See, there's this guy...

Specifically, THIS guy.

That's David. He's my best friend, the one I run to when things just suck or when I need a kick in the ass or a shoulder to cry on or just someone to tolerate my occasionally aimless ramblings. He does them all, and does them all pretty well. I'm a lucky girl, to have him for a friend.

[ That pretty girl, on whose lap he's getting all snuggly? Our friend Z, who did something incredibly cool for the NKF last year...but I'll tell you about that later. ]

So, yeah, David. What does he have to do with this whole blogging thing?

Just about a year and a half ago, he tried to give blood at work for a blood drive, and got turned away because he was quite anemic. He was puzzled by that, and went to the doctor to see what was up. After a ton of tests and a kidney biopsy that scared the hell out of ME (and I wasn't even the one getting stuck!), we learned that he has Alport Syndrome, a chronic degenerative kidney disorder. (Yeah, you should probably go have a look at those pages. It's OK. I'm not going anywhere.) Some time in the probably near future, he's going to need a kidney transplant.

Scary, innit?

I know the doctors and researchers are working their patooties off to try to find a cure for Alport Syndrome. I want to give them a hand, so I'm blogging for The National Kidney Foundation.

If staying up all day and night and rambling like a damned fool at whoever drops out of the ether will make a difference in helping to find David's cure, you can color me all over that action.

Please join me on August 6th, starting at 9AM, for Blogathon 2005 - 24 hours of posting madness for charity. Here you'll find stories, music, recipes and food rambling, and there will be a game for my sponsors. Scattered throughout the blog will be music references - either titles or lyric snippets. If it's a song title, identify the artist. If it's a lyric snippet, identify the song and the artist. The three of my sponsors who identify the most will each receive a one pound box of handmade truffles.

Sponsors who pledge $5 or more to the NKF through the Blogathon 2005 link will be listed/linked in the nifty cool sponsors section.

Stay tuned.

Blogathon 2005 - Saturday, August 6th - 9AM EDT