Running For The Cure

Happy birthday to my music partner and friend, Allison! Do drop by the virtual birthday party and say hello. Party ends at MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. Because of the Viva strike (and because I'm still sick :-\ ), we weren't able to get together last night for our Urban Tapestry birthday bash and rehearsal.

We also rehearsed virtually as well, exchanging e-mails and soundfiles -- we ended up successfully figuring out a three-part arrangement to "Running For The Cure," our new song. I've enclosed the lyrics below.

We have other songs as well; how many we sing will depend on how much time we have. Learning from our experience at Relay For Life a few years back, we purposely chose songs that were upbeat and catchy; people will likely be milling about in Nathan Phillips Square after the run. Hopefully we may even get a few people dancing. :-)

I wrote the chorus first, based on my experience with the Run for the Cure. It's always inspirational, seeing how many people participate, and in so many ways. Some people run, some walk, some push strollers, and some are in wheelchairs. You'll see people dancing, singing, and holding hands -- it's an amazing feeling, being in the midst of it all, knowing that you're part of a greater effort striving for a worthy cause.

If you're planning to attend the event and are at the main stage when we sing this song, feel free to sing along on the chorus. We're scheduled to perform from 10:43-11 a.m. in Nathan Phillips Square at the CIBC Run For The Cure this coming Sunday.

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RUNNING FOR THE CURE
By Debbie Ridpath Ohi
For performance by Urban Tapestry at the
2008 CIBC Run For The Cure

CHORUS:
Gonna run, gonna walk, gonna roll
Gonna dance, gonna sing for the cure
Gonna cry, gonna laugh, gonna stroll
gonna find some hope and Run For The Cure.

It began in '92, small candle flame
burning bright
Years pass, that flame grows stronger still
Fire in the night.

CHORUS

We run for our mothers
sisters and aunts, and daughters dear
We run for friends we haven't met
There are no strangers here.

CHORUS

Breast cancer affects us all, we'll
never give up, we will fight it
Runners, walkers, volunteers
Canadians united.

CHORUS (twice)

Viva bus strikes, cancelled practices and birthdays

Sigh. It doesn't look as if the Viva strike is going to end soon. Which means that Allison, Jodi and I aren't going to be able to get together to practice for our gig at the CIBC Run For The Cure. Which means that we'll be performing our new song, "Running For The Cure," without having had a chance to practice the whole thing together beforehand.

Instead, we're going to be doing a lot of e-mailing and exchanging of e-mails and sound files over the next couple of days. In terms of timing, the strike couldn't have happened in a worse week for Urban Tapestry -- we were going to get together tonight for a practice, Allison and I were going to get together to celebrate her birthday tomorrow (I might brave the YRT crowds/delays anyway), and Allison and Jodi have to get to Nathan Phillips Square on Sunday morning without Viva.

Hopefully the strike will end soon. :-\

On a cheerier note, Allison was recently inviting people to post favourite birthday pics in her LJ. Here's one I dug up from the UT archives:



Heh.

Anyway, do drop by the Virtual Birthday Party when you have a chance!

Chocolate and birthdays

Will Write For Chocolate has been updated (click the image above to see a bigger version). And a happy birthday to my music partner, Jodi! You're all invited to a virtual birthday party that I'm hosting for Jodi, Allison and our friend John Hall.



Still feeling somewhat ugh-y but not as bad as yesterday; I slept much of yesterday, which helped. Today I can't sleep -- too much to do, plus we still have outdoor renovations going on as well as a seasonal visit from our air conditioner / humidifier maintenance company.

Thanks so much for all the gardening advice, everyone!

Comic: The Helpful Writing Assistant

Just posted this on Inkygirl. If this cartoon reminds you of someone who might appreciate it, feel free to order the card at my Cafepress store.

How I'm Feeling Right Now

As I was revelling yesterday about my first full uninterrupted day of work in a long while, I started to feel a bit off. Off as in dwarves in cleat boots rampaging down my throat and stuffing cotton in my ears. Blech.

Funny how getting sick when we were little kids was almost (I said almost) fun because you got to stay home from school. As grown-ups, we do everything we can to avoid it. And I -really- don't want this bug right now because there are way too many things I have to do this week. Sigh.

As crummy as I feel, however, I'm still going to register for the Canadian No Call list (or call 1-866-580-DNCL(3625)), which launches today!