One of the things I learned in my grade 10 creative writing class was a writing exercise to get your creative/writing juices flowing. Essentially you just sat down and wrote for 5 minutes solid. It didn't have to make sense and you didn't have to correct your spelling. All you had to do was write for the sake of writing.
I miss writing. I used to really enjoy it but when I contemplated sitting down these days, I just get really weary at the thought of the effort required. This got me thinking of the stream of consciousness exercises - after all, the point of those was to get in the habit of writing, so I thought I'd give it a try. I came up with the idea last night and I even started brainstorming ideas of what to type about. It seems like very few of them got implemented. The result of my exercise was so amusing that I decided to post it for you to read. Enjoy!
I'm going to try this whole "stream of consciousness" thing again. I haven't done it since highschool but I think it's like a muscle - you have to work it out in order to get it working again. Or, like my analogy this morning, it's like having "sleep" in your eyes first thing in the morning. You've got to rub 'em (or it in this case) to get things flowing again. My mind is so weary these mornings. I don't know whether it's because I didn't get enough sleep (god those pillows are comfy) or whether it's just too early. Or, as I said, maybe my morning brain muscles have atrophied.
Oh gosh. Now my mind is starting to wake up a bit more and more. Is it coincidence or is this actually helping?
I keep reloading the CIHR website, hoping to find the results of our CIHR grant but it's not loaded yet. I suppose it was too much to hope that the results would be on first thing this morning, but a girl can dream, right?
I felt so inspired by the Twilight website last night. I really do miss writing. Or do I just miss the praise that went along with my written work? I miss the creation, the thrill and excitement of creating what I considered to be "rivetting" scenes. I'd really like to start practicing again - and hopefully that's what this writing exercise will do - give me the incentive to sit down and actually do something.
God. Those pillows were so soft and fluffy. I'm kind of grossed out at the idea of how long I've had my old ones. I don't even know where that ink spot came from. And I'm pretty sure they aren't meant to tbe an off-brownish colour. Yup. Gnarly. I'll have to set up a reminder in Outlook to change them every year.
So fluffy.
I also need to change my contacts. It's rather gross to realize that I've rarely cleaned my contacts this month. I just hate that whole "decontamination" process when I get home.
I miss wearing my sweatpants. I wish I could wear informal clothes here at work. My grad school shirt would get a hoot. I wonder what Michelle's dress looks like. I feel the urge to go shopping for myself now, but I can't justify it (I think) because I have stuff I can wear to the gala. I think I do at least. I'll have to double check the state that my clothes are in. Maybe I can justify it after all.
I wonder why I always misspell after all. I should look it up online. Maybe it's one of those weird words that aren't a word. Like shebang and hooplah. Heh. I just should try to include "shebang" in an email with Alyssa.
I wonder how Cathy's liking her new job. I haven't seen her online or anything on Facebook. It's crazy how people get into jobs they don't want just for a paycheque. I know that technically that's what I did, but at least I enjoy my job, if not my boss. I wonder if CIHR is loaded yet. I should go check. It's been morethan the 10 minutes I wanted to spend on this exercise.
Will this exercise count in my whole, "get used to writing again" attempt? Because I do write everyday... Just not so continuously. Maybe I should put this off until I get home and actually intend to write something for personal reasons.
Did my damned mp3 player freeze up? Oi. I don't know what to do. Oh email! I hope it's either Lyss or Bilodeau. I'd prefer the latter, if only to find out aobut the grant and nothing else. Here's teh incentive I need to finish this up. And off I go!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Hepatitis C
Disclaimer: For random people who find this blog posting, I'd like to point out that I am NOT a physician in any sense of the meaning. I'm merely writing about a few things I've learned since I've started working and I may have misunderstood some of the knowledge below. For more information on Hepatitis C see the Public Health Agency of Canada and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Before I started my current job, the only things I knew about the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) was... Nothing. The only Hepatitis viruses that I knew about were A and B and the only reasons I knew anything about those was because I was vaccinated against them. Now, 6 months into my job I'm amazed and horrified at how little the world knows about Hepatitis C.
To give some perspective on Hepatitis C think of it this way: In the world today, 36 million people are infected with HIV. Now contrast that with the 170 million chronic Heaptitis C infections in the world. This is 3% of the world's population! In addition, an estimated 3-4 million people become infected with HepC every year. Similar to AIDs, the highest rates of infection are in Africa and Asia. Country-wise, Egypt has the highest prevalence rate (22%) (Contrast that with Canada at 0.8%). In addition, death rates are higher for HCV than other viruses.
A study on "percutaneous injuries among health care workers" showed:
(Source: Am J Industrial Med 2005;48:482) Essentially I just want to show that more people are dying from HCV than from the other two "biggie" viruses.
Most people contract HCV through injection drug use (in Canada, drug use accounts for two thirds of HCV infections, in addition, you are 10 times more likely to contract HCV than HIV through a needlestick injury), use of sharps (e.g. needles, nail clipping equipment, toothbrushes, etc.), unsafe sex (less than you would anticipate), through birth, etc. The high risk populations are:
In addition there is always a chance that treatment might not work - depending on what HCV "genotype" you have, there is anywhere from a 30-70% chance that the treatment will fail.
As I described above, it's shocking to learn how terrible and prevalent HCV is and how few people know about it. So the next time you're discussing pandemics or fretting about the bird flu, stop and think about the pandemic that is already loose upon the world. Everyone needs to be aware of Hepatitis C!
World Hepatitis Day is on May 19. Find out more at Am I Number 12?.
Before I started my current job, the only things I knew about the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) was... Nothing. The only Hepatitis viruses that I knew about were A and B and the only reasons I knew anything about those was because I was vaccinated against them. Now, 6 months into my job I'm amazed and horrified at how little the world knows about Hepatitis C.
To give some perspective on Hepatitis C think of it this way: In the world today, 36 million people are infected with HIV. Now contrast that with the 170 million chronic Heaptitis C infections in the world. This is 3% of the world's population! In addition, an estimated 3-4 million people become infected with HepC every year. Similar to AIDs, the highest rates of infection are in Africa and Asia. Country-wise, Egypt has the highest prevalence rate (22%) (Contrast that with Canada at 0.8%). In addition, death rates are higher for HCV than other viruses.
A study on "percutaneous injuries among health care workers" showed:
| HBV | HCV | HIV | |
| # of acute infections | 65,600 | 16,400 | 1000 |
| Estimated # proceeding to chronic infection | 656 | 13,120 | 999 |
| Estimated deaths | 262 (40%) | 3,936 (30%) | 999 (100%) |
(Source: Am J Industrial Med 2005;48:482) Essentially I just want to show that more people are dying from HCV than from the other two "biggie" viruses.
Most people contract HCV through injection drug use (in Canada, drug use accounts for two thirds of HCV infections, in addition, you are 10 times more likely to contract HCV than HIV through a needlestick injury), use of sharps (e.g. needles, nail clipping equipment, toothbrushes, etc.), unsafe sex (less than you would anticipate), through birth, etc. The high risk populations are:
- Developing world
- Immigrants to the developed world
- Incarcerated
- Homeless
- Living in rural areas
- Mental - Depression, irritability, difficulty concentrating
- Phsyical - Flu symptoms, marrow suppressioin, weight loss, skin rash, etc.
In addition there is always a chance that treatment might not work - depending on what HCV "genotype" you have, there is anywhere from a 30-70% chance that the treatment will fail.
As I described above, it's shocking to learn how terrible and prevalent HCV is and how few people know about it. So the next time you're discussing pandemics or fretting about the bird flu, stop and think about the pandemic that is already loose upon the world. Everyone needs to be aware of Hepatitis C!
World Hepatitis Day is on May 19. Find out more at Am I Number 12?.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Good thing I'm not claustrophobic
I've had my morning chuckle already. I got into the hospital at 8:20 yesterday and still ended up being 5 minutes late into the office. Why's that? Because the newly renovated elevator decided to stop working just after I, and 10 other people got on it.
I think it was the first day the elevator was put into comission since it was renovated. We all piled into it, pushing our various floor buttons, and then the elevator sank several inches while the doors closed. Everything went still, followed by an electronic voice saying, "We are experiencing minor difficulties." Heh.
The safety features in the elevator left a lot to be desired. The people near the doors tried hitting a bunch of buttons but nothing was working. (I was at the back of the elevator.) The elevator told us to hit the alarm button but no one responded. I guess that someone finally found the "call an operator" button because an operator called into the elevator saying that she'd find someone.
Annoyingly, the woman nearest the control panel kept pushing the alarm button even though no one was obviously paying attention. Another few minutes crept by and she called the operator again. Unfortunately it seemed like the operator can't tell who's phoning her (e.g. no call display) so we had to go through the spiel again. I just thought it was obnoxious because the woman who was leaning on the alarm button told the operator, "Can you please hurry, it's getting really hot in here!" Yes, it was uncomfortably warm, but she was only saying it to try to make it seem like an emergency to get us out.
Another minute went by before someone finally called to us through the doors. The asked us to hit the "door open" button first. Gee, you think we didn't try that? They finally ended up having to pry the doors open to let us out. LOL. The whole experience wouldn't have been so bad, but it was too bloody hot in the elevator!
The only other elevator issue I've had was that I once accidentally hit the emergency call button in an elevator at Carleton University. The buttons in that elevator were really really low, and each was the size of my palm. I was juggling a bunch of grocery bags and accidentally knocked one bag against the button and then I had to wait for someone to answer so I could assure them it was a mistake.
I think it was the first day the elevator was put into comission since it was renovated. We all piled into it, pushing our various floor buttons, and then the elevator sank several inches while the doors closed. Everything went still, followed by an electronic voice saying, "We are experiencing minor difficulties." Heh.
The safety features in the elevator left a lot to be desired. The people near the doors tried hitting a bunch of buttons but nothing was working. (I was at the back of the elevator.) The elevator told us to hit the alarm button but no one responded. I guess that someone finally found the "call an operator" button because an operator called into the elevator saying that she'd find someone.
Annoyingly, the woman nearest the control panel kept pushing the alarm button even though no one was obviously paying attention. Another few minutes crept by and she called the operator again. Unfortunately it seemed like the operator can't tell who's phoning her (e.g. no call display) so we had to go through the spiel again. I just thought it was obnoxious because the woman who was leaning on the alarm button told the operator, "Can you please hurry, it's getting really hot in here!" Yes, it was uncomfortably warm, but she was only saying it to try to make it seem like an emergency to get us out.
Another minute went by before someone finally called to us through the doors. The asked us to hit the "door open" button first. Gee, you think we didn't try that? They finally ended up having to pry the doors open to let us out. LOL. The whole experience wouldn't have been so bad, but it was too bloody hot in the elevator!
The only other elevator issue I've had was that I once accidentally hit the emergency call button in an elevator at Carleton University. The buttons in that elevator were really really low, and each was the size of my palm. I was juggling a bunch of grocery bags and accidentally knocked one bag against the button and then I had to wait for someone to answer so I could assure them it was a mistake.
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