It Is Time to Raise the Cure for Pancreatic Cancer

(This post ripped directly from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network's site. This is a cause that is very important to my family and to many others around the nation. Thanks for taking the time to read and eternal gratitude for taking the time to vote.)

The American Express Members Project to Fight Pancreatic Cancer needs your vote!
(you don’t have to be a member to vote)

American Express holds a contest called the Members Project, where card members propose projects to support causes near and dear to them. These projects can be anything from preventing childhood malnutrition to providing clean water to rural areas. Card members and non card members vote for their favorite project, then American Express gives money to the top 5 vote-getters. The winning project is awarded $1.5 million, with 2nd place getting $500,000 and 3rd getting $300,000. Fourth- and fifth-place finishers receive $100,000 each. Go to: American Express Members Project. The deadline is September 1, 2008.

One of our supporters, Carolynn McMahn, PhD has entered 'It is Time to Raise the Cure for Pancreatic Cancer' as her American Express project. If the project places in one of the top spots, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network will be the recipient of a portion of the winning funds for pancreatic cancer research. A portion will also be shared with another non-profit organization that supports pancreatic cancer research. This is a great way for us to raise funds and awareness of our cause, but we need your help to make it to the top! Go to: American Express Members Project.

The deadline to vote in this first round is Monday, September 1, 2008. We can't make it to the top 5 if we don't get into the top 25, so please act today! Cardmembers can log in to vote, but you do not have to be an American Express cardmember to cast a vote. Simply sign in as a guest, it takes just a few clicks and can make a huge difference. We have a few days left before the first round ends, so please visit the Members Project site today and tell everyone you know about this opportunity!

American Express Members Project

We are grateful for your support.

Blogging Under the Influence

When I logged in yesterday to post a new entry, I saw a draft of an unposted entry titled BUI. "Bui?" I asked myself. What the hell is bui? And then I noticed the date of the draft. And day. Friday. Uh-oh.

There is a trend developing around Friday nights here. A trend that over the last three weeks has seen me exercise something less than moderation where my alcoholic intake is concerned. I blame the French, birthdays, and Chinese restaurants. When we got home after last Friday night's overindulgence, I decided to check my e-mail, and then I posted some obnoxious comments on friends' blogs (sorry!) blathering on about whiskey sours and my "mad backspacing skillz." Seems I was very proud of my ability to correct all the typos I had initially made in the comments.

A short time later, while I was lying in bed singing "It Sucks to Be Me" at the top of my voice, I paused to try to remember the lyrics and heard Jason snoring. How dare he! And how did he manage? I was pretty freakin' loud. I, of course, took umbrage at this critique and made the logical decision to come downstairs and blog about it. I sat down at the computer, decided that wasn't comfortable, dragged the laptop over to the guest bed, pulled back the comforter and shower curtain (to try to keep the cat hair on the sheets to a minimum), climbed into bed (pulling both the comforter and shower curtain back up over me), and proceeded to type this:

so, i odn't erally remember what i had to say her but ia'm sure it ahdd saomthhing to do with my hadusbadn falling amslepp while ai was singing the openingn nibmber of avenue qu

Wow. Apparently, those mad backspacing skillz deteriorated a bit over the course of the twenty or so minutes that followed my claiming them. I recall squinting at this gibberish, realizing it was worse than I felt like dealing with, shutting down the computer, placing it beside my head (where the other pillow would have been if I hadn't been Bogarting both of them), and drifting off to sleep. What I didn't count on was the autosave feature recording the exact composition of the drunken typo-fest. So there you have it—BUI, in all its glory.

W/W = D&D

According to a recent article on Wired.com, Weight Watchers is a role-playing game. At least, the online e-tools version of it is, which is what I use, of course, due to that whole aversion to people thing. I found the comparison to be amusingly accurate and I was also oh-so-relieved that my geekdom is still so slight and insignificant that it took me quite a while to figure out the acronym. Reading, reading, thinking "Yeah, but what does RPG mean?" reading, reading, "Aha!" Dork? Yes. Geek? Not so much.

But maybe I should become one, because frankly, I'm doing pretty well at this RPG thing, if I do say so myself. Knock on wood. Repeatedly. God, I hope I didn't just jinx myself. Anyway, reduction stats for those of you keeping score at home: 37.4 pounds, 4 inches in the chest (plus the 4 from the redux!), 5 inches in the waist, and 4.5 inches in the hip. According to the character name generator I just Googled (I'm getting a jump-start on this geek thing), my Dungeons & Dragons character name shall be: Therkahn Silversgleaming (Female Elf Rogue). Also known as Therkahn the Rogue, Lady Therkahn, Lady Silversgleaming, Lady Therkahn Silversgleaming the Rogue, and Therkahn Silversgleaming the Shepherd. Not sure where the sheep came into this but I rather like the idea of being a rogue. Now excuse me while I go out and kick some W/W D&D (Oh! WWDD—I like!) butt.

U.S.-China Relations (as pertaining to me, natch)

My fellow Americans, if you wish to discuss your political opinions in public—and more to the point, within my earshot—please try and have the tiniest sliver of a clue with regards to what you are speaking of. Otherwise, I may be forced to march over to your table and brain you with a potsticker.

As you may have gathered, we lunched today at the local Chinese buffet in honor of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad of the Modern Era. Or maybe Chinese food just sounded good and I've watched too much Olympic coverage. Oh, and btw, NBC—release your stranglehold. Yeshua. It's ridiculous that the local news cannot even show footage of hometown athletes because NBC hasn't aired their precious coverage yet. I'm thinking the audience for fencing is rather limited in scope to begin with, so ease up a bit, ya Nazis. Ok, deep breath. This too shall pass. Anyway, while lunching, I made the crucial mistake of sitting on an eyeline with the kitchen so that every time one of the proprietors came out with something fresh, they'd hold it up to me and mime encouragement for me to come and get some more. I don't do well with this kind of pressure. With the result that I walked waddled out of there feeling like I'd swallowed a giant gelatinous beach ball. Then we went grocery shopping. Brilliant. We are all constantly warned about shopping on an empty stomach, but let me tell you, shopping with a stomach so full you're on the verge of purging at any moment is not a pleasant experience either. Especially driving home with the smell of roasted chicken wafting around the car. *urp*

Oh, oh, oh!! I almost forgot. The best part was my fortune cookie: "Your respect for others will be your ticket to success this year." BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA. My respect for others? Hoo-hee-hee. That's a good one. Respect for others! Oh God, my sides. Stop it, stop it!

On a completely oxymoronic note from the lunch gorging, I passed the halfway mark for weight loss today and officially moved from "obese" to "overweight" on the BMI scale. This filled me with a ridiculous amount of delight and joy even though I think BMI is a bunch of codswallop. And a final word to all my ex-fat: you can suck it.

Return of the Pelicans

It's that time of year again! And while I would love to ramble on interminably about the seasonal migratory patterns of aquatic fowl, I don't actually know anything about them. But I do know that the brown pelicans show up here once a year, stay a while, and then--well, I was going to say they return from whence they came but maybe they have other stops on their itinerary. I don't know. I just enjoy them while they're here.

Names Have Been Changed to Protect, um, Someone

So, the other day I was catching up on all the D-List episodes I missed while I was at my folks' house and I noticed that the lead-in to the show features Kathy saying, "Ok, here's the thing. . ." And while this has been a verbal crutch of mine for quite some time, I can't be sure I didn't pick it up from Ms. Griffin and don't want to be a copycat or a plagiarist or whatever, so I changed the blog's title. It links up better with the URL now anyway. Of course, I swiped that particular gem from a t-shirt that my brother's co-worker said made her think of him, but that's different. I don't know why, but it is. Shut up. It is.

I do lurve my Bravo shows wholeheartedly, and while discussing recent episodes with some friends, one of them remarked to Jason, "Your wife sure does watch a lot of Bravo. I think she may be a gay man in a woman's body." I loved it and thought it was a great compliment, right up there with when my friend Story told me that the sweater I was wearing made me look like an angel, but really I was the devil. Aw, shucks, y'all say the sweetest things.