Tooth Be Told

It's been years since I've last sat in the chair and was under the light to get my teeth examined.

Today was the day at the age of 23, I'm the one setting up the appointment and filling out the paperwork.

The last time I went to my neighborhood dentist, Dixie Dental was in 2011. I eventually went to the U of L dentistry to see about getting braces since I was still covered through insurance. Although, thanks to the busy life I lived being involved in school and the community, I was never 'able' to go back in time.

I literally graduated high school, went away for college, graduated and never had any dentist appointments. Now, six years later I come to the dentist bearing only 5 cavities. In my opinion that's not too bad for someone who as a kid never really had any.

Four of these cavities where located on the top row in the back... two on each side, placed side by side. As for the fifth tooth it was the biggest cavity I had located on the left bottom side of my mouth. My top left tooth was the one that hurt the most and was hard to fill-in.

They gave me a shot and numbed the bottom left part of my mouth. The numbness didn't wear off for me until about 8pm... well I really don't know exactly when because I was napping.

After all these years my dentist Dr. David Waugh, still can't believe I have yet to get my wisdom teeth pulled. They haven't been an issue so why get them pulled now? Is really how I've looked at the situation. I have somewhat of a crossbite and that was part of the reason why I was considering braces. I may reconsidering getting some Invisalign braces soon.

My first trip back to the dentist wasn't bad at all only thing I don't like is the x-ray part and getting 5 fill-ins all in one day... but hey gotta do what you have to do.

*Challenge for myself: Floss more and chill out on the sweets some.

*Note to you and myself: Go to the dentist more often... no matter how "busy" you are!

Down with the Wave🌊

Can you believe it? This girl made it to an entire year working for WAVE 3 News, the NBC affiliate located in Louisville, Kentucky.

It's amazing how much can happen within a year and how fast time flies right on by...seems like yesterday I was stressing about not having a job lined up for me right after graduating college.

I moved back home to Louisville from Lexington and while I waited to get hired somewhere, I just spent my time volunteering at my alma mater Central High School and former co-oping job at Coleridge-Taylor Montessori Elementary which sits across the street from one another.

I could have applied for any job I wanted knowing I was beyond qualified for most positions aside from the ones that required me to have a car. Still, I was determined to find a job that was similar to what I went to school for or something that highly interest me.

Let me tell you all about my journey and how everything came along for your girl, being a recent graduate from the University of Kentucky with a bachelor's degree in journalism (broadcast multimedia). I honestly thought I would never find a job, often times I felt a little hopeless.

Since the time that I applied to WAVE 3 it took almost a month for to be in contact with someone, be interviewed, take a drug test and get hired. I was slightly stressed and very impatient because it seems like my life was riding on this job... money that I had from my other jobs was getting fairly low.

I have been blessed with many opportunities while working at WAVE 3 News. I started working the "night" shift and just within two days as an employee I was already hanging out with people and enjoying some free food.

On my second day during my two hour break I hung out with the evening meteorologists and attended our stations viewing party for the hit show 'America's Got Talent'. The screening was at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, where people were waiting to see Louisville's own quartet Linkin Bridge perform live from Los Angeles.

I was only observing teleprompter for my first few days. Which in a sense I felt was pointless because thanks to my internship at LEX18, our sister station in Lexington I already knew all there was to know. I honestly believe I feel asleep while observing at some point. 🙍🏾 Come that Friday I was left alone running prompter, I believe I did a pretty good job until it came time for sports 'Touchdown Friday Night'. Running teleprompter was so tricky! Glad I had a second chance to redeem myself sort of. Being able to understand different anchors reading speed and getting a feel of when they may ad lib was a bit challenging, it took me awhile to get use to.

Working nights was great but coming home late at night wasn't. Within a month or so of being hired I moved over to working Sunrise. I was giving up some "luxury" for "real work." I only say that because now I have the rest of the day to myself to do other things if need be unlike what I was able to do while working nights. However, waking up at 3 in the morning is killer, it's all worth it in the end!

What I miss about working nights are the intellectual conversations and funny moments with Uncle Gary! Along with watching my shows in the green room while on break for two and a half hours.

My first day on Sunrise was October 20th. It was a bit intense because on top of adjusting to how different things are compared to night side, there was breaking news. Three children were injured in an accident involving a Jefferson County Public School bus and a SUV located at 32nd and Dumesnil. I remember like it was yesterday it was a rainy day and so many emotions were surfacing while covering the story. So... that definitely wasn't a "normal" sunrise day.

I learned from the best! People that are no longer at WAVE 3 are those who either retired or moved on to further their career. Teleprompter was my job for about 4 months seems like forever until I started to learn something new. Before leaving night side they were attempting to try me on camera but since someone started around the same time as me and they were working on getting used to camera still, they chose to advance me to Chyron.

Working one of the busiest weeks .... DERBY WEEK! It sounded more terrifying then I believe it actually was. My job for the 143rd annual was to do camera/floor on the backside and 1st turn camera at Churchill Downs. I also had one evening shifted that required me to come back in do chyron for the Pegasus Parade. Everyone this particular week worked overtime, all hands on deck were need... no one had any off days. As the week went on it seems as if things only got more hectic leading up to the biggest yet shortest main event taking place within the country. I was fine with the week and all the major work that was to be done I even travelled to Nashville for a Chris Brown concert and travelled right back in time for work... #TeamNoSleep. Literally each night I personally got roughly 3 to 5 hours of sleep each night. Thanks to me not having a set bedtime and just wanting to have a life of my own aside from work.

I felt it within my spirit and I even said it on Friday which was Oaks Day. "I don't think I'm going to make it. I'm going to be late tomorrow" ... what do you know? Saturday morning I was late to work. Instead of meeting everyone at the station like I have done for the majority of the week, I met everyone at the track. Hey! You can't say I didn't give a warning... As sad and unprofessional it may have seemed, Friday drained all the life out of me. I believe Friday was the day that it stormed also the most while we were outside and although my position was covered standing out in the rain for hooouurrss with only an hour break really took a toll on me.

I am glad I was able to experience and work such an amazing event, it's really the only time that all WAVE 3 family and close friends came together and work on something so great for others at home to enjoy. *I even got some camera time of my own while at the 1st turn😉😂

What's work with out a little bit of fun?

It's always nice to see co-workers and a more relaxed setting. While working at WAVE 3 I have experienced new things and have built amazing relationships with not only co-workers but some of our guest as well.

Pictures of life at WAVE 3 News:

Employee Appreciation Dinner

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Churchill Downs and other wonderful events

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Networking and Volunteer Opportunities

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Love for the Culture🌍

I believe everyone should be "cultured" within some way knowing about others and their way of life!

The WorldFest is a festival that takes place in downtown Louisville at the Belvedere every first weekend in September. This year marks 15 years of diversity! Over the years Louisville has over 100 languages spoken in public schools and 35 percent of the city’s population growth comes from international residents from over 150 different countries throughout the world.

The festival scheduled from Friday, September 1 until Monday, September 4; the first day of the festival was a complete wash out. Thanks to the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey the activities for Friday's opening day were all cancelled.

If you're a food lover like myself than you would have a hard time deciding what to eat as well. There are different food vendors such as Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Ethiopian, American, Caribbean, Cambodian, Greek, Mediterranean, Vietnamese, French and Italian options to eat from.

While at the festival I was able to sample various drinks and food I personally am not a fan of tea. However this black owned business, tea manufactured in Kentucky gave me a change of taste buds. Paradise Island Tea, gave out small cup samples of their tea. I first tried their apple peach tea followed by their passion ginger flavored tea. I definitely was not a fan of the ginger but the apple peach made me forget I was even drinking tea... that flavor was delicious reminded me more so of juice.

Black Eyed Peas? Gross! (of course you may think differently) Have you ever had mashed black eyed peas fried? Surprisingly I have... and it was actually good! It seemed more so like I was eating a hush puppy or a piece of cornbread.

It's called Àkàrà also known as bean cakes or fritters. It is a West African and street food.

I passed away some time by walking around eating some amazing gelato as I observed all the food vendors and what they have to offer.

I stumbled across a food vendor called Taj Palace, an Indian based restaurant located on Goose Creek. My first time having Indian food wasn't bad at all. I got the Chicken Chili and Vegetarian Samosa. The chili had sweet and sour masala sauce,

however due to the peppers it made it spicy more than sweet. As for the Samosa those were fried 'triangular patties' with peas and potatoes cooked with spices. I was not able to finish it all... thankfully the vendor had to-go boxes.

Amongst all the food there were many vendors selling merchandise. There are many different tables filled with jewelry, in-scents, oils, african soap and toys as handmade clothing hung on racks along with purses to match. Also, there are tables for those promoting their business and organization. I found a school that I am interested in checking out to further my fluency in french.

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So we have the food and shopping aspect covered but you can't forget about the music... and amazing people all out having a great time. Playing, dancing, swimming, and watch others enjoy themselves.

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Before leaving the festival I had to go back for some more amazing gelato because who knows when the next I'll be able to make it out Prospect, KY! A great time indeed it was definitely looking forward to next year.