Singing in my Diana Ross voice:
Can you feel a brand new day?
Can you feel a brand new day?
(high pitch) can
you feel a brand new day?
I’m free ya’ll! Free from papers being due, late night study
sessions. Well, actually, more like
stress sessions, because really, I graduated with a 3.5 on a wing and a
prayer!
Thank you Jesus!!! Thank you Jesus!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!!
Praise Break:
Pause! Now you know, whoever took this picture of
this old Bernice Jenkins lady getting her shout on, is nothing but
trouble! Some bad church boys in the
pews like, “Instagram! Got it! #praisebreak!”
I rebuke the devil in them, and I rebuke the devil in ya’ll for
laughing! Laughing at that woman getting turnt up for Jesus! Also, another thought, do white people shout in church, too? Or is it only black people who jigga boo for Jesus? Dead! I know! I shouldn't have said that...and on Sunday. Pray for me ya'll!
So, now that I’ve
graduated with my Masters degree, I am suffering from a bit of post grad
school, "WTF shall I do with my life" depression. I don’t know what to
do with myself these days! I will
confess, I’ve started to over consume on television and Internet usage.
I’ve watched 2 seasons of Veep:
I love Selena!! Hilarious!
Currently watching season one of
Luther:
And can’t wait to
start my Game of Thrones marathon:
But the most despicable me moment is, the new love for Tyler Perry's "The Haves and the Have Nots on Oprah's network:
I only watch it late at night, like 1am. Why? I don't know, *kanye shrug*. Perhaps psychologically, I think that I'm hiding this guilty pleasure by watching it alone in the wee hours, kinda like porn. AND, I say despicable, because I pride myself on NOT being a Tyler Perry fan, but really, I think I'm being converted.
Nevertheless, it is most important that I finish the Job Chronicles and yes, THE
BOOK!
When we last left
off, I was explaining the office dynamics of the new PR agency where I was
working. If I can do a corporate
version of Mean Girls, trust me, I would because those heffas were the
epitome of insecure, spiteful, jealous, shallow and hateful women. However, for what its worth, I learned A LOT
from them in regards to the “business”, and for that, I am thankful.
In Public Relations, I've learned, you have to have thick skin. When you're pitching reporters who "act" as though you've hindered their oh so important life with your call to pitch a story when actually, you're helping them out, because really, the art of journalism is fading by the emergence of bloggers! #teambloggers Therefore, journalist, stop playing hard to get or that PR pitching is getting on your nerves when us PR professionals can get more hits off a blogger's site than in your rapidly fading newspaper!
Also, layering on the thick skin is need to accept the unprecedented amounts of rejection, ridicule, constant criticism, deflation of your ideas, not scoring on the big new business pitch and much more. That is typical everyday life in a PR agency. Now, add to that when your co-workers personally dislike you because you're ambitious, beautiful and the go-to-person for the client. I will say this in cap locks THERE IS A DESPERATE NEED FOR MORE AFRICAN AMERICANS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS/ADVERTISING AND MARKETING TO NOT ONLY HANDLE AFRICAN AMERICAN BUSINESS BUT ACT AS MENTORS/SUPPORT TO OTHER AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THESE INDUSTRIES!!!!!
McDonald's has a group of African American owner/operators and that have an association called the, "Black McDonald's Owners Association" BMOA. It is a national organziation of prominent, powerful, and wealthy African American McDonald's owners. When I first started my job, my co-workers built up the BMOA as something to fear. Remember what I said in the previous blog, Fear of a Black Planet. These non African American co-workers made the BMOA sound like the wicked, old, mean and evil group of black people who wanted to destroy their precious white lives by making them do PR programs catering to black Americans. Um, to me it makes perfect sense to cater to black folks, do you know how excited Black people get about McDonald's? Case in point, I reference Eddie Murphy's classic film, Raw!
AND, the admiration for McDonald's was felt in Eddie's other classic, Coming to America:
Say what you want about McDonald's, but you can NOT deny the prescence this family resturant has had on our culture for decades. I stress family because, aside from it being a fast food restaurant, and the calories due to over consumption, it is still a family restaurant. Milkshakes, french fries, Quarter Pounder with or without cheese, no matter what, you have ate McDonald's at some point in your life and while consuming it, you felt effin good! Mmm, I want some McD's fries RIGHT NOW!!!!
Anyways, my co-workers dreaded working with BMOA, so much so, that my director, when I was first hired, insisted that I take the position in "handling" the BMOA, and my responses, "ABSOLUTELY!" I was more than eager, and willing to do so, and over the next two and a half years, the BMOA LOVED your girl, and the more they loved me, the more my co-workers HATED ME!
First example of the hate:
I was in charge of executing the McDonald's booth at a very large African American festival here in Baltimore and DC. Part of my booth was to have a DJ. I was approved to look for a DJ, and I didn't look far because my boyfriend, at the time, was a DJ!!! He fell within the budget alloted to me to find a DJ and execute the event. So, naturally, I hire him! Makes sense to me, at the time.
Well, guess what? After having the best booth at the Festival, and (I'm not just me saying this, McD's regional staff, radio executives, and festival coordinators congratulated me on the success), my beloved director wrote me up. Why? because when she was told, by my co-worker (who snitched me) that the DJ was my boyfriend, it was "conflict of interest".
No one knew he was my boyfriend except my co-worker who recognized his face from the picture of him and I together in my cubical.
Apparently, their concern was, if an Owner/Operators found out (which no one found out) that McDonald's money was going to pay a DJ who happens to be my boyfriend, that would be a bad look for the agency. Okay. I get it. I understand the logic and ethics behind it, but to WRITE ME UP with disciplinary action noted in my file within the first 6 months of my job? No Bueno!
Give me a warning, say, "Lisa, as economically efficient as that choice was, from a client/agency perspective, it was not a good choice, lets not do it again, okay." Well, after that, I just used my boyfriend's brother to DJ, b*tch!!!
Anyways, I had the conversation with one of the BMOA members who not only said it was foul that the agency was treating me that way, but they hired my boyfriend for their son's 16 birthday party. BOOM! Conflict of Interest my balls, well, if I had balls.
I QUICKLY learned, that black people operate differently. We're thrifty and we have this innate responsibility to look out for other blacks. Therefore, we always know someone who can do something for us instead of paying the high prices of a professional.
PLEASE BELIEVE THIS HAS HAPPEND TO YOU (if you're black):
What, your car broke down? Well your uncle Ray Ray got a garage (on the side of his house), take your car around to him, he used to work at the Ford factory back in 78. He can fix your BMW, just give him $100, a pack of Newports and some E&J! Although Uncle Ray Ray may have your car sounding like a lawn mower, long as you can get back and forth to work, we all good! Nope! White people take their car to the dealership.
Oh, you're getting married and need a caterer, girl please your auntie Sylvia can make all that food for 200 people, just give her $85 and fifth of Hennessy and you have all the sweet potato pies and collard greens you can eat at your wedding. Nope, white people call a caterer.
Meet your Uncle, Ray Ray:
And your Auntie, Sylvia
So, now that I've illustrated how the first 6 months of life at my agency started, imagine how the remaining 32 months played out. Many nights of tears, working weekends, working weeknights until 11pm only to be back in the office the next day by 9am, more undermining my efforts, and finding ways to minimize my role not only in the organization, but in front of the client. I was hopeless and alone in a job I LOVED with co-workers whom I hated and their feelings for me were mutual.
This blog wasn't meant to be a bitch session, however, working at that agency was like PR boot camp and an emotional roller-coaster. Granted, I can admit that coming into the PR agency after being removed from PR course work for YEARS, was hell. There was A LOT of techical writing and grammar bombs I was dropping and for that, my director had every right to feel some sort of intolerance. Agency life is too fast paced to hand hold someone who has constant subject/word agreement mistakes and at times gets residents/residence screwed up. Hell, I still do. However, the more I begged for someone to act as a mentor or really show me the ropes, the more they pushed me on the ropes with body blow after body blow until finally, the referree called the fight.
By the way, the irony in this pictures is that although we all love Rocky, really Mr T. could whoop his ass.
After a rigorous budget meeting in late 2009, the McDonald's owners decided to cut the PR budget, resulting in a huge cut in programs, and with that, my director and managing director decided, lets cut, Lisa too!!!
NEXT: McDonald's and the Aftermath
In Public Relations, I've learned, you have to have thick skin. When you're pitching reporters who "act" as though you've hindered their oh so important life with your call to pitch a story when actually, you're helping them out, because really, the art of journalism is fading by the emergence of bloggers! #teambloggers Therefore, journalist, stop playing hard to get or that PR pitching is getting on your nerves when us PR professionals can get more hits off a blogger's site than in your rapidly fading newspaper!
Also, layering on the thick skin is need to accept the unprecedented amounts of rejection, ridicule, constant criticism, deflation of your ideas, not scoring on the big new business pitch and much more. That is typical everyday life in a PR agency. Now, add to that when your co-workers personally dislike you because you're ambitious, beautiful and the go-to-person for the client. I will say this in cap locks THERE IS A DESPERATE NEED FOR MORE AFRICAN AMERICANS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS/ADVERTISING AND MARKETING TO NOT ONLY HANDLE AFRICAN AMERICAN BUSINESS BUT ACT AS MENTORS/SUPPORT TO OTHER AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THESE INDUSTRIES!!!!!
McDonald's has a group of African American owner/operators and that have an association called the, "Black McDonald's Owners Association" BMOA. It is a national organziation of prominent, powerful, and wealthy African American McDonald's owners. When I first started my job, my co-workers built up the BMOA as something to fear. Remember what I said in the previous blog, Fear of a Black Planet. These non African American co-workers made the BMOA sound like the wicked, old, mean and evil group of black people who wanted to destroy their precious white lives by making them do PR programs catering to black Americans. Um, to me it makes perfect sense to cater to black folks, do you know how excited Black people get about McDonald's? Case in point, I reference Eddie Murphy's classic film, Raw!
Anyways, my co-workers dreaded working with BMOA, so much so, that my director, when I was first hired, insisted that I take the position in "handling" the BMOA, and my responses, "ABSOLUTELY!" I was more than eager, and willing to do so, and over the next two and a half years, the BMOA LOVED your girl, and the more they loved me, the more my co-workers HATED ME!
First example of the hate:
I was in charge of executing the McDonald's booth at a very large African American festival here in Baltimore and DC. Part of my booth was to have a DJ. I was approved to look for a DJ, and I didn't look far because my boyfriend, at the time, was a DJ!!! He fell within the budget alloted to me to find a DJ and execute the event. So, naturally, I hire him! Makes sense to me, at the time.
Well, guess what? After having the best booth at the Festival, and (I'm not just me saying this, McD's regional staff, radio executives, and festival coordinators congratulated me on the success), my beloved director wrote me up. Why? because when she was told, by my co-worker (who snitched me) that the DJ was my boyfriend, it was "conflict of interest".
No one knew he was my boyfriend except my co-worker who recognized his face from the picture of him and I together in my cubical.
Apparently, their concern was, if an Owner/Operators found out (which no one found out) that McDonald's money was going to pay a DJ who happens to be my boyfriend, that would be a bad look for the agency. Okay. I get it. I understand the logic and ethics behind it, but to WRITE ME UP with disciplinary action noted in my file within the first 6 months of my job? No Bueno!
Give me a warning, say, "Lisa, as economically efficient as that choice was, from a client/agency perspective, it was not a good choice, lets not do it again, okay." Well, after that, I just used my boyfriend's brother to DJ, b*tch!!!
Anyways, I had the conversation with one of the BMOA members who not only said it was foul that the agency was treating me that way, but they hired my boyfriend for their son's 16 birthday party. BOOM! Conflict of Interest my balls, well, if I had balls.
I QUICKLY learned, that black people operate differently. We're thrifty and we have this innate responsibility to look out for other blacks. Therefore, we always know someone who can do something for us instead of paying the high prices of a professional.
PLEASE BELIEVE THIS HAS HAPPEND TO YOU (if you're black):
What, your car broke down? Well your uncle Ray Ray got a garage (on the side of his house), take your car around to him, he used to work at the Ford factory back in 78. He can fix your BMW, just give him $100, a pack of Newports and some E&J! Although Uncle Ray Ray may have your car sounding like a lawn mower, long as you can get back and forth to work, we all good! Nope! White people take their car to the dealership.
Oh, you're getting married and need a caterer, girl please your auntie Sylvia can make all that food for 200 people, just give her $85 and fifth of Hennessy and you have all the sweet potato pies and collard greens you can eat at your wedding. Nope, white people call a caterer.
Meet your Uncle, Ray Ray:
So, now that I've illustrated how the first 6 months of life at my agency started, imagine how the remaining 32 months played out. Many nights of tears, working weekends, working weeknights until 11pm only to be back in the office the next day by 9am, more undermining my efforts, and finding ways to minimize my role not only in the organization, but in front of the client. I was hopeless and alone in a job I LOVED with co-workers whom I hated and their feelings for me were mutual.
This blog wasn't meant to be a bitch session, however, working at that agency was like PR boot camp and an emotional roller-coaster. Granted, I can admit that coming into the PR agency after being removed from PR course work for YEARS, was hell. There was A LOT of techical writing and grammar bombs I was dropping and for that, my director had every right to feel some sort of intolerance. Agency life is too fast paced to hand hold someone who has constant subject/word agreement mistakes and at times gets residents/residence screwed up. Hell, I still do. However, the more I begged for someone to act as a mentor or really show me the ropes, the more they pushed me on the ropes with body blow after body blow until finally, the referree called the fight.
After a rigorous budget meeting in late 2009, the McDonald's owners decided to cut the PR budget, resulting in a huge cut in programs, and with that, my director and managing director decided, lets cut, Lisa too!!!
NEXT: McDonald's and the Aftermath
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