Virtual TM & Kids' Choice Awards 2020

Participated in the virtual Yonge-Eglinton Toastmasters meeting again this
Thursday April 30, 2020 where the evening's meeting theme was Walking Tour.

Cathy was the
wonderful toastmaster.

The first speech (a persuasive influence type) was given by Mani whose topic was Decisive Victory, where the one part that is completed (in a military battle) is the decisive victory but the war is not over.
My two takeaways from his speech was:
1. Best way to get people to do something is not by force but by heart and some humor.
2. Life isn't a war, it's a collection of decisive victories.

Corey shared his 3rd special/occasion speech on our PM, Justin Trudeau where he spoke of his background as an inspirational teacher and toasting his leadership skills in his election.

The last speech on Dynamic Leadership was given by Alphie with the most enticing title teaser of Be Like a Goofy Lumberjack Evaluation.
The main takeaway from the speech was to reinvent the wheel by remembering all the people who have helped along the way of maintaining his position (just getting up, not to be scared and just go!) as well as giving back as a mentor (with a lovely description of his own mentor who had a bushy beard and a goofy smile!). The speech was concluded wonderfully through his feedback of leading the boat and mentoring other people.

Winnie was the evening's
Quiz Master

As well, Kwanta,
the General Evaluator.

I also caught this evening's hour long virtual Kids' Choice Awards 2020: Celebrate Together May 2, 2020 where BTS won Favorite Music Group (woo!!!) and have included a snapshot of the Avengers Cast after they assembles for a virtual appearance!!!

Mind Control: Managing Your Mental Health

I've been taking an online class that's given by Prof Steve Joordens Professor of Psychology University of Toronto Scarborough in the past two weeks on Coursera Together: Keep learning with free resources during COVID-19 For Universities & For Learners given to alumni where we can go at your own pace with video lectures, readings, quizzes etc.

It's really nice as this professor has put this class together to help us understand and deal with the anxiousness of this strange time and to be given some understanding and strategic ways to manage our/my mental health during COVID-19.

Topics covered include understanding and dealing with anxiety response, achieving relaxation, mental distraction, physical distancing, isolation, physical distancing, guarding against depression, strategy and techniques for exercises.

At the end of each of the three weeks that I've covered (there's one more week), there's a little quiz section to test the knowledge that was imparted.

Now I'm following the 90 minute national salute where Iconic Canadian artists, activists and athlete sharing hope and inspiration salute to our country's front-line workers.
Thank you to ALL of the frontline workers and first responders!!! #STRONGERTOGETHER #TOUSENSEMBLE

Virtual TM April 23, 2020

I participated in my first virtual toastmasters with Winnie’s Yonge-Eglinton Toastmasters last night.

As I am a guest to this TM, I had the opportunity to enjoy this meeting without the additional stress of presenting a speech (an advantage in membership) that guests are not privileged to.

It was nice to see Ruth and Eman, Mr. President

The speeches were fun, beginning with Bobby's icebreaker speech sharing his preference to not being a chatty katty, thereby avoiding conversations if possible (which is ironic as he was at a TM, lol). He shared a fun example of when he worked at a 'tickle', thus engaging in small talk.

Another speaker, Garry shared a motivational speech on maintaining consistent movement routine. His speech included mentioning that he'd climbed the CN Tower 3 times which brought on my own flashback memories of my own climb back in the day...

Corey's speech was the most fun as he was so excited in presenting his speech that he was unable to distance himself properly from the computer camera, thus was in all our faces the entire time! His speech was praising a fellow church pal, Danny whose positive influence works magic with the church community through his take on focusing on one's inside while appreciating the simplicity and generosity of any person!

Abbeyites 'zoom' get together

The first of many to come with us ladies between Canada & Australia!!!

What a great experience within the six of us that Maija so graciously helped to set up for us yesterday evening. The cool thing about zooming is that whoever is speaking is on the large screen while the others are lined up in the little boxes on the top of the screen.

Kristy & Karina both dropped in what would have been Sunday morning from oz.

Darling Maija graced us with a wonderful looking hat.
As well, Emmi, James and Jonathan
graced us periodically with their presence!

Fayewood also had Marc drop in for a quick 'hello'!

We were all excited to celebrate Dr. T's new position in Melbourne. Not to mention seeing what wonderful furnished digs she has. *thumbs up* It's excellent incentive to come back to visit her in the wonderful city, yay!!!

It was a nice occasion as we also all sang Happy Birthday to our buddy ,Tanaks!!!

The 77th annual golden globe awards two highlights

So I'd actually finally saw the tape on the weekend but I've ONLY just gotten around to posting that I've seen it. Yassss, I know this was from way back at the beginning of the year...Jan 5, 2020 (don't judge!!!)

The two highlights of the show for me was especially when:
Kate McKinnon presented Ellen Degeneras the Carol Burnett award emphasizing that Ellen:
- gave her a sense of self, especially when she came out at that time, which gave her courage as well as that 'only thing that made it less scary was seeing Ellen on tv. I would have gone on thinking that I was an alien and that I maybe didn’t have the right to be here.'

As well as when:
Charlize Theron presented Tom Hanks with the Cecil B. DeMille award saying:
- 'I was in love. Rita, you SHOULD file a restraining order against me.
They called Tom an ‘every man’. And while Tom does give us a chance to see ourselves on screen, he also gives us something more profound. He presents a vision of who we COULD be.
- Tom gave ME one of my first roles when he directed ‘That thing you do.’
- I remember my audition after my first read I thought I completely blew it, I didn’t know where I was or WHO I was and I had SOMEHOW forgotten to BREATHE.
- And Tom just kindly looked at me, took a beat and said ‘I’m so sorry Charlize, do you mind just giving me five minutes? I have to just step out. I’ll be RIGHT back and then we’ll do that scene again.’ Tom didn’t need five minutes. I needed five minutes. Those five minutes were a gift to me because he saw a nervous sweaty young actress, failing to master a panic attack and a THICK South African accent. THAT’S the kind of man he is.
- This is why we love Tom.
- He stands for all the qualities we stand for, both on screen and off.
- He gives us enough laughter to whether our storms and while there is not crying in baseball!’, he has made easy work of breaking our hearts and stealing our tears. The most undeniable thing that can be said about Tom Hanks is both deceptively simple and overwhelmingly true.
- He just makes the world a better place.’

Tom's acceptance speech included:
- You know, you’re a dope if you don’t steal from everybody you’ve worked with. And I have stolen from the likes of the people that only need ONE name. You know? Like Meryl... like Denzel...like Antonio...Like Meg... like Julia... like Sally Field, even thought that’s two names, it’s still one. But I have also been made better by watching the examples of some of the greatest actors that have ever walked the stage. And Charlize who is actually one of those one word names. The reason I had to leave the room, the reason I had to leave the room for five minutes was because I was going to tell all the producers that this woman that I’m auditioning right now is going to be in this movie somehow so we’ve got to figure out how it’s going to work. And she WAS.

- In 1977 when I was an intern at the Great Lakes Shakespeare festive my first professional job. We ALL got yelled at by Dan Sullivan, the director. We had all partied a little too much the night before, we were showing up for rehearsals and he screamed at us. He said ‘hey, look you actors. You know what your job is? You have GOT to show up on time and you have to know the text, and you have to have a head full of ideas. Otherwise I CAN’T do my job.’ That was the greatest lesson a young actor could possibly ever get. First of all, the head full of ideas. Bring anything, try anything, they might not use it. If it stinks, they won’t use it. Am I right, Marty Scorsese? If it’s not good, boy, let’s see the outtakes from that movie, by the way...

- And it’s NOT just the lines. It’s the WHOLE thing. It’s the red dot. It’s the theme of the movie. You’ve GOT to know it. You might not be RIGHT in what opinion that you bring to it but you’ve got to come at it with SOME direction. And as Charlize might know and some of the other people who’ve worked with us through the playtone galaxies of stars...showing up ON TIME. Is ONE of the GREATEST liberating acts you can give YOURSELF in a movie. That means those people with radios in their ears don’t need to knock on your door to say they’re ready for you. They’re actually all ready for you...and you have liberty and you have the freedom to be early enough to settle down because when the time comes, you have to hit the marks...and you have to GO there.

- Thank you all here, thank you all for your inspiration. And all of your work and all of the struggle that you guys go through in order to hit the marks and tell the truth. I have checked the gate. The gate is good. Thanks!

#goldenglobes

Comedy Gives Back Laugh Aid 4 / 4 @ 4 pm PT

Laugh Aid is a comedy live stream showcasing A-list lineup of comedians raising money and awareness for an emergency relief fund benefiting working comedians.

Instagram workouts

Even though I try to keep a regular workout schedule, as our facilities are closed for the moment I’m maintaining my exercise via morning walks in the park and now I’m following Twitch and Allison’s m/w/f Instagram workouts that they post.

I’m including their ‘live’ screenshot of them posing after the day’s workout.

It’s called ENCOURAGEMENT!!! 😉

#iHeartConcertOnFOX

The iHeart Living Room Concert for America that took place last night on FOX.
Hosted by Elton John (who even performed on his kid’s keyboard!), performers and appearances included:

• Alicia Keyes, BSB, Russell Wilson & Ciara, DaveGrohl, Billie Eilish & Finneas, Ryan Seacrest, Camilla Cabello & Shawn Mendes Billie Joe Armstrong, Melissa McCarthy Ben Falcone, Lady Gaga, Lizzo, Tim Mcgraw, Sam Smith, Demi Lovato, Dr. Elvis Francois from the Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN, H.E.R. (Having Everything Revealed), Mariah Carey & Daniel Moore and Ellen Degeneras!

Even though they were ALL spectacular, I really held myself to snapping ONLY three photos that I’m including here...I’m most proud of the BSB one!

Go Alicia Keyes!!!

Yaaaassss BSB!!!

And that’s Lizzo chatting with Sir Elton John!!!

Streaming rabbit hole

Even though we’re all ‘self-isolating’ at home, I’ve been unable to binge-watch my taped shows successfully BECAUSE I’ve been watching too many live-streaming shows. For example, I’m currently watching a 12 hour Twitch Stream Aid 2020 that includes performances by Rita Ora, John Legend, Charlie Puth, Thomas Rhett, Scotty McCreery, Lady Antebellum, Cole Swindell, Jordin Sparks, Garth Brooks, One Republic, Luke Combs to name a few.

There’s binge-watching taped shows...ugh...

I’m also including some screen shots of other shows I’ve recently seen that I want to remember:

This is Chris Martin who started #TogetherAtHome

These three are David Foster and Katherine McPhee:

The following two are from Katherine’s birthday:

Also, one more of David, Kat and Buble & Louisiana:

These three are from John Legend’s performance which included drop ins from Chrissy Teigan and Luna:

These two are of Alicia Keyes

The last two are from Keith Urban’s performance with help from wifey, Nicole Kidman!

In this strange and weird ‘isolating’ time period, I’ve been enjoying the excessive amounts of television I’ve both taped and am watching ‘live’ shows.

I’ve really been happy watching this evening’s episodes of ‘Little Big Shots’ with Melissa McCarthy (it was a wonderful and fun musical one!) as well as the crazy antics on ‘American Idol’...and I’m not even halfway through yet!!! It’s made enough of an impression to pause the show to post about it!

Due to social distancing protocols, all recreational facilities in my building are closed...therefore I went for my first walk outside this year!

Even though it was a nice reminder as to why I like to exercise outside, it's still a leeeetle tooooo early in the year as my ears were definitely feeling it.

So if I go out tomorrow morning....earmuffs it is! ;p

Social distancing

Wikipedia’s definitely of ‘social distancing’ is a set of nonpharmaceutical infection control actions intended to stop or slow down the spread of a contagious disease. With the main point of social distancing is in hopes to reduce the probability of contact between persons carrying an infection, and others who are not infected, so as to minimize disease transmission, morbidity and ultimately, death.

Why this necessity at this time?

Unfortunately, the entire world is dealing with coronavirus (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by a new virus that had not been previously identified in humans. The virus causes respiratory illness (flu-like) with symptoms such as a cough, fever and in more severe cases, pneumonia.

It’s so debilitating as even though it doesn’t discriminate to any age, it seems to mainly affect older people and people with pre-existing medical conditions. (Note, parents in this category...even though I’m just past the second point.)

Therefore, even though it goes against my will...social distancing it is...for now.

'Leave a Light On'

Alex Karev's sendoff from the Grey's Anatomy Series March 5, 2020

I made the decision to not watch yesterday's episode that was another one of Grey's original character's closing storyline...partly because I had read some articles giving me an idea of what was to come but the reviews seemed to be negative.
However, after reading Ellen Pompeo's message:
Hi here I go again … Thank YOU! You are truly the best most passionate most loyal fans anyone could ever ask for. Because of you we got to make great tv... because of you we got to make television history! I say often life is hard and thank God it is because like I tell my kids... it shows us what we are made ...of how strong we really are and let's face it... without the lows there would be no dancing it out or celebrating this incredible experience we call life. Thanks to our national treasure @therealdebbieallen and the writers for giving Alex Karev the best send off. Thanks to @shondarhimes for creating the most amazing character. For me personally for Karev to go back to the beginning... was the best possible storyline. It pays homage to those incredible first years and the incredible case … that created a foundation so strong that the show is still standing. So let's not be sad. As our fearless leader DA always says let's PULL UP and celebrate the actors the writers and the fantastic crew who make this show come to life every week. No matter what the challenge or how tired we all are in the end... you keep us going..... That is worth dancing it out over! So much love and gratitude to you all. Xo E
it made me WANT to watch it to make my own judgement on how Justin Chamber's character was wrapped up.

I must say that I disagree with a lot of the negative comments. I'm mainly surprised by the reaction as I personally loved the flashbacks and approve of how they wrapped up the storyline for this character who's been on this journey with Meredith since the beginning. It really does give new meaning to leaving the light on!

This is my conclusion. I’m including a timeline of grey’s characters and the seasons they were on for:

as well as an image as to what happened to the characters:

...that is all!

Call of the wild

So I went to see this movie per mom’s request yesterday.
It’s a sweet movie about a big-hearted dog named Buck and how his domestic life as just a dog is turned upside down when he’s uprooted from his home in Cali and shipped to the Alaskan Yukon in the 1890s. Going through chapters in his life that included being part of a mail-delivery dog sled team, the movie shows how Buck experiences the adventure of a lifetime as he ultimately finds where his place is in the world.

Definitely a bit of an emotional roller coaster seen through the eyes of a dog.
Plus there was this added bonus of seeing Harrison Ford as one of the main characters as well. Won’t spoil the ending. 😉

Totally worth seeing.

Leap year

Was spent wonderfully with the family as we went to the Bell lightbox for a dinner at Luma, with a wonderful display of seafood (I got the burger), finishing off with dessert and coffee with bailey's.

YUM!!!

I've included two photos of the cn tower as well, we had seats with the wonderful view!

Afterwards, we went to the Princess of Wales to see the fabulous River Dance!!!

Loving smiles are like a bunch of magic keys that can open puzzled minds

Kiril Vasilev

Met up with Cat at the Sheppard Center, Longo’s Starbucks during her lunch hour for a pre-birthday drink catchup.

Even though it was a bitter sweet flashback to our coffee catchups from back in the day, there was also some unfortunate news of her mom going through what I’d gone though a year and half ago...just under less fortunate circumstances. Ai yah...

I can only wish for the best in this situation, god willing.

Either way, wishing a bestie who I’d met when we’d studied French in Tours, France back in our undergrad uni years the most enjoyable day with hubby, Jeff come Monday. #Monsieurbolo