Volunteering.

The lack of posting new entries has been it's been a crazy two weeks in here in Vancouver as the Olympics are coming to an end on sunday.
We're currently in 4th place for metals, but more importantly, the men's hockey team beat Russia 7-3, and what a game!!! woot! Go Canada Go! 

This past week I volunteered for two things, both which I find important. 
I've never been much of one to volunteer, and although I like the idea of it and being part/giving back to my community, there hasnt been anything I'm passionate about, until now.

UBC Hospital and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute are proforming a research study on women between the ages of 35-50 who have night sweats. Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research.
Perimenopausal Night Sweats Study

The primary aim of the study is to determine the feasibility of a potential future randomized control trial of progesterone therapy in perimenopause, and to estimate the number of women who would be needed for that study, as well as to examine whether cyclic hormonal changes affect perimenopausal night sweats.
This is a great opportunity to learn more about yourself and help us understand night sweats in women aged 35-50 who still have regular periods.
This UBC study is observational (no study medications), and takes 4 menstrual cycles.


Who can participate?
You may be eligible for the study if you are a woman who:
Is between age 35 and 50
Had menstrual periods no more than 60 days apart in the past year
Is not taking hormone therapy or birth control
Has night sweats (hot flushes during sleep time)

I'm eligible to apply for this study. (even with being on snythroid- hormone therapy) I spoke via email with the doctor & reseach assistant who is screening potentional clients. However there is one glitch, I'm not currently having night sweats and when I have in the past, they are not as regular as 5 per menstrual cycle. 

When this doctor asked why I wanted to participate, the answer wasnt anything I had to think about. 

"It's women's health.  If I can be part of a solution that will help women breeze through perimenopause and help prevent cancer related issues based on treatment found now, why wouldn't anyone want to be part of that?  I have 3 older sisters, sister in-laws, cousins, aunts, etc, friends mum's who have been affected by the HRT and wouldnt have taken it if more studies and alternative options had been available.  I have nieces, great nieces, 2nd and 3rd cousins who will still go through this process."

She was pleased with my reply and asked if she could contact me for future studies on women's health.
Obviously, I said OF COURSE! and wished them well on this particular case study.

The other volunteer position is more local and a personal interest for me.
When I was younger I worked for the land title office in the city, and found a nak for the historical searches which most founf to be tedious and boring. I LOVED IT! To touch original pictures, original blue prints of road construction designs, and the property books half written in old english and latin as to when a piece of property was bought directly from the crown. That's old shit.  To actually touch history.

Recently an old friend had mentioned all the things in the city she hasnt experienced. One of them was the Irving House. Built in 1865 at the time when New Westminster was the Capital of BC and we were developing and excelling as one of several port cities.

So much of Vancouver and surrounding cities have lost much of their history, which is really sad, cos we had so much of it. The current government doesnt seem to care about restoring, preserving, and educating the public and school systems, they seem to care about supply and demand with the developers salavating at large properites to build up and congest the city more than preserve what holds so much of our past.

When looking at the site, I learned about a few volunteer positions, and applied.
I applied for an assistant curator/research assistant position with the Museum & Archives.
This position is volunteer and only 2-3 hours a week, although I put I was available 2-10 a week.
Ultimately this would be a dream job if it was a paying gig. 
If I get the position, I will be part of restoring and preserving the history of the community, and surrounding cities I grew up in. Educating the public and school system about the remaining history they probably walk by everyday and have no idea. 

Thanks to my Cousin David who is currently living in Dubai for the last 10 years, was the one who initally got me interested in history. He's travelled a lot for a living and always made sure he knew as much as he could about the history of whatever town, country etc he was living in.  Years later I ended up working in the LTO with all this to my immediate access.. I was in love.

That has been my week. What have my lovely readers been up too?

WE ARE MORE - Canadian 2010 Olympic Poem - Opening Ceremonies

If you were unable to watch the Olympic 2010 open ceremories being held INSIDE BC Place in Vancouver.
Please do yourself a favour and find a link.

They (IOC & Vanoc) were able to do so much more in the way of entertainment, cos they had the luxury of practicing the ceremonies indoors, in private.  The first Olympic opening ceremonies to be held indoors, ever!
And what a show. .... Skip the first 30 mins it takes for all the athletes to walk in and take their places.

The IOC had a full minute of silence to honour Norad, the Luger from Georgia who lost his life on connor 16, during practices up in Whistler the day before. It was the most heart wrenching monent, 60,000 people, and you could hear a pin drop. If you were unfortunate to see the 10 second clip on the news, or youtube before it was pulled, consider youself very lucky. No one needs to see his death being aired.  It's an imagine I wont soon forget. My heart, prayers and condolences go out to his team mates who found the courage to more forward, his family, and friends who couldnt be here with him.  Our government flew him home yesterday.

My favorite part of the ceremonies was the poem by Shane Koyczan.
Copy and past this link.  Where ever you are from this is an awe inspiring poem, and he delivered it!
http://surveys.canada.travel/ca/en_ca/media/en_ca/demo.mp3 (no video, mp3 only)

I've attached the poem below for your viewing, although it doesnt do the live version remote justice.
Enjoy.

When defining Canada

you might list some statistics
you might mention our tallest building
or biggest lake

you might shake a tree in the fall
and call a red leaf Canada
you might rattle off some celebrities
might mention Buffy Sainte-Marie
might even mention the fact that we've got a few
Barenaked Ladies

or that we made these crazy things
like zippers
electric cars
and washing machines
when defining Canada
it seems the world's anthem has been
"been there, done that"
and maybe that's where we used to be at

it's true
we've done and we've been
we've seen all the great themes get swallowed up by the machine
and turned into theme parks

but when defining Canada
don't forget to mention that we have set sparks
we are not just fishing stories
about the one that got away

we do more than sit around and say "eh?"
and yes we are the home of the Rocket and the Great One
who inspired little number nines
and little number ninety-nines

but we're more than just hockey and fishing lines
off of the rocky coast of the Maritimes
some say what defines us
is something as simple as "please" and "thank you"
and as for "you're welcome"
well, we say that too

but we are more than genteel or civilized
we are an idea in the process
of being realized we are young

we are cultures strung together
then woven into a tapestry
and the design is what makes us more
than the sum total of our history

we are an experiment going right for a change
with influences that range from a to zed
and yes we say "zed" instead of "zee"

we are the colours of Chinatown and the coffee of Little Italy
we dream so big that there are those
who would call our ambition an industry

because we are more than sticky maple syrup and clean snow
we do more than grow wheat and brew beer
we are vineyards of good year after good year
we reforest what we clear
because we believe in generations beyond our own

knowing now that so many of us
have grown past what used to be
we can stand here today
filled with all the hope people have

when they say things like "someday"
someday we'll be great
someday we'll be this or that
someday we'll be at a point
when someday was yesterday
and all of our aspirations will pay the way
for those who on that day
look towards tomorrow
and still they say "someday"

we will reach the goals we set
and we will get interest on our inspiration
because we are more than a nation of whale watchers and lumberjacks
more than backpacks and hiking trails

we are hammers and nails building bridges
towards those who are willing to walk across
we are the lost-and-found for all those who might find themselves at a loss
we are not the see-through gloss or glamour
of those who clamour for the failings of others

we are fathers, brothers, sisters, and mothers
uncles and nephews, aunts and nieces
we are cousins
we are found missing puzzle pieces
we are families with room at the table for newcomers

we are more than summers and winters
more than on and off seasons
we are the reasons people have for wanting to stay
because we are more than what we say or do
we live to get past what we go through
and learn who we are

we are students
students who study the studiousness of studying
so we know what, as well as why
we don't have all the answers
but we try
and the effort is what makes us more

we don't all know what it is in life we're looking for
so keep exploring
go far and wide
or go inside but go deep
go deep as if James Cameron was filming a sequel to The Abyss
and suddenly there was this location scout trying to figure some way out
to get inside you because you've been through hell and high water
and you went deep

keep exploring
because we are more
than a laundry list of things to do and places to see
we are more than hills to ski
or countryside ponds to skate

we are the abandoned hesitation of all those who can't wait
we are first-rate greasy-spoon diners and healthy-living cafes
a country that is all the ways you choose to live
a land that can give you variety
because we are choices

we are millions upon millions of voices shouting
"keep exploring... we are more"
we are the surprise the world has in store for you

it's true
Canada is the "what" in "what's new?"
so don't say "been there, done that"
unless you've sat on the sidewalk
while chalk artists draw still lifes
on the concrete of a kid in the street
beat boxing to Neil Young for fun

don't say you've been there, done that
unless you've been here, doing it
let this country be your first-aid kit
for all the times you get sick of the same old same old

let us be the story told to your friends
and when that story ends
leave chapters for the next time you'll come back

next time pack for all the things
you didn't pack for the first time
but don't let your luggage define your travels
each life unravels differently
and experiences are what make up
the colours of our tapestry

we are the True North strong and free
and what's more
is that we didn't just say it

we made it be.