Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk

I’m fat and out of shape and decided that I needed something that would motivate me to get into shape. For a number of years I had been thinking that I wanted to do something big and kept telling myself that I would run a marathon (like Oprah). But, I’m never going to run a marathon, and I know this, I’m not a runner.... However, I AM a walker and I while I can walk, I should be able to do something good with my walking.

I saw one of the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk ads and decided to look into it, because it is walking and not a race, I figure this will be a great motivation. I went to the orientation meeting and the first question that I was asked was “Why are you doing this?” I had to stop and think because all of the other folks there were saying they were doing it for moms, friends, siblings, etc. who they have lost to breast cancer. I’m standing there feeling very selfish because I was doing this walk to motivate myself to get healthy. I haven’t lost anybody to breast cancer. I’ve known people who have had breast cancer, but the disease has never touched me as intimately as many of the other people at the meeting.

So, I had to go back and ask myself, aside from the selfish motivation, why AM I doing this walk? Why am I planning to walk 60 miles in 3 days? Why am I planning on sleeping in a tent at night after walking 20 miles? Why am I willing to shower in a truck and use a Port-a-Potty (and you should know that I despise Port-a-Potties)?

Then, it dawned on me, I’m doing it to raise the money and raise the awareness. I would really like to have this disease kicked and the research that the money goes for is doing just that.

I’m doing this for the next group of men and women that are coming up so that they WON’T have to worry about breast cancer.

I’m doing this for my niece Kathleen and my nephew Colin.

I’m doing this for my Godchildren, Maeve and Patrick.

I’m doing this for all my cousins and their kids.

I’m doing this for all my friends who have children in their lives.

On October 2 - 4, I will, along with thousands of other men and women, start a 3 day journey to walk 60 miles. I'm looking forward to this and scared that I won't be able to do this. However, my journey is nothing compared to those fighting this disease.

So, I’m asking you to help me. Please, help me raise the money that I need to participate. Please go to the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk website, click on the Donate tab, search for me using this participant code: 2740147 and donate. I will also be sending an email asking for your support.

And, check back often to watch my progress on this journey. I'll be updating both my participant site with information as well as my ABBA blog with my tails of training.

Thank you for your time and support.

Goings On

I know that I haven't been posting much lately, and I really don't have any excuse, other than I don't really have anything specific that I wanted to discuss. Nothing too terribly exciting has been going on in my world, at least not since I came back from the HCBC gathering in So. Cal.

I've had terrible computer problems with my work laptop. They were so bad that it got to the point where my baby had to be replaced and I'll never be able to get back into the flow of how I used to work. They couldn't rebuild it exactly, so I'm having to relearn where all my normal files are since I am used to just going to my short cuts. Today, for some reason, all of my personal folders in my mailbox are gone, and if they can't be recovered I am SCREWED!! I also lost my full version of Acrobat, which has now limited me in some of the things that I used to do. Ah well, that is one of the things that makes work interesting, huh?

This past weekend was a lot of fun, very relaxing, but fun. I walked over to a shopping center on Saturday and then had Samantha and her mom pick me up with Kenya, her dog. The three of us headed out to Crissy Field and had a great picnic of sparkling wine, salami, bread, and fresh mozzarella with tomatoes. We enjoyed the great weather and then took Kenya for a short walk along the beach. Saturday evening Samantha and I walked over to this Mexican restaurant that I've driven past a number of times. I thought it was a sit down place, but it turns out it is an order at the counter and they bring the food out. It was very tasty, but I not the best I've had.

Sunday, Samantha, Kenya, and I went for another walk. This time it was up and down some of the big San Francisco hills in the neighborhood. While we were only out for about 45 minutes to an hour, it felt like a much longer walk. I came home and ended up just hanging out around my place. I watched the Super Bowl, but wasn't really impressed with what I watch it for...the commercials. The game, on the other hand, was actually pretty exciting, even though I wasn't really interested in either of the teams winning.

That was about the weekend for me.

How to Survive a Deadly Boring Workday

For those who don't recall, I got a Procrastinator Calendar and am sharing some of the tips with all of you. 

Here is February:

1. Go from office to office borrowing rubber bands until you have a killer rubber-band ball. 
   
2. Plan your lunch partners for the next month. 
   
3. Go online and learn how to swear in several different languages. 
   
4. Tell your office manager you've developed an allergy and need to go to the pharmacy for medication. 
   
5. Research ways to get to work in a more eco-friendly manner: bike, train, carpool, hang glider, and hot-air balloon. 
   
6. Rack your brain for an online store you can operate at home in your pajamas. 
   
7. Write the first line of ten different book ideas. 
   
8. Think of five irreverent national holidays you could introduce into law. 
   
9. Draft a proposal for employee chair massage and e-mail it to your office manager. 
   
10. Put a suction cup against the wall and see if you can hear your coworker's conversation. 

And your procrastination homework is... If you were a performer with one name (like Madonna, Sting, Bono), what would it be? (List 10 possibilities)....