Harmony & Peace are just as necessary as Exercise for optimum health

Does establishing a routine mean you’re old?

Not necessarily.  I recall being in my twenties where I resided in ME me ME:

Princess of my domain

Unlikely to do anything that wasn’t self-serving with the exception of knowledge or growth.

Captain of a ship of my own making

The pressure of your twenties is proportionate to the expectations of your teens.

Scribe of my own personal story

With heartache and disappointment the most reliable friendships.  

With my hands, head, heart, health

Steering my course: what direction I was going and whether it jived with my inner core.

FEMINISM: The word of the year [SOURCE: Merriam-Webster]

Merriam-Webster

Original art by:  Jeannette Marshall
@optioneerJM
(C) Copyrighted

The year of feminism. Well. Wouldn't ya know?

The only beef I have with that is:  every year should be a year where feminism moves forward in giving women the same rights as anyone else.

I speak of which I know.
Hitting my 50s wasn't really so bad.  I had 4 great children all making their way in life.  One now off to university, another one married, one with a sparkle in her eye, and another one battling demons [ REF:  gaming].

Rob and I had a conversation about this the other day.  It was after we returned home from having dinner with our besties couple friends.  It was to celebrate Rob's birthday.  He made a statement that they had a big hill to climb ahead.  Looking back, he was reflecting on experience.  That one minute, you're tripping over kids or kids friends or kids stuff, nonstop nagging 

What he said was true though:  the next minute they're off and growing up or have grown up, with lives of their own.  Their own responsibilities (either significant other or career climb), overshadowing the wants or needs of elder parents.  Yes, we're aging, but we're still in our 50s, considered young in the aging age bracket.  

It's profound.  It's quiet.  [Except when Rob is gaming online with some of the kids].  Sometimes I remember to put my music on to drown out his banter that is one-sided.  Not in the least curious what the other parties are saying in the least.  I've had to grow to be balanced with curiosity.

I've always been an exuberant gal.  Ready with a question, so that I can pick up the minuet details of information and audibly digest it by saying it out loud.  That is a really big misconception, by the way:  people who talk a lot are scattered, indecisive, annoyingly vocal, opinionated and sometimes critical.  

Except if you delve deeper into the logic, demystification surfaces.  We've often heard that some people are visual, visual learners, etc.  What is rarely spoken is that there are others who are auditory.  Meaning that in order to absorb information, they need to say it aloud in order for it to be absorbed.  Alterna- tively, visually oriented appeal to imagery, videos, graphics, art.  

I suppose just words are fine if you are auditory.  One doesn't have to read out loud to comprehend what they are reading.  That is off the track.

We live in a world of supposition.
We make assumptions, jump to conclusions more now than ever before.  By now, the flash of information and visuals is so rapid and fleeting, we don't even realize or recognize what information we're being fed, factual or false.

Feminism is about opinions
That is my take at any rate.   An outspoken, opinionated, egotistical male is considered aggressively pursuing a space rocket trajectory into the stratosphere.  A woman with such attributes is considered aggressive and a bitch.

Three degrees of interpretation
Having three daughters the ages of 23, 25[next month] and 27[2 months].  I've decided to stop identifying which one is my stepdaughter, inherited by marriage because she's been part of my family for 13 years, with a husband I've known for 13 years, who was born on the 13th and I married on the 13th [scoffing at fate and bad-luck tales].

Each girl has branched out into different areas

One is pursuing the arts in university, the other on a carpet ride in project management and the other torn between the legal mill or the pursuit of an education.  The main point, really, being that they each took different paths that reflect their different views on life, education, work, relationships and what they want out of it.

Only one is a steadfast feminist
She is vocal, she is a champion for the underdog and she is learning her voice.  The feminism of the millennials is quite different that the first feminist whom one has heard about starting in the 60s, making leaps in the 80s, and protests and speeches abound, fighting for equal rights for women.

There is a long, long way to go.
Like the example I was trying to give on learning or communication styles, we make assumptions and we allow stereotypical thinking of our own.  

Wishing you a merry and marvelous holiday season to you and yours

xo Jeannette
@optioneerJM
(c) Copyright unless written permission granted

Where a title can't explain ....

The following is a post I wrote on Facebook when I wanted to share the comments I saw online under job site INDEED ...... Maybe INDEED has hired someone to cross the pavement from that other G-spot on Facebook where employees, clients, interviewees can voice their opinion, anonymously or aligned by a brand.  

A very public scathing review of companies and apparently organizations that hire others, is becoming a central voice of opinion.  CEOs tremor at the power of opinion if one of the opinionator's were approached by a mainstream media or create a video for community support and advancement in ethics.

Our opinions are starting to matter a lot more.  Our opinions are our voice.  There is nobody else like you thus it is impossible for anyone to think, act, voice .... unless we have the acclaim:  "My opinions are my own ...." Does that really protect us (must find out).

I wrote this a few days ago on Facebook with the intent to repost it her on my meanderingsABOUT blog.  I chose Facebook to see it first because that audience is continuously showing and demonstrating their loyalty and support.  Now secondly, it is here on meanderings because this is where a 56 year old woman who is fighting her 50s while trying to be a fashionista fashion voice and social media personality for women 50 and over .... a growing following who like the vibe I transmit and bump into me in other social sites ..... 

Google's blogspot blog allows me to see stats every single day, subtract my own clicks to keep authenticity, and it has allowed me to grow an understanding of the following I catch vibes with.  Presumably you would think the two ME-generations (Baby Boomers and Millennials) ....

The greatest support for my Blog comes from my Facebook followers so thank YOU!!  However, honorable mention has to be to the WordPress crew who actively engages with YUPPYdom (my blog there).

Perhaps I am scattered around the various blogs but I'm not worried.  Why?  Because I read seven years ago (2010) that content was going to be king in the new generation of opportunities.  Perhaps an honorable follow to comfort which was the retail king launched and mastered by Steve obs' APPLE was devoted to comfort and ease for customers (with a critical eye on aesthetics to match the quality and value it was going to be branded as).  

Maybe all these scattered blogs identify with a specific audience by looking at the numbers and the hashtags that they're likely to react (aka click under), I observed a pattern evolving.  If I paid attention to the numbers under an article segment came from a particular strong regional audience from abroad, then I would cater the conversation in that direction.  For example, I blip on my blogging was actually on travel under optioneerJM.  Conjuring the dream to travel and discovery on new lands, unique people, honorable cultures and all-round good people.  I would have to thank Mazatlan, Mexico for that.  I have a blog in the works:  I'm now creating my own art for my posts (an advocate for artists who should be compensated for their work) I started to dabble with painting and then uncork this need to come up with the graphics as I gurgle the ideas in my mind -- big multi-tasking to be sure!!

I will write about these matters.  I have a blogging fever!  Being away for most of November, with a major delay in getting into the Christmas spirit (something my youngest daughter told me was one of her fondest memories:  how I went all out decorating and festivities surrounding Christmas.  I remember saying:  "I guess I figured out what must go up, must come down.... there was nobody around to help pack it away or help put it up".

The following was posted on Facebook yesterday:

An example of the power of statement made online ........ reviews galore! There's no fire to put out. It appears as though it were lit a long, long time ago. I've watched with fascination [wanting to understand the history and learn the culture] and dismay [ Canada's shameful treatment of so many honorable people, of Canada, at the hands of the residential schools.

There's a difference, I see. Not so long ago, Many non-indigenous folks, like myself, only saw what we saw closest to our homes, mode of transportation, path, event, city or town street or avenue: sprawled, sleeping or drunken indian man or woman underneath a tree, in the transit station, the stench of vomit mingled with body odor that would indicate bathing and hygiene have been ignored. Sometimes approaching one trying to get from point A to point B, staggering forward with barely audible slurred words requesting a donation towards their next meal, which would also appear to have been neglected or compromised regularity or shelter to have them, a soup kitchen, even kind words.

I admit to be one of the Canadians guilty of ignoring this great people. Hidden behind my own limited self-perceptions based on a VERY small percentage of a proud community and our country's founders. In so many ways, we have done them dis-justice very likely with shame, no differently one would with a son or uncle or mother struggling with addition.

Then, to make matters worse. We allowed the traditional media to influence those perceptions: NOT stories of courage, overcoming great obstacles, the struggle to keep a culture alive as its youth flock to the city, often recycling the affliction of their adult influences: I wonder how many of the youth of indigenous origin escaping the need to commit suicide, towards severe conditions of negative bias, fall to more dangerous additions like heroine or Fentanyl ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fentanyl

A crowd across the universe is possessed by the cloud, data extrapolation of information from people everywhere to create algorithms :: who knows what Artificial Intelligence AI will tell, what stories will unfold.

If we think that racism and bias is alive and thriving in a pathetic world of people just trying to keep living, without struggle, starvation, addictions, health inflictions .... can you imagine what will happen when some computer generates an algorithm that dictates by stating the pure numbers that this is the preferred response rate, what will happen then?

We've already become a toss away society and we cannot blame our offspring, the Millennials, shoulder the cause alone. Because where did they learn that from, the offspring of the war era babies who learned to make one dollar stretch into five [ reference to my meanderingsABOUT.blogspot where I captured a conversation quip from my 82 year old mother, how she wore underwear made from potatoe sacks until her mother figured out that flour sacks made much finer cloth -- of Ukrainian heritage, can you say perogies without yum?

I rambled on a little too long. I will continue to blog and want to thank you for your support for a long time!! I am initially writing this on Facebook on my OptioneerJM page because my greatest readership falls like stars in the sky from Facebook.

I've started to expel the knowledge I learned about 30 years ago on numbers. I had the best example and will also write about that more.

Okanagan Indian Band review on Indeed

"Tough nut to crack": There are great people, some amazing employees to work with. Everyone is overworked and underpaid, however. The political climate is intense, and the direction is scattered and usually unrealistic. Don't expect a long term position, but if you can handle…

CA.INDEED.COM

Want to know what it means to get the PINK slip?

Original content by:*

Jeannette Marshall

@optioneerJM

optioneerJM+

aboutME.com

If you're around my age [ 50 on a good day or 56 on a bad one ] and you have a daughter or niece or granddaughter around the millennial set (is this the Y? Generation? ] fact check [ ) --> i first called it the Y Generation on one of my first INbeTWEENers blog [ via #WordPress ] aka now as YUPPYdom > target audience & readers born 1960 or later, but before the Millennial (otherwise known separately as The Baby Boomers :: those born of the Elvis and 50s era and vibe, became adults of GENX which is sandwiched [aka squeezed] between the Baby Boomers, inBETWEENers (1960-1969) & what I like to  I call the war babies (those babies born after either World War I ] fact check [date when WWI ended?].

Phew, what a mouthful, eh?  Sometimes I get multiple thoughts that run like a freight train, full speed ahead.  It drives a lot of people crazy [the Hunkster Hubster in particular] ::.... sometimes I am telling him something and 2/3 of the way through, I go "um ah" multiple times until he barks at me:  "Um uh!  You didn't finish!  

Luckily for me, and the loyal few, I sometimes take the time to capture some cool moments.  Or, not so cool moments.

The PINK SLIP?

It is when you mess up with your Millennial daughter and she goes ape shit all over you.  If that isn't suffice, she goes into IGNORE mode, and often BLOCK mode.  Thus is the PINK SLIP.

It doesn't seem fair that father's rarely, if ever, get the PINK SLIP.  It seems a
blessing in disguise when the ticked off goes into overdrive.  It is a process.
It is quite inevitable, particularly if you're the "Mother".    Sometimes it can actually be funny, payback for when 2 PINK GIRLS change the Alpha Pink Girl's status under family that "she is adopted".  

That is the distinction between the battle hardy inBETWEENers:  we've been pushing water up hill all our lives [ saying credit to Wade Sparks, former boss and President of a SMB:  Small Medium Business; selling to very BIG companies and running a branch ].

What obstacles don't 1960 to 1965 in particular share with Millennials?  A-LOT!  Remember we were the original hipsters, aka Yuppies, adulting in the 80s [ exact same age as they are in my case - 27(Kyle) etc.  My girls are wise beyond their years and really have some great attributes that I envy if I could only have known back at the same age, how magnificent everything would be.  

YUPPIES:  Eternal optimists
What would this world really be like, if Yuppies weren't born [ other than cult culture of the 1980s skippy high bangs and big hoops and slouch socks with tights, ankle runners, big oversized sweaters, perms galore, fresh eyed trusters after being abolished and quietened by our very loud Baby Boomer siblings [ brother or sister ].   Being the object of teasing at the edge of tormenting their younger, devoted sibling who iconized their every move [ except thinking he is Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin with his electric guitar and amp turned up to the max, "WAHW.... wahwm .... WAHW" be still my pounding ears:  no wonder I don't like waking up and jumping out of beg:  clear bad memory of when having to do so ].

Yuppies had to prop each other up and really boost each other's morale.  We were either in college or at our first REAL job(s) in the 1980s.  Amidst recessions, world war threats between the US and Russia, joblessness skyrocketed with the increasing temperature of world affairs.  Just graduating from high school, we were surrounded about hostages, capture, and hijacks and we only had the radio or television where we were likely to get our news.  [ Others would say newspapers, but some of us gal Yuppies didn't like how the ink came off on our fingers so we weren't a fan of newspapers but we were the dawn of capitalism in the 1980s, with greed on most corporate executive's manifesto.  Today, layoffs, downsizing, let go, fired, laid off, work force reduction, reorganization, restructuring are more the norm.  

Loyalty has left the atmosphere.  Neither company nor employee get what they want out of the deal and their is a parting of ways.  The Pink Slip was probably coined in the 1980s ] FACT CHECK [.  Another tie in to the nifty headline I was particularly impressed with ( pat on back to Jeannette ).

Another characteristic of those arriving at adulthood, parenthood in that decade is that Yuppies really like recognition.  More sore than any other generation, simply because being sounded out by our louder siblings, who took credit for a clean car [ trick:  ask younger sibling to help wash car and he would drive them around town for "a while"; so you help them and they take you for a drive to main street and back [ in my life, never really that far:: walkable ]. 

So having a Millennial child is about setting and understanding boundaries.  A familiar song we sang as parents coming back full circle upon our ears.  From that really smart child who snaps it up and snaps it out, except louder.  Probably because we likely seethed but didn't shout in anger, or clenched our teeth akin to biting our tongue.  We were born of the parents who believed that how you dressed {stylish and polished} and how you behaved [ impeccable manners ] were a direct mirror into their inner soul.  

Ask a War Baby what it means to go without (ahem, attention Yuppies and Millennials, take note here)?  You better sit down and grab that cup of coffee anyhow because their answer is going to take a while.  What is amazing is when you actually recognize the sacrifice that War Babies had both as children, growing up and as adults, parents:  having to make do with very little.  Appreciating value over squandering money, which Yuppies and Millennials are apt to do.

Wanting to climb the ladder?  
There's a big leap between The Baby Boomers who are retiring to the tipping point beginning of the Millennial leaders, pioneers.  Yuppies and GEN-X likely skipped over.  Why not?  More educated, Millennials can bring fresh ideas, latest technological improvements [ which is a HOAX by GenXers letting others think that Yuppies aren't technologically inclined ].

Ask yourself, when was the birth of the computer?  Technically, it began a long long time ago, before Yuppies were even born.  What I mean is the birth of the personal computer?  Some of us went to school in 1979 to have hands on computer in our post secondary, either by instinct or natural survival mode.  If you want to have someone project manage something to perfection, you would be wise to consider a Yuppy:  they've been coming up with solutions and fixing problems by the time The Beatles broke up (a long long time ago).

Since I'm already in trouble and she doesn't read my blog * giggles *

So I apologized to my daughter.  Fingers crossed the PINK slip won't last long.  I will try to continue to be optimistic that she'll reconsider her reaction (ah-hem scale 1-10 ticked off:  9.5 degrees out of 10.)   

Maybe the next Millennial will read this, think about their mom mostly, or their dad if it happens, tone down the reaction and embrace the differences between you, with the added value of life experience that COULD spare them a lot of grief.  Knowing that rarely is advice heeded.  Swash-buckling their way to their future in their own brave style.

You have to remember, that your Yuppy mom or Yuppy dad, are prone to recognize how well you are doing.  Driving you crazy for posting about an accomplishment or re-sharing a picture, simply because you thought it was beautiful, unconsciously unaware that so many would agree.  They see the inner beauty paired with the outer strikingness as a formidable force, into the stratosphere when it is blended with intelligence and street smarts, common sense.  With a twist of humor, knowing that laughing at one's self is the biggest show of humility.

Even more if they are a Millennial 

Know the rules before you start communicating

There are often repetitive messages in my Meanderings, and it is rewarding when someone of superior intelligence grasps the meaning behind the messages.

Mike and I began our Social Media journey at about the same time (2010) ::... I was nudged a little harder over the cliff into the abyss slightly before him, and became what I thought as an unlikely mentor to someone who was highly successful and brilliant in his own right -- a successful book launch being a key metric that I recognized early on as a method to delve into credibility online among the endless noise and self-promotion of many self-described "experts".

Steadfast still, I am firmly entrenched in the belief that nobody can define themselves as an expert, no matter how many followers one has.  It is derived from how others describe you:  what do others consider you knowledgeable about is one thing, being credited as an expert quite largely another.

Mike reached out to me a couple of weeks ago via email, one of the few entrusted connections online that have never been derived from a face-to-face meeting at an event, social or association.  Not even a telephone conversation.

Having a virtual or personal conversation with a man who is not a relative, business associate is frowned upon as it can lead "to other things".  However, you can still be disciplined in having rich conversations and exchange of knowledge and learning from others regardless of gender.   There is an invisible line that should never be crossed.  

During a isolated time in my life when I was a regular church attendee, I still recall a message that resonates today from a wise Pastor:  do not be afraid to create friendships or be asked for advice from the opposite gender.  However, there are some areas to stay far from to keep it from falling into a downward, unethical spiral:

1. Include others in the conversation so that it is not isolated, clustered by only two (the Pastor suggested that he invites his wife to any meeting or event that he wants to avoid falling into the trap of questionable conversations, particularly marriage counselling).
2. It is okay to sprinkle in nuggets about your life partner, spouse, wife or husband, children, as a distinct flag that you are if not always happy, happiest with the person you are with and have no intention to stray.  Cheating is not at your core values.
3. Keep it professional so that at any given time, the conversation may be shared with a sibling, friend, child, parent, spouse, partner without any guilt.
4. Keep the topic off of relationship radars:  particularly complaints about your partner's shortcomings, dissatisfaction with your relationship in any shape or form.  That should be with your church minister or mosque elder.
5. You can have a respectful, fruitful relationship with a person of the opposite sex, when your radar clearly signals "in a committed relationship with not a sliver of disregard or disrespect of your life partner".
6. Any of these apply to anyone with leanings towards same sex or transgender relationships.

You CAN have helpful, rewarding relationships with anyone so long as you know your boundaries and it is clearly communicated by not so much by what you say but how you act.

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.

TRUST your instincts

The trials of being 50+ can be eye popping, especially so if you are a woman.

Jeannette Marshall

10 mins · 

I was just getting prescriptions filled less than a week ago after seeing the doctor for an annoying recurring bug (first laryngitis type virus then nauseous); it occurred to me to mention it to the doctor but I didn't, but remembered and asked the pharmacist: my husband had a small case of shingles in his back beneath his shoulder blade: he said that shingles is NOT contagious; The day before last during a meeting excusing during the discussion, saying I didn't know what was going on. Thankfully, yesterday was a day off because, even though I grumbled about missing the Super Bowl, I had swapped Sunday's 9 to 5 shift instead of an ugly 2pm to 10pm shift. My skin started to erupt and today it almost looks like I am a burn victim. I wasn't even thinking shingles, but when the Hunkster Hubster had shingles, I did what most of us do: look it up on the internet. Let me emphasize that I do not condone self-diagnosis, always rule to see a doctor first. (I was taught this while my Awesome SONster was in and out of the hospital a lot as a baby)! To top THAT off, I had been invited for a video interview for a career position (not a job, like I am in now) with an international sustainability corporation (the environment is something I'm passionate about - please go to my optioneerJM blog where I wrote about how to use normal household objects instead of expensive manufactured, packaged, designed, marketing overhead products. Because I consider my main focus groups: INBETWEENERS (born 1960 to 1965, after the Baby Boomers, before Generation X, while likely parents of Millennials) ..... so here I am with this erupted sore face, I had to slather it with tons of foundation to try to hide it with massive amounts of cover up ..... wishing for the best: one thing I said in the video was a wholehearted response: just doing this video interview while I have a severe allergic reaction on my face, should demonstrate that I can bounce back from set backs. So later on this afternoon while I am waiting for my family to come home and stop over to celebrate my Awesome SONster's birthday; 28th birthday......... read more on meanderingsABOUT 

I came online to ask Google the question:  "Can you get Shingles on your face?" and a plethora of information abounded.  I read some of the symptoms and it registered with me to go beyond to take a look of the images of Shingles on faces ...... pretty GROSS is an understatement.  I WAS able, however, to find one that mirrored my own face.  In fact, mine appears a lot more drastic.  Trust me, it may be slightly redder from putting cover up and mega tons of foundation to cover up for the video interview I had on my agenda this afternoon.  That, and preparing for my Awesome SONster's 28th Birthday celebration.  Not any lazing around.

YES you CAN get #shingles on your face!!  

My lesson for the day:  trust your instincts.  If it is anything other than Shingles I will update my blog.

This was me a week ago.

Lesson to you:  If you are over 50, get the Shingles vaccine.  If I had been given the proper information less than a week ago, I may have gotten the vaccine that very day.  Less than a week later, ironically they must be contagious, just like chicken pox are.

Shingle Alert

Thanks Donna, I just got home from Dr who confirmed it is Shingles. I wrote about it on my MEANDERINGSabout blog and posted this uncomplimentary picture that has horrified my family to create awareness that it is CONTAGIOUS and very painful. Anxiety is the highest contributor in my case. I took two months off work this summer, the first time in a career spanning 40 years -- I can say that because I got my first job at a newspaper when I was 15, because if I wanted to continue figure skating, I had to contribute financially to the ice times, private lessons, tests, competitions, skates and dresses (most top contending figure skaters come from very affluent backgrounds typically because it is almost an elitist sport for the well off, a beacon for affluence similar to that of tennis. READ more on MEANDERINGSabout http://meanderingsabout.blogspot.ca/

The mating call

I'm (hopefully obviously) going to write more on this later on.  As I often do, instead of just closing my tabs, I leave some open.  Then I go see what is going on and end up clicking on more stories or videos that get my brain wheels turning.  Not a good thing when you are finding oneself more nocturnal as you get older.  Is this because we're reverting to our younger selves as we get older?  Kind of like that Benjamin character by Brad Pitt, whom YES I watch all his movies -- the plot being that Brad's character is rapidly getting older or is it younger?  OK, this was going to be a quick one so it doesn't aggravate my falling to sleep.  It doesn't help if you have to be up at the crack of dawn.

This came from Business INSIDERS, one of my favorite content sources:

What women find attractive in men:  here's the link:

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What women want?

attract the universe

Identity Crisis
Is what you begget when you try to divide and siphon off ideas or mere thoughts.  If you are creative in mind and in thinking, you have a hard time letting go of an idea once it is uncorked.

growing a personality
that is recognizable whether from a voice (on YouTube), a face (everywhere), a name synonymous with a pseudonym as I did  create called optioneerJM.  Admittedly back then, as now, I did not want to be presently known on social media that could be tracked to my personal name so I created optioneerJM.  My mind was more caught up with the best way to sell, in a consistent, smooth manner is by understanding your client or prospects needs, defined intricately with what would take them over the top if you understood their wants.  Really great ones can capitalize and categorize them so that they stand out.  

Motorcycle mind
Can be an escape from taking any responsibility for where your creativity takes you.  Once you toss it out to the universe and bother to examine if anything sticks, means that you may be avoiding critical feedback to learn from.

Scarcity of comments
belies the number of visitors that do heavenly click.  A self-critiquing perfectionist can emerge.  Not like the slow evolution of time or the long revolution around the sun.  

Empathy
is something that I was generously given as a natural skill, honed so well, like a finely carved statue or sculpture, considered a gift.

Outgoing
is what immediately would be what I would want to be identified with.  

Brave
enough to try new things.  Laughing at oneself far quicker than anyone else.

Ridicule
is a feared for sure.  Which goes in the opposite direction of the instinct of being outgoing.  Where, what may be lurking is an assault with being the subject of ridicule?

Confidence
with the belief and strong conviction that you are beyond reach of falling self esteem caused by events, outside your control like natural aging and progression in life, to things you intake as happening to you.

Recovery
speed is like the mental olympics of creative types.  Because as they become more prolific in ideas, the more muddled it can become.

Distinction
deciphered with lightening speed.  Fast computing between right and wrong, strength to avoid all that is wrong and focus on what is or can be right.

READ MORE HERE .......