LaToya M. Davidson-Perez

We did it, we tied the knot. I suppose you could say that we eloped. Or better yet, it was as close to eloping as we could’ve done. Gone was the dream date and time that I had, 12-12-12 @ 12. Gone too was the planning and the stress of it all. I’d been married once before and was equally uninterested in planning the event. This time was very different. It’s not to say that there wasn’t any romance in it. However, it’s nothing like the movies. Arguably, it was better.

I drove myself crazy trying to decide whether I’d hold on to one old school tradition, would I take his name? It concerned me so much that I even wrote an article about it. I felt as though there were still some archaic traditions that needed to be upheld. However, it’s like my husband says, we’re married regardless of what my last name is. Even the night before and the morning of obtaining the marriage license I was a bit of a wreck and had a great deal of anxiety. My then fiance as well as others said that I was stressing about it more than I should. I was still under the belief that it was my duty to change my name. I’m still a Davidson despite sometimes feeling like I did something wrong by not taking his last name. Identity crisis I suppose. Read the rest of this entry »

I am, among a list of other professional duties, an HR Manager. I often find humor in that. Why? Because I love the job, just not always the people. Give me paperwork and clerical things to do and I’m in heaven. Really. I love it so much so that I actually have a business, Davidson Administrative Services, for that purpose. I’ve always been drawn to HR in the same way that I’m drawn to libraries – I like rank, structure, regiment. It wasn’t until lately, however, that I gave more thought to how job expectations have changed and how common courtesy and thoughtfulness is a bygone practice.

When a company hires someone for a job there are many ways that they could’ve done so. Traditionally, one would assume that publicly listing a job may mean that they will not be filling the position internally thereby not wasting anyone’s time. However, that’s not always the case. In today’s economy where so many people are struggling to stay afloat I am angered by some of the practices in this field. It has hurt me to see someone close to me go through the job hunting experience and to be beaten down and taken advantage of along the way. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m sure within less than a week (or maybe two for the more dedicated ones) your New Years Resolutions went out the window. Honestly, most of mine did. While I’m disappointed, I’m not squirreled away overly indulging in ice cream…well, not at the moment. It happens. And the great thing about resolutions is that you can try, try again. I still think that it’s a good idea to set goals. Even if we don’t achieve them in the time that we’d like, we’re still moving forward and persevering.

I often struggle with the lack of motivation. Even though I wish I could always attribute that to my menses, I know that day-to-day the hardships and inconveniences that happen in life makes it easy for you to worry too much about a resolution list. I’m hopeful, usually. And I believe that considering how realistic and attainable my goals are, it’s only a matter of time before I’m back on the wagon. It’s so easy to make excuses. Similarly to the Charlie Peacock lyrics of In the Light, “I am the [queen] of excuses, I have one for every selfish thing I do.” It is rather selfish of me to ignoring things of self-improvement. Read the rest of this entry »