Tag Archives: Movember

Keep On Mo-vin’

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Heeeeeey guys. Time for a Movember check-in! As far as I’m concerned, November – and therefore Movember – ends with Thanksgiving. However, the calendar tells tells us otherwise, and as long as we’ve got some residual turkey in the fridge and a few bald spots left on our upper lips, we need to keep pushing. It seems like only yesterday I was shaving my mustache that never existed just to grow it out, at the behest of an M. Le Clown. I had never participated in Movember before, but it turns out that this fundraiser was the best thing that ever happened to me simply because I learned that I look so good in a mustache:

Had I known I was capable of growing a Mario ‘stache, I would have jumped on the Movember bandwagon years ago.

It’s not too late to donate to this wonderful cause that supports both finding a cure for prostate cancer and bringing awareness towards men’s mental health. You can donate to the Bloggers for Movember US team here or the Bloggers for Movember Canada team here. Donate early and donate often. There are so many fantastic incentives for doing so. Not only are you doing a solid for humanity, but you will also be entered in awesome Movember promotions on Becca’s and Madame Weeble’s blogs, not to mention my own contest! In December, I will randomly select three people who have contributed any amount to either team and write posts about them, to be run in 2013. Just let me know in the comments if you have made a donation to either team and I will put your name in the hat. If you’ve given to both teams, you will be entered twice.

As of the time I’m writing this, BFM US has raised $980 and BFM Canada has raised $303; let’s see if we can bump those totals up by at least $300 apiece by the end of the month. We’re strong. We can do it.

More Than the Sum

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I am thinking a lot about my brother lately. He is more than the sum of his parts, although the sum of his parts do yield a pretty impressive human. See thus:

1. He is an Eagle Scout. He started scouting as a kindergartener and he went the entire way. No small thing. Achieving the highest level of scouting takes a level of commitment that people don’t realize.

2. He is the healthiest person I know. He works out almost everyday and has been eating like Hostess has been out of business for years. No one ever told him to focus on his health, yet he did because he cares about the temple that is his body. I am amazed that we come from the same pool of DNA.

3. He is a walking encyclopedia. Fair warning: don’t ask him about World War II, weaponry, weight lifting, gardening, dogs, or the Minor Prophets unless you have several hours to kill.

4. He’s a big guy, and when he comes in to give you a bear hug, he may or may not give you a complimentary chiropractic adjustment too.

5. He has mastered the art of telling bad jokes. Guys, they are bad, but in the best possible way. If he woke up one morning and was able to tell jokes that didn’t make me groan, I would wonder what was wrong with the world.

6. His level of compassion is one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed, period. He listens when you need to vent and he doesn’t judge you in the least bit when you bare your teeth. He is nonconfrontational and loving. Even if he dishes out a platitude to make you feel better, you will think he thought of it himself. His love is unconditional like a parent’s.

Trevor is my big little brother. He will always be my little brother since he he was born after me, but since he’s got at least six inches and about 40 pounds on me, he is my big little brother. He is more than his Aspergers. He has never, ever let it get in the way of him being a person capable of living a full, productive life. He has never once gotten down on himself because of the limitations his diagnosis could have put on him. Although he’s let down when things don’t go his way or when he doesn’t get to do something he wants to do, he’s never blamed it on Asbergers because he’s never seen it as a disability (rightly so, too, since it’s more of a difference than a disability). In fact, he doesn’t give it much thought at all, which is admirable by itself.

A positive attitude isn’t everything, though. It makes for an inspirational blog post, but it doesn’t pay the bills. You can’t put a positive attitude on your resume underneath your educational background. A positive attitude doesn’t get your car fixed or replaced when it’s totaled. It doesn’t squelch your family’s worries about you. Right now, my brother has a host of life problems he’s facing. I call him every day just to check in on him and remind him that I love him even though I don’t live close by. He’s an easy person to encourage, as he listens and politely takes into consideration all the advice you want to give him. There are gaps in the conversation and I wonder if our call got dropped when he doesn’t respond to me right away, but he’s always there, taking it in and thinking about how to respond. I can hear the gears in his head creaking over the phone.

His problems won’t be solved within the span of our conversations. Things won’t get easier overnight. My mom and I will always worry about him. But just as sure as these things are true, his attitude and his pure goodness will remain constant. Even if you can’t itemize his wonderful attributes on a professional resume, Trevor is a triumph and I know things will always be OK with him – even when they’re not – because giving in to his differences isn’t even on the radar.

He is not Aspergers. He is my brother.

Unca Trevor and Baby C

This post was written in honor of Trevor and Bloggers for Movember, in an effort to raise awareness concerning men’s mental health and prostate cancer. “Like” us on Facebook and donate here.

A PSA, only 100x better and with prizes.

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So, unless you have been living under a rock (and it’s OK if you have because that sounds kind of cozy and the rent is for sure cheaper than it would be if you lived in a real apartment), we are all gearing up for Movember!

Today, Le Clown is outlining all the plans he’s laid for this More Than A Fundraiser. They may or may not involve prizes for participants.

Michael, look at Second Lunch banner!

OK, I won’t beat around the bush. They do involve prizes. I won’t be coy about it. And I’m providing one of them.

I write a lot of things. I write about beer cans in my lunch bag. I write about call girls in Korea. I write about how I made a baby, popped her out, and am now trying to raise her to hate Betty Draper as fervently as I do. Priorities.

But what I really want to write about is YOU! That’s why three people who donate to the US Bloggers for Movember team page will get posts written ALL about them! And I’m not talking about dinky 150 word posts (unless that’s you’re kind of thing). You get to choose the photos I include too. I won’t call you out if they are of you 10 years and 30 pounds ago. Your secret’s safe with me.

The winners will be chosen at random at the end of Movember. Here’s more! You don’t even have to be a blogger for me to write about you! In fact, I think we’d all like to hear about a normal person for a change.

So please, Like us on Facebook and donate to this great cause. Let’s be honest, working towards a cure for prostate cancer is way better than having a blog post written about you.

But not by much.

On an unrelated note, I was out walking with C the other day, and what did we find? A real coffee shop just opened within walking distance of our apartment! This is such a big deal that I had to tell you. A non sequitur, yes, but when I think of prizes, my mind immediately goes to coffee. It’s a trained response.

Did you know you missed me? Because you did.

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So, long time no see. I kind of have the shakes right now because I have been busy the past few days and haven’t been able to write anything substantive or read as many blogs as I normally do. My mom has been in town hanging out with us, so that’s my alibi. Adorable outfits for Wee Cee have been purchased, delicious beers have been consumed whilst the baby was left in my mom’s charge, and very little blogging has taken place. I do have a bunch of stuff a-brewin’, though, so once things get back to normal I will resume my stalkage of the Internet.

Big things have been happening, though. In case you missed it, A Clown on Fire (finally) got Freshly Pressed! Between him and Liquorstore Bear also (finally) getting FP’d, I have been having little blogging parties in my head and in real life (see aforementioned reference to beer.) There are few things better than seeing your friends get the attention they rightfully deserve for outstanding work, and I congratulate them both heartily. Hip hip hooray for two of my favorite bloggers from the land to the north!

Le Clown was Freshly Pressed for a piece he wrote about his latest project, the formation of a blogging group called Bloggers for Movember to help spread awareness of prostate cancer and mental health issues during the month of November. He kindly invited me to help in his endeavor, which I was more than happy to do. This is already promising to be his biggest project yet. I urge you to hop on the bandwagon if you haven’t already.  Benevolence feels good because it is good. Does it feel as good as blogging? Highly likely.