There's a little thing called....a DREAM

Lately I've been having the most vivid dreams that seem to be taking me to the other side of the world when I'm asleep. I even dreamt that I worked at a salon that was a 3 station salon and a full bar...it was insane! That's one side, now let's talk about another side of a dream most of us know ALL too well....

10 years ago my dreams were that of an adolescent teen who longed to be accepted by his piers and loved ones, I even wondered how long it would take for me to achieve the sense and feeling of accomplishment in my heart. It seemed so far fetched that instead of wanting to try, I set it aside and kept on going as if it never bothered me, I thought, "Maybe if I just don't pay attention to the necessary, it'll work itself out"...

10 years later, present day, my dreams are that of an individual in his late 20's who wants to make the world a better place by showing others that a simple smile can do a thousand things. The harder I work the more driven I get to want to tell everyone that LIFE is not to waste and wither away, LIFE is for growth and for building the best structure you can out of everyday VALUE.

Whether I work with a singer, actor, T.V. personality or an everyday individual, not one person is worth more than the other, everyone in my eyes are as EQUAL as they come. I'm baffled by how the sense of rank seems to put individuals on a higher plane, so far up we can't reach them because apparently, they have others protecting them. Then let me ask this, why even continue to say and act like LIFE is so precious and so important when the complete opposite is being shown? I say, that's SEGREGATION at it's best!

I get it now..that when you achieve a dream, you long to tell others about it and share it as much as you can, yet, it's for others to also see how not only you were able to reach it, rather how are you able to keep up with it and continue to grow from it.

I'll have to say that for me, my biggest dreams were achieved when I was able to help capture a glimpse of happiness to a client who was so down on herself that nothing else mattered in the world. I knew how to fight for the dream of happiness, I knew the pattern to achieve it. So we gave it our best, and needless to say, she is now living what she longed for..her DREAM!

Don't be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so.- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Is Everyday a GOOD day?

LIFE has a whole new meaning for me now than what I was living even 2 years ago...everything from "What time am I eating?" to "Who will I meet today?" and "Is this really necessary?"...it's ALL on a different course and I just happen to roll with it instead of against it, I learned my lesson!

As were ALL human and have our defects, we also have times where even the slightest noise that someone makes can be irritable, or even when someone smiles, we tend to say, "Mmm-hmm! They're too chipper for me!" I admit it, I've done and thought it!

So the question is this,

"Is Everyday a GOOD day?"

In my world, for the most part, it is...but only because I MAKE it a good day. I go to sleep to text messages and I wake up to text messages, mostly for hair and make-up because I'm one boring individual when it comes to my personal life. Nonetheless, I do feel the pressure everyday from ALL angles of LIFE...in what way..well, here we go:

-->Make sure ALL color, cut and extension clients are pleased and happy (2 salon clienteles)
-->Make sure to update ALL my sites on the internet (6 total)
-->Market and advertise Busy Little Queen & Company
-->Pay my bills (love those credit cards!)
-->Keep up with my families and friends
-->Plan for 2 upcoming projects for 2012
-->Last but not least...SLEEP!

This is my basic day everyday, sometimes it can be less, sometimes it can be more! I have to say at times it's hard to focus on others' requests when I have to move forward with my own and I get the urge to turn the other way, although I can't, it's not me. I don't mind pleasing others as long as it's within reason. I have a hard time believing that anything is impossible.

I constantly get asked if I ever get tired of doing hair and/or listen to people...TRUTH be told...

NO!

I chose my LIFE 10 years ago and knew exactly what I was getting into, although I never knew how far one could ever go with it. So this is why with so many of us here in the U.S., right now it may seem like everything is at a downward spiral when in reality it's a double take on how LIFE was getting out of control, too much was being taken advantage of and it was becoming a "Superficiality".

Now it seems like people are taking their lifestyles more into consideration and are really looking at what they need to get accomplished to make their world, their sense of living, a better place. Not to say that because I knew what I wanted I never have hardships, cause believe me, I've been through the ringer and still get those days, yet, I know LIFE is far too precious to listen to the negative when I can make the day into a positive in a matter of seconds.

Focus on the NOW and Leave the past where it belongs...in the PAST, cause EVERYDAY is a GOOD day : )

Someone Like You

All I can say is...if you haven't heard of or about Adele...then you're living in a cave!

I have both her albums: "19" and "21" and they're both amazing!!! She has such talent, such depth, such conviction in her voice that just like Sarah McLachlan, you can feel their pain whenever they sing about it!

I recently attended Adele's concert at the Greek Theater the other night and for one, it was a perfect venue for her, second, she gave such a great show, her storytelling is inspirational, making you love HER that much more, not too mention her thick voice!

 When I heard this song on her new album, it really captured my heart! Why you wonder? Just listen to it, she really explains her loneliness, her need to struggle with the thought of getting over her lost love. At the same time, she's wishing him all the best in the world in his future, yet, she's hoping that he remembers what it's like for her as well. It's a perfect "farewell send off" song. My favorite line in this song is:


Don't forget me, I beg, I remember you said:-
"Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead"

Now you tell me, who doesn't relate to this???! Adele really showed something though that many people don't...UNCONDITIONAL LOVE..true that she had no other way out, yet, I'm sure as bitter as she felt like the rest of us humans do at that moment in time, she chose to showcase her TRUE feelings as well as her TRUE hearts desire and sent the best that her heart was able to send out into the world. Bravery at it's finest!

Something I must say that really took me 8 years to do! Long time yet I have NO regrets when it comes to LOVE...I even sent 2 wedding presents to him and his now wife..UNCONDITIONAL LOVE! I couldn't live with the pain in my heart any longer, I had to make things better not only for me, but I knew that he would be thinking and wondering if I had heard the news of his engagement and  marriage, so to be able to turn the page, I made it known to both of them that I wished them ALL the greatest in their future together..it felt...like weight had been lifted off me..and it wasn't till then that I truly learned the value and action of the saying:

What doesn't kill you...make you stronger!

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE it is : )

Present Lately?

A good friend of mine gave me a great view of a subject matter I had already spoken about:

ACCEPTANCE---->ARE YOU "PRESENT" LATELY?

So many of us are in full acceptance of ourselves, yet, are we actually living in the present and taking everything in as we should?

How do we know if we are?

Well if you're looking like a Zombie these days, and just saying, "Mmm-Hmm, yeah, ok, whatever"...then LIFE is flying right past you. If for some reason there's anger, or you wake up upset with a heavy heart and can't shake it off, yet you feel as if you're in control...something is not equal and present.

The world is on a different path as we speak, but instead of going against what we see and what we have around us, let's make do with what is being given to us and learn to accept what is given to us in the present to make a better future, to learn from any mistakes and repercussions that have been sent our way. We have the ability to get rid of what we don't need, what we don't want there to be.

To question one's actions is common, yet, to question the world's ability, it's more or less better not to go in as deep. Allow there to be thought, allow there to be solutions, DO NOT allow there to be conflict and let it grow.

May WE LIVE in the Present and Accept the NOW, 

so we may LIVE a better future

Retrograde!

This is the exact definition of "Mercury Retrograde" according to www.astrologyzone.com:

At several points throughout the year most of us will be bombarded with the maddening effects of Mercury in retrograde. Mercury is a planet which governs all transportation and communication issues. Mercury is not an emotional planet, but rather a highly objective, truth-seeking one. It rules intelligence, education and truth. When it is in retrograde, some of its power is held back.

When Mercury starts turning in an apparent backward motion, we will start to feel the effects of this event days or even as far as two weeks earlier. When the planet normalizes we will see the tempo of events pick up in our lives as the planet becomes "stationary" and then speeds forward. 

Gemini and Virgo are signs ruled by Mercury, so if you are one of those born during those months, you will be complaining especially loudly. If you work in the industries ruled by this planet such as sales, writing, public relations, advertising, publishing, air freight, the post office or express mail, any transportation industry, from the airlines to Amtrak, you'll also be especially vulnerable to this planet's weird motions in September. (If you are a Gemini, for example, who works in publishing, it's no use calling in for a month of mental health days--you can't escape!) 

Does this sound pretty familiar to anyone??? Um me!

Now, a lot of you are going to say, "You're not supposed to believe in Astrology because you're Catholic-Christian!" I've heard it all my life...well, a little message to the "Nay-sayers":

Y'all think that by me being Gay I'm going to hell anyway so what's the difference in your mind whether or not I believe in other gestures of the world??? Just sayin' : )

Anyway, my close friend Delilah and I always make sure we catch each other  right before it starts and we make sure we plan ahead especially when it comes to our clientele's. Every time Retrograde comes through, our clients want something "New & Improved" and 75% of the time, it backfires on us..it happens EVERY SINGLE TIME!!! She just alerted me 2 weeks ago and I gasped!! I had forgotten all about it! Usually around this time every year, it hits the hardest, and all I can say is, hold on tight! 


I've already seen it all around me in the past 2 weeks, at times, you just have to let LIFE play itself out, we have no control over it to a degree. It's real, it affects the world, and we just have to hang on and roll with the punches..for us hairstylists, roll with the "New & Improved" looks!


Many Blessings to everyone!!!

Laugh Now & Always

In about a month and a half I will be having my 28th birthday, thankfully and God willing! It doesn't sound as bad writing it as it does saying it, when I say it, I pause and Gasp! I'll get over it...hopefully...?!

In the past 3 years, when I turned 25 and on, I've been able to laugh at more things that go haywire than fixate on what doesn't my full attention. I always wondered why I had such seriousness at ALL times, and I found out that I just was never able to let my guard down, that simple! At work, helping out at church, in the recording studio, even watching T.V., it was this shield that I would put up to protect me just in case if someone was ready to come at me. I seriously felt like I was on crack being so paranoid and always wanting to look and behave...PERFECT!

With hours, minutes, months and years, one grows with so much that goes on. What keeps us human though are those times when we have food in our teeth, a booger stuck in our nose, bad breath, when we trip in front of the whole world to see, and one of the top ones: When we admit and accept that we made a mistake! Who would've thunk it (hand covering mouth)!

 Society has made our world to look like we can't do no wrong, yet, that is the first misconception we can ever believe. The world itself is full of mistakes, which makes more room for others to grow and not make it PERFECT, but make it better in order to achieve the next level. Perfection is a myth!

I've worked and continue to work in the Salon scene and Hollywood scene at the same time and let me tell y'all, there is 1 aspect they BOTH have in common: They both have people who believe they're perfect! No one can touch them and they can't seem to grasp what a mistake means...and instead of bowing down and coming back to earth, they stay up in the clouds, supposedly above everyone (yeah, ok!) It saddens me to see that people can't be real--->

*That if you have a Starbucks Venti latte and sip it sloooooowly, that you are some sort of category above everyone....
*That if you namedrop when not asked to, that you automatically climb up the ladder of "Success"....
*That if you actually cut or burn someone, it was the clients fault for "moving" at the same exact time YOU made that mistake.
*That if someone doesn't like your work, you blame them for not having "good taste'....

Well, I'm gonna keep it down and real for everyone, meaning that if you see me with a Starbucks Venti Latte, I am NOT sipping that sucker slowly cause I'm thirsty as all heck and it's gooood! When I namedrop, it's because I'm proud of what I've achieved and I have friends who worked their butts off to get to where they're at, I'm gonna spread the word! In 10 years styling hair, of course I've cut and burned clients, family and friends, it's quite normal, yet, often is NOT normal. There have a lot been plenty of times where LOTS of people haven't liked my work, and guess what...it's OK! There are 6 billion people on earth and counting, go to the next stylist to make you happy in whatever is needed.

As much as I'm saddened to see "Perfection", I laugh at how it ALL seems to be the main goal for people to follow. Laugh when you have food in your teeth, laugh when there's a booger in your nose and you're talking to everyone and their mother, laugh when you trip in front of thousands of people...

Laugh Now & Always!

Forgiveness

Much of Sarah McLachlan's latest album, "Laws of Illusion", was inspired, as she puts it, "By the demise of her marriage". The greatest songs come from pain, as a songwriter myself, I concur! 

I remember when it was announced years ago that Sarah was going to have the 1st of her 2 children, and how excited she was to become a mother...I called my sister and said, "Oh great! This means she's happy! The new album is gonna suck!" Little did anyone know that unfortunately, midway through her pregnancy, her mother passed away from cancer, yet, she was going to give birth in a couple months to LIFE...this is where her following album, "Afterglow" came about and when I heard what had inspired her songs, it was heart wrenching! Yet, some of her best songs came from LIFE, that is until I heard the newest album, which is her best work to date! Unfortunately, it came at a cost..sound familiar???

"Forgiveness" as you'll hear her explain it is about the end of a relationship...which I've talked about before in my own experience in a previous blog, but this is a different side of loss. This is when YOU yourself have already accepted the loss for what it is and what it came to be, and you don't want to live with the guilt, you just don't want anything to do with what you lost, you're saying, "I'll learn to live with it, just don't come back anymore to remind me!"

I've been told before to face LOSS and FEAR head on to fully understand the terms and conditions they come with...and as much as it hurt everytime to come to the realization of it all, the more I was able to learn to accept LOSS and FEAR and the more I was able to say, "Damn that hurt! Ouch! Ok...now, I'll live another day and see how I feel then". Was it that easy? NO...Did I have a choice? Not really, only to move on. It does get better, not right away, but it does in time. 

If anything, I've been able to continue to LOVE what I've lost, for it was once at my reach and I was able to enjoy what once was..look at it with confidence that you'll find something better out there, you're destined for better opportunities with better outcomes, it just takes a setback to get ahead sometimes.

You don't have to forgive to move on, you just LEARN.

When Holding My Hand

In my singing days, I used to come up with some of the weirdest lyrics that would pop up in my head and put a melody to them and the rest would be history...yet I used to put so much pressure on every lyric and then I would be asking myself,

"What if everyone hates it? What if I don't make sense? Then I won't ever want to make another song again!"

This is what happens when "ART" is involved in a daily life! Although, now, I'm so much better with balancing my thoughts and especially most aspects of my crafts! Just the other day I had mentioned it to 2 of my good friends that I was wanting to get back to writing another set of original songs and record them...as one of them put it, "That takes up a lot of your time"...she's right...then again, if I go slowly...I can take my time and put out something worth while and worth listening to...

So now, here is the first of many songs that will be coming to LIFE hopefully sooner than later...

Enjoy everyone!

When Holding My Hand

You say that it's a better place

To linger in my heart,

You say it's a comfort 

You don't feel 'torn apart'

Then as you get what you need,

You follow your path with LIFE

As it should be.

One day 

I will show you LOVE

When Holding My Hand,

One day,

I will give you LOVE

When Holding My Hand

One Day.

Your smile says a thousand words

It speaks to my heart,

I didn't know what was

Until you gave it a jump start,

Now, it needs you 

Like a night sky to the stars,

I can still see you shine

No matter how far you are.

One day 

I will show you LOVE

When Holding My Hand,

One day,

I will give you LOVE

When Holding My Hand,

What will come of us 

Only time will say and show

When Holding My Hand,

One day.

I better say it now

Before LOVE shows up,

I better live it now

Before 'the goin' get's tough',

Though all I know,

All I can show,

Is what you'll feel

When Holding My Hand.

-Erik Velasco-

~BLQ Music Production 2011~