Road Trip: Yosemite National Park, CA

On our way to Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park -Half Dome

Yosemite National Park - Vernal Falls

Yosemite National Park - From Glacier Point

It's the Little Differences: Laundry & Parking

In a city where the average square foot is $27.17 to rent (that’s $2,265/monthly for a two bedroom apartment) or $620 to buy (that’s $620,000 for the same two bedroom apartment), having space for your own washer/dryer is a luxury.

The pain of not having our own washer/dryer is compensated by the fact that Missing Sock Laundry is so conveniently located next to Bacchus, a trendy wine bar.

Here's a trivia question. How much do you think a parking spot costs in San Francisco? Here's a clue, it's about $27,000 downtown Ottawa.

... $100,000!

Toe Update

My appointment was yesterday. The dermatologist looked at the architecture of the mole under a microscope and suggested the following: Take a picture of it every 3-4 month and observe any change in size/shape or remove it. The picture option seemed like a long and inefficient process. Although he estimated the likelihood of the mole being malign to 3% only, I chose the other option. Mr. Doc said it was no big deal. He said I could go jogging the next day.

Right, whatevah!!!

I nearly fainted when he froze my toe (and this is coming from a girl who had two general anesthetics and was hospitalized for a total of three weeks in a 6-month period). He removed the mole and stitched up the hole. R was there, holding my hand through the whole thing, as always. I don’t know what I would do without him.

I’ve been on Tylenol 2 since yesterday. I can’t walk, I am certainly not going jogging today!!! I have to go back next week to remove the stitches. The piece of skin (that’s it, I am fainting again) is being sent to the lab and I’ll know within 3 to 5 days if there is anything to worry about.

The infamous toe

Interesting Studies About Pregnancy and Autism

Autism has increased dramatically in Canada and the USA in the past 10 years. This study links autism to a deficiency in vitamin D caused by a lack of exposure to the sun. According to Dr. John Cannell, the increase in autism coincidences with medical advice given to the public since the late 1980s to avoid all exposure to bright sunshine. This is a controversial study especially since it’s still a hypothesis. When faced with such an enigmatic disorder, I think any hypothesis is worth considering.

The risks associated with pregnancy over 35 years old are well-documented. This study, however, paints a more positive picture. Dr Wyatt is hoping to move the “high risk wall” from 35 to 40 in order replace nearly automatic amniocentesis with less invasive testing.
According to a team of Canadian doctors, age should no longer be the only criteria considered for genetic testing. Twenty years ago, that’s the only information doctors had. Nowadays, technology is allowing us to go beyond age. This conclusion contradicts most other findings in the field but it seems like a ground-breaking idea worth entertaining.

Tim Horton's Honey Cruller

R went to Vancouver last weekend to visit his parents. He came back this morning at 10 am with a surprise for moi. He called when he got downtown and asked me to meet him outside.

He brought me back a Tim Horton's honey cruller. Heaven!!!

My Reproductive Strategy

I am almost 28 years old (November) so it’s time to think seriously about my fertility. Scenario A, the Childfree Scenario, does not require much planning. Scenario B, the One Kid Scenario, requires a little more thinking and tada! This is what I have come up with:

July 2007 (27 yrs old) to July 2013 (33 yrs old): Work Hard, Play Hard

August 2013 (33 yrs old) to February 2014 (34 yrs old): TTC/be pregnant

April 2014 (34 years old) to October 2014 (34 years old): Have baby

I know the stats. It’s a tight schedule. If Scenario B fails, we’ll revert to Scenario A.

Our Electricity Was Cut Off!!!

The joys of life without credit in the U.S.

Apparently, PG&E (electricity company) sent us a letter requesting IDs+ lease. We didn't receive the letter so we never submitted said documents. Because we have no credit here, they thought it was best to cut off our electricity even though we've been paying them for two months.

Un-freakin-believable.

1st Independence Day in San Francisco

The American Health Care System Rocks

And I don’t care what Michael Moore says. I haven’t seen Sicko yet, but I can just imagine his usual socialist propaganda and his blatant idealization of foreign health care systems.

We’ve all been touched by Sarah’s story. As I read Sarah’s blog, I became more aware of my own skin… And that brown spot on my toe. I’ve had it for years, but it seems to have gotten bigger recently.

I chose a family doctor and booked an appointment with him the following week. He examined the spot and decided he needed a second opinion. Without an appointment, I had a dermatologist (Stanford graduate) examine me within 10 minutes. The dermatologist seemed slightly concerned. I have a follow-up appointment with him next week. He’ll look at the spot with a microscope and maybe do a biopsy.

While I am (very) scared, it sure makes me feel better to know how efficient the American health care system is.

My Philanthropic Priority

I received a letter from the Carleton Alumni association last Friday. It’s fairly common for Carleton to ask for donation but this time I am particularly aggravated.

The letter is signed by a B. Comm alumni living in the US.

“As a Carleton Alumni based in the United States, our lives and careers have moved us away from our alma mater, but I know many of us would still like to give back to our school. I’m writing to share with you how I choose to honour the time I spent in Ottawa by helping provide current students with the best resources to prepare them for their futures in Canada, the U.S. or abroad”.

New on campus is the Washington Center Internship Program. This program is designed to educate students from all disciplines about American politics, Canadian-American relations and the NAFTA relationship by giving them real-world experience in those areas. The internship is a unique opportunity for students to spend a semester in Washington –interning, learning, attending Congressional briefings and interacting with key players in the formulation of U.S. trade and foreign policy – and will be of incalculable benefits to Carleton students.

The kind of cutting-edge education offered by the Washington Center Internship Program is one of the reasons I choose to make Carleton a philanthropic priority. I know that my annual contributions will make a difference by developing critical and passionate thinkers who will have an impact in our ever-shrinking world.

Please join me in support of Carleton and make a gift of $500 to this new initiative…”

I find this plea for donation tactless on so many levels.

First, why would living in the U.S. make me sensitive to this cause?

Second, Canadian students are spoiled brats. People don’t realize how lucky they are to be born in Canada where there is minimal levels of corruption and poverty, free healthcare, and an almost free top-notch education system. Tuition fees account for only 20% of universities’ revenue. The real cost of tuition is over 20K/yr. Most teenagers living in developing countries would have been envious of my $25,000 student loan.

Third, I can think of many other programs that would have a bigger impact in the world. I literally gagged as I read that my $500 would go to develop “critical and passionate thinkers who will have an impact in our ever-shrinking world”.

Let me tell you why I am making Doctors Without Borders my philanthropic priority and NOT Carleton.

This is what Doctors Without Borders can do with $500:

• Serve 4000 nourishing meals; or
• Provide water for 40 refugees for 3 years; or
• Provide 17 surgical kits containing essential instruments to carry out emergency examinations and basic surgery in the field; or
• Provide nursing care for refugees from war or natural disaster for 8 months.

It’s a personal choice, but I rather feed 4,000 people than develop a G7 middle-class critical thinker.