Yeah, Baby!

Once again….. I am soooo tired. I’ve been averaging 4 hours of sleep a night over the last couple of weeks. There’s no time for anything, not even exercise! As a result, I am officially a solid 170 lbs, the heaviest I have ever been in my life.

But enough of that. The big news is that last night’s fundraiser and art show was a raving success. From door charges, coat check fees and art sales, we raised over $2000 for both a local HIV/AIDS hospice and relief to victims of the South Asia earthquake.

Thanks to our artists –Lyndon Goveas, Richard von Erlac, Nandini Saxena, Juliette Rabussier, Apurv Shah, Monika Taylor-Schreiber, Adam Duncan and Kulpreet Badial– for donating the skills and art. They were all genuine stars, and I’m quite proud of each one of them.

Thanks to our volunteers –Sabrina, Genvieve, Pratik and Mona. They freed up us organizers to trouble-shoot and shmooze. More importantly, their calmness kept me calm in the early going when I was about to pop from stress.

Thanks to our sponsors –East India Company, Jaipur Bistro, Dharma Developments and La Galerie St Laurent+Hill. It goes without saying that such events are physically impossible without such support.

Thanks to my fellow organizers. Mick (Manmohan) Panesar leveraged his media network to ensure a jampacked space. And our leader, John Joseph, is truly a wonder with his businesslike ability to get done what needs to get done.

And of course thanks to you, because I know that many attendees are reading this blog. This really was one of the more unique social events Ottawa has seen in a while. Due to your support, we will definitely host another event sometime in the new year. If you have any ideas for future events, do let me know.

Sleep deprived, giddy, exhausted but strangey happy, right now I am nonetheless manning a table at the University of Ottawa for World AIDS Day.

So happy World AIDS Day, everyone!