Are You in Verbal Shape?

Open sign

Things are opening up. We are leaving the house! Are you ready? Are you in shape? Heavenly to be inside a restaurant. . .tinkly music on the sound system, the murmuring of a waiter and bartender nearby (but not TOO nearby). No big wind sounds, or traffic. I broke open my earring box, tried on…

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Seinfeld Ends My Day

Seinfeld team

After all the news, and the many dramatic hours of Netflix, I end every day with at least one rerun episode of the series, Seinfeld. Best. Show. Ever. The characters! The scripts! I LOL –a lot. And more laughing is what we need right now. According to the Mayo Clinic, data is mounting about the…

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It’s Your Birthday—Who Are You Becoming?

As most of you know, my February birthday has been challenging. When I was a little girl, the cruel Chicago winter got in my way of a big party. Traveler’s advisories cancelled my plans. This year, a party is another impossibility. I told everyone all I wanted for my birthday was a vaccination—and I got…

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Might As Well Jump

“Mimi, how do you stay so upbeat throughout this crazy time?” I did not have an eloquent answer till I heard the lyrics, loud and clear, though my headphones, of Van Halen’s “Jump.” I realized I do get up, roll with the punches, and I go ahead and jump. I create my own little jump…

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Wanting What You Have

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” That quote is not credited. It just says Anonymous. I’m lucky enough to be raised in a family who believed it. My dad carried in his wallet, all his life, a quote that he laminated. It said, “Happiness isn’t having what you want. It’s wanting what you have.”…

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Mimi Sparkles Into a Camera!

I did it. I went to a studio and sparkled into a camera for over six hours, recording my online course. This was an idea whose time had come. Working title: “Speak Like a Pro: Have Your Listeners Smiling and Nodding.” The challenge: how do I project myself into the eye of a camera with…

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Not Speaking Up? What Are You Passing Up?

Are you satisfied with collecting “likes” for writing stuff on social media? You know that’s not all you need to have people know, like and trust you. Eventually, you will need to speak to people—onscreen now, but eventually, in person. Are you passing up valuable exposure right now to potential clients and customers because you’re…

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This Too Shall Pass

“And this, too, shall pass away.” My mom used to tell me this, whenever I had a teenage drama queen moment. The quote comes from a Yiddish tale about King Solomon—maybe. Some attribute the line to Persian Sufi poets. We know Abe Lincoln used it in a speech before he became President. This phrase gives…

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America’s New Birth Day?

I’ve always loved the 4th of July. Fireworks are high on my list of top 10 favorite things. (Also, it’s the birthday of my best friend of more than 40 years.) Fireworks are cancelled this year here in Marina del Rey. And that’s a meaningful symbol to me. Obviously, we don’t want crowds in an…

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Technophobia? Not Now!

I’m having an “Okay Boomer” moment. I got a new computer. It’s taken me some time to like her. And I have guilt focusing on such a petty thing, when our neighbors in this country don’t have enough to eat. In my head, I hear Bogey’s line in the middle of a war, in Casablanca:…

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