Can I see your toes?

Heartbreak of any kind can be like getting dealt a bad hand in any card game. Heartbreak from friendships, relationships or even memories. I think people would never think of having a heartbreak from a memory. But when I listen to Selena Gomez's new song, I think of the heartbreak from a two and a half year relationship that I had with coffee, aka my old job. I saw the signs that it was not going to be my forever, I gave it my all by memorizing all of this towns' coffee orders. I needed to lose that job to find myself, and realize my worth in anything. I would've never honestly thought about losing that job would be as hard as it was. I loved, breathed and dreamt about that job. It was my everything, and everyone around me knew it. When I lost the job, I cried the whole way home, and had no idea what I was going to do with the rest of my life. I contemplated so many job ideas, and nothing honestly made any sense. I had finally gotten a job at a local grocery store, that led me to meeting whom I call my "little sister," and a few other amazing people. After that job, I never in a million years would think I would go back to making coffee for people. But here I am, waking up early again to make people coffee, and loving every moment of it. Yes, waking up at 2:30 in the morning two days a week to open is exhausting, but my coworkers make it worth it. We never honestly realize how much we see certain people during the week until we really think about it. We see our coworkers around 20-40 hours a week, and sometimes that is more than we see our own family. When coming into this job that I have now, the beginning was exactly like my first job, and I saw the signs this time, but handled it in a completely different way; and for that I am completely proud of myself. My first job taught me a lot of things, and for that I am forever grateful but the one thing it didn't teach me, was how to lose the first love of your life. In the end, it did; but not for a very long time. Even to this day, my Timehop is of memories of that job, and I am continuing to choose to not dwell on the past; but man, did I miss a lot of the signs... Being a barista for two and a half years at a place where dreams were made to come true, was exhilarating in some parts. Holiday launches were fun because the flavors to this day are my favorite. Chestnut Praline in my Chai will forever be my staple now. I learned how to work, how to be independent in my own worth and about friendships. I will never forget the friendships I thought I had. But those friendships taught me for future friendships that were similar, and boy do circles just keep going sometimes. I think the thing I miss most is the connections I made with certain customers, and to this day—I will never forget them. This job will forever be apart of who I am, and who I was. Dealing with this heartbreak has not been the easiest, but I am making it. Strides everyday, and every moment. I have some of the best coworkers at my job now, and I am forever thankful for that. Being a barista for some people is just a paycheck, but for me it will always be about connections with people just by handcrafting a beverage or handing them a coffee. I am forever meant to be a barista, and I am thankful God has shown me that. Here's to the heartbreak of my first love, and to many more, but in that it is more of a lesson than anything. I needed to lose that job, to find my true calling—and no matter what I am thankful to be a barista

The signs read mainly the same thing. “God Bless,” “Anything Will Help,” and “Thank You.” Some were funny. Those sign holders seemed to get the most alms. One read “Why lie? I need a beer,” and yet another reads “Give me weed.” The bitter winter wind blew gusts in their faces. That holder raked in the even more spare change. The holders lined up along the street sitting on their sneakers like ogling, crouching statues with their hands on their placards. Tongues dry and cracked and faces scorched from the sun made the way from downtown Newark a challenge for the young business professionals that populated this part of town. Techies who drove to work with plaid shirts and six hundred thousand dollar expense cards passed these men and women on the regular. Most of them gave the standard, cookie cutter answer, “Get a job.” One particular woman, Kenisha Fender, took the time to appraise each sign. Her oak colored skin and her flowing locks made her unmistakable as her company’s CFO.

I’m sharing highlights from my transformation story, and how I am creating FIT Life Creation and the community. I’m sharing how transformation is required to create a life and business you love, too.

Recently a close family member of mine was admitted into hospital where they resided for over two weeks. I frequently visited and at one point even stayed the night next to my relative. It was across the whole period they were in hospital, especially during the night stay, where I realised we do not deserve our nurses. I saw the extent to which these overworked mothers of our NHS went to maintain patient comfort and I felt shameful at the lack of recognition they get.

Your parents have tried to influence your personal or professional life at least once in your lifetime. It happens to all of us, and it’s definitely not something to be ashamed of or angry about. Our parents rarely understand the issue of a changing market, where the demand for different skills outpaces those that were during their generation.

Mood: You know the vibes

When I started Something Wicked Evansville on Facebook, I did it in response to another group rejecting my work. They didn't reject the pieces based upon anything other than subject matter, and only because it was a subject that made them uncomfortable. I was banned from yet another group for telling the truth, so I started my own. In the beginning, my hope was that twenty or thirty people would join and would check in every now and then to see if I had written anything new. I never dreamed Something Wicked would become what we are today, but it is my prayer that we continue to grow.

I wanted to share some of the experiences I've had as a game show host for the show "Fast Lane" at Ferrari World, Abu Dhabi.

If you cruise YouTube, you will come across a similarly named YouTube channel called LordShadrach. Before anyone says anything, yes that is me. However, one will begin to ask, "LordShadrach, why are you now writing as opposed to making new videos? You have like what, over 900 subscribers?!"

Like many millennials, I have, over the years, found myself underpaid, underemployed, and looking for ways to supplement my income. But because of my work schedule, it's hard to take on another part time job. So, naturally, I've turned to the internet. And on the internet? I found beermoney. Beermoney is a reddit thread where people who look for micro jobs, gigs, and passive income come together to discuss ways to supplement income, with little-to-no effort or time commitment. It includes market survey sites, academic research participation, ad income from watching videos, beta testing, secret shopping, and online and receipt cash back programs, among other things. Users post referral links, advice, and their earnings for the month to indicate which sites are useful, and which are scams.

I'm trying to mix it up with my blog posts. While I like talking about dating and such, I don't always want to talk about it. The good news is that there is going to be lots to talk about with dating, I'm sure of it. So let's talk about money and splurging.