Those Were Different Days

Wow, those were different days…

When the stores still had stuff on the shelves. 

And you could go in without waiting outside for half an hour for social distancing. 

With everyone wearing protective masks and obsessively washing their hands, so please G-d not to get sick. 

Then we were happy!

Now we are all just scared. 

Even if some people are pretending they aren’t.  

It’s more what we still don’t know then what we do. 

And how things can unravel so quickly.

Makes us all appreciate what we had, and hopefully what we’ll have again. 

Shabbat Shalom!  😉

( Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Be Happy, Have Fun

Thought this was funny at work. 

One person writes:

Be Happy. Have Fun. 

Another chimes in:

Ok, I will!

And finally a 3rd person writes:

Me too. 

Smiley faces and all. 

Never take yourself too seriously. 

It’s true–try to enjoy the ride!  😉

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Colleagues That Care

I loved this from a colleague the other day.

When things got a little tough in the office, I came in the next day to 6 smiley faces lined up on my desk. 

This is something that I really appreciate from some people:

Their HUMANITY.

Even though my colleague faced the same tough day, she was thoughtful of others and the impact on them (not herself). 

There are some amazing people out there, and I thank G-d for putting them in my orbit. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Wine Makes Me Smile

What a great labeling of this bottle of wine. 

Just a big simple smiley face on it!

After I saw this bottle in the store, I just had to take a picture and also look this up on the internet. 

It’s part of the “SMILE” wine campaign from Lindeman’s Wines.

Apparently each limited edition bottle reminds you of something that we have to smile about: “family get-togethers,” “discovering new places,” and “randoms acts of kindness.”

Wow, I love this idea.  

Wine makes you smile, but so do these wonderful things in life. 

And it’s not just showing/associating the product with something positive (like beer and soda commercials always do), but it’s making the product itself smile at you!

I think this is a really smart marketing campaign.

Also, the cute smiley face on the bottle would make this the life of the party. 

Great job Lindemans–I’m smiling. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Don’t Worry–Be Happy!

Happy Friday everyone!

Yesterday, someone gave me a couple of these bright yellow smileys–one on the back of each of my hands. 

I was going around waving these happy faces all day.  

Of course, sitting in meetings was a little weird with these on, but then again, maybe that is part of setting a colorful and happy tone. 

It’s funny how a little smile sticker can make the whole world seem right again. 

Maybe we can learn to live life, love life, and make the most of every single day. 

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Helmet Head

So happy Friday funday. 

We work hard during the week, right.

Today in the office, we replaced some old metal clunker garbage cans with some new clean plastic ones. 

The old ones, every time you threw a bottle or anything hard out, it made a crazy loud banging noise disrupting everyone. 

I started to joke with my colleagues that the dirty, heavy old cans were more useful as a helmet in case of emergency evacuation of something. 

So today the old metal junk cans got a happy face helmet head and a prestigious place next to the office plants.

Everyone had a good hearty laugh!

Honestly, it’s wonderful to be incredibly productive and accomplish a lot for the people, the mission, and all the stakeholders, and at the same time know how to have some fun and make people happy. 

Good for morale and good for teamwork!  😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Expect Less / Appreciate More

I thought this was a great saying in the Wall Street Journal book review today.

“Expect Less, Appreciate More.”

Many people in their late 30s and early 40s become disillusioned with life. 

They have been on the treadmill chasing love, fame, and fortune for so long. 

But reality sets in and they don’t get everything they think they have coming to them.

Hence some level of mid-life crisis sets in. 

However by the time people reach their 50s, things seem to shift again, and a happiness or peacefulness sets in. 

People start to expect less and instead appreciate more from the blessings they do have. 

The treadmill becomes a long walk along the beautiful beach or park trail. 

We don’t need to chase success, but rather just see the great lives in so many ways that G-d has already bestowed on us. 

The U-shaped curve of life–where we start all bright-eyes and bushy tailed in our younger years and which descends into disappointment and disillusionment in mid-life, comes up once again to happiness and a fulfillment in our later years. 

Over the course of our lives, we learn that life does not ask, but rather it tells us. 

And if we just listen, we can find meaning and contentment amidst it all. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

My Happy Socks Friday

What do you think of my special Friday socks? 

These make me feel relaxed and happy. 

Wishing you all a great Memorial Day weekend!

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Managing for Humpty Dumpty Risk

So this was interesting…

I was in a meeting and someone was discussing the risks involved in a project.

And they mentioned the Humpty Dumpty Effect.

A bunch of people looked at them like what’s that. 

Then they explained that it’s the risk of breaking something during the project. 

Sort of like the Hippocratic Oath that doctors take to, “first, do no harm.”

When we are planning, designing, building or implementing a project–be it information technology or something else–we don’t want to break something in the process. 

That’s the Humpty Dumpty Risk to beware of and it’s an egg-celent point! 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Ketchup Face

We went to the Pizza place after Shabbat.

The family had a little fun with the ketchup. 

I come from a creative bunch…whether with pastels, photography, Photoshop, writing, and even Ketchup.

Don’t worry it didn’t go to waste, the fries were right on the way! 🙂

(Source Photo: The Blumenthals)