No, I don't want to "party" with you. For real.

So I was having a bit of a rough night tonight so I decided to go for a walk. This is a rare choice for me with the heat of AZ. I was just going to walk around for fifteen minutes or so, just to clear my head.

As I was walking, some guy beat on his window to get my attention, then waved frantically at me. I squinted to see if it was someone I knew. Then he came bounding out of his apartment. "Do you live around here?" he asked while stepping a little too close to me.

"Yeah, in another building." I replied while stepping away.

"We're looking for another girl, come on in and party with us."

"No thanks, I've got to work in the morning."

"Aw, come on, we need another girl."

"No, I can't, but have fun."

"It'll be fun, come on." He stepped closer to me and gestured towards his open door.

"Nah man, have a good night." I hastily walked away without looking back. When I arrived at my building, I turned and could still see him outside, so I walked all the way around my building and down to the office to give him time to lose interest before I returned to my apartment.

While I have no idea whether his party consisted of drinking, drugs, sex, scrabble, or any combination thereof, it was frightening to have someone repeatedly enter my personal space after I said no to him.

I'm also pissed because this is the first time I've gone for a walk in my new neighborhood. Who the hell thinks it's okay to bother someone like that?

I'm disappointed and frustrated tonight.

Why I'm Holding a Sock Full of Hot Rice on the Side of my Head

Today I woke up with one of my least favorite afflictions, an ear infection.  Though I work full time, I'm one of the millions of Americans with no health insurance, so I'm hoping to not have to see a doctor for it.  Purchasing insurance on my own is cost prohibitive because the level of insurance I could afford would only help me in the case of hospital emergencies, so the every day ear infection, check up, or blood work would still have to be paid out of pocket.

I don't get paid sick time at my job, and I have bills to pay.  Because of this, I worked all day today, despite intermittent waves of dizziness.  I also had to not let on that I was having any problems because my boss is the type to send you home if you're sick.  He may think it's a nice gesture and that he's showing compassion, but when you need the money, being forced to go home (unpaid) can be incredibly problematic.  I started saving up an emergency fund to try to help with scenarios like this, but other circumstances arose and forced me to drain the fund.  I'm having a good time monetarily.

I took some Tylenol at work today, and while it has the fever under control, it did nothing for the pain, so I've been in misery all day.  Now that I'm finally home, the sock full of hot rice is providing a little relief from the pain.  I hope this doesn't get worse, I'm still paying off outstanding bills for my last set of medical issues.

My job is supposed to start offering health insurance in January, so fingers crossed that nothing awful happens between now and then.  It was supposed to have started this month, but when we applied, all the applicants except me were denied for pre-existing conditions, which left us with not enough people to qualify for a group discount, so my boss scrapped the idea of getting us coverage, but will try again for January.  I don't qualify for health insurance through the state because I'm not pregnant and I don't have any kids.  I "make too much money" to qualify for sliding scale in most clinics, so I'm stuck paying for everything out of pocket right now.

I don't want to go off on a tangent about it while I'm not feeling well, but all I will say for now (with a sock on the side of my head) is health care reform: yes please.

The Passing of Talia Joy Castellano

Makeup is one of my hobbies.  I don't always wear a full face to work, but I do have fun with my makeup when I have time and I have a pretty extensive collection.  I also watch a lot of makeup gurus on youtube.  One of the gurus I started watching a year or so ago was Talia Joy.  She was very young, very upbeat, and fighting cancer.  She had been sick for six years, and a few months ago, her cancer had spread to her right hip and her skull, meaning she would likely die soon, which is exactly what happened this morning.

I am relieved that she is no longer in pain, but I am so sad for her family to lose her at the age of thirteen.  At thirteen my biggest problem was that I didn't want to do my homework.  I can't even imagine being thirteen and knowing that you are dying.  Through it all, she somehow managed to stay upbeat and cheerful.

Cancer is a terrible disease and we, as a society, have so much work to do in the areas of prevention, treatment, awareness, and research.  We owe it to everyone who has ever lost anyone to cancer.

Jenny McCarthy's New Platform

I don't watch The View, and never have, as I've always worked during the day.  However upon hearing that Jenny McCarthy has been selected to fill one of the open slots on the show, I am disappointed.  I know that she is going to use this platform to spread her ill-informed activism, and cause even more damage to the public.

You probably know what I'm talking about, but if you don't, let me get you up to speed.  Jenny McCarthy has a son, who was diagnosed with autism in 2005.  Before this diagnosis, she was using new-age terms like "crystal-child" and "indigo-mom" to convey how special her son was, being that everyone is "gifted."  Anyway, that's neither here nor there.  In 1998, there was a paper published in The Lancet, claiming that there was a link between autism and MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccinations.  Jenny McCarthy decided that her son's autism was caused by his vaccinations.  Other studies have shown that there is no correlation between vaccinations and autism, The Lancet has retracted the published paper, and Dr. Andrew Wakefield, who wrote the fraudulent paper, is now barred from practicing medicine in the U.K.  All of those are minor inconveniences that we can ignore, because Jenny McCarthy has a mother's intuition, it's all a big conspiracy, or some other BS.

Jenny has used her celebrity status to spread this ignorance, and has caused real damage to public health.  When I was a child, vaccines weren't optional, they were given at school.  I can remember lining up in the gym in first grade for shots.  And now, because of our society's need to coddle everyone's beliefs, parents can choose to not have their children vaccinated.  This is a real danger, and will lead to serious repercussions if the trend continues.  It's a real shame how people can be swayed to believe something that is just not true.  I know nursing students who believe that vaccinations can cause autism.  Nursing students!  The people who will be taking care of you, me, and our children.  I just don't understand how someone can choose to study science/medicine and believe something like this.  There are no valid studies that support the idea that vaccines lead to autism.

You may wonder, well what business is it of mine if a parent chooses not to vaccinate their child?  If their choice didn't endanger anyone else, you'd be right.  However, their choice to not vaccinate their child puts other children at risk.  Vaccinations are not 100% effective, so even if your child has been vaccinated, it is still a possibility that they can get sick from an unvaccinated/infected child.  Also, certain vaccinations have to be given at a later age.  The MMR vaccine, for example, is typically given at twelve months old.  So say you have a six year old and a five month old.  Your six year old is going to school and is unknowingly exposed to a child who is coming down with measles.  Your six year old is vaccinated and doesn't get sick, but they come home and play with your five month old.  Your five month old gets sick.  Your five month old could face complications, or even death, as drastic as that sounds.  This is where I have a real problem with people who choose not to vaccinate their children.  Not only are they putting their child at risk for diseases that their child shouldn't have to be at risk for, but they are putting other children at risk for these diseases as well.

Jenny McCarthy is not a scientist.  Jenny McCarthy is not a Doctor.  Jenny McCarthy did not graduate college and should not have any authority over people when it comes to public health.  She is an actress, playboy playmate, and model.  None of these things are credentials that should allow her to attempt to "educate" anyone about vaccinations.

I understand that Jenny was distraught at her son's diagnosis, and that she was desperate for an answer and a cure.  She put her son through all kinds of therapies for his autism including diet changes, hyperbaric oxygen chambers, chelation therapy, aromatherapy, electromagnets, vitamins, prescription drugs, and who knows what else.  She was obviously desperate to help him, and I am not denying that.  However, I believe that her conclusion of the cause for his autism is wrong, and that her actions are dangerous.  Non-medical vaccine exemption rates are climbing because the public believes her and others like her.  Our society is being put at risk because of misinformation.

She claims that her son's autism has been cured.  There is no cure for autism.  If her son's symptoms have completely subsided, then the only valid answer is that he was originally misdiagnosed.

I am disappointed that she has been given a place on a show that runs in the daytime, and will reach stay-at-home/full-time parents.  I realize The View is looking for someone with controversial views to stir things up and generate ratings, but giving her a readily accessible place to spread this bad information to her target audience is irresponsible.

First post and a brief introduction to me

All right, so I have been wanting to get back into writing for a while and I figured what better way than to get back into blogging.  I'm not sure where I'll take this blog just yet, but I do hope to write somewhat regularly.

I'll start with who I am to give you some idea of my background.  I currently work in education, but have previously worked in wireless technical support, retail, editing, web development, and in a lab environment.  I have degrees in English and Biology, but have been out of school for a few years at this point.  I'm aiming to get back into school in the future, but for now, I am working and supporting my SO through school.

Politically, I do not identify with any party, but I am very liberal, and I'm not planning to hide it or tone it down on this blog.

I am an atheist, but I don't care what religion anyone else wants to practice, as long as religion isn't being used to restrict rights/establish laws.  Coming from a science background, I am passionate about scientific advances, and I have a problem when religious beliefs stand in the way of progress.

Now that you know a bit about me, I hope you'll understand where I'm coming from, and that you will enjoy reading my future blog entries.