I wrote here before. A time to fulfill my board duties, attend workshops and trainings, and to reunite with friends and my journalism family. It's like going to a well to be replenished after giving all you've got day after day.

I got to end my term as Student Representative by recognizing NABJ's Student Journalist of the Year at a ceremony hosted by Tamron Hall.

I got to pass the torch to NABJ's new student rep.



Finally my trip was capped off with a visit to Disney to celebrate my girl Aprill O.'s birthday.





So now I'm happy but don't quite know if I'm ready to go back to work tomorrow.

:-)

Ending A Season

So the saying goes, "To every thing there is a season."

Several hours ago a season ended for me when I handed over my seat as the NABJ Student Representative after a two year term. For me it was bittersweet I was sad to leave but proud of what I had accomplished remaining true to my pledges to a) be a servant leader and to b) be an unapologetic advocate for members.

The end of my term came with a week-long stay in Tampa.

Last Sunday I got here and was able to greet the students who participated in our Student Projects program where they reported on the organization's happening's.

On Monday my friends and I ran errands and then went out to eat at Ocean Prime here in Tampa. I had the house salad and salt and vinegar fries.

Tuesday was all about the last day long board meeting and then we took in a Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox game where we sat in a box and had a lot of fun.

On Wednesday we had lunch with the NY Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger kicked off the convention with our Opening Ceremony.

On Thursday I helped moderate a candidates forum for my replacements, then led a workshop on whether or not to do grad school.

On Friday I presented an award to NABJ's Student Journalist of the Year (the coolest part about that was shaking the hand of Valerie Jarrett, one of President Obama's advisers, and Lisa Jackson, the Environmental Protection Administration administrator, and also being introduced by Tamron Hall whose gorgeous) then moderated two workshops one on the importance of reinventing yourself as a journalist while in college, and then one on how to make a career plan and deal with unexpected challenges. We also learned the results of NABJ's election and I was most happy knowing that several of my friends are returning to the NABJ board.

Saturday was all about a finance seminar moderated by Stacey Tisdale formerly of CNN, then a screening of "Good Hair" Chris Rock's new documentary film about what makes good or bad hair, and then there was NABJ's Salute to Excellence Awards ceremony which honored Journalist of the Year NPR's Michele Norris, Lifetime Achievement Award winner The Washington Post/ESPN's Michael Wilbon, Emerging Journalist Essence's Cynthia Gordy, and dozens of journalists for award winning work.

Today I attended the annual Gospel Brunch and then my final board meeting as a member where I passed the baton to Georgia Dawkins.

Now I'm chilling and deciding my next steps because a new season shall arrive soon.