Organizational & Financial Goal$

This is my first update of the New Year. It will be a short entry. The two main focuses outside of academic and career goals are to earn more every month and get more organized every month.

If I tackle it daily, weekly, and monthly and check in with goals daily, weekly, & monthly, then maybe by December or even June, I'll be one step closer to achieving these goals. 

💵😃🇺🇸📝📋🎶🎹🎤💻📹🎭✈️

Creativity is high on the priority list. This year's other goal is to be more candid and creative with the updates. 

Now that I have a microphone and plan on getting more camera technology, podcasting is something that I want to commit to doing this year. 

In terms of organization, I think my level of cleanliness is average. I need to set up a system for maintaining at least above average organization every day.

Organization is a huge component of success. Waking up early is not the issue, it's what happens in those precious moments after getting up every morning. 

Some write goals afte waking up daily, I'd like to sort that habit this morning. Before tonight's cast party, I'll make sure to work out, eat healthiliy, and clean my room. By the end of next week, I want to get in the habit of making my bed regularly.

Tonight, we'll watch the play together reminisce and talk about the future of the cast. Alright, time to pack my gym bag. 

Everything's Alright

There are some snow flurries outside, it's my seventh full year in Pittsburgh. My ad is around town, most notably it's near Heinz Field, the Carnegie Science Center, and Three Rivers Casino.

The photo shoot was a little over two months ago, I remember it like it was yesterday because it was the first paid gig I'd had as a model. Now, I'm less than three weeks away from opening night at the Kelly StrayhornTheater. 

The only thing I have to do before then is memorize my singing solo, practice feeling the lines, and work on getting into character regularly. 

The show will do well in Pittsburgh, but I'm more concerned about the traveling and how it may impact my work schedule. 

Depending on when we travel, I may have to take off work. We're going to the South and the Midwest. North Carolina: Greensboro and Charlotte. Illinois: Chicago. 

We may do other theaters around town and add cities to the roster. Well, this is a significant milestone in my life. The back-to-back interviews, auditions, and paid gigs means that things will only get better next year. 

La victoria es mía

After defeating my landlord (successfully winning a civil suit against him) and beating all the false criminal charges dropped that were filed by the local police department, I'm becoming more confident in my abilities to overcome adversity and more importantly to stand up for what I know is right.

The District Attorney of Allegheny County conceded that there was insufficient evidence to find me guilty of even a summary offense. Therefore, after what I hope is my final appearance in court for 2014, I won't have a criminal record.

Nevertheless, it strikes me as odd that in most American cities, four-fifths of the black population has a criminal record. After a year of postponing court dates and getting all the facts straight, volunteering, and proclaiming innocence, I'll be able to expunge my records on 10/08/2014, which is the last time I'll appear in court for that offense.

The reason the majority of black males, in particular, have records may not be because they're the most aggressive group of men on the planet, but rather because they're the first to be profiled and are targets of the criminal justice system. I want to file a civil suit after getting everything removed from my record, perhaps that's what the detective fears. But, this sort of thing needs to stop. We need to be made aware of all the options available to us as citizens. Information asymmetry is hurting the profession as much as it was hurting the health care market in the U.S.