Here's a quick video I made about the Light The Night Walk. I've set my goal at $1000.00 this year, and I plan to try like hell to meet and then exceed that amount. As always, here's a link to my fundraising site. Even a $1, $2 or $5 donation helps. If you can't give, I'd appreciate it if you would share the link to my page with others who you think might want to give.
http://pages.lightthenight.org/hr/Peninsul11/DNiapas
The Sister Publication of Orange Soda Periodical
Monday, September 5, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Light The Night
On the wall in my living room, I have pictures of the people I love most in the world. Among those pictures, hanging above my entertainment center, is an 8x10 of the greatest person I've ever known in my life. She's my grandmother, affectionately called Yia Yia by my sister, my brothers, my cousins and I.
She was the light of all of our lives, and when she died, our family seemed to be irreparably broken. Watching the person I loved, the person whose morals and principles shaped my own character, slowly lose her life over the course of four years was devastating. I went through an immeasurable amount of emotional anguish knowing that she was dying, and that nothing I could say or do would change that fact.
True, we all have to die at some point. That's the human condition. But I'd like to think that we don't have to suffer the way she did. The way others have before her, and the way even more have since her passing in 1996.
I wish I could say that upon her passing, I made a vow to take a courageous stand to raise money for cancer research and that I've been working tirelessly toward that end all this time. The truth is, though, I didn't. Instead, I spent years feeling helpless and hopeless, wallowing in the feelings of anger and sadness that consumed me in the aftermath.
Then one day I walked into an oncology clinic and saw posters for this event called Light The Night. I had no idea what it was about, but I wanted to learn more, so I did my research. It turns out that this event is held across the country, every year and it raises money to fund research and advance the fight against blood cancers. Since then, I've been on board, doing what I can to raise money and awareness.
As it turns out, this year I have an even bigger incentive to raise money. One of my old friends, a man I consider a mentor, was diagnosed with cancer over the Holiday Season. He was given exactly eight months to live.
I can't tell you how jolted I am by this news. For a while I admit, I felt useless and depressed about the diagnosis. But then I got angry at myself, and I gave myself a swift kick in the ass, so to speak. Then I got myself together and set a new goal.
In the past, all I've tried to raise was $100. If I went over that mark, I considered it to be a bonus. This year, I want to raise $500. So, I'm going to make a pledge of my own. If I hit my goal of $500, I'll dye my hair blonde for a week. Platinum Blonde, and I'll twist it up into spikes the way I used to (when I was a twenty something on the prowl). I've even uploaded a pic of myself in full spike mode to motivate the giving...
First thing's first.. here's the link to my donation page
She was the light of all of our lives, and when she died, our family seemed to be irreparably broken. Watching the person I loved, the person whose morals and principles shaped my own character, slowly lose her life over the course of four years was devastating. I went through an immeasurable amount of emotional anguish knowing that she was dying, and that nothing I could say or do would change that fact.
True, we all have to die at some point. That's the human condition. But I'd like to think that we don't have to suffer the way she did. The way others have before her, and the way even more have since her passing in 1996.
I wish I could say that upon her passing, I made a vow to take a courageous stand to raise money for cancer research and that I've been working tirelessly toward that end all this time. The truth is, though, I didn't. Instead, I spent years feeling helpless and hopeless, wallowing in the feelings of anger and sadness that consumed me in the aftermath.
Then one day I walked into an oncology clinic and saw posters for this event called Light The Night. I had no idea what it was about, but I wanted to learn more, so I did my research. It turns out that this event is held across the country, every year and it raises money to fund research and advance the fight against blood cancers. Since then, I've been on board, doing what I can to raise money and awareness.
As it turns out, this year I have an even bigger incentive to raise money. One of my old friends, a man I consider a mentor, was diagnosed with cancer over the Holiday Season. He was given exactly eight months to live.
I can't tell you how jolted I am by this news. For a while I admit, I felt useless and depressed about the diagnosis. But then I got angry at myself, and I gave myself a swift kick in the ass, so to speak. Then I got myself together and set a new goal.
In the past, all I've tried to raise was $100. If I went over that mark, I considered it to be a bonus. This year, I want to raise $500. So, I'm going to make a pledge of my own. If I hit my goal of $500, I'll dye my hair blonde for a week. Platinum Blonde, and I'll twist it up into spikes the way I used to (when I was a twenty something on the prowl). I've even uploaded a pic of myself in full spike mode to motivate the giving...
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Life's Lessons
When I was a younger man, I was a lot more idealistic than I am today. I didn't understand why everyone didn't think the way I did, and I felt like I had everything figured out. I despised abortion, I hated welfare programs and had no idea what tolerance meant. I would see people who were poor, who talked about women's rights or gay rights, and who wanted to keep abortion legal, and I'd wince.
It's funny how life hits people over the head and changes their thinking. We learn that there are back stories that not everyone gets to see, and that sometimes we're too quick to judge. We don't see the value in people because we don't have an intimate stake in their plight.
It's not until you see the direct impact of a catastrophic illness on someones financial state, or the effect that someones mental illness has on their children. When you get to know someone who was homeless, and you find out that they were hanging on by a thread in this rough economy, and then they lost their job. Or when someone you love more than life itself tells you that they're contemplating suicide because they think they might be gay or lesbian, and they can't make themselves straight no matter how hard they try.
That's where all of the romantic ideals of conservatism go out the window and reality kicks in. Because we don't live in a Utopian society where every home has a mom and a dad, 2.5 kids and a dog. We live in a world where sometimes, single moms do the best they can with what they have. Where dad's don't always step up to the plate and stay in their kids' lives, or even bother to pay child support so that their kids can have school clothes.
I don't think government programs are the end all solution to these problems. That's a given, because if they were, the problems wouldn't exist. But that doesn't mean that we as a collective shouldn't be doing something about it. And until we can find a better way, I think we need to keep the programs we have in place that help people.
I also think we should keep abortion legal until there are no more children who need to be adopted. People talk about protecting life, but what kind of life does a child have when they grow up abused, hungry, or institutionalized? And what kind of future lay ahead for them once they reach their 18th birthday?
I certainly don't have all of the answers, and perhaps someday I'll reach a point where I don't feel this way anymore. But in a day and age when there are people are sleeping in the streets and others hanging on for dear life to what they have, well, I can't come to any other conclusion.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
It looks like we made it
Well, it's after 6:30pm on May 21st, and we all still seem to be in tact. I guess the folks expecting the world to end were a little (or a lot) off in their math.
Oh well.
So this is my revamped blog. I actually started this thing many years ago on AOL. Then, they shut their blogs down and transferred my content to Blogger. At that point, I'd lost interest in blogging, so I didn't do anything with this page.
Well, today I decided that I wanted to have some sort of outlet for my thoughts and feelings, so here we go. I removed the old content, mainly because it consisted of rantings from a much younger man, one in his mid twenties with more hubris than common sense. Back then, I was sure I knew it all, and there was no way I could be wrong. And even if I was wrong, I was too proud (read, stupid) to admit it.
In the years that have passed since then, I've done a lot of growing in my life, both personally and professionally. Hopefully, my posts will reflect that.
So if you're reading this, thank you. Please subscribe, and also, if you would, add me on LinkedIn and follow me on Twitter. If what you read here stirs your intellectual curiosity, I'd love for you to chime in with a comment.
Thank You.
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