Thursday, August 28, 2008

A Lot of Changes in My Life...For the Better!


Ah, so many things can happen in life. But I believe in blessings in disguise. It's time to catch up on what Dania Denise has been up to! =)

So for those of you that don't know, in addition to modeling I also hold down a full-time office job. Needless to say things got hectic from time to time with juggling castings, shoots, and my work schedule. My company doesn't know that I model (I learned the hard way from past experience to keep such knowledge to myself) so at times I ran myself ragged with making excuses and taking time off. If you're wondering why I don't do modeling full time, refer to my past post on the subject. Of course over time things change and boy have they ever!

My boss is a beast...totally disrespectful, doesn't particularly think much of women and we've butted heads since day one. But I bit my tongue and hung in as long as I could (one year to be exact). Well, I finally had enough verbal harassment and decided that it was time to get out and find a part-time job that would provide a steady paycheck but allow me enough freedom to take on as much modeling as I could without stepping on anyone's toes. So I started sending out resumes on my own time. The day me and my boss had our last blowout, I decided to stop being quiet so I complained about him to my other boss. I let her know that I felt unappreciated, disrespected and didn't deserve the way he was talking to me and treating me. I did what no one else at our company had done: I stood up for myself. And I made sure to do it with tact and professionalism. After that day I knew my time there was limited and hoped that a new job would come through sooner than later.

Now in addition to my new goal of pursuing modeling full-time, I also wanted to pursue my art full-time as well. I started my own art business, DDM Creations, last year. I specialize in murals, acrylic paintings, comic book art, illustration, business card and logo design, Photoshop art, and a bunch more. Additionally, being a writer/journalist, I also freelance writing gigs for a few websites (mainly eHow.com and Carefair.com). Well, I got lucky and snagged a job as the Store Artist for the new Trader Joe's opening up just a few miles away from where I stay. With my new job in the bag, it was just a matter of time before I would quit my office job and walk away from the corporate world forever.

Well, my company beat me to it. Upset that I had spoken out against him, my boss decided he couldn't employ someone who was going to "rock the boat." I came into work about two weeks ago, only to be told that they conveniently found someone who could do her job and my job and was more qualified so they were letting me go. Crazy, huh? However, I took it as a blessing in disguise and was very happy when they handed me my last check, which covered me for the rest of the month. I left happy and in surprisingly high spirits for someone who just got laid off. I haven't started at Trader Joe's yet so I've been enjoying the time off.

The saying "when it rains, it pours" tends to be used only for negative situations but in my case it turns out this is also true for good things happening! Soon as I left my job, I suddenly started booking modeling gigs left and right! Lately I've been doing 2-3 shoots a week and now that my schedule is completely open I can now do shoots on weekends, weekdays, early morning, late at night, whatever is needed! As if that isn't enough, I joined a networking website for my art and writing services and have been steadily snagging art projects and writing jobs as well. I've been doing all my favorite passions in life full-time and I cannot tell you how wonderful these past few weeks have been!

It took a long time for me to stop being scared and staying cushy and protected in the corporate world but now that I'm out, I know without a doubt that I'd do it all over again. There are so many shoots I've got coming up that I'll be posting again shortly to let you know all the details!

(The picture associated with this post is of me at my "home office." It's my main hub of all the networking, emailing, and casting work that I submit myself for. It's my favorite part of where I live! I was double checking driving directions before heading to an all-day shoot for a winery out of Healdsburg, California).

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