Mind Vomit by the ikss ~ a journal
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somebody out there loves me
�Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead�
-Lucille Ball
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
--Theodore Roosevelt, 1918
REGISTER TO VOTE
"The time is always right to do what is right"
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The "seven social sins": Knowledge without character,
Science without humanity,
Wealth without work,
Commerce without morality,
Politics without principles,
Pleasure without conscience,
Worship without self-sacrifice."
--Gandhi
"We have not inherited the world from our forfathers -
We have borrowed it from our children."
--Kashmiri, proverb
And in the midst of my political rampage yesterday, I neglected to wish a Happy Birthday to Van Morrison. Shame on me.
~~~
I am going shopping and to dinner tonight (on 2nd Street in Belmont Shore) with my walking buddy D.
One thing I am very happy about in connection with the 3 Day this year is the friendships I have developed while leading training walks. I have met so many wonderful people and three, especially, are going to continue being my friends when this is all over, I am sure. D is just fabulous. We are much alike (*ahem* no wonder, she�s fab) and have fun together. Jenn is another gal I like a lot.
The three of us have been talking about gong to Italy together for the 2006 Winter Olympics (really just an excuse to go to Italy, as far as I�m concerned). We�re also discussing doing the 3 Day in Seattle next year (since the only one they�ll be having in California will be in San Diego and, you know � I can go to San Diego any time).
In truth, the only way I am doing another 3 Day is if I win the lottery.
A) I can not continue to ask the same people for donations to one cause and then another�and then another. I think I may need to stop begging people for money for a while.
You have to raise at least $2,000 to even participate in the 3 Day. Since I haven�t even raised $1,000 yet and the event is only a month away, I am starting to panic. While I have no problem donating another $100 - $200 in order to reach the minimum, I can not make up a $1,000 difference.
Please pray for me. Or send out good vibes. Stick a pin in a voodoo doll. Consult your Tarot. Whatever it takes. Because if I went through all of this training and anxiety and organizing training walks and trying to keep all of my walkers happy and shin splints and ankle problems and all of this stuff and then I can�t do the stinkin� walk�
Well, there won�t be much I can do about it, but I�ll feel really, really lousy. And you know you�ll be the ones to hear about it.
So I figure if I win the lottery I�ll do it again next year because then it won�t be any big deal to just donate the entire amount myself and not even care if others donate.
B) The 3 Day is one hell of a commitment. It�s not just three days of walking, which is hard enough. I have been in training since April. I walk four days/week. Even my shortest walks, which are 5-7 miles, take a couple of hours to complete, after waiting for everyone to show up and stretching and all. My weekends these days are fairly full of just plain walking, because I am walking 15 miles each day; 18 miles/day beginning this weekend (the only weekend day I won�t be walking is Sept. 18 - when I�ll be having a yard sale, as a fundraiser for the 3 Day).
Since, in essence, the free time I have on those four days is filled up with walking, I have to try and cram everything else I do in to the other three days of the week. Screw volunteering for anything else, like the Red Cross or the Aquarium or whatever. It�s hard enough to get laundry done on a regular basis these days.
Thank God I don�t have kids. I�d never have time to sleep.
Again, if I win the lottery I will have all sorts of free time on my hands (because Lord knows I will quit my job immediately upon hearing the news. I mean, I�ll give plenty of notice, but quit I will) so the time commitment wouldn�t be any big deal.
So perhaps rather than praying I hit my $2,000 donation minimum, you should be praying I win the lottery. You should, really, anyway. I�m a nice person. I�d do nice things for people, if I won. Sure, I�d be doing them from Europe, but still�
C) It kind of pisses me off that the minimum donation is so high. I understand the concept and that it takes a lot of work and money to put on a 3 Day event, but that is a lot of money for most people to raise. Almost everyone I have met is panicking, just like I am.
Registered walkers pay an $85 registration fee to begin with. They say that the $85 pays about half of our expenses. So go ahead and make me pay $170 to register or whatever it takes to cover my actual expenses, then make me only raise $500 in donations�even $1,000. $2,000 is hard, man.
Well, especially if you�re me and you�ve already asked people to donate last year�or you asked them to donate to the Red Cross�or to an Alzheimer�s research organization�or to the AIDS Walk I did earlier this year.
But it�s hard any way you look at it. Most people do not want to give up even $20, or some just can�t.
I really love these ladies and I think it would be great fun to go up to Seattle with them to do the 2005 3 Day up there. I just don�t see it happening, unless something drastic changes in my life.
So the third person I consider a real friend now is called Julie. She�s older than me and very cool, also. We�re actually discussing taking surfing lessons after this is all over. I�d LOVE to do that, as I greatly admire the sport. Plus, it would be a huge challenge for me because of my absurd but very real Shark phobia.
So after I have laser eye surgery so that I can actually see, we may do that. It will probably have to wait until next Spring or Summer, but it would be fun.
Speaking of laser eye surgery�man, I so need it. I think I am doing damage to my eyes from years of wearing contacts, first of all. Secondly, contacts are just becoming a huge pain. I sweat a lot when I work out. Walking outside means I wear sunscreen. Walking long miles in the heat�sunscreen on my face�my face melting with sweat�if you�ve ever gotten sunscreen in your eyes, I�m sure you know what I�m talking about. I have tried a few different kinds of water- and sweat-proof sunscreen, to no avail. By the end of a long walk, I can hardly see because my contacts are coated with sunscreen.
Plus, I would really like to be able to see when I wake up in the morning.
Amy had the surgery like two months ago. It went very well and she is very happy. Apparently, she her eyesight is not quite 20/20 yet, but they are pert near. Her eyes were almost as bad as mine.
The surgery makes me nervous, but I think I am finally to the point where I am ready.
And I leave you now with this note from Planned Parenthood. Hasta, kids!
*
As you read this, thousands of delegates are meeting in New York City to discuss platforms and plans at the Republican National Convention. Unfortunately, one topic that's not high on their agenda is how to best protect women's health and rights around the world.
As his first official act as President, George W. Bush jeopardized the lives of millions of women and girls overseas by reinstating the Global Gag Rule, a devastating policy that denies desperately needed funding to organizations and clinics that so much as mention the word abortion to their patients.
Because we refused to agree to this outrageous restriction, IPPF/WHR lost $12 million in funding, a loss that has compromised our essential family planning, health care, and education services in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Please help minimize the damage of President Bush's decision - click here to make a secure online donation to support International Planned Parenthood Federation's (IPPF/WHR) important work.
We've done our best to conserve resources and raise money to make up this huge loss, but we are still $45,000 short of the amount we need to continue to provide high-quality family planning, maternal health care and education services to women and girls in need.
$45,000 may seem like a lot but if you and just 1,799 other FreeChoiceSaveLives.org activists each donate at least $25, we can make up this difference!
Click here to donate $25 to help us provide birth control, maternal health care and education services to women and girls in need.
Every minute, a woman dies in pregnancy or childbirth. There's no need for these deaths to occur! Family planning could save at least 25% of these women's lives, but the Gag Rule has forced many clinics to cut their staff, limit their services, or close their doors entirely.
Please help prevent these needless deaths by forwarding this message to your friends and asking them to join you in chipping in $25 or more to help us raise the money we need to provide essential birth control and health-care services to women and girls that need them.
Thank you so much for your support,
Eve Fox
Campaign Manager, FreeChoiceSavesLives.org
International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region
~~~
Word of the Day for Wednesday September 1, 2004
dolorous DOH-luh-ruhs, adjective:
Marked by, causing, or expressing grief or sorrow.
last / next
~~~~~~~~~~~peace, love and smooches~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Don't know why you'd wanna, but on the off-chance you may feel tempted to steal any of my words and claim them as your own, please be advised:
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