OMG it's August!

Michigan has 3, 288 miles of freshwater coastline, the longest in the US

Summers in Michigan have a tendency to go too fast, but yet winters linger, and over stay its visit by a month or two. This spring and summer in Michigan, my last before my move to California, has been very productive and I have enjoyed my excursions and trips. But alas, I am steadily moving towards my relocation to Los Angeles and things are getting serious (applying for jobs daily, cleaning out my apartment, saving money, etc). Today I opened my fundraiser to raise at least $1,000 to help me offset some work time I have lost here at my current job. As I share in detail in this blog post, I'm running a little behind on my savings plan for my move and I'm reaching out to a select audience for help.

With so many people all around the world using the Internet to raise money for a multitude of reasons and events, I truly believe that one must be transparent in the reason why they are asking for money, and to be careful to not permit the fundraising to get out of control to the point where integrity comes into question, and people wonder what you really have planned for that money. Also, there's lots of money to be made from the fundraiser sites that are supposedly designed to help people raise money. You have to read the fine print about the fees that are automatically deducted from those sites - it's in their best interest that a fundraiser does well enough that they profit off of it. So when I realized that my previous fundraiser venue had a questionable fee structure, I backed away from it as I didn't want to support their profits during the one public time I am seeking extra financial support.

I realize I may be opening myself up for ridicule, but you cannot get help without asking for it. At the top of the sidebar, I have a Paypal donation link. If you are so inclined to make a donation from Aug 1 - Sept 15, I would greatly appreciate it. Please let me know if you have any questions.

As I wrap up my final few months here in Michigan, I'm taking note of things that I'll be doing for the 'last time' in my home state. Like last weekend, I ventured to the Ann Arbor Art Fair. It was a perfect day, and I stuck to my budget of $25 to spend by buying a pretty hair wrap, and some gorgeously moisturizing goat milk soap! I'm checking out some of my favorite stores for fun walk through. Even though I will be visiting Michigan regularly, things change and sometimes stores close or move to a different area. Of all the cities in Michigan, Ann Arbor is the only one that I feel a genuine emotional connection with, and I'll miss it. But, like I said, I'll be back.

And although I announced months ago that I will not be attending the Toronto International Film Festival this year, I will attend a soiree just a day before the festival opens. It will be a quick one day trip to my beloved Toronto, but it will be worth it. When I left Pearson airport last month after my trip overseas, I believed then that it was my last time driving from Toronto back home to Michigan. Well, since this soiree event has been announced for September 7th, I will truly make one last round trip drive to Toronto from Michigan. The first drive I made was back in the late 90s, but prior to that, in the early 90s, I took the train. I will miss being so close to the coolest non-American, American city in the world. In the future when I attend TIFF, I'll be flying to it from Los Angeles.