saffronhare

I just got an email from the friendly people at the Breast Cancer 3-Day. As it turns out, they won't be coming back to Kansas City in 2007. So you can stop asking me if I'll be doing it again next year. The answer is no. (sigh) Still, it looks like a pretty awesome line-up of cities and dates, so if you're not from the KC area, perhaps the Pink Storm will sweep you up elsewhere. I *do* have some nifty pictures, so I'll get those uploaded for your viewing pleasure Any Day Now. :)

Boston, August 3-5, 2007
Chicago, August 10-12, 2007
Cleveland, August 17-19, 2007
Twin Cities, August 24-26, 2007
Seattle, September 7-9, 2007
Michigan, September 28-30, 2007
Philadelphia, October 5-7, 2007
Atlanta, October 12-14, 2007
Tampa Bay, October 19-21, 2007
Dallas/Ft. Worth, October 26-28, 2007
Arizona, November 2-4, 2007
San Diego, November 9-11, 2007

Whoops. This was still marked "private" -- sorry.

Day Two started nice and early. I'd set my watch alarm for 5 a.m. and dithered in the tent for a little while, listening to other walkers getting up, unzipping their tents, and shambling to the bathrooms. I took a few minutes to stretch in the darkness and check my bandages before deciding that I'd go eat breakfast in my jammies. There were some folks who were all dressed in the hope of avoiding another round-trip to the tent area, but I figured the extra movement would be good for me. Glad I did it that way.

It was on the walk down to the dining tent that I saw zylch and we giggled about my "mad scientist" hair. I'd gone to bed with it wet, but it seemed silly to do much about it when I'd be sweating under a hat all day anyway. Some walkers were dedicated enough to glamour to shower again in the morning. I am not one of those walkers. ( Read more... )

Well, the weather report is not ideal, but not as sucky as it could be. Friday looks darn near perfect for Day One. Saturday looks like there are some extremes (relatively high highs, relatively low lows) with a possibility of storms on Day Two. Sunday looks to be the most troublesome in terms of possible thunderstorms, but at least Day Three means we'll be All Done at day's end. The coolness of the weather could be real nice if I'm not soaked to the skin. :)

I figure it can't be as bad as Infantry Week. I mean, hardly anybody will be trying to "kill" me, and I'm pretty sure there will be no need to clean or haul an M-60 over any distance at all. Plus, there will be showers. And clean towels.

Need to maybe pack twice the number of socks I was going to have originally, and a second rain jacket. I just can't count on anything getting dry between Saturday and Sunday. Body-glide or some kind of chafing prevention lotion will be sooper-important, too. I've also decided not to bring my digital camera. Will try to get my hands on a disposable camera or two, though, so you will not be left without any pictures of my thumb at various points along the route. (I'm a terrible photographer.) Since hardly anybody has gotten back to me about sponsorship message on my body parts, I'll also endeavor to snap pictures of body parts along the way, doing interesting things with my fellow walkers, etc. We'll see.

ETA: BodyGlide has been acquired, along with a couple of illumisticks for the tent. I'll need agrnmn to dig a poncho and tarp out of our camping gear for me later today, and I should be set. Plus, 50 feet of rope. Because.

Ogham reading today was Gort (ivy, for tenacity) and Uath (hawthorn, for protection). I think I'm gonna be just fine. No need for anybody to work weather magic on our behalf -- it's only weather, and the earth needs it. We'll cope. We've got thumbs and everything. My own visualizations have more to do with a safe journey for everyone, happy faces, companionship, and strong bodies finishing with elation. Feel free to reinforce that juju if you like. When you look at it that way, weather is incidental, you know?

My ordinary consciousness is checking out today at an alarming rate. :)

These days, orthopraxy is carrying my morning devotions. I remember when I was at West Point, we'd get into night-long arguments about which was more honorable: doing something AS duty required, or doing it BECAUSE duty required? The answer was never certain, and I find I'm thinking about it a lot lately.

Just 48 hours from now, I'll be well into the first day of walking for the Breast Cancer 3-Day. I'm not at all worried about covering the miles. I've trained, and I have faith in the support that will be there, and it's just up to my body to simply put one foot in front of the other. What has more and more of my consciousness occupied is the feeling that I'm going very far away for a very long time -- it feels like a journey of mythical proportions. I'm not at all comfortable with so much being uncertain, though I respect their reasons for not publishing a lot of details, and the notion of setting sail into this enormous experience with thousands of people I don't know. There's even a teeny-tiny part of me that's scrabbling and screaming, trying to find a way out of it even now, which I can only admit to because that part isn't winning. :)

If you sponsored a body part, it's important that you email me directly Very Soon so I'll know how you want to be represented (LJ's friendly redirected emails reach me just fine). My attention to everyday matters is diminishing by the minute and I don't want anyone to feel like they didn't get full value for their donation. Also: I need a flag. We're supposed to pack a little something to distinguish our tents from the masses. Anybody got something compact that would make a nifty thing to mount onto my tent? (grin) They've sent me a list of cheering stations along the way. I'll try to remember to post it, though I have no expectation of seeing anybody...or of having you be able to see me if you do show up.

My ogham reading this morning was very reassuring: Birch (for new beginnings, and protection) and White Poplar (for bouyancy and rising above problems). The journey is about to begin. I will be going away, but I will not be Alone. Blessings to you all for getting me to this place, and for being my companions over these many miles.

Seven weeks out from the Breast Cancer 3-Day, and I'm hitting a wall. ( just in case you don't care to hear about my crisis of motivation )

There are about 10 weeks left until the Breast Cancer 3-Day and I've finally got some news about the route we'll be walking! We start oh-so-early on the morning of Friday, September 15th at the Kansas Speedway and finish sometime around dusk on Sunday, September 17th at the Liberty Memorial. Rumor is, they're designing the 60-mile route in the shape of a ribbon. More news about cheering stations and such as I get it.

In the meantime, I'm still putting one foot in front of the other for training. With weekly mileage getting up there and the heat starting to kick my butt, your encouragement means a great deal. Every time I want to roll over and go back to sleep on a Saturday morning (this week's 14-mile training walk starts at 6:45 a.m.), I remember that there are promises to keep.

And really, I tell myself, this doesn't suck so bad compared to what survivors go through...so lace up those shoes and get on with it! (Okay, maybe I don't have a future as a motivational speaker after all.)

Thank you so much for all you've given already -- either in gifts or cheer or patience with my training. If you're one of the lucky people who has arranged sponsorship of a body part, we should start talking about how you want to...um...cash in on the value of that. If not, well, it's not too late to earn some favors. (wink) Only a few hundred dollars left to raise to meet my fundraising goal. (fingers crossed) I'll keep you posted.

Luck and grace,
Nicole

Follow this link
to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support The Breast Cancer 3-Day.

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If the link isn't working, just copy and paste this into your browser:
http://www.the3day.org/KansasCity06/nicoleturner?faf=1&e=550150482
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How's that for a pitch? Okay, today is the last day I'll be hollering about this auction of body parts & sponsorships to benefit the Breast Cancer 3-Day. (Other fundraising efforts will follow, but not right away, and likely not just for LJ folks.) You have until approximately 5 p.m. today to get in bids on the following parts:

Derriere, bidding up to $60 from featherynscale, topping the initial bid from 8elements.
Right Breast,, with a magnificent bid of $100 so far from kittenpants. That household seems to be locking down sponsorhip on a significant amount of my surface area. Huh.
Belly, on which I have a starting bid of $25 from lilia_blackbear.

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UPDATE at 7:15 p.m. -- bidding on the above-named parts is now closed. Congratulations, darlings! I'll be in touch with you soon. Kiss, kiss, and all that. :)

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A few other parts are still available for the offering: both legs and both arms, along with any other areas not on the original list if you want to suggest one. Future offers will be entertained as supplies last. Anonymous bids, as long as you let me know who you are off-list, are still okay -- though I reserve the right to veto any creepiness.

Okay, I'm declaring a couple of winners in the Breast Cancer 3-Day sponsorship auction, and hollering a "last call" for the remaining parts. (Non-breast content coming sometime soon.)

throat/neck = womanofsalt, and not just 'cause she said flattering things

hands (both of 'em) = zerself, though heaven only knows what she'll have me do with them (pretending to shiver with trepidation)

There's a standing bid of $50 for my hair from zylch. If that bid isn't topped by 5 p.m. today, I'll declare her the sparkly pink winner. ::waves, hopes zylch feels better today::

Also, I have a private bid of $125 for my spine/back. This one will also be closed at 5 p.m. today.

UPDATE: A starting bid of $50 has been placed on my ass by 8elements. No offense, cupcake, but surely it's worth more than that to somebody out there in LJ-land.

UPDATE: A starting bid of $25 has been placed on my belly by lilia_blackbear, the darling dear.

Remaining parts are listed on my LJ user info page. The open auction will end on Friday, but sponsorships will be available as long as supplies last. My right breast and my ass are very, very disappointed in you all. (Okay, kidding.)

You aren't required to make the actual donation right away; I'll take your word for it and wait a couple of weeks for Greater Payday Holidays to make things easier on everyone's budgets. If you've won a bid but can't find the link to the donation page, please let me know and I'll zap it to you again.

I'd promised to open up bidding on the final body parts up for sponsorship in my Breast Cancer 3-Day Auction. However, most of today's time will be taken up by some strategic planning meetings (most of the day out of the office, even). Professionally, that's good news -- I've really missed being able to do that sort of thing.

So here's the deal. You're welcome to get started on bidding for my ass, my right breast, and my hair. (Via has a starting bid of $50 in on my hair, by the way.) Except this does not help those folks who may want to enter anonymous or private bids through email. Remember, you can't be anonymous to be -- it's creepy -- but I'm happy to respect anybody's request to keep their gift private. In fact, it's part of the professional code of ethics I have to swear to every year as a CFRE, to respect donor intent just like that. :)

Lay on if you like, but please don't expect me to be real attentive until Monday. It will hurt my feelings not at all if nothing happens until then. Enjoy the day, guys.

We're entering the last day or so of preliminary bidding on vulnerable body parts. Every gift makes a big difference -- thank you!

belly ($25 starting bid)
spine ($50 starting bid)
neck/throat($15 starting bid)

Around the middle of the day tomorrow, we'll open up bidding on my ass, one remaining breast, and my hair. I tremble with fear, or something. :)

A special feature about my mammogram (with pictures!) is scheduled to air here during May Sweeps.