High Rollers!

(Left to Right) Jessica, Denise, Jaleesa, & Brittany while we were shopping.

Some of my closest friends and I took a weekend trip to Atlantic City in November of 2010! It was one of our first trips together, so we knew there was an experience to be had.

 

We were celebrating both Jaleesa and Jessica’s  birthdays. Here are the ladies posing  while on the way to rapper Jay-Z’s 40/40 club.

Hilarious road trip video of Jaleesa doing the Dougie. We picked names out of a hat to see who would drive. Brittany won! Or lost, however you want to put it.

A pic of me in the Sheraton, before heading out to lose every single penny of mine. Even if I only brought pennies with me, I lost each and every single one their casinos!

On the Boardwalk! Wouldn’t it be nice to have this view all the time. I remember when I was younger my g-mommy (grandma) would take yearly trips to A.C. It was good to finally experience firsthand what she loved.

Time flies when you’re having fun!

Wow! Well, hello there Urban Surge and friends! Welcome to 2012! I’m so eager to…

Wait.

Has it really been nearly two years since I last blogged? How unfortunate.

Welp, I’m back! And I’m so eager to share my adventures with you. Whether it’s philanthropy, work, or play, all the details will unravel here.

In the meantime, I have quite a few sexy things to post, just to catch you up on my eventful life since graduation.

In case you’re wondering just how eventful it’s been, my activities included: Gambling in AC, picking apples in VA, jet skiing on South Beach, hiking in Shenandoah, waking up in Vegas, working on Capitol Hill, visiting MLK Memorial in ATL, barbecuing in NC, spending Mother’s Day in SC and so much more…

LOL! We’ll get to everything, trust me.

Advice for journalism majors

Undergrad, complete!

The time has come for me to officially enter the “Real World.” Because I’ve been living in a fantastical one for the last four years…

Not sure about anyone else, but my world has always been real. From balancing college classes and homework, with campus involvement, jobs and internships: to struggling finances, long nights, early mornings, continuous anxiety and eagerness over professional endeavors, etc, real is the epitome of how its been.

Although I must admit, I’ve come pretty far, sometimes I wonder how much easier things would’ve been if I knew back then, what I know now. So to help make college a little easier for my fellow journalism majors, I recorded a quick video. Indulge…

The Hunt Magazine event postings

Here are some more links to event postings in the Delaware area written by yours truly:

New Moon Host Kurtz Exhibit

Get a Birds-eye View with “Tree Houses”

Celebrate Bloomsday

Internship aboard: Media Two

I recently obtained an internship with Media Two, a publishing company in Hampden-Baltimore, MD. It’s an amazing company, with a riveting staff, located in a dynamic building. I mean really, the architecture of this building is breathtaking! It looks like a classic church on the outside, with a current twist on the inside.

Anyhow, here’ s some work I’ve done for Media Two thus far. It’s an event posting called “Dinotopia: The Fantastical Art of James Gurney,” for The Hunt, a magazine in Brandywine, DE. Check it out.

Moving forward, while giving back

Hanging 10ft above the ground, illuminating the street, was a piercing blue light.

Have a heart

Aforementioned in a previous post, my grandmother recently passed away from a massive heart attack. In 1993 my biological grandfather also passed away from a heart attack. I didn’t really know my biological grandfather but seeing the impact my grandparents death had on the family, has caused me to look at the impact it has on America as a whole.

Heart Walk participants making a heart

The number one killer for both men and women is heart disease.  It was projected that this year alone, heart disease will cost more than $304 BILLION, when including health care, medications and lost productivity. So why not help the cause, they’re in desperate need of it?

My mother has been volunteering with the American Heart Association for some years now with the Greater Washington Region’s Heart Walk. This year’s Greater Washington Region walk took place on November 14, 2009 and is 2.9 miles long starting from the National Mall. The Greater Washington area raised an astounding  $1,642,361 in donations this year. And I’m extremely pleased with the fact that my mother is apart of this. I’ve donated before but now I want to… have to do more!

To join the cause, donate what you can and for other ways to help or to  find out any additional information visit their website.

Grammy: Giving more than just awards

Grammy nominations ceremony

On December 2nd the Grammys announced the nominees for their 52nd awards ceremony scheduled to be held January 31, 2010. Singer, songwriter, philanthropist, and actress, Beyoncé led the pack with 10 nods, while pop-country artist and songwriter, Taylor Swift, followed closely behind her, with eight. Other nominees include Jay-Z and Kings of Leon with four nods, Lady Gaga with five and Kanye West with six nods.

While many people follow the nominees and development of the actual show,  many more aren’t aware of the community service  Grammy has done for music that benefits underprivilege children. They have educational opportunities such as:  Grammys in the School, Preservation Advancement, the Grammy foundation and much more.

Recently, the Grammy foundation joined forces with Campbell’s this past August and will be working with them until June of 2010 and donating money to different schools to help maintain great music programs. And one of their most popular programs is the Grammy summer camp, which gives students to opportunity to work with Grammy award-winning artists. They also have an essay competition that awards more than $10,000 in scholarships.

It’s always refreshing to see such a powerful entity doing community service.

Tri Delta for St. Jude’s

The sorority Delta Delta Delta (Tri Delta) is having a fundraiser at the Chik-Fil-A on Joppa Rd. They are raising money for St. Jude’s, a foundation they’ve supported for the last decade. Take a look at the video to see how it all got started and where they are now. I also noticed she was holding a dolphin in her hand, I don’t understand why, but find out with me!

Video Correction: Tri Delta has raised $7 million for St. Jude’s, not the $1 million that was reported in the video.

Tiger Woods: Far more good than bad

Tiger woods playing golf

Today I heard the funniest joke ever about the new Tiger Woods scandal, it said “Tiger Woods should change his name to….CHEETAH!”

I could not stop laughing.

Everyone is so concentrated on his adultery but let us not forget all the good that he has done philanthropically.

Tiger Woods philanthropy has helped children around America immensely. Since 1996 the Tiger Woods Foundation has generated over $50 million dollars.  The center was started by Tiger Woods and his father and has since branched off into many different sectors: Tiger Woods Learning Center, Tiger Woods Action Plan, Chevron World Challenge , Tiger’s Block Party, AT&T National and Tiger Jam.

Unfortunately, Tiger Woods posted on his website that he couldn’t participate in the annual Chevron World Challenge this weekend due to the injuries he sustained in the car accident. “I am extremely disappointed that I will not be at my tournament this week,” Tiger says.”I am certain it will be an outstanding event and I’m very sorry that I can’t be there.”

I remember when Michael Jordan and Bill Clinton committed adultery: They were quickly scrutinized. It’s asinine and disheartening to know how quickly we can negatively change our perceptions of people, despite how much good they’ve done and how hard they’ve worked to build an almost perfect empire. We sometimes forget that were all human and make mistakes.

One minute were adored, the next, were scorned.