Bird Flu, SARS, Swine Flu… What’s Next?

I continue to be surprised that there are diseases (newly and yet-to-be discovered) that can still have such a severe impact on us. I mean, we live in a very advanced society. We’ve developed cures or found a way to prolong life for diseases and viruses that, in the past, if you were found to have them would mean an immediate death sentence; HIV and certain types of cancer are examples. Yet, we have nothing to safeguard us again seemingly common viruses that exist just across the border. What’s most troublesome is that we can unknowingly put ourselves in harms way and shatter our peace of mind just by going about our daily business.

With hundreds of people packed tightly into a small space, the second (and thankfully, shortest) part of my commute has always been a harrowing experience. The ride is no more than two stops and lasts less than ten minutes but they are the worst few minutes of my day (anyone who takes the E train during rush hour knows what I mean). I didn’t think it could get any worse but with the recent outbreak of swine flu, every sneeze is now a cause for alarm and paranoia quickly sets in. Where before I could easily dismiss or attribute such occurrences to allergies or the common cold, I am now anxious and alert to any symptom that could in any way be related to the swine flu. In my worst moments, I envision our society turning into one where we have to wear gloves and cover our mouths with masks (standard procedures) to protect us from numerous incurable diseases that permeate the atmosphere. Clean fresh air, if such ever existed, would be a thing of the past. Every time the WHO raises the pandemic level, it seems that we are getting closer to this point and even if the CDC does find a cure for swine flu very soon, it’s almost guaranteed that something else will come along and set us in a state of panic just like SARS and the bird flu before it. Frankly, we are too advanced a society to so easily fall prey to such viruses as swine flu and I can only hope that the CDC, WHO, and anyone else in a position to safeguard us against them can position us offensively rather than us having to adapt a defensive approach when the next virus hits.

Golf Pants

Now thats a confident man. I love it!

Annoyances

It’s clear that winter is behind us but I wasn’t quite ready for this shift to summer-like weather (although it hasn’t gotten too bad yet). I can’t stand extreme temperature because too much heat saps my energy and freezing cold depresses me. And yes, 90 degrees is extreme considering we’ve been in the 50s and 60s since the start of spring. This annoying tendency of the weather to jump and dip at will lead me to reflect on other things that I find just a tad annoying.

1.) Unreliable transportation- when it takes me an additional hour to get where I need to go (Greyhound), I consider that poor service. And, I don’t appreciate having to pay $22 more each month (MTA) when service is slated to be cut. Where’s my money going?

2.) (Uneasy) quiet- I like my peace and quiet but there’s a reason why I’m in no hurry to own a house. I feel secure at the thought of 50 other renters packed around me when I go to bed at night. There’s no better reminder of this than being alone in a house out in the boonies with very little outside noise.

3.) Poor internet connection- especially when I have the momentum to whittle through those projects on my list. It’s almost guaranteed that I will be booted off a server within five minutes of connecting to it. I just can’t afford to pay for my own internet right now.

4.) The pain of breaking in semi-new shoes- we try shoes on in the store and they feel great. Not so great when you wear them outside for the first time. I usually give up on certain shoes after wearing them once. Sometimes, I forget about the pain I experienced the first time and give them another try. Not always the best idea but a necessary step since they’re on their way to becoming comfortable throughout the third wearing. But the times leading up to that point…a little painful.

5.) Passive aggressive people- need I say more? We all know them; life would be so much easier if everyone would just “say what you need to say” (love this song!)

Coming Clean About Astrology

Some time ago I ran into a problem, the breadth of which was beyond my capabilities. I talked it over with some people (and to God) and I spent some time going over it in my mind but still it didn’t seem to be enough. So like most people looking for answers, I went to the internet and ran a Google search. Not surprisingly, the results were plentiful but what I found shocking was the number of people who seemingly had experienced the same exact problems that I was having. What’s even more surprising is that I found astrology forums where users somehow connected their issues to being born under a certain sun sign to be the most helpful. Frankly, I think that people who immerse themselves in astrology are weak-minded and susceptible to anything. They are so reliant on what other people say they are supposed to be like (based on their birth date) that they live their life to fit a mold rather than carve their own way. (Please note that this opinion refers only to people who feel they need to consult their psychics/charlatans and their charts to tell them how to live.) But after realizing that I was connecting to the words of these people with their varying levels of belief, I had to reconsider my position. I still don’t buy into all that astrology BS and I probably never will. But somewhere along the way, I felt myself bending to allow for the possibilities that astrology (certain ones-like eastern zodiac-more than others) is not a complete hoax. Therefore while I can’t say definitively that I believe in astrology, I do think that profiles about the zodiac signs do contain some grain of truth and I am now more open to exploring what I read about it rather than completely dismissing it off hand. Definitely not on my way to developing my birth chart or anything like that though.

*I have used astrology and zodiac interchangeably throughout this post. I may be wrong in doing so since I know absolutely nothing about either.

Beyonce Audio Hoax

Tearing someone down who's at the top of their game is something that critics have always loved to do and it seems that they're at it again with this audio. Listen and judge for yourself. They would have us believe that this is Beyonce performing a terrible rendition of her hit "If I were A Boy". Ok, I've heard her do the riffs and there's enough of her voice to plant seeds of doubt (as to her talent) but I don't buy it. For one, I've seen her in concert and heard her sing a capella, including the breaths she took throughout. The girl can sing! Second, Beyonce is a consumate professional and has been at her business too long to give a performance like that. If she truly couldn't sing and needed the help of a recording, I'm sure she nows how to do a convincing lip sync after all this time. Despite this hoax, I plan to purchase a ticket to her upcoming concert first thing in the morning. I may not care too much for her as an actress but she is one hell of a performer and she knows how to put on a great show.

A New Low

What is this world coming to? Is nothing sacred? It is with mild shock that I received the news that Susan Boyle was offered $1 million dollars to do a porno in which she loses her virginity. That’s right, somebody out there thinks that we want to see this frumpy 47 year-old woman who recently caught our attention because she can carry a tune (definitely not superstar material in my opinion) get naked and do the deed. Not me, not in this lifetime! What’s even more laughable is that the production company actually stated that “doing it in front of bright lights and cameras…will make it that much more special.” I can’t imagine how they reasoned that one out! Clearly these people are trying to take advantage of this simple woman and trying to capitalize on her 15 minutes. And they’re trying to make the rest of us as culpable as they are by having fans choose the title if Susan accepts. Give me a break! The only way that I can think of that they could get any lower is if they'd made a similar offer to a developmentally-challenged teenage or adolescent girl.

The View: An Experience

Unless I have an appointment or am planning to take a trip, I rarely take time off from work. While the idea of staying in and lazing around the apartment on a traditional work day is a nice one, it is one that I rarely indulge. However, when I was invited to a live showing of The View, it seemed right to accept and put my PTO to good use. Mind you, I’d never watched the view before yesterday’s show and my opinion of the ladies (as a gaggle of chatty-kathys) was not a flattering one. But I thought, why not, it’d be an experience. And it was.

Close to an hour after I had intended to awaken, I resisted the urge to spend the day in bed and sluggishly prepared for the experience that awaited me. Winds and heavy rain was not enough of a deterrent and I made it to the studio before the 9:30am cut-off that was printed on the ticket. C. and I waited for about 30 minutes before we made it through the lobby door and past security. There, in the hallway, we would wait another hour before being taken up to the studio where we would have an up-close look at Whoopi, Joy, Sherri, Elizabeth, and Barbara.

Although a seat was most welcome once we were finally admitted into the studio (we were met with cookies and juice) the wait was not completely uneventful. While waiting a good 20 minutes to use the restroom, Debbie Morgan, the actress who plays Angie on All My Children walked by on her way to the elevator. She was dressed very casually with her hat pulled down low and obviously did not want to be bothered, which no one did.

The studio where The View is filmed is much smaller than we had expected. The layout can best be described as stadium seating with three sections (right, center, left) and directed to the tiny table where the ladies sat. We were seated in the second row of the right mezzanine section. It was a good seat although the cameras obstructed my view of Elizabeth and Sherri and I caught Barbara in profile only. The show itself was pretty tame but after screaming and clapping on cue for the first 10 minutes, I was ready to sit back and listen.

It was a day of “Hot Topics” which featured Mel Gibson’s divorce, the child actress from Slumdog Millionaire being sold by her father, President Obama and Chavez, among other. However, I was more interested in what was going on during the breaks (pictures to come). Some of the hosts got make-up touch ups, there was much interaction with the crew, and the warm-up comic fielded our questions and tried to keep us entertained. The ladies stayed on stage almost the entire time and seemed to be working non-stop. All in all, I was glad the show was live and merely an hour long because both my hands and mouth were tired from all the work they had to do. But I was glad that I got to experience the show without all the frills and I gained a renewed respect for the ladies as intelligent and hard-working, positive women.