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Letter From Your Pet in Heaven

To my dearest family,
some things I’d like to say.
But first of all, to let you know,
that I arrived okay.

I’m writing this from the Bridge.
Here I dwell with God above.
Here there’s no more tears of sadness.
Here is just eternal love.

Please do not be unhappy
just because I’m out of sight.
Remember that I am with you
every morning, noon and night.

That day I had to leave you
when my life on earth was through,
God picked me up and hugged me,
and He said, “I welcome you.

It’s good to have you back again;
you were missed while you were gone.
As for your dearest family,
They’ll be here later on.”

God gave me a list of things,
that he wished for me to do.
And foremost on the list,
was to watch and care for you.

And when you lie in bed at night,
the day’s chores put to flight,
God and I are closest to you . . .
in the middle of the night.

When you think of my life on earth,
and all those loving years,
because you are only human,
they are bound to bring you tears.

But do not be afraid to cry:
it does relieve the pain.
Remember there would be no flowers,
unless there was some rain.

I wish that I could tell you
all that God has planned.
If I were to tell you,
you wouldn’t understand.

But one thing is for certain,
though my life on earth is o’er.
I’m closer to you now,
than I ever was before.

There are rocky roads ahead of you
and many hills to climb;
But together we can do it
by taking one day at a time.

It was always my philosophy
and I’d like it for you too;
That as you give unto the world,
the world will give to you.

If you can help somebody
who’s in sorrow and pain;
Then you can say to God at night . . .
“My day was not in vain.”

And now I am contented . . .
that my life was worthwhile.
Knowing as I passed along
I made somebody smile.

God says: “If you meet somebody
who is sad and feeling low;
Just lend a hand to pick him up,
as on your way you go.

When you’re walking down the street
with me on your mind;
I’m walking in your footsteps
only half a step behind.”

“And when it’s time for you to go . . .
from that body to be free.
Remember you’re not going . . .
you’re coming here to me.”

[Author Unknown]

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Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together…

Lebara specializes in low cost international calls and that’s exactly what it offers, along with reasonable national rates and text messaging besides. Although this sim-only service is mainly presented as an ideal way for people from ethnic communities to call loved ones living in other countries, I too am interested because of the friends I’ve made across the globe over the years.

I really hope this company does well here as this is just the kind of service I’ve been looking for and I can’t wait to sign up with them later this week.

The game itself looks very colourful and child friendly from the little I’ve so far seen of it, and it’s a side-scrolling platform style that old-school gamers will remember fondly. The full price is $19.95, and $15 (75%) goes straight to the charity. Another draw to this is the celebrity voice-over cast including Jamie Lee Curtis, William Shatner and Dave Thomas, amongst others.

I have to admit that I had never heard of the charity before, although I will assume that is because it’s based in the US. For those who haven’t heard about Starlight Starbright, it is a foundation for seriously ill children – the aim is to take their mind away from their illness with fun activities, as well as letting them and their families meet others going through the same situation. I can’t do the charity enough justice with my short description but I definitely think it’s a worthwhile cause, and I hope the game helps to raise awareness as well as money.

If you are still interested in finding out more about this game I’ve included a short introduction video.

Thanks go to Cute Overload as that’s where I first saw the video as well as to who edited it. Enjoy!

Distributed Computing Project

Most of the time we spend on the computer our processes aren’t using their full potential. If you could use processing power alone while helping people at the same time, wouldn’t you do it? The links below explain programs that do just that. The programs themselves only process a very small amount of work compared to that a supercomputer at a research facility could, however you are just one of thousands contributing to the same cause.

World Community Grid – this program has changed a lot since I first started using it, but the basic principle is exactly the same. Right now the Grid researches Cancer, AIDS, African Climate, Dengue Drugs and Human Proteome Folding.
Folding@home – slightly different in operation, this is run by Stanford University Medical Center. They are working on researching Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and Parkinson’s Disease as well as Cancer, Osteogensis imperfecta and improving antibiotics.

Click to Donate for Free

This is something that’s been around for many years now and it involves going to a website and clicking a link. The website is paid by advertisers or sponsors per click they get which translates into being able to give to those who need it the most. Here are just a few out there. Register for free for further benefits.

Care2 Click to Donate – a selection of causes including saving the rainforest, baby seals, neglected pets and many more besides.
The Hunger Site – each click is worth around a cup of staple food to those that need it the most in the world.
The Breast Cancer Site – The Pink Ribbon Challenge hopes to get enough clicks from individuals so more mammograms can be purchased and Breast Cancer can be caught in its early stages.
The Child Health Site – this helps pay for treatments, preventions and care for sick children.
The Literacy (for children) Site – helps pay for books so children can learn the wonder of books and learn how to read.
The Rainforest Site – every click is worth several square feet of rainforest land that have been saved from destruction.
The Animal Rescue Site – this goes towards the food and shelter for rescued animals.

Proceeds go to charity

Greater Good – this is run by the same people that run the Hunger, Breast Cancer, Child Health, Literacy, Rainforest and Animal Rescue sites. You buy things at their webstore and they give proceeds to one of those charities of your choosing.

Sending joy to ill children and their families

Although this last section isn’t free all it requires is time, love and the cost of sending a letter or a gift. I always get very emotional reading each child’s individual story.

Post Pals – a UK based website supported by The Prince’s Trust and Children In Need. You can send a letter, card, gift or email to the children or family members listed on the website and bring a little cheer to someone who might need it.
Make A Child Smile – this is based in the US and you can send letters or gifts to children or their families. The child’s page is updated every so often, including if the child has passed on in which case visitors are then invited to send their thoughts of condolence to the relatives.

Thanks for your time. It means a lot.

Edit as of 9th, February 2007 – Just wanted to add a few extra links that I remembered about.

Edit as of 13th, March 2008 – Updated by adding new, and changing old.

The picture below is my contribution. Click it to view my profile.

Join up and add something yourself!

Yeah, I’m pretty shocked too. Must be something to do with the hot weather… clouding my judgement or something…

As I just spent some time complimenting Zach, it is really only fair I do the same for Wil as I’ve known about his website for a lot longer than Zach’s.

Now firstly, do I really need to say who Wil is? I’m sure most of you who read this know who I’m talking about but if you have been living under a rock since the 1980s then Wil is the child writer in “Stand By Me” and is popularly known as Wesley Crusher in “Star Trek: TNG”. It would take me a whole day to list everything else so I won’t. That’s what the IMDb is for.

Anyway, I have a soft spot for Wil. Maybe because he’s an avid blogger. Or perhaps because he’s into games (disappointingly not WoW). Or maybe because he’s also cute. But, whether he knows it or not, he has something in common with Zach – he shows himself as a real person.

What do I mean by that? Well, you have some celebrities that think the world revolves around them. If they don’t get what they want then everyone else has to suffer. They think they’re better than their fans and the staff that work for them.
Then you have the nice celebrities that aren’t divas, but don’t put themselves out their with the people either. They won’t treat anyone like crap so they’re likeable from the beginning, but they’re the retiring kind. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
You also have the celebrities that show how human they really are. They just seem to care…

I personally think everyone in this world is the same. I don’t think celebrities should be placed high on a pedestal just because they’re on TV or singing on a stage… And that is why I admire someone like Wil.

Think of high school… The celebrities of the world are the popular kids. If you aren’t one of them then you won’t be sitting at their table. But there were always a few popular ones that didn’t have a problem hanging out at the [insert none popular cliche here] table either. Those kind of popular kids / celebrities I’ve always had a fondness for.

Here’s to Wil for being one of the special popular kids.

It’s a simply reason. His website.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t know many celebrities that are so grounded and put in so much effort for their fans. You know how I even found his site? The ever popular YouTube is how. He made a video blog post and uploaded it to there (it’s also available to view on his site). Is it just me that thinks that’s the coolest thing?

I cannot say how much I admire him for that. So many celebrity websites have no real connection to them – I very much doubt they’ve even seen them, let alone written anything for them, or gone to the lengths of making a video post. It makes him very real and very cool in my eyes.

The fact that he used YouTube makes it all the more better.

Maybe it’s because from what I’ve seen of him I think he’s a funny guy. Or because I think he’s cute. I don’t know… I guess I’m really impressed because he’s not conceited and wants his website to be one for the fans where they can reply to him on his blog or enter his video competitions.

Celebrities of the world, learn something from Zach. Just be normal and the rest of us will love you all the more for it.