Another Christmas

Another successful Christmas and we are more spoiled than ever. How fortunate we are to have our families and our comfortable life, the animals, and all our friends.

We’ve become addicted to the Nintendo Wii game system. I have a new iPod Nano. Fun times. The coffee table is littered with miscellaneous electronic components. Wires, adapters, USB cables and whatnot. Apparently I’ve turned into some sort of techno gearhead in my old age. Now that we are running the NMHPU myspace page, I’ve even dabbled in a little html coding. Now that’s amazing considering I’m the only person I know who failed college algebra more than once. Ouch.

Oh, and I ended up gathering a small cache of furniture, household items, toys and clothes for the refugee family in need from my prior post. That and about $275 in cash for purchasing other basic items while they get on their feet. My father told me how proud he was that I was spearheading such an endeavor. I told him that my motivation was the hope that, should I ever be in such a position, that others might in turn help me out if they could. Warmth, shelter, and basic items with which to nourish a family.

That is the true meaning of Christmas.

Countdown to Wii

Nintendo Wii game system. Accessory bundle! Six games, memory card, extra 'nunchuck'. It's all been shipped. It's supposed to arrive tomorrow. It could be here within 24 hours. Jon is asleep on the futon, and he will rest up, lest it should arrive early tomorrow. He will be ready to rid the universe of monsters and all evil, and play simulated sports. And I really hope he doesn't put a hole through the bigscreen with a flying controller. God help us.

Helping Others For The Holidays

I know everyone has their own things that they do to help people & animals in need at Christmas time

BUT

A friend of mine is a social worker in Salt Lake and she and the other case managers at her clinic are trying to get the word out about a refugee mom and her three young children who just settled here and need assistance. There is a 6-year-old boy, 2-year-old girl, and 8-week-old infant (dad is still in the country of origin). The clinic has arranged housing, but the mom and children have NO furniture, kids clothes, toys, etc. The little boy has a chronic illness and they are really struggling. They have very few basic items in their empty apartment. The baby is currently sleeping in a car seat.

In the last two days we have gotten a couch, crib, and playpen donated, and next Monday (12/18) I will be taking my truck to help move these items from the donor’s home to the family’s apartment. I am also gathering items to donate including clothes, toys, baby items, etc. Unfortunately, they have no prospects for Christmas in terms of being a family that gets a sub for Santa which is why the case managers are trying to coordinate this effort, independent from the assistance the clinic (where they work) can provide.

If you have any items at all that you can donate, second hand or otherwise please let me know. If you have large items (furniture, etc) that need to be moved, the caseworkers & I can arrange to have them picked up from your home. If you are like me you already have an ongoing “for charity” list or box you fill with random items around the house you no longer use or need.

Please consider if your belongings could help this family. Otherwise, they need diapers, clothes for the kids, toys, canned food, etc. and I will gladly be accepting donations. I am also collecting cash or grocery gift cards if you would like to contribute in that regard.

Thank you for your generosity and kindness.

I Had To Laugh

No, we're not getting divorced because he's a unfaithful. Hehehh. After I posted the last random rant about the tv show "Cheaters" I wasn't able to log into my blogger account for a while as it was being converted over to the beta format. It occurred to me that it could outwardly appear that the last post had some hidden meaning. But I assure you it doesn’t. To the contrary, all is well and we are looking forward to celebrating the holidays again this year. We are also working on a few charity projects which I will be posting about later.

All in all life is great and the wedding of the century is still in progress. Cheers!

Cheaters

Okay, have you seen this trashy reality show? Admit it, you have. It plays on WB sometimes, and I’ve seen it on the dish on “G4” whatever channel that is. It’s this ridiculous reality show where they feature a person who suspects his/her partner is being unfaithful. So they track the suspected cheater raw P.I. style, and film his/her antics, play the video back to the victim, and then there’s usually a great big dramatic confrontation. Great schmut. I sat down after running around doing housework for about an hour tonight and caught the end of this really intense episode. Usually the cheater gets busted going to a bar or on a date with another person, but this was like full on red handed people scrambling to put clothes back on type stuff. So you know what I did…nope, didn’t change the channel as any self respecting human being would…. instead I had to go check the website to see what I had missed earlier in the episode. I couldn't find any info about that particular show, but the website definitely had some interesting content.

So they have all these links and information about infidelity and private investigators, legal representation, etc. And then my personal favorite…. a dating service! No, folks, I am not making it up. See for yourselves. http://www.cheaters.com/

It Needs To Be Done

Ever get burned out on something? I think everyone has. With some things we have a higher endurance than others. Like that neon day-glo fad in the late 80's. Gross. That was here for like 5 minutes. But other things, like online commerce and gasoline engines? Well, those have both been around for a while now, I don't suppose they'll disappear anytime soon.

After I graduated from college in 2002 I found that I had a lot of free time on my hands. Instead of fixing up my ailing 85 year old home or getting a second job, or even sitting and home feeling sorry for myself, I started volunteering. For a year or two I volunteered both for No More Homeless Pets In Utah, an animal welfare group and for the National Ability Center, a recreation mecca for persons with disabilities of all varieties located in Park City, UT. On February 21, 2004 I participated in the world's first adaptive bobsled race. That season and the season prior (2003/2004) I volunteered in varius capacities most memorably as a 'test subjet' or 'guinea pig'. I would ride brake (that's backseat) of the 2 man sled for various athletes in training. The Olympic track goes up to 80+ mph during some runs. Talk about fierce rush. I was in the presence of greatness and I won't soon forget it. Especially the spills, and bumps and bruises--I do have some battle scars but I have no regrets whatsoever. In the summer time I also participated in the adaptive cycling program at the Ability Center. I basically got to hang out and meet more awesome people and ride my mountain bike. Beforehand I think I had to learn some basic first aid or how to fix an adult trike or hand cycle or some such nonsense, but of course I never had to use that knowledge.

In the Fall of 2004 I became more involved with NMHPU and was approached to oversee the Animal Ambassadors program, which includes community outreach and education, and merchandise sales. Animal Ambassadors are volunteers that go to various festivals and gatherings throughout the community and talk to people, spreading the word and message of No More Homeless Pets In Utah. Handing out literature and educating, and fundraising via the sale of merchandise. Spring of 2005 I became increasingly involved with NMHPU and was unable to commit to the Ability Center that summer. Which was probably ok, as the cycling program was pretty stacked with folks to assist the year prior. I likely wasn't missed that much. I worked tirelessly the summer of '05 for NMHPU traveling to various events, often far outside the city, often by myself. I'm no wimp but hauling around hundreds of pounds of boxes of tee shirts, tables, chairs, event canopies and media displays can take its toll on anyone. What was my motivation? It needed to be done.

And there is still a lot more to do. Animals have brought me a great deal of joy. And despite as cliche and cheesy as it sounds, it is my way of paying them back. Unfortunately, companion animals are still dying in shelters daily because there aren't enough homes for them. But instead of dwelling on this negative, I can only myself push forward and 'do what needs to be done'.
I have been less involved with the volunteer effort over the past 6 months, for a variety of personal and professional reasons. A lot of the volunteers think it's because I am getting married. That is part of the reason, but not entirely. I think we all need a break from some things from time to time. That being said, may have been burnout, maybe not, but for a while there I was in sheer survival mode in my personal life, so like the Ability Center the year prior, something had to go. I didn't volunteer much at all over this past summer. So while I hope that was only a temporary pause in the continuing endeavor of NMHPU, no matter what my involvement level, and no matter if it is sanctioned by an organization, I will always remain loyal to my feline and canine friends because that is all they have ever been to me. It just needs to be done.