Adulting - my way!

Hello to my faithful readers:

Tomorrow will make exactly one month since my last day at Twitter!  Wow - what a difference a few weeks makes.  I've spent a lot of time this week focusing my energies on quite a few things.  Here's the listicle of the top 10 things I did while 'adulting' this week:

1) Wrapping up all of my doctors visits so that I can take full advantage of the money I had left in my FSA account (almost $900).  The good news is that I'm healthy (though there was a slight scare with one of my breasts, which turned out to be nothing) and now I have new glasses on the way soon!  I will say the Cigna FSA process is a pain in the ar$e and very confusing.

2) I also finally transferred everything from my old Macbook Pro to my new one, wiped the old one and sent it to be sold for more money than I thought I'd ever get for it (I bought it in 2009).  This involved 2 appointments at the Genius bar to get things all resolved, but it was worth it.

3) I finally ended my #SocialMediaDiet (though I haven't added any of the apps back on my iPhone or iPad yet), so far I'm just limiting myself to desktop access.   One thing I recognize is that I will need to be cautious because honestly - I enjoyed the bubble of the past couple of weeks.  My anxiety went down because I wasn't seeing all of the news stories that made me angry!  

4) Ladies That UX LA hosted a financial seminar on budget and salary negotiation and I attended it (even though it meant schlepping all the way downtown).  It was excellent and I realized that I need to re-frame financial planning as an extension of my creative process because of the talk by Claudia McGowan.

5) I had a referral from one of my former Twitter colleagues for a potential freelance project that I might pickup this week!  It's for a company that really resonates with where my head is, which is philanthropy and making a positive impact on the world I'm living in, especially because everything seems so uncertain with our new President Elect making all sorts of diplomatic gaffes this week.  

6) Paypal encouraged me to participate in #GivingTuesday (so I did)

7) I finally found chairs that should work well with the new counter height table I ordered for the little nook in my kitchen.  I'm excited that the table will arrive tomorrow and the chairs should arrive by Tuesday!!!

8)  I've finally found a group of women in tech that I can connect with here in Los Angeles.  This week I reached out to a group that I'd been a member of for about a month and the reception was warm!

9)  I bought some Affirmator cards on a whim at World Market and they've inspired me way more than I thought they would... the way they work is that you're supposed to shuffle the cards, spread them all out and ask (God, The Universe, whatever higher power you believe in) to help you choose the card you're supposed to read for that day.  I pulled 'bonus' cards on Thursday (Abundance) and Friday (Perseverance) and the messages on them felt like just what I needed to see to keep me going!

10) I attended the Preserve LA meeting for the westside today to hear more about their Neighborhood Integrity Initiative.  Essentially they are a collective that want to help pass laws that will help keep the developer and city council/planning relationships here in LA on the up and up.

This issue is important to me because I've noticed some seriously horrendous developments cropping up all over the city.  Take for example this multi-unit apartment complex that has popped up on the corner of my street.

It looks NOTHING like the rest of the buildings on the block, though somehow it got a pass from the LA City Council and City Planning commission.

So this is 'adulting' for me now, which means actively being involved in my community both professionally and personally (I never did that at all in NYC), taking better care of my mental and physical health, plus focusing on becoming comfortable with the financial planning process for myself!

Thanks for stopping by to read my blog and I'll do my best to write more often.

Mwuah,

Georgia Peach

Taking a break

Hello to my faithful readers:

Wow - I've been 'funemployed' now for about 3 full weeks and for the first 2 weeks I was busier than I've ever been.  This past week for the week of Thanksgiving - I decided to make the conscious effort to dial back my 'busybody' syndrome.  I had a conversation last week after church with a couple who had both taken time off from corporate life.  It was in chatting with them that I was encouraged to
truly take a break by dialing back my social media activity, which meant deleting and blocking my access to Facebook, Instagram and (gasp) Twitter!!!

The results - though I feel a little less informed on all things Trump - my anxiety levels have gone down tremendously.  I'm taken the week to read a little more - I finally finished reading a sweeping and expansive love story - About The Night by Anat Talshir.  I've been reading it for a while now and in my opinion it's long, but beautifully written.

Having the down time this week also gave me the time to watch a few more TV and movies that I haven't had a chance to check out before now -- my recommendations from this week are: Eye In The Sky, Trumbo, Paranoid (though there are some weird tonal issues with this show, but overall it was worth the time watching) and The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975.

This week has made me realize that I have a lot of history to learn and perhaps lots to unlearn.  I am thankful that I have this time to spend on the education of Gleana as well as some relaxation and restoration.  My little shadow, Ginger has been my best cuddle buddy throughout it all - even the horror of realizing we still have a President-elect Trump to contend with.

I'm also using this time to seek direction about the next steps for me.  There is a big change coming and I'm preparing myself.

Mwuah,

Georgia Peach

Saying goodbye

Hello my faithful readers:

It has been quite sometime since I've written a post here lots has changed for me -

• I moved out of NYC to LA for a great job in 2015...
• Decided to move on from that job just a couple of weeks go... 
• Adopted an adorable chiweenie named Ginger... 
• Bought a car (I love driving)...
• I woke up...

I say all of that to say that 2016 has been a challenging year for upset and loss (we lost David Bowie, Prince, Gwen Ifill and many others this year).  We also recently elected Donald Trump as Pres. of the USA in one of the nastiest elections I've ever seen.  We've also seen lots of black men and women get killed by the police.  It's been tough for me personally emotionally and I haven't written anything on my blog in a while.  I promise that I will finally write more now that I have more time... I'm still processing and unpacking how I feel.  It's a lot.

I didn't talk much about it at the time, but I lost my grandmother, Lucy Albritton in April. Because life was busy, I didn't really get much time to grieve. This loss was huge and in some ways I'm still dealing with the effects of not being able to talk to her and get reassurance that everything will be alright...  I did want to share with you the words I said at her funeral on April 9, 2016.  This is a rough approximation because I made a few edits to it... maybe it will touch some of you.

Today we come together to celebrate the life of my grandmother Lucy “Lulu” Albritton.  For those that don’t know me – I’m Gleana Albritton, the eldest daughter of one of Lulu’s three sons, El Douglas Albritton, Jr. (or Boot as she would lovingly call him).  Today I want to share with you the great impact Lulu had on my life learned from watching her over the years.

First and most importantly, Lulu taught me all about how important it was for me to have my own relationship with God.  She modeled her faith for me by showing how important it was to bless others through service.  Lulu always made sure to help so many in the community and her circle of friends by running food giveaway and social programs for the elderly, even as recently as a couple of years ago.   She kept doing it until she no longer could.  Lulu always encouraged me to pray (almost every conversation ended with her telling me this) and if she felt like I needed it, she would always guide me to a scripture.   I believe Lulu learned these same lessons as a young girl by watching her grandmother back in Talbotton, GA and I’m grateful that she passed this on to me.   So if you don’t remember anything else from this celebration, I hope I can encourage someone here today to develop their own relationship with God.

Lulu was also a master storyteller – on any given Sunday I remember sitting around and laughing with the family as she regaled us with her stories.  She loved to tell stories about family most of all and I learned so much about my dad and his siblings by just sitting there and listening.  The tales would get bigger and bigger each and every time she told them.  She loved to tell the story about the time we took a trip to visit my aunt Charlotte (Aunt Peachy to me) ito Macon on the greyhound bus.  It was on this trip that we made a stop and the way she told it – I asked her to buy some candy for me and that I wanted to save some of it for my Aunt Peach.  We got back on the bus and continued on down the road and I asked for my candy.  She asked me – “What about you saving it for Peachy? “ and according to Lulu, I replied “I ain’t studdin Peachy.” It was through these countless re-tellings of the stories – you saw just how much she loved her family and friends so remember to pass along your family stories too. 

Most importantly for me, my grandmother encouraged me to be brave. It was because of her encouragement that I believed I could do anything I put my mind to…she was my champion and always had an encouraging word for me whether it was related to my move to NYC, my travels (she would always tell me to watch out, because there was so much going on), she always said she was proud of me and that she knew I would survive because I was smart.  She always spoke a word of life and encouragement to me and I know she did this for countless others.

Lulu made such an impact on me and I hope that I can make her proud by continuing her legacy through my relationship with God, becoming a better storyteller and encouraging others to be brave.  Thank you for coming out to help our family to celebrate the life of Lucy “Lulu” Albritton today.  May God bless and keep you all.   

Mwuah,

Georgia Peach

#BeSomebody

Hello to my faithful readers:

It's a new year - 2015 is here and I for one am excited for the fresh beginnings.  Last year was one of great growth, some professional success(es), but also one full of challenges for my family.  I realize that I've been quiet for a while now...not really in the mood to any of my feelings down on any pages.  In some ways, I'm coming emerging from a cocoon of my own making and I hope that it leads to more adventure(s)

Graffiti #BeSomebody (Austin, TX - 2014)

in the coming years.  

I'm still not sure where my journey ends...and I've just now realized that I've been blessed enough to experience quite a few things that I never ever dreamt I would as a child.  Life has so many infinite possibilities and I realize now that I'm just on the cusp...

I hope that you'll be brave this year.  That's my challenge to myself...to be braver in 2015.  That's my only resolution for 2015...to be brave.  I'm not sure where this will lead, but my only hope is that I'm a much better person for it.  I encourage you all to #BeSomebody in 2015.  

Wishing you all much love, peace and joy in the coming year.

Smooches,

Georgia Peach!

RIP - Paul Timothy James, Jr.

Hello my faithful readers:

I lost a friend this past weekend.  Paul Timothy James, Jr was probably one of the few people that knew me best about 10 years ago.  He was like the big brother I never had; one of my biggest cheerleaders who made me believe I could (and should) do anything I set my mind to do.

It doesn't feel like Paul is gone.  I had not been close to him in years, although I was blessed to have caught up with him sometime last year, after we fell out of touch for quite a few years.   Social media was the sliver that connected us after all these years and for that I'm thankful to the power of Facebook for giving us even that briefest connection.

Paul always saw me as way more interesting and intelligent than I ever saw myself.  He was always encouraging me to strike out on my own and start my own business and we even worked for a while on producing a concert series called "Grown Folks Music."  We even went as far as trade-marking the name, but that's just the nature of Paul, always working on something.  There was always something going on with him and he was a man of great character - always fighting for the underdog in every situation.

The one thing that strikes me about Paul was that he had so many different friends from so many different walks of life.  Intellectually I always knew this, but it was made evident when I visited him at the ICU in his last week here on earth at Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.  I met people that I'd heard him reference over the years as well as people I'd never even heard of - people who mattered in his life.  That's the thing about Paul James, he took people under his wing and took care of them, even if he hadn't seen you in years, you had the assurance that he would remember you and give you the shirt off his back if that's what you needed at the time.

Paul James lived every last drop out of his life.  He was a warrior, fighting until the end, although he always fought more for everyone else than for himself.  I wish that he was still here so that I could give him one last hug and tell him (when he was awake to hear me), just how much he meant to me.  He was someone who knew me well, at a time when I probably didn't know myself.  I lost my big brother from another mother and right now I'm a bit numb right now.  In my way of coping, I can just pretend that he's off visiting with friends.  In reality, I won't ever get the chance to say to him what I should have said when he was alive to hear it, "I love you man, thank you for being my big brother.  I will miss you."

Peace and blessings to everyone who was touched by Paul for those who loved him know that he's in a much better place right now and maybe, just maybe, he's finally allowing someone to help him on the other side.

Paul Timothy James, Jr. (July 24, 1960 - July 20, 2013)

Best regards,

Georgia Peach

TV Junkie Digital Streaming Options Review - the Dish Hopper

Hello to all of you:

It's been a while since I've posted here, but I thought I'd take the time to share some of my recent experiences in digital streaming.  I am a TV junkie... (there I've said it).  I love great tv, plain and simple.  It's a bit of a challenge watching great tv, without actually paying for cable, but that just makes me a bigger advocate for streaming everything online.  I thought I'd start to blog more regularly here by sharing a few of my thoughts about the state of streaming from a casual, non-techy user experience perspective.

Just to explain why I'm so passionate about streaming - I moved to Belgium in 2009 for graduate school.  While there, I wanted to continue watching some of my favorite shows and I was able to do so with some of the early streaming site aggregators (although some were & remain quite nefarious in nature).  I was frustrated by the lack of legal ways of seeing the content (I tried Hulu, etc), but had to remain conscious that I was living on a limited budget.  In fact, when I moved back to the states and eventually back to NYC, it was my limited budget status that caused me to realize I had to make some tough decisions and I realized I'd rather eat dinner each day than pay for a super expensive cable bill!!

Unfortunately the marketplace doesn't have a great, simple, legal streaming solution for those without cable - yet!  There are companies that are working to change this, but if you have kind parents who will share their username and passwords to their TV Everywhere online streaming platforms, then you've won half the battle.  One that I'd recommend trying is the Dish Hopper. 

My thoughts on the Dish Hopper:  Overall the stream is pretty solid here, love the fact that watching live is available on all their channels.  I think their search functionality on the iPad app is horrible, it seems to be a much better experience when using my computer!  It's difficult to find shows on their On-Demand Platform here. I also hate that Dish now has some very limiting legal language about the number of devices you can stream on...I tend to stream from my computer and my iPad depending on how fast my ISP (internet service provider) is pumping my (very expensive) connection to me.

Channel Guide

DVR Recordings Display (on Computer)

Overall I give the Dish Hopper a solid A- on the overall experience.   If they came up with a lower priced web only a la carte solution, I'd be willing to give it a try.  Take note all of the other MPVD's (Multi-Channel Video Programmers) out there!

I'll try to blog next week about my experiences with some of the other streaming options out there next week.  As always, thanks for reading and I'd love to hear from you in the comments section if you've had any experiences with other platforms.

Mwuah,

Georgia Peach

Executive Presence

Yesterday I had the pleasure of sitting in on a talk by Evan Shapiro, President of Participant TV; he was addressing me and my fellow WICT NY Prime Access Mentees and our mentors.  It was a session on Executive Presence and to be honest - I was pleasantly surprised by his talk.  I had my pre-conceived notions of what it takes to fit in as an executive, especially as a woman (who happens to be African American) and Evan managed to address many of my concerns, which was a nice change from some of the talks I've attended that never seem to address haven't addressed these issues in a way that resonated with me.

One of my biggest concerns in regards to the idea of executive presence is the big elephant in the room - I'm a woman, I'm a minority (African American) and sometimes I've sometimes questioned whether  these characteristics (that I can't change) have impeded my career.  I know that I'm smart and talented, but time and time again I've seen myself and many of my peers in the same situations get overlooked for career advancement opportunities and shut out of the good ole boy and sometimes even the good ole girls clubs you find in the corporate settings in my chosen field.  Many who know me personally, know that I'm pretty unconventional...I've spent most of my career working in Entertainment and Media.  I'm quirky, I wear my hair in a crazy afro and I'm obsessed with the worlds of pop culture, digital streaming and social media in a way that some might consider frivolous.

Most people may not know exactly how ambitious I am, especially if you take a look at the zigs and zags I've made over the course of my career.  I have aspirations to make it to the executive CEO ranks and I tend to beat myself up pretty harshly about the fact that I haven't made it nearly as far as I think I should be in my career.  Getting to the top feels as likely as me scaling Mt. Everest and as a result I've spent a great deal of time in my head recently, second guessing some of the steps and missteps I've made along the way.   For most of my adult life, my entire focus has been on my career (13 years) and it's been tough hell for me to recognize that my path won't be the more linear one a lot of my peers have taken in their careers!

Evan mentioned in his talk that people, whom consider themselves to be a part of a minority group in some way often feel they need to change their approach to fit in (to the collective agency aka group think).  I've often thought about these things myself...wondering if I should change the way I dress, my hair or even the way I speak (remind me to tell you about the time one of my former colleagues told me I sounded like Beyonce to her in another blog).  But his words of advice to all of us in the room is that we need to be ourselves.  Plain and simple...we have to put our own approach on things and focus on honing in on what makes us our best us.  One of the quotes from Evan's talk that I loved most of all was "don't filter yourself to the point of blandness."

Evan had a few recommendations for us to get to our best us and I'll just mention a couple that resonated most with me.  He recommended spending two weeks evaluating what makes us feel strong and what makes us feel weak by writing it down every time we noticed.  For example yesterday I noticed that on a call with one of our clients to plan an event, the client recommended bringing in a major electronics manufacturer to giveaway their newest tablet to one of the bloggers at our event.  I immediately jumped into this idea with ways to expand this idea and make it much larger (and hopefully a win-win for all sides involved by leveraging all of the marketing channels all 3 brands have at our disposal).  After the end of the call I felt invigorated and in that moment I knew I was in the zone...that's what I love to do, make smart partnerships happen.  In making this list over a two week period, it should allow you to really focus on identifying your biggest strengths and major weaknesses so that you can start to arrange your days in ways that you can spend more time on your strengths and minimize the time spent working in your weaknesses.

Another thing recommended by Evan is that we should be deliberate about our careers, we approach our careers in the same way that we approach a project at work, by putting together a cohesive and deliberate plan for our careers.  This can involve seeking out opportunities and special projects outside of your current role (e.g. volunteer to help setup a charity outreach or mentoring organization), speaking on panels that position you as an expert in your field or simply by going outside of your peer group for ideas (e.g. talking to people who work in the medical /financial services/tech fields if you happen to work in media for innovations/ideas that could apply to you).  One big tip here is to be clear and ask for what you want because putting your head down and hoping someone notices all of your hard work rarely works!!

Evan left us all with a few succinct tips on improving our executive presence at the end of his talk:

1.  Write well
2.  Know your shit (keep up with what's happening in your space, read the trades, etc)
3.  Listen and listen wide
4.  Come to meetings prepared to talk (even if it's only one prepared comment/question, etc.)
5.  Become an expert and be known for something good

This talk made me realize that although I am doing some of what I need to in terms of managing my executive presence there is a great deal of room for improvement for me.  I haven't quite learned how to ask for what I want.  I also have to focus in on what makes me happy.  I was especially pleased to hear this as a part of Evan's talk yesterday - it's an often overlooked element when you get into career discussions.  We have to define and always keep in mind what makes us happy because most of us spend a great deal of time working (I know I do)!

What tips on executive presence have you heard over the years?  I'd love to hear from you in the comments section on this one.

As always - thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

Mwuah,

Georgia Peach