TOTAL DONATED: $940
GOAL: $10 000 REMAINING: $9 060
A friend recently called into question my involvement with Team Diabetes Easter Island. She thinks it’s odd that people would do fundraising for something and then be rewarded with a “free vacation” subsidized by the donations they’ve collected.
It’s true, sort of. In exchange for raising a minimum of $7500 for Team Diabetes, I will be able to run a marathon on Easter Island. My flight and accomodations will be covered. Easter Island is in the South Pacific, somewhere between New Zealand and Chile, not a cheap place to get to.
So I re-evaluated what I was doing and why I was doing it. I dont want a free vacation. That’s not what these runs are for - but they are a little bit. That’s a pretty big piece of bait to stick on a lure to get people, who might not otherwise be committed to the cause, interested in Team Diabetes.
And it got me interested. Now I’m ready to lay down a stronger commitment to not only raise money, and train, but to raise awareness about what diabetes is and who is living with it. As I tell people about my run, they start to tell me their personal experiences with Diabetes..
Like Tiffani
I don’t think alot of people get the serverity of this disease unless you know of or live with someone who actually has it. My husband has Type 1 and it’s a daily thing to live with and be worried about.
Like Carolyn
My grandfather had diabetes, the complications from which eventually lead to his death. My mom has just recently (in the last two months) been diagnosed with borderline diabetes. It’s hereditary, so there is a very likely chance that I will have diabetes one day too.
Like Candice
My mom was diagnosed a few years ago - it hits close to him. I used to work for the diabetic centre in vancouver - and learned a lot. I know people that have lost their battle with this disease and I know others that have had it for so many years.
I have made my fundraising goal $10 000 and I have committed to donating all my freelance income to the Team Diabetes cause, it will be more than enough to cover the travel expenses for the trip. Already I have designed a website for a colleague ($250), I have done a voice session for an insurance company ($1000) and I’m doing an endorsement for Apple ($600). Nearly $2000 in just the first month. So I am confident I can cover my own travel expenses. If you have some work you think an engaging radio guy can do for you, please contact me. You’ll get your job done, and get a tax receipt for your Team Diabetes donation.
I’ve also committed to learning more about the disease. With a strong blogging platform, I can write about diabetes what it is, who is fighting it and their struggles. It’s not a personal fight for me, but it is a personal fight for others and that’s why I’m running and raising the money.
I’ve never really understood the union movement. To be honest, I think it rewards longevity over initiative. If you’ve been punching the clock the longest, you’re in line for the promotion, regardless of how slack your work ethic has become. And if you do get lazy, good luck getting fired, because it will get grieved and nothing will happen.
We all get complacent and comfortable in our jobs. Look at the Canucks. Who puts in more effort Ryan Shannon or Markus Naslund? Ryan is at the bottom, fighting to keep his spot, while Nazzy’s been doing it for 15 years, has millions in the bank and can get by without “really trying.”
I get why unions came into existence, but I think in 2008, they stifle innovation and creativity.
Actually, you don’t have to be in a union to have that happen. The way of the webbed world is passing many a media veteran by, and those who understand how to work in this new media are quickly replacing those who were more comfortable editing their copy on an Underwood than with Google Docs.
After 32 years of writing sports for the San Berdardino Sun, Paul Oberjuerge was let go. And instead of bitching and moaning and whining …. Okay, there is a bit of bitching and whining and bitterness in his original list, I’ve cut it down to the stuff I think is relevant.
Embrace the web. It’s going to be extra work, and you’re going to be on your own 24-hour news/opinion cycle. But that’s how it is; you can rest up when you’re dead. Management is keenly aware of the foot-draggers on this front.
Don’t wait to be ordered to “serve other platforms” of the paper. Volunteer. Blog. Post photos. Consider video. Offer podcasts. Do web-only quick-and-dirty news stories. You’re a multi-media machine now!
Go to staff meetings. Speak up. Volunteer ideas.
Produce. This is no time to coast. This is no time to insist you have more time to work on a story. Even at the metros. Get your byline in the newspaper at every opportunity. Like, daily.
Achieve excellence. Five years ago I would have listed this first. Now, it barely makes the list. Competence is a defense, but it no longer is first, second, third or ninth. But, all things being equal, if the cut is between you and someone else who is just as fat and bitchy as you are … the person who is better at their job will survive. (Till next time.)
I’ve been on about how radio needs to change the way it thinks and approaches new media. Right now those in print are feeling the pinch, radio could will be next.
Those tips were written by a print guy trying to tell other print guys how to diversify and save their ass. He could also have been writing it for everyone in radio on how to save the industry.
If you’re on air, and not doing the things above, you’re not just hurting your career, you’re hurting the industry. We need people to take initiative, have fresh ideas, and new ways of thinking.
Punching the clock simply won’t cut it anymore.
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Vancouver is a vibrant multicultural city, that’s easy to see. Live in Richmond? Even if you’re not from Hong Kong, you’re definitely down with Chinese New Year. If you live in Surrey you know all about Diwali, regardless of your ethnicity.
This week everyone’s Irish, there isnt a “real” Irish district of Vancouver, so everyone’s down with St Patrick’s Day. Our family is Persian this week, because we live in North Vancouver and this week is Persian New Year.
Jen, Z and I went down to Yaas Bazaar on Lonsdale to pick up some fab kebabs and rice for dinner last night. Just to make it all right for the season, I served up a Guinness on the side. Now that’s multicultural!
Norooz is the Persian New Year, and it happens when the vernal equinox happens in Iran. This year that’s 9:18a on March 20 in Tehran, which means the new year actually happens at 10:18p on Wednesday here in North Vancouver.
There’s a pretty cool collection of customs associated with the new year, most associated with the same rebirth we see with the season. As we switch from winter to spring and the buds start blooming, and the life cycle starts again seems like a perfect time to celebrate the new year.
Yesterday there was a big festival at Mahon Park in North Vancouver, but if you missed that, you still have a chance to check out some great celebrations of the season. Tomorrow night, you need to take a walk down to Ambleside Park for the 2008 Red Wednesday Bonfire Festival, better known as Chahar Shanbeh Soori.
It happens on the last Tuesday evening of the year. Every family gathers several piles of wood or brush in the streets or parks to be lit shortly after the sunset. Then all the family members line up and take turns jumping over the burning fire and singing “sorkheeyeh toe az man, Zardeeyeh man az toe” (I give my paleness to the fire and take fire red healthy color.) Yellow or paleness symbolizes the sickness and pain and red symbolizes heath.
The symbolism doesn’t end there. When we were at Yaas, the place was packed. As you walk down Lonsdale you see racks and racks of wheat grass outside the shop. Inside, everyone was crowded around a huge fishtank filled with goldfish. The corner with the bakery was squeezed tight with pistachio treats. The smells and smiles of the season filled the entire place.
Just as we rush to get a turkey with trimmings for Thanksgiving or Christmas, the Persians have a similar hustle for a very specific shopping list. They need 7 things on their table as they celebrate Haft Seen, each with a separate and important symbolism.
The Haft Seen is a spread with seven items which each symbolizes a wish or theme. All seven items in this ceremonial table starts with the Persian letter seen or S in English.
Get ready to go on a scavenger hunt, here’s what you need:
Sabzeh (grown wheat or lentil) for rebirth
Samanu (flour and sugar) for sweetness of life
Sekeh (coin ) for prosperity and wealth
Senjed ( dried fruit of Lotus tree) for love
Seer (garlic) for health
Somaq ( sumac berries) for warmth
Serkeh ( vinegar) for patience
There are some other random things you can toss on your table, such as painted eggs, which represent fertility, a mirror that represents image and reflection of life, and a goldfish in a bowl that represents life.
So while you’re raising a pint of green beer today, come up to North Van and grab some fresh green grass and a goldfish.
Aidee Shoma Mobarak!
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Jen and I are making our lists and checking them more than a few times before the big trip. We leave this Friday for a weekend with her parents in Toronto before 2 weeks touring around Paris, Normandy, Brittany and the Loire.
We’re pumped. And we’re packing. The plan is to have Jen and I share a bag, with Z having his own and then a knapsack for gadgets and daily diaper needs. Soooo .. who do you think needs more gear for 2 weeks away - Zacharie, or a tech obsessed daddy?
Here are the lists so far:
Daddy
Zacharie
GADGETS
- Macbook - cords
- creative zen vision W
- camera(s)
- gorilla pod
- sd cards
- card readers
- ipod shuffle
- y headphone adapter
- 2 headphones
- electrical adapters
FOOD
- enough jar food for Toronto and paris
- formula in ziploc
- thermos
- freeze dried fruit and o’s in ziploc
- 3 food tubs (snack tubs for o’s)
- 2 sippy cups
- 3 bottles
- diaper wipes
- as many diapers as will fit
CLOTHES
- 7 onesie undershirts
- 4 longsleeve onesies
- 3 pyjamas
- 4 pants
- 7 shirts
- 5 socks
- brown dog hoodie
- blue super suit
- yellow jacket
- stonz
- shoes
- mittens and toque
- blue blanket
- snugglesaurus blanket
TOYS:
- puppets, full and finger (Fernando, ella)
- 3 or 4 books
- nubble nubble
- Lawrence, Dixie, Sylvester, rob
- Squishy string ball
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Jen just got home from her “Dinner Club.” Her girlfriends get together once a month and have a pow-wow at a hot spot. Tonight it was Jules Bistro in Gastown. Last month it was La Terrazza.
To show you how badly needed this Dinner Club is for Jen and her social life, the nice coat she wore tonight hasnt been worn since last month’s soiree. How did she know? She found someone else’s car keys in her pocket, probably dumped by a coat check or valet.
All that we had was a Volvo fob, and a Tiffany’s charm.
On the back of the charm was engraved a first name, and a company. That’s it. Put them in Google together and we found a matching person who had donated to the Weekend to End Breast Cancer. With that entry we discovered her last name.
Put the first and last name into Google and we discover a bulletin board post she made 2 years ago complete with phone number and email address. Now the email address has expired, as she has switched companies, but we will try the home phone number listed tomorrow.
So… good news / bad news. Google will help you get your keys back if you lost them, but it will also give out a lot of information about you to anyone who has a little bit of information about you.
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I had a chat with Wendy Rombough this week. She’s a photographer brought in by HP to show off their new Photosmart Studio Kiosks. You can print off pro styled photo books, calendars, cards and prints, in about an hour. The first kiosk is in Lougheed Mall.
Wendy also took some time to serve up photo tips for Spring Break. She’s a baby and kid photographer, has 2 of her own, and knows what to look for to get a great shot.
1. TURN OFF YOUR FLASH
If you love the way things look when you’re using your eyes, adding the flash will just wash things out. Instead of flashing, bump up the ISO on your camera.
2. LET THE KIDS BE KIDS
Get reactions from the kids, don’t pose them. If you want a big smile, have them goof off and make funny faces, then capture them laughing at themselves
3. GET TO THEIR LEVEL
They’ll be more comfortable (you may not be) when you’re on their level instead of shooting down on them.
4. ZOOM YOUR BODY, NOT YOUR LENS
Your body can move a lot faster than your camera can, so follow the kids around and don’t worry so much how you frame the pictures, you can always tighten up or crop a shot afterwards.
5. THE RULE OF THREE
When you’re managing your pictures afterwards, leave room in the frame for the subject to lead the shot. The rule of three divides the frame into thirds horizontally, and vertically. Try and get the main part of the image on one of the cross points.
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I’ve been tweeting back and forth with Meg today about her usual Friday Love List. She was struggling through it, and I started throwing down suggestions thinking I could get a guest posting stint on her site.
In the meantime, I had conjured up all this love and had nowhere to put it.
i love making zacharie’s food
i love dibs
i love anything 2.0
i love my great grandma’s simple scotch scones
i love boursin garlic and fine herbs cheese. best.creaminess.ever.
i love fresh blood in an old office
i love listening to a hot new song 4 dozen times in a row and still not getting sick of it
i love spending all night hacking css or php or html for a fresh new webpage
i love the guitar riff at the beginning of new sensation
i love megs lists
i’d love it if you’d click on my donation box and chip a few coins in the cupboard for Team Diabetes!
i love using lowercase letters, even when i handwrite
i love walking around the house naked, in the middle of the day and embarassing my wife by shaking it in the front window
i love the smell of chai sitting on the bedside table, curling it’s way towards my nose to wake me
i love cracking the mic and spanking a post
i love the angled early morning sun through a venetian blind
i love perfect scrambled eggs. just a little moist and chewy and shiny
i love yellow
i love lululemons the first hour that you have them on, when they’re still tight and take your muffin top and squeeze into a hard, tight bottom
i love the early early spring song of birds in the trees, before the street has awoken, before people are dragging out garbage, before the traffic .. just the quiet hush and .. the birds. reminds me of a golfcourse everytime
i love billy crystal getting a chance to play for the yankees
i love babies concentrating really hard with two hands to get one cheerio between 2 fingers and then trying to get it into their mouth, only to miss. and try again
i love green tulip stems poking out from the ground and just.. starting.. to reveal the colour of their bloom
i love the mist rising from stanley park between the rows of trees like mail in a letter tray
i love cozy cozy blankets
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TOTAL DONATED: $290
GOAL: $10 000 REMAINING: $9 710
I dont have diabetes. I dont know anyone with diabetes.
So in addition to my pledge to raise $10 000 for Team Diabetes, I have also committed to learning more about the disease and who is fighting it.
It’s not a personal fight for me, but it is a personal fight for others and that’s why I’m running and raising the money.
I’ve subscribed to a number of blogs by diabetics to read the stories about their struggles and find out what life with diabetes is really like.
As I get ready for a vacation next week, I’ll be stressed packing all the gear to keep Zacharie entertained, but what if he was diabetic? What extra stress and gear would be needed?
Lindsey Guerin is 19 and has been living with diabetes since she was 4. Check out her entry at blogabetes as she heads off on vacation:
I checked, double checked and triple checked the TSA website to make sure I knew every law before I made my flight. I found out diabetics can carry water, juice and all supplies on board the plane. I read all my rights when or if they searched me or my bag.
I packed twice the amount of supplies I would normally use for the next six days. I brought snacks, glucose tabs and an entire bag of life-savers. I had extra batteries, important medical phone numbers and syringes just in case of pump malfunction. I went through security with little hassle. They took my water (which I didn´t fight for because I was running late for the flight). They asked what was on my belt and before I finished “insulin” they waved me through the metal detector.
We land in the tropics where the sun beats down and the ocean rumbles in the background. As I walk off the plane, I just wish that I was leaving my diabetes in the cargo hold. What I would give for a vacation from this disease…simply: everything. [source]
My goal is $10 000 towards that dream of Lindsey’s. If that sounds good to you, click the link and get started.
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But that’s where the usual link between bricks and mortar and the internet end. Gary’s site is an alive and active blog with stories and tastings and humour and videos as he rolls around tasting wine and sharing his passion with the world.
Gary’s key goals are twofold: “First, I want people to try different wines. How can you have a favorite if you only know a few? Second, I tell people to trust their palates. If a wine appeals to your palate, then it’s a good choice. Don’t feel pressured to like popular brands or what experts recommend. Buy what ‘brings the thunder’ for you.” [source]
Jen and I have described wine as tasting like band aids, musty, fruity etc.
O RLY?
Gary is out to prove it. He recently went on Conan, where he had the host taste some wine, taste some dirt - and realize, “Hey! It’s the same!”
Yesterday was one of those days. Le Grand Monsieur is fighting a stuffy nose and congestion. Yeah, I gave it to him. It took me 3 days to kick it, hopefully the little guy can get it done quicker.
So Jen tried for an hour to get him down, no luck. Then he played for a bit before keeling over for 40 mins at around the time he should just be waking up. Poor guy. Poor Mommy.
So when I got home Jen had a bottle of Lindeman’s Bin 95 Sauvignon Blanc 2007 freshy ‘corked’ and poured on the counter.
From the website: The generous flavours and contemporary, easy-drinking style combines easily with food and most social occasions to deliver maximum enjoyment from the first glass to the last.
From the label: Lifted tropical flavours, with a crisp, dry finish.
The Sav Blanc hit the spot for Jen. Easy drinking, fruity and crisp. You could have it with a salad, mussels, fish - or on it’s own, after a tough day. Green apple and grass without a lip puckering tartness - that’s the difference between the Aussie and New Zealand Sav Blanc’s - the kiwi ones have a bit more mineral and gooseberry tang to go with them.
One other cool thing about this selection is it has a screw top. It’s all good, they’re cool now. Jen preaches the screw top as the best way to have just a glass and keep the bottle in the fridge door - for the next hard day.
Lindeman’s Bin 95 Sauvignon Blanc is “beyond a bargain,” Jen says, for ONLY $12.95 at your BC Liquor Store. You CANNOT get a local wine of this quality at this pricepoint. As we move into spring break, a long weekend and then summer - stock up and get some on standby.
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Jen, Z and I went down to Yaas Bazaar on Lonsdale to pick up some fab kebabs and rice for dinner last night. Just to make it all right for the season, I served up a Guinness on the side. Now that’s multicultural!
It happens on the last Tuesday evening of the year. Every family gathers several piles of wood or brush in the streets or parks to be lit shortly after the sunset. Then all the family members line up and take turns jumping over the burning fire and singing “sorkheeyeh toe az man, Zardeeyeh man az toe” (I give my paleness to the fire and take fire red healthy color.) Yellow or paleness symbolizes the sickness and pain and red symbolizes heath.
There are some other random things you can toss on your table, such as painted eggs, which represent fertility, a mirror that represents image and reflection of life, and a goldfish in a bowl that represents life.
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