Rabbit, Rabbit!

Have a lucky month!  Go Broncos!

picture found at http://www.postersandprintsblog.com/postersandprintsblog/2009/8/9/lucky-bunny-the-white-rabbit-print-release.html

TrICA

This abandoned and run done old church in my neighborhood- which until now has been a huge eye-sore for the community is being transformed into community building center for The Arts for children.

I LOVE THIS!

TrICA was founded by this incredible guy Jon Swarthout, whom I've had the privilege to meet during one of the performances the kids put on every Saturday during the summer at the Market and he leads the classes teaching kids respect through fun activities like break dancing class and rock n'z roll lessons.  The performances are always a smash hit because the kids get really into it and you can see and feel their enthusiasm!  Jon brings that out in these kids.  Plus the kids L-O-V-E the programs! And doesn't the building just ooze cool now?!  I wish they had classes for adults too?  Can I be a kid again?!

Since I'm already asking for money for CCFA this week... it can't hurt to hit all of you generous people up for TrICA as well.  They have a lot of work to do to get the building up to code so they can open their doors and they are short about $600,000.00.  Every little bit helps!  I encourage everyone to participate... I know once David and I have kids we'll be signing them up as soon as they're old enough!  Check them out online http://www.trica.org/.

Nerd Alert!

I'm sure how many of you know this about me, but I'm a science fiction nerd.  I love the idea of space travel and then final frontier... its so endless.  The most recent Star Trek was AMAZING, however, my favorite is a little less know series called Firefly which was canceled after one season, but the fans were so upset that they producers made a movie called Serenity to follow-up the series.  Our first year in Boise together David and I dressed up as Mal and Inara, but only one other sci-fi nerd know who we were.

I'm also a huge fan of Contact, which spoke to me on both a scientific and spiritual level... which is why I also loved Angels and Demons... the book more than the movie of course, but the theories postulated were really exciting to me.

Which brings me back to the real reason I decided to confess my nerdiness... have you heard the news???  It appears physicists at the famous CERN Institute in Switzerland have officially broken the intergalactic speed limit... they've broken the speed of light.   Which also means Einstein wasn't as smart as everyone has believed him to be I guess... just kidding... he's still a smarty... but some of his theories just no longer check out.  The physics world is turned on its head!  But more importantly, do you know what this means for space travel?!  It's so exciting!!! Avatar here I come!

Check out the articles below for more (scientific) details.  But for now... "To infinity and beyond!"

• http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/09/neutrinos-and-the-speed-of-light-a-primer-on-the-cern-study/
• http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/09/23/faster-than-light-particles-may-be-physics-revolution/
• http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/22/science-light-idUSL5E7KM4CW20110922

Suffering in Silence

Last night after reading the article below (which really spoke to me), I found out that the local chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America is putting on a fundraising walk here in Boise to raise money for Crohn's and Colitis research.  Of course, I immediately signed up and I am encouraging my local Boise friends to do the same.

To get involved in your area, check out the Walk website: http://online.ccfa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=TS_homepage and register a team of your own.  We are so close to a cure, and every little bit helps.  I was "lucky" enough to not show signs of the disease until I was in my mid-twenties, but more and more often children as young as one month old are being diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), and I can only imagine what they must go through.  Childhood would be a very lonely road.

If you can get involved, do.  If you can't get involved, donate. 1 in every 200 people suffers with IBD and that number is growing.  And haven't you noticed, there's never a bathrooms when you need one?!

Today I am starting a new drug called Imuran.  It's very powerful and frankly, I'm a little bit scared of it, but its not Prednisone, which scares me even more.  Wish me luck! 


People with Crohn's, UC often suffer in silence
Midland Reporter-Telegram |  Posted: Thursday, September 22, 2011 10:45 am

Robin Kingham is real estate account executive for the
Reporter-Telegram and an ulcerative colitis survivor. She has
signed up for her second half-marathon with Crohn's and Colitis
Foundation of America's Team Challenge in Las Vegas on Dec. 4. She
has committed to raise $3,700; but her personal goal is $4,000 to
benefit the foundation. She is documenting her progress through a
column and a blog. To donate online, visit
http://www.active.com/donate/vegas11national/VegasRKingha.
Donations also may be mailed to Robin's attention at the MRT, 201
E. Illinois Ave. Make checks payable to CCFA.
Since becoming affiliated with the CCFA, I have met so many
people affected by Crohn's or colitis. I'm not just talking about
the people I've met through Team Challenge, I'm talking about
people right here in the Permian Basin. My co-workers, my husband's
co-workers, clients or their family members have come forward.
I bet you know someone who is affected by these diseases and you
are completely unaware. Those affected by irritable bowel disease
(IBD) don't necessarily look sick and most patients suffer in
silence. I went six weeks before seeking medical care.
Rachel Meyer, my Team Challenge teammate, looks healthy. She is
young and thin with beautiful skin; nothing on the exterior
indicates all of the turmoil in her digestive system. Her family
can tell, but someone on the outside wouldn't know.
And honestly, what 20 year old wants to have to explain
something like colitis? People have asked me how I am able to be so
candid, how I'm able to "put it all out there." My question in
reply is: How can I not? How can I not do something?
There is no cure, yet. The only way to find a cure is through
research. The way to fund research is through grants, donations,
fundraising and raising public awareness. A friend I met through
Team Challenge recently celebrated a birthday, a birthday his
doctors told him he may never see. Not only did he celebrate his
birthday, he is training for the Vegas half-marathon with Team
Challenge. If he can do it, how can I not?
I've been spending some time on the Crohn's and Colitis
Foundation's website, www.ccfa.org. The CCFA is an amazing
organization. Any donations made will be put to good use, whether
it is patient programs, health care provider educational seminars
or research. The organization is looking for college students to be
a part of their National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC). According
to the CCFA website, "the council works to increase awareness of
Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis through youth-focused
advocacy and fundraising. Youth leaders become advocates for
patients through local and national campaigns. The council members
also identify new fundraising opportunities on their campus and are
responsible for meeting a minimum fundraising goal each year, while
supporting and increasing support for existing programs. Council
members will develop leadership skills and prepare for even larger
roles as advocates for people with Crohn's disease and ulcerative
colitis." If you are interested in applying or you know someone who
should, go to www.ccfa.org for more information and to download an
application. The deadline for application submission is Oct. 3.

Cold calls and my new appreciation for telemarketers

Today I have been making cold calls for a really amazing program called "We Love Teachers."  You'd think it would be easy, right?  Wrong.  Even if its an amazing program that benefits all parties involved, like this one, people don't like to part with their money very easily.

That said, I'm not sure I'm really on "my game" when it comes to sales right now.  When I'm in the groove, my husband says I "can sell ice to an eskimo," but I haven't found my groove yet with this program.

I did find out that I don't think I will ever be rude to a telemarketer again.  Direct and to the point - as in "No, thank you," but never rude.

Not even half the day has gone by and I am exhausted... and a little bitter.  I'm not sure I signed up for door to door sales when I took this job in Public Relations... but at least on the plus side, I actually have a job right now, where I know quite a few who are out of work.

Ahhh.... shameless plug... if you know businesses who might be interested in participating in this amazing program "We Love Teachers" supporting CapEd's Teacher Grant program and Idaho teachers... send them my way!

BCS or just BS? A college football dilemma...

I'm not sure how many of you out there follow college football, but after having been with my husband for over four years now, I've truly come to appreciate the sport.  What I don't appreciate is the Bowl Championship Series.  I think its bull$hit.

I think it is representative of the current state of our country's political system- corrupt.  Point in fact, http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/football/ncaa/09/20/sugar-bowl-tax-violation.ap/index.html?sct=cf_t2_a3.

Why is it that every other sport can have a playoff, but not college football... oh wait, its not all college football, its just Division 1-A college football (Football Bowl Sub-Division).  Apparently, the 1-AA schools (Football Championship Sub-Division) have a playoff... and the 1-A schools just get to have their winners picked by the polls... not the actual game.

What If Everything Worked Like BCS: The Spelling Bee from sanjeev tandle on Vimeo.

Now I grew up cheering for the Wisconsin Badgers... who I must say are kicking a$$ this year, and I went to NYU- which lets face it, doesn't really have an athletic program.  But now I live in Boise, and I did a year of graduate school at Boise State... so I've definitely become a fan.  That said, even if I thought BSU was crap, and I was cheering against them with all my might, I can still see the merits of a playoff, as its the only truly fair way to determine a winner of the national title.

Thankfully one organization is going after the BCS, its a group called Playoff PAC and quite frankly, I heart them.  I love that they are standing up against an antiquated system that is based on solely on subjective points of view and really nothing more.  The BCS is an organization who has basically laundered money through the colleges that participate in their programs.

Many ask, why don't the schools just choose to not participate?  The answer is simple... they can't do that to the players.  The school that chooses to back out of the bowl series would not get good players, and their programs would fall apart.  Being that college athletics are the number one fundraiser for colleges, this is not an option for most if not all schools.  It's a huge catch-22.  They're damned if they do, and damned if they don't.

Now, I'm sure my husband is going to have a thing or two to say about what I've written... and I'm sure one or two of my loyal readers will as well, but either way... it's time for the corruption to end.  (Now for my shameless plug)  Support Playoff PAC in their efforts to end (at least blatant) corruption in college football.

World Religions and the Story of the Old Turtle

Have you ever read the book Old Turtle?  It's one of my most favorite children's books... and quite frankly, the message is as much for adults as it is for children.  The moral of the story is about understanding (rather than arguing) other peoples beliefs in God because when it gets down to it, we're not all that different.

Being that I have always prided myself on being open-minded and loving of all of my friends of all different races, religions, and backgrounds, I got to thinking as I was talking to a friend of mine the other day.  Although I pride myself on being understanding of my friends' choices in religious belief, I didn't necessarily understand their individual religions or why they make the choice to believe in them.

As the thought grew in my head, I decided I would take the advice of the Old Turtle, and I would set out on a little mission of listening, and (more importantly) learning about others beliefs.  Over the course of the next few weeks I am introducing a new feature to my blog called "Why I Believe"  I will be asking friends and colleagues- from all different religious backgrounds to answer a few questions and discuss what their religion means to them.  I post them as their answers come in.

I hope you enjoy their answers and much as I know I'm going to!  Also be sure to check out a copy of the Old Turtle when you get the chance.  It's quite an inspiring book.