Showing posts with label blogspot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogspot. Show all posts

Thursday, August 31, 2017

A lifetime love affair






Publishing indeed!  
I just adore magazines the same as the way I loved figure skating ... a quick bond and a lifetime love affair.  



August 2017 biggest accomplishment
As August 2017 comes crashing to an abrupt and disastrous halt.   I've taken in some quality movies and series, primarily from HBO. 





 Not surprising that HBO leads the pack (with Netflix nipping at their heels).  Not only was HBO an early disruption to network television, they also proved that there was a sophisticated, educated, and most likely upper income situated, who would flock to quality programs.

No, they didn't just become a reseller, they created content.  It is befitting that their great Game of Thrones is leading the buzz both online and in conversations, dinners, viewing events.




I had taken a sabbatical in life.  Withdrawing unto myself, with a deep reflection on the past.  Ironically, the highest KLOUT ranking than I'd had since KLOUT reinvented itself, causing a free fall of early adopter scores by at least 15 points.

Lucky for many, online marketers don't look at authenticity reinforcement like KLOUT or KRED scores.  That has something that has always puzzled me.  Particularly in Canada:  because these scores establish true influence, define audiences and decipher appeal of a profile.  Just log in with ideally your Twitter handle, then add your Facebook page, your PINTEREST boards and instaGRAMs etc. to connect everything together in one full swoop.

I received a personal email from one of my first real online connections, Mike Lehr, a couple of days ago and struggled with a response.



My greatest accomplishment
in August was achieving the highest mark on Solitaire from my computer.  Talk about mental shut down or just turning off my "give a damn meter" completely.

Granted, the highest mark in Klout Score for about 8 years is remarkable.  What is more amazing is I probably have spent a lot less time online.  

The beacon was there but my cloudy mood wasn't seeing it.  Sunglasses towards life.  Muted, darkened and cloaked in disguise.  Dwelling on the has beens, the should haves in the twilight of life.




Mike made mention of the tag leading him to the conclusion that I write a lot about those of us in our 50s and plus.  It is a fairly closed society I would admit, but not an exclusive one by any means.

Leading the helm being born in 1961:  when, according to either Boom, Bust & Echo or The Popcorn Report, it was the worst year thus far to have lived in.

I started reading about demographics in the early 80s .... I know, that time of YuppyDOM and YuppyHOOD - the stamp of coolness presented in the being you represented.




I admit to being a Yuppy of that era.  I admit to having puffed up bangs and during the week wearing a ladies suit attempting to clamber up the chain of career, not unlike the baby turtles climbing over each other to attempt to escape the pail in which they hatched from their shell.

I do write to so many of us that were born in the middle of bomb shelters and a United States invasion.  Nuclear war seemed eminent between the US and Russia.  The authors of those events, the greatest politicians the world had ever seen:  a storybook tale, among a loving family, loyal brotherhood, beautiful wife and charisma telling stories of hope, pride, and human-kindness to all people of all colors.

One of the few things that Mike said that made me think again:  whether my 50s have been a disappointment?  Uncanny, that love, friendship, life & family have been some of the best I've been lucky enough to have.   It has been the worst in my career in equal proportions.  That is a very frustrating circumstance to be in.  



You have the war stories, can regale heroic accomplishments, awards and rewards but somehow sucked into this hole that, like the turtles is hard to climb out of.

Depression and mental health issues must be alarming for anyone 50 or older.  Unlike your elder Baby Boomer siblings who have glided to the opposite spectrum of life:  Semi retired by 55, kids all university educated (without the debt load) because you were parented by those from the great depression era and had faced huge obstacles to get to the other side:  optimism, reward, recognition, service, loyalty, dedication, beliefs.

In similar fashion, and dipping into my fascination with numbers, I wonder how much financial foresight they had to have by when in order to fulfill many of us others wildest dreams.




Some of us got on a treadmill and forgot what gave us joy.  Too caught up on just making it through another day.  The pressures to not just keep up in the Yuppy attitude:  comparison and competition drive our segment.  Where our children have become entitled and tenacious.  Like Yuppies, Millennials know what is going on in their world:  the threats, the competition, the need for education, striving to get ahead in a very large age group.  

I'm lingering around the 1960s and older who are nipped at the edge of Baby Boomers who had all the best opportunities.  Waiting and learning, we had to observe, ask a lot of question, and act as a sponge, embracing lessons from others' failures, rapt with attention to their climb into iconic status:  Steve Jobs, Michael Jackson (watch it on HBO right now), who are admired and respected, after many years of disappointment, disillusion, accusations, failure.



Steve Jobs and Michael Jackson, the ones before us:  Baby Boomers, taught us valuable lessons and a common understanding:  the higher the achievement, the more likelihood of opposition, targeting, slander, dishonesty, suffering, monetary loss.  

Survival is key
Surviving is a critical characteristic we in our 50s share.  We've faced so many obstacles and had to start over more than once.  Or, had to rethink our own perspective and outlook.  Maybe change how we view the world, banishing bitterness to deep hole of the past.



Rebound, rejoice, rejuvinate
we have the energy to realize we still have a lot of youth in us along with knowledge accumulated by failure or lack of luck.  We've exercised our energy to levels that our technology dependent youngsters have become so reliant on, the likelihood of them being able to read a traditional clock, nondigital form, is rare.  We grew up with the basics, started with the basics, and able to conjure up some pretty cool answers to solving a lot of problems.



Once again, we're faced with much greater of forces of life:  no longer just war, struggle for power, and financial supremacy, today you have to worry about safety, violence, terror, corruption, like never before.

Conditioned as survivors
YUP! We Yuppies can set the tone, raise the bar, lead by example on life's greatest lessons.  In style, polished, educated, ethical and poised as our parents and grandparents instilled in us, not simply taught us.





Saturday, July 15, 2017

Game of Gnomes



 I happened to capture this Tweet a few weeks back … and I’m not even online 24x7, not even an honest day’s worth of 8 hrs [I have a REAL life full time job] …. 

I have found that the latest feature that has crept up and captured my attention, for whatever that is worth [these days=nothing] Twitter has started to encapsulate conversations and link the same twitter train (essentially, what it is doing, organizing profiles under the umbrella of a, let’s call it a “Master Tweet”. If you are lucky to be included with a large number of influencers, who acknowledge by a like [heart] or a reTweet [ #RT ] can cast a much larger web.

Lamb by Catherine Darling


If you are a Bleater (a lamb’s annoying noise or cry) with content that lack substance are Bleater online …. a newly created word by me to describe online behavior that repeatedly shares lovely images of flowers, sunsets, beautiful vistas. A Bleater is a noun, as in a person.

Twitter is likely creating secret analytics and algorithm symphony to create the proverbial carrot scattered about among rabbits [ for the purpose of this story and theme, let’s say that the big BRANDS are rabbits ]. But for a uniqueness score and continued theme, brands will be called Grabbits. Grabbits could be Coca Cola, Tesla, or Trump Towers.




Grabbits are slowly developing a very large appetite for carrots. The carrots that rabbits cherish, evolved to the online, social media, world we still get a spellcheck or (insert name: Grammarly - who I use) whenever you type “influencer” or “influencers”. We can’t grammatically call them anything that sounds like SIRs because of the many GALs that share the same space.  Yes, those cute, adorable, engines working to separate you from your money.

For ease of speech and spelling, the influencers are dubbed “The Doers”. These are the people that can make or break your opinion, the popular opinion of those online {amassing and growing by leaps and bounds). The “Masses” are the obvious ‘other’ people circulating and clicking.


The Doers have developed a positive brand, reputation with a steadfast, loyal following. With authenticity continually under question online, I see how Twitter is grasping, seeing the need that Facebook has accidentally stumbled upon (Stumpleupon is still out there, FYI) how a tribe does impact your vibe. The Doers are critical of themselves mostly yet avoid detractors, sociapaths, egomaniacs, etc. [if only to share sometimes as an interest not a direction nor an opinion].

Twitter is developing the ability to keep The Doers in the same circles, refining their recommendations for whom others should follow. Wouldn’t that be cool if you ended up on that few box list? They probably can cleverly guess who is more likely to have someone click on The Doer profile based on the demographic, clicks, followers of their followers.



I’d like to call the followers “A Flower”. A flower needs nourishment in order to grow into a great thing of beauty. So all my followers are now Flowers: I hope to be able to sprinkle a little sunshine on.

To understand this, do this simple exercise: find one of your favorite quotes, settle on your favorite art and send it out to 10 people whom you enjoy reading their Tweets, would like to go beyond a connection to an ENGAGEMENT and include them in the tweet.



This will land directly in their notifications category — MUCH MORE gratifying and appealing to see the numbers grow in NOTIFICATIONS on Twitter than the Private Messages {cluttered with Spam). SPAM is the negative description for annoying interruptions to your otherwise joyful cruise online. Seemingly, screaming at you, guaranteed to be annoying to you. A SPAM is a person, a post, a tweet that is self-serving only to themselves. Self-advertising as is often disposed by the Grabbits.



Viral highjinx is the new order of the day: let’s see if we can trick people to think this is a heartwarming moment that Flowers may grow, grabbed by SPAM paid for by Grabbits.  


Sunday, April 30, 2017

YOU, too, can be a *SUPERSTAR***



I really like the direction I am going in
after reflection, digging deep down and unmasking some goals, I have started to focus a bit better.

An interaction with someone
who could mentor me caused a chain reaction ::... stepping outside my fingertips and simply taking a stroll around.

What is the main message 
or how have I grown?  That being at the eureka phase of life where a treasure trove of happiness floats.



We can talk about karma
or charisma or vibe ::... falling short on real wonderful qualities that attracts both the gifted and the live-long learner.

The last kick at the cat
is where mid-life crisis collide with diminishing time ::... on the earth.  Can we safely and calmly say that we will leave the world a better place than when we entered it.

Borrowing the theme
from "It's a Wonderful Life" starring Jimmy Stewart.  My favorite Christmas movie of all time.  WOW, and it isn't even half way past or to the Holiday Season we acknowledge by "Merry Christmas" greetings.

Let's borrow the theme then
regardless of age or gender.  Because if you are mature enough to read this PG blog, you should be able to understand the challenge being put forth.



Grab a notebook and a pen
or a tablet or anything with a keyboard that can capture your thoughts. 

Ask yourself this
very important question ::..... if you were no longer here tomorrow, regardless of cause, would you have left the world a better place?

Being honest with yourself
is the greatest gift you can give yourself.
Like one of my father's quotes:  "U may think ur fooling most of the people most of the time, the only person you are fooling is yourself".

Do not stretch the truth
if you feel compelled to list your many accomplishments, like having wonderful children, snug with the love of your life, in your big badass house, surrounded by oodles of material "things".



Will you leave the world
a better place? If not, you better get cracking and get at it.  In the peaceful euphoric world that one could ever imagine, many before have accomplished such a feat.

The few and far betweeners
on a very exclusive and minute list of great and honorable people who put there best out there every single day.   Almost with a goal to make every single today, better in tomorrows, from the being in that day to make that speach or say that quote, that inspires someone, holds the fallen upright, without fear or consideration on how it may affect them, personally, whether by prosecution, slander real or from fame.

The story of humanity 
in their words tell us tales of tribute, gratitude, humility, as they evolve and become storytellers.  Either stories about themselves and/or their great deeds, not dwelt upon their human failings, which we are bade to not judge others from any spiritual guide (i.e. The Bible, The Quo-ran).

Pope Francis
The Daili Lama
Mother Theresa
Nelson Mendella
Princess Diana
Queen Elizabeth
Mohammed
Jesus

Whichever order or fashion  
I didn't list by importance, just who came to mind.  Then there are those who were more clouded by controversy then the gifts they imparted:

Michael Jackson
Steve Jobs
President John F. Kennedy
Picasso
Matisse




Plenty more unknown to us
step out every day and help others without expectation of any reward.  Some may flourish with wealth and fame, while others toil towards their personalized end game.  Like George in "It's a Wonderful Life" everyone can leave their mark and sometimes can choose the Epilogue or Epitaph engraved on their tomb or urn or grave.  Who leave the world a better place

My sister, Diana
Gives of her time and attention and holy intervention is helping kids who would otherwise have been cast aside.  Lucky for us, the world no longer sympathizes if anyone is hidden away, institutionalized, or slandered.

Contrary to popular belief
People want someone to look up to, in admiration and not clouded by fame.  

People are smarter
than most scammers would admit.  Are antennae are  on high alert.  More and more each day.

Fearful more than optimistic
looking for someone, some thing, or some event to lift us up and restore our confidence in human kind.

Like the names before us
to whatever degree or shame.  They had faults like the rest of us, yet we held them to a higher standard, demanded perfection from our icons.

#ART of the day ... 
by Marcia Baldwin
 { insert link to website }




#WEBSITE of the day .... Thesaurus.com



Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Thank you Mr. Paul Brandt ... a REAL human STAR



Please have a listen to this song [ you don't hafta Mr. Brandt since you may recognize it ~ HaHahaha ] "Calm before the storm" break out song for Paul.  [ I hope you don't mind me being informal since when you hear this story, you will understand why.  Unfortunately,  the link on YouTube is "out of order".  You can find it on iTunes and likely Spotify etc.  Instead I share two versions of the same song:





This makes me think of my sister, Diana .... i still haven't figured out why she's blocked?  Perhaps I'll skoot over to my other personal Facebook and share it there.  Never waste a moment when you are thinking about someone pass you bye.  Pick up that phone or send that text or write that email or share a song or beautiful something that reminds you of them.  Maximize your opportunity to reach out to someone who reaches back towards you.  Help others not because you have to, but because you want to.  Don't feel guilty if it took you a while.  A while can be minutes that can jump into hours, skip over days and hop over months and become blurred by years.  Have a listen to this song and think about who you should reach out to just to say "Hello" to.  It doesn't matter that it is in English because the melody and rich vocals of Elvis at his prime are astonishingly crystal and pure talent.  Or, think about what your talent may be or if you have an interest.  Ask yourself:  "what is holding you back".  < WITHOUT any excuses like time, energy, desire, dedication, forgetfulness, busy, swamped.  I called my daughter today simply because I started to think what I would have for lunch, since I didn't sleep in half the day away, such is a bad habit that I try to avoid.  Thinking, why wake up early to go to work and then sleep most of the day away on MY TIME.  Doesn't make sense.  Thank you for sharing my mumbling.  xo Jeannette Marshall​

Listening to my "LOVELY" playlist from iTunes via bluetoothe is causing me to be very reflective and inquisitive.

What a great song "I hope you find it" by Cher.  Makes me wonder where she is these days.  Horror, if she passed on, and I missed it.  Nah, I doubt it.  Who can forget when Michael Jackson or Princess Diana passed on?  I'm thinking you'd have to be a young adult of the 80s to even remember.  Over-shadowed by 9-11 which is horrific as well.   


Cher
is alive and well.  According to BILLBOARD as recent as February 2017, she just added 18 more shows in Las Vegas.  I saved the link with the following comment on Facebook:


Can you have a look at my new website www.graFX.online  and tell me what you think? I have worked alongside others for many years, yet find it difficult when it's my own.


Products of our childhood and
upbringing where the day was not complete unless you took the time to watch the news.  I think the Canadian broadcaster of news are really digging deap into their roots to establish firmly a reputation of integrity and journalism.  No monetarily donations unless transparently shared in, say an ad.

What about policing online currency?
Now there's a can of worms eh?  Some organization somewhere [ which i tweeted about within the last few days under @optioneerJM on Twitter or a facebook page of the same name.

Now there's some policing prioritization that needs to be sorted out quickly.  Which is more important:

  • Having any celebrity or brand ambassador being required 2 show paid 4 promo emblem or #hashtag [is this for the IRS and CRA to track unclaimed taxable revenue they can snag and force you to pay interest on? ]
~ OR ~
  • The horrific exhibits that have surfaced on Facebook these past weeks.   I tend to go for the underdogs in this world.  Every once in a while for the unfairly treated more.  It is never fair if you work your way up, or raise your company up, or increase your personal brand to the top only to fall vulnerable and object of catastrophic events make its violent horrendous acts catch you off guard?  It ain't totally fair.  Somebody has some algorithm somewhere that can pick up "chatter" of the millions online at any given time, quickly escalating into the billions as Smartphones allow us to spend our time more and more online.  Need a reference?  

I tend to use my PC's GOOGLE set as my default home page.  That is because most times I am hopping on to look something up that I learned from watching a historically-basic epic television series [ which I may add seem to have a medieval fascination with the English Royal Family.  That seems to be what is hip these days.

Microsoft really is starting to annoy me.  They keep interrupting my logged on experience, whether connected to the web or not, parading things in front of me and freezing something I'm doing.

Real technologists, and I'm not saying Computer Scientists like WIKIleaks founder, Assange [ name? spelling? ] ... real users are more techie than they may realize just by how savvy they are on figuring things out, or smart enough to navigate unchartered imagineering.

You can become an imagineer too.  Just come on visit my website that I'm creating based on input and guidance by my supporters and advocates.


www.graFX.online

The vision is to create a central gathering hub for anyone in the graphics, graphic arts, artists, photographers, printers, equipment hardware, cool design, awesome tips, exceptional contributors.

The vision was the first thing I had to nail down.  I cannot write a Business Plan without creating a compelling vision statement that resonates with me personally.  Not caring on whether anyone else sees a connection or simply ignores it altogether.  That is not my issue.

My issue is not coming up with a concept either.  I've done that before.  As a finger on the pulse on what the world is grasping for without realizing it.

Martin may or may not remember the clear vision on what the magazine was going to communicate:  taking care of the body, the mind and the soul, as you travel.  Interesting of a near 50/50 split between genres by female or male evenly.  Mostly, in upper to middle income bracket:  greater than $75,000 single person, no dependents [ with no self-destructive bad habits like drug abuse or alcohol preoccupation ].  Likely intelligent, regardless of education level, yet still skillful.

The competition was geared towards their 3rd Party numbers of 60% male audience to 40% female, so you got it:  disgustingly far too many male toiletries like Old Spice, cologne, manliness something, fast cars, smart investment.  No self-help mavericks in this group, they're self-made in their own minds.

Sound like someone you know?  Don't be frightened if you saw a little glimmer of a reflection spark your eye.  You've come to the right place.  You're smart, you're articulate, gregarious, kind, thoughtful, not prone to female-competitiveness cattiness.  { Sorry girls we wrote the book on this and only have ourselves to blame *meow* }.

I have had two days off and spent a great deal of effort of focus on my surroundings.  I discovered that when you are cleaning, dusting, moving things around to add some vibe to your abode with a freshness, spring flowers like tulips or irises on multiple surfaces in your house.  This cheers you on to put some great music to get into the zone and relaxed into the present.  Be brave, go to YouTube and find one of your favorite songs.  See what unfolds for you by YouTube based on their read on your taste or likelihood to click.

We should establish LTC currency online before we hand out compensation to anyone who hangs a shingle or hides behind 20 year old, dated, made up and smoothed over before professional photographed. 

Wouldn't that even the masses?  Whoever can create that concept, will catch a rising star, or just become it.  A level playing field data analysis where the only compensation received is from membership.

That's what I was starting to say in an earlier blog over at optioneerJM where I gave my 20 year-old-self.  Apparently, I am still dwelling on it because it does force oneself to really examine one's self and know what you want.  

It would have been easier to jump in front of myself 12 years ago and warded me off from going to work where I did.  There was nothing corrupt or awful about it, so relax.  I'm not important enough or relevant enough to reveal that thank goodness.

I would say a few more things:

Enjoy your exercise .... 
dance if you feel like dancing, not checking whether the windows are closed or the blinds up, just do it because you feel like it.  If it is diving into a pool to swim to the finish line, mostly competing with your own score, picture the victorious look on your face, slightly with amazement and otherwise with abandonment of savoring the moment.  If it is on a field, on water or on ice ... do what you remember about why you started to love it like you do.  If you're fiercely competitive then do it with team spirit not individual accomplishment.  Don't be hasty with expectations on rewards or awards because to do that you are no longer savoring the moment, but hungrily or greedily climbing over top of others.

Be grateful
and mind your Ps and Qs .... to the Millennials who were taught it, if not to mind it, it amounts to manners.  If you smile and say thank you as many times a day as reasonably possible [i.e. don't thank the person butting and elbowing ahead of you for credit as to why the light changed color to green ].  I recall, although may have set up a journal, forgot the log on, and gave it a pass as I went on to other things.  Thinking about it now, very likely getting remarried and blending four children, three of girls who had hit their teens >> i.e. being a little crazy ... eh? You think?

To the reason I started this blog
writing on and off throughout the day and into the early evening.  As is with our custom, the hunkster hubster goes and puts his headphones on to his music [ I'm a little country, he's a lot into rock and roll ... classics ].   He then plays that game that I've never got hooked on, or avoided so that I would be assured to miss with a little discipline::.... CANDY CRUSH.  

LOL, giggle a little with me.  
Get away if you're going to smirk.  We don't need your bad karma in here [ now I sound schizophrenic and perhaps ADD not so bad a curse as I thought once possible, lately a lot more ].  

I zipped over to this blog and rattled off, finishing with some of the catches and captures of fishing on the web.  Often tweeted or pinned or posted or shared somewhere.  I tried that a couple of times ::.... doing screen captures on cool things that I discover.  More likely now I just click on the share and go through the choicest channels to choose:  Twitter [ greater ever-improving graphics as part of their visual display ++ the great tagging and carrying captures lumped together, to follow the traction that a tweet may send, otherwise unknown if not shared ++ KUDOS ]; Facebook is usually 2nd, third if email nudged ahead of Twitter.  Twitter is catching on to the dynamics of hosting conversations, which Google Plus [ G+ } via "Google HangOuts" was ahead of the curve just as VINE and other such APPS, vlog platforms expand, instantaneous imaging gives guts to the otherwise more inhibited like snapCHAT.

Paul Brandt was my son's nurse when he was at the Children's Hospital in Calgary oh back, let's see now, 24 years ago.  I am, I am thanking you, honestly Paul.  Just remember, I am said boy's mother, you had just recorded "Calm before the Storm" ... excited by the possibility in front of you with its release, after going to a talent contest and singing, winning the recording.

Paul, you were absolutely amazing.  I've never said that I am the most typical mother.  In fact, my kids and their friends would say that I'm one-of-a-kind {what a great compliment that is!}.  There we are, just finished unpacking and looking around this very small hospital room with sliding glass doors into the central open area where the nurses station was situated.  

Like a gust of fresh breeze swooping into a wind, you burst through the door, introducing yourself and informing us that he was going to be his nurse before and after his surgery.  

First up for business?  A bath ... trust me, he WAS clean when I brought him in.  Maybe it was to keep a normal childhood routine in tact while at a healthcare facility?  Maybe it was taught?  Maybe it was pure instinct?

I guess when a child has been admitted into the hospital, they are given the royal treatment.  Less anxiety that way, I'd bet.  So into a wheelchair he goes, with Paul whispering commands in his ear "don't try to scream too loud so we won't get caught by security" .... smart thinking.  

I practically skipped along the corridor, giggling and sniffing to keep myself from shouting out with laughter.  This was going much better than all my fears set aside and barely my best wishes come true.

It was because of Paul.  
He had a real human heart made into a star.  Casting light, optimism, removing fear and angst from others and putting more firmly on his own shoulders to help you bare the weight.  

Now he gets to sing and write more because of those dreams that became a reality.  It was really very cool to have briefly spent time with you on the cusp of stardom.  

You did forgive me for admitting that I didn't listen to country and western music when you asked me whether I would like to hear your song.  Thank you.  I was probably like the American IDOL judges became so many years later, something like 20 years .... trying to appear nonplussed while poised to be with ladylike frame, no matter how you may shriek or embarrass-ment empathy I would surely hear.

Not losing a sliver of optimism, the next day Paul came in with a copy of the cassette tape for my son, a photocopy of a photograph with which he signed.  {Perfecting that signature for autographs requests only a little while later}.

It is exceptional karma to have been blessed to have you in our lives that short period of our lives.  Know that you brightened our stay and gave a brighter glow for the future.

Thank you Paul.







Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Make new friends, love the old




one is silver and the other GOLD
as I grow each older, the more appreciative I've become of so many wonderful experiences to be blessed with, never for a moment taking any of it for granted.

working one's self to the core 
doesn't do anyone favors (p.s. in Canadianese the American favors is favored by spell check, but we Canadians taught articulation in the late 60s and the early 70s were blessed with the very big gift of expression. ..... :: anywayyyyyyyyyyyyyys [an 80s term for those yuppies still out there, and the Millennial wannabes ::.... how things have evolved eh?

In the folds of being born of the 60s
like wallflowers to the Baby Boomers, we observed, we absorbed the best parts, we have held our composure, and now we are parents of the gift to our generation:  the gift of the Millennial Bloom.  

We're pretty lucky
even though if you paid attention to statistics and stereotypical behavior, those born in the 60s were pre-packaged to lean towards failure.  If you think stereo-typing is dangerous, especially to mental health, think of the resilience and tenacity of anyone you know, been lucky enough to have met, or heaven help you if you're an offspring.

A beacon of light
to the Millennials is their embrace of the 80s culture.  Is it because there is a soul connection of what those of us in our 20s in the 80s aligned with what our own Millennials are facing.

Where optimism can be restored
when you think of what great things, events, game-changers occurred in the 80s, introduced back then, every day now.  

Boxers who come out of the corner
jumping into the obstacle ahead, head of, crouched in readiness to take the offensive with hardly a sniffle and long before a drop of sweat.  That would define those who lived their 20s in the 80s.  

I graduated from college in the 80s
and it was a great platform to launch a career.  Not limited by the restrictive curriculum, more persevering to land beyond the world of conformity, censorship, polite manners, poise and abloom with everything is impossible, we may as well make the impossible possible.


I notice some really talented folks out there.  Some that mere names crossed paths with me.  What a crazy, crazy CRAZY time, when I think back to it.  With gurgling reflection caught and captured from my conversation with my mother this afternoon.

Being the parent of a Millennial
is a worrisome, full board, attentive preoccupation.  You revel is the brilliance shining from your child born, first in 1989, with the others to follow in the 90s.  

We're lucky so they are lucky
as well.  Like skipping stones across a glass-like lake or quietly lapping ocean shore.  We may have been born in inopportune times, faced some pretty insur-mountable odds.  What we share is that grasp of not expecting anything for free, without commitment, not always sacrifice [ often by choice ] understanding the basic rightful work ethic:  

* work hard
* work honestly
* work with integrity
* be known for your word without all the numerous
* be committed to quality
* whatever you do, do it with pride
* love who you do it with, who you're surrounded by
* do your best always, it always pays off in spades

A dog eat dog world 
began with the Baby Boomers with entitlement mastered by GenX.  Where those born of the 60s, grew in the 80s, parents of the Millennials >> skipped >> over the hay days and landed in the middle of the first recession since the 1929 stock market crash [ if you do not know anything about this historical event, pause this article and go find out about it .... as my commitment to you as a blogger, you read ] we had to survive.  Really not much opportunity to learn as funds dried up and kids had to go leave post-secondary because their was some sort of crisis in their lives, with their family, that took more important measure instead.

Learn from your elders
as much as you can.  No time will be wasted.  I can guarantee that!  Talking to my mother, with so many wise words shared.  I even said to her:  "I hope I remember all of this for when I write later".  The gift of her wisdom was shone brightly upon me, like a face of a flower blooming forward towards the sun.  

I was a sponge in the 80s
that was my greatest gift.  I only had a college diploma, not even a university degree.  It was enough to teach me discipline and that anything worthwhile doesn't come free, without commitment and stick-to-it-ness that is just emerging within the Millennial generation.  

Millennials have faced fear
reflected in their parents eyes.  A strong, tough upper lip, and a straight spine.  We weren't even considering weakness, with goals clearly defined in our line of vision.  

Dedication, optimism ~
contagiously positive attitudes were bestowed upon our offspring.  Whether they grasped those sprinkles of enlightenment and hung on to the best qualities we shared.

Nobody is perfect
and neither is anyone who defines themselves as a Yuppie.  [ Or admits in select company and trusted members ] Who wear it as an emblem of pride, saying "who cares?" if they still have enough hair left to grow a mullet, why not?

As the Millennials groan
and tsk tsk with embarrassment to their very influential peers.  What their peers think of them is more important than their parents, their boyfriend, or their employer slash / boss could ever dream.  A peer sets the benchmark and the height of the peddle stool they are awarded, acclaimed, worshiped or refrained.

Be still thine parental heart
it is just a mutation of your chromosomes, evolved and collided with nature and environment to form an independent being, an individual.  I know it is very hard.  Like a moth does to a butterfly without the loss of the moth, is the butterfly allowed to form.

Be glad, be proud and be boastful
toward anyone who'll listen.  Those are the ones you want to be around.  They can relate, or your words resonate with them.

Unlike my mom's words
this afternoon.  They were so wise, so enlightening ... almost as though I was leaving a cocoon.    While I'd been living these 55 years, I was enclosed in a small outlook, not looking far beyond to where flowers bloom and the sun's flower is warm with a gentle wind, with an iced tea at my elbow.  I'm careful I don't give it a nudge to topple it over as I tap, tap, tap with the rhythm of my 1979 typing class on an electric typewriter.  Graduating exceeding 120 clicks minutes  ::.... now WHAT was it called back in those days when we took our speed tests on a manual typewriter?  Hmmmm I think it was ... nope not characters per second, or any variation of the Times New Roman font that was the only letters to be had, to write a letter, draw up an agreement or a contract.  

Some of us grew up with carbon copy
yet how many know what that material is?  What it is like to try to avoid staining your fingers on the sticky substance on its back with a wrapping-paper thin or thinner-than-onion paper thin [ I'm sure Google can show you what either of those things are .... if not, Wikipedia for sure ].

This is a story for those 
who remember the glory of being a yuppie.  Bringing in the 80s as we all turned 20.  That is a pretty unique identifiable experience, a uniqueness we can own.  A significant contribution to our society came from our decade.  [ you may have to dig back to my other INBETWEENERs blog (before we evolved to be called "YUPPYDOM" ) mere weeks ago I wrote about those who graduated from the 1960s and became icons of our time.  Across borders, beliefs, colors, race or country, the class of the 1960s born are unique with much to boast about.

Keep steady on the present.
Slam the door or gently close the past.  Forget about the future because it isn't anything you can touch right now.  So you may as well be aware of the present and make every moment count!






where everything is impossible, 
we may as well make the 
impossible possible

~Jeannette Marshall