I'm a Three for Three in White House Tweetups!

Yippee!  The White House has selected me to attend the March 14, 2012 Tweetup where the President and the First Lady will greet UK Prime Minister Cameron and his wife for their first visit since the British elections.  This is the third time that I have been picked!  Next month’s event is right up my alley because I have a BA in International Economics degree and traveled to London, England ten years ago during Queen Elizabeth’s jubilee.  Immediately I complete and send my Excel spreadsheet with all vital information because I will be front and center. 

Get Recruited! Book Review

            Ever wonder why you land many interviews but never a job offer? You haven’t seen the process from the recruiter’s perspective.  There’s a difference between job searching and recruiting.  The former is uploading your resume on Monster, CareerBuilder and Indeed.  The latter means cultivating relationships and developing a brand.  Get Recruited! supplies superior insight to increasing your visibility by tapping into the recruiter’s world, a hidden job market of unlisted positions. This book goes beyond burnishing your resume, by helping you network with recruiters, like-minded professionals, create a career advisory board, media kits, business cards and find mentors and sponsors. Mentors and sponsors are meaningful because you’ll need them at every career stage.  When change jobs or receive promotion, you must find new ones.  Graham also says that media kits, business cards and branding specialists aren’t only for Fortune 500 firms. Use them to create your own branding strategy to find the job that you want. Finally, the author shows you how to use various networking levels (friends and family, volunteering, social media, past jobs and organizational memberships) to expand your current network.  Ultimately, Get Recruited! succeeds where other texts don’t by getting you unstuck.  What more can you ask for in a career management book?

Saturday Night at Policy

            The reason why I decided to eat Policy was because that screenwriting instructor advised to ‘get a life and go outside when all of your characters sounded alike.’  I was truly against surrounding myself with broke hipsters who used to live off of DuPont Circle but since the Great Recession now lived off of U Street, I made the trek up 14^th and T streets NW at 10pm and it was a madhouse!  There were people lined outside of the door!  Luckily, I had a reservation or so I thought.  I told the male host about mine and he disappeared for 10 minutes.  The people kept coming crowding the small waiting area.  The security guard asked me for ID which was extremely ghetto.  I could dine at Palm or Bourbon Steak without showing ID and they are five-star restaurants!  I had to chase down the female hostess and snag the booth.  My tables wasn’t bussed because the staff was spread thin.  At least I got a sheet. I asked my waitress for recommendation and she mentioned that the chicken wasn’t small plates but everything else was.  Then I inquired about the olive and she said that was a good choice.  Now I loved olives but not the full bushel of them!  I sat there thinking there was no way Policy could make a profit giving three pounds at $1.99 a piece!  Sheesh!  Next was the chicken with mashed potatoes were excellent.  What wasn’t excellent were all of the wannabe people there.  They were my age but unlike me didn’t have the disposable income.  See, I was a professional; whereas, they were support.  The men walked around in Men’s Warehouse shirts and the women paraded around in Limited dresses.  These items you typically didn’t see in my neighborhood!  My meal was actually so I considered desserts but after waiting 15 minutes for my waitress, I declined asking for my check!  I paid and returned back to my humble abode.  Next time, I will simply go for lunch and save myself to Cititrends drama or people posing without any real income!

Last Night at El Centro D.F.

            I am back at El Centro DF because I craved Mexican food and familiarity.  Though Opentable.com had Policy reservation, I refused to sit amongst all of those broke hipsters.  I knew that I made more money than they did.  Just ordered my Jalisco shrimp and crab dinner and ate in peace!  I walked up to the restaurant where the hostess initially assigned me to ‘the downstairs dungeon.’  I barfed telling her that I preferred sitting on the ground floor.  The downstairs wouldn’t be bad if the steps were wider.  If someone was going in the opposite direction, you must stop.  That was hard when you were on an incline.  I ain’t breaking my ankle over no food!  Okay so the lady seated me right across from the men’s bathroom.  Whenever it was in use, the bright light hit me.  I felt like a pre-midnight Gremlin, I claimed victory by not being seated in purgatory!         

            When the waitress brought me my Jalisco meal with the plantains and cilantro rice, my eyes expanded liked one of those cartoon characters.  I was in disbelief that I would get all of that food for $15!  It was bigger than the family-sized HungryMan TV dinner.  It was yummy, too!  Also it’s so colorful, I should had brought my camera!  This reminded me to buy the USB cable chord from Amazon ASAP!  Though I could not eat the whole thing, I made a major dent into the plate.  I finished off one soft taco, ½ the plantains and ¾ of the cilantro rice!  I prided myself of consuming that much food!  Major gastronomical feat!  I should had taken a bow of over it!  I had the waitress box the rest of my meal because plantains would be wonderful for tomorrow’s breakfast.  Exiting El Centro D.F. fat and happy and carefree from today’s world wind day. 

No, You Can't Pick My Brain: It Costs Too Much Book Review

            The global workforce is in flux.  Workers, used to staying at one job for 30 years, is vaporizing.  They need flexibility and portable because this is a knowledge based economy.  Brain not brawn is the order of today.  Workers must acquire the skills that’ll help them stay afloat in choppy career waters where the sharks circle them.  Adrienne Graham’s No You Can’t Pick My Brain serves as the blueprint for maneuvering in this new paradigm for retaining your knowledge for your benefit.

The Week That Was

Attending the White House Tour and covering the White House’s State of the Union Tweetup made for an eventful week. The tourists aligned outside of Hamilton Place behind the Treasury Department; however, unlike the Christmas tour neither camera nor purses were allowed. A man brought his camera and a lady brought her purse. I recommended to both of them to walk across the street to the W Hotel asking customer service to hold it for them until the tour concluded. The nearby hotels housed tourists so they understood. I met with fellow bloggers and others in the line. Walking into the White House, it felt different without the lights and trees. The residence looked naked. I remembered all of the adornment. My group did get the funniest tour guide that I ever had. He admitted that he was a Secret Service man (Who knew? I originally thought, but, then it made since they were responsible for protecting the President. That would be the best Secret Service job in the world!). The group also had a toddler who though made noises, didn’t cry. He was very well-behaved for 45 minutes.

Once the tour concluded, I walked home to drop off some of my White House memorabilia then scheduled lunch at the downtown DC Morton’s Steakhouse. Lunch was divine but more importantly the hostess remembered my name and seating preference over one year later. That customer service made me seriously reconsider the restaurant given that my favorite didn’t accept reservations for 1 anymore. I ate shrimp and scallops plus people-watch. The atmosphere resembled the Palm and every other high-end steakhouse. I returned home getting ready for my second Tweetup. 

This was my second time at the White House and was ecstatic that the Eisenhower Executive Office Building has wi-fi allowing me to carry my laptop there. The security procedure was late so the guards were scrambling. I sat four rows behind because of the rush making my photos blurry. Mind you I never used my wi-fi connection so I was very happy for assistance. Finally, I got the Internet connection and started asking my Twitter followers for more State of the Union questions. Once President Obama started there was so much Internet traffic I was forced to use Apple Safari over Internet Explorer. I tweeted so much that I thought Twitter would put me in Twitter jail. There were so many people retweeting my posts it amazed me that I could paraphrase President Obama’s speech. After the speech ended, administration officials spoke to the bloggers. I didn’t exit until 11:15pm. The 17th street McDonalds closed forcing me to huff all the way to 19th & M streets which stayed opened until 1am. I bought dinner returning home around 12 midnight. 

I was happy that I took Wednesday off to recuperate because I was up since 7am. Usually I worked from 7am to 4:30pm but the White House schedule stretched until early Wednesday morning. When I came back to work at Thursday I was so giddy knowing that I was registered for the Agency’s International Accounts training program. This course expanded my network letting me exploit opportunities in another directorate. I felt that I accomplished so much in my current position and though I loved my Agency, I needed new challenges. The training program exposed me to new stuff. Since it was down time, I also got to reexamine my personal interests. I decided to switch my science interests from physics to biology because I had more classes underneath my belt with the latter. In high school I took biology, botany and anatomy & physiology. NASA’s Astronaut program mandating pure science degrees over social science degrees (I have an economics one.), motivates me to pursue it. While enrolled in UDC and taking calculus III, I learned that the physics majors only had to take calculus II. If I had that kind of math proficiency certainly I could master biology or physics. Most of my math credits covered the UDC’s biology major leaving me only the science part. I ordered Biology Essentials for Dummies and was glad that I had because if I purchased Biology for Dummies it would had whooped my butt. That was too much information and biology required a lot of memorization!

Friday was the Commerce Department Combined Leaders Development program graduation. I volunteered as the floater/usher taking Deputy Secretary to her seat. How cool was that? I wanted to give back because the leadership development program helped me in my career. Tonight it helped me understand that I was frustrated not getting the proper management opportunities on my job so I registered for ServeDC and Greater DC Cares. I possessed project management certification so I was qualified to do the work. After completing the online orientation, I would RSVP for February leadership volunteer program. I would volunteer my way towards becoming a manager or a director. I owed that clarity to the Department’s program. It was very rare that every single day was eventful but this week was the exception.

The Best Time to Blog

This is a very good ReadWriteWeb article entitled about the Best Time to Blog. Enjoy!

Dinner at Lost Society

I ate at Lost Society off of U Street tonight because next Saturday the restaurant is the destination after the Young Guru Gilt City DC event. I mistakenly RSVPed for tomorrow because the hostess honored my reservation allowing me to dine there. I was happy that Lost Society still offered Restaurant Week one week afterward. I ordered the lobster quinoa, Parpardelle pasta and chocolate and butterscotch cookies with gelato. I loved all three dishes and immediately after finishing up my meal, I found the manager asking about the Gilt City DC details. I made a RSVP guaranteeing a smooth transition from the studio to the restaurant. The deal mentioned only light hors d'oeuvre I covered myself by placing a dinner reservation. Overall, I thought that Lost Society’s ambiance would complement Gilt City’s event. I cannot wait!

Masa 14 Dinner Restaurant Week Review

I went to Masa 14 for my final Restaurant Week meal because I saw the Kung Fu Chicken. Anything named that was worthy of a try. Since it was on 14th street instead of either downtown, DuPont Circle or Georgetown, I didn’t think that I needed to reserve on Opentable a day before; but, I was wrong. I called the restaurant for 8pm. I wore my black Neiman Marcus cashmere sweater, black Armani Exchange jeans and black Nine West booties there because I wanted to stand out against all of those low-rent hipsters. I was right. I looked way more polished than these peons. Well, I started ordering and first up with the Masa chicken salad which I loved because it had more chicken than salad. Second was the okra and chilies which was okay but the dish contained more chilies than okra disappointing me. Third, was the Kung Fu Chicken, the reason why I dined there. It was very good not tasting like generic Chinese food with MSG. The dish tasted like an actual chef created it. Finally, there was the banana cake dessert. It was moist and delicious! I would return to Masa because unlike other small plate restaurant, I left full which was wonderful because I had no desire to cook after returning home.

Thoroughly Enjoying the Brief January Warm-Up

The nice 65-degree weather (I don’t care what anyone says about global warming. I need this after that bone chilling cold weather earlier this week!) has made me put on my salmon pink Ann Taylor dress and Stuart Weitzman Mykonos sandals running all the way to McCormick & Schmicks off of F street for salmon rigatoni! I need this and an earlier nap to refresh my legs! I think because I have run so fast that the blood in my brain couldn’t get any oxygen forcing me to take aspirin. However, it is very rare to have a mid-60 day in January. Tomorrow it’ll be colder so enjoy it now!

2011: Notes at the End of the Year

This has been a very crazy but productive 2011! Here’s what I have learned this year: • Change is the only constant • Regardless of income always have an emergency fund • Become more financially literate by knowing what’s in my retirement • I am more resilient than I give myself credit • Holding grudges are counterproductive for my health and happiness 2012 will be a very good year because I have finally realized what I am doing and am ready to take it to the next level. I will live my life to the fullest by becoming more creative. I will also resolve my living situation, remove any and all grudges and increase my productivity by earning my PMP and SAS certifications and start my own business.

Celebrating New Year's Eve 2011

I ate at McCormick & Schmicks this evening. I have a lot to celebrate this year. Regardless of my personal life, I have managed to earn my CAPM certification in the middle of an earthquake! If I can achieve this distinction during a natural disaster, certainly nothing can stop me in 2012! Cheers!

Wishing Everyone a Very Merry Christmas!

I am wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Financially Speaking

Finishing the analysis and valuation for stocks final has taught me a new set of finance skills. I am better equipped to decide my future including retirement. I am developing investment strategy which’ll provide me with more income. Since next year, I’ll deal with more intellectual property with songwriting, magazine articles and TV pilot. Moreover, I can read financial statements, calculate ratios and uncover deals. I will do these checks on firms that interest. Next year I’ll celebrate my 10th year MBA reunion and even with marriage and child rearing I’ll be sitting on a Fortune 500 board by my 20th year MBA reunion. Tomorrow I will open a regular savings at PNC. I’ll deposit what I can into it. Right now I want to create a habit. The statement savings requires $200 floor and my life isn’t stable enough for this account. Once it does then I will upgrade accounts. Right now I want to create a savings habit. In addition, I want to reconcile then close my HSCB account because I am no longer using it. Furthermore, I will read my retirement statements and reassess my diversification because it will start working for me in 2012. I’ll fax the HQ office for more 2012 investment information because I make my retirement decisions over the Christmas holiday break. Thanks to the two finance courses, I will be more astute next year. I have taken analysis and valuation of stocks to decipher venture capital deals and become an angel investor. I possess sufficient business knowledge to advise new start-ups. Acquainting myself with the value side will help grow businesses. I am also big on microfinance because I know that offering small businesses these small amounts stimulate the economy pulling America out of the recession. Next year, I will focus on realizing all of my business goals.

Good News

I have a multitude of good news. First, my George Patton Memorial Scholarship check is in the mail and I should receive it by Tuesday. I have pestered HQ for nearly one month over $200. Still it is a scholarship and I have earned the money. In even bigger news, I have won a personal victory which I cannot comment on only to say that I am very proud of its results. I can breathe and enjoy Christmas, New Year's Eve, MLK Day, Presidents' Day and the Cherry Blossom Festival. Most importantly, I can be still listening to intuition. Tomorrow I will restart my project management studies by purchasing another notebook, buying PMP Certification for Dummies and Headfirst.com PMP Certification books, rereading PMBOK and start reading PMI Scheduling practice guide. I have three months giving me more than enough time to focus on obtaining my PMP certification. Attaining the PMP separates me from everyone else; and, that's exactly what I want. In addition, I will pay the SAS' base SAS certification e-course tomorrow because I know that I can master the material WAAAY before March 2012 when Rockville holds its base SAS certification class. I want to do more than stand out! I must be ahead of the curve! Come spring, I will possess two certifications. My future has become brighter and there is no limit towards achieving the life I want to live.

White House Tweetup Photos

Here are the Monday, December 5, 2011 White House Tweetup photos

Eisenhower Executive Office Building

Eisenhower Lobby Christmas Tree

Brad Cooper

Macon Phillips

White House Holiday Open House and Christmas Tree Tour

White House Holiday Open House and Christmas Tree Tour
I follow the White House on Twitter and when it posts the Tweetup link, I click on it registering for the event. I am thinking ‘What the heck?’. The last week of November I received an email saying to respond by noon; however, my boss and I were so busy with the deadline that I didn’t see the email until 12:15pm. I feverishly completed the registration form praying that the White House would had penalize me for my tardiness. When I received the confirmation, I jumped for joy running out to buy a new digital camera specifically for this event.

The instructions told us to meet at 17th and State Place NW to pass security before entering the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. After going through the turnstiles and obtaining our passes, we walked through a maze from the Eisenhower building to the South building where lo and behold there was no wi-fi for the Tweetup. Luckily, I had my small notebook where I jotted down notes and photographed all of the White House staffers: Tina Tchen, the First Lady’s chief of staff; Brad Cooper, Executive Director of Joining Forces non-profit; Jon Carson, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Engagement; Aneesh Chopra, Assistant to the President for Technology and US Chief Technology Officer; Macon Phillips, Special Assistant to the President and Director of Digital Strategy; Laura Dowling, White House Florist; and, Bill Yossess, White House Pasty chef. I asked Jon Carson about if the Administration considered nationalization the $50 billion infrastructure program to reduce unemployment like FDR did with the New Deal and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Carson thanked me for mentioning the American Jobs Act provision then explained that FDR didn’t solely rely on the federal government to create jobs. He partnered with private companies to hire workers when unemployment was 25%. He also mentioned that President Obama was trying to broker the same deal with the American Jobs Act.

The Tweetup ended with all of the participants leaving the South building for lunch and upload photos and post tweets. I ate at Café Soleil right down the street off of 17th street NW. Afterward I walked through Executive Park to 15th and Alexander Hamilton Place for the Christmas Tour. Receiving this invitation was awesome because normally you must contact your elected official to obtain approval for a White House tour. I was on the grounds with the other Tweetup participants and several others. After going through three checkpoints, we entered the White House. Every single room contained Bo, the Obamas’ pet dog. The Florist and Pastry Chef said that Bo was a big factor in the Christmas designs. There was Bo made of recycled material and another one constructed from marshmallows and licorice. Finally, the high school choir sang Christmas carols in the foyer next to the White House front entrance.

This Tweetup and Christmas tree tour were more than just goodwill promotions appeasing people. They were informative granting us access to key White House personnel. The Christmas Tree tour embodied the season presenting ebullient decorations throughout the House. I loved both events and couldn’t wait to register for another Tweetup!

White House Christmas Tree Tour Photos

Here are the White House Christmas Tree Tour photos that I have taken on Monday, December 5, 2011.

The White House Blog Has Published My Tweetup Photo!

Yes! The White House has published my White House Tweet up photo of Macon Phillips on its blog! This past Monday I and 150 others attended the Holiday Open House Tweet up where we met with Tina Tchen, the First Lady’s chief of staff; Brad Cooper, Executive Director of Joining Forces non-profit; Jon Carson, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Engagement; Aneesh Chopra, Assistant to the President for Technology and US Chief Technology Officer; Macon Phillips, Special Assistant to the President and Director of Digital Strategy; Laura Dowling, White House Florist; and, Bill Yossess, White House pasty chef. When the White House posted my picture I was surprised because when I took it, I didn’t think that it was clear. Regarding the Tweetup I asked Jon Carson a question about if the Administration would nationalize the $50 billion infrastructure jobs program to reduce unemployment similar to FDR’s New Deal. He thanked me for mentioning the American Jobs Act then told the room that the New Deal partnered with private companies to hire workers reducing 25% unemployment during the Great Depression. Carson mentioned that the Obama Administration was trying to accomplish the same things.
Attached is the blog.

Something Big is Coming My Way

Change is the only constant and through it is December, I feel that something big is coming my way! For this past week, I have awaken in hustler mode thinking of the next big thing. Even though the New Year is next month, my mind is percolating all new kinds of things. I am very excited at the prospect of receiving a promotion and attending numerous Christmas parties. This year these events are higher caliber than last year. Meeting newer people enables me to expand my professional network. I am ready to break free of the monotony and this is the season for achieving this. Financially, I am in a better position courtesy of my very good performance appraisal and earning my CAPM certification. These two things position me to earn more money. In 2012, I will pass my PMP certification exam allowing me to vie for more senior position. Possessing an MBA and six years’ experience, I am ripe for a manager or director position. I know that by ending 2011 on the right note, 2012 will be a dandy!