DJ Jazzy Jen

Meme

Thank goodness Jenny tagged me because I had nothing good to post about. 

Here we go with my day late meme:

Four jobs I've had:

1. Dry Cleaner counter girl

2.Clam killer

3. Federal government employee

4. Environmental consultant

Four movies I can watch over and over:

1. Pretty Woman

2. Office Space

3. Almost Famous

4. Shag

Four places I've lived:

1. Chicago, IL

2. Charleston, SC

3. Cleveland, Ohio

4. Indianapolis, Indiana

Four TV shows I love:

1. Project Runway

2. America’s Next Top Model

3. My Name Is Earl

4. Lost

Four places I've vacationed:

1. Bahamas

2. Hawaii

3. London

4. Paris

Four of my favorite dishes:

1. Chocolate cake/pudding/ice cream

2. Flank steak with mashed potatoes

3.Grilled chicken breast sandwhich w/ lettuce, tomato, pickle, and mayo

4. Udon or soba noodles stir fried with mixed vegetables

Four sites I visit daily:

1. www.gmail.com

2. www.chicagotribune.com

3. www.cleveland.com

4. www.typepad.com

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. Asleep in bed

2. Indy with my family

3. Spa, baby!

4. On vacation

Four bloggers I am tagging:

1. Heather

2. Don

3. Craig

4. Abs

Guys, Listen Up

Dan has a great article on what straight men should know about women.  Leave it to a gay man to really get it. 

Take Your Vitamin C

Heather: Don't read this as it may freak you out again.

Craig: Don't read this as it will cause you to roll your eyes. 

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I laughed at Heather when she said she thought the bird flu could kill 1/3 of the world population.  I thought she was being dramatic just like I thought the media was being sensational.  I know that eventually the right mutation will happen but I just didn't think the odds would be that bad.  So,  I watched a show last night on the bird flu and it is really freaky. 

They base alot of the estimates on the 1918 Spanish Flu because they are similar in many ways.  First of all, it's deadliest in those age 16-40.  This is because they have the strongest immune system.  The virus rapidly multiplies, causing a stimulation of cytokines which are a part of your natural immune system.  But, in this case, the inflammatory cytokines can't kill the virus so they eventually reach high enough numbers to start destroying your own tissue.  And that is how you are more likely to die.  So, older people and kids won't have such a pronounced immune response and are more likely to be ok. 

I also found a cool website which gives you all sorts of interesting info - from boiling vinegar to create acidic vapors which kills the virus to herbal remedies  (Vitamin C, Vitamin E, green tea, etc.) which have antiviral capabilities or can reduce inflammatory cytokines. 

One of the big concerns with a pandemic of any kind would be a disruption of local and global economy.  Borders would likely be closed and people may not want or be able to go to work.  So they suggest you plan for being without power, public water, and grocery stores.  To me, this fits into general disaster preparedness but it's important nonetheless.

Anyway, if you haven't been able to tell, I'm a bit of a worrier.  I do better when I can take concrete actions.  I know this post sounds a bit flaky but you may thank me for it someday.  :-)

360: Do I Really Want To Know?

Oof.  We're getting ready to do performance evaluations at work.  At my old government job reviews consisted of a quick phone chat with the long-distance boss.  We would rarely get into goal setting or any real performance specifics.  Here at the new job it's the other end of the spectrum.  We do a 360 degree process which includes: a self assessment, multiple co-workers' assessments, and a manager assessment.  So at the end of this bad boy I will have feedback from practically everyone I know in this company.  I have to say that this process is a bit frightening to me.  Of course I am exceptional in every way BUT I'm not sure everyone else feels the same way.  If you ask tons of people surely someone will not like you/your performance and then you have that one outlier that messes up the entire mean.  I usually like being graded but I'm still in the "I'm new and I want to impress you" phase.   This is stressful!

The Wisdom of Mom

I got an email today from my mom with the following article: Cleveland: one tech-smart town Cleveland is one of the most intelligent cities, according to New York think tank The Intelligent Community Forum, which bases its rankings on broadband Internet deployment. Cleveland is the only U.S. city on the list of seven, which will be narrowed to a winner during a conference in June.  Plain Dealer, WEWS-TV (ABC) Cleveland My mom's sarcastic comment?  "I am confident that the rise is due to your own move to Cleveland. The city should be thanking you...." Amen to that, Mom, Amen to that.