Category: Acrchives

Check out everything from the first three years of Project Kinect

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The What and Why to Human Feng Shui

While I was in Las Vegas, I got a chance to talk with Justin from the Ethiopian Community Development Council, INC(ECDC),  about the Human Feng Shui Project.  What this is set out to do is to successfully place refugees into American Society here in Las Vegas.  We talked a lot about funding, help from both the state and local government which is practically non-existent and also contributions from the casinos because essentially, these refugees are going to work in them and I feel that the casinos have a social obligation to help out their community.

I also asked if there were being any agreements made about housing the refugees in some of the empty houses that sit in Las Vegas after the hit the city took with foreclosures.  The empty houses unfortunately don’t get used for and such purpose but there are some amazing financial assistance programs though to help them get to first time home ownership. When it comes to immediate housing, there are a certain number of apartment complexes that offer lower rent through the different organizations.

I also asked about the success rate of full families versus single adults.  The single adults tend to adapt better to our society.  We got on the conversation about the children and how do they adapt with this change.  I’ve included that in this edited version of the full interview.  I ask that you take a look into these programs in your communities because these refugees are coming to America because they want a new life; They want to be American because they no longer have a life behind them.  If you want to learn more about this organization as well as others like it, please check out the African Community Center of Las Vegas.

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My Team at Starbucks

Last week I said good-bye to Starbucks.  I had the opportunity for the last two years to run a Starbucks coffee shop in the basement of the Twin Towers Plaza in Century City.  This was a magnificent experience that I still am shocked I got the chance to do.  Being in the basement of these office buildings, I only had business to those people whom worked in the buildings and because of that, form excellent relationships with them because they were the only people I saw day after day, sometimes two or three times a day.

Even though the customers are a huge focus at Starbucks, and I will repeat that I had the best customers anywhere, I want to take a moment to commend my team.  They are an extremely talented group of hard working individuals that will conquer so many things in their lives.  One of the reasons that I loved working in restaurants and food service is the ability to work alongside people who are still trying to get their goals accomplished.  In the two years I was able to work with some of the greatest of people working to get to the next level of their lives.  Together we created an atmosphere where anyone could come in, get their coffee quickly, and really have the chance to connect with any other person in our store.  They’re constant eagerness to make the day of our customers, while succeeding in our daily goals kept me going.  I am honored to have met all of them and only hope the best for them.

Thank you to my crew.  You were truly and inspiration.

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Kay, Dina and Monique Chat About Childhood Music

After Isla’s birthday party last Saturday, we were all just sitting around relaxing and these three got on the topic of music, then music in their childhoods, then the male celebrities of their childhood.  It was extremely hilarious to sit there and listen to them go off. 

It’s so fascinating when we thing about the importance of music in our lives.  Since Project Kinect has started, I’ve got into quite a few conversations about music.  It really does carry us through our lives and those emotions of what we were feeling in those moments comes out when we talk about the music.  So much that we almost get carried back to that time and place. 

I look forward to getting into more music conversations as this year goes along because it transforms the people I am speaking to and that transformation is often inspirational.  We must always remember where we can find inspiration.

Well, here are Kay, Dina, and Monique and part of their discussion.  It was loud in the room but you can still hear their conversation.

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Options to Living Life

When I first got to Las Vegas, I went to lunch with Tara’s mother. We sat there catching up and talking about my voyage when she shared a story about her travels through Europe. This story was inspirational to me because it help reiterate one of the many reasons why I am doing this: To help remind me, as well as others that there are other ways to live life.

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Baby Isla’s Baptism

The main reason Project Kinect began in Vegas was because my god daughter’s baptism was being held here.  It was great thing though because it is the beginning of Isla’s life. One of my questions for Project Kinect is how do people become who they are?  Majority of us begin with love all around us, assistance through the beginning of our lives, and the tools to begin accomplishing our goals.   It seems suitable that we start this year off with this baptism to see the love and support that baby Isla has.

This stop also gives me a chance to look back at the last ten years and see the journey I have taken to get where I am now.  When I moved to Vegas, I still had many lessons to learn and far much more to learn about myself.  I was lucky to quickly meet a great new support system who became my urban family.  It is a great reassurance that family is not just the people we are born into, but also the people who come into our lives while we are on the journey. These pictures definitely show how this evolves with time.

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In the Car with Dana Nicole

Last week, as I was getting all set to leave Los Angeles for Project Kinect, I got a chance to so some podcasts to promote the project.  One of the podcasts was Langdon Nation and when I was all finished, the lovely Dana Nicole Brooks gave me a ride home.  We got to chatting about acting and the love of acting and how it is impacted by Hollywood.  There are a lot of compromises that happens to the craft when it comes to making films as well as benefits.  We talked about those and then continued to get into a discussion of how do we stay sane in Los Angeles while in the middle of the set? What do we do for ourselves every day to make sure we can keep our integrity and continue on the path to conquering our goals? 

Toward the interview, I asked Dana Nicole what she consistently goes back to ensure that she is getting her inspiration and feel she has went back to basics.  This is her answer.  A fair warning, she sometimes uses an adult vocabulary. 

 

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Discussing Online Dating

While I’m getting ready to leave Los Angeles, I’m getting a chance to see all of my friends before I leave. This last Saturday, I got into a conversation with Nephresha about the relevance of online dating. Online dating is still a very adolescent concept ans yet we, as a society, have really added it to much of our single lives.  Nephresha, like majority of working single America, finds herself looking for love and companionship with out the time or convenience of going out and taking the chance of meeting Mr. or Mrs. Right.

 

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33rd Annual Firecracker Race

I was in Chinatown this last Sunday for the 33rd Annual Firecracker 5k/10k to raise money for literacy in the Los Angeles School district.   It was a great place to be on a Sunday morning and raise some money for a great cause.  I didn’t run the race but my friends Michele and Rhonda did.  The energy was amazing down there, especially with all the children and teenagers that were running.  If you have never done an event where you raise money to run or walk, you really should.  If not to raise money for a cause, then to get together with a group of people all fighting for the same reason.  There is a comaraderie that goes along with the early morning air and the large group of people with the same focus.  In the next year, Project Kinect will bring you to many of these events.  As you see me get involved in these type of events over the next year, please reach out to your communities and see what you can do.  At the very least, pay the registration fee and go on a 5k walk.  It’ll be worth the hour or two.

In addition to the photos from the Fircracker Run, I got some great shots while I was downtown,

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Meeting Shannon in Hollywood

A couple nights ago, I was busy working and as I was leaving Kinkos at Sunset and Vine, I was approached by this young woman who wanted to show me her art.  By approached, I mean she said hello and when I responded with hello and kept on walking, she took off to walk beside me, just as quickly and brisk as I, to have this conversation.   She went on to tell me that she had applied to the California Institute of the Arts(CalArts), and was working on selling some of her art to raise tuition.  Her drive and passion really inspired me so I pulled out my camera and got to know her a little better.  Thanks Shannon!

If you want to learn more about Shannon or maybe have some ways to help her, you can learn more about her here.

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In the Near Future

Can’t wait to be in Austin.  Check out the Association of Performing Arts Service Organizations(APASO)  conference March 7th-10th.  It is going to be a great time to hear about a ton a greatness happening in our arts community. This is sponsored by Austin Creative Alliance.  Check out their websites so you can get fully educated on all the amazing things they’re working on and getting out to the community.

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