A tremendous honor

I spoke briefly at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society dinner last night, and it was such an honor to find myself there right before the 2-year anniversary of my Mom's diagnosis with NHL (Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma). As I prepped my speech, I was getting a little teary-eyed at home, so I was quite thankful to be semi-bumped in the speaking lineup by a major contributor. I did, however, get to share the news that leukemia 5-year survival rates have gone up from 5% in 1960 to over 85% now. That's quite breathtaking. The event was a huge success, thanks to the hard work of Kisha Aschoe and her team -- and I was honored to be a part of it.

Joe and I spent most of our time there browsing the auction items -- tickets to the Somerset Patriots, a signed Jets football, dinner at Mohegan Sun in CT, and a phenomenal collection of additional sports tickets and event passes. The highlight of the collection, as evidenced by the milling crowd and the lurking teenagers, was a cute little puffball hamster in the corner. He was the hit of the auction. And guess where he is now? That's right...I won him for Joe. Butters Kong is now living in my boyfriend's house, after a ride home in a limousine last night. That's one lucky hamster.

Our other prizes: tickets to the racetrack clubhouse and dinner for 2 at Rain in Mohegan Sun. I was truly hoping for the 4 box seats to the Somerset Patriots game, but I blame the diabolical person who switched the ticket buckets. There's a foul ball headed right for your noggin, buddy. Karma. Who would think to switch auction ticket buckets at a fundraiser for Leukemia and Lymphoma? Seriously...

Today's all business, ending with my satellite radio tour training and practice interview. The real back-to-back interviews happen bright and early tomorrow morning, which is going to be a blast. So I'm all coffee'd up and ready to get into my day, but first will go for a long walk around the lake to burn off all that terrific food from last night. Fried mozzarella, custard cups, burrito, brownies...mmmmmm.