ankg

Idiots, Beware...

I hate all idiocy...in all forms...we see it every day...well now, I've got a place where I can go on and on about it, and there is nothing anyone can do except pray that you don't do something idiotic and have it affect me...

www.bluntinstrument.net

Alok, Salil, Brian, Vijay, and myself...a motley crew, undoubtedly...check it out... you'll be surprised how idiot-ridden our lives are... ;)

A

Be careful who you send email to....;)

So I get this email at work today...from a guy who I have never met, and who sends it out to the entire office.  And after reading this email, I am like, "Who the hell is this??..."

Needless to say, I told my team the story, and the entire lunch at La Bamba's was spent amusing ourselves over this email...and then when I said, "I'm going to write him back!," no one believed me...

-----Original Message-----
From: *****, Brandon
Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2005 11:36 AM
To: Personnel-Ptrs.CentralRegion.Americas
Subject: Farewell!

As many of you are aware, I have made the tough decision to leave Accenture.  It’s been a wonderful and rewarding experience, and I have enjoyed working with so many talented individuals.  Thanks for making my Accenture experience so memorable!  I wish you all the best of luck in the future and please keep in touch.

Regards,

Brandon

Brandon *******

Delivery Centre

Accenture

----------------

MY response..... :)

From: Gopal, Ankur
Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2005 3:01 PM
Subject: FW: Farewell!

Dear Brandon,

I have to say that your “Farewell” note caught me by much surprise.  I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have mixed feelings about your decision to leave Accenture.  While on one hand, I am happy that you had a great experience while working here and are no doubt excited about entering the next phase of your career.  But on the other hand, we have never met, either… 

I guess I always figured that we’d run into each other at some point since we’re both from the same office.  Sadly, the vagabond life of a consultant prevented that nexus from ever occurring.  Fair or not, that’s the harsh reality we face…

Many times, when people send “leaving the firm” emails, they emphasize they want to “keep in touch”, but many people really don’t mean it.  I, however, would like to change that in keeping the possibility open that maybe we could one day grab a beer, hang out at one of the Accenture Alumni events, or maybe even enroll in a class together at the local Community College…On your end, I think if you could perhaps send out an “e-update” newsletter once a quarter just bulleting the new things that are happening with you, what you’ve been doing, new happenings in your life, etc; I think that would also be nice to know…More importantly, doing any of those things would constitute “keeping in touch.”

One day we’ll make this right…J

Best of Luck in Your Career,

Ankur

PS… As a small token of appreciation for your work at the firm, I’d like to give you the recipe for my famous Texas-Style Chili.  I’ve won several awards with this, so I’ve taken out two secret ingredients so I can continue competing with this dish.  But it should still taste pretty good.

Ankur’s Texas Style Chili

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

3    Tomatoes,med 

1    Onion,Burmuda,lg,fine chop 

1/4 T Oregano,dried,pref. Mexican 

2 T Paprika 

5    Garlic cloves,lg,fine chop 

4 lb Beef shank,coarse grind 

1 T Lard,butter,or bacon dripins 

4    Scallions,in bunches,chopped 

5    Bell pepper(s) 

5    Serrano chiles,fresh 

1 lb Chorizo sausage or hot non-Italian sausage 

4    Garlic cloves,med,fine chop 

2 T Salt 

4 T Red chile,hot,ground 

4 T Red chile,mild,ground 

3 T Cumin seeds 

      Beer 

      Water 

Instructions

1.  Puree the first four ingredients plus one clove of the garlic in a blender or food processor (using the steel blade). Scrape the mixture into a large heavy pot and add the beef.

2.  Melt the lard, butter, or bacon drippings in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the scallions, bell peppers, serrano chiles, sausage, and the remaining garlic, and cook until the onions are translucent and the sausage is browned.

3.  Place the cumin seeds in a 300' oven for a few minutes until lightly browned. Remove seeds from the oven and crush them with a mallet. Stir the vegetables into the beef and tomato mixture. Add the salt ground chile, cumin, and enough water or beer to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered for 4 to 6 hours. Taste and adjust seasonings. 

------------------

My team spent the rest of the afternoon cracking up...quite a productive day, let me tell you...I also sent this to a bunch of my friends...the response I received regarding my emails ranged from amusing to "I can't believe you don't get it!"

Some examples:

Somebody needs to be giving you more work to do…

-Berkley S.

-----------------------------

You are so  goofy!

-Hope R.

-----------------------------

You're such a Dick.

No wonder we're friends.

:-)

-Alok V.

-----------------------------

hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

can I blog this post? All names will of course be left intact for maximum credit attribution / post-event blame.

just kidding, I'd take AnkG's name out. Brandon is an idiot, though, and deserves to be punished. :-D

this is awesome.

-Salil M

-----------------------------

atleast i got a good chili recipe out of it. i was so craving chili today!

-Malti R.

-----------------------------

So what are the two secret ingredient, I wont tell anyone I promise.

-Abe D.

-----------------------------

Sounds YUM... - so can I be privy to your "two secret ingredients"???

-Mia K.

-----------------------------

You're crazy

-Rupal M.

-----------------------------

That was frickin' hilarious

-Sumit R.

-----------------------------

Why did you copy me on this?

-Mickey E. (Editor's note - this guy is an idiot... ;) )

-----------------------------

r***********: dude, that email was brilliant

-Rob K.

---------------------------

you're such a dick. :) make no mistake-- i'm glad. Anna P.

I'll keep updating comments as I get them.... :) ....I sent out the email to a ton of people...let's see if I get fired for this or not... :)

Tsunami Relief Fund-Raiser / Wine-Tasting

This event started off as a small, 20-30 person networking event for the Accenture Asian Networking Group (AANG) – it was slated to be our monthly event for us to get together in a social setting.

Over the Christmas holidays; as reports of the tsunami disaster got worse - and the need for action and funding became apparent, we decided to use our event as a means of raising funds for the tsunami relief effort from the AANG membership.

Shortly after Jan 1, the idea was proposed by Sherry Clayton (Manager-GACT) for all Diversity groups in the Chicago office to join together and plan a combined effort to support the victims of the tsunami disaster.  With the wine-tasting event already planned, it was suggested by Ankur G.(Consultant – Government) to scale the event to accommodate over 100 people.  All groups approved this idea, and in less than two weeks – with the efforts of six Diversity groups (Accenture Asian Networking Group (AANG), African-American Interest Group (AAIG), Chicago Hispanic-American Networking Group (CHANG), Chicago Metro Women’s Initiative (CMWI), GACT Women’s Networking Group (GACT - WNG), and the Gay & Lesbian Networking Group (G & L NG)) - the event was organized, publicized, and executed… 

This event was a success due to the combined effort of multiple people.  I would like to thank the following people and leadership for their encouragement and efforts in supporting this event:

Group Leaders/Volunteers

Sherry Clayton          Romita Ghanara          Sherita Woods

Carrie Martin             Steven Bailey              Martha Herrera

Bula Barua                Susan Gomez             Susan Medina

Leadership:

Jill Smart          Jay Saddler          Rich Chang          Shahid Ahmed

Raffle Prizes/Donations:

1-800 Flowers           AK Gourmet                Xerox

Distinctive Wines & Spirits

I'm proud to say that we raised a grand total of $4027 through our event... 

Once again, my sincere thanks to all -

Ankur 

I'm Back

Okay - after a long hiatus for no real reason other than I started doing other things...the blogging resumes with new commitment...

One promise I ask - keep the comments flowing - I thrive on comments, and feed of others' reactions...keep those up and running, and posts will keep coming... ;)

Word Life.

Song in my Head and Video in my Eye

Ever get that feeling when you're listening to certain songs on your iPod/CD player/stereo while you're doing something else, or feeling a certain way, and it's the perfect soundtrack for you at that moment?

It's one of the best feelings in the world...it happens about once a month or every 6 weeks for me - and at the silliest times - Today, I was walking in between buildings between meetings and it's about 26 degrees warm outside...got my fave car coat and turtleneck on, gloves, iPod for the walk, notebook, and 1.5 lbs lighter than when I left for Thanksgiving...

So in essence, today's "Current Song on my iPod" is The Ghost In You, by the Psychadelic Furs...I was smiling at something in my mind, the sun came out even though it was cold, feeling pretty good, walked past the Governor lighting Chicago's Christmas tree...thinking of my meeting in Columbus on Friday, my weekend plans, etc etc...

Honestly, it was one of those rare poignant moments where my current state of being could have been the script of the video...I can see Richard Butler watching me walk across LaSalle St. with his voice blaring in the background...nodding in approval for being able to interpret his song just the way he saw it whne he wrote it...He would have especially liked the squint in my eye and single eyebrow raise I did just for sex appeal...where's my digital camera when I need it? ;)

Rarely does a video enhance a song (I have never seen the video for Ghost, and don't want to, even though I found out you can see it online)...I can think of very few videos that elevate a song from "great" to "godlike", or at least maintain theit status quo of integrity...a few examples that come to mind are Heaven, by The Furs; Forgotten Years by Midnight Oil; Tomorrow, by Morrissey;  Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2 (from Red Rocks); One, by Metallica; and West End Girls by the Pet Shop Boys...

Honorable Mention: These Are Days, by 10,000 Maniacs; Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap by AC/DC (Live at Donnington); Linger/Dreams by The Cranberries; Freedom by George Michael; Wrapped Around Your Finger by The Police; Fortress Around Your Heart by Sting; and All Night Long by Lionel Richie (that's only because you spend the entire time looking for Michael "Boog-a-loo Shrimp" Chambers and Adolfo "Shabba-Doo" Quiones of Breakin' and Breakin 2- Electric Boogaloo fame - same as in I Feel for You by Chaka Khan).

Current Song on my iPod: Dress You Up by Madonna (no kidding)

And of course, we can go the other way - Videos that brought a song down from "godlike" to "great" - Suedehead by Morrissey, Limelight by Rush, In a Big Country by Big Country; any video by Journey except for "Only the Young" (theme from Vision Quest)

I am sure that I can direct videos much better that many of these hacks any damn way...

P.S. For the record, I have replayed "The Ghost in You" about 15 times this afternoon...:)

Thanks to the Giving, baby!

Home for a week...mom and dad came up to Chicago last weekend...went out with Michelle (My digital diva from Elimidate)to L8 for dinner and Japonais for a few drinks...

enjoyed food...enjoyed the fam...headed back to Chi...(you know the drill)

Right Here, Right Now on Nov.18th

Editor's note:  The "Right now on..." posts have been rebranded and renamed "Right Here, Right Now on...." - The board of directors on http://ankur.blogs.com has agreed to move into a different strategic direction with said blog, and decided to make the writings more "hip", "with-it" and "dope"...hence, we contacted image constant Mike Edwards of Jesus Jones, who came up with this brilliant idea...

Current iPod Track: Let Him Go - Beenie Man

Worst Hint at What They Want for Christmas: my Sister, Purva, who casually mentioned "I want an iPod - did you see the new U2 iPod that's coming out?  It has EVERY song ever made by U2 - 400 songs, including 25 unreleased tracks! - that's so cool!..

Why She'll Get It: 1) I'm Ank G, 2) She's my sis, 3) she just passed her Step 2 boards, 4) her birthday is Dec. 24th, we missed Rakhi and cele, and Christmas is coming..

Weekend Plans: Looking at condos on Sat, parents coming up, playing tennis with Jan, got an Accenture event Friday night...etc etc.etc...heading home Sunday and working from KY for the week...cooking turkey in a few days....

Right now on November 15, 2004

Editor's note:  I actually had 4 people ask me "where are your 'Right Now...' posts?'...flattery will get you pretty much anywhere...;)

Current Locale:  Conference room meeting, listening to other teams leads go back and forth...stuff I don't really need to know...

Latest Grooming Dilemma I Have:  Whether or not to grow my goatee back... Editor's note: your opinions are welcome

Last DVD I bought: The Young Ones - British offbeat comedy

Latest IM that explains why my Hands Smell Like Onions:

Ank G: my hands smell like onions
Ank G: last night I cooked a ton of masala so I could freeze it
Ank G: so I chopped like maybe 20 onions
Ank G: and I've taken 2 showers since then
politicaldesi: :-D
politicaldesi: ankur smells!
Ank G: seriously

Last song I downloaded: Strictly Business by EPMD

Latest Bit of Trivial Trivia I Have Absorbed and Will Never Forget:  The original band name for Pearl Jam was "Mookie Blaylock"

Last Girl I Called: Michelle

Last Girl Who Called Me Back: Mom

Last Song by Morrissey I Heard: "Will Never Marry" (is this some sort of fucking trend??...;)

What Song is Going Through My Head as I Type: "Hunger Strike" by Temple of the Dog

Next Trip: Going home on Sunday for a week...golf, tennis, working from home, Home cooking...Can't wait...

Last Movie I Saw: Cheaper by the Dozen

{at home now....10pm CST}

Current Song playing on VH1 Classics: Ozzy Osbourne - Bark at the Moon

Previous Destinations after work:  'Wildfire' restaurant for team dinner, came home and snuck in an hour and a half of tennis and now my blog...

Most hilarious article I've read in a while: My brother was featured in the local paper back home...his quotes are priceless..

Current video on VH1 Classics - Breaking the Law by Judas Priest (one of the BEST videos ever...)...Editor's note: I've dreamt of walking into my wedding to some of the most unconvential music ever...Priest is in the top 10, no doubt...;)

Next Purchase I'm Researching on the Internet to Buy: new Food Processer

Latest and Greatest Story From Last Weekend: This girl Rob and I started talking to at the bar told us she loves her cat and likes to parody songs in order to pay homage to her cat...we asked for a sample, and she belts out...."Hey! Teacher!...Leave those cats alone!"...(I can't make this shit up...)

I can feel Roger Waters cringing as I type...

Election Day in DC (while in a Morrissey mood)

(Like I said, I was in a Smiths/Morrissey mood...Ironic, because at his recent concert, he made clear his disdain for Bush...and, considering that Anna is part of this blog (yet again), the irony is sickening...Mozz fans, enjoy my attempt at cleverness....)

I'm writing about this now because it took me a week to quit Reeling Around the Fountain and to stop Oscillating Wildly after W took the election...I was in DC on Nov 1 and 2 for meetings, and stuck around for the election (2 blocks from the White House), since my company threw a big election party at the Willard hotel...and in the paragraphs that follow, I shall recount said feelings on that day...

My absentee ballot was filled out before I left...which was a good thing...I even took pictures of it in case my hardcore "civic duty" friends (Anna, Reshma, Nina, Jason, Ranika, Trey, and Jen) confronted me making sure I voted...I actually kept this picture in my phone for a few days just in case I ran into any of them....(I did)...

Let me first Paint A Vulgar Picture and get it out of the way...Went to work and was going to catch a 7pm flight from O'Hare (Ohm-Hari) airport...last time I flew, American Airlines damaged one of my bags pretty badly...I couldn't leave the bag there at that time, so they said I could bring it back within 30 days...fair enough....

So I'm carrying my laptop bag, my carry-on bag, and an empty rolling suitcase...I go to the baggage claim, and long story short, they said there was no record of my bag being reported damaged...I showed them the bag, showed them my American Airlines Platinum flyer card, showed them the baggage claim tags, etc...I asked for the supervisor, and they said they were busy, but would be here soon...sunufabeyatch...There's A Place In Hell For these kinds of people...

No supervisor for 10 minutes...I Stretch Out And Wait...15...I'm going Nowhere Fast...I tell the woman "I have 45 minutes until my flight, and it's 2 terminals away...!"...she calls again...says there is no answer...30 minutes until my flight...and no one...I write my name and AA Platinum number down for them so when they hear about it from Corporate, they know exactly who the hell I am...If I could, I'd put 'Maria' On The Guillotine...

I run to catch my flight (on United, thank God)...with 3 bags...I get to the United desk, ask them if I can check in an "empty" bag, and they say that it's too late to check a bag in on this flight...I knew they would say that, so I just asked her to throw the damn bag away...what else could I do?...so pissed...get to security, and have to ask people to let me cut in line since my flight is in 10 minutes...thankfully, they do...

I sprint (not run, sprint)...as I get through security, I hear "Final boarding call for flight 1146 to Washington Dulles..."...I made the flight with 6 minutes to spare...in my work clothes, soaking with sweat...Thank God that I have been running and was able to sprint without taking a break...

I sleep on the plane after I put the A/C on full blast to dry my shit off...

Land in Dulles at 9:30pm - and Mohini picks me up from the airport...so good to see her...we grew up together in Kentucky/Indiana...my sister away from my sister, I suppose :)...we head downtown to meet her/my sister and her boyfriend Victor at this lounge in Georgetown called Me and Yeun....very cool...had a few cocktails, then headed back to Mohini's place to crash...

Next day - I go work at Mohini's office...amusingly enough, Mohini, the self-titled "Punjabi Kudi"...started a new job where she manages about 80 IT professionals from India...given her penchant for all things Indian, I laugh at this "perfect" job for her...

Head back to DC that aft...take the Metro to my office downtown on Connecticut and H...I work there until 6, then head to my hotel to catch some election results and get ready for my party and to meet Anna...

Ah yes, Anna...the girl from Ipanema/Sacramento who just moved back to DC...known her for 15 months and never met until I called and invited her to come to the election party I was going to at the Willard hotel...finally meeting...I Knew It Would Happen Someday...just 2 blocks from the White House...I iron my shirt, shave, etc...I look in the mirror - I'm quite the Handsome Devil...;)

I forgot that I had to donate a toy to get in, and stopped by CVS to pick up something...they had nothing...I settled for crayons, markers, and some painting kits...

Anna says she'll meet me there, so I continue to walk there..the White House is surrounded by a fence spanning about 4 blocks...I go in and wait for her phone call...(she called and said she'd be 45 minutes late...)...I'm not worried about it...I'm at the Willard with a Gin in my hand...besides, she had to get ready, and Those Things Take Time...

She shows up - and This Charming Man finds it very easy/natural to say hi and meet her...strange...is that a good or bad thing?...she looks great, and we head to the party/bar....she asks for Johnny Walker and coke...I deliver...she downs it in under 10 seconds...she says she's nervous...Girl Afraid?  Well, I Wonder why?...She says that meeting me after 15 months, along with the election results starting to come in is making her Panic...

We get another few drinks...make the rounds of the tables full of food...trying to find something that Anna can eat (to her, Meat Is Murder)...the place is packed, lots of TV screens, lots of drink/food...I introduce her to Certain People I Know...damn good party...

Election votes roll in...Bush has won the redneck states, while Kerry wins in the metro areas...Anna has another drink...she then tells me she didn't eat all day...I'm no doctor, but that can't be good...

Midnight, and Anna tells me she has to go home...I Ask her to stay...she tells me that I Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby (*not really, but that line made me laugh)... I Ask if she is all right, and she says she needs to go Back To The Old House and be Asleep - too many drinks and not enough food...She asks me how can I not see that she's had enough...apparently, Yes I Am Blind; and apparently, at least for the evening, The Queen Is Dead...

She says she has a friend coming to pick her up, gets a phone call and bolts like cinderella...I'm semi-shocked, because I thought her to be the Girl Least Likely To...uh, bolt... but apparently if she didn't leave soon, I'd have to start introducing her as my Girlfriend In A Coma...

I call her Tomorrow, she says she is Still Ill with election results and Johnny Walker's revenge...she thinks it sucks that Kerry Lost, and that she's Seasick, Yet Still Docked...

I sleep and wake up - I Know It's Over...Bush wins by a mere few votes in a swing state...Such A Little Thing Made SUCH a Big Difference...I'm not a die-hard Kerry fan, but I can't stand that Bush is president..so, Little Man, What Now?...draft? national debt? more idiotic statements?

I go to work, meet with my friend Jay - a Sweet and Tender Hooligan (;)) -for lunch near both our offices, and plan on heading back on a 5pm flight...I was able to change it from Dulles to National, thank goodness...a $50 cab ride turned into a $2 metro...

What rekindled passion I had for civic duty pretty much transformed back into apathy...I mean, at least for the next 4 years, What Difference Does it Make, now that George Bush still in power...even Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now...even with a record turnout...we weren't able to Unite and Take over...amazing...I suppose in many ways, with the House, Senate and Oval Office all going to the Republicans...November definitely Did Spawn a Monster...

Only in America can the #1 issue for voters be "Moral Issues", yet we elect a person who has been a proven liar...in the words of Yaakov Smirnov...."Vat a country!"...Panic In the Streets of DC, no doubt...

Nevertheless, There Is A Light that never goes out...and that light is called 2008...

(PS...just wait until I'm in a Psychadelic Furs mood..;)

I Don't Think I've Ever Cried at Work...

...although there are times where I've looked at some of my peoples' work; and I probably should have...;)

scanning through my email...I check my newly minted gmail account and there is one email under "Spam"...I check it out wondering what "one" email is so bad that it got reverted to "Spam"....

so, here's the email....

This message is very dear and true to both Pia and I. As we started this journey, we never would have imagined the outpour of everyone’s commitment in making a difference for this cause and us. As we carefully educate individuals who want to make a difference in saving someone’s life by being a potential donor match, we hope that these individuals will also be committed and available to donate stem cells/bone marrow when called upon.

Well our dream has come true, Pia has a donor match.  Not just any match, but an identical match…it sounds too good to be true, but we defeated the odds against us.  You see our chance for a match was 1 in 20,000 to 1 in a 100,000.  Let alone 1 in a million for an identical match.  I would like to personally thank everyone of you for all your sacrifices you made over the last 14 weeks for our cause, let alone the sheer dedication commitment you’ve made to Pia and all the other patients that need HOPE to get them through to the next day.

There was an individual who once told me early on that “Don’t hold your breath, as you will never find a match.  You haven’t found one in two years, so why do you think you will find one now” said a certain NMDP representative.  Well, no hard feelings, but my reply today is “ You should get to know my community better, see what we see, feel what we feel”.

At matchpia.org, our strategy, was to launch a very effective campaign that can touch everyone emotionally, whether you are a male or a female, a Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian in our South Asian community.  It doesn’t matter anymore, as the barriers of religion, needed to be broken-down in order to save lives in our community. Now the only thing that matters, is the compassion for HUMANITY, and all our commitment to sustain it.

As we enter this next phase of treatment, we are very cautious, as we have only addressed 2 of the 4 essential steps of this journey (1. Find a donor, 2. Convince that donor to donate, 3. Survive the transplant, and 4. Post transplant survival), we have so far accomplished steps 1 and 2.

So, as we continue to thank you all, we would like to share two themes about our community that was so evident in our campaign.

1)      Total “act of kindness by strangers”…so many of you didn’t even know us or had a clue on what to do, and how to do it, but were kind enough to give us a chance to provide you an understanding of how to do a donor drive…you took a chance on us…complete strangers whom you did not know.
2)      The notion “If you educate Humanity, Humanity will rise to the occasion”…this campaign has demonstrated that once people were educated on what bone marrow is, and the process involved to save a LIFE…the choice is simple.

So what’s next, well Pia and I thought long and hard what to do, and we decided to continue our efforts with Matchpia.org, in bringing awareness on the importance of getting members of our South Asian Community tested.  You see, complete strangers took a chance on us, and we will continue to do the same for all the other 35 South Asian patients (I personally speak to about 8 of the families everyday).  As you view our website, you may have noticed that we have recruited 12, 442 donors, in 188 donor drives, in 83 cites, in 14 weeks…. according to the NMDP, that will facilitate 6 South Asian transplants a year for the next 10 years.

So we are so proud of each and everyone of you who joined our campaign, whether you volunteered for the day, spread the news to your friends and family or got tested at a drive…YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE for Pia and all the other 35 South Asian patients.

On a final, but a very important note, I would like to encourage everyone of you to join our efforts in enabling our campaign to continue, so far we have personally spent over $83, 846 to support the marketing efforts and donor drives for this campaign.  A few weeks ago, we have started the “South Asian Marrow Foundation Fund”, with the Marrow Foundation in Washington, DC.  Now anyone can contribute to this fund and get a charitable tax deduction (tax exempt # 41-1704734), as our fund is housed under the Marrow Foundation tax-exempt status.

The proceeds of the funds will enable us to conduct MORE donor drives in the South Asian Community, defray some of the additional tissue typing cost related to further testing for patients and some of the additional expenses in finding donor matches for South Asian patients.  Please help us to raise the funds we need to effectively continue this campaign (if you have a matching program at your employer for charitable contributions, please let your HR manager you want the funds to be matched to the “South Asian Marrow Foundation”).

Again, thank you so much for all your kind generosity, determination and sacrifices for the last 14 weeks.  All your efforts allowed Pia to get her “one in a million chance”, at a miracle.

Tim & Pia

Then I went to the website...read a few notes, started to smile, and decided to click on this.... 

And for some reason, I started crying...but the strange thing is...I rarely cry when I'm sad...mostly when I'm happy...it was so uplifting, and such a well presented video, that I just started tearing up...strangely enough, I was proud...felt good...and I didn't even *do* anything...I guess I just was just 'emotioning' vicariously through whoever the hero was that stepped up and agreed to be tested...

Not to mention that Pia is an immediate inspiration to anyone who meets her...virtually or in person, I am sure...my heart goes out to all families who have to overcome these types of obstacles in their lives...

A great email, great story...I remember signing up on their website some weeks ago...I plan on getting tested at my mom's office when I go home for Thanksgiving - maybe for someone else down the road, I too, can be a hero...and all of YOU should try and get tested to potentially be a hero to someone else...

...what an empowering feeling that must be - to be able to save someone's life...

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

- Margaret Mead

and with that...back to life...back to reality....(meeting in 3 minutes)