Reflections on Easter

At the very least, Easter is a time for contemplation.

The first thing to contemplate is that: in Australia its the beginning of Autumn whereas in the northern hemisphere its spring. So its a time of renewal but that's not what's up here. Yet here I am thinking about renewal. huh?

It’s very pope like or Royal to make pronouncements on Easter but the ritual is about renewal and since my anniversary date falls very close to this full moon perhaps it is a good to be making pronouncements.

Its not so much pronouncements anyway,  just some random thoughts that were off shoots of conversations held over the past few days. By the by, if I drift off topic a little,  that’s because the Mac Store is across the street and I can hear the Airbook calling.

http://www.apple.com/retail/macbookair/

So Bluey, Newbie and Bevenator were at Mass Sunday morning and came back and were waxing philosophic about the meanings of the day and Newbie had a really neat concept that I have to relate. That the Supreme being exists out of time or at least exists in all times such that you gain (have prayers answered) wisdom/strengths in advance of when you may need them. With this concept I guess you have to allow for gaining the necessary wisdom after the fact too. That works for me as how many times have we talked about learning from our mistakes. I should mention that we saw Sinead O’Connor Saturdayt night and she’s touring in support of her Theology album so we have had many references to faith over the past few days. It was very interesting listening to Newbie and Bevenator chat the other day.

Bevenator thinks I need to use this “pulpit” to present various cases; the most recent in her mind is “testifiying” that my treatment was all the better because we had the option, my consultant and me, to choose to go ahead now with my BMT while I was strong. In other health systems, that choice may not have existed. So I should make sure that this option exists for any of you gentle readers. The “sermon” today is: buy private insurance, and see your doctor regularly. I guess the rest of it is that we need to work in our various circles to insure that we have a health system that allows people to have these options.

More sermons later on such topics as getting the Leukaemia Associations in Canada and the US to adopt "World's Greatest Shave" as a fundraiser in March so that we have heads shaved around the world.  Also coming is getting face book to ban the 20 friends thing!

We also talked about matriarchs in families that are diaryists and recording the events of their lives and that, in examples put forward, were consulted by younger family members as to when things happened. They acted like the older societie's story teller might have. They are the holder of the oral history..... except they are written. 

I was reminded of a painting on a buffalo skin that I saw in the Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo-Jump interpretative centre outside Fort Mcleod. 

-----Warning art content coming.

This paining was a history of the tribe over many years. It was a swirl of pictograms starting in the centre and spiralling out. Each pictogram was painted as a representation of the most unusual event in the previous year. So this painting with hundreds of these little symbols represented several generations of the tribes' life. There may have been a heavy snowfall that year or a big flood or little meat to hunt or a sickness but each year the painter would pick only one thing from the year. Imagine limiting your life to one image? This is my image for last year.

So why don't you send me images from your last year and I'll start up a multistrand collage thingy.

Just use photo bucket or email them direct to

chrisolin22@hotmail.com

If you want, give me multiple parts to an image idea you have, and tell me about it, and I'll cobble them together in photo studio; like I did this one.

A collective art project.

------Oh this will look good.

Shut up, it will turn out just fine.

-------You know they say the camel was designed by committee. It was intended to be a horse!

No, this is going to be good 'cause it includes just enough purpose to get it started but leaves everything open for serendipity!

-------- Does it bother anybody else that he is now talking with two voices?

more later

Chris

How long is a piece of string?

Often used as answer for when there is no answer; usually like .... "when will you take the junk in basement, to the dump?"  How many times will George Bush mispronounce words?  So when Doc Schoozenbootzen said in response to my good news about the Shave....(he was clapping by the way) " that's good now your next assignment is the 30,000 Steps for Autism", it posed a question in my head.

How many steps in a kilometer? 

The Doc wants me walking an additional 6 km a day and that will burn off 1kg of Fat in a month. he thinks that will be good training. I walk between 3000 and 8000 steps at work a day. These are the facts. Now to the pieces of string.

Newbie says a person should be walking 10,000 steps a day just to maintain a good fitness. My friend the Science teacher rekons that the average person, when walking will travel .4 to .7 of a meter per step; for me he thinks .6 m/step. Now the Doc, yesterday, added that the organizers of the 30k step deally think its about 27K  It doesn't take a math genius to figure out that.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1. I'm screwed

2. I better get started now to get into shape by July.

3. I'm screwed

4. it doesn't matter how long my stride is because...

5. I'm screwed

How do I get myself into this things?

So I had better close as I have to spend the day looking for really long peices of string.

More later

Chris

One year tests this week

I started my One year tests this weekend. I know its Good Friday but the clinic was open and I was booked for an intragam and had the Bone Marrow Aspiration at the same time we were in and out in only a few hours and I didn't feel a thing.... that I remember. I get sedation now and don't remember anything but I was saying it hurt it hurt or so says Joyce. I prefer to think of myself as the stoic type just grinding my teeth and being quiet but who cares as I'd don't remember a thing. 

Doc Schoozenbootz said my blood tests that morning were excellent! So that's good and I have been working on my diet and have cut way down on sweets, and for those of you that have ever stood between me and dark chocolate can attest to, that's something hard for me to do. Remember I'm the guy that postulated the dessert pocket theory.  Anyway I have diabetes that has been brought on (they think) by genes and by weight so I have to get a grip on this or start losing toes!

Anyway the Newbie, Bluey and I are in a new swanky hotel in Brisbane CBD chilling this morning bloging, reading the paper and waiting for the Bevenator to call and give us our plan for the day. We have tix to Sianead O'Connor tonight and bluey and Newbie are going to a dance show Sunday don't yet know what else we are doing but on Tuesday I finish most of my tests. Lung function, chest xray, ECG, 19 tubes of blood, skin tests etc.  and then Newbie gets on a plane to Cairns on Wednesday and we drive back to HB. 

More later 

Chris

Well its done!

The event was amazing there were about 125 people there and there was entertainment from the fabulous women's Choir and from the Rock On Social Club, It was the all singing, all dancing, all shaving extravaganza! There were some amazing stories about people giving.

Today after some sleep we counted money for hours and I even got a call to go to a ladies house and pick up another 100 dollars.   No not that way! She just donated the change she takes out of her purse over the year. Cool eh!  Anyway here's the totals. My campaign to date ... 6587.00 the group raised 10,397.00!! both over the goals of 5600.00 and 10,000!!!!!!!!!

The final leg

Well I actually have two legs so this may not be my FINAL leg, but you get the idea.

5 days to the shave event. A Close Shave looks like it might be a big party! We have members of the fabulous women's Choir coming and they are going to do a song I understand. The Rock On social club are going to do a demo of good old rock and roll partner dancing. Bronco Jensen from Tun-a-fun is going to DJ and MC and I'm going to get rid of this mop of hair. at this time last year I was worring about losing my hair and this year I can't wait.  

I'm a little concerned that I'M STILL UNDER 50%  to the goal with only 5 days to go but the event looks big and I think there may still be a couple of larger donors swimming around  yet. I hope so. 

bluey and Newbie and the Neighbors went to Fraser island for three days of relaxing and as it turned out eating gourmet meals and drinking good wine. We took way to much food but had a great time. We did a picnic to Eli Creek, drive on the big beach, reading, a trip to Lake McKenzie and a dip in the spa. We are a bit tired today as we got up early to catch the barge back and its still only 11 am. 

more later

 Chris

Shave, Shave Shave Shave

Wow I've been working on the show Oklahoma for the local community production. I did the lighting design and helped with giving my two cents worth in other areas as requested. I have just finished the first week of 'production week'. I focused last Thursday, set levels on Friday, Tech runs on Saturday and into Sunday, tried a stagger through with the orchestra but didn't get finished. We did focus and level notes on Monday afternoon and finished the music stagger through on Tuesday  and did a full tech dress on Wednesday. Two days off and we did a big, full dress on Saturday and that went pretty well, I thought, with no stopping just some notes after. I'm not there today, for another full dress, as I met Bluey at the plane. She and Newbie went to Tassie for the week last week; see newbie's blog  for details. Anyway Bluey is glad to be back and is resting and blogging and just enjoying me and our dog.

I've been trying to nail down prizes for the shave event and we have a wonderful piece of jewelry for Studio Jewelworks to raffle, thanks to our pal Andrew Maddern. The Madderns have been big supporters of our projects this year. Anne and daughter Bec stopped by several times in Brisbane, brother Andrew has been our 'go to' guy for jewelry design since he returned to the bay from the big smoke a few years ago.  He started his goldsmithing with courses at the TAFE taught by Jo. Big thanks to Andrew. 

We are looking like we may have a bit of a crowd on March 15th and I'm starting to work out job descriptions for the volunteers, any helpers out there?  We need folk on the door taking gold coin donations, a person to 'gatekeep' the raffle prizes, raffle sellers, door prize gatkeeper, etc etc

Communications Director, Newbie has got me doing a daily update on the shave page to let you all know how its going and it is a bit nerve racking. We are under two weeks away and still have 2/3 of the money to raise. Keep a look out.... at the very least it will be good theatre!

I'm now looking for any last minute shavers or colorers to register at the shave site  and to let me know that they want to do it at A Close Shave. When you register choose "part of an existing team" and put in A Close Shave .  You still get your individual page but your tally is included in the team tally. We have 10 of us registered and I know about another 10 to 15 are getting colors and shaves without registering. 

Any raffle prizes out there? We are looking for anything at all we can join things together into packages if we need to. We will let our donors put out cards and brochures and thank them in the blog, shave page and a final ad in the paper.

Thanks so far to ET's, Foxy Furs Pet Grooming, Toast, Coffee Club (HB), Amcal Chemists in Pialba Place, Joan Stefaniuk, Meleah's Hair, and Hervey Bay Face and Body Therapy for helping to collect money.

Thanks to HB Face and Body Therapy for shaving their own heads, waxing others and generally being great supporters. Thanks to RnR Hair and Taylor Hair for doing shaves and colors. Thanks to Hervey Bay hotel for letting us invade. And Bronco Jensen for Tun-a-Fun music and MC ing the event.

This space could be for you to be thanked for raffle prizes or other support

Can't you just see your name there?

Thanks to all my OS supporters; I have money from Canada, England and the US. Wow. 

So keep checking back here for news and the shave page for the tally.

Oh and there is a small matter of  a challenge: that for a price I may have to offer up a Brazilian. At great personal risk to my friendship, I have sought confirmation that Hervey Bay Face and Body Therapy would be able to do the necessary 'work' .  But I still need  to confirm what price I may put on it. If you missed it see the comments  on the prior posting. What's your comment.

Thanks

more later Chris