Last week I stood in line and got my seasonal flu shot. Today I stood in an even longer line in order to get an H1N1 vaccination. If it means I avoid the worst of the upcoming flu season I think it’ll be more then worth the minor inconvenience.

Now, if only I could have avoided my current sinus cold. Blech!

I can’t speak for anyone else but I went from being an occasional twitter user to a frequent user while attending an education conference last fall. I mostly follow fellow educators (& my fave authors) and the continual sharing of ideas, research links, tips & tricks, etc. From a world wide group of professionals is amazing.

I’ve also found I’m more active in my local community & with charitable organizations through exposure via twitter to locally based users. Things I didn’t know existed because they were not included on local news or in the paper until after the event was over.

Twitter has been used to raise funds and awareness for a number of causes. Twestival worldwide supported the charity ‘Water’. In Sept an additional Twestival will be held to support local charities in sponsoring communities. An offer from one user to make a donation to @kidsneedtoread ended in a small challenge that raised 800$ for the cause. #tweetsgiving & #tweetluck raised thousands to build and equip a school in Tanzania.

The real power (or lack) of twitter is in how each individual chooses to use it. Who they choose to follow. What they choose to write. Who they interact with & how often. Aside from the usual rants about spam, there’s no right or wrong way to use twitter. Nor can I say my chosen manner of use is any more valuable than anyone else’s.

I do think it’s a fabulous and powerful tool; one I enjoy using daily.

Do you tweet? Why or why not?

Or, “why I’m not voting for the Edm. Foodbank and Humane Societies in the current poll”.

It’s always hard trying to determine which charities to support and to what degree. Especially in times of economic uncertainty. Every dollar counts and is often desperately needed – not only by the charities but occasionally by the donors themselves.

The Edmonton Twitter community participated in a world-wide charity fundraiser, Twestival, earlier this year.  In September #yeg tweeps will be participating in another Twestival related event. This time the intent is to raise funds for a local charity.  What that in mind, organizers are holding a poll to determine which local charity to support.

Two of the charities in the top three are ones that have been heavily supported by #yeg tweeps and general public in the past (Edmonton Foodbank & Edmonton Humane Society) so I’m going to do something completely out of character for me. I’m asking people to consider voting for one of the other charities listed in the poll.

I know that both the the Edmonton Foodbank and Humane Society are excellent charities. Both Drew and I are firm supporters of their causes. That said, the Foodbank just wrapped up a major fundraising campaign during the Heritage Festival and has benefited from lots of #yeg tweep food donation challenges (multiple ongoing challenges started by @sirthinks and @fusedlogic) in the past. The Humane Society is the intended beneficiary of funds raised at the Aug 14 #yegsafetymtg and birthday bash (hosted and organized by @Out_Inc).

So, despite knowing these two charities have ongoing needs, I’d like to see the #yeg Twitter community support a different charity for the local Twestival. There are a number of homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and other community organizations that are in desperate need as well. They provide much needed services to thousands in our city. Many appear on the list of suggested charities to support on the poll.

Just something to consider when you’re clicking on the button to vote. And, if you need to assuage your guilt over not supporting the foodbank or humane society as the local Twestival charity of choice in Sept 2009, I recommend making a personal donation to either (or both) of these causes as soon as possible.

Note: voting ends Aug. 17

Not too much new going on here of late. Still swamped with school assignments and papers and watching the back yard being torn to pieces. Hopefully it’ll stop looking like a bomb went off in the yard at the moment. Hoping to see some progress by the end of the month. That said, the yard looks miles better today compared to last weekend. The giant piles of dirt and concrete have been removed and shipped off to where ever that stuff goes.

Mom headed home on Tuesday and can now be found on Facebook. Feel free to look her up if you know how to find her. I’m sure she’d like more “friends” than just myself and Drew’s mom.

Looking forward to our upcoming vacation down south but dreading the arrival of our departure week. I have to write both my Stats & Exp. Psych exams on the Monday of that week. I’ll definitely have earned my vacation after surviving the day.

Remember those lazy, hazy, crazy long days of childhood summer where you ran around the neighbourhood for months on end, eventually complaining of being bored? I miss those days.

I’m not sure when the shift from child to adult happened but all of a sudden I’m watching years whiz by and each New Year’s Day seems to come around quicker than the last. I blinked and a decade past! How could that happen?

These past few weeks have seen my injured mum land for a visit, Drew tearing down the decks in the backyard and chopping tree branches in front of the house, and my nose buried in books as I attempt to finish off my papers in the final weeks of the semester. Two weeks has just flown by and I don’t recall much happening. Like my 20s, I blinked and it was over.

This afternoon I find myself longing for those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer again. I wonder if and when we’ll slow down enough to experience the passage of time in the same way. I have a horrible feeling it won’t happen until 2016 or later.  I’m not sure my desire to return to childhood wonder will last that long.