Author brilliantviewpoint

Travel to distance places… PLAY the Memory Game.

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Memory GameThis weekend was a real test of emotions. Being quarantined for three weeks does that. One day happy, one day melancholy, one day energetic – EVERY day is different.

I needed to change this around, so I started looking through my closet. That put me in a grumpy mood. Going through a closet is B-O-R-I-N-G unless we find some “old gems,” we had forgotten about.

SURPRISE – Way on the back shelf was the Travel Memory Game!

What a great find. It brought back memories from when my daughters were young. We loved to play this game. So, then, I thought of Canasta. A few years ago, I went on a Nile Cruise with my family. Every day we played Canasta. As we didn’t have playing cards, we bought some Egyptian ones.

HEY — Where are those Egyptian playing cards??? Checkers… they’ve got to be here.

Oh and the mini series, “Horatio Hornblower.” LOVE that show! Gotta find that!

Suddenly, I was on a roll!

What have you found in YOUR closet?

Photography – Beautiful SUNRISE

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86130B87-3145-449C-9224-4BAFFFAE0332I went walking this morning, looked up, RUSHED to get a photo.

Beautiful sunrise!

The sun is shinning.

It makes all the difference in our mood, UNTIL we listen to the news reports, which are grim.

Still the warmth of the sun gives us HOPE.

Wishing you all a special day!

So, sorry — MR. OWL, MR. PIGEON, it wasn’t you…

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Every morning, I heard this sound.

An Owl… a Pigeon… I didn’t know.

Turns out it was a Dove outside my window.

In Italy, my grandmother fed birds on her balcony every morning.

Don’t they say,

THINK of a LOVED ONE who has PASSED;

They VISIT YOU in the FORM OF AN ANIMAL?

While we are house bound, loving memories fill us with HOPE!

Unfortunately, by accident, I scared away the dove, by opening my window too fast. So, no more dove sounds every morning.

Remote work -> New way of business

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Past, Present & Future – Reminds me of the movie “A Christmas Carol.” Here we are quarantined, looking at the past, reviewing the present, in order to create a new future.

For years, companies have resisted remote workers. Absolutely NOT, they would say. No matter the reason, the answer was, “NO.”

Suddenly a virus strikes, and the Government says employees MUST work from home.

So… we rush to work from home; however, our desk area is not set up properly. For example, last week, I needed a large monitor. Guess what — ALL stores were sold out of big monitors. YES, every other NEW remote worker needed a large monitor.

One week later, now in official quarantine, we were told retail stores were CLOSED.

Welcome to the NEW way of doing business. Not all retail stores are closed, they are still running, but now you can pick up.

The handshake coming through the computer is the NEW way of business.

Yesterday, I went online to buy a monitor from Best Buy. Finally, monitors were back in stock. Checking out, I was given the option to PICK UP in ONE HOUR!

WHAT…

Can you believe that? No shipping charge, no waiting for a week for delivery. Just PICK UP myself in ONE HOUR. I was told to sit in my car, park in a designated PICK UP spot, the sales person would come to my car, open trunk and put monitor in!

WOW — This was SO EASY!

Why would I want to go back to “normal – in store” shopping? I hate shopping!

While our world is in a sad situation, a crisis like this shows we are resilient. To stay in business — bosses, employees & customers work together to make a purchase happen! AND BOY, am I happy to have my large monitor!

Spin class… the Do’s and Don’ts

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4055CEDC-3ACF-4128-B897-7C8B702568B3I’ve always wanted to take a spin class, but it is very intimidating. Take a look at the photo, that’s how spin class looks.

If you are a beginner like me, it looks like everyone is a major athlete.

I mean… I know how to ride a bike, but this is different. This is hard core, it’s not like Dorothy riding her bike with Toto in a flower basket.

This weekend though, I went to my daughter’s spin class. Since she is the instructor, she told me to come early. She’d set me up.

Set me up she did. She adjusted my seat for me, gave me some water, explained the gears and got me one of those wrist bands that tracks how you’re doing. YOU KNOW, the dreaded wrist band that shows your name up on the TV screen, so everyone can see how you/they are doing. I tried to resist putting it on, but my daughter held it out — she gave me a look of “just put the darn thing on.”

Actually, it wasn’t too bad. During our training session, I wasn’t always the slowest ranking biker. We did a lot of hills, my knees and thighs were burning.

After class, she told me that I wasn’t doing Position 2 properly. I guess I was supposed to be straighter with my legs, not have them bent. That explains why my knees were hurting. Perfect form is critical.

Overall it was good. Do I want to do that again?

Hum… I think I prefer dance class.

Create ART using water; Buy a Buddha Board

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86F99B28-B5D9-4164-9D01-13AC68056F8DA friend of mine sent me a picture of this Buddha Board. She knows I have been practicing drawing, but also focused on a zen lifestyle.

Founder and CEO, Eric Thrall, created the Buddha Board to give children and adults a fun, relaxing and quick way to “be creative” and “in the moment.” With the Buddha Board, you draw with water, within 10 minutes your drawing fades away. So, you don’t have to be perfect, instead you are FREE to be as creative as you like.

This would make a great gift. Also, be wonderful at the office. We have a candy jar and employees come by for a treat. I bet if we had a Buddha Board by the candy jar, people would enjoy being creative.

When I was young, we all had an “Etch A Sketch.” We LOVED drawing, even though it was a bit cumbersome to use, we enjoyed it. The Buddha Board is modern and allows for more freedom in drawing and a lot easier to use. I’m excited about this, I want to try it out!

Dating, not having luck… Send your daughter to Japan

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5B5B8AAF-17D2-4999-B095-4D1623605C6EOk, the title is misleading. I know, you’re probably thinking… “WHAT, send your daughter to Japan to find a boyfriend?” No, let me explain.

What I mean is…  when we are trying to find someone, we need special prayers. If it’s not working on our own, we need to dig a little deeper with our  prayers. So, why not go around the world, best way to reach God, right!

My daughter was in Japan recently. I mentioned to her, that if she was by one of the Shinto Shrines, I’d like her to buy a prayer plaque for me. As a Catholic, we go to church, we light candles and we pray to certain Saints for assistance. St. Anthony ALWAYS helps me find a lost item.

So, she brought back this prayer pouch, saying it was “specific” for finding a boyfriend.

Now, BEFORE I pray to this, I NEED to know what it says.

What if by accident she got me a prayer pouch for flying to the moon OR finding a cat… WHO knows?

Can anyone help?

Fitness: Weight lifting routine

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Exercise - weight liftingHow do you remember YOUR weight lifting routines? I’ve been working out with a personal trainer. When we’re going through a routine, I think I’ll remember everything he taught me.

Then I get to the gym on my own…

NOPE, NO MEMORY –  I think, “How did he do that, what size weight, did I bend up or down?” You get the idea.

So, I smartened up, after each session, I started doing quick stick drawings.

Guess what, I’m becoming a PRO.

AND I have a start of a new exercise book!

SPECIAL NOTE: Never tell your trainer you don’t like a certain exercise. WHY?? Because he will MAKE YOU DO the exercise you HATE every single time, i.e., planks!

Chicago – Visit “21c Museum Hotel – MGallery,” newly opened

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The talk of the town in Chicago this week is the newly opened “21c Museum Hotel.” It’s an elegant boutique hotel, which has a small contemporary art museum. The art gallery features some thought provoking pieces.

I found this art piece interesting called, ‘The Police State,” by Sebastian Errazuriz, his take on the three world leaders. There were other interesting pieces, but since the museum is so small, I’ll let you visit to see the rest.

The Reception desk said that 21c Museum Hotels have quite a few other locations, you can visit their website to see where. Condé Nast Traveler has written about this hotel chain, so worth a visit. Now, I am inspired by art, need to go to the Art Institute.