we ARE stronger than we think #METOO #TIMESUP

A reflection....

Indeedly as the English are known to say :  

Ironic?  Yes I’d say.

If you follow my blog and social media blurts and visuals [ art € music videos € photography € learning € knowledge € history € geography € writing € events € stories orchestrated under one name: optioneerJM @optioneerjm +optioneerJM with a few spinoffs that can reflect my mood.

In the above image and a reflection.... I was ready to write about something, inspired to make a statement more often on meanderingsABOUT more closely linked to mostly family and a few friends.

I use iffttt to link among some worthy accounts that I find I would #RT (= reTweet on @Twitter - reshare £ repost £ comment.  One all time favourite @Mashable appears in my Twitter feed and can consistently count on being ❤️ ( symbol for liking something on Twitter and InstaGram ).  

: Sidebar

Both @Twitter 

& @InstaGram

use the numeric 

at “@“ symbol

Among the handful of loyal followers is my chief cheerleader: my Mom, Marie [ she may have lassoed my Godmother, Joanne to read it at least once ], they don’t necessarily participate on Social Media thus some of the sidebars give an explanation in my own words and interpretation.

I definitely had strong opinions on the #MeToo movement that materialized ... I just didn’t write.  I’ve been somewhat distracted by the army of therapists up to three times Monday to Friday guiding my hubby’s recovery from home base.  That and getting caught up on my own medical and dental appointments that strikes more frequently after you pass fifty. [ Not to mention how expensive living in the metropolis of Calgary aka “Cowtown” is.  

: sidebar

Calgary is the Canadian capital city

of oil & gas corporate headquarters.

Also, home to the controversial 

TransCanada Pipelines 

(overseer of Keystone Pipeline)

Price at the pump

$1.34/Litre 

Where unemployment has struck so many families, our arrogant city representatives vote to spend more money on pitching to host a future Olympics and handing out tax payer dollars to nonCalgarians, more often not even Canadians, for structures rammed down our throats ... both examples of that home town, hospitable host reputation completely eroded under the leadership of self-interest and leveraged attention deflected towards the one self.

Ironic isn’t it that it would be a year ago as a wake up call that things were a changing in so many ways that 50 something somehow survive to only be challenged perseverance and strength.

I can definitely say that I have rarely stay quiet over bad manners.  Except I redirect to be when I have something helpful ¥ constructive ¥ knowledgeability ¥ positive ¥ informative things to say.

I must have taken a deep breath and a step back which is often how I cope with negativity.

Do opposites attract?

Or, are we more alike than we’d like to think?

Place a ball or stick in a boy’s hands and out pops his basic instinct to hit with it .... like a club.

He could resort to cheering on a fight Or loyally brave watching it with hi-fives.

Threaten a girl in any way you may find she is a lot stronger than she looks.

Many men failed to recognize a strong mind can out power physical strength.

Both have power.

In a perfect world, a woman would be promoted on performance not sucked into

the downward spiral she can’t possibly win.

Gassed by toxic surroundings, choking and gasping for breath

from the draft of sexual harassment or competive alpha female foes.

What is most amazing is what females are equally guilty of:

Jumping into offensive mode

Quick judgement judge of character: when s#*@ hits the fan

A sales mentor is your best champion 

Virginia Garrosino was the most high-ranking mentor I ever had.

My largest client in the digital print management world was worth 50 percent of my annual sales.

My relationship with Virginia evolved more out of curiosity on her part than anything else: who was this little upstart in Calgary turning the branch upside down after she sent our Bill Gates twin named Thomas [fictionalized name] the Alberta Sales Manager who was charged with assessing what was going on.  Thor was givin the instruction to fire me and instead he took me for a beer to have a chat.

When I showed up for work by my typical 7:45~8:45am arrival timeframe, a few jaws dropped because rumour had it I was going to be fired the day before.

Virginia was curioser and curiousness enveloped her to get to know me since she wanted to sharpen her own judgment radar since the logic that was contiously reinforced the second time when she may have made an error in judgement.  I think it was because two folks from opposite spectrums had plenty to say of me.

In an unusual approach in relationship building, I had actually made the recommendation to go to market.  The response earned an invitation to the table of the RFF.

An RFP?

     = request for proposal 

Which means you have been invited to the song and dance to win a contract to have exclusive service agreement.

Thom was in his element, the roll up your shirt sleeves and going on the offensive to win it.

I knew my customer.

I knew the operation, the players and the numbers.

I started creating spreadsheets, a very arduous task when you think of 500 accounts all bundled in a big brother time management exercise like Goldmine.

Even then it wasn’t obvious on how important forecasting was to most people.  I started thinking in 3 month increments.

Virginia came to Calgary and her E A set up meetings, stating she would like me to make reservations for lunch.

The interesting thing, no there are too many interesting things not to share: her background in HR (Human Resources who were covered by elegant, poised, intelligent women with a very firm and business first commitment.

One thing she said at a very dicey situation belonging to my biggest account:  we’d f”@&=% up.  Wisdom abound: everyone makes mistake but it is how you react at the moment is what you become reputed to be.  So,yes, I buckled down and steered through turbulent waters to achievement and acclaim.

Virginia was smart enough to take the time to get to know me, asking me how I could be so successful in sales with 3 small kids at home.

It was easy.  I had wonderful care for my kids so that I could escape for the day in the world of sales then waltz through the door, slip out the back with running shoes and headset pumping upbeats while I went through the decompression phase that men had been doing for eras, not merely years.

It was like I was playing hookey from doing laundry, cleaning toilets and dusting to a continuous shine.  I got to go learn new things daily and converse with people all day.

This all came to mind after watching Canadian political drama for the past 24 hours, watching this evening’s news unfold: the Ontario provincial ruling party at risk to a complete about face that happened in my own province Alberta and more recently about spin in British Columbia Premier ousted.

The brief clip on the matter allowed me to come to this conclusion.

The interim Conservative [REF: US politics “Republican”] party leader will go far in Canadian: he stepped into it because it was needed for the good of a number of people rather than how it would impact him personally.

The risk is greater to an individual than a group.  

Yet the greatest leaders take the risk alone, taking full responsibility 

For the good or the bad

Emerging victorious 

When knowing how to make good judgment calls

Is a gift and characteristic that is rare.

~Jeannette Marshall 

@optioneerJM

A Tale of Two Silos

"Stray the course every once in a while.  Be innovative and a creative thinker."

~Jeannette Marshall

@optioneerJM

It has occurred to me that so many of the world”s woe would be mended and solved into a peaceful Utopia of world reviving the sun and our major offtime is shrouded in darkness,  probably fine for the fewer nocturnal humans - if we stopped “if” or “either” “or” one or the other of just about anything.

Brilliance would abound if companies stopped either your the doers or the workerBees.

I’ll show a third component strongly urged to consider: remove the worst factor in most employees’ minds: to fall onto either heep where the “either” is the most repulsive to you xx you never hear the good news first in an either or situation.  

Thinks about it as you take a few deep breaths: I am just guessing without any evidence, just instinct with logic stealing my course.

I reported to an executive once who’s favourite directive, delivered with flourish would say: “Stay the course!”

In the end meaning either you produce OR perish was the sizzle amongst all that steak where you were a workerBEE or you are a DOer.

Looking back now, I’ve had this attraction to reading my RECOMMENDATIONS on +LinkedIn when I’m going through turbulent waters whether Work or Personal life.  One of my former colleague wrote one for me stating that I “stay the course” just now realizing it.

In general, in life there are the matches by culture, upbringing, beliefs of multitude categories and sub sections which spread out as waves upon the ocean making it infinitely more possible that no two opinions match, merely bounced off one and another of either conflict or harmony.

Taking this as a hypothetical example, either seem to be in a state of either conflict or chaos with the longing for harmony.  By bringing in a third element infused with technology you are more likely to thrive.

I’ve bounced from a DOer to a workerBEE and fell into a cultural shock.  Not really too bad unless you’ve acted like a queen before the high/nose dive into the pit.

Injecting a hyper performer among coasters or followers can create havoc.

A very unmotherly sentiment

Just great.
Thanks A-lot!
Good on ya.
Super-de-duper!
Sw-eeeeeet-!
Niccccccccccce (c's sound like "ssss")

And all that jazz

It isn't enough that I'm having trouble sleeping, I log online and start surfing and reading.  Sleep disorder specialists recommend you stay especially away from computers.  Well, the Solitaire was hypnotic, but didn't make me sleepier.  I'm dog gone tired!

Read this:  Made to feel like a bad mother for not having a job

I wasn't coming to read about being a loser, I came here to get some grainage in me:  i.e.  information.  

What I want for Mother's Day (you can get a T-shirt)

These days, as one is almost feeling like they are drowning as life whirls around and like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz except my Toto is Buddy, a gal's best friend.  

My favorite series that I just gobbled up has been Curb Your Enthusiasm with the immensely popular creator of "Seinfelt" bumblings and confrontations brought to the forefront so many of our failings with expectations, rules, conventions, even poking fun at his own religion in equal doses of jabs to the Catholic community.  With wit and taste, I might add.  Sometimes quirky, sometimes unrelateable for a gal from Calgary, Canada yet at other times like glimpsing a twin! 

Then I get some notice, perhaps a share from somewhere on this article, inspiring a share.  Quite the controversial topic if you ask me.  Have a look/read:  

Then I get a notice that someone added me to a list that had "pre-launch" in it so I had to Tweet to find out what the dealio is, to coddle my curious mind (yeah, I know, at 2:30am what can possibly be more curious than a pillow ).

This whole cycle started by me sharing this article on "MYnewsSTORYofTHEday" board on Pinterest:


Which then happens to land me that article on loser moms, and then inspired me to follow this DIGITAL312 on Pinterest because of their plethora of exceptional collections for a knowledge junkie like me.

I had taken a breather from writing (which I like to think I write on a blog, since I don't get paid to be a Blogger, lol - bitter are we?)

A lot of things have been going on in my offline world or "in real life" that has sidetracked me.  I still find it difficult to talk about so it makes sense that I've avoided writing.

I've been inspired by the number of new followers of late I've been having on YUPPYdom on Wordpress, a real devoted crew of misfits and wonder kinds.

So maybe this is like popping the cork off a little later than New Year's ..... which is normal when one is grasping at straws to remain positive and focused.

On what you say?

It is obvious, I say?

Say what?

I was gonna say:

I don't wanna be a loser mother.


Anymore?