Waking up this morning to a right arm free of soreness has reminded me that I never wrote about my vaccinations for Peru!
As many of you know, I'll be heading for the sub-equatorial land of Peru at the end of the month. A good friend of mine served her mission there and invited me to join her on a visit. I, of course, said yes. How often do you get the chance to go to Peru? In my case, never.
So the preparations began. Eleven-hundred dollar plane ticket: check. Passport: check (thanks to an almost cruise my senior year of college; I got my passport...and ended up spending Spring Break at Disneyland - no regrets). Next on the list? Vaccinations.
I didn't foresee needing much, but I figured better safe than deathly ill. I consulted the CDC website without receiving much comfort, so I called the local health department. They told me I'd have to make an appointment with a nurse. During my work hours. I decided I could take a long lunch and stay late that night. I made an appointment for the next day and headed to my parents' house after work to locate my immunization card. Turns out I hadn't had any shots since 1999. Crazy, right? But really, who gets into immunizations after you've reached the age where they're required for public schooling?
The next day, tiny yellow folded card in hand, I sat in a chair resting underneath a counter that didn't jut out far enough for me to appropriately fit my legs. While I waited for the nurse to print out a stack of papers, I studied the poster on the wall to my right. It displayed various tropical diseases, with their causes, symptoms, and lovely pictures. Oh, and my favorite part: worst case scenarios resulting from catching said diseases. An incredible variety of ways for an exotic trip to go very, very wrong.
We went through roughly one ream of paper. Various vaccinations recommendations and travel tips. Don't drink the water. Don't trust peeled fruit. Mosquito repellent must be your best friend 24/7; malaria bites at night and dengue fever in the day. These were interspersed with a healthy "your friend will know this" or "your friend can tell you what's safe". Apparently the health department has a lot of trust in my friend. Then came the part where I had to select my vaccinations. The nurse recommended a tetanus booster (mixed with whooping cough vaccine) and a Hepatitis A vaccine. She also recommended a typhoid vaccination, but that could be taken in pill form.
Then there was yellow fever. That vaccine would not be covered by my insurance, since it's a vacation vaccination, so it would be $110. A look at the yellow fever map, however, told us that I would not be entering the yellow fever area. Fun fact: you can't even enter a yellow fever area without proof of yellow fever vaccination.
An hour into the appointment, it was finally time for shots. Hepatitis A on my left arm, and tetanus on my right. I got some awesome neon yellow band-aids. The nurse told me that I'd feel the Hepatitis shot that day, and the tetanus shot for a couple of days after that. I didn't quite realize that "that day" meant minutes after the shot. My arm started tingling oddly as I walked back to my car. By the time I got back to work, both arms were sore: the left quite a bit, the right arm only a tad.
That night I took my first typhoid vaccine pill. They had to be stored in the fridge, and I had to take it on an empty stomach with as much water as I could drink. The next morning, I rolled over to my right side and groaned. Soreness on shot number two had kicked in. In fact, I could barely move my right arm without feeling incredible soreness that entire day. The next day was a little better, until today came around. Now it's only sore if I push on the exact area.
And that's the story of my vaccination. It may not have been entertaining, but I tried to make it witty. Plus it'll be a nice story to print in future volumes of the blog book.
Thanks for reading.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Thursday, October 17, 2013
"I feel the earth move under my feet..."
Actually it was my desk that I felt, under my hands.
I was at work this morning, typing an e-mail on my computer, when my desk started moving from side to side. At first, I didn't know what was happening. I had heard a large truck drive by seconds before, and the thought briefly crossed my mind that maybe that had caused the movement (like when you're in the turning lane on a highway...I know, it was a crazy thought). I realized that this was highly unlikely, as I sit on the second floor of a decently sized building (at least large enough to withstand a passing truck).
Anyway, as my desk continued to sway from side to side, reality sinks in: this...is an earthquake. Up until today, I had never felt an earthquake, hence the slow understanding of the situation. My desk swayed back and forth 3 or 4 times, and then it was over as mysteriously as it began. Well, not too mysteriously. The good people of science were all on top of things, so that mere moments later we were able to find information on the internet, such as the fact that this particular earthquake was a 3.6 and the location of the epicenter. Pretty nifty.
So there it is. My very first earthquake. I know that it's not a very exciting story, and maybe no one will even care to read it, but I wanted to have it recorded because it counts as a historical moment in my life.
Thanks for reading.
I was at work this morning, typing an e-mail on my computer, when my desk started moving from side to side. At first, I didn't know what was happening. I had heard a large truck drive by seconds before, and the thought briefly crossed my mind that maybe that had caused the movement (like when you're in the turning lane on a highway...I know, it was a crazy thought). I realized that this was highly unlikely, as I sit on the second floor of a decently sized building (at least large enough to withstand a passing truck).
Anyway, as my desk continued to sway from side to side, reality sinks in: this...is an earthquake. Up until today, I had never felt an earthquake, hence the slow understanding of the situation. My desk swayed back and forth 3 or 4 times, and then it was over as mysteriously as it began. Well, not too mysteriously. The good people of science were all on top of things, so that mere moments later we were able to find information on the internet, such as the fact that this particular earthquake was a 3.6 and the location of the epicenter. Pretty nifty.
So there it is. My very first earthquake. I know that it's not a very exciting story, and maybe no one will even care to read it, but I wanted to have it recorded because it counts as a historical moment in my life.
Thanks for reading.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Another Crazy Day...
Last weekend, I made a casual remark that sometimes works can be a little slow, because my job is largely based on issues that come up. Apparently, I cued some kind of Murphy's law, because this week has been insane!
This morning wasn't so bad. Just keeping busy. Noon came, so I headed off to the conference room (I've been giving the data entry team training on business writing). I had been challenged by a team mate to insert the following three themes into my presentation: Mt Rainier, zombie apocalypse, kangaroo pouch. I did pretty well. I started by saying that good writing can seem like a challenge, like climbing Mt Rainier. I talked about tone, and said they should use their personalities and not sound like corporate zombies. I was all prepared to tell the group to take my tips and store them away in their kangaroo pouches of learning, when I noticed something horrible. I had made a punctuation error on my Powerpoint slide. I had failed to use a close quote around the word "please". I couldn't help but point it out, and I moved on pretty well, but I totally forgot to mention kangaroo pouch. So close. Side note: the punctuation error came one line before my note about proofreading. Epic fail? Oh well. I used it as a learning example.
Fast forward to 1:30. I'm busily preparing a different presentation for a team meeting at 2:30. The thought that I may not take a lunch is entering my mind. I click send on an e-mail, and it fails. Four times. My internet is down. I crawled under my desk to see if the cord had come out, but it hadn't, so we contacted the IT department for help. Fun fact: I pretty much can't do anything without the internet at work....so I just sat there and waited. I realized that I really wouldn't be getting a lunch, so I pulled the peanut butter and jelly sandwich out of my purse, and ate it at my desk, hovering awkwardly over the IT guy as he investigated...and discovered that my cord has become loosened from the wall. Feeling lame, part two. It was kind of funny, though.
2:27. Scrambling to finish my presentation, since I was sans internet for roughly 25 minutes. Definitely no lunch (good thing I ate my sandwich!). Suddenly, a co-worker approached: I had to take a call. Fighting off a look of panic, I took the call. The dude at the desk kitty corner to mine smirked slightly with amusement (and some pity) at my plight. After the call, I hurriedly uploaded my presentation file. Two different people starting chatting me questions, but there was no time! I locked my computer, grabbed my meeting supplies, and made a run for the conference room, ten minutes late. I tried to sneak in, but the only open seat was at the front of the room.
Good news: that presentation went quite well. As did the four o'clock writing training.
So then it was 4:30. Half hour before quitting time. I told my boss that one thing had led to another and that I hadn't taken a lunch. He asked if I had things I needed to do. And I did. So I clocked out for ten, ran triage on everything I had left, and went home (well, I got a little way-laid talking to co-workers....).
The end.
Thanks for reading.
This morning wasn't so bad. Just keeping busy. Noon came, so I headed off to the conference room (I've been giving the data entry team training on business writing). I had been challenged by a team mate to insert the following three themes into my presentation: Mt Rainier, zombie apocalypse, kangaroo pouch. I did pretty well. I started by saying that good writing can seem like a challenge, like climbing Mt Rainier. I talked about tone, and said they should use their personalities and not sound like corporate zombies. I was all prepared to tell the group to take my tips and store them away in their kangaroo pouches of learning, when I noticed something horrible. I had made a punctuation error on my Powerpoint slide. I had failed to use a close quote around the word "please". I couldn't help but point it out, and I moved on pretty well, but I totally forgot to mention kangaroo pouch. So close. Side note: the punctuation error came one line before my note about proofreading. Epic fail? Oh well. I used it as a learning example.
Fast forward to 1:30. I'm busily preparing a different presentation for a team meeting at 2:30. The thought that I may not take a lunch is entering my mind. I click send on an e-mail, and it fails. Four times. My internet is down. I crawled under my desk to see if the cord had come out, but it hadn't, so we contacted the IT department for help. Fun fact: I pretty much can't do anything without the internet at work....so I just sat there and waited. I realized that I really wouldn't be getting a lunch, so I pulled the peanut butter and jelly sandwich out of my purse, and ate it at my desk, hovering awkwardly over the IT guy as he investigated...and discovered that my cord has become loosened from the wall. Feeling lame, part two. It was kind of funny, though.
2:27. Scrambling to finish my presentation, since I was sans internet for roughly 25 minutes. Definitely no lunch (good thing I ate my sandwich!). Suddenly, a co-worker approached: I had to take a call. Fighting off a look of panic, I took the call. The dude at the desk kitty corner to mine smirked slightly with amusement (and some pity) at my plight. After the call, I hurriedly uploaded my presentation file. Two different people starting chatting me questions, but there was no time! I locked my computer, grabbed my meeting supplies, and made a run for the conference room, ten minutes late. I tried to sneak in, but the only open seat was at the front of the room.
Good news: that presentation went quite well. As did the four o'clock writing training.
So then it was 4:30. Half hour before quitting time. I told my boss that one thing had led to another and that I hadn't taken a lunch. He asked if I had things I needed to do. And I did. So I clocked out for ten, ran triage on everything I had left, and went home (well, I got a little way-laid talking to co-workers....).
The end.
Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Oh, What A Day!
Today was an interesting day at work, so I thought I'd write about it.
It all started at ten a.m. I had scheduled a conference call with an account manager that I work with. I dialed the conference call number. I was the first person on the call. Soon, I heard a *beep beep*, the sound you hear when someone else enters the call.
"Hi, Jason?" I said, expecting the account manager. Suddenly, one of my coworkers, Josh, started laughing. I laughed, knowing I'd fallen for his joke.
30 seconds later: beep beep. "Hi, Jason?" Again, Josh laughed. I laughed, but glared. He said he wouldn't do it again.
30 seconds later: beep beep. "Hi, Jason?" This time, it was Logan cracking up. I continued to good-naturedly laugh.
Yet another 30 seconds later: beep beep. "Hi, Jason?" Nope, still not Jason. Steven started laughing. It was still funny, but I was reaching the end of my rope. Josh sensed this and announced that they were finished.
Later, after running an errand at lunch, I returned to find the office dark. Apparently, the power had gone out while I was gone. I was there only a few minutes before someone came through to announce that power wouldn't be back until 6pm, and that we could go home. However, after standing in the parking for about ten minutes, talking to a coworker, I noticed people heading back into the building. The power had come back on. I told my friend to make a run for it, but decided to go back to work. I had stuff I could do for another hour and a half, and figured I may as well make some more money.
There were about 20 of us in my department that stayed/wandered back in. I did get some work done, plus a lovely game of foosball with my teammates (I'm getting better!).
Afterwards, I drove home in my old car (my sister borrowed my new car to drive to Salt Lake). It was super trippy, because it's so much bigger. It was also very hot, as it does not have working air conditioning.
So that was my day. Hope you found it to be interesting.
It all started at ten a.m. I had scheduled a conference call with an account manager that I work with. I dialed the conference call number. I was the first person on the call. Soon, I heard a *beep beep*, the sound you hear when someone else enters the call.
"Hi, Jason?" I said, expecting the account manager. Suddenly, one of my coworkers, Josh, started laughing. I laughed, knowing I'd fallen for his joke.
30 seconds later: beep beep. "Hi, Jason?" Again, Josh laughed. I laughed, but glared. He said he wouldn't do it again.
30 seconds later: beep beep. "Hi, Jason?" This time, it was Logan cracking up. I continued to good-naturedly laugh.
Yet another 30 seconds later: beep beep. "Hi, Jason?" Nope, still not Jason. Steven started laughing. It was still funny, but I was reaching the end of my rope. Josh sensed this and announced that they were finished.
Later, after running an errand at lunch, I returned to find the office dark. Apparently, the power had gone out while I was gone. I was there only a few minutes before someone came through to announce that power wouldn't be back until 6pm, and that we could go home. However, after standing in the parking for about ten minutes, talking to a coworker, I noticed people heading back into the building. The power had come back on. I told my friend to make a run for it, but decided to go back to work. I had stuff I could do for another hour and a half, and figured I may as well make some more money.
There were about 20 of us in my department that stayed/wandered back in. I did get some work done, plus a lovely game of foosball with my teammates (I'm getting better!).
Afterwards, I drove home in my old car (my sister borrowed my new car to drive to Salt Lake). It was super trippy, because it's so much bigger. It was also very hot, as it does not have working air conditioning.
So that was my day. Hope you found it to be interesting.
Family Reunion! Mostly pictures of Heber
Harrison Family Reunion! Always a good time. Heather and I headed down on Thursday to join the camping festivities. It was fantastic to see my family, some of whom I only see at the reunion because they live so far away. The low point was the fact that a big, black bull moose was sighted several times around the campground, but never by me! Many of you know that it's been years since I've seen a moose, so it was really depressing that I never caught it. Oh well.
Below are some exciting pictures from the trip. Fancy hair by Heather, fun at the Heber Valley Railway Station and the Dairy Keen, and a random statue we saw while driving around Midway.
I Changed My Mind
Remember that time that I said I was going to do this awesome list of 100 facts about me for my 100th post? Well, I changed my mind. Partially because it was taking really long, and partly because I got all the way to 50 and thought my draft had been saved, but really it only saved up to 16. Extra lame.
So instead, as I head into the next 100 posts and beyond, I'd like to make a couple of blogging goals. As I love blogging once I sit down and start typing, sometimes I have the pause from my busy life and take the time to blog. So here's what I want: I want to blog at least once a week. I want to blog more about my life (but of course, there will still be random rants). I want to include more pictures in my posts, because that makes them way more awesome.
So here's a little picture catch-up:
My awesome new car!
And my awesome bumper sticker (awesome for all you Firefly fans out there).
The cake we decorated for my friend's birthday. We only had pink frosting for the poor boy. I think we made up for it quite nicely.
Donuts for my 28th (!) birthday.
My new hair color! I'd been thinking about red for a long time, and finally took the dive.
So there's a quick catch up up to the end of July. More posts to come!
So instead, as I head into the next 100 posts and beyond, I'd like to make a couple of blogging goals. As I love blogging once I sit down and start typing, sometimes I have the pause from my busy life and take the time to blog. So here's what I want: I want to blog at least once a week. I want to blog more about my life (but of course, there will still be random rants). I want to include more pictures in my posts, because that makes them way more awesome.
So here's a little picture catch-up:
My awesome new car!
So there's a quick catch up up to the end of July. More posts to come!
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Dear Boys of Summertime
Look! It's a Dear Boys post! It's been a long while, but here it is:
Dear Shampoo,
I admit to giggling a little bit after you asked my opinion the other day, because you're just so nice...and nice looking ;)
Dear Sherman,
That could have been an awkward moment if I still had the feelings for you. Luckily, we work much better as friends.
Dear Sno-Cone,
You might be a little young for me...but I think very highly of you, especially those times when we are laughing hysterically together. Good times.
Dear My New Team at Work,
It's certainly been interesting, being one of two girls on a team of eleven. Thanks for welcoming me and being super awesome.
Sincerely to All,
Michelle
Dear Friends, Readers, Countrymen,
This is my 100th post, but try not to think of it that way, because I'm working on something for the official 100th post. It's just taking so dang long! Be patient, s'il vous plait.
Thanks for reading.
Dear Shampoo,
I admit to giggling a little bit after you asked my opinion the other day, because you're just so nice...and nice looking ;)
Dear Sherman,
That could have been an awkward moment if I still had the feelings for you. Luckily, we work much better as friends.
Dear Sno-Cone,
You might be a little young for me...but I think very highly of you, especially those times when we are laughing hysterically together. Good times.
Dear My New Team at Work,
It's certainly been interesting, being one of two girls on a team of eleven. Thanks for welcoming me and being super awesome.
Sincerely to All,
Michelle
Dear Friends, Readers, Countrymen,
This is my 100th post, but try not to think of it that way, because I'm working on something for the official 100th post. It's just taking so dang long! Be patient, s'il vous plait.
Thanks for reading.
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