| "Thank you" doesn't begin to cover it |
[Dec. 15th, 2008|12:17 am] |
I have had a great weekend and I'm way behind on reading posts, but I needed to make this post.
On Saturday I went to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) marphod's for Picnicon Beta, and he handed me a birthday card. I was a bit chagrined, because it was in fact HIS birthday (mine was Monday), and I hadn't brought him a card or anything like that. Anyway, I opened it up, and there was a Sacajawea dollar taped to the inside, under which was written, "Rachel - this is the last dollar needed for your sponsorship. Happy Birthday."
About eight zillion people's names were on the card.
Apparently, marphod hunted down folks on here and other sites and herded cats in order to raise the full amount necessary to sponsor the guide puppy in Dad's memory. For those of you unfamiliar with puppy sponsorship, it costs $6,000 to sponsor a dog at GDF, and the sponsor gets to name it. Thanks to everyone who chipped in, there will be a little black lab pup named Rob, and maybe he will grow up to be a guide dog.
I was speechless, and you know that just doesn't happen. ;) Then I called Hedy at work to tell her. Then I cried. I don't even know how to express how incredibly fortunate I feel. It sounds cliche to say, "there aren't words", but there aren't. How can I say, "thank you" and have that cover it? But those are the words I've got. So many, many, many thanks to my wonderful friends, who span multiple continents, and some of whom I haven't even met (!!!), for making me the luckiest person on Earth, and for hopefully bringing some other lucky person independence in Dad's memory. Hedy was awestruck. My mom was bowled over. And I think Dad would be....holy crap, I'm not sure he could have believed it. I think you guys would have made him cry. He definitely would have said, "Wow!" a lot. I wish there were a way for him to know about this. Damn, see, I'm crying again.
I'm going to list the folks whose names were on the card, but please know that this is not a complete list, and that some people are still working out logistics and all that. Also, I'm told that some people were very interested in contributing, but simply weren't able to right now. However, the folks mentioned in the card are:
some_kitten and terras
greyhame and pyrodon
catya
eisa
redembers
blimix
slit
aiela
beloitst
queenortart
gilana
betweenstations
fiddle_pup
vvalkyri
brewergnome
beloitst's friend, whom I've not even met or heard of before
some_kitten's parents
dcart
empire74
blk
ausir
cpk
aillecat
violacat and eeka13
collegecate
upsilon and family
EschwaBBS
HeinousBBS (!!!)
trysha and saxifrage
and of course, marphod, who organized the whole shebang (!!!!!), and who also noted that he might have forgotten to write some people's names on the card :)
Thank you so, so much. I just....wow. Truly, I am blessed. That much love is something I will carry with me and treasure always. Hedy and I will now start looking into whether and when we can visit the school and pick out a puppy in person. (Several litters were born recently to breeder dogs I actually know). And I can't wait to go to Celebration Sunday and tell Rob's handler how their dog got his name and how he got sponsored.
All my love,
Rachel |
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| Give me my vote, you ignorant tools |
[Nov. 4th, 2008|11:13 am] |
Well, I voted, despite the best efforts of the poll workers at my polling place. squonk, I should totally have watched that tutorial, because God knows the poll workers at the King School sure as fuck didn't. You are wise, and I will listen to you from now on!
"They trained you on this, didn't they?"
"Oh, yes, but I didn't pay attention to that part."
Well, fuck you very much too. I think it took 3 or 4 people before they found one who could tell me that the insertion tray on the machine had been folded closed, and that was why I couldn't insert my ballot. Rrrrrrr.
And yes, I twittered to Election Patrol and Vote Report and WBUR and everyone else, plus I took the League of Women Voters survey. And now I have free decaf. But I remain pissy. Although if Obama wins, my mood will certainly improve. :)
Don't forget, Obama drama at Local 50 tonight! w00teth!
P.S. The bake sale at the King School, however, is fantastic. Best gingerbread I've ever had. So at least that part was a win. |
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| It's starting.....I guess! |
[Nov. 3rd, 2008|12:48 am] |
I'm way behind in reading, and may or may not catch up eventually, but I did want to let people know that You Don't Look Blind is becoming a reality, slowly but surely. I'm not up for an election post right now, which would be the obvious thing to write, but the disability issues blog appears to be taking shape. I've also created an RSS feed on LJ, which can be found at ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) udontlookblind.
There may not be much content for a few days, but I do have a few things coming, including commentary on a fascinating and chilling study on violence against people with disabilities. Yeah, pretty cheerful beginning, eh? Incidentally, the blogroll is still very much a work in progress, and I'm open to suggestions of things I should include/read.
While I'm not putting my real name on You Don't Look Blind, I'm not exactly hiding either. I make it pretty clear that I'm not representing my employer or anything like that, and I don't necessarily expect folks to agree with me. Now I'd better actually stick with the thing, since I've announced it and everything!
I'm kind of nervous about this thing, truth be told. We'll see how it goes. |
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| Hey, look! We're on the radar! |
[Jul. 28th, 2008|04:05 pm] |
I was out of town for the 18th anniversary of the ADA. That's my excuse for not having posted, and I'm sticking with it. Fortunately, Senator Obama did not make such an excuse, and wrote the following op-ed. I guess that means the presidential candidates have figured out we exist? Well, one of them has, at least. Glory, hallefrickinglujah, and such.
( Here's the actual text of the piece. It's not perfect, but it's more than we're used to. What a standard, eh? I'll take it. )
Hat tip to Chris Hart for the link. Chris rocks like a nursing home on the San Andreas Fault, dontchaknow. Thanks, Chris! |
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| People were asking, so here you go |
[Jul. 16th, 2008|02:12 pm] |
hammercock has more information on the federal attempt to declare oral contraceptives as abortifacients, and what that means.
Gee, thanks, George! I didn't get YOU anything!
ETA: Wait, wrong link. That one is about how people are going to be able to refuse to provide birth control, abortions, etc. Let me find the HHS-related link.
ETA2: jadasc has kindly provided some links in comments. I have also found and skimmed the actual HHS brief - unfortunately, it is a PDF. However, I call folks' attention to page 30, lines 8-11, specifically:
"Abortion" means any of the various procedures - including the prescription, dispensing, and administration of any drug or the performance of any procedure or other action - that results in the termination in the life of a human being in utero between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation. [emphasis mine]
Yeah, that'd do it. Oy. |
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| Harriet McBryde Johnson |
[Jun. 6th, 2008|08:01 pm] |
Attorney, author and disability rights activist Harriet McBryde Johnson has died suddenly at the age of 50.
What a loss. I got a great deal out of her book Too Late To Die Young: Nearly True Tales of a Life. (Yeah, I know). Her articles were incredibly thought-provoking.
Good night, Ms. Johnson, and thank you. |
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| Many thanks, and some information |
[Apr. 25th, 2008|02:18 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | at work, downtown | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  sad | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Pialee The Awesome Cow Orker (tm) on the phone | ] |
First of all, I can't thank folks enough for the outpouring of love and support I've received over the past few weeks. It's been humbling and awe-inspiring, and I am a truly fortunate person. My family has also been really blown away by the concern and caring shown by everyone. Thank you.
There have been some questions about donations in Dad's name, so I've typed up a little thingy, and I'll post it here.
In lieu of flowers, we would be honored by contributions in Dad's name (Robert Tanenhaus) to any of the following worthy causes:
- Sponsoring a puppy from the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Inc. (GDF) in Dad’s name. Please mark all checks and electronic donations as designated for Open Sponsorship by Rachel Tanenhaus, ID #345963. Checks may be mailed to: Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Inc., 371 East Jericho Turnpike, Smithtown, NY 11787-2976; or you may donate electronically at www.guidedog.org.
- Donating to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF). Checks may be mailed to: 383 Main Avenue, 5th Floor, Norwalk, CT 06851; or you may donate electronically at www.multiplemyeloma.org.
- Donating to the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF). Checks may be mailed to: IMF International Headquarters, 12650 Riverside Drive, Suite 206, North Hollywood, CA 91607; or you may donate electronically at www.myeloma.org.
- Donating to some other cause dear to your heart.
Thank you so much. |
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| Goodbye, Dad |
[Apr. 20th, 2008|10:29 pm] |
Robert Gary Tanenhaus
(Rachmiel Gershon ben Avraham haLevi)
March 15, 1946 - April 20, 2008
Dad died tonight just before 9:00. He was surrounded by people (and one dog) who loved him, and he knew that. His death was relatively peaceful, and he is no longer suffering.
May he finally find peace, and may our memories of him be a comfort to us.
Good night, Dad. I love you. |
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| Gimp the vote! |
[Feb. 5th, 2008|12:55 pm] |
The Massachusetts Disability Law Center is encouraging folks having problems accessing the polls/voting to call them today, so they can help put the smack down. They are open (today only) from 7 am until 8 pm. Call (800) 872-9992 (voice) or (800) 381-0577 (TTY). Especially call if it's something immediate, like "I can't get into my polling place", but something like "The person who assisted me is trying to influence my vote" is certainly relevant too!
Look, if any other group were denied the right to an anonymous, independent vote the way people with disabilities are as a matter of course, there would be riots in the streets. I am not exaggerating, and I am not being melodramatic - we are routinely denied this basic right of citizenship, and often when we do have it, we have to go through other (often biased) people to get it. I won't call it a conspiracy, because I don't actually believe we're on the radar to begin with. So let's get out there and make some noise. |
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| ATTENTION CAMBERVILLIANS! |
[Feb. 4th, 2008|04:32 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | at work, downtown | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  worried | ] |
| [ | music |
| | people. things. stuff. | ] |
Abbie the Cat, of Abbie the Cat Has a Posse fame, has been missing since Sunday morning.
If you live, work or hang out in or near Davis Square, please keep an eye out/look for him. (Particularly if you see better than I do - although he's a large print cat!) Abbie is a wonderful and much-loved cat, and derspatchel misses him terribly. Abbie is probably hungry and scared, but is very affectionate. Food will certainly get his attention. He's a huge (20+ pounds), fluffy tuxedo cat with big eyes and long whiskers.
If you find him, e-mail derspatchel at his LJ e-mail address. I'd go looking for him myself, but the one place we know he absolutely isn't is "anywhere Brodie is".
Abbie, please come home. The guy with the food is worried about you, and so are the rest of us. |
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| Year-end charity donations? |
[Dec. 31st, 2007|12:18 pm] |
For those of you who are looking for worthy causes for donations - for ethical or tax reasons - here are three of my favorites. Remember that in order for a donation to count towards your 2007 taxes, it must be POSTMARKED in 2007; it need not be RECEIVED in 2007.
Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Inc. (GDF) - This is where I got my guide dog, Brodie. (The icon for this post is a picture fo Brodie at 7 weeks, on the day she went to live with her puppy walkers). I can say with complete sincerity that this organization has changed my life. I don't intend to be without a guide dog again if I can help it. I am proud to be a GDF graduate and a member of the Alumni Council. Please remember that guide dog schools are funded ENTIRELY by donations. They receive no government money. If you have a particular connection to a different guide dog or service animal school, that's fine too; please donate generously to that school. Remember that money isn't everything; these schools couldn't exist without volunteers, either. Raise a puppy, organize a fundraising event, spend time helping out at a school if it's near you. A lot of people out there know and love Brodie (her Facebook fan group is growing by leaps and bounds!), and anything you do to help a guide dog school enables other people to have and benefit from Brodies of their own.
[Incidentally, much love and admiration to my friends who have owner-trained service animals. I couldn't do it myself, but you have my deepest respect for your hard work and skill].
You all know by now that my father has multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer of the bone marrow. He's had it for more than three years, and he's still kicking. It has not been an easy road, though. Today, for example, he is in the hospital getting a blood transfusion, because the chemo has brought his hemoglobin down to 6. (Normal hemoglobin for an adult male should be around 13-17. Obviously, Dad's not normal these days, but 6 is still incredibly low).
I encourage folks to support the International Myeloma Foundation, an amazing organization providing information and support to people with multiple myeloma and their families. They gave me most of the information I have on myeloma, and continue to keep my father and me informed of new drugs, therapies and resources available. Another fantastic group is the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, which does research on treatments and potential cures for multiple myeloma. They literally keep my father and others like him alive. I can't think of anything more important than that to point out about them; were it not for their research, Dad wouldn't have made it this far.
I'm not trying to put a damper on folks' New Year's celebrations. Frankly, the fact that these organizations exist makes my New Year a hell of a lot happier!
Again, all of these organizations appreciate donations of time as well as money. So even if your biggest tax issue is "will I even make enough money this year to get into a tax bracket?", you can help out.
Thanks so much, and Happy New Year! |
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| Thank you! (Let's do it again!) |
[Nov. 15th, 2007|09:10 pm] |
So remember a few weeks ago, when I mentioned that I was in a contest to be the Fresh Face of Lush, and people could vote for me once a day?
Well, apparently people did, because I made it to the next round. :)
THANK YOU SO MUCH! *bounce!*
Lush is now sending me some spiffy hair products, and the next round of voting starts today. The top ten contestants from the US and Canada, respectively, have been posted on the site, and you can vote for me once a day by going here. The contest will run through December 9, which happens to be the day after my birthday. :)
And yes, I think this is the last round.
So let's do it again! Vote early, vote often! Thanks muchly! |
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| I'm in a Lush contest |
[Aug. 17th, 2007|11:48 pm] |
Normally, this would go under the Lushies filter, but since it's about a blatant popularity contest, that's not where it's going.
Some months ago, I entered Lush's Fresh Face contest. Basically, you hand in a photo and answer some essay questions, and they pick a winner from each store and a few winners from online. Those people all receive little face care kits and $100 gift cards and get to go on to the next round, where their pictures and essays are put online, and the public votes for the Fresh Face of Lush, who will receive something like $2500 in Lush skin care and their picture in the spring 2008 edition of the Lush Times catalogue.
Anyway, I was the only entrant for the Harvard Square store (which I knew), so I got through round one. (The face care kit is lovely, and the gift card will be spent post-move). They posted the various pictures and essays today. Anyone can vote, and you get one vote per day.
My picture didn't come out nearly as well online as offline, and I think they cut Brodie out of it (hey, everything's cuter with a dog), but it's up. So are my essays. Everyone's essays make them sound like a cult member, but Lushies are indeed cult members, so that makes sense. We're just very clean, nice-smelling cult members. ;)
There are certainly better pictures up there, and there may be better essays, but if you are so moved, please vote for me. The "vote early and often" cliche applies here, in a very literal sense. Here's the page with everyone on it, and here's my page. No purchase necessary, and all that lovely stuff. |
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| Check your spam filter! |
[Jun. 29th, 2007|01:13 pm] |
Just a quick message to the generous folks who have participated in the Make Muscles Against Myeloma fundraiser: Check your spam filters! I've sent out thanks and instructions on making donations to everyone who pledged, but I have had reports of said messages being eaten by spam filters. If you pledged but did not receive TWO e-mail messages from the fight myeloma now address, please check your spam filters to see if those messages got caught. Thank you, and my apologies for any confusion. |
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| Campaign announcement |
[Jun. 21st, 2007|03:34 pm] |
Okay. I'm sick of what's going on with this country. So's Brodie. I mean, look at the state of things - it's not good for humans OR dogs! So we have a plan, a cunning plan...
Brodie for president: Still the prettiest!
( Brodie's campaign platform! ) |
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| One last reminder! |
[Jun. 13th, 2007|04:06 pm] |
June 15th is fast approaching; in fact, it's the day after tomorrow. That marks the end of my fundraising period for my workout-a-thon against multiple myeloma. Together my family, friends, cow orkers and I have raised over $1200 for the International Myeloma Foundation and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. My dad is amazed and touched by your support, and so am I. This has been amazing. (Plus, I'm down about 14 pounds!) Not only that, but the two organizations are truly excited about your support, and are setting up web pages to facilitate collecting the contributions. I will send out more info to contributors over the next week.
For those of you who have meant to contribute and just haven't gotten around to it, drop me a line at fight myeloma now (all one word) at yahoo. I happily accept both lump sum and per-workout contributions (and don't worry, I won't break the bank on that last one; I'm no athlete!) There's still time, and as you can see, every bit counts.
Thank you all so, so much. This has been really amazing, and I'm very, very excited. I'll have one hell of a grand total to show my dad when I visit him this weekend for Father's Day. YAY! |
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| Ladles and germs...... |
[Apr. 15th, 2007|08:18 pm] |
Exactly one month into the workout-a-thon, we have made over $500!
After today's workout (which I completed about five minutes ago, pant pant), our grand total is $520.56. I am incredibly grateful, and I know that we'll make more fabulous progress over the next two months. THANK YOU!
If you're interested in pledging but haven't yet done so, or want to do your own workout-a-thon, drop a line to fight myeloma now (all one word) at yahoo dot com. My dad is very excited about our progress, and I update him regularly. Remember, every bit counts in the fight against multiple myeloma! |
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| Workout-a-thon update! |
[Mar. 29th, 2007|09:41 pm] |
Well, I am pleased to announce that after two weeks, we have raised $368.48 to fight multiple myeloma. I can't thank everyone enough. Let's keep up the great work! The address to make a pledge is fight myeloma now (all one word) at yahoo dot com. I have had pledges per workout as well as lump-sum pledges, and every little bit counts! In fact, we have pledges coming from two continents! I've drawn up a spreadsheet that calculates individual and grand totals. (I will admit that the simpler pledges are easier to enter - pledges with lots of conditionals and gradations are a little harder to enter). Stay tuned for next week, when we hope to break the $500 mark! Thank you to all who have helped out! |
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loved
annoyed
nervous
determined
angry
crushed
calm
bouncy
curious
pleased
cheerful
ecstatic