Under the Weather

I haven't been really sick but I've felt run down for almost a week now. Sort of like I have a constant sleep deficit even though I'm sleeping a lot. As a result I stayed in most of the weekend. Lucky for me, Mom made some of her world famous chicken noodle soup and some homemade buns to go with it. It was perfect timing! I've got a hard work week coming up so hopefully this will sustain me!

Shut up about the Swine Flu already!!!

I have to say, I am so sick of hearing about Swine Flu. I wish there was some sort of vaccination I could take that would save me from all the catastrophizing and media hype about this. This reminds me of all the SARS and Avian Flu (bird flu) garbage in the past few years. People, this is nothing to get crazy over. All of these actions that I've been seeing to help protect yourself and your loved ones from swine flu is likely just going to make things worse.

What do I mean? Well, let's look at the new additions of antibacterial wipes and Purell dispensers that are gracing the entrance of public places. This seems like a good idea but the overuse of antibacterial products is one of the things that is contributing to drug resistant strains of microorganisms. These products are helpful but you shouldn't be slathering them on all the time. Regular soap and water will do the trick. Also, it's okay to be a bit dirty sometimes, in my opinion, because it helps your body build up its immune system. Anyway, this is just one small example of a change I've noticed since the swine flu was classified as a pandemic.

I did a little bit of research and as I suspected, many more people die from influenza (aka the regular flu) yearly than have died from the Swine Flu. The symptoms for both are pretty similar and for the vast majority of people the swine flu is fairly mild. Unless you fall into one of the more vulnerable groups (very old, very young or very sick) you are probably going to be just fine. I'd like to point out that those vulnerable groups are the ones that are vulnerable to just about every illness as well, not just Swine Flu. Shouldn't we be focusing our energy on AIDS or cancer? Aren't these things bigger threats to public health and well-being? Probably but they've been covered before therefore the scare factor has worn off so the media isn't reporting on them. Until new and frightening information is gleaned (cancer is airborne!?! you can get AIDS from fast food!?!) those topics won't be making the headlines.

I can see why people are freaking out. Historically speaking, H1N1 has killed a lot of people. However, that was in 1918 and we've become more medically and hygienically advanced since then. Plus, the Spanish Flu was given a '5' on the Pandemic Severity Index and right now the Swine Flu is rated as a '1'. I think everyone really needs to chill out about this. We're a long way from here:


Before I get a bunch of comments telling me to take Swine Flu seriously, let me say this- I don't think we should ignore it. That being said, we need to be more sensible and exaggerating about it will only cause panic and panic solves nothing. I was reading an article online today that seemed to have a little bit of common sense. It's called 7 Better Ways Medicine Can Beat Back Swine Flu. Probably my favorite tip for swine flu prevention was to make sure you're getting enough Vitamin D. It's easy to do, there are no side effects involved and you are probably Vitamin D deficient anyway. You don't need a shot or a round of antibiotics, you don't have to drown your children in Purell; just use common sense. Get enough rest, eat well, exercise, take a vitamin, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze and wash your hands with soap and water.

To sum it up: if you're concerned about Swine Flu I suggest you wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water, shut off the latest emergency Fox News bulletin and go outside to get some Vitamin D.

Being Sick Sucks

I am not bedridden but considering I have important things that I cannot be sick for this weekend I have been taking it really easy today. Which means I am bored. It's ironic, isn't it? When I am busy (which hasn't happened for many months now) I would kill for a day to myself to just do nothing. I have lots of "I shoulds" too- reading is one of those if I ever plan on getting anywhere near my goal for this year. I'm reading The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin right now and it's all right but it probably won't be my most favorite book of all time. I think it's a book that I will like talking about more than I liked reading it. I have also been thinking about how snobby I am with books. Maybe I should try and read something trashy? I read a lot of trashy stuff when I was a teenager but now I just start to get annoyed when things are formulaic, predictable and/or poorly written. Please, if you can recommend some good books with substance I would be grateful!

Tomorrow is Stephie's 20th birthday and also the day that we get the keys to our apartment. It feels like such a tease though since we won't be moving any belongings in there for almost another 2 weeks. I desperately want to unpack and start having a regular life again! We have some things at my dad's house so we will take as many of them as will fit in the Kiester tomorrow. I have to spend time getting things together for Cindy's wedding on the weekend and Matt has a job interview on Thursday.

Supposedly my Auntie Joyce and cousin Jamie are coming by tonight. I can't remember the last time I saw either of them so it should be interesting. It's strange because we have a tightknit immediate family but I really am not close to anyone in my extended family at all. I don't even know how old Jamie is but I think she is a teenager and the last time I saw her she was probably 7 years old.

Also does anyone know of or belong to any kind of online blogging community? I think that would help motivate me to keep blogging while I am not traveling. I need to feel like I have a dialogue going with people and that means I need commenters. I do have some lovely people that comment regularly, however, these also happen to be the people that I talk to almost daily anyway. Hahah. It would be nice to get comments from a variety of people- maybe I should try and get into the book blogging community even though I don't blog solely about books? Any ideas?