On a recent trip to Japan I was walking down the street in Shinjuku when I stumbled upon a cafe. This is not an ordinary cafe as there are pets in the windows. I had visited an animal cafe before in Thailand that featured many exotic animals (foxes, raccoon, etc), dogs and cats but this one in Japan was exclusively for bunnies! 
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I have a thing for bunnies and rabbits because honestly, I love anything that is furry. I opted to pay $25 for an hour of time to be able to hold, cuddle and pet as many bunnies as my heart desired and here's what it was like...
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First off you walk up the stairs to an exclusive bunny floor one other floor had cats. There you are greeted by a worker who asked you to take off your shoes and gives you a blanket to hold. Then she shows me the cubby-holes with a broad range of breeds, ages and genders to choose from. I of course went for the largest and fluffiest bunny first. 
The cafe is quiet with light music, it is clean and while the bunnies are in moderate sized cages they have food, water and hay. The greeter also let some out to run around and let me hold the first bunny. Some of the bunnies were a bit hard to get to sit still while others just sat there. I am an animal lover so of course I wouldn't want to make an animal do something it didnt want to do, so if it wanted to roam freely and didn't want to be held then I would let it go. 
There was another bunny that had small babies and the worker put them all in a basket and presented them to me. I got to hold 2 baby bunnies while the others attempted to run around on the floor. They were so cute and they barely knew how to walk, hop and scoot around with their soft legs and furry feet. 
Overall the experience went by extremely fast and all of the bunnies were very kind and loving. One that I was interested in was known to bite so I opted not to hold him. I believe included in the fee is a drink, but I opted not to have one since all I wanted to do was hold, pet and play with the animals. 

On a trip and you forget something... uh oh, don't worry you don't have to go to the store unnecessarily. I have found some super easy hacks to make your travels easier and cheaper. First and foremost - did you leave behind the hair gel or hair spray? No worries this is something you might already have in your bag or at least in your hotel bathroom. Then you have something stuck in your tooth and you wished you had a tooth pick or some dental floss, well this is a great contraption that does both. Also what do you do with your dirty underwear or your wet items and you don't have a plastic bag? Check out this common hotel room hack. Lastly my special hack that has saved me dozens of times if when my dress is wrinkled and I need to get it ironed, but I don't have one and a steamy shower won't do the trick, check this one out its great!
Got another simple and easy hack - comment below!

Over the course of my life I have witnessed a resounding theme -- some of the major careers and professions I have held included me being demoted, targeted and ostracized by other women in power. I can recall working at a long time job when a new manager came in and she immediately demoted me, at another high profile job a brand new female manager was at the helm and she would criticize, critique and try to constantly filter me, recently another woman of power (who doesn't know me personally at all) has gone to upper management to complain and accuse me of aloof and uncongenial behavior (which couldn't be further from the truth). 

I am reminded of the time several years ago, when I was a featured speaker/panelist at a women's event - I said something profound and it resonated with the audience -- I mentioned that the one thing holding women back in the workforce was other women. This was so prolific that after the panel concluded other women were waiting in line to chat with me about the comment and many agreed, I was also not invited back to the event. 

I am motivated to write this blog because I have seen a trend in many work environments that leads me to believe that strong women aren't all that strong, instead they are insecure, and thus use their power to intimidate other women around them. Looking back I would have appreciated a one-on-one talk about why a decision was made, and encouragement to help me achieve and accomplish my goals, also if someone is unavailable for you to be social with it can't be solely my fault since this is a two-way street. 

Overall it is all about communication and support, why can't women focus on being uplifting, supportive and encouraging instead of always competing. If you want to address something - say something, if you don't like something then say how you can improve and if someone isn't engaging with you take the time to engage and get to know them - don't stab them in the back and complain to someone else then pretend you never said anything and sit in the corner. Be proactive and be a leader. 

I first jumped on the social media bandwagon back in 2001, then I started blogging close to a decade ago... And as we have progressed to a life online, finding the perfect song to accompany your photos, videos and slideshows can be challenging. I would search the internet for royalty free music and have paid for permission to utilize tracks for some of my videos and posts...when a Hawaii resident approached me with the greatest idea... How about supporting local people, local musicians and local businesses with locally sourced music?!

​Welcome VYNL an online resource providing local music for creators like myself! VYNL is a Hawaii-based music company created by artists and musicians to provide high quality music, accompaniment and content. Creator Brett Robinson is quite the talented guru when it comes to composition, scoring, creating and more. "VYNL is home to music from many local artists from different musical backgrounds and where businesses can easily license music for their marketing content," Robinson said. 
 "It's our mission to help support our extremely talented local artists and musicians, provide great service and connect Hawaii businesses of all shapes and sizes to music that meshes perfectly with their brands identity."

What's wrong with taking a song you love, downloading it from the internet and using it for your online posts, podcasts, YouTube, Facebook, IG and more? Well you may have noticed that these platforms may attempt to block you if you're using copy-written music, infact I can detect when you're using someone else's tracks and will remove your video if you don't have the licensing rights. 

​This can lead to a very sticky situation and I have found VYNL to be the best resource for me and I am also supporting local.  "VYNL started from the need to connect two communities. Hawaii's businesses in need of music for their marketing content and its music makers.Local companies are effectively becoming their own marketing agencies through social media.  And video is the go-to medium that has the most reach. But many don't know they must first obtain a sync license to attach music to their videos or they may find themselves in court for copyright infringement.  I didn't want to see that happen. But where were they gonna get this music?
VYNL was the solution to two problems. Music licensing sites not having a good selection of local Hawaii music and Hawaii not having its own music licensing platform for its artists and music makers."

Having this resource is very exciting and I must say it's even better when Brett can create custom music for my custom videos. They are impeccable. Generally to purchase recorded tracks/music online will cost you anywhere from $50-$200 a song, VYNL starts at $40 and has great variety, excellent quality and the perfect tunes for our island life. 

Looking for the right tune for your short clip? You can choose from your choice of style, vibe, mood, instrument or 60 seconds or less. 
Additionally local artists are also featured:
Jim "Kimo" West
Aja Gample
Jules Washington and many more to come by 2019. 

"VYNL is home to music from many local artists from different musical backgrounds and where businesses can easily license music for their marketing content." 
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Visit www.VYNL.SHOP and check it out. 
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