Over The Past Few Weeks

What's been going on? I've been doing a lot lately. Last Thursday (May 27th), I attended my aunt's graduation from the University of Redlands. She's now a Masters Degree recipient. Woo-hoo! Last night, I joined her in her continued celebration at Club Orchid in LA. It was cool...a bit of an older crowd but whatever. My uncle was there but left before I got there. Who leaves before midnight??? Lol. I had a good time and to make it even better, my girls, Kenya and LaJoi, joined me. Kenya lives in the D.C. area so I don't get to see her everyday which made me even MORE excited to be with her. She's having a birthday party today at her mom's house. It's a luau and I am not dressed according to the occasion. I just don't own any luau attire...go figure.

On a more serious note, I'm really confessing and believing for a financial breakthrough. I'm just keeping God's word in my mouth about the situation. I'm exercising my faith. For Kenya's birthday, I was told to give her cash but I'm gonna have to go the gift card direction. That's something I can do right now.

As for the job market, I'm still anticipating the summer internship with my mom's accountant. She hasn't updated me about it but I know she will. She says it takes a while before she'll hear back from the government...they're providing the funds. I have faith about it.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was AWESOME! No, I'm not a mother...but my mom is. Lol. Anyway, we woke up early for the 8:30am service at our church (Full Harvest International) followed by dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe. Man, waiting for a table was TERRIBLE!!! We waited for about an hour...no joke. We joined my godmother and her mom while at the restaurant and my godmother picked up the check. What a blessing right? We weren't expecting that. Anyway, we had a GREAT time. This is the first Mother's Day in YEARS that I didn't buy my mom a gift. There's a reason behind that and that is, she always gets upset when either my sister or I spend money on her and instead of arguing over that, I figured, let's have a good day and I won't buy nothing. I'll just get her a good birthday gift...in June...or a Father's Day gift. She plays the role of both mom and dad so why not?

After dinner, we came back home, changed our clothes, went grocery shopping, then visited my mom's stepmother...Grandma Joyce. We stayed with her for a couple of hours talking about EVERYTHING. Which reminds me, I have to do some research for her in regards to modifying her mortgage. It seems like EVERYBODY is trying to modify their mortgage.

Well, that was my Mother's Day. I hope yours was as fun as mine! I was just elated to see that my mom had a good day...which she keeps reciting over and over.

Summer Internship

It's MAY!!! My sister (Raychel) had a birthday on the 3rd and she turned 22. She said she had a good day and I really feel like she did...besides the fact that my dad pimped her into getting him lunch and he was short $34 on his grocery bill, which she picked up of course. Shouldn't that have been a role reversal on HER birthday? Lol. I guess.

As for me, my mom's long-time accountant, Jackie Folk, is going to allow me to intern with her this summer...AND IT'S PAID! Yay! It's actually an opportunity I need and want. It will give me an opportunity to get my feet wet with the accounting profession so other doors may open up for me in the near future.

Other than that, I'm still studying and getting my life in order. I have a test tomorrow. Pray for me!

Conflicted Feelings

IT'S THE LAST DAY OF APRIL!!! Man, time is flying! I stopped to meditate about the Head Blogger position with Alicia Keys because I have been conflicted about whether or not it's something for me. It's a position that I would LOVE simply because I love to blog BUT I kinda feel like I'm led to stay in the Los Angeles area (even though I would LOVE to live in a different city, in a different state). As a matter of fact, New York is where I dream to live! Now, let me tell you why. I'm working to build my nonprofit and I've already started working on the College Prep Seminar at the church. I don't want to leave that dream high and dry. The Lord is already putting things into place to make that a realization and it's geared toward inner city kids in LOS ANGELES. For those of you who didn't know, I'm want to start a nonprofit organization geared towards getting more African-American youth into prominent colleges & universities. Something like a college prep mentorship.

So, I talked to the Lord about this position (because it's in New York) and I now understand that if I don't get it, it wasn't meant to be and if I do then it definitely was. Look at it this way, there are thousands of people applying for this position and if God shows ME favor enough to get the position, then that's clear as day! On the bright side, I could help out kids in New York. Oh, another thing I definitely NEED to consider is finding a church home. I don't want to leave my church home AT ALL!!! The word is way too awesome. But again, on the bright side, my bishop is on TV and he issues out CDs that I could listen to. So I can still hear what the Lord is giving him while sitting under a different ministry. There's a reasonable answer to everything.

I know I'm singing a different tune from an earlier blog but I really have to take a step back and look at the big picture and hear from God. Believe it or not, I'm really working it out with this blog. Thanks for listening.

America I Am

I know I'm bombarding you with posts today but I totally forgot to post about the "America I Am" exhibit at the California Science Center. Well, I first heard about it from Tavis Smiley himself. He came to my church to make an announcement about it and he also gave us 150 tickets so that we could participate in the festivities. You may be wondering what this exhibit is all about right? It's an exhibit that takes you through the journey of black history in America from slavery to the present. Some of the artifacts at the exhibit are awesome and they include: Martin Luther King Jr.'s actual jail cell from Birmingham, AL, doors from actual slave holding cells from Africa's west end, a Klu Klux Klan uniform, whips and shackles, and SO MUCH MORE. I left there feeling inspired, appalled, and blessed all at the same time. Hey (side note), have you ever noticed that the approximate 400 years of slavery is the same length of time that the children of Israel were in bondage in Egypt? Maybe there's something significant about the length of 400 years.

Anyway, If you have a chance, you MUST go and see this exhibit BEFORE NEXT WEEKEND (MAY 2ND). Here goes a few pictures (that I'm not supposed to have taken but just couldn't help myself) of some of the things I saw between my first and second visit to the exhibit.


This is for my cousin Aaron. The inception of Alpha Phi Alpha at Cornell University in 1906 with the signatures of the seven original members.


Now we all should know who this belonged to! My man, Mr. Purple Rain himself...PRINCE!


Martin Luther King Jr.'s jail cell all the way from Birmingham, AL.


Malcom X's diary and Quran

Now if you find this stuff amazing, you MUST go and see the exhibit because this barely scrapes the surface!

Jonaee's Baby Shower

So on Saturday (the 24th) I went to an old high school classmate's baby shower. This is her third child and I'm like, "WOW"! I don't have ANY children but I haven't even hit 25 yet...that's coming up in July...SCARY! I'm not married either! Anyway, I had tons of fun catching up with people I haven't seen in years! Check these out! That's me in the pink and the others are all friends from high school.





Looks fun right? Well it was! Her other two children are girls and this is finally her boy and her final child. I'm happy for her and she seems happy. She finally gets her boy on her final attempt...how great is that? :-)

Potential Internship

MAN, American General Life and Accident wants to bring me on as an Insurance Sales Agent or what not but I'm trying to break free from sales. Well, I haven't passed the background check or the credit check yet although I don't see passing those as an issue. Anyway, my main concern is whether or not this is for me...what I WANT to do. I'm just not sure. On the other hand, my mom's tax lady and friend is willing to let me intern with her. Isn't that great? It wouldn't be paid so that's a slight bummer. On the bright side, I could earn the hours I need to sit for the CPA exam and that should definitely open doors. Also, I'm still getting unemployment so everything should work out. :-)

Other than that, I've been given the green light to do a college prep seminar for the high school-aged, college bound members of my church (and whoever else wants to come). Another step towards my dream. YAAAAYYY!!! So exciting. My dilemma is whether or not I want to do a crash course and later on individual subject workshops or bump the crash course and just do the workshops. I've pretty much decided on the crash course route, after asking about a billion people. I figured it would give them a chance to get a bit of insight on everything and then they could attend the workshops in the areas they feel they need more help. Makes sense right?

Well, that's all for now...until next time.

Head Blogger Opportunity

So I applied for a position as Head Blogger for Alicia Keys’ new “I Am A Super Woman” website. SO EXCITED! I already claimed it and I'm going on a fast next week for it! If I could spend my days blogging, I'd be SO excited. Blogging is what I love to do. I'm a story teller! This would also be my opportunity to move to New York. A dream of mine. I've BEEN announcing how I want a change from Los Angeles and boy would this be a change. Excitement is streaming through my veins. I'm already telling the Lord thank you for this! They're supposed to announce first round interview picks by May 6th (or around that date) and I'm expecting a call. Not only that, I believe this is mine to the point that I'm giving up my job search in anticipation for this blessing. That's where my faith is right now. So, glory be to God!

Lord, don't make me look crazy!

Until next time...I'm gonna have to start on Stage 2...just wait and see.

Oh My! Another Cover Letter!

Man, writing all these different cover letters is getting annoying but I'm doing what I know I have to do! This search is getting annoying for crying out loud. It's just a sign that I'm getting closer to the end. I have to submit my DMV driving report for one position. So, I mailed off the form and a $5 check to get the report from the DMV and now I have to play the waiting game for this report before I can mail off my job application. Any means necessary. Meanwhile, I'm still working the N'crease Youth Ministry at the church. I'm making changes that will help them to get and stay organized. I'm HUGE on organization. Well, I'm going to keep this post short because there's not much to add in regard to the job search. Until next time, be blessed.

Another Job Fair

On Wednesday, I went to another job fair at the LAX Double Tree Hotel. Well, they said it wasn't a "job fair" but that's what it was, an organized job fair. The only possible opportunity that I would remotely be interested in is an opportunity with Goodwill. It was for a Financial Analyst and guess what? I meet the minimum qualifications. YAAAAY me!!! So I left my resume and I'm following the application instructions, which I'll be done with tomorrow, and hopefully I'll get a call back. I just say it's in God's hands and if it's in His will, I just pray He shows me favor. I claim it in the name of Jesus!

On the other hand, I finally got a chance to meet with the Department of Labor about a claim that I filed last July against my former employer, Trilogy Financial Services. Actually, Trilogy was at the job fair and the girl who was monitoring the booth looked at me and said I looked familiar. LOL. Isn't that funny? I didn't give my identity away but I talked to her for a quick minute and left it alone. Ok back to the Department of Labor! The guy I met with advised, off the record, that I look into working with Morgan Stanley or Charles Schwab. I didn't want to work in Sales or Financial Advising anymore but maybe they offer better opportunities. I figure I'll give it a try right? Well, Morgan Stanley didn't have any local opportunities but Charles Schwab had an opportunity in Glendale, CA that I applied for. So, we'll see.

I haven't been progressive with the Red Cross. Just not enough time but I have been working with the youth ministry at church. I really enjoy my position there. I love the young adults at the church! I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I really do! I feel in my spirit that the favor of God is with me and my blessing is right around the corner because I'm a heir.

Back From The Job Fair

So I have totally been meaning to post something for a while. I went to the job fair and guess what everyone was offering. SALES JOBS!!! Good grief! It was so annoying and a complete waste of time. Well not completely. I was given some good advice and great feedback about possible other opportunities. One lady at a booth suggested that I sign up with an Accounting temporary agency like AccountingTempts.com (or something like that). She noted that she's done that in the past and many companies choose to keep you on if you've done a good job even after the temporary assignment is complete. I think I just may have to take that advice and see what happens.

On the other hand, I've updated my resume (AGAIN) and I like it A LOT better than what it used to be. The problem is, it's saved on a computer that has a malfunctioning internet connection. Go figure! What I'm going to have to do is save it on a flash drive and email it from a different computer.

I still have yet to hear from any of the companies that I applied with. I guess I'm going to test out my new resume and try the Accounting Temps thing and see what happens. I'll keep you posted.

Other than that, I'm swamped with work for school. I have 3 online classes and the 3rd one just started on March 8th so it added a bit more of a work load on my plate. To top it off, I'm still working with the youth group at church and I haven't really had the chance to focus much on the Red Cross. I'm doing my best to juggle all three and continue to stay focused on the job search. The vegan diet is going very well and if you have any suggestions on meal ideas, let me know. Until next time, I'm releasing blessings to you all...so go and be blessed.

What More Can I Do?

School has started and I'm back to super busy mode. I've also began meeting with the youth pastor at my church to implement some of my ideas for the youth. I'm really excited and motivated to get the ball rolling. On top of that, I'm volunteering for the American Red Cross (ARC) just for the opportunity to give back. I figured since I'm not working, I might as well do something constructive with my life. So here I am, with my hands in a multitude of pots and I know I'll be blessed for allowing myself to be a blessing to others. Just to give you an idea of my schedule, I went to a meeting at church yesterday, I'm going to Bible Study tonight, and I'm going to the ARC on Friday to meet with them. Next week, we have the job fair on Tuesday and in the middle of all of that, I'm still going to the gym regularly, studying for my online courses & doing assignments, and applying for jobs. There's not enough hours in a day!

My mom gave me some much needed encouragement last night to never give up and keep expecting the Lord to step into my situation because I'm really doing all that I can and all that I know to do. I keep asking myself, what more can I do? But honestly, I don't know the answer to that. So I'm still expecting a blessing.

All in all, I'm really STILL enjoying life and enjoying the opportunity to be a help to others. I feel like everything I'm doing is in God's plan.

All Over The Place Today

Good news! I called the automated service at the EDD office and I was told my check was mailed today! Yaaaay for me! Did anyone feel the earthquake today? The news on channel 11 reported that it was at a 3.6 magnitude. Not bad! I know, that was random. So yesterday, I applied to like 10 jobs with my freshly revised resume so hopefully I'll hear some feedback. I have great expectations.

On a more personal note, I have decided to live on a vegan regimen because meat and diary are way too fatty and eliminating that could lessen the probability of heart disease in the future. Monday will mark one week! And although I understand that it has not been that long, I am not having as hard a time as I thought I would. It seems easier than regular dieting because it's extremely clear, you cannot eat meat or dairy products. Whereas with dieting, you don't necessarily have to cut specific foods out of your diet but it's more so about portion control and monitoring your consumption. The whole monitoring thing is difficult for me! I understand you still have to eat healthy but that's not an issue because I'm finding myself eating a lot of vegetables and soy products (which surprisingly has more protein that beef). I've been doing more and more research about my dietary options and finding various vegan restaurants. I'm enjoying it so far and I don't really miss meat. I have some folks out there who doubt my ability to sustain the diet but I'm going to continue to pray for strength and I'm just going to let my willpower control my mind and stomach. Mind over matter right?

Back to the purpose of this blog...my job search. Today has not brought forth any changes. I am beginning to be more specific in my search because before, I would apply for almost anything I knew I wouldn't mind doing. But now, I'm going with an attitude that I'm not going to settle. So, I'm only applying for jobs that I want. I'm not being unrealistic...I'm only applying for entry-level positions because I understand I don't have any experience. You know what would be cool, if I were to get a government job working in finance. They have great salaries and excellent benefits. Those positions are so hard to come by but I serve a God who can do anything. So I'll pray and continue to stay steadfast. I'll continue to apply and thank God for it.

As The Search Continues

I'm sick of people accusing me of quitting my job because I wasn't strong enough to endure the pressure when that truly wasn't the case. I really put my best foot forward but I'm a person who deserves to have a job that I enjoy or at least don't mind doing. Over time I've simply grown to learn that sales just isn't for me! Simple as that! I have truly just taken the time to learn myself and who Racquel is. I think I got it! One thing I'm missing though is my unemployment check. I have no idea what's going on and good luck trying to get in touch with them! Thank God I have a mom that can help me out. Hopefully my tax refund gets transferred to my checking account soon!

On a more positive note, I've been getting some great advice from a fellow Trojan who's the Director of Finance at Yokohama Tire. He has taken out the time to review and critique my resume and even referred me to a list of recruiters in the OC. I'm forever grateful and I will take his advice and prayerfully, that'll get the job done. I pretty much scratched the old resume and started over. He told me to make it more geared specifically toward the Financial Analyst sector so that's what I did. I added an objective and I revised my bullet points. I also added a section highlighting my skills.

I found a job fair in Ontario on the 2nd of March that I'm definitely planning to attend. Sometimes it's good to have the opportunity to talk to recruiters face-to-face because it gives them a better sense of who you are opposed to reading a name on a piece of paper. You know what I mean? Keep me uplifted in your prayers as the search continues.

Life's Unfair

Most of the jobs posted on many of the job posting website (i.e. Monter.com, Hotjobs.com, etc.) require experience I don't have. What do I do? I want to break into a new industry and I don't have experience! It's like a catch 22. You want to get experience but you can't get the jobs because you don't have experience. That's terrible! And the funny part about that is, you could probably do a better job than the people who have experience with the proper training. LOL! I guess that's corporate America for you! It's a little unfair but what can you say? Life's unfair!

I really want to start my own business. A nonprofit organization for youth. I can't even afford to do the necessary filing with what I'm currently working with. Glory be to God anyway! I know I'll be blessed. I'm just passionate about helping out other people who lack the necessary direction to succeed in life. And although I'm not really where I want to be, I understand my mistakes and I want to deter other young adults from walking into the same traps. Especially my young black brothers and sisters. There's not enough of us at prominent colleges and universities and that needs to change especially when we are afforded all the same opportunities available to every other high school senior in America. If I have to be the one to give them the push, so be it.

Other than that, I want to travel in the near future. I want to head to Europe! The only country I've set foot in other than the great U.S. is Mexico. Mexico was fun and beautiful but I feel like it's still too close. I want to go far away for at least a week. I've got my eyes set on Paris or London or somewhere like that. I'll even go to an Asian country like China or Japan. That sounds fun! One step at a time! Now moving on to networking and working on that Accounting or Finance job. Until next time...God bless!

What's Taking So Long?

I get really frustrated in my current job search. I've been unemployed since July 2009 and I'm STILL on the lookout. I've never had this tough of a time finding employment and I'm beginning to wonder is it me. Seven months is a long time being unemployed. I really want to jump into another industry because every since I graduated from USC in 2007, I've had a job around some type of Sales. I'm tired of Sales and to be honest, it doesn't make me happy. Everyone is always talking about the income potential in sales but I've come to learn that money isn't everything. I've never had a job where I was completely happy.

My last job was as an Investment Executive at Trilogy Financial Services. To be honest, that was just a fancy title for the Entry-Level Financial Advisors. That was the second Financial Advisor position I had and they made A LOT of unfulfilled promises. They told me about how fun and easy it would be and made the job look like Candy Land and you know, I should have known better but I was really looking forward to having a career I enjoyed so, I fell for the "okie doke."

After the countless headaches and breakdowns from not being able to produce the level of sales required, I found myself becoming counterproductive. In the end, my manager let me go because I simply could not handle it. Now let me back up, we were required to solicit business from our family & friends and eventually do business on a referral basis but what my colleagues failed to realize is, my family and friends are not from privileged backgrounds and most can't afford or were unwilling to make the financial changes that I would present. But I made that clear even before we started and they promised they would help me overcome this dilemma. Maybe they didn't believe me or maybe they thought they could change the minds of my family and friends. They soon learned that what I confessed in the beginning was the complete and utter truth and I was penalized for not being able to perform. How awesome is that? It's not like they gave me the freedom to generate my own leads! They had one way of doing it and I was told to stick to it. So unfair!

So now, I'm on unemployment, my second round as a matter of fact, and I'm still searching. I've looked high and low and submitted my resume to countless companies but to no avail. And this whole process baffles me because I thought by going to college, I would have some advantage. I graduated from USC for crying out loud. It's one of the top universities! And I know my potential. I know I could be a great addition to someone's company! I am surely as good as it gets with numbers...I'm not saying I know everything but I learn very quickly. I've always been good with numbers! I went to Calculus Camp for crying out loud. Yes, Calculus Camp and I had a ball! I know one thing, I was one of few in my high school to get a 5 on the AP Calculus AB Exam so there! As a kid, I could teach myself from a math book with no problem and I'm sure I am still capable. I just want a job working in either the Accounting or Finance industry but something unrelated to sales. I've had too many bad experiences with sales and it will take a WHOLE LOT to get me to go back there!

Another thing I'm working on is getting my CPA certification. I was a business major at USC but I didn't take enough Accounting courses in order to be eligible to sit for the CPA exam. So I enrolled into a special program designed for people like me (with a college degree and want to take the CPA exam) at Santa Monica College. I'm going to school online so that when I do get a job, I won't have to worry about scheduling. All I need now, is the Accounting experience and I'll be good to go with the CPA exam. Pray for me!