Dear friends, Even though I knew, when I agreed to participate in Blogathon, that I would not be in any shape to write my regular meandering prose, I had figured I would at least have a few words in my pocket, all about the bonding and the hilarity and the 3 a.m. existentialism coupled with a creeping sense of panic that the next 1/2 hour deadline was coming up. Well, here we are at the end of Blogathon 2005, and all I can say is this: We did it. More than 200 of us stayed up all night and raised almost $55,500 in pledges. Here are the last PTMYB stat counts for this year's Blogathon: I have raised $505.00 for Windows of Hope Family Relief Fund. Bunni has raised $230.00 for the American Heart Association. Eric has raised $1,660.00 for Midlands Fair Haven. The John Spencer Estrogen Brigade has raised $605.00 for AIDS Walk Los Angeles's Team Spencer Congratulations to my fellow insomniacs. Thank you to our wonderful and generous sponsors. What a brilliant day and night we had.
Just in case you were keen to see just what an allnighter can do a body...you know, as a cautionary tale. Kids, don't be like the Bakerina. (Don't worry; it's much cleaner than the previous quote, and it was just what I needed at the end of my fourth cold shower in a 10-hour period. Remember, we dancing girls are honor-bound to keep on dancing. (tilts cap in general direction to the lovely Bunni, who did an absolutely, positively brilliant job on her posts, and an even better job, if such a thing were possible, at keeping me awake and cheerful) Oh, dear friends, The passage of time, in and of itself, is not all that remarkable; after all, it happens every day. (Saying that makes me feel like Yogi Berra, for some reason.) But there's something about being awake all night, and something else about being awake and writing all night, that makes the cycle of a day really, really neat. Our friends who went to bed hours ago are waking up and saying hi; our friends who kept company with us in our overnight hours are going to bed. Again, it's not particularly mystical, but somehow I find it so soothing, so comforting, that even the caterwauling of 1991-era Mariah Carey doesn't fill me with my regular murderous rage. In my placid new frame of mind, Mariah is free to caterwaul at will. 45 posts down. 3 to go. There is much to recommend in Blogathon. There is the doing of good works for charity. There is the meeting of new friends. There is the witty banter back and forth between old friends. There is the Hour 20 moment, when you can't begin to imagine how you're going to have eight more posts' worth of things to say. There are notes to compare on just how cold to make those showers. As my old sweetheart Ben Katz said, "These are good things." So I hope that I'm not being too shallow when I say that as of 6:30 (edt) this morning, the most rewarding moment of Blogathon was discovering that there was still 3/4 of a freshly baked focaccia in the bread box, the last few spoonsful of Greek yogurt in the fridge, and a blood-red beefsteak tomato from the landlord's garden on the kitchen table. I am officially fortified enough to get back into the shower, and I think the shower will be fortifying enought that I can put the rest of the Red Bull away. I am happier right now than I ever would have thought possible.
Category: Blogathon 2005! Woohooooo!
August 07, 2005