Today, I had to give blood to see if I am a match to donate to my friend’s mom. (#tinymom)
They took 6 tubes out of me today! It will take about a week to see if I am a match. I remember them saying something about giving some of it to her to make sure she doesn’t reject it, but I forgot to ask about that part today.
I just really want this to happen!
I’ve got a good friend whose mother is really sick. Her kidneys are failing miserably and she’s on a wait list to get a new kidney. The list is 6 years long. She won’t live to see that.
So, I figured, “Why not?” I mean, I have two perfectly good kidneys. I’m healthy, don’t drink or do drugs. I don’t need both of them. Might as well try.
There are a few reasons why I feel so strongly about this. The first, of course, is that I’ve seen my friend worried for awhile about her mom. I know if I were in the same situation, I would feel the same. She’s not a match and can’t donate her own kidney.
Secondly, it reminds me of how I felt when my father was dying. He had cancer twice and made it through with chemotherapy and radiation. But the third time kicked his ass. I was completely helpless; there was absolutely nothing I could do except wait for him to die. He died just about 8 years ago, on the day before my birthday. It was heartbreaking, not being able to help at ALL. I know if there had been some way that SOMEBODY, anybody, could have helped, it would have happened if people knew about it. He was only 57 when he died. I had to tell him, via cell phone, that I would miss him when he died. I had just started doing comedy and he had hoped to come out and see me perform someday. He died before he got the chance.
Thirdly, it’s a good deed. I’m a good person. Why not? They’ve filled my karma bucket, just for attempting to try to help out. If I’m not a match, I will do everything in my power to get the word out on the importance of live organ donating. Maybe that will get someone else who’s a match.
Oh, and for the rest of my life, I can use that as a comeback to anyone who says anything bad about me. I am joking, of course. Sort of.
So, do some research. Think about it. With surgery advances, it’s not a difficult operation. I will be walking THAT DAY.
This week, I get some tests done to see if I’m a match. They have to take some of my blood and give it to her to see if it makes her sick or not. We’ll go from there.
…and when I say “my” show, I mean I performed. In no way do I ever claim that a show I didn’t put together is “mine.” I never take any credit for anything beyond what I’ve done.
I was asked to perform at Doc’s Place, which is in my neighborhood and I have a great rapport with the owner and manager. I’ve always been professional at the venue and treat people with respect. This show was a bit different from others in that the comics were given tickets to sell ahead of time, for what we wanted to charge, and we were able to keep the money from what we sold. Wait. I get to sell something and keep the money for a show? Hell yeah I’m gonna run with that! And I did. I got a bit lucky when my insurance agent picked this show to take a group of 35 people to come to. They go to a comedy show once a month and movies at least once a week. It’s a group from Meetup.com. My agent has a few of us comedians as clients and is very supportive of our efforts. We support him, he supports us. Isn’t that nice??? So, he called me one afternoon to let me know this show would be their comedy show this month. As soon as I hung up with him after getting details, I called the “promoter” (I use that term loosely, mind you) to let him know of the group. Now, usually someone who is a *true* promoter would have called the venue to arrange reservations, a discount, etc., but that never happened. I waited two days to see if he would take care of it and never did. So, I gave the group leader the club owner’s number so they could work out the details.
I happen to be realllllly good at networking and I am shameless when it comes to promoting a gig. I have a lot of professional relationships in Phoenix and I’m involved in social media like nobody’s business. There is NO other comic that uses the resources I do, so I guess I have a niche when it comes to getting the word out. I posted the show on every website in Central/Downtown Phoenix and every networking group I belong to. That alone garnered me 30 more tickets sold.
I sold every ticket I could and even ran out. $5 for a comedy show at a beautiful venue wasn’t too difficult to entice people with. It’s $5. I chose that price, as the door price was $8. I’m not greedy, but if I am given a task, with the opportunity to make some money, I will run with it. I am a single girl, I live alone and pay my own bills. I don’t live with my mom. (JAB)
Two days before the show, the “promoter” asked if he was going to be getting a cut from the group sales. Excuse me? No work was done by this person to ensure the group was taken care of. NONE. Ha. No, you’re not getting a cut. I was also promised a cut of the proceeds at the door. I explained that he made no effort to do anything for the group and that I did the initial footwork. Should be the end of that, right? WRONG.
I fielded calls from the club, asking what the heck this guy’s problem was, why he was raising such a stink. Why? Because I did his job, I did it well, and kicked his ass at promoting. In short, I was better. Several times since, he has made remarks about me not sharing any of the money I worked so hard for. None of the other comics had to deal with it like that. They all got paid from the door proceeds. I didn’t get anything. Fine, I am not going to whine about that or dwell on it, it’s just a fact.
He went up to the group leader at the end of the show and said “I just want to make sure you know this was MY show, not Amy’s.” How unprofessional is that? It was obvious it was his show, I never once said anything to the contrary.
Since then, I’ve been told by a few people that this “promoter” thinks I name-dropped to get gigs at HIS venue outside of HIS shows. Doc’s Place has given me opportunities that I WILL take. The “promoter” doesn’t work there. He runs a show there ONCE A MONTH. I’ve been in contact with a club owner in L.A. because of my efforts and my professionalism at Doc’s. They appreciate someone who comes there to work, doesn’t get wasted and stumbles out after the show. (This happened at a previous show with that “promoter.” So drunk that he passed out at my place, right around the corner, and I had to continue working at the club that night. I have the pics to prove it, too.) I don’t need to name-drop a small-time show-runner’s name in Phoenix. He’s had shows for less than a year. I’ve been performing here for 8 years. I hardly need help. I’ve also been accused of being greedy for not giving a cut of what I made selling MY tickets. Sorry, kid, but you gave me the rules. I played by those rules.
In short, this is a person who is deflated. A man’s ego was crushed when a girl did his job ten times better than he did. The lack of respect is despicable and shows a person’s true character.
Asking for something when you did no work towards it? That’s like begging for change at a freeway exit. With a dog, to make it look even more pathetic.
So, every year, a few times a year, I do a detox. I always do it right at the beginning of the year, since I eat a lot of shit during the holiday season.
It’s not hard, but it does take discipline.
The first step is to soften one stick of BUTTER, not margarine. When it’s soft, stir in 1/2 cup of olive oil. This you can use a tsp of a time during the week to flavor your food. FAT IS NOT BAD FOR YOU. There is good fat and bad. Since this is the only fat during the entire detox, it’s OK to eat. Really.
Breakfast – Quinoa. I cook up a big batch of it so I can just take it as I eat it. You need to first wash it before using it. I put a cup of dry quinoa in a bowl of water and kind of use my hands to rub the grains together to get off the outer husk & dust. Just takes a minute. Drain. Cook it like rice. 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups of water and simmer for 20 – 30 minutes. Don’t add anything to it. When I have it for breakfast, I sprinkle on some cinnamon.
Lunch and dinner are the same thing. Steamed greens & veggies. I like to use beets (and the greense), sweet potatoes, potatoes, broccoli, spinach, whatever other greens you like. Start by peeling and chopping the potatoes and beets into cubes. Since they take longest to steam, put them in about 15 minutes before everything else. The key is to cook everything, but not cook it until the vitamins are gone. Add broccoli. Then, when everything is just about soft, add the greens. SAVE THE LIQUID. I drink about a cup of the liquid for my mid-morning break. Add some salt & pepper and a little of the butter/oil mixture.
Around 3pm, I have a serving of protein. It can be a piece of chicken (ONE SERVING SIZE!!!), salmon or a hard-boiled egg.
Throughout the day I drink a shitload of water and green tea. Don’t add sugar.
So, the detox is to get off sugar and eat pure foods for a few days. I will do it until Saturday most likely. Depends on how long the food lasts.
Any herbs & spices are ok. Just remember: NO SUGAR. You’ll be fine.
Today was the first day and even though I am getting over the flu, I felt pretty energetic. Sometimes, into the 3rd day, you might break out a little, but this is just from the toxins leaving your body. Deal with it. Everyone gets zits. :}
If you do try the detox, please leave comments! It’s a great motivator.
Besides being the ultimate non-conformist and hating all that is the holiday season, I also have trouble believing in having New Year’s resolutions. I mean, it’s ok to *say* you’re going to do something, but so many people fail at following through with their resolutions, that I don’t want to be a part of it. I think that if you set a goal for yourself, with a time limit or date, you are more likely to succeed in your dreams.
So, I made a few goals for this year. They’re pretty big, actually, but not out of my grasp when it comes to actually finishing them. Achieving. Making a reality out of a dream. Stop being such a damn slacker. Haha!
So, I went through this past weekend and disputed everything on my credit report. Everything. There wasn’t much and nothing really bigger than a couple hundred dollars, but it still felt good. I can’t wait to see the progress. I guess I got caught up in helping someone a few years ago and didn’t think about it hitting me in the ass. Luckily, I’ve changed my trusting ways and will never do that again.
That’s step 1 in my process to get a house by the end of 2011. The way the market is right now, there’s no way I wouldn’t be able to save up a down payment, since less than $5K would pretty much do it. I look on real estate websites a lot and I could seriously get something really nice for under $100K. My mortgage would be less than my rent. There are a lot of really cool lofts Downtown by the stadiums. There are a lot of great block homes in the historic neighborhoods in Central Phoenix. So, at least the goal is to NOT pay rent by the end of the year.
My other goal, which starts this week and goes for two weeks, is my detox. Not from booze. I used to do it all the time when I really got into yoga. It’s a dietary detox that cleans all the crap (literally) out of your system. Lots of healthy greens, some protein in the afternoon and grains like quinoa for breakfast. Life has been kind of busy lately and though I am not a fast food person, I have been developing some pretty stupid habits. I have to take tonight to cook a bunch of stuff for the week. The best part about is it the greens. I looooooooove eating them and trying new things. Whoever thought of eating beet greens? They’re realllllly good!
This weekend I get my gym membership back. I am NOT resolving to lose weight or do whatever. I couldn’t afford it for so many months and now I can with my new job, so I am excited about going back. The yoga studio got a lot more expensive recently, so I will only be able to go for drop-ins occasionally. The gym is a lot closer to my house and way more affordable. The next couple of weeks, my time will be more limited and having to adhere to a set schedule is not working for me.
Lastly, I am making more time for others in my life and saying no to some comedy gigs. Though I love performing and I’ll do anything for stage time, even if I am not getting paid, I realized at my Xmas dinner party that I can’t forget my friends in all this. I have a few really important people in my life that I want to have time for. That’s not to say that I won’t be doing comedy anymore, I am just going to scale back and do the gigs I really love doing.
Goals:
House
Detox
Gym
People
Not really that unattainable. Not resolutions, but goals. Get it?
Fabamy's Blog 
Recent Comments