Good news!
So, for the month of May, the Brandon Marshall Foundation website will have a link to buy a special OPI fingernail polish for Mental Health Awareness Month, called CrazyStigmaGreen. My wife loves OPI nail polish, and swears by it. I like it because they have fun colors, and they seem to be a good quality product. Anyway...I have an announcement to make.
Currently, we've raised $275 for the Brandon Marshall Foundation, which is fantastic, but I think we can do better. So, I'd like to throw out a challenge. If we can raise $500 before my trip, I will have my toenails painted with the CrazyStigmaGreen for my trip, and I'll record it for posterity, and post it here for all to see. If we reach my goal of $1000 before the trip, not only will my toes be painted, but I'll get my fingernails done as well. Which will also be recorded. So, if you've been on the fence about donating, or know someone out there who is, get them in on the fun.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Thursday, March 27, 2014
I Got Hugged Today
...but not in the way you think.
Tonight my partner in crime and I went out on a mission to scout out some vehicles for our drive this summer. After the epic fail of my honesty on Monday, we decided to say that we were looking at the differences between two cars, and let the salesman make all the assumptions. To catch you up, or perhaps involve you in the meeting, my last outing left me doubting my intention of getting a convertible for the trip, and going with a more gentle, long road trip cruiser. Well, thanks to our friends at the new car dealership, I believe we've made a good decision. So, the reservation with our friends at Hertz is set, and let's just say I think we made a good decision.
The safety features on this car are legendary, and the comfort of it will keep us both at ease for the 9 hour trip. Plus it should have enough technological toys to keep me interested and entertained the entire time. Yeah, we decided on an E-Class. When we got in, the seat firms itself up, and the seat belt tightens up a little bit because as the salesman explained, that when it detects an impact, the seat gets to a proper crash position, and the seatbelt snugs up to freeze you in to the seat and supposedly limit the impact on the driver and passengers. There were several other odd features that seemed so incredible that I can't really describe them. I can sum it up with this little tale; We were testing out the spaciousness of this model compared to the other (smaller) one, specifically if/how our elbows wouldn't bump in to each other very readily. This particular model of car has an armrest that splits open a lot like the Ghostbusters containment module (look it up, kids) in the middle, so when it was closed there was a bit of a crack. So, when the dealer heard us talking about the amount of space, he said, "Yeah and if you cross over the gap there you get a little shock." I looked at him, and semi-seriously say, "With the list of the other features you've gone over, I'm not entirely sure if you're kidding or not.". He of course was kidding, but the car is German made after all.
So, anyway, I'm glad to have that part settled, and our travel plans are firmed up, and things are looking good. Now to focus more on promotion and awareness. I'll be travelling next week for work, so update frequency may change. Not sure if it will be more or less. Depends how bored I get in the hotel. Again, thank you for watching.
Tonight my partner in crime and I went out on a mission to scout out some vehicles for our drive this summer. After the epic fail of my honesty on Monday, we decided to say that we were looking at the differences between two cars, and let the salesman make all the assumptions. To catch you up, or perhaps involve you in the meeting, my last outing left me doubting my intention of getting a convertible for the trip, and going with a more gentle, long road trip cruiser. Well, thanks to our friends at the new car dealership, I believe we've made a good decision. So, the reservation with our friends at Hertz is set, and let's just say I think we made a good decision.
The safety features on this car are legendary, and the comfort of it will keep us both at ease for the 9 hour trip. Plus it should have enough technological toys to keep me interested and entertained the entire time. Yeah, we decided on an E-Class. When we got in, the seat firms itself up, and the seat belt tightens up a little bit because as the salesman explained, that when it detects an impact, the seat gets to a proper crash position, and the seatbelt snugs up to freeze you in to the seat and supposedly limit the impact on the driver and passengers. There were several other odd features that seemed so incredible that I can't really describe them. I can sum it up with this little tale; We were testing out the spaciousness of this model compared to the other (smaller) one, specifically if/how our elbows wouldn't bump in to each other very readily. This particular model of car has an armrest that splits open a lot like the Ghostbusters containment module (look it up, kids) in the middle, so when it was closed there was a bit of a crack. So, when the dealer heard us talking about the amount of space, he said, "Yeah and if you cross over the gap there you get a little shock." I looked at him, and semi-seriously say, "With the list of the other features you've gone over, I'm not entirely sure if you're kidding or not.". He of course was kidding, but the car is German made after all.
So, anyway, I'm glad to have that part settled, and our travel plans are firmed up, and things are looking good. Now to focus more on promotion and awareness. I'll be travelling next week for work, so update frequency may change. Not sure if it will be more or less. Depends how bored I get in the hotel. Again, thank you for watching.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Drive on
Good news!
The donations keep on coming in, and I'm starting to get some things finalized. I want to make up a flyer/poster/card thing to maybe strategically place around. Since I like to obsess about details, and I consider it a good quality, I wanted to 'sample' drive some examples of the cars I was thinking of renting while in California this summer. In order of preference they were a Corvette, Mustang, and Camaro, all convertibles. They're all convertibles, because I've always wanted to drive a convertible on the PCH, and it ties in to the whole 'solar powered' part of my personality. So, after doing a quick search on cars.com, I found a few samples of Corvettes and Camaro's, the best selection being at a certain dealer in Ankeny. So I headed there to the used (Excuse me, 'Pre-Owned') side, and told my story, what I was doing and why. It was cold out and I had to pee, so maybe I was talking a little fast. Anyway, they brought me inside, the salesman talked to his manager person, which I thought funny. All I wanted to do was sit in them, and possibly drive them a little bit to see how rough the ride might be. After what seemed like a long discussion, they came back out and said I couldn't even sit in them.
So...I went to another dealer lot, still gave my spiel, but I didn't ask to drive one until after I had sat in the Corvette. They said no, because I wasn't a buying customer, which I was fine with, because he at least gave me a reason. Anyway, I decided that a Corvette is not the car for this trip, and probably not for me at all ever. They do say never meet your heroes. I'm an American, so the Corvette was one of my cars that I've always wanted, before my tinkle was fully developed so to speak. The 2nd dealer also said that I wouldn't want a Camaro, either because the sightlines are so terrible on it, especially in the blind spots. Which wouldn't matter as much on the PCH trip, but driving in and around the cities, it could become an issue. He also advised me that if I wanted to drive one, go to the new dealer lot, they are a little more liberal with the test drives. So, now I'm back to a Ford Mustang convertible, the Mustang shares an anniversary this year with the PCH itself, so there's that. I'm also trying to figure out if I want to ditch the convertible plan and go for the 'Grand Touring' type car in a sedan/coupe and such.
So, some things to do, but for the first time I actually feel happy in my job, and my life for the first time in my memory.
The donations keep on coming in, and I'm starting to get some things finalized. I want to make up a flyer/poster/card thing to maybe strategically place around. Since I like to obsess about details, and I consider it a good quality, I wanted to 'sample' drive some examples of the cars I was thinking of renting while in California this summer. In order of preference they were a Corvette, Mustang, and Camaro, all convertibles. They're all convertibles, because I've always wanted to drive a convertible on the PCH, and it ties in to the whole 'solar powered' part of my personality. So, after doing a quick search on cars.com, I found a few samples of Corvettes and Camaro's, the best selection being at a certain dealer in Ankeny. So I headed there to the used (Excuse me, 'Pre-Owned') side, and told my story, what I was doing and why. It was cold out and I had to pee, so maybe I was talking a little fast. Anyway, they brought me inside, the salesman talked to his manager person, which I thought funny. All I wanted to do was sit in them, and possibly drive them a little bit to see how rough the ride might be. After what seemed like a long discussion, they came back out and said I couldn't even sit in them.
So...I went to another dealer lot, still gave my spiel, but I didn't ask to drive one until after I had sat in the Corvette. They said no, because I wasn't a buying customer, which I was fine with, because he at least gave me a reason. Anyway, I decided that a Corvette is not the car for this trip, and probably not for me at all ever. They do say never meet your heroes. I'm an American, so the Corvette was one of my cars that I've always wanted, before my tinkle was fully developed so to speak. The 2nd dealer also said that I wouldn't want a Camaro, either because the sightlines are so terrible on it, especially in the blind spots. Which wouldn't matter as much on the PCH trip, but driving in and around the cities, it could become an issue. He also advised me that if I wanted to drive one, go to the new dealer lot, they are a little more liberal with the test drives. So, now I'm back to a Ford Mustang convertible, the Mustang shares an anniversary this year with the PCH itself, so there's that. I'm also trying to figure out if I want to ditch the convertible plan and go for the 'Grand Touring' type car in a sedan/coupe and such.
So, some things to do, but for the first time I actually feel happy in my job, and my life for the first time in my memory.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
There is Awesome In the World
A couple of weeks ago, an incident happened here at work where a coworker had a reaction to some medication he was taking or something, and long story short he basically had a panic attack. It was a tense few minutes here in our workplace, but we got it handled, and there were some lessons learned. After the coworker was helped out to his car by our security staff, there were some comments being made about the coworker and the situation. I don't remember exactly what the comments were, but they did upset me enough to send out a message to our immediate team, and the team that this coworker was part of. I added some links to the NAMI site, and also one to my Crowdrise page. I got some comments at work after I sent my email that some people realized they had said some off color things, and that they were surprised it came from me. My message started off with 'It could have been me', and explained how I was dealing with my own mental illness.
Anyway, after sending the links, I did get some hits on fundraising which is awesome. I'm currently up to 25% of my goal, with three months to go. So thank you for that, it is 25% more than I thought I'd get at all.
Today is of course the equinox, which means we are in spring. One more season until I start my drive. I've been messing around with Google maps street view, to get somewhat familiarized with the route, and just for something to do. I'm weird like that. I also have set up a Facebook event to meet up on the Santa Monica Pier before we leave, a sort of launch party so to speak. IF you want added in on that, just let me know in some comments. I'll also start updating this more often. Thanks again, and keep being awesome!
Anyway, after sending the links, I did get some hits on fundraising which is awesome. I'm currently up to 25% of my goal, with three months to go. So thank you for that, it is 25% more than I thought I'd get at all.
Today is of course the equinox, which means we are in spring. One more season until I start my drive. I've been messing around with Google maps street view, to get somewhat familiarized with the route, and just for something to do. I'm weird like that. I also have set up a Facebook event to meet up on the Santa Monica Pier before we leave, a sort of launch party so to speak. IF you want added in on that, just let me know in some comments. I'll also start updating this more often. Thanks again, and keep being awesome!
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Good advice
Last week, I had scheduled a get-together with my 'co-driver' for the event in June. Since it was January, and we live in Iowa, a snow-storm made the face-to-face meeting unwise. I'd wanted to try and use Google's 'Hangouts' function anyway to see how well it would work for using during the drive. It seemed to work pretty well, I just need to figure out how to schedule one for a certain time and make it a 'on air' event so anybody can join it.
While planning this meeting, I got some good advice, or at least a reminder from my wife that this whole endeavor should remain fun, and not to get too hung up on the publicity, and the rest. I can't make everybody donate, but if I help one person, then it was good enough for me.
While planning this meeting, I got some good advice, or at least a reminder from my wife that this whole endeavor should remain fun, and not to get too hung up on the publicity, and the rest. I can't make everybody donate, but if I help one person, then it was good enough for me.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
On the Move
No, it isn't a post about me taking up a new exercise plan. At least not yet. I've managed to enlist the help of someone to come along with me on this journey since my original partner can't make it. Not sure if I'd covered that or not yet. I don't need to remind you that I need to write on this more often. Anyway.
The astute observer will see there's a link on the side of the page to 'Donate'. Don't worry, this isn't an ad for revenue on this pokey blog, but the donations go through a website Crowdrise to the foundation directly. Otherwise, you can just work up donations to the foundation itself via their website Here.
I've got the plane tickets and other such stuff booked, so the trip is on either way, I'll be doing it either way, I just want to bring attention to a good cause. So please tell your friends, tell anybody you know in either Los Angeles or San Francisco, it would be great to see some friendly faces in either or both locations, as well as raise money for this cause. All is appreciated!
The astute observer will see there's a link on the side of the page to 'Donate'. Don't worry, this isn't an ad for revenue on this pokey blog, but the donations go through a website Crowdrise to the foundation directly. Otherwise, you can just work up donations to the foundation itself via their website Here.
I've got the plane tickets and other such stuff booked, so the trip is on either way, I'll be doing it either way, I just want to bring attention to a good cause. So please tell your friends, tell anybody you know in either Los Angeles or San Francisco, it would be great to see some friendly faces in either or both locations, as well as raise money for this cause. All is appreciated!
Friday, December 27, 2013
End of Year wrap-up
All right then. I've told my boss and a couple co-workers, and a few friends about this, so now it has to happen for sure. I have my letters written to Brandon Marshall Foundation advising/inquiring about how to proceed and my intentions, I just need to get them sent. I think I'll wait until the fervor of the holidays settle down.
Oh, sorry, now reading through my posts, I haven't made exactly clear my intentions. Right.
Summer Solstice 2014 I'm driving the Pacific Coast Highway in California between sunset the 21st of June from the Santa Monica Pier and sunrise at the Golden Gate Bridge on the 22nd of June. I'm calling it 'Finding A Way Through the Dark' (working title anyway) because the PCH is one of the best roads to drive for views and general road loveliness. I will be driving in the dark, thus negating most of that beauty, and simulating/demonstrating what it is like to have a mental illness. I'm doing it because the mission of the Brandon Marshall Foundation aligns with what I feel is the root of a lot of our 'social' problems these days; bullying, sexual abuse, domestic abuse and suicides often stem from mental illness in some way or other, but here is the language from the Foundation's site:
The Brandon Marshall Foundation is devoted to raising awareness for mental illness and help others gain access to the resources that they need to recover. Our mission is to partner with leading mental health charities and service providers to:
Oh, sorry, now reading through my posts, I haven't made exactly clear my intentions. Right.
Summer Solstice 2014 I'm driving the Pacific Coast Highway in California between sunset the 21st of June from the Santa Monica Pier and sunrise at the Golden Gate Bridge on the 22nd of June. I'm calling it 'Finding A Way Through the Dark' (working title anyway) because the PCH is one of the best roads to drive for views and general road loveliness. I will be driving in the dark, thus negating most of that beauty, and simulating/demonstrating what it is like to have a mental illness. I'm doing it because the mission of the Brandon Marshall Foundation aligns with what I feel is the root of a lot of our 'social' problems these days; bullying, sexual abuse, domestic abuse and suicides often stem from mental illness in some way or other, but here is the language from the Foundation's site:
The Brandon Marshall Foundation is devoted to raising awareness for mental illness and help others gain access to the resources that they need to recover. Our mission is to partner with leading mental health charities and service providers to:
- SPREAD THE WORD about mental illness which effects 1 in 4 individuals
- FIGHT STIGMA that for so long has been unfairly tied to mental illness
- EDUCATE people so they know the facts about mental illnesses, which are very treatable
- ADVOCATE for public policy solutions to support our cause
- PROVIDE RELIEF to those individuals who are suffering through connecting them with organizations and institutions where they can receive the care they need
- BRIDGE THE GAP between patients, clinicians, and the public, and
- CHANGE the face and the future of mental health so that those who have suffered in silence, who spent years of their lives feeling trapped by their own emotions, and who once thought that they had reached a place beyond hope will have the opportunity to build a better life for themselves
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)