Thank you

The last few days have truly been inspiring.

I’ve never been good with fundraising. When I was a kid I remember hating going door to door for Brownies or 30 hour famines…and I’m pretty sure my mom has a story about me eating a bunch of chocolate bars instead of selling them to raise money (though that may be more of a ‘fat kid’ story than a ‘fundraising’ one). When I signed up to do the Ride to Conquer Cancer, I knew one of my biggest hurdles would be having to ask people for money. REALLY ask. $2500 ask. Aieee. For the first few months I sent emails out, made a few status updates, nothing too huge. But lately, despite feeling horribly awkward and pushy and aggressive, I’ve had to push it...and I’ve been totally blown away.

I’ve had comedians who have shitty jobs give me $20. I’ve had friends who aren’t working give me $50. I’ve had co-workers donate to various small fundraisers I’ve had around the office, and co-workers take the time to sign up for a dollar-for-dollar gift matching program my workplace does, thereby doubling their donation. I’ve had strangers come out to shows and donate, friends give me donations I never thought possible (or in budget), and even got an amazingly heartfelt email and donation from a complete stranger who heard I was doing the ride. People throwing in $2 or $5 or $0.50…whatever they can afford, they give. I can’t even begin explain how much it’s blown me away.

I’ve had a few benefit shows and couldn’t believe how happy my friends were to support me and support cancer research. They gave their time, energy and subway fare to come out and help me raise money. And they were seriously fucking hilarious while doing it.

Even more amazing are the stories I’m hearing and the encouragement I’m getting. From a comedian coming on stage and talking about his mother who is currently dying from the disease, to a friend sending me an email and sharing her story with me, to survivors thanking me…I even had one guy I met while I was out on a training ride telling me that he was currently going through chemo and thanking me for participating (he even challenged me to do it again next year and ride along with him). All these people have been tremendously affected by cancer and are sharing their stories with me and are thanking me –truly thanking me- for doing this ride.

When I think about all the encouragement, donations, support and kind words, it’s overwhelming and I get misty-eyed. The fact that I’ve reached my fundraising goal when the majority of my friends are broke actors who can’t pay their phone bills is just astounding. The fact that my friends have come out to do shows when they have eight other shows and four other rehearsals on the go just totally blows me away. And the love and encouragement I’m getting from everyone is totally inspiring.

So I guess what I’m saying is thank you. To quote Chicago, “You’re the inspiration” (minus all the stuff about our love lasting till the end of time. I haven’t bagged you…yet.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcnC3d0azN8

My new pen-pal

When I was a kid, I always wanted a pen-pal. I had dreams of having “friends” around the world I had never met and sharing with them my dreams, hopes, thoughts and ideas. I think I even tried tying a letter to a balloon once and letting it go in hopes that it would land in some other little girls’ arms and I would create a new best friend half-way across the country (I had no notion at the time of some creepy pedophile finding it with my HOME ADDRESS.)

Then the internet came along and I could chat with people half-way across the world! No postage required! In fact, I have three friends to this day that I met through the ‘random’ feature on ICQ. Two of them I even met face to face.

With email, facebook, texting and twitter, though, I find myself longing to write real, old-fashioned snail mail letters. I write to my grandma once every two weeks, send letters or Christmas cards out (which inevitably ended up on my shelf with dust because I never bought stamps and I’m really sorry I never mailed you Christmas cards, guys)…but I still longed for a true pen-pal. Someone I had never met and could write pages and send newspaper clippings or pictures to.

And, through the power of the internet, I have found a new pen-pal.

I spend a lot of time on Craigslist. I read through all the sections; free stuff, barter, housing (in case I find a mouse-free, awesome three bedroom), MC, personals, rants and raves….all of it. Often times it’s pretty amusing and sometimes I even post. I ended up posting a response to something and a girl wrote me back saying something akin to “Wow, you sound really cool. I’d like to be friends but the catch is I’m going tree-planting for three months. I leave on Monday. Want to be pen-pals?”

I jumped at the chance and gave her my work address (because I’m smart enough now not to give a stranger my home address, and I’ve also got a nifty little ‘panic’ button at work that calls security). She left yesterday and we are both awaiting each other’s first piece of mail. (She later told me she never thought I would reply with an eager “Yes!” She calls it unconventional).

So now I have correspondence with a total stranger. I know her name and I know that she’s tree-planting in BC until June and has a dog….and that’s all I know. I’m hoping through letters to find out more about her and see what she’s about. Maybe we can be friends in real life when she gets back from BC. Though it could happen that we discover that we can’t be friends face-to-face. It sounds silly, but as anyone that does online dating knows, it can happen. No matter how great correspondence is with someone via email, face-to-face is completely different. What if my new pen-pal and I have great letters and send each other great things…but totally suck at being friends in ‘real life’? What if the letters stop? What if she’s a total racist or something?

I guess, as with any relationship, I’ll just have to go into it with optimism, eagerness and be open to new possibilities and ideas; every relationship starts with the element of risk and heartache, but you can’t let that stop you from licking the stamp.