Friday, November 29, 2013

Walk in the Alzheimer's Marathon

Walk in the Alzheimer's Marathon
October 13, 2013

The Alzheimer's Foundation is very close to my heart.  For years I've thought about being a part of their Thanksgiving Memory Walk & Run, but I hate to run.  I realized that there is an option to walk, so it was a done deal.

Alzheimer's scares me. More than most things.  My grandma & grampa were incredible people who were perfect in the role of grandparents.  My grampa got Alzheimer's and, at a young age, I watched it rip out the beautiful person that he was and replace him with a confused man.  Shortly after he passed, my grandma developed dementia.  It was extremely hard to be a young teenager whose grandparents didn't recognize me.  It's even harder to envision how they felt.  The confusion and unknown is heartbreaking.  Can you imagine being married to someone for over 50 years, but not recognize them sitting right next to you?  Almost 20 years later, it still makes me cry.  I believe that we would have had a very strong relationship as I grew older and we missed out on that.    These awful diseases claimed two incredible people in my life.

Alzheimer's is believed to be passed down genetically through the same sex (of course, amongst other things).  As I get older, and so do my parents, I worry about my dad more and more.  He's so healthy and strong.  He takes great care of himself, but there will always be the lingering thought of 'what if' - and that is terrifying.  

I signed up for the walk in May and had my inspiring friends, Jenn & Kristi, join my team.  We came up with the goal to raise $500 between the three of us.  Jenn was going to host an event and shave her head!  I wasn't worried about this three person goal, so decided to set a personal goal of $500.  This seemed a bit daunting, but hey, it's worth it!

Right away, I posted online about the walk and that I was raising funds and two wonderful women, whom I'd only just met a few weeks earlier, donated almost immediately.  I had high hopes. 

Then nothing, for a couple of months.  That's alright; I didn't really pursue the funds.  On September 18th, I posted again online about raising funds.    One of my husband's colleagues at the office in Montreal saw the post and shared it amongst her coworkers.  Donations came pouring in, mostly from people I had never met.  Some were from people that didn't even work for the same company as my husband and his colleague!  It was so touching.  In that one day I went from $80 in donations to well over $400!

I continued to post for the remaining few weeks and ended up raising $710.  I was blown away!  The generosity of those around me is incredibly touching and it will be forever in my heart.

The morning of the walk, I was excited.  Upon arrival, we checked in and received t-shirts as well as a bag of goodies (fitness magazines and other excerpts).  We had a breakfast sandwich and then decided to scope it all out.  The event took over all of Eau Clare Market, so we took a stroll around.


We went over to 'Memory Lane', a fantastic set up that they had at the beginning of the walk & run path.  They had clips and string for people to post pictures and messages that pertained to why they were participating.  I had asked all of the people who donated if they would want something clipped up in their honor.  A few people did and it felt great to pay tribute to their loved ones on their behalf.


 


While checking out the Memory Lane, we were approached by someone from the foundation and asked to do video interviews, which Jenn & I were all over.  We each did an individual interview and both became emotional.  I remember saying that, "I am not just here for my grandparents.  I'm here for my dad, mom & sister as well.  Even though we weren't the ones with the disease, we all went through so much because of it". 

 
The warm up was set to begin fairly soon, so we went into the main area to prepare.  While standing around chatting, Kristi noticed the mayor walk past.  I'm so glad that she did because I've been wanting to hug him for a while now (sometimes you've just got to hug the mayor!). 

  
I approached him and politely said excuse me.  He turned around and greeted me with a huge smile and a hand ready to be shaken.  I asked for a hug instead and he said, "of course".  It was lovely.




The next thing he did was spot my sticker that read who I was there for and said, "tell me about Bob & Olive". He sincerely thanked me for being there.  I was touched.  Here's a man who I was in awe of, thanking me for being a part of something when all I could feel was thankful that he was there.  His presence gave us all such a boost.  That was pretty special.  

I think it was at that point that it really hit me.  This thing that I was a part of was bigger than the money that I had raised or my past and it was especially bigger than me.  I was a small part in something incredible. 

The warm up started and we were right at the front (much to Kristi's chagrin).  They had a few speeches and everyone was really excited to get going.


They started with the 10k runners, then the 5k runners and last but not least, the 5k walkers.  Of course, Mayor Nenshi was standing at the starting line giving as many high fives as possible.

We started walking and people all around us were cheering.  There were dogs and kids walking, too.  The energy was incredible!

We walked towards the water and then followed the Bow River Path Way to the Center Street Bridge.  I love that bridge.  The architecture is really neat.




Along the way, volunteers were dispersed to direct changes in the path.  We cheered at them and Jenn made sure to give every single one of them a high five.  Because she's awesome like that! (No, that wasn't sarcasm.  She is awesome like that!)

We crossed the bridge and walked west along the path beside Memorial Dr.  We made friends with the ladies in front of us and rode the high of the energy. 

At the half way point, the volunteers had a water station and port-a-potties (ew).  We stopped for record fast peets (seriously ew), but made sure to catch up with our new friends again.

We took the Memorial Dr. path till we reached the Peace Bridge.  This was my first time on that bridge.  Yes, it's over priced, but it was really cool! 

After crossing, we were back on the Bow River Path Way and in no time at all we were walking through Memory Lane and at the finish line again.  The walk took a little over an hour, but it felt like only a few minutes.  That's what great company will do!  It was so nice to spend that time with Jenn & Kristi.  They're such wonderful and inspiring women whom I'm lucky to have in my life.

They had pizza for everyone and prizes were given out right away. 

And then it was over.  All of the people left and the day went on.  It felt sudden, but satisfying.  I went home and had a great kitty snuggle (as I do).



 

I didn't realize it at the time, but this is the most significant item on my list.  Writing this blog entry took a few days and a few tears.  It's been 16 years since my grampa passed, but he will always be in my heart.  I'm so happy to be able to honor him and my beautiful grandma in any way.

Why did I wait so long to take that walk...




Friday, November 22, 2013

Fly in a Hot Air Balloon


Fly in a Hot Air Balloon
October 12, 2013

Have you ever looked up at the sky on a beautiful clear morning to see lots of hot air balloons and thought, "How do I get to be that lucky guy"?

I have.

So, I decided it was time to be the lucky guy.

There are two companies in Calgary that provide this service (other than the realtor balloons, etc.) and I really liked the website for Rainbow Balloons.  They're a local family owned company that has been in business for about 34 years.

I called them at the beginning of September and scheduled the ride for Saturday October 12th.  They said that they would call me in the morning.  If the weather was good, I'd have an hour from the time they called to get to the Blackfoot Inn.

Luckily they called and said we were clear to fly. I phoned my dad, waking him up, and he picked me up about 45 minutes later.

 
We arrived at the Blackfoot Inn and they drove us over to the Glenmore Inn, which is where they start the tour.  There's a field just down from the hotel.  The other company (Sundance Balloons) was there as well.  




They unloaded the basket and the envelope (the balloon) and started filling it with air.  They filled it mostly with cold air first.  It took a while and was really neat to watch.  There were two other people flying with us: a young man and his dad.  Once we got into the basket, they blew the heat up into the balloon and we were off. 

Lifting up felt really smooth and comfortable.  The height of the basket walls was tall enough that there is almost no way you could fall out.  It felt completely safe.



We went south over the Glenmore Inn.  There was hardly any breeze, so we moved pretty slowly.  There was a perfect view of downtown and it was beautiful.  From that height, everything below us looked like tilt shift photography, which is amazing!



It was so calm... we slowly drifted over the hotel, then a field with a pond, over Riverdale & the Quarry Park shopping area.  We drifted over the river and got a good view of the bike path we had taken in June (see: Ride a bike from one end of Fish Creek to the other).  Parts of the path were still completely washed out from the floods in June.  Another reminder of how lucky we were to have done that before the water tore apart Calgary and so many of the paths that we needed.



The flight was about an hour and they had the van following us the whole time.  We landed in a park and the team deflated the balloon quickly and drove us back to the Blackfoot Inn.

When we arrived, they pulled out a table, crackers, cheese and champagne and we had ourselves a little champagne breakfast!

It was a surreal experience and one I'm really glad I was able to have with my dad.  I sure do love that guy!


  

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Donate Blood - 3 of 5

Donate Blood - 3 of 5
October 8, 2013

There's a pretty large gap between donation number 2 & 3.  This is because I tried to donate blood in the summer and was disappointed to find that my iron level was too low.  I couldn't donate again for an additional 56 days. 

It was too bad, but it wasn't all for not.  While waiting to test my iron, I overheard one of the employees talking to a patient about donating plasma instead of whole blood.  I don't know why I didn't know about this before... well, I mean I kind of did, but I didn't know the specifics of it.

Donations can be done every week.  Only certain blood types can donate (not sure who can't but I'm in!).  Women can only donate if they've never been pregnant before.

Because of these things, the need for plasma donors is pretty high so that's what I'd do next time.

The process before the donation is pretty similar.  They test the iron, ask the naughty questions (very specific about 1977) and there are forms to fill out.

The process of actually donating is quite different.  They put one needle into your arm, just like normal, but it goes into a machine instead of a bag.  The machine takes out the whole blood and spins it.  Red blood cells are heavier than plasma and the centrifuge separates the two.  The plasma is transferred into a donation bag and the red blood cells go back through the tube and into the arm again.

It took a while, but the whole thing was really neat to watch!  I pretty much just stared at the machine the whole time.  Sometimes I feel pretty woozy after donating whole blood, so this seems like a better fit for me. 

Also, plasma looks like beer.  So there's that.

Zipline at Canada Olympic Park



Zipline & Bobsled at Canada Olympic Park
Sunday September 8 & Tuesday September 24, 2013



The actual goal here was just the zipline.  I went to Mexico in May and had the opportunity to zipline there, but decided to wait and do it in Calgary because of how special it is that these facilities are accessible to us.  They are remaining 1988 Olympic facilities. 

Checking out the website, I found that they had a summer deal: $100 for both the zipline and bobsled (normally $65 each), so of course I would be going bobsledding, too!  Also, the natural fit for this was my dad and he was all over it!

We went to the park in the afternoon on Sunday September 8th and got all suited up for the zipline.  First, we were going to do the practice run, then the tallest run, then the middle one that would bring us back to where we started.

We went outside to the practice run and my dad and I got right in there, volunteering to go first.  Flying through the air is fun!  Why hold back?






They told us how to hold our legs, what to do with our arms, when to brace, all the good stuff.  Then we zipped down the first line, laughing at each other as we went.





It's a great thing we wanted to go first, because the moment we got to the bottom, we found out that there was lightening in the area.  All zipline runs were shut down from that moment on.  The rest of the group walked to the bottom (it was only about 100 feet long) and missed out on any zipping that day.  They didn't know if the closure would last for an hour, or the rest of the day, so we were told not to wait around.  It's a good thing we were able to reschedule, because they were closed for the rest of the day.

Even with the closure, we were able to do the bobsled that day, which was great.  We piled into a van and got a ride to the top of the hill.  We went into the booth at the top and waited for our turn.  And waited.... and waited...

Finally we got our chance.

Again, I volunteered to sit at the front.  So it was me, my dad, two other people that we didn't know and the driver.  What a great job that would be!

We squished in and held on tight.  Our ride lasted about a minute and we got up to around 90km/hr on those 14 turns!  Again, my dad and I were laughing and hooting the whole way down the hill.  It was so much fun!



The park was able to reschedule our zipline for Tuesday September 24th.  We went in the evening, which was really cool with the evening light.  This time there was almost no chance of lightening (I say almost because it's Calgary.  You know what I mean), so we were excited.  We got all geared up and went out for the test run again.

Then they packed us into the van and we went to the top of the hill.  The second run is from the tallest point in Calgary; the top of the Olympic ski jump.  Heights make me a little nervous, but I felt completely comfortable up there.  We got all strapped in and then they released us.  We were so high up, but it felt completely safe.  My dad suddenly got a burst of speed and he flew past me so quickly!  The website says the run was 500m long, with a drop of 100m, with speeds up to 120-140km/hr.  It didn't feel like we were going that fast but it sure was an incredible rush!



















We had one more run to go.  It went from the bottom of the second run back to where we had started.  It was about a quarter of the length of the previous one.  This time the instructors asked if anyone wanted to go upside down.  Of course we did!  They taught us how (basically just flip your legs up) and away we went.  It was so much fun to try it from a completely different view.  That one was over way too quickly!

And then we were finished.  It was all over way too quickly, but so worth it!  We went for greasy appetizers and beer afterwards, because that's the right thing to do when you've flown down a hill at over 100km an hour!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Go on a Walking Tour

Go on a Walking Tour of Downtown Calgary
September 21, 2013

In 2004 my wonderful friend, Nicole (see also: Wine Tasting), and I were in New York City.  We went on a free walking tour that lasted 17 hours but would have been longer if it hadn't been rained out by a hurricane.  I love that every part of that sentence is completely true! 

That trip had been my 4th time to New York.  While you certainly can't see everything in 3 visits, I felt like I had a pretty good handle on the sites, until this tour.  It completely opened my eyes to so many incredible things in NYC.  That city is amazing.  It's time for another trip, I think... k, hubby?

In any case, I discovered that there is a company in Calgary that offers a walking tour.  While it wasn't free, 17 hours, or rained out, it was certainly worth it.

Nicole came with me on this tour as well, which was really nice!  We started our tour in front of city hall, which is pretty cool in itself.  I love that there is a modern building and an original building that make up city hall!

We walked along Stephen Ave, noticing things that I'd never seen before, such as the original office of the founder of the Calgary Stampede and the statue of the Famous Five (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Famous_Five_%28Canada%29).

We went up the street and checked out the Family of Man statues.  This is a statue that I've seen so many times, but have never been up close to.
My camera has that feature that tries to recognize faces in the preview mode and it was doing that to a very specific part of the statues, which made me laugh! 

We kept going up the street and came to some really cool displays outside of the passport office and talked about travelers not knowing where Calgary is on the map.

Then over to the river where we discussed the floods.  The other two people on our tour lived in Calgary, but had recently moved here, so they were pretty interested in the flood stories.  They had just missed all of the crazyness.

We walked through the Chinese Cultural Centre.  There was a wedding going on that night, so they had the ballroom set up beautifully!  The roof of the cultural centre was incredible!

The guides opted to take us to Livingston Place (I think that's where this was, but please correct me if I'm wrong) instead of the Devonian Gardens, because most people don't know about the beautiful green space on the second floor.  I sure didn't.  It was so tranquil and beautiful! 

They showed us a few other great spaces and then we ended off at the Bow.  We stood inside of the wire head art (really cool, but doesn't make much sense without a picture!) and then went inside.  I was surprised to find that the floors of the building don't actually
extend to the outer wall, so if you stand at the bottom right by the wall, you can see all the way up to the top floor!

This is where the tour ended.  It was a great experience and I learned a lot from our guides, who were obviously very passionate about the city and the history. 

It was a great day with Nicole and hopefully only walking tour number two of many!