MURDA BERTA. My sister. Brought into my life by our angel Steph. Roberta has been a consistent light in my life since the day I met her. A nurturing, warm energy and a real ass bitch. I always feel accepted, protected and relaxed in her presence. I so admire her work ethic and constant drive to better than her last. Get to know one of my favorite people, and soon to be yours.
1.) Describe what you do for a living and how you are adjusting to social distancing?
I am Certified Aesthetic Nurse Specialist meaning I do all the medical grade cosmetic treatments such as botox, facial and lip fillers, laser treatments, Microneedling and advanced skin services. Work for me was like my second home and my clients are like family to me, so this social distancing has me confined to my main home. I’ve already tried to convince my fiancé to let me work on his face so I can feel like I’m being constructive doing some work. Sadly he refused😭
2.) Being your own boss, it can be hard - damn near impossible - to stay motivated during stressful times like these.. What has been your go-to, kick me out of my funky ass mood, ritual or activity during quarantine?
Whenever I’m feeling stifled or anxious for whatever reason, I put my WaistWarrior training belt on and I listen to music or call a friend as I take a long ass 2 hour walk around the neighborhood. I try to go down streets I’m not familiar with, like I’m intentionally trying to get lost, but I always find my way back home. I also enrolled in an online Yale class called “The Science of Well-Being” which basically focuses on the study of achieving happiness. It’s been really helpful considering how this time has definitely demonstrated to us all that material things don’t mean a DAMN thing during this time. And people tend to believe that money and material wealth makes you happy and that, my friends, have been proven to be false.
3.) Describe what a busy/productive day looks like for you these days compared to BC. (Before Covid)
I have an internal body alarm so I never set my phone alarm. I wake up at 7am and take a shower. I’ll have oatmeal, sausage, and a banana and I’d be eating that in the car as I drive to the gym to get my butt kicked lifting weights with my trainer Lita. I’d drive back while I have my protein drink and then take another shower & get dressed for work. My office manager gets us both coffee to get our moods right for the day. Rather than drink it like a normal human being, I savor it by taking small sips of my Vanilla Latte with oat milk throughout the day and in between clients. I tend to see about 5-6 clients a day- sometimes less depending on the procedure. I love what I do and I want to keep it that way. I believe clients deserve the time that it takes to address their aesthetic concerns, and that type of art takes time. Lunch for me is not always guaranteed, but I’d sneak away for a couple of macaroons and another vanilla latte to help fulfill my sugar cravings. After my last client, I’d have Alexa turn up some hip hop music so that I could organize, clean, and prepare the office for the next day. On my way home, I’d be stuck in an hour of terrible traffic but instead of having road rage, I use the times I’m sitting in traffic to arrange my clients before and after pics. I would then stop at the grocery store to get things I need to prepare dinner. Most of the time, I’d make roasted chicken thighs with broccoli and rice or on good days, lobster tails for the family. I’d have dinner with the fam, discuss how our day went, and then we’d watch a little TV or listen to a new song his daughter wrote with her guitar. We’d go to bed around 10p, and I’m usually snacking on raisinettes.
4.) Now describe what a meltdown day looks like! Do you let yourself feel it all or do you push through? We’ve all had them. (I personally had a meltdown week when I first heard the news.)
We like to keep our products fresh on the shelf so we tend not to overstock. Well this has lead to a few instances where we’ve become critically low on a product that is VERY essential to our spa. The meltdown occurs when we have been guaranteed next day delivery to arrive no later than 9am, but for whatever reason, the courier decides to fuck with us and not deliver the goods in time. This puts my entire day’s schedule in jeopardy. Now I’m faced with having to cancel the patients I have coming for services. So I’m panicking, making phone calls to the rep, asking if they have the products on hand. Luckily, they usually always do, but then I have to rely on the rep to come thru in the nick of time, before a client arrives. I’ve had my office manager literally sprinting down the street to chase a Fed-Ex truck for our Botox delivery. It gets really serious on the streets of Santa Monica with us vs Fed Ex & UPS.
5.) Any challenges or goals, personal or career you’ve given yourself while on lockdown? Or is getting through this shit accomplishment enough? (It is btw.)
I’m proud of the fact that I was able to utilize this time to stay current with my nursing license and certifications by taking continuing education credits. I had to complete a minimum of 30 hours in order to renew my nursing license. I also was up for recertification for my CANS certification (Certified Aesthetic Nurse Specialist) which is due every 3 years. That requires a minimum of 45 hours. It was a combination of both interesting and boring readings and lots of test taking. And I also challenged myself to use latisse every night. I’m so bad at routines but I’m getting so much better now with all this time on our hands lol
6.) What has been your most favorite thing about this crazy moment in time? Discovered any hidden gems about yourself or your life while having a moment to breathe and reflect?
My most favorite thing really is realizing how lucky I am that my friends and family pushed thru this scary time. How much I truly love them and appreciate them, and those are just the easy, simple things in life that truly matter. Having the time to spend virtually with others, meaning no excuses as to why you haven’t called to check in, cause there’s but so much cooking, cleaning, eating, napping and TV binge watching one can do. Also how important health is. Health is wealth man. So besides the little snacking I do, I’ve been really conscious of my food choices and have been drinking green juices and taking my daily vitamins. For a hobby, I think I’m going to get into dried flower arrangements. I’m gonna order a bunch of them and see what I can make out of it. As much as I love fresh flowers, something about bunny tails and pampas, and all those feathery, bushy looking flowers really tickles my fancy.
7.) What advice would you offer anyone who is particularly going through it during this isolation period?
Pray, pray, pray! He’s got you! You are loved, whether you know it or not, and you have made an impact on someone’s life so know that you DO matter and that you’ll get thru it. You’re needed here. There’s a beautiful quote that says, “God changes caterpillars into butterflies, sand into pearls and coals onto diamond using time and pressure. He’s working on you too.” Hang in there. Whatever doesn’t break you makes you stronger.
8.) What are you looking forward to most once the lockdown has been lifted?
Whew!!! I wanna see my momma who’s all the way up in Fresno. I want to see my friends and have drinks, dinner and talk about the crazy things we’ve experienced during this time. I can’t wait to see my clients and get into the swing of doing what I do which is inject, inject, inject! I can’t wait lol! I wanna go to a spa and get a massage, get a pedicure and get my curly ends trimmed. I want to get away to Jamaica and Miami for a warm & tropical getaway.
9.) How difficult has this been for you on a scale of hermit to social butterfly? Do you need the juice of other humans or are you thriving in your lil quarantine cocoon?? Have you been quarantined alone like moi? Or do you have a partner/family around?
I have been quarantining with my family- fiancé and his 3 daughters. It has been relatively easy because I’ve enjoyed waking up knowing that I have control of my own day, and it’s almost an adventure, like what the fuck am I gonna do today? Will I accomplish doing something constructive or will I just be lazy today and have my glass of wine or beer and snack all day? I try to justify the lazy days by saying I’ve earned them from all the years of hard work lol! The girls are grown so they do their own thing, which is great for me cause I’m a typical Cancer, I like to be inside my lil shell at times. I know that if I had to quarantine alone, I’d be just fine because I’ve been alone during times that people are usually around their families such as holidays, but I’m so grateful to be spending this quarantine with my family. My fiancé is fully aware though that when I’m taking a walk, I just need some ME time.
10.) And lastly, any hilarious or embarrassing tidbits you’d like to share are most welcome. For example, did you freak out and buy a years supply of hand sanitizer? Did you get drunk and text an ex lover because you thought the world might be ending or was that just me?
The toilet paper situation really pissed me off. I resorted to signing up for subscriptions to 2 different toilet paper companies, cause we go thru tissue fast and couldn’t risk going without. One is made of bamboo and the other deems themselves as a “luxury” toilet paper. While I appreciate the environment benefits they serve and I do believe one of them gives the proceeds to some sort of charity, I’m not impressed with either toilet tissues. I’m really a Charmin or even Quilted Northern type girl. I like my tissue how men like their women- soft and thick. I’d like to thank the many toilet paper hoarding psychos that have contributed to my increased monthly toilet paper spending for nothing 😩
*Roberta is wearing the Hot Stone Velvet Separates in size Small.*
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