Movie outing with Charity Johnson on 12/23/09

Went to see PRECIOUS with CJ at Laemmle's Sunset 5 Theater in West Hollywood.

Main topics discussed:

• themes of the film as compared with the book upon which it was based (PUSH by Sapphire)
  

Actions taken:

• agreed to critique CJ's review of PRECIOUS and any other projects relating to the film and book versions of the story
  

Mentoring meeting with Charity Johnson on 12/18/09

Met with CJ at a coffee shop near the Jewish Federation building (6505 Wilshire Blvd.) at noon to assess progress and create an action plan for 2010.

Main topics discussed:

• enrichment activities
• financial matters
• marketing of reconstructed t-shirt line
• networking
• writing improvement strategies
  

Actions taken:

enrichment activities

• pledged to begin reading Chanel biography and see more educational movies with CJ
• initiated plan to incorporate CJ's community service activities into her mentoring program

financial matters

• brainstormed funding opportunities to further CJ's continuing education goals

marketing of reconstructed t-shirt line

• received black ruffled t-shirt from CJ in exchange for English books
• promised to display shirt at WOTGG and other networking events
• discussed Internet marketing strategies (Facebook photo gallery, etc.)

networking

• heard update from CJ regarding her networking activities relevant to both fashion and fiction
• suggested financial strategies that might allow CJ to pay for membership in selected writers' unions

writing improvement strategies

• directed CJ to peruse Gucker and Fogarty books in order to set a regular schedule of writing lessons
• agreed to return CJ's celebrity bio outline sample and edited one of CJ's Amazon book review drafts (will base first few writing lessons upon recurring errors in these texts)

Movie outing with Charity Johnson on 11/7/09

Went to see COCO BEFORE CHANEL with CJ at Laemmle's Royal Theater in West LA.

Main topics discussed:

• themes of the film and their application to CJ's own situation
• continuing education options (courses in the humanities, patternmaking, writing)

Actions taken:

• decided to use biography of Coco Chanel to model part of CJ's mentoring assignment
• referred CJ to Yotam Solomon re: patternmaking courses
• made plans to view additional movies with CJ such as PRECIOUS and THE END OF POVERTY? for enrichment purposes
• agreed to critique CJ's film reviews as a writing exercise

Mentoring meeting with Charity Johnson on 11/3/09

Met with CJ at Campanile (624 S. La Brea) at 5:30 p.m. to set our mentoring agenda for the next nine months. Wish us luck!!

Main topics discussed:

• marketing of reconstructed t-shirt line
• networking
• plagiarism
• publishing
• workplace concerns
  
• writing improvement strategies

Actions taken:

marketing of reconstructed t-shirt line

• discussed CJ's situation with Yotam Solomon and Kris Willey
• requested sample black ruffled t-shirt from CJ to wear to green networking events
• offered CJ advice about FB business page

networking

• gave CJ general tips about how to MAKE and MAINTAIN contacts
  
• sent CJ FB Friend Requests relevant to both fashion and fiction
• sent CJ FB Group Requests for Essays into English, Gutsy Gals, WeHo Women's Mastermind Group
• invited CJ to WOTGG holiday event on 11/18 as a "shadow"

plagiarism

• referred CJ to intellectual property lawyer and former JVS mentee Olga Zalomiy

publishing

• discussed the ins and outs of the business with CJ in detail
• provided CJ with some contact info from the WeHo Book Fair

workplace concerns

• discussed grievance options with CJ

writing improvement strategies

• edited CJ's celebrity bio sample online
• made suggestions to CJ about specific issues such as repetitiveness
• recommended Gucker's ESSENTIAL ENGLISH GRAMMAR and Fogarty's GRAMMAR GIRL'S QUICK AND DIRTY TIPS FOR BETTER WRITING to CJ (to be bartered for t-shirt)

LauraWil Intercultural: Phoenix from the Ashes

"The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests."

Epictetus