Hobart, how I love thee...

So...yeah I've officially fallen head over heels for Hobart. It was like someone blended the best bits of Germany, England and Australia and crammed them onto an island with every possible eco-system. Incredible.

On the first day, we flew in over the countryside with the most fantastic view. It's all coves and bays and rolling hills. After checking into our hotel, my brother, photographer Torsten Baumann (of www.b551.com fame) and I did a walk around the centre of the city. I was struck by the architecture ...and the bitterly cold wind! But mostly the architecture, which wasn't difficult to spot as we had to stop every 5 minutes to take photos.

Brisbane has always had a habit of destroying things with a bit of history. Anything interesting and beautiful is torn down to make way for a few more yuppie shops and apartments. Or historical buildings are left to decay until they are no longer salvageable. The people of Bris rally against this kind of insensitivity to historical beauty but it is often to no avail.

So, to walk about a town where the architecture is so eclectic is incredible. Old stone, London style terraced, mock Tudor, cottage, mixed with 60s and modern buildings. But all different. The fact that the city is built on a big slope adds to the visual charm.

Friday night was dinner with the girls at Rain Check Lounge. The girls, and by that I mean the beautiful and talented ladies of Miss Kitty's Meow (headed up by Grace Cherry) made me feel right at home. The restaurant, by the way, was a great Tapas place. Mixed crowd, very relaxed, professional service, interesting (in a good way) decor and fantastic food.

Anyway, aside from the giggling at blown up classified ads of the 'Busty Blonde. Very Friendly' sort that decorated the restaurant walls the girls got me up to speed with a little shop talk about the impending show. When we finally faced the icy cold wind to head off to bed and I felt completely assured that it was going to run brilliantly.

I also learnt (with some jealousy) that Tigerlily's boyfriend is a chef. The girl has the down-low on every eating spot worth visiting! Plus, Torsten found a place called Pretzel World when he popped out for a fag, which pretty much sealed the deal on my opinion of Hobart.

So, we bundled into Tigerlily's car for the trip to Franklin. Thankfully, Grace Cherry had taken my costumes and props the night before so I only had a pile of make-up and hair bits and bobs to cram in the boot.

This trip was to be our only opportunity to see some of the Tasmanian countryside and the trip to Franklin was absolutely beautiful. When we arrived at the Palais Theatre there was a mist rolling in from the hills our enormous dressing room overlooked the River. One other highlight was finding out that Chicken Feed is the place to get glue on crystals and Lady GaGa Cds. Thanks girls!

The usual preparations ensued, hair dramas, eyelash fixing, make up applying, etc, etc. Meeting all the other performers was wonderful and it was a real variety show. We had a magician, Bob Buchanan for an MC, Lucy Sky Diamond on aerials, Sarah Muir on pole, tango dancers, cabaret performer, all the girls of Miss Kitty's Meow including Tigerlily and Grace Cherry plus Scarlett Jezabel and the bestest stage manager this side of the equator!

Considering the stage was slightly raked, I was concerned as when I did a sound check and run through earlier in the night, it was tilted enough to put me off balance. That, and my dress fell off. Which I appreciate is the point of the act but only when I've carefully timed it. So I was a little nervous going out for my first act. I needn't have worried. The show went perfectly. And I mean perfectly, which never happens! Usually you come off stage thinking, 'I could have done that move better,' or something of the sort but I was so happy with both acts and was on a complete high when I dashed into the wings to put my dressing gown on (a very pretty one mind you!) for final bows.

I was also lucky enough to be waiting in the wings for my final act when I was able to watch Scarlett and Grace do their duet fan dance. Fan-bloody-tastic. I know, groan, pardon the pun, but it was. The colour, the grace, the cheekiness. I just loved it.

Other highlights for me were Tigerlily's bubble act which was absolutely adorable with an excellent use of props and Lucy Sky Diamond with her trapeze act. She has inspired me to finally commit to creating a trapeze performance of my own, what a girl!

Torsten of course, was snapping away. I've also popped a couple of pics up on my Facebook fan page and others are visible at his blog, including a few lovely architectural shots of the theatre.

So feeling somewhat elated we all bundled back into Tigerlily's car for the scary ride home. That beautiful mist from earlier had turned into a fog so thick we had to crawl at 40km the whole way home. Some crazy cab driver shot past us like a bat out of hell while we were on one of the most impossibly thick spots where we couldn't even see where the sides of the road or lanes were. I don't know if he had x-ray vision or something.

Later, we found out that Grace Cherry's cab driver was also driving like a maniac all the way back to Hobart. Seriously people, if you are paying for it, you have a right to tell them to slow down. Not a fun way to end a night thinking you might die at the hands of a kamikaze driver.

Anyway, a brief mar on an otherwise perfect evening.

I absolutely collapsed into bed with an enormous sense of well being and looking forward very much to a sleep in!

Talking Metastatic Breast Cancer

Here is a two and half minute video where Lori Baur shares her journey with metastatic breast cancer.

So Exhausted from the Ottawa Trip

Pooped, tired, worn-out, drained, beat, bushed, dog-tired, fatigued … I think that pretty well describes how I’ve been feeling these past few days. My Ottawa trip plain old wore me out. I thought I’d be able to handle all I had to do over there a bit better but apparently not. For now, my days of gallivanting across the country are over.

I was so tired these past few days that I felt nauseous and head achy. Emotionally … I could cry at the drop of a hat. I was plain old beside myself. I even started checking my temperature thinking something might be wrong.

Today I’m feeling quite a bit better. Even my sleep schedule is back on track. I’ve been having afternoon naps to top things up. I actually pulled out my trusty Benadryl before bed the last couple of nights because I’m coughing and wheezing when I lay down to sleep. I think some of my fatigue is partly my system fighting off the fall allergies.

Long story short, I’m no longer feeling like such a schmata.

The Proclamation Ceremony at City Hall

Wednesday was going to be another exciting day. We all met at City Hall to watch the proclamation ceremony ... to see Larry O’Brien, Mayor of Ottawa, proclaim October 13 as Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day. 

As we were sitting around chatting and waiting for the meeting to start, the Mayor came around to chat and shake hands with some of the visitors. That was very cool because I was one of them.

So this is what was appeared in the City Council Updates for October 6th …

October 13 is Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day

Mayor Larry O’Brien today declared October 13, 2010 as Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day in the City of Ottawa. The Mayor presented Ms. Dianne Hartling, Treasurer of the Canadian Breast Cancer Network, with a framed proclamation.

In metastatic breast cancer, also known as advanced, secondary or Stage IV breast cancer, cancerous cells spread to areas of the body other than where the cancer first formed, often with increased severity. Breast cancer cells can spread to almost any part of the body but most commonly to the bones. Other common sites include the lungs, liver, brain and skin. The new cancer is called a metastasis.

The Canadian Breast Cancer Network, which advocates for the improvement of services and access to optimal care for breast cancer patients, is the national link between all groups and individuals concerned about breast cancer. It is the only national survivor-driven and survivor-focused breast cancer organization in Canada with more than 225 partner and member groups across the country.

Ms. Hartling, a longtime committed volunteer for breast cancer causes, is a breast cancer survivor.

My Day on Parliament Hill

Last Tuesday morning, just after 7, the cab dropped us off on the street. No commercial or private vehicles are allowed in front of the parliament grounds. As we walked up to the main building, I remember thinking this was an awesome site. It was so quiet and serene this early in the morning. Once we found the proper entrance, we got our security passes and found our room, 256-S Centre Block of Parliament Hill. Cool huh!

The rest of the day all happened pretty fast. I was being introduced to different people and I was doing my best to get as much information out about metastatic breast cancer as I could. The message was to raise awareness of metastatic breast cancer, to increase support and information and to have timely access to drugs to treatment. It was a lot of information to get across to each person in a very short amount of time.

Then we were called to sit down for VIP speeches and then for the remainder of our time, I was introduced to more parliamentarians and more sharing of my story. Before I knew it, it was all over … well not quite, we were given a complete tour of Parliament Hill. It was all very exciting. A photographer from the Canadian Breast Cancer Network took pictures of us on our tour. These pics will be posted on their website in a week or so. That is a good thing, because it all happened so fast, I can hardly remember the name of one person I met or one thing I saw.

At the end of it all, a cab took me back to my hotel room for a short rest and then it was a phone interview from a reporter from the Hill Times, a weekly news paper from Parliament Hill.

I was starting to feel the effects of the busy day and fatigue was setting in. I tried my best to get to bed early but all the excitement left me too pumped to sleep. Fortunately, the next day was a later start. More on that tomorrow.

Here a few pics taken with my smartphone ...

Trek for Treatment Eric Drew Foundation

Sunday October 3rd was the fourth annual Trek for Treatment. The Trek is put on by the Eric Drew Foundation which is dedicated to helping seriously ill patients and their families find clinical trials, teaches them to advocate for them selves and deal with the insurance maze, just to name a few of the areas that the Foundation is involved in. Please take a minute to read about Eric Drew's journey and the wonderful services the Foundation provides www.drewfoundation.org.
Confident Clothing was honored to have a booth at the Trek for Treatment information fair along with the March of Dimes and other organization that help people with a variety of medical conditions.

The CBCN Metastatic BC Awareness Day Kickoff in Ottawa

I landed in Ottawa Monday afternoon, which gave me a  good while to rest up before our supper meeting that night. There were about ten of us including staff and volunteers from the Canadian Breast Cancer Network. It was so nice to spend some time to get to know each other before our meetings with senators and members of parliament the next day. Alice, a 2-year metastatic bc survivor spent most of the day getting chemo and was not able meet with us.

The ladies from the Canadian Breast Cancer Network talked about the many things they do as a national bc organization. Not only do they promote education and awareness but they act as link between all groups and individuals concerned with bc. After supper, a couple of us shared our stories of METS survival. We talked about support at home, husbands and children and blogging, how we changed and how bc changed us. We also talked about the support we receive from friends and extended family. And of course we talked about our past … before bc, including remission and family and careers.

Along with telling our individual stories to parliamentarians and media the next day, we were given key points to help keep the CBCN message consistent. Very professional.

I wish we had more time to talk but I was getting tired and the next day was an early start; we had to be on Parliament Hill at 7:00.