1. I always look for the good in people…..I mean I look really really hard sometimes and still cant find it.
2. If you ask me when was the last relationship I was in, I will tell you 2009, it’s the truth as that is the last time I claimed anyone as my boyfriend (can’t claim everyone)
3. I’m a deep thinker and over analyze everything
4. I can be a bit boy crazy, but I don’t act on it…..but Odell Beckam Jr……boy I tell you1
5. I have a younger brother
6. I am extremely afraid of success and the crazy potential that I have, the process of unlocking it and overcoming fear is a daily battle
7. If I ever say anything about you behind your back, I’ve either already said it to your face or if confronted will tell you exactly what I said. (sometimes we need to vent I’m not malicious but we all vent sometimes)
8. I make it a point to worry about me myself and I, no drama
9. I am not a lesbian, I find beauty in women, but guys just because I haven’t had a BF in forever does not mean I have crossed over. Maybe “when is the last time you had a boyfriend?”, isn’t the question you’re trying to ask.
10. My favorite color s Green
11. I’d like to get married some day
12. I’d like to have kids some day….notice the order of this!
13. I’m super cool, but I suffer from resting bitch face
14. I give people too many chances
15. I have a love hate relationship with Las Vegas
16. I have committment issues if I’m not ALL IN and you seem flaky
17. I hate lip service, spare me the bullshit
18. I love my family
19. I used to want to be an urban model/video girl…damn near ruined my life
20. I believe in God and that EVERYTHING happens for reason
I was at a Happy Hour event and was close to leaving. As I began to leave the host asked why I was in a rush, to which I replied, “I’m not buying anymore drinks and guys don’t ever buy me any, so it’s time to go home.” The host turns to a friend and says, “Hey Mike, you would buy this lady a drink wouldn’t you”. The gentleman looks me up and down and says…”of course”. I look him up and down un-impressed but proceed to the bar. Because he bought me a drink I sat down next to him while I drank it. He seemed nice enough, asked me some questions talked about the type of man I should have in my life and sold himself…or tried to. As I got to the bottom of my glass and he suspected I’d be leaving as soon as it was done, he asked if we could have dinner at a later date and pulled out his phone to put the date in his calendar. Against my better judgement and not wanting to be a complete ass hole we set a date. A couple weeks went by and I dodged texts and phone calls and hoped he’d forget about the “date”, but any man that pulls out his phone to set a date is definitely not going to let you forget.
I had a work meeting that ran late on the day of this date. Luckily for me it was in a location no one I know even goes to….drum roll please….yes ladies and gentleman…..RED LOBSTER. I like cheddar bay biscuits as much as the next person and thought it was low key enough so I just wanted to go and get it over with. I kept in touch with Mike letting him know I’d be late and after about an hour I had arrived at my destination. Before I got there Mike had told me that the hostess would assist me with finding the table. I walk up and give my name, she kind of looks at me for a moment and tells me to follow the wall to the back section of the restaurant. As I walk to the table Mike stands up and has a perplexed look on his face. I ask him what’s wrong and he says, “I specifically asked for her to walk you back to the table, I’m just a little upset.” I then say to him not to worry about it and that it’s red lobster and I definitely found the table on my own.
After that awkward intro Mike asks me about what I do and I ask him the same and we have just a normal conversation, till things got weird. He saw I was freezing and offered for me to sit next to him to get warm and dear LORD I wish I could have seen the look on my face. I definitely froze instead of cuddling up to my first date in the back of Red Lobster. The food comes and out of no where he begins to talk about lesbians and how he used to date a chick that was lesbian and threesomes etc. At this point I’m fucking confused as I have nothing comparable to discuss, again I wish I could have seen my face when I told him I really didn’t have anything to add and was wondering what that had to do with anything. Now dinner is winding down and he complains to the MANAGER about his specific instructions to have his lady friend escorted to the table had been ignored. EMBARRASSED again! After that we head over to the bar and I grab a drink as the Golden State Warriors play. As we are watching the game he turns to me ans asks do I think one of the players is attractive. Now IDK about you, but as a man you should never ask that question period. Couple reasons why, it’s weird, shows insecurity and you don’t look NOTHING like the man you asked me about, he looked more like Roc from the TV show in the 90’s. So I ask him why he would ask that question and he says that he wanted to know what type of guys I’m into. Now if I did think the NBA player in question was attractive and his reason was to find my taste then he definitely removed himself by a long shot in the, “I wonder if she’s attracted to me” department. After the awkward conversation at the bar we walk to the car and we walk past his dream Chrysler 300. The reason I mention the car is because his career sounded fairly lofty from the conversation we had, I just thought he’d shoot a lil higher. He said something about a kiss, I looked at him crazy gave him a hug and chucked the deuces. He text ,e a few more times after that and I let him know I wasn’t interested. He came off like a creeper and I was right because he was arrested for some craziness only weeks later! That’s my story I know I sound like a bitch! Until next time….
We were at the Trey Songz concert, tickets compliments of him and there were these two girls sitting next to me. I never asked their names but I noticed that they were both very pretty and were probably guests of the artists as well. After the concert we all went back to the green room and hung out kicked it told jokes and talked about other crazy times we all had in Vegas and I saw the girls again, but they were quiet and kind of off to the side. A month later I was out at an event hosted by Ludacris and while I was in his section the same young lady came up to me again…..this time she spoke. I wrote her off as a groupie and honestly it took my a good day or two to actually remember where I knew her from. This past weekend I was out once again with a friend of mine who books artist to host events in Vegas and I saw her with what I assumed to be some athletes from all the way across the club. I immediately tweeted about seeing her and again categorized her as a groupie. As the night went on some how she made her way to our section where it was just me and my friend that had booked the artist for the night. Did she know him? No? But she had seen him and knew that he’s always around a bunch of celebrities and he was attractive and she likes older men blah blah blah. So because she had ran across me on this being the third occasion I guess she felt that was an opportunity to get the info on who I was. When she asked me what I did I knew what she really wanted to know was, how do you know all of these people. So I told her my story…the short version, I mentioned that I had graduated college and that I worked for a celeb and was able to maintain relationships with people and never compromised myself in the process and told her my current job. So then I asked her what she did…..This young lady proceeded to tell me that she was 22 years old with no job, so obviously I was a bit baffled at this, so I asked how she survived. She told me that she had 3 different ball players that had her on an allowance and a lot of guys invite her out, but she doesn’t sleep with all of them. I went from judging her to feeling bad for her, and when i asked her why, she said it was because she was young and wanted to get it out of her system early in life. My heart broke and I had to adjust my message. I’ve seen women like her come and go and leave situations where they are being tricked on…with nothing. When the man is done with you, there goes your income, as much as I wanted to give a “momma” talk, I don’t have any kids, nor have I ever gotten allowances for sexual favors from men that occasionally see me when they are on vacation. The whole thing just seems draining and unfulfilling in the long run. I couldn’t knock her hustle, but I did let her know that if a man doesn’t want to be cool with me because I’m not fucking or sucking him he can keep it pushing. I’ve personally been offered an allowance to be a hush girl and be on the clock, and I gracefully declined that offer. What I did tell her is that just because someone wants it, you don’t have to give it, but at the end of the day if you do choose to continue what you are doing to please know the following: Know who you’re dealing with; save your money just in case they change their mind, and find out what you like to do and make one of them fund your dream/aspirations. I never thought I’d tell a woman to continue to do these things, but everyone isn’t me. Have I messed with an athlete before…yes. The lesson I learned in my early 20’s was that, you are an extension of a temporary situation especially if you know he has other women, that’s not a situation I wanted to be a part of, we remained cool but I ain’t smashin him and he ain’t payin my bills which is fine with me. I’ll call this girl April, I know I will see April almost every time I go out, and I will continue to say hello and be cordial. April is a girl I and many other women I know could have/have easily become if I didn’t go to college and if I didn’t have my parents to support me and if I sought other peoples validation and sought to be accepted in certain circles. Vegas is a hard place I’m sure for a woman with no college education pretty, nice body and hair and good personality and you are 22 it can be hard to turn down what seems like a no brainer. Professional athletes and celebrities that are attractive and give you an allowance to please them EVERYONCE and a while….why not. I’ve seen a very ugly side to that first hand (not personally) and want no parts. At the end of the day if anything all of this did say something to how I carry myself that she asked…”What do you do and not Who are you fucking”. People are always watching you! April if you see this please know I mean no harm but I had to share this so someone who might NEED to see this would see.
There are thousands of people who work in the building I work in. All these people interact everyday, some people you flash a quick smile and a greeting others remain invisible. There was a young black guy I walked past almost everyday, he always looked at me, smiled and said good morning. One day I saw him in a photo with a mutual friend on FB and requested him as a friend. He accepted and made a few posts that made it seem like we had known each other for years, because he never actually tried to hold any conversations other than the smile and a good morning, it kind of threw me off and made me feel awkward. So some days I’d see him and pretend to be looking down at my phone and that I didn’t see him. He became invisible, but every once and a while I’d look up and say hello. A week ago I ended up having to go to his office for something, I saw his name on the door but never even checked to see if he was there to say hello. I found out he committed suicide 2 days later. He had 3 kids and in my mind I thought to myself that if there was one thing that was easy to contribute, it was a hello or acknowledgement. I even looked back at his facebook page and all the signs were there, people even reached out to him to say not to give up and they were there for him. It wasn’t enough. I’ve had some very dark hours, where I felt like the devil himself was telling me to give up and that no one cared or would miss me. Suicide affects so many people and the thought of leaving friends and family to mourn for me due to harm I caused to myself is unbearable. I say that to say, you never know what people are going through, and if you see the signs of people withdrawing and crying out it never hurts to say, “hey are you okay, do you need to talk…I’m here for you”. I believe that men especially black men are not taught to ask for help or be vulnerable and in turn they are forced to deal with all types of demons that cannot be expelled without prayer and an ear to listen. Suicide is never the answer let people know you care because sometimes we can truly feel alone in this world and everyone doesn’t have the strength to ask for help and have someone empathize with them. I pray for his family and children and I wish I wouldn’t have tried so hard to pretend he wasn’t there.
Come out to Hardrock Cafe on 9/15 for Hollywood Nights brought you by The Movement and Hosted be Lance Gross ol fine self! Did I mention it’s my birthday? See video below for info the best part is at the 1:43 second mark! See you there!!!!
<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/48266243″>Hollywood Night 2012</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/movementlv”>TheMovement</a> on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>
To all you buyers and tastes makers that will be in Las Vegas for MAGIC Summer 2012, make sure you check out this exclusive event taking place at Mandalay Bay… Luxury Travel Luggage and Clothing at it’s best. Support PRSVR and join us for an afternoon of fashion! Look for @PRSVR at MAGIC, room number will be released per RSVP to info@prsvr.com and on alwaysbknown.com the day of the event!!! Hope to see you there!
You all have no idea how long I’ve wanted to share news like this. On December 1st 2009 the reality of what many people do day in and day out hit me like a TON of bricks. I was no longer an assistant to one of the biggest names in sports, I was now one of about 6,000 new employees at Aria Resort and Casino. It was my very first day of a real job where I had to clock in and clock out and wear a uniform. At the time I felt like this JOB had taken something away from me, like I was just another face among many, the first 6 months flew by and I quickly got accustomed to the day in and day out routine of what many people do for years. I dealt with irritable guests, people catching attitudes with me for things that had nothing to do with me, disrespectful customers you name it I can tell you some stories. But what else was I to expect, I was a Front Desk Agent at a 4,004 room hotel that was part of one of the most ambitious projects in Las Veags, “City Center Las Vegas”.
In addition to the front desk I also maintained additional income and networking opportunities, by assisting pro athletes and other VIPs with booking reservations at various locations in Las Vegas and I also began working with The Movement Las Vegas booking hosts for their events. Needless to say, I kept myself busy, but I knew there was more. In January of 2011 a year and a few months after I first started working at the front desk I was offered a promotion to work in the front desk back office with groups and conventions. I dealt with clients from Nike and Hewlett Packard to Jimmy Johns and Quiznos, it also allowed me an opportunity to network with people outside of my department. After working a year at the group desk I reached out to a previous manager and expressed interest in special events, a few weeks later I interviewed for a position as a Special Events Coordinator at Aria…..I didn’t get the job. Feeling like I needed to spread my wings, I applied for a 12 week management program for MGM resorts International called “Aspire”, interviewed…wasn’t selected.
While both of these situations were a blow to me, I knew I was destined for more and that the only thing I could do was pick myself up and try again. In January of 2012 I was selected to be in the second Aspire class, a small victory, but validation that I was moving in the right direction. Part of the Aspire program was to be assigned a mentor in the department you expressed interest in, I was paired with the Director of Special Events for Aria, the department that I had interviewed with a year earlier and not gotten the job. When I found this out I had mixed emotions and a spirit of bitterness peaked its head, but instead of being upset and salty lol, I decided to take this new opportunity in stride and gain as much knowledge as I could. My mentor introduced me to VP’s of departments, and I was able to work hands on with Special Events throughout the 12 week program. When the program was over, my mentor sent me an email lead on another special events position, I interviewed again and again….didn’t get the job. Once the program was over I still sought out opportunities to work with the Special Events team, sometimes after working 8 hours at my job and on my days off to get more experience, and to show my interest was real. While all of this was happening colleagues in my department started to get other jobs (there were only 4 of us 2 left) and Brandy was still in the same position. I was even favored to become a manager at the desk, but something told me to be still and patient and that it wasn’t time to move. Don’t get me wrong I liked my job, but I have a passion for event execution.
On June 6th, that Special Events Coordinator position came available again, the one I wasn’t quite ready for a year earlier. It had been almost a month before I heard anything, then finally, the same week that front desk manager position became available I got a call for an interview! I went thru 3 interviews for the Special Events position, and Thursday was asked why I hadn’t signed up for the manager position at the front desk that was open. With neither position being guaranteed I signed up for the manager position. During my interview for the manager position on Monday 08/06, I informed the manager interviewing me of the fact that i was waiting to hear back from special events. She asked me, “If you were offered that position and this manager position today, which one would you take?”. In that moment I knew I had to be truthful and with no hesitation I told her I’d go with Special Events. So today 08/07, thru rejection I was able to persevere and show that I was ready to take on a new responsibility as the newest Special Events Coordinator at Aria Resort and Casino and I was offered the job. I say all this to say that thru all of this I had down days, but one thing I always tried to do, was not take not being selected or being the right candidate at the time personal. I can say that without a supportive management staff at the front desk and supportive co-workers, colleagues, friends and family, I may have given up and accepted defeat on December 1st of 2009 . When I decided that my time as an assistant was over, I could have moved back to Michigan and to be honest I would have never in a million years been able to tell that version of myself about the experiences I’ve had over the past 3 years with out her looking at me like I was crazy!
At times it gets very difficult living in a place with no relatives, but sometimes the only way to grow is to go to the edge and jump, alone. I still haven’t landed, but this is only the end of the first chapter of many and I look forward to sharing much more! You can do anything you put your heart and mind to and someday my story will be told, this is the beginning. In addition to this job, I’m continuing and still have my own business and that’s poppin too!
Thank You for your time and support….
B.Known
Best story I’ve seen in a long time! Remember she’s only 16 and the magnitude of what she’s done is more than commendable! Congrats to her, this is what sacrifice is!
If you are in the Atlanta area this weekend make sure to check out these great events to support the 21 Reasons to give foundation! Great Cause!!! For additional information go to josh21powell.com
Always B.Known 