A Famous Boat

My parents big sailboat, Meridian, was featured on the Weather Network website for Port Dover. I gather people can just post photos that are weather related on the site - the sailing one mentions that it was choppy and windy that day. Someone on the shore took a picture of them heading out on Race Night.

Waking Up

Life is shifting.
Waves pushing through weak currents.
New directions, not just on TV.
Lost but not drifting.
Broke and broken.
Sleeping, yet thankfully not sick.

A Sad Day For Canada

It was announced this morning that Jack Layton has died. We have lost a great political mind today. And I am sad that there is one less Canadian silver fox, quickly becoming an endangered species. I'm glad that he brought such hope, vision, and victory to the NDP and it is so tragic that he will no longer be there to lead them as the Official Opposition. I saw him three times when I lived in Ottawa (two of which he was biking) and I was always so excited. It is a very sad day indeed. RIP Jack and condolences to your family.

BUI

Have water on the water and leave the beer on the pier!
--Don't Drink and Boat--

Random Post

Heard an advertisement on the radio that used the word napsack, I always say backpack.

DeVry University set me an email with the subject line: Earn a degree that makes a difference in your career. Hey, what are they trying to say? What do they know?

English is his second language but Yen might be schooling me in poetics. In a reply to an email that I signed off as Where does the summer go? Chris, Yen added at the end of his response, BTW - The summer went in your memories.

Are You A Donor?

As I have mentioned in an earlier post, Blood Donation is an important and amazing thing. I have been unable to donate blood for the last year since you have to wait a year after visiting Northern China, but I plan to make an appointment by the end of the month. They called me to tell me my wait time was up and I'm nervous but still excited to get back into that chair and give blood again.

But this post is about another type of donation - organ donation. There is such a huge shortage of organs and tissue in Ontario that the need outweighs the availability. More than 1,500 Ontarians are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant and thousands more are waiting for a tissue transplant. Every three days someone dies in Ontario waiting for a life-saving transplant. It is frightening that it could end up being someone I know and love, or that it could even be me one day.

One donor can save up to eight lives through organ donation, and help up to 75 others through tissue donation. You may have signed your donor card but that isn't always enough. (I actually don't even know where mine is, though I know I have signed at least two of them in my lifetime.) The card may not be available when the information is needed, so be sure to discuss your decision to donate with your family and friends. My parents know that I am a full organ donor with no exceptions. Though I'm sure medically a number of my organs will not be viable (eyes for one, and if I keep drinking maybe the liver and kidneys.) They also know that I am open to donating my body to science if that is a more viable option. Also, I know that my parents are organ donors but not comfortable donating to science. Discuss these things with people close to you. Everyone has different preferences and it is important to be clear what they are.

Even beyond the donor card and making your decisions clear to family and friends, the best option is to register the information with Ontario Health. When you register your consent to donate organs and tissue, this information is stored in a Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care database. The ministry will disclose information about your decision to Trillium Gift of Life Network, Ontario's organ and tissue donation agency, for the purpose of ensuring that your decision to donate is known and respected. By registering your consent to donate, you ensure that your decision is recorded and can be made available when it is needed.

REGISTER NOW

Bugs And Bad Internet

I know I complain about the internet every single time I come to the cottage. It takes me forever to get on it and then all I do once I'm finally connected is check a few things, look at emails, and write a quick post about how horrible the internet is here.

However, this is the worst so far!! It is 1:15am and I am out back (non-beach-side) with my laptop plugged into the outside outlet sitting in a lawn chair as far as the cord can reach, which is the very end of the slab of concrete that is the back porch. Seriously I needed the extra three feet that this gives me past the back of the actual cottage so as to get signal to send an important email. Sure it is lovely with the crickets and sounds of waves. However, it is dark, the back light is dim, I'm tired, and totally getting eaten alive by bugs!!

Missing Mike

I'm missing Little Brother Mike! This happens occasionally but especially in the summer since I enjoy hanging out with him at The Cottage, swimming, playing games, etc. His girlfriend is overseas with The Canadian Forces so he took a job at a base in the middle of no where so as to keep distracted and make some extra money while she is gone. The problem is that it doesn't really have cell reception so we can only chat if/when he goes back to Edmonton on the weekends. Luckily I got to visit with him on my recent trip to Calgary and Banff. He came down and went on a pub crawl with us, where all these pictures are from, I believe that they were all taken by Teri.

A Picture For Mum - Smile!

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"Did you smile nicely?"
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A Better Picture For Mum
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