Midterm Report

I admit that blogging (among other things) is an official procrastination from piling homework, including tonight! It's also a distraction from me missing my husband for the 3rd of 5 days (I know, I can hear the violin music). However I'm going to justify it by attempting to summarize, briefly, what it is exactly that I have been learning for the past 2 months. For those academic enthusiasts out there, this one's for you. For for the rest of you, check in next time! Oh yes, and what's a post (from me) without pictures? Here I am in a current state of despair:

(Ok, it's not that bad. Mostly I'm playing with PhotoBooth.)

8 weeks complete, 7.5 to go. This semester is focused on grasping a basic knowledge of the underlying sciences of public health. I'm not as much of a science person, so it's been a little 'over the top' for me. However, science and professors are great at proving things, including why their classes are relevant. And I agree with the importance of finding solid evidence before making a real recommendation to real people about their health.

Let's start with epidemiology, which is essentially a structured way to identify determinants or risk factors of health and disease. Realization #1: To "study" something here doesn't mean to look at it for awhile until it's temporarily memorized or generally understood. It means to conduct an actual study, with money, that includes analyses, methods and results with hopes of finding an association between an exposure and an outcome. I'm learning all about exactly how an investigator does these, even though I'm not sure I will ever do one myself (doubtful by the end of class!). I AM learning how to critique and interpret them, though, in order to make generalizable statements through program or policy. Aha.

Next, and very much related, is biostatistics (I feel like I'm writing a paper, this is horrible). Biostaticians do all of the analyses on population data that epidemiologists collect. I'm back to calculating p-values, 95% confidence intervals, and chi-square tests with fancy computer programs to compare risk proportions in multiple groups, just so I can talk the language of the study people.

On a totally different spectrum, health policy and management: how the health care system is and isn't flawed. Mostly IS. The overall feel I get in this class is that hospitals, health care, doctors, long-term care, prescription drugs, mental health, and everything else is in big trouble in this country and there's nothing that's going to fix it. Unless I do something about it. Great! I'm already trying to help the poor prevent diseases, and now I need to fix their treatments when they get sick? I mean, 3 hours on a Tuesday night, who would enjoy this class? God bless good doctors and nurses out there! I'm glad I know a few that can give a realistic balance:)

A little more up my alley is environmental heath, sadly and probably my first and last such class here. While I can tell you about greenhouse gases, toxicants, landfill management, biological vectors, and 'nucular' power, I am also disturbingly aware of the hazards of such things and feel I may have been poisoned with lead as a young child (not intentionally, mom and dad!). jk...mostly...

Newly added to my agenda (as of yesterday) is an international health writing course. This one looks like it's going to be really fun and useful. I'll get to refine my writing skills specifically by focusing on concise language (like all you need to know in 250 words or less!), learn how to solidly interpret evidence-based public health studies, and dive in detail into two HIV studies from Tanzania and Uganda. Keep your eyes out for a much more concise Finals Report in December, after I have taken this class!!

Finally, my favorite (and my concentration, so this is a good thing) is studying public health from the perspective of the social and behavioral sciences. We study (in the normal sense) a lot of theories and models on human behavior from tons of social disciplines, and then learn how they are all flawed even though they are widely accepted (do I sense a theme here?). Well that's the general consensus. Most theories (including modern economics) explain that people always behave in a rational manner and in their own best interest when they have the information they need to do so. If this were the case though, then more people, if not all, would choose not to smoke or eat fatty foods or do drugs, for example, since everyone knows these things are bad for us. Clearly, there are other environmental factors at play, which are rarely considered in public health interventions. In fact, you and I both behave in a predictably irrational manner almost all of the time. In a sense, I am learning how to 'influence' people's behaviors toward certain health goals (this works in other areas of life!) by finding out what's important to them. I also get candy and prizes regularly in this class and get to watch movie clips:)

Ok I'm done and thinking maybe I should forget the real homework tonight - I feel ready to graduate! Thanks for your listening ear (eye?). Feel free to offer your muses and offenses and what-nots! I'd be happy to share more (if that's possible)! Don't forget to vote!!

Much happier, striking a strikingly Palin-similar pose....??

Five Dollar Friday!

Just a reminder to everyone that today is a Five Dollar Friday! That means you get a reminder to logon to the Partners In Health (a global health organization in Boston) website and, if you wish, make a $5 donation for a malaria net to be sent to Haiti for hurricane relief. The goal is to get 10,000 nets nationwide to help prevent the spread of malaria, which is threatening the population due to remaining pools of standing water left in the country after 4 hurricanes came through this Fall.

Check out more at THIS link, or their overall website to the right at cool organizations helping people. We have until Oct 31 to get as many nets paid for as possible, but we can start at $5!

Thanks and happy weekend!

The Future is Now and Matt Broweleit is the Future!

Birthday cards are so 20th century. We are living in the fierce and futuristic 21st century. Now "Birthday Blogs" are the appropriate thing. Matt Broweleit, this birthday blog goes out to you. Matt is one of our dearest friends and deserves much more than just some internet air space. We often think of Matt like some Martin Luther figure - set on reforming the Church. But I can't imagine a monkish Martin Luther, shredding the electric guitar like Mr. Broweleit can. You should see him with an E-Bow. I'm telling you he is futuristic. He does have some good old qualities like love, loyalty, and honesty. That's what good friends, husbands are fathers are made of. You should watch him gobble up his whole family with kisses. I guess these things will never go out of style. Even in the 22nd century, when Matt will have cybergenetic limbs and be defending our planet from the hordes of alien robots.

We love you Matt, and are so glad for God's gift of your friendship!

Joanie's a Fulmore!!! (Josh is an Isaacson?!)

Hallelujah!
All the Isaacson's are married people! Joanie and Josh finally made it to their anticipated wedding day, and with such amazement at God's hand in the preparation. Not only was Joanie walking and finished with all therapy appointments, but she was running down the aisle and dancing around the stage like her usual maniac self! It was such a joy to see. She still has a road ahead of her, but man does she have a nice companion by her side for the rest of it!

Here she is in her bridal 'glow'

And at the reception

Josh is hilarious. He and his 'dudes' strutted into the ceremony to a triumphant Olympic theme, hands on hips. Joanie's dad officiated and threw some more light-hearted notes in there. It fit them just perfectly. And Josh's Canadian family were some of the hardest workers and funniest people I've met. They make a mean Indian (Pakistani) curry (Josh's missionary parents raised him partly in Pakistan).Even the cake (made by Josh's mom) had Indian-style henna designs, with a "JJ" on top. Joanie's dress matched (which she also made) - the back of the train had "JJ" in beads and Joanie's hands were henna-ed up, an Indian tradition for a bride so she doesn't have to wash dishes or do any hard work until it all washes off :)

Joanie's favorite animal is an elephant, and this one is a special bridal one from India as well. (Do we sense a theme here?)

The reception served yummmmmy desserts, accompanied by healthy veggies and dip and some other snacks. Did I mention there were amazing desserts?

My handsome burly husband wearing a beautiful rose. Tim wrote a song for them called "It's Obvious" that will be on record soon. Everyone cried when he and Mike played it.

The reception was at Fircrest Community Center and the place was full of not only guests, but balloons. We spent hours inflating and tying hundreds of balloons. They looked great!Here is evidence of the crazy couple's moves on their way out. Josh was really fighting those bubbles. The crazies are now in the San Juans for their honeymoon (copycats) and will settle in Puyallup. Keep praying for Joanie's continued healing and complete freedom from prednisone (all while keeping her strength). Cheers to the newlyweds!! Welcome to the family, Josh! Anyone can check out his amazing digital art at the blog link to the right. It was fun to be back in Tacoma for a couple of days, and of course everyone's attention was on this four-month-old cutie (and her mom). Isabella squeels in approval for Joanie and Josh's union! WEEEEEEEEE!

Another Friend

We had another new friend over last night for a nice Indian dinner. Alecia is from San Fran and very chill, which we like:). A fellow West Coaster!! She is really kind and has her own vegetarian food blog. We can't wait to try some of her cooking. She's also very fancy and getting her Dr. of Public Health in just one year, in my same concentration. Sad though that we never see each other, so we'll just have to be more intentional!
And for the most exciting news since June when Kate and Jesse got married....JOANIE AND JOSH'S WEDDING IS IN 2 DAYS!!!! We leave bright and early in the a.m. to fly back and celebrate this majorly amazing union that is long-due. It's about time something really good happened again in the world:) And Joanie's almost back to normal, weaning off prednisone and feeling so much more like herself. Perfect timing! God is like that.

You've GOT to be Kidding.

Just 24 hours back at home and already things are going downhill. Maybe it was my Epi exam score that deteriorated my mood. Maybe it's the fact that my resume has turned into jibberish to everyone I'm sending it to. Maybe it's that Tim is working all night and I missed him all weekend and I feel lonely. Maybe it's the mounding homework piling up around me and the productive time simultaneously escaping. Maybe it's the fact that the wireless stopped working all of a sudden in our apartment. Or.... MAYBE IT'S THE MOUSE that just ran across the floor in front of my eyes as I was reading about environmental health plumes and acid rain!!!!!!! Excuse me?

I'll give this one worse than pollutants...I'm off to Walgreen's to hopefully remedy the situation, but at least I had some training just a couple months ago. I've hidden my easily-accessible cotton favorite clothing, and the fruit and bread and any sort of open food is now in the fridge. I even spent the past 20 minutes vaccuuming as loudly as I could every nook and cranny that might smell like food or crumbs...However, this could be a pretty tight fight since all the rest of our food is on open shelves and our clothes don't have a closet. This guy has open access; let's just hope HE LEAVES!!

I don't get it - we never found the last mouse, so maybe he did just jump in a suitcase and make his way to our new, SMALLER apartment to drive me even more insane. At least our old house was bigger; here, there aren't a whole lot of square feet to separate us! This means war.

More Mountain Escapades

Columbus Day weekend is THE time to explore the Northeast, for any of you out there planning an October trip for 2009! Wowie. Colors are peaked and stunning in every direction, even along the highway. Even better on small country roads between towns...this weekend was a great adventure. Only one thing was missing. My husband.
I started off Friday with Megan toward Brunswick, Maine where her 3 awaiting companions were attending their final year at Bowdoin College. Yes, I was going on a college camping trip. We met Hobie and Kyle, whose apartment smelled of week-old Lobster (they warned as we stepped in!), and then met Mary Helen (originally from Chattanooga, TN!) at the local grocery store, Hannaford's. Stocked with energy, we hit the road toward the White Mountains in New Hampshire. We settled at Passaconaway Campsite near Northern Conway after stopping for some 'punkin' custard on the way.

This guy was hiding out in the shed. He must really like custard! (Actually it was an ad for grass-plowing, for real).

We explored a short trail before making spaghetti and a fire and s'mores and telling lots and lots of stories. These guys were pretty dang hilarious. I couldn't relate to half of what they were talking about, but I did enjoy myself. Apparently, though, I'm sorry to say UPS has a sad reputation among small colleges in the Northeast as standing for University of Pot Smokers. I told them of course not. (at least not more than any other small liberal arts college...). I think I effectively changed the reputation to highlight the outdoorsiness of the school as its real strength, since that was of interest as well.

Here is the road going through our campsite.

Saturday morning we scoped the map and found a desirous 8 mile hike to Mt Chocarua and back on the Katancamagas Highway. I mixed it up a couple times and told people we climbed Mt Chocamunga, but that's nothing. Just the five of us and gorgeous falling leaves, huge granite boulders and winding tree roots along the trail....and about 100 other people! We reached the summit triumphantly to this scene:

At least they were clustered altogether at the top!

The view the other direction.

We ate and headed toward a sister peak which was much more the way we had imagined. Just us. At the bottom, we decided to head to the nearest town for a quick stop for forgotten butter for the morning's pancakes. It was a longer drive than we thought, but we stopped for me to take pics at this awesome river to make it seem shorter.
Still driving into town, Mary Helen, who is the queen of puns, claimed "this BUTTER be worth it!!" The next morning when Hobie spilled some batter all over the stove, she reprimanded him, "you BATTER clean it up!" Oh, MH. She had me in stitches on many other occasions. That's my kind of humor.

Sunday we took a final hike to Mt Potash before the drive back to Maine. Of course, we had to stop for ice cream. I thought that my punkin custard was the best thing I had ever tasted, until I had Gifford's Maine Black Bear. Basically all raspberries and chocolate. YUMMMMM.
We returned to Brunswick to say goodbye's, then headed to Megan's parents' temporary new house in Kennebunkport, Maine. WOW. This is a beach house and her dad had dinner ready when we came in. They also had me laughing all night with crazy stories, and I slept like a baby in a room overlooking the ocean with the waves singing me to sleep. Glorious.

This morning we sat around, took a walk on the beach, and walked through Kennebunk before heading back to Beantown.

I can't believe how gorgeous the Fall is here, and how much of it is still unexplored by yours truly, but how blessed I've been to see a new part of creation already. It's a different beauty than the Northwest, and even more like Colorado. I wish you all could have shared it with me. Still, it's good to be home with my other half, who lost another 2 employees this weekend (temporarily) and had to work on his one day off:( But I am proud of how he's handling the ongoing situation and himself. He's got a super attitude and will make it just fine. What a stud!

Introductions

Let me introduce you to a few of our new friends.


This is Megan, my farming and mountaineering partner. She's from upstate New York and went to Bowdoin College in Maine, and her parents just moved to Kennebunkport, ME. She's the one that invited me to harvest at the Food Project weekly and she rides her bike to school every day! She is my weekend companion to the White Mountains again this weekend. I'm excited to meet some of her other friends. Apparently her dad is a great cook:) She's also in my concentration at school, but she only plans to take classes for 1 year in hopes of getting into medical school next Fall. She's still waiting to hear.Here are Erin and Lizzy. They both work in the SB department (Social and Behavioral Sciences), and Erin is my Monday walking partner and reminds me very much of Erin Ralph in her mannerisms etc! It's crazy. She's from Michigan and has done crazy things like go to Geneva with the World Health Organization to work on food policy stuff, and do HIV/AIDS prevention, education and counseling. Whaaaat?? Lizzy is in her second year and helps head up a student club called PHAM (Public Health Alliance for Minorities) and is just plain crazy. Tim likes to speak Spanish with her. She just got us Battleship, Scrabble and Cranuim in the student lounge.
And last but not least, Michelle and Whitney. Whit is moving back to Portland this coming Wednesday, leaving us all behind. But he'll be back in April, after also going to Kenya (hi Davis and Jen!). He took us to Walley's Jazz club last week and the White Mountains last weekend, and his roof for movies and his apartment for the Office and Debates. What a great guy. Michelle will keep us company at church and other mountain excursions we hope.

OK Megan is almost here to take me away into adventureland. Tim's really bummed he has to work hard and can't play, so if you think of it, pray for him as well! Happy Holiday weekend.

Late Night Birthday Wish

I can't bring myself to wait until tomorrow (after a busy day) to send a shout out to our great great friends, the Daggett's, first wishing Roxie a happy birthday (it's still your day, your time!!) and abundant, rich, lasting joys from the Lord today, tonight and this coming year. Second, wishing on her behalf for a miracle for her family. All kinds of crazy things are going on around us and especially for them, with Nathanael's health continuing to be in question, and much of their livelihood dependent on the financial markets - they just need an extra touch of grace, encouragement in faith, and mega prayer at this time. Please join us in prayer for them and for a miracle in N's body very soon, as we depend on Christ together. What an amazing couple these friends are, what an amazing wife and daughter and sister Roxie is, and what a Mighty God we serve!! Amen.

Harvest Moon

Dinah sent me this today. No comment.
Meanwhile 'the heat is on' here in our apartment. It must be officially cold enough to have our gas heat kick on the past few mornings. Nice and toasty, actually! And it's not even cold yet. It is in Maine, though, as the mountain we were going to climb this weekend is closed and iced over:( But there are plenty of other great options, and we might end up going to Acadia National Park instead! That might be better given I still can hardly move my legs from this weekend...

Keep Tim in mind as one of his employees a week ago was de-pinky-tated, yes her finger was ripped off somehow by falling down the stairs. Another Barista down. Becka, guard your appendages!! Want to come out here and cover some shifts?? Any LP folks desiring a Boston experience?? Also another random occurrence, Tim ran over a squirrel on his bike last week and killed it. Yikes. How do you do that?

Red Sox Mania is out of control around here! All I can do is listen on the radio while studying...the bars are packed and fun but not what I need tonight, plus Tim is at work and Whitney's AT THE GAME! As I type they just scored 2 runs to break the no-score tie!

Things are exciting here, but ultimately I miss everyone. It's not the same as adventures with friends and family! Who's coming to visit first? (Steph, I think you might be it. New York, New York!)

Thrice Peaked

Wow, New Hampshire! And I thought they had baby hikes. We gained half a mile in elevation over 9.5 miles at this gorgeous place in the White Mountains called Franconia Notch. It's about 2.5 hours north of Boston. We rode with Whitney and his girlfriend, Michelle, and were followed by her sister Christine and brother Steven. It was a long and hard hike but totally worth it (2,200 to 5,280 ft for those interested)!

The leaves this weekend were probably peaking further north, but we still got some great color while we were driving. Most of the color was actually below us once we got into the hike and didn't return until the very end as we were descending at sunset. The first part of the hike was along a rushing river with tons of little waterfalls, and through some yellows and greens, but a lot of the leaves had fallen since this was a windy area.

This is only the rest area on the way there.

Here is one of the 5 river crossings - look at these guys! Michelle's family is like the Three Musketeers - they had the best outfits and were REI's ultimate demise. Steven proved you can summit three different peaks in 20-degree weather in your Adidas track shoes and pajama bottoms and be fine. Although I wouldn't recommend it!

One of the first of many waterfalls we passed at the beginning

And a cool leafAnd then Part 2: snow! Exactly at the sign where we were entering alpine level, the snow and ice started. Shocking terrain change - we layered up (at least those of us who had more layers...) and entered a windy 20-degree zone for peak 1. (slideshow has icy pics!)

Here's Whitney and Tim after summiting Peak 1 with Peak 2 in the background. We also went up and over that one AND one more after that for a total of 3 peaks. We thrice peaked! How many mountains have you climbed at once? (JK).

Here's the gang (minus Christine)

Part of the ridge we climbed (behind us in the pic!). On the way down to a Mountain Club Hut that is part of the Appalachian Trail. People can rent the hut (Green Leaf Lodge) and use the supplies for dinner and bathrooms etc...for only $100 a person per night! Sounds kind of 'steep' to me. They sure do have the monopoly.

So the terrain for the last part of the hike dramatically changed from what we had seen before, and we got a good glimpse and Northeastern fall foliage. Not peaked, but still beautiful!!

We were up there!On our descent into darkness. Eventually it was too dark to take anymore pics. But if you could somehow experience the smell of this picture...take it in....mmmmmm.

Today I feel like and old and creaky Abby, sore to the core. Studying isn't the most conducive form of staying in shape. An exercise of the mind, I suppose...at least I have ample time to recover!