Talkin Loud and Sayin Nothing

No to resolutions.

No to expectations.

Yes to preparing.

Yes to responsibility.

Yes to getting something started.

Yes to knowing when to stop or take a break.

All the best for 2011 and beyond.

I went to the doctor on Wednesday and everything is on track. My blood pressure is good, but considering my body weight, my bp, and my family history, my doctor says: no more desserts for me, unless they are social tea or digestive cookies. Even though I have been super with sugar and desserts, especially when I bake them myself. Apparently a day of no sweets, topped off by two chocolate chip cookies and a large glass of milk, or having a scoop of ice cream is inadvisable. I'm cut off. The good news is, my refined sugar intake has been reduced more and more in 2011, so it doesn't really hurt. In the last 5 months, I think I have eaten just one slice of cheesecake (the ultimate sweet tooth barometer). Again, nothing is wrong, this is merely a precaution.

My back is acting up, but what this really means is Pat does a lot around the house, especially lifting, but he needs to take over the vacuuming, too.

Yay! Everything is OK!

I have done some thinking, and I think it is best for me not to attend Arisia. I need to keep my eating and sleep schedule on track. It's too easy for me to lose track of time at conventions and festivals. If I go to bed early there will be noise not far away or I will have to pay for a room by myself because everyone else wants stay up later, have a party, or will be disturbed by my repeated bathroom breaks in the night. Last night, I had the luxury of letting my body do what it wants, and I fell asleep around 9 (granted the last 2 days were busier than usual).

It hit me recently Fantasia is impossible in 2011. In October, I already decided Ottawa was out. Too bad! They moved it back to September which is muuuuch better! It's still sinking in that I will miss my first Fantasia ever, and my first Ottawa International Animation Festival in enough years that I have stopped counting.

It's all worth it, of course. Not whining, just adjusting.

2010 involved continuing to drop many things, but to also make room for other wonderful events, clear some space for myself, and work more on respecting my limits. Right now I don't have a choice but to respect my limits, even if it means falling asleep on and off in Tron: Legacy for 30 minutes instead of fighting it. I think it has also made me a more pleasant person, even when I am tired.

Lately, when I am having a bad day, I've been trying not to complain about it. I find it really does change how I view things around me. Especially on not so good days.

Today, was a really good day. There were trip-ups, there were snags, it was cold, but everything that needed to go well did.

For that, I am extraordinarily grateful.

I'll try to remember this when a truly bad day or longer period strikes. A day like today will come around again.

Enough stalling. Off to cook supper and then clean.

We walk in a few hours , and if you would like to join us on Saturday evening, we would love to see you.  Right now, we should be 15 people (one person out due to flu). Together our fundraising has exceeded $7100 and we're still going!

fruity_spikey  committed last year to walking and her commitment has not wavered since. Please consider donating to her! I've already reached my goal, and I can tell you receiving a donation will make her day!

*$25 can provide booklets to families with resource information to make better decisions

*$100 can supply a medical researcher with critical supplies and materials.

*$400 can fund a support group for A YEAR

*$750 can provide 30 patients and caregivers with counselling

*$1000 can fund a week of research

My mom is not interested in your money! She wants you to walk with her if you have the time. She reached her goal of getting 5 friends to walk with her.

It's Emru's birthday today. If you want, join me for a pint at Brutopia on Monday. I'll be there at 7:00 p.m. for a drink.

I am also beginning this year's fundraising for Light the Night Montreal by raising a minimum of $100 and asking 19 friends to do the same by Oct 2.

Details: http://bit.ly/LTNtamu2010

Here's the idea.

20 of us make a commitment to raise $100 each.

Each one of the 20 fundraisers asks 4 friends to raise $100.

Each one of the 80 new fundraisers asks 2 more friends to raise $100.

That's $26000 raised for charity. QED.

Let me know if you want to join the team.

For pasley 

September 2008: SA4L partners with OneMatch, the Canadian Marrow/Stem Cell Network to run onsite swab events to register new donors. It was hardly publicized and seen as a test case. 

December 2009: OneMatch announces gay Canadian men can register as stem cell donors.

February 2010: More progress. Not one drive but multiple drives on the same day. However OneMatch still doesn't have their social media skills honed and this hapening is on their Facebook page, but not even listed in their media releases or anywhere on their official website. Let's show them how to get this thing done.

OneMatch and partnering student groups will be organizing three separate swab events at each of the University of Toronto Campuses (Mississauga, Scarborough and Downtown) to increase the number of potential donors on the OneMatch stem cell and marrow network.

You can also set up a reminder for Wednesday on Facebook, and invite friends to inform them:

Mississauga campus http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=288240747348
St. George campus http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=256698359143
Scarborough campus http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=283035336517

If you live in the GTA and can show up in person, great! You can also register online and have a kit sent to your home: www.onematch.ca > click Join

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NOT REGISTERED? You don't have to register at this event, but you can go and learn about the issue with no pressure to join.

CAN'T REGISTER? First, make sure you really can't. Some people who cannot donate blood can be stem cell donors, and vice versa. It's OK if you are still ineligible, you can still tell people and spread the word.

ALREADY REGISTERED? Please tell another friend you are and why you did it.

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MORE INFO...

The most likely match for another person is someone of the same or a similar ethnic background. More than 1 in 3 black Canadians live in the Greater Toronto Area. There are about 1450 people on the registry who are Black. We need about 77000 to 80000 to be on the Canadian registry. Even 10000 would be a great start.

No matter what your background, you can be the one match to save a life.
You could be the match to save someone’s life!

MAJOR NEWS!!

Gay men can register on the Canadian stem cell registry!

I regret being at work when I read this. I was shivering all over, it was completely unexpected and completely welcome.

Many people in the front of the line who helped Emru were gay but none could register. The humiliation, anger, and dismay were understandable and palpable from friends in the LGBT community, but the outrage was clear from pretty much everyone I am friends with.

To appease those who still oppose, the patient will be given the option of whether they will accept the donation or not. (That's THEIR problem, if they don't - they're already out of their mind if they have a problem with it!) It's really stupid, to not do it for hets, and besides, every person who matches is given a complete physical from top to bottom so they are not in danger and nothing is transmitted to the patient.

Anyway, this is a development in the RIGHT direction, for sure.

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Today, I am proud to be Canadian!!