Current Events

I decided I wanted to start jotting things down here that are going on in the world today, so that I can look back and remember. To sum up... the economy was crappy for a while, but the recession is officially over! Things were bad, I guess the worst they've been since the Great Depression of the 1930s... although, maybe I'm just fortunate, but it didn't seem THAT bad to me.

Two other big things stick out in my mind right now. One is the spread of H1N1 around the United States right now. It's a virus nicknamed the "swine flu" because it is usually found in pigs, but occasionally mutates and becomes infectious to humans.¹ It is a harsher version of the flu, so I hear, and can be much harder to treat.

A friend of ours has a brother who is married to a Chinese woman, and apparently he traveled to China recently to visit relatives and was quarantined at an airport in China because he had a slightly high fever - he was taken away in an ambulance full of personnel in haz-mat uniforms! Crazy, but this thing really has people panicked.

The biggest thing I think that is important to share is that our president, with whom I have the utmost respect, Barack Obama, is currently working on a plan for universal healthcare. There are many reasons people are for or against this policy. I, personally, am for it, but Rod is against it. He, as many others do, feels that we should all have to work to afford healthcare for ourselves and our families, and that if you don't work hard, you don't deserve a handout. However, Obama made it clear to me in his addresses to the nation over the last several months that it will improve healthcare for those of us who already have it, as well as offer it to those who cannot afford it, whether because they're lazy and don't work or because (and more likely) they can't afford it for a reason that isn't really their fault. Not only that, but Obama makes a good point in reminding us that our taxes pay for uninsureds' medical bills, so universal healthcare will benefit us in that way, as well.

Anyway, that's what's going on right now.

Ecological Footprint

Right now I'm taking an environmental science class in school called "Dependence of Man on the Environment," and this week the instructor had us take the Ecological Footprint quiz online. According to my results, if everyone lived the same lifestyle I do, we would need 4.5 Earths!

This is truly, extremely disturbing.

What's even more disturbing is that my score were significantly lower than the country average! So, PLEASE go to this website:

http://www.myfootprint.org
(You do NOT have to provide a donation or your e-mail address - that is OPTIONAL.)

...and calculate your Ecological Footprint. It's very short, it won't take up a lot of your time, and it is worth it and important. At the end, there's a link to advice on how to lower your score.

It got cold so early this fall that I thought winter was coming too soon and the leaves might not even get a chance to change - they were already starting to drop without turning their pretty colors first! BUT, luckily, I was wrong and they ARE changing. Here are some beautiful bushes on our street:

(I would like to make it known that I stopped the car to take this picture with my phone...I was not endangering myself or others!)

Hooray for fall.

And....on an even (much) more exciting note:

ONE OF MY VERY BEST FRIENDS IS PREGNANT! K and B have one son, N, and are now expecting #2!! I am so thrilled for them and wish we lived closer to one another so we could share all the excitement with them in person.

They're due on July 4th. How neat!

Unexpected compliments

Pop came home last night from Maine for the winter. He got in around noon and we all went over to Dan and Daniel's for dinner which was mmm mmm delicious! Dan is one of the best cooks I know (check out Wright's Mill Farm in Canterbury, CT...he's the head chef)! It was great to see him and to spend time together, although the last time we spent together was two months ago when Sharon passed away.

Rod's working on a big case at work right now - a burglary. He wasn't too thrilled going into work last night because I guess doing this can be tedious. He'd much rather be out driving around dealing with things going on on the streets than sitting around in the office writing up reports.

I'm the opposite. I love sitting at a desk at a computer and doing random, relaxing but mind-challenging tasks. It's a good thing we even each other out with things like this. It's the same as how we are at home with chores, which is why he does things like takes our cars to get the oil changed and I sit at the computer and do our bills.

He's such a hard worker and is so darn handsome. I'm so glad that I have a husband I love so much. I think lately, we've been really happy and falling even more in love. It is true that the first year of marriage is a little hectic. Even if you've been living together for two years before you get married, like we did, there are still things to get used to in marriage, and it can be rough at first. But, if you're lucky, you make it past that one year mark and are still best friends.

I'm not the only one that thinks he's special. The other night at a McDonalds the cashier asked for his number! We both got a kick out of this, but it proves just how stunning and impressive he is. :)

I work for a Psychiatric APRN who specializes in child therapy and medication management. One of her patients is a young girl, late elementary-school age, who is very blunt. I really don't think she's capable of lying. One time, a few months ago, she came in and said something very straight-forward that she probably shouldn't have shared with anyone, but did...with the entire waiting room. (I can't remember what it was that she said, but even if I did, I wouldn't say.) I know quite a bit about this patient just by observing her, and I believe that she probably has trouble keeping friends because she says exactly what's on her mind even though it might hurt someone's feelings.

Today she had an appointment and afterwards, her mom came and sat down in the office with me to pay her bill. The girl - I'll call her Charlotte - was standing in the doorway. Today I'm wearing an old blue sweater and black baggy dress pants, and my hair is halfway up and hasn't been washed (I normally don't wash it every day anyway because doing so dries out my already-extremely-dry scalp).

Needless to say, I don't feel like I look my best, and I was honestly thinking to myself when she first came in, "Oh my gosh, if this girl blurts out that I look ugly or that something is wrong with me, I will seriously have motivation to make myself up more often."

Charlotte did stand there in the doorway staring at me, and after a minute said loudly and matter-of-factly, "You're a really pretty girl."

I love my job.