Today I watched a short film about heaven and hell titled Admissions.  

Things I learned today:

You can’t want hell for other people without being in hell yourself.

There is no heaven without forgiveness.

The ones who find loving the hardest, need to be loved the most.

Surrender is always Now

Everything is Oneness.

Love heals my mind…I am Love…Choose Love…Allow Love…Breathe Love in and out.

You are entitled to have time outs.  Spirit encourages you to make time for self-care and to nurture self-love.  You will become available and accessible to those you love when you treat yourself kindly.

Courage: Accepting and Loving me for who I am – right now at this moment in time.

Courage:  Moving through a feeling, facing your fear without running away, editing, changing or suppressing your self-expression.

Courage:  Allowing yourself to be vulnerable to people who have your best interests at heart.  Agreeing to and receiving help openly.

Courage:  Discerning your will from the Highest Good’s will and then setting aside self-interest for the more difficult, least attractive to the Ego’s choice.

Courage:  Acting from a place of love and compassion, not fear.

Courage:  To have heart.

Courage:  Living life to the fullest on life’s terms, now, at this moment without balking (maybe a little whining but surrendering anyway).

Capuccina the cowardly cat who seeks courage like everyone else…

Warning: Please read the following with tongue in cheek.

We are going through a stage.  We have now watched or are in the middle of watching four bicycle races since July and the 100^th Tour de France, which obviously had the strange magic of hooking us (never mind outfitting me with a new bike and helmet).

We just watched the German, Andre Greipel win the 93^rd year of Tour de Brussels in Belgium.  Last month we watched some of the 9^th Tour de Utah then lost interest.  The scenery was so so and the reporting was lousy.  We are in the middle of watching the 72^nd Vuelta de Espana  (tour de Spain).  We just watched stage 14 or day 14 of 21 grueling days.  We are also simultaneously watching the first ever Tour de Alberta for Canada’s Pro Cycling Fest.  It started in Edmonton and ends in Calgary over the course of six days.

Here are my observations:

1. It makes a difference whom the newscasters are and what they know or more importantly, what they don’t know or tell you.

I was enchanted, amused and educated by the Tour de France sportscasters from England, especially since one of them had emigrated and lived in France for years.  He knew his French history, geography, historical landmarks and language.  We learned and felt like we had toured France with the cyclists.  Crazy costumed fan explanations, small village anecdotes, personal profile interviews and previous records reviewed were all part of our indoctrination into the world of cycling.  Retired professional Tour de France cyclists or aficionados reported the coverage.  Imagine our disdain and frowning disappointment when we watched other, less successful conversations between sportscasters whom had less experience and international exposure.

The Americans reporting on the Vuelta have no concept of Spain’s culture, language or history.  Helicopter shots of medieval fortresses and aqueducts are wasted without commentary.  Seacoasts, rivers and lakes get no mention.   The best technical questions via tweets get answered well and even interestingly but neither one of the sportscaster team has taken an interest in Spanish anything.  I am also not amused that they tend to highlight individual racers rather than team efforts.  It says something about the American competitive not the European or even Professional Cycling cooperative slant.  It is displayed arrogantly via their summaries.  The most interesting chat was a video montage of riders explaining and ridiculing the question of “how do you urinate while in the race?”

In my opinion, the Utahan announcers cared mostly about stale statistics.  That cycling race didn’t last long on our DVR series recording.  And, you can only see so much red rock and need to move on.

The Canadians are fascinated with their own vistas and being in the Professional Cycling World for the first time in Alberta.  They are still ironing out glitches.  For example, describing yesterday’s race but showing the rugged Badlands or… interviewing the winner but displaying a view of a farm with silos.  Even so, their enthusiasm, their pronunciation like in the word aboouut, the occasional French I pick up and their clean looking skies and cities keep my interest.  Eh?

Belgium’s national sport is cycling so it is no surprise that their coverage is extraordinary in panorama and outstanding in knowledge.  Brussels’ horizon is a clean, treed, green and modern spanning cosmopolitan enclave. Everyone speaks English of course (with adorable accents) but they also speak to every other International station interviewing them in their respective language, seldom using an interpreter, underscoring the fact that Europeans openly welcome multiple language learning. It belies the American belief that we have such a great educational system.  In fact, it fortifies the notion that learning three- four languages at a young age improves knowledge of the classics, the culture and history of other nations making the European system a finer, more inclusive and exploratory one.  It also makes you excel in your own native tongue and breaks open barriers in your brain that make learning the mathematics, music, arts and sciences easier and with more “out of the box” thinking.  Cognitive skills are enhanced the greater amount of languages you are exposed to as a child.  This is a proven fact and one that I can attest to since I was a bilingual child and a language teacher as well as a natural language acquisition professional educator.

Cycling is a sport I don’t participate in but one I enjoy watching for the interpretations, the eruption of adrenaline at the finish lines and for the background loveliness all the while traveling in the comfort of my home sitting right next to the love of my life.

What I know and have re – validated by obsessing over cycling this summer is that:

Anytime you discover the world beyond yourself you unearth realms within.  The more open you are to understanding other cultures, the clearer your own upbringing becomes.

Words can sting.  The old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” is inaccurate in my opinion.  Words do hurt.  Words do matter.  Words can make or break the deal, peace treaty or agreement.  Words can manipulate or cooperate with you. Words cut or heal.

Words have power.  Words diminish or uplift.  Words wrongly placed can be misunderstood; selectively ordered and chosen are lyrical and universally meaningful.

Words place you in a time, locale and say something about your personality.  Words describe internal nuance when shared openly and deeply.

Words provide encouragement or insult.  Words cause pain, reap damage or spread abuse.  Words help ease discomfort, show compassion or abate sorrow or confusion.

Words are your thoughts brought into this dimension we all share called reality.  Words initiate action or stymie someone’s dream.  Words can be nasty or elevating.

Who hasn’t lashed out and wished they could take their words back?  Who hasn’t written something awful and burned or hidden it?

I am not entertaining or suggesting restriction or banishment of words but I am implying words are potent, influential and believable so use them with caution.

Wars have been declared, bombs have been detonated and people have been murdered over words, ideas and words put into action.  Action is just the product of our words in motion.  What is your intent, motivation or reason behind your words?  Think.  Speak with authentic authority and without malicious rancor.

Words are humble yet strong mirrors of our psyche in form and when we speak or write them we give them substance.  The next time you write or speak, remember words are powerful tools or vicious weapons.  Remember restraint of pen and tongue or you may regret it.

I remember seeing Journey for the first time way back in the early 1980’s at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, NY.  I had the opportunity again to see them twenty years later with a new frontman (Steve Augeri – 1998-2006).  It wasn’t Steve Perry, close, but no cigar.  Last week in Vegas we got the chance to see them again, first row with a different lead vocalist trying to sing like Perry named Arnel Pineda from the Phillipines.  A documentary is set to debut on PBS on Sept. 30th relating Pineda’s first year with the band called Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey.  

Although many tribute bands play their idols’ music well – it is rare to have an original band try to replace it’s singer that placed them on the charts in the first place.  It is hard for the traditional, unforgiving and die-hard fan.  The only other band I can recall doing that besides Journey is INXS.  I saw them at The Grove in Anaheim with some substitute and then again in Las Vegas with their fourth replacement for Michael Hutchence (who died by hanging himself over a woman).  Remember, suicide is a permanent solution for a temporary problem and no one should have that much power over you.  Talk about love addiction.  Is it too soon?  It’s been over fifteen years, hasn’t it?

Sadly, you cannot bring back the magic of synergistic energy between people – you have to live in the moment.  There is no reunion in sight since Perry left Journey back in 1998.  But… Don’t Stop Believin‘ because Anyway you want it when you look at the Lights, you Faithfully and with Open Arms  embrace Journey tunes.   Anytime you Ask the Lonely you will be coming from a HIgher Place so Be good to Yourself and find the Wheel in the Sky asking yourself Who’s crying Now? (steve perry?). I guess we are all on a journey of sorts.

Don’t get me wrong, with or without the original band member,  I had an uber fabulous time re-living and re-singing and re-dancing (more than thirty years later) as I was Lovin’ Touchn’ Sqeezin with the love of my life on his birthday in Vegas!

Original songwriters Neal Schon, bassist Ross Valory, Jonathon Cain and seven year vet Arnel Pineda perform minus Steve Perry.

We have built two bathrooms from scratch and remodeled five during our adventures in homeownership but if we ever were to remodel another one, there are some new features worth installing and investing in and others not so much from the new era of bathrooms.  Our Las Vegas Loft was state of the art.  Everything was controlled by touch; drapes, sheers, lights, night lights, television, privacy/maid signs, dimmers and everything in the bathroom, including the Kohler fixtures and music or tv piping in via a wall remote.  My fingers were sore by the end of the second day but I had fun playing with all the gadgetry.

The television in the mirror saves space but was in my way because of my height.  I like a full mirror.  Having three different angles of water (rainfall, body shots and regular shower head) is not unusual and we have a jacuzzi shower system that has all three, just not squirting at you all at the same time.  I liked the attack of water from everywhere, it felt thorough and I felt clean.  Colored lights is something I would definitely invest in.  Although totally unnecessary, it was festive albeit dangerous if you shut off all the lights.

On the other hand it was simply delightful to soak in an infinity tub with bubbles and colors changing.  In this case,  turning down the lights would be encouraged and would not add any peril.  I would not invest in an infinity tub because the jet line was low enough for a shallower bath anyway but I would put my money behind a tub that dries itself once drained like this one did.  I had never even heard of that before and it worked well.  It keeps the tub cleaner.  The lights are a romantic, relaxing and rainbow experience.  Invest in them just for the wow factor.

I was pondering today that – showing your vulnerability and being tender hearted opens you up and makes you attractive to other human beings but putting up walls, a facade or acting arrogantly, deflects positive interaction with others.

I notice that – anger is fear based and joy is love based.

I comprehend that  – your ego wants you feeling disconnected, alone and separate but your soul wants you to realize we are all connected, what you do to your brother/sister, you do to yourself and the Universe responds equally to your positive or negative thoughts.

I realize that – my choices are endless and I can choose my behavior as long as I understand the consequences.

I deduce therefore that – my path becomes narrower but my horizon expands.

Various night shots of Vegas

What I love about the desert are the sunsets behind the mountains.

We stayed at Hotel32 which is basically the 32nd floor of the Monte Carlo.  This is a shot from our Loft window.

From our 32nd floor vantage we took in the architectual masterpiece which is the new Aria Hotel and Casino.  These are the top Sky Tower exclusive rooms I zoomed in on.

The view and air is clean and contrasts with the “Sin” that dwells within.