Angela Naomi

Balancing life and entrepreneurship is different for everyone. I admit that I struggle to find balance. Often I’m told that because I’m single with no kids that I shouldn’t have any problems balancing. Welp, here’s the thing, because it’s only me the tendency to be a workaholic is strong. I am an entrepreneur, a reservist in the Navy, an actress, and a dance and acting instructor. All of that is work. And many times I have found myself doing nothing outside of work. Where is the balance? At least someone with kids and/or spouse/relationship can put work to the side and do something with them.

I have felt guilty for taking vacations although when I think about it I’ve only had 1 vacation this year that wasn’t work or family related. I went to NYC in June of this year for a bit of leisure and to see Anika Noni Rose in Carmen Jones at Classic Stage Company. I even got to spend some time with her while there. Did I feel guilty? Yes, I did. Was I still doing work? Yes. I don’t regret going because I hadn’t seen 2 of my friends in over 5 years. Wondering the streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn with my friends was relaxing. Actually, it was therapeutic. This was the moment I realized how I lack balance in my life.

After my trip to NYC, I had travel to NC, FL, and Bahrain. My plan was to do work while on these trips. LOL! My ancestors had a different plan. While in Bahrain, I was going to complete a training course, but the internet was not strong enough to stream the videos. However, it was strong enough to stream Nettflix. How could I be mad? I binged on RuPaul’s Drag Race and Rick & Morty. The long flights to Bahrain and back to the USA were spent watching movies. Is this what leisure feels like? Yes, yes it does.

Incorporating leisure activities into my schedule has now become a priority. I’m teaching myself to find balance without guilt. As I find this balance, I also realize that volunteering is not leisure to me, it’s still work. So, I don’t count volunteer time as leisure. Finding balance between life and entrepreneurship is a conscious action. I’m still working on it. I schedule it into my day. This is new for me, I’ll keep you posted on the results.

Wanderlust is taking over many. I support it. I encourage it. See the world! Explore your home country! Knock yourselves out. Before I dig into why solo travel is not for me, let me explain my travel background. I’m an Army Brat. I grew up outside of the USA and in 4 different states. Due to my dad’s MOS we did not move as frequently as other Army families. However, we were still away from family and road trips were always on the schedule. College, I didn’t take trips other than the 2 mandatory Teaching Fellows’ trips and a visit to my family in Puerto Rico. I preferred to go home to Virginia to my Granny and Pop-Pop on Spring Break. The years following college, I had a few road trips to Charlotte and NY with my BFF, theater tour (cast total 4), cruise with 4 friends, and 1 road trip to NY with another friend. The rest of my travel has been alone and some of the travel happening in between what I listed was alone. My Navy career has lead me overseas twice. Traveling to Central Asia alone is long and extra long. You read that correctly.

Alrighty now that I have all that out of the way, listen, solo travel is not for me. Don’t get me wrong, group travel is not either. I don’t need 7 people with me. What bothers me about solo travel is the loneliness. There’s nothing exciting to me about exploring a foreign country alone. Heck, I don’t want to explore the USA alone. I know some people who adore solo travel, but when they talk about their previous travel, they did a lot of group trips. Or they’re the type of people who simply love to do things by themselves. Welp, I’m kinda tired of hanging out with myself. It’s been me, myself, and I for years and I’m getting on my own nerves.

I have seen travel bloggers that hype up solo travel. They market it as some spiritual epiphany having type venture. Listen, I meditate daily, I’m good on the epiphanies. They say you can find yourself. Listen, I’m not lost. I know where I am physically and mentally 24-7 365/66. I never lost my groove so I don’t need to go find it. Nobody dumped me so I don’t need a cut my hair and cry in the ocean type trip. Nobody fired me so I don’t need any eat, pray, love adventures. Mid-life crisis? Nah, not having that either. Tired and annoyed by years of group travel? Never experienced that. Yeah, solo travel, that shit is for the birds.

The long flights and drives don’t make solo travel any easier.  I’m not a huge fan of talking to strangers domestic or international travel. Navigating unknown territory alone is not fun for me. Sure, I feel accomplished when I get to use my gift of being a polyglot in training, but it’s a wee overwhelming. And nothing more nerve wracking than hearing an announcement in French or Arabic, translating what bit I can understand, and waiting anxiously for the English announcement. It would be nice to have a travel buddy sharing the anxiety with me.

I did get invited on another cruise with a group of military women I know. It’s a family and friends trip, but I can’t justify paying the price and there’s no casino on the ship and no special amenities that I can’t get on another cruiseline for a lower price. And I damn sure can’t justify inviting a friend who would have to pay airfare to get to Florida on top of the cost of the cruise. But I want to go on another cruise! See why I don’t do groups? LOL!  

As of right now the next trip I’m working on is Christmas 2019 with my best friend. Both of us have had our fill of family Christmases. I have NEVER missed a Christmas with my family, but other people in the family have missed Christmas. It’s my turn to say, “Merry Christmas” from a distance. I love to travel and perhaps in my former life I was a nomad of some sorts. I don’t know. All I know is that this world is massive and experiences, like food, are meant to be shared. I don’t foresee myself taking leisure trips alone. This is not an open casting call for a travel buddy cuz I am picky and remember what I said about strangers? Yeah, a lot of you reading this are strangers. You get in line for a group networking event, I’ll see you there.If we have mutual friends or have met before then we can chat about it.

What are you thoughts on solo travel?

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Extra! Extra! Read all about it! MCA Changes Commission Payouts! Instead of $80 pay on the $19.95 sale, reps will now receive $35. There are other changes so go to TVC Marketing’s Facebook page to learn more.

Yes, it’s true MCA has changed their commission structure and people are freaking out. Even some who have been earning $1000+ weekly are jumping ship. It’s mayhem! Well, to some, it’s mayhem. If you want to stay on board then stay. I’m staying and I have my reasons. If you want to jump ship then jump. But if you’re gonna jump at least land some place that pays residuals and is simple to work.

I will let you make your own decisions and you can watch my Facebook live to get more of my opinion. This blog is simply for easy access to the links.

Global Domains International (GDI): This blog is hosted on GDI. I earn money from them. Free 7-day Trial and then $10/month afterwards. Yes, it’s residual income.  They give you EVERYTHING you need to promote this company. All you have to do is push traffic to the site. They even give you flyers you can print off.  This is a true GLOBAL company. You can sell in any country. Click to Join GDI

Builderall: Don’t sleep on Builderall. MCA reps who are staying you can use this to grow your business. Builderall is everything you need; domain hosting, capture page, autoresponder, and more. Oh, what are the 3 things you need to seriously make money online? Yup, domain hosting, capture page, and autoresponder. You can make even more cash with Builderall by building things for other people. It is one stop shop. There are several other features of Builderall. Go to the site to learn more about the platform and the business opportunity: CLICK HERE

Again, if you stay with MCA please tack on additional income streams. If you jump ship then please land some place with residuals and no quotas so you can rebuild your income and go on from there.

Reasons to visit Atlanta. Hmmmm…. honestly I’ve not had many reasons to visit this city. I had heard tales of this city from my eldest god sister who had gone to Freaknik, but had yet to go. My first trip was 1996. We were traveling from NC to AL to visit my dad; he was stationed at Ft. McClellan.  My sister and I were too young to help with driving so mom had to do it all. We passed through ATL and mom made sure we were awake. She slowed down enough to keep the speed limit while still giving us a glimpse of the setup for the 1996 Olympics. Then that Army Wife put the pedal to the metal and didn’t stop until Alabama. 

I didn’t see the city again until around 2008, I came face to face with the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. WHAT IN THE FRESH HELL? I was traveling from NC to FL in order to visit my parents. The family I was a nanny for had hooked me up with a buddy pass and luckily I was able to get into first class seating. I should write another blog post about my adventures in this airport. Something always happens. Anyhoo, ATL and I met again in 2011. I was auditioning for the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA). I had a great audition then went out to dinner with my HS friend. We ate at Frank Ski’s it was decent. Nothing to rave about. 

The airport and I met some more between 2011 and 2017. Thankfully, my most recent encounter, I was too tired from coming back from Bahrain to even realize if something was annoying. Even standing in the long line waiting for my bag to get checked and holding a lady’s 6 month old baby while her formula was inspected didn’t bother me. The baby smelled like lavender. Heck, I wasn’t even bothered by having to carry ALL my bags from the baggage claim to be checked again for the rest of my journey home.

Alrighty, November 2017, I was in Atlanta for The Fearless Reloaded Conference and stayed at the W Midtown. I was able to hang out with my same friend again. Shout out to my girl Tiffany! jAnd yeah that’s about it. Say all this to say, Atlanta is just one of those cities that doesn’t call my name and I’m usually there for the airport and business. I’ve been telling myself that I would start making it a travel spot due to the Orlando airport and ATL airport being hubs; flights are cheap. Anyone who knows me knows that food is life. As long as I’m fed and had an enjoyable eating experience the entire trip can go to hell in a hand basket and I’m good. 

The gawds and gawdesses must have heard my silent prayers.  A retweet comes acros my TL from a young lady who says she is going on a date with a married man and wanted restaurant recommendations. And she wanted intimate spots without all the hype and flare. This spoke to my soul as someone who likes to eat in peace. While others judged for her dining reasons and company, I scurried down the rabbit hole of her mentions in search of recommendations. This is what I found:

• Rays on the River (Get at table in the back room. Go through the curtain down the stairs and face the river.)
• Henry’s
• Park Tavern
• The Canoe
• Eco
• STK
• Marcel
• Umi (opt for the private room to maintain privacy)
• Hal’s
• Aria
• Restaurant Eugene
• The Optimist
• Copeland’s 
• Watershed
• The Sun Dial (apparently it’s busy but the atmosphere keeps people focused on their business and not yours)
• Six Feet Under (Be not turned off by the name. It’s dim on the roof for an added layer of discretion)
• Cafe Intermezzo (Go after 10pm)
• Marcel (opt for the late menu)
• King + Duke (go to the patio)
• Dantanna’s (Dim lighting and cigar smoking if that’s your thing)
• Agave
• Urban Licks
• No. 246
• Eav Thai and Sushi
• City Winery
• Pashcal’s
• Negril’s Village
• Scales 925
• St Regis (The guy who tweeted this says he takes all his girls who have boyfriends there. He’s yet to be caught.)
• Manuel’s Tavern

Bon appetite y’all!

I miss competing. I miss the preparation. I miss the clothes and the jewelry. Yup, I was a pageant girl. I loved the glitz and the glam. For some strange reason, I felt home on the stage in this element. It was comparable to acting only difference is that I didn’t have a script. It’s been years since I competed in anything. Do I remember how? Of course I do, that was silly of me. 

I’m debating competing in the WBFF Commercial Model competition this summer. And by debating, I mean my mind will be made up probably by the time I publish this blog. This will be a lot of work on my behalf to get in shape. I don’t half step. I’ll keep you posted. Just follow me on Instagram http://www.instagram.com/angnaomi 

WBFF Commercial Model