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For the last two years I’ve been participating in Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes put on by the American Diabetes Association, and for the last two years, you’ve all been amazing when it comes to supporting me. I’m hoping that this year you’ll do the same. This year I’m getting my donation page up a little earlier since this year I have a bigger goal to reach. Not only did I bump up my monetary goal (and my goal to get more donations than Donald), but this year I made a new personal goal of running or jogging throughout the entire course.
Yes, you read that correctly. I’m not walking this year, I’m running/jogging. I’ve been working on the Couch to 5K program for the last few weeks, and by October 16, I’ll be fully able to run an entire 5K. Since the route we use has a lot of hills, and my practice route has exactly none, I decided I’d be safer to give myself some wiggle room when it comes to running the entire thing. I will run as much as I can and jog the rest if I need to. The downside to this plan is that I’ll be doing it on my own. My friends will all be walking the route while I run. I’m hoping that with enough training, I can run through the entire 5K, and then catch up to my friends and walk the rest of it with them. Since it’s July, and the event is in October, I won’t make any promises just yet. But that’s my ultimate goal.
So here’s where you guys come in. I need support. Monetarily and emotionally. If you can come and walk or run with us, that’d be great! I could use a partner or two to come run with me. If you can’t be there in person, I hope you can support us with a small donation. Every dollar counts, and if you can only spare a dollar, it’ll mean just as much to me as if you can spare $100. Last year our team raised the 4th largest amount at the event, and this year we want to do better. This year my unofficial niece, Kyla (a sister of my unofficial nephew, Jaxson) is representing the American Diabetes Association as the 2010 Step Out Youth Ambassador! Kyla is the main reason we all participate every year, and I’m so proud of her for taking on this leadership role!
The link to donate is on that big button up there on the right sidebar, or you can click the link below. I appreciate anything you can donate, whether it be money, time, or just your good wishes. Here’s to hoping that we find a cure!
Donate or Sign Up here:
http://main.diabetes.org/goto/denora
Despite the floundering economy and important issues that need to be attended to, some cities across the nation are tackling the REALLY important issues:
The city council in Elmhurst, Illinois has asked the City Attorney to look into the possibility of making eye-rolling illegal. Yes, you read that right. Apparently a woman at the city council meeting was seen rolling her eyes and sighing at something a council member said, and was then ejected from the room. Holy sensitivity Batman! She dared to roll her eyes? and SIGH? Perhaps they would have preferred that she jump up and interrupt the statement while gesticulating wildly? Now the city council would like to create a disorderly conduct violation, and get eye-rolling included in it. I cannot even fathom the level of stupidity needed to come up with that idea.
Sullivan’s Island in South Carolina has passed an ordinance that adds hooting, singing, whistling, and hollering to the list of noise disturbances that you can be fined for. I can understand this particular ordinance if it was strictly in a residential area between 11pm and 7am. Sadly, it’s not. The ordinance is in effect 24 hours a day and especially at night. If you are near a home or office during the day and are singing and someone feels you are annoying them, you can be fined. Really? There’s nothing more important to be worried about than if someone is singing as they walk down the street?
I know there are ridiculous laws on the books already, otherwise sites like dumblaws.com and stupidlaws.com would not exist. I just figured those were old laws that never got removed (my favorite being the one where it is illegal to bring a live fish on a bus without any water). I never figured people were STILL making completely stupid laws…
Last year I participated in the Riverside Step Out to Fight Diabetes Walk, and I’ve been asked to participate again this year. Kyla, who is Donald’s niece, is the team captain, and basically the person we’re all walking for. Kyla has Type 1 diabetes, which, for those of you who don’t know, is the ugliest of the major types. She has to count her carbs every day, and give herself insulin injections all the time. She’s been doing it all herself since she was diagnosed in 2006. I can’t handle having someone else stick a needle into my arm once a year, but this amazing girl does it multiple times a day. Did I mention she’s only 12?
The Step Out walk will take place October 17, and we’ll be accepting donations until then. I know money is tight for everyone right now. Trust me, I know. But still, I’m going to donate my money and time, and ask you for donations anyway, because I think this is a great cause. And I couldn’t face Kyla knowing that I didn’t try my very hardest to do whatever I could to make her life better. So I’m asking you to donate to find a cure for diabetes. If you don’t do it for Kyla, do it for your kids, or your friend’s kids, or any adult that you know who has it, had it, or might get it. You could be saving their life, or at the very least, improving the quality of it!
The link for donations is here. A dollar will help, if that’s all you can spare. Every single penny counts. And! As an added bonus, you will receive a personalized thank you card via snail mail (yay!) to show you my appreciation! (Provided of course that I already have your address, or that you send me an e-mail with it. Addresses will only be used by me, and not passed on to Step Out, the American Diabetes Association, or anyone that does not have the name Denora on their birth certificate. I promise.)
Thank you for your thoughts, encouragement, and donations. I appreciate it, as does Kyla and everyone suffering from this disease. Let’s find a cure!
 Donald, Kyla & Denora – 2008 Step Out
I won't try to astound you with any profound comments on the inauguration. I don't consider myself educated enough to speak with any authority on pretty much anything related to politics.I'll just say that I was amazed and moved, and hopeful for our country's future. Also, stunned by the size of the bow on Aretha Franklin's hat.
Now I am not now, nor have I ever been a fan of President Bush. I don't respect the man, but I do respect the office. So I was extremely disappointed to hear people in the crowd in DC booing when his face came on their screens. You don't have to like or respect him, but until 12:01pm yesterday, he was still the President of the United States, and the office deserves respect. Can't we be better people than that? Rather than booing, I wish they'd clapped for him, for he will no longer be running our country and that's a clap worthy event, in my opinion.
You know what would be an awesome invention? A nifty little speech recognition program for my car. Because I tell you, some of my best blog worthy material comes to me while I'm sitting in the car going to or from work. And wouldn't it be fabulous if those thoughts actually got typed up and posted here for your viewing pleasure? My readership would go from 7 to like 11! I wouldn't know how to handle all the extra traffic!
Seriously though, I really do come up with great things to talk about while I'm driving. I'm very much considering getting some sort of recording device to document my driving genius, and then I can come home and put down the crazy thoughts that run through my head while left to my own devices. I have a TypePad application on my phone, but since California just outlawed texting while driving (which makes FAR more sense to me than requiring a hands free device to talk on the phone. But I'll cover that in a minute.) I doubt the cop who busts me would see the distinction between texting someone and typing up a blog post while driving.
Sidenote: Anyone from California know if it's also illegal now to use GPS units while driving? Because I know I can drive and text better than 90% of people who try and look for directions while driving.
So, last July California made the switch to hands-free only cell phone usage while driving. And for some unknown reason, I have not written about this in the past, so I'll share my thoughts now.
It's dumb.
Yes, it's important to be safe while driving. Thirty bazillion drivers get into accidents every year, and some of them get hurt or killed, and even worse, some innocent passenger or driver of another vehicle gets hurt or killed due to Driver A's stupidity. However, is the person talking on the phone via headset much safer than the person talking via phone in their hand? My argument is not that cell phone usage doesn't cause accidents. My argument is that STUPID PEOPLE cause accidents, regardless of where the phone is (if it's even involved at all). The woman trying to put on mascara while doing 80 mph down the freeway is far more dangerous, in my opinion, than I am talking on the phone. I am at least looking at the road that I'm driving on, rather than looking into a mirror while shoving a stick into my eye. How about the guy reading the newspaper while he's doing 75 mph? Shouldn't that be illegal?
Before anyone does an archive search and calls me a hypocrite (on this particular issue), I will admit that I have indeed read books on my way home from work. However, I was literally crawling down the freeway at a maximum of 10 mph, and was holding the book on the steering wheel to limit the amount of looking away from the road I'd have to do. Any speeds faster than 10 mph, and my book was closed and on the seat next to me while I drove. Admittedly, it's not safe and if they outlawed it, I'd completely understand. I do not, however, understand the hands free only law.
Proponents of the hands free law say that talking on the phone while driving is a distraction. Ok, let's go with that (however, they don't think that talking to the passengers in your car is also a distraction. Odd, since they're both completely comprised of TALKING TO PEOPLE). Explain to me then how talking on the phone via headset is less distracting than talking on the phone in your hand. Both consist of the aforementioned talking, and one has the added bonus of a hand off the wheel. Ok, so by that logic (or illogic) people should not be allowed to talk to passengers and change the radio station at the same time, as it requires a hand off the wheel. People should not be allowed to eat in their cars while driving as it requires both the mouth moving and the hand off wheel. (Though I do eat while driving, I am not opposed to a law making it illegal. Just because I am capable of doing it without presenting a danger to society does not mean the general population is.) Not texting while driving is a law that makes sense to me. Not holding up a phone while driving does not.
So what is the rule in your state? And do you agree with it?
So, my state is on fire. Again. The closest fire to me is actually in my city, but I'm about 10 miles from the very edge of it (give or take some). The air around me is very smoky and cloudy, and you can see the fires quite well from my area. (My actual apartment is behind a hill, so I can't see. But the view from the hill is amazing.) I'm not in an evacuation area, since the fire seems to be going the other direction, which is nice for me, but horrible for the huge housing community that it's plowing through. They've shut down the 91 freeway which, if you don't know the area, is the only major through way to get from Orange County to Riverside County. So tomorrow, instead of taking a straight 30 mile shot to my parent's to pick up my dad for the hockey game, I have to take a huge out of the way roundabout route that's about 49 miles and takes twice the amount of time, assuming there's no traffic. And, yeah, this is southern California. We have traffic at 2am on Tuesday mornings, let alone midday on Sunday. However, I'd rather have hours and hours of traffic than lose my home, so I shall shut my mouth about it, and start collecting things to donate to the people who have lost everything.
Well. We have a new President Elect. I am thrilled for America, and hope that we can come together and be supportive of him, regardless of how we voted. I am not thrilled, however, with the people in California and Arizona. Proposition 102 in Arizona and Proposition 8 in California were both banning same-sex marriage. Arizona’s law passed, and California’s race is still too close to call (as of this writing) but is leaning toward passing as well. I’m saddened and disgusted at this result. I won’t go into a rant on why, since I’ve basically done that already. My excitement for Obama’s election is largely outweighed by my disappointment in the possibility (at this point) of Proposition 8 passing.
I AM happy, however, that the television commercials will go back to products I don’t use, rather than lies and slander about candidates and issues (including issues I support. I’m not just talking about the other guys). The last few weeks have been awful, in regard to the heavy ads running on every television station. I’ll be happy to get back to mindless but amusing beer and Arby’s commercials. I’m just that classy.
On a final note, as happy as I am that America has elected their first African-American president, I will be so much more pleased when we can just say that we elected an articulate and intelligent person for president. I cannot wait for the day when race doesn’t matter. When gender doesn’t matter. It’s amazing and awesome to me that even a few years ago, the possibility of having an African-American president was outrageous, but here we are 76 days from swearing him into office. Now that we’ve passed this milestone, I hope we can start just referring to him as a man. Intelligence matters. Ethics matter. Personality matters. To me, color shouldn’t matter.
I generally try to stay out of discussions involving politics, because I don't consider myself knowledgeable enough to have a conversation about a specific candidate, measure, or proposition. I know what I am voting for, and why I'm voting for that person or issue, and there's very little that anyone can say that would make me even consider changing my mind. (To be honest, I think that if we could all take an unbiased look at the candidates ideas, statements, and contributions, and stopped paying attention to age and/or race, we'd all be voting for the same guy. I'm just sayin'…)
This particular election there has been one issue that I have been very passionate about, and feel educated enough to speak to other people about. For those of you who don't live in California, you may or may not have heard of Proposition 8. The text reads:
Shall the California Constitution be changed to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry providing that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California?
Currently, same-sex couples are allowed to marry in California. There was a proposition a few years ago that banned same-sex marriage, and it passed. However, it was overturned by the California Supreme Court as being unconstitutional. The current proposition would rewrite the state constitution, and eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry or be recognized if married in other states.
The proposition actually states that it would eliminate the rights of a group of people. I don't understand how any person can vote in favor of it, regardless of their view on same-sex couples. I understand that some people have a religious and moral beliefs that are against same-sex marriage. I have no problem with that. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But not agreeing with someone's lifestyle should not and DOES NOT give anyone the right to deny them rights afforded to all of us in the constitution. What if you replaced "same-sex couples" with "interracial couples"? What's the difference? It's denying someone the right to marry the person they love because you disagree with their choice. It's discriminating against them, because they don't feel the same way you do. How is that acceptable?
I have been dying to get a call from the phone banks urging me to vote yes, simply because I want to know why they feel this way. The one person I knew that was voting yes actually changed her mind when it was pointed out to her that it's the same as telling a black man he can't marry a white woman, or vice versa. I don't know anyone personally that is voting yes on this, so I can't have the conversation I want to have. I want to understand why they think discrimination is ok.
The commercials say that we have to "protect our children" and "restore traditional marriage." Marriage IS taught in schools, yes. So what? Your child will learn that marriage between two people is valid regardless of race, gender, or age. If you disagree with that, you're more than welcome to talk to your child at home, and explain to them that your family does not believe that same-sex marriage is ok. The schools should not be and are not responsible for 100% of a child's worldly education. Lots of atheist or agnostic children say the Pledge of Allegiance every single day, including the words "Under God." Don't you think the parents of those children have to explain that some people believe in a god, and others don't and that it's ok to be different? What makes your belief more important than theirs? Tradition? If we went by traditional standards, all women would be barefoot and pregnant at home, without a job, a vote, or independence of any kind. We'd have no computers, since we'd "traditionally" use paper. We'd be without cars because "traditionally" we rode horses. Tradition changes. Society changes. We progress, move forward, and open our minds to ideas that might be a little different than what we're used to.
If you live in California, please vote No on Prop 8. If you have a similar discriminatory proposition in your state, I urge you to vote against it. Equality means everyone, not everyone you agree with.
Last year I did the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K walk and raised money for an excellent cause. I had planned on doing it this year as well, but had to change my plans. There are many wonderful causes that I’d love to raise money for, but I just don’t have the time or resources to do them all. That’s why I’ve decided to focus on one or two functions a year to throw my full support behind.
On October 18th, I’ll be walking in the Step Out to Fight Diabetes hosted by the American Diabetes Association. As with breast cancer, diabetes has affected several members of my family and my friends. My aunt, my mom, and several friends have been diagnosed with diabetes over the years. This year, however, I was asked to participate in the walk by Donald’s family, as his niece is living with juvenile diabetes. She was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in March of 2006, and has adjusted well to her daily regimen of closely monitoring her diet, testing her blood sugar frequently and giving herself multiple insulin injections, but I know that there are many days when it is very difficult for her. It’s a big burden for anyone, but especially an 11 year old. Kyla is a great kid, and I want nothing more for her than to find a cure for this disease.
So here’s where I beg for donations. If you can, please donate to our team. Every dollar counts, so anything you can afford would be phenomenal, even if it’s as little as just a dollar. And if you can’t afford to donate at this time, feel free to pass on the link to someone who might be able to. I’ve included my donation page if you’d like to donate under my name, as well as Kyla’s page if you want to donate under hers. The money goes to the same team regardless of which link you click. (Her link includes a picture of her, and you’ll note she’s far cuter than I!)
My donation page: http://main.diabetes.org/goto/thedenora
Kyla’s donation page: http://main.diabetes.org/goto/KylaClark
Huge thanks to anyone who donates, thinks about donating, or just sends happy thoughts our way. All of us and the millions of other families and friends affected by diabetes would love to see a cure. Let Kyla’s generation be the last generation to suffer the daily struggle of a life with diabetes.
This coming weekend, I’m participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, to raise money for breast cancer awareness, treatment and research. Breast cancer has sadly touched many women in my life, including my grandmother, cousin, mother-in-law, and very close friend. Donating to the cause is the best way I know to go about helping them. And not only am I donating to the cause, I’m asking you to help as well. Below is a link to the donation page. My goal is to raise $200 for this race. Obviously, if I can raise more than that, it would be fantastic. Any and all donations are welcome. If you can’t afford to donate (and I’ve been there too), your positive thoughts and support are all I need. And if you’re feeling ambitious, feel free to pass the donation link on to others. The more people who can help, the faster we can find a cure!
**Edited to add: My goal of $200 was smashed rather quickly (like within an hour of the original post), so I’ve upped it to $400. Thanks to everyone who’s donated so far, and everyone who plans to donate!!
Find The Cure!
or cut and paste the following into your browser, if the above link doesn’t work:
http://inlandempire.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=240442&u=240442-150280011&e=1301482807
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