» Job: Freelance music and entertainment journalist for Iamjabari.com, Blackweb20.com and Bet.com

» Salary: About $30,000

» Education: Bachelor's degree in advertising, Howard University

» EXPRESS: Why is personal accountability so important to business success?
» GALINDO: It isn't an aspect of being successful — it's the aspect of being successful. I emphasize that, because this term "business success" is rarely defined by the individual, so how can they be accountable for something they haven't clearly defined? You are going to be in a really bad place if you don't stop and check in with what your definition of success is on a regular basis. That action of defining success is the pinnacle of being personally accountable. People have goals, but they don't have a definition of success. So, they're always exhausted because they're chasing something they haven't defined.

» EXPRESS: Why are people often reluctant or unwilling to be accountable?
» GALINDO: Because they get rewarded not to be. If I have a boss who rescues, fixes and saves my lack of performance … and [who doesn't] hold me accountable, and I get paid anyway, why would I change my behavior?

Voice acting can be a fun — and lucrative — way to earn a living or extra spending money, says David Bourgeois, president and creative director of Voice Coaches, a Schenectady, N.Y.-based company that's bringing its expertise to Alexandria with "Getting Paid to Talk: An Introduction to Professional Voice Acting."

"One of the great positives of it is it's something you don't have to quit other things you're doing to do. You can build this around other things that are priorities," he says.

» The Basics
John Gallogly, the company's senior creative director and a voice actor since age 9, will teach the course, which is open to 20 students.
Participants will listen to examples of demos by professional voice actors and record a practice script of their own at the end of the class, such as a voice-over for an ad. The idea is to give students the chance to see what it's like to be on the microphone and take directions, Bourgeois says.

Just as the crowd teeters on the brink of deciding whether the 32-year-old comedian is funny-funny or crazy-funny, White switches gears, closing with a terribly off-key sing-along (folks chimed in on the chorus) of the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way."

And the audience knows: Whatever White's deal, they just spent an hour laughing.

For White and other local comedians, that's the ultimate employer feedback. Nine-to-5 isn't really in comics' vocabulary — unless they're talking about their day jobs, which many keep to earn a living. Prep time is short — usually a few hours per week — and performances can clock in at a whopping three minutes, but most funny folks aren't in the business for the big bucks. They're in it for the big laughs.

Seven years later he did it again, following his then-wife from Cape Town to Arlington, where he became a squash coach at the Madeira School and went from training to membership sales at Sport & Health Clubs.

By 2004, he was considering real estate and mortgage brokerage before teaming up with an acquaintance in health insurance sales. Philpott spent a year working for the man, learning the business — but also learning that people tend to cancel health insurance when their claims are denied (costing him his commission) and that he'd prefer more of a mix.

But before we open our mouths and say something we can't take back (we're talking to you, Kanye West and Serena Williams), workplace communications expert Marsha Petrie Sue advises we stop and think about just what hissy fits really accomplish. In her new book,"The Reactor Factor: How to Handle Difficult Work Situations Without Going Nuclear" ($24.95, Wiley, out Oct. 26), she offers tips and techniques for keeping your cool no matter what comes your way.

» EXPRESS: What should we all remember before reacting to any workplace situation?
» SUE: Every time you make a choice, the outcome is yours. If you don't like your outcomes, make better choices. It's personal responsibility. If people took more personal responsibility for their choices, life would be so much easier for them and for everybody else. I am so tired of people not taking personal responsibility.

Everyone from newbies to seasoned photographers tag along with professional photographer Duane Heaton to photograph a real, live, smitten couple. Along the way, the group navigates the secret nooks of Georgetown as well as the quirks of portrait photography. "It's really simple to take a photo of somebody, but I try to teach my students to create something that's 'about' the subject," Heaton explains, which means capturing the dynamic and personality of the couple in each frame.

» The Basics: A maximum of 10 students, instructor and couple meet near the waterfront for "Georgetown Walk," Heaton's twist on the traditional engagement photo session. The 6.5-hour workshop (which includes a break for lunch) is crammed with hands-on opportunities to snap photos of the subjects in a string of unusual settings, from alley crannies to a boarded-up loading dock, with each location presenting a different lighting challenge. Students are to bring extra memory cards and a long telephoto lens, which gives the couple space to act more naturally.

» Job: Director of Virginia's branch of Overland Experts

» Salary: $75,000 to $85,000

» Education: A bachelor's degree in architecture from Penn State University

» What he does: Porterfield coordinates off-road driver training for military personnel and trains recreational groups, from corporate staffs seeking team-building exercises to travelers wanting to beef up their Land Rover skills.

» Would you want this job? A mellow personality — and higher-than-average tolerance for danger — is crucial. Time flexibility is also a must.

The 32-year-old majored in math and chemistry at Wake Forest University, then studied forensic science at Michigan State, graduating with a master's degree in criminal justice. "Since the curriculum was heavy on analyzing controlled substances, the [U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency] was a natural fit," Yezek says.

After a background check, the Columbia, Md., native became a fed — analyzing evidence, writing reports and testifying in court. "I was never called a narc," she says, "but I did have one of those jobs that everyone thought was so cool."

When her husband took a job in New Jersey — "a mecca for pharmaceutical companies" — Yezek worked for a subcontractor to Eli Lilly, where she was qualified to do drug research, thanks to her DEA experience and master's degree. "One of the tests I did helped advance a breast-cancer drug along in the [Food and Drug Administration] process," she says proudly.

"I don't know if I could have opened a studio without their business class," Myers says. "My needs as a business owner are completely different than, say, a plumber." She is also planning to take a marketing class in the creative entrepreneurship series.

Myers was drawn to the institution's top-notch reputation and evening classes, and she figured the area's rush-hour traffic makes driving to Baltimore about as convenient as trekking to downtown D.C.