Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Thank you for blogging

My darling friend over at A Perfectly Cursed Life has created a blogging award, called the Thank You for Blogging Award (TYFBA). I had the honor of receiving an TYFBA and now am passing it on to the bloggers that I personally adore. The rules explicitly state that you are to pass it on to 4 other people, so start spreading the blog love! (But what am I going to do if you don't pass it on? I only know where some of you live!)

Here are my picks for Thank You for Blogging Awards:

1. Full of Wit - Even if I didn't know this blogger personally I would still read it, she's funny as hell. Or, some might say, full of wit. Only thing is you need to blog some more dear! You tease.

2. Confessions of a Fat Dietitian - The FD posts recipes, nutrition information, and sometimes just amusing things. If you need any ideas for Thanksgiving, she's got you covered. Every day this past week has focused on traditional T-Day foods, with links to all kinds of recipes, healthy or decadent.

3. Musings of a Distractible Mind - Dr. Rob, a physician in the Southeastern US, writes about health care and sometimes other things, like llamas. He's got a great sense of humor and you can tell that he cares about his patients.

4. Walking In My Shoes - Amusing anecdotes and analysis on New York, and soon to be DC, living.

Honorable Mentions:

1. The Only Baggage You Can Bring - The only reason why this is an honorable mention is that the writer was the one who gave me the award in the first place and I wanted to add more people into the mix. Sam Grace, your political coverage is insightful and comical. It would have been hard to get through the election without you!

2. Margaret and Helen - I found out about this blog through one Sam Grace and it is great! It's written by two women who have been friends for 60 years. I hope I'm as ornery when I get to their age. Thanks for writing Margaret and Helen. I mean it. Really.

So there you have it. It's a blog celebration! Thank you for blogging!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Volunteering abroad

Having an interest in global health, I'm always keeping my eyes open for great opportunities around the world. I have had the opportunity to volunteer abroad once before, hindered from doing it again by the high costs of the programs. Also, I don't feel at point in my life where I want to commit to a long term program, the Peace Corps for example. I came across this program today that looks particularly interesting for short term volunteering. I cannot vouch for it because I haven't done anything with the organization, but it looks really good.

Unite For Sight is a bit more focused than some other volunteer programs, but if you're interested in volunteering abroad or in global health, then it may work. Volunteers support eye health clinic and outreach programs in Ghana and several parts of India. Room and food expenses range between $20/day and $40/day, depending where and when you go. Most programs run 10 days, so that equals $200-$400 for the trip. Not too shabby considering most programs run about $2000+ for a 2 week stay. Of course, you are responsible for the costs of getting yourself there, which will be the most expensive part of the trip. This is standard among volunteering abroad programs. There is no program fee, which is not standard and it is refreshing.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Changing the health care system

Dr. Rob had posted advice for Obama regarding the health care system. It's excellent advice and I hope that Obama listens to voices like Dr. Rob and others with regular direct experience from within the health care system. Voices of the patient are important because ultimately, this is what the system is about. Doctors like Dr. Rob, who are sensitive as to how best to help patients, can be of great use as well. Please Obama, as Dr. Rob states, don't give in to the high power lobbies - the AMA, the drug companies, the insurance companies. We've had enough of their influence for a while.

Monday, November 10, 2008

New Thoughts on Drug Safety Prompted by Court Ruling

When a drug is tested and approved for use by the FDA, we often take for granted its safety. Obviously this is not the case, as we have seen with many approved drugs causing harm, COX-2 Inhibitors like Vioxx being an example. Although we often turn to medicines to fix our problems (and it’s great when they do!), we need to keep in mind that these are foreign substances that make significant changes to our bodies. Sometimes these are good, sometimes not so good. Usually it’s a combination of the two.

An interesting ruling was made on a case in San Francisco last week, involving the safety of medications. What made this case so unique is that the court ruled that drug makers could be held liable for harm when a generic version of their name-brand product is used. Obviously, the drug companies are not happy about this and it’s easy to see why. They are not manufacturing the product; they have no control of the product that is produced by other companies.

However, I see where the court is coming from on this one. Let’s say you’re taking a drug for the long term and, barring any manufacturing mistakes, the drug harms you in some way. What’s most likely is that your doctor prescribed you the name brand and, due to dispensing laws, the pharmacist filled a generic version of that drug for you. Your doctor prescribes that drug, name-brand or generic, with certain results in mind. Pharmacists fill the prescription with the generic because it’s the same product, possibly with different inactive ingredients. The effects of the generic should exactly mimic that of the name-brand.

So, in a sense, I can see why the ruling was what it was. The drug company had to prove safety and effectiveness in order to get the drug approved. The manufacturer of the generic drug did not. They are producing the drug in accordance with the name-brand standards. So when the drug harms somebody, the scrutiny goes back to the clinical trials and safety that was proven or missed in the research.

I don’t think that the manufacturers of generics should be completely dismissed in these cases. They are producing products to make themselves money. Whether they are manufacturing the drugs based on faith of their effectiveness and safety or not, they should still be held liable for the effects of the product on people.

My question is this. Did Wyeth warn of the safety concerns of taking the mentioned drug for long periods of time, even just for the name-brand? It seems like if this were the case, they shouldn’t be held liable. The generic manufacturers should know of the side-effects and use warnings as well. In this case, I could not fault the drug company for the mistake of the generic manufacturer. In cases where it is not publicized, that is less clear and needs further scrutinizing.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Feeling Hopeful

I called my Dad last night and we got to the topic of the election. To my surprise he proudly told me that he voted for Obama. While this may not sound like much to some people, when I look at the man I knew my father to be as a child, I am taken aback. This is the man who used to tell me that if black people got any power they would use it to oppress us white people, and so we should make sure they don't. In the course of the conversation he even admitted to how racist he has been in the past and how hurtful it was. Wow!

I have learned from this the following things:
1. People can grow and change if we let them. There's been a part of me that has held on to this image of my father from my childhood. And it had hurt our relationship immensely. As an adult, I've had to learn to acknowledge the person he is today.
2. This country is changing. I never would have thought my father would vote for a black president, but the country/world we live in has changed that.

When I hung up the phone with my father, I cried. I am amazed at the people in this country and am feeling patriotism for probably the first time in my life. Not a patriotism that's used to oppress others, but one that appreciates what our country has become.

The history of racism in our country is horrible and I don't deny that racism still exists in the U.S., but this is progress. I feel like even though there will be struggles (fear in many people will bring out horrible things in the near future, I'm sure) we are finally starting to head in a good direction. For the first time in a long time, I feel hopeful about our country.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Celebrations at my alma mater

Go EMU!

Celebrating Obama in NYC

The energy on election night was vibrant in NYC. I thought I'd share some videos of the city-wide celebration.

These people went to several of the same places I went to that night (even including getting free Ben & Jerry's).




Here you can see the celebration in Harlem




In Brooklyn




And they said the youth of this country were apathetic...




People from all over NYC called into WNYC to talk about the celebrations in their neighborhoods.


What night to be in NYC! I would love to hear stories of how it felt to be in other cities, please do share.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Yes we did!

So, anything going on in the news lately?

I am feeling such intense emotions right now, please be patient with me as I try to express what I am feeling. What an amazing night! I had the privilege to watch the election results in New York City last night. It was a bit of a journey as some friends and I moved between several locations in Manhattan.

We started off by getting some free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream (you know the night can only be great after that). We then moved on to Rockefeller Center and watched as Obama got Vermont and McCain Kentucky. As the other states were “too close to call” we decided to go to a local bar and watch there. We were amazed and thrilled when one-by-one Eastern and Midwestern states went to Obama (Woo! Way to go Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan). From there we moved on to Times Square, where we got our photo taken with a lifesize Obama cutout and watched Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart ham it up (No sound though, we had to improvise by reading the captions). In Times Square we got free popcorn and hot chocolate (oh no, is that socialism?!? :). We decided, with perfect timing, to go back to Rockefeller Center just before 11pm.

We got to Rockefeller Center just few minutes before they announced Obama as the predicted winner. Wow! What an atmosphere! The place was packed, but people were not annoyed with being squished in such a large amount of people. No, people were laughing, crying, hugging, screaming. It was beautiful and the energy went on for a while.



We then decided that we wanted to go to a bar in the East Village to watch Obama’s speech. We got in a cab and a friend announced to the driver “Obama just won!”. He just smiled and said “I know”. The driver was courteous and turned up the radio so we could hear McCain’s concession speech, which I found to be pretty respectful. When we got to the East Village, we were greeted by cheering and shouting. Somebody would shout “Obama!” and the cheers would reverberate down the street, like we were doing the wave at a baseball game. All the people on the streets were filled with joy. It was so amazing to be a part of!

We ended up watching Obama’s speech in a bar, and saw many people, myself included, tear up with his words. More hugging and shouting ensued, and then quickly turned to dancing. We decided to finally head home around 2am, but were slightly derailed when we were told that we had to go to Union Square just then. We did and saw a few hundred young people dancing/screaming/chanting in the square. There wasn’t any violence or even ill will. The environment was positive as people chanted “Yes we can! Yes we can!” (even when one guy started chanting “Let’s get naked! Let’s get naked!” to which I replied “You go first! You go first!” but he didn’t and no nudity ensued). It was a picture of the role young people played in this election and how Obama motivated this group.


I got about 3 hours of sleep last night. I am feeling a lot of things, but tired is not one of them. I’m sure that will change. I have gone back and forth with pure joy, relief, and sentimentality. One minute I’m laughing, the next crying. But, it feels so good. Because I am filled with hope, and that hasn’t happened in about 8 years. I am so glad that I got to be part of such a historic moment. Now I can look back on it one day and say, what an event! I was there! Yes we did!

Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope. That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow. - from Barack Obama's speech last night


A summary of my feelings about the results of the election

Until I can compose myself to write about what an amazing experience yesterday was, I will let Nina Simone sing it for you.

Feeling Good - Nina Simone

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

At the polls

Doug Mills/The New York Times

"Who are you voting for?"

"No, you can't vote for him. That'll cancel out my vote!"

This is so messed up!

A 13-year old girl was stoned to death in Somalia for adultery after she was raped. This is so f'd-up! I just don't get how someone could do this to another person.


The witness says she was forced into a hole, buried up to her neck then pelted with stones until she died in front of more than 1,000 people.

I await the day when girls and women do not have to put up with this BS. It cannot come too soon.

Today is THE Day


Today is the day when all of the political rigmarole of the past year+ comes to a conclusion. This has been a historic and very heated campaign year. So, it's very important that we all use our constitutional right to pick who the president will be for the next 4 years. (Yea we're almost done with the previous idiot who has been "running" our country!).

Any who, if you need some incentive (other than having a say in who the next leader of the free world will be) to get your butt out there and vote, a few businesses are rewarding voters for their job well done. Starbucks is giving away free coffee and Ben and Jerry's a free scoop of ice cream. This was originally for people who voted, but I just heard on WNYC that it is actually illegal to reward people for voting or not voting, so they've changed it to anyone who comes in. Also, Krispy Kreme is sticking it to the man and giving away free donuts to people who have voted (and no one else!). So, you should take advantage of these give aways!

But honestly, if this is the only reason you decide to vote I am going to come over there and smack you over the head. I'm not a violent person, but really this election has been going on forever now. If you don't know who you are going to vote for, or worse - don't feel like voting, then you've had your head stuck in the sand and you deserve a smack over the head. You've been warned.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Crammity, Cram, Cram, Cram!

Tomorrow's E-Day. Do you know who and what's on your ballot? We all know the big ones, the Presidential candidates (and we should, what a race!). But, the state and local elections are important too. Being that I live in NYC I looked up some local info. Should you live elsewhere, well do your own research (and do it quickly, time is running out! No pressure. But do it!). Know your polling location and times. NYC see here (Polls are open 6am-9pm in NYC). This is especially so if there are hot issue proposals on the ballot. (I'm talking to you Michigan, California, Washington, etc).

P.S. Isn't it sad Obama's grandma died today? Oh, I wish she could have seen him win the election! (Please win, please win, please win!)