Forks

The discussion finally started to get serious last night about going back to school. With the new health care bill there will be a great need for nurse practitioners and I am definitely in a position to pursue that......but how?

First off, I should say that were I to go back to school, it wouldn't be for some time. Admissions occur in January and school starts in May, therefore the earliest I could conceivably start up again would be May 0f 2011, a full calendar year from now. That is both good and bad I suppose. Good: time to explore options, talk to professionals in field, talk to counselors at school, take entry exams that I can actually study for, and generally consider my options. Bad: the program itself is 2 years (at UP anyway) so I wouldn't be done until 2013 (age 36) with an additional god knows how many thousands in loans to stack up on top of my current array of them, the fear I have about going back to actual focused study, and all the life changes that might need to be made to accomodate it (less free time, less money, less time to help out around the house). The good news is that I should be able to work at least the first year of the program full time..........the second year is much more clinically based and would prove far more difficult to accomodate.

The most important thing, however, is that the education would (should) equate to a degree of autonomy that I don't have now and have always craved. It would open up new and difficult challenges that I love and hate equally (but mostly love). It would open up an array of doors. It would put me squarely where I think I should be instead of where I am.............but all that time, and money, and effort seem like such monumental undertakings, just like going back to nursing school did. Baby steps. For now, I need to focus on the GRE and then take the next step. Who knows, by this time next year I might be gearing up for school again. God help Tia if that happens :)

Homeopathy

I confess, I am ignorant as to the difference between homeopathy and Naturopathy. I think they are similar in approach, though probably different in many ways as well. So, I looked it up. While this site might not provide 100% accurate portrayals, it did seem to confirm my thoughts in my limited experiences with both, mainly that Homeopathy is kind of bunk while Naturopathy has at least some elements (perhaps many) of scientific merit. Here is why I think the way I do:

I have been seeing a friend and Naturopath recently for allergies/asthma. I cannot say for certain if it is working, but I can say I am feeling better. There are clinical trials that have studied the effects of many elements of the practice and it largely seems sound, even to someone reared on and currently entrenched in practicing Western medicine. Last night, Tia and I went to see a Homeopath speak on allergies. The concepts, which initially seemed vaguely credible, quickly broke down over the talk with my main concern being her espousal of the idea that dosage DOES NOT MATTER. The idea that you can take something in its most concentrated form and it will provide you the same benefit as its most dilute form. In fact, often the element is barely hinted at in the remedy.

Lets compare that with something more common: aspirin. Now, suppose you have a headache. You might take one pill, you might take 2. You might repeat the dose in 4 to 6 hours if you haven't had relief. You might reasonably assume that a stronger dose would bring more benefit. According to Homeopathy, you could either take 1000mg of aspirin or drop a baby aspirin (81mg) into a gallon of water, shake it liberally, and then take 2 tablespoonfuls of it and achieve a very similar result. You see, it is the essence of the cure that counts. It is that which I have a problem with. The idea of like cures like (flowers to cure allergies, etc) is not unreasonable. However, to assume that concentration and dosage matter not does not compute to me. But then again, maybe it is the belief in the sure as much as the cure itself. Who knows. In the meantime, I will stick with my Naturopath.

The essense of health

Wow! I was shocked when I realized that I haven't posted anything on my blog in quite some time. Not that I am at all consistent, but it is generally not because I just utterly lost track of time. Ah well, time to remedy that.

So, the big BIG BIG thing going on right now is taxes. This marks the first year for both Tia and I that we are not the recipients of the government's largesse. No, this year we are payers. It is hard to complain (not that hard actually, but for the sake of argument we shall pretend that I would have difficulty in engaging in such an act. Its called suspension of disbelief.......and you are going to need it in spades here) since it is due to the fact that our respective incomes have both risen from the year prior by nearly 80% (due in part to a truncated work year on my part) and we remained gainfully employed throughout the turns in the calendar. No minor feat considering the state of our economy. So, while that may mean less vacation and no sudden windfall, it also means that we are more fortunate than most.

in other news, my health has been relatively stable. I am not sure how much to owe it to Jen, my naturopath, and her tinctures, stopping certain meds I was taking that were clearly not benefiting me (and were in fact doing harm as near as I can figure), or how much of it is just chance. All I know for sure is that I like it very much. My APL accrual has never been so robust and taking real vacations now seems likely instead of just a pipe dream. That plus the increasingly good, albeit somewhat spotty, weather and you have a delightful combo (crossing ever finger while knocking on wood and wood-like furniture).

We attended an auction this past weekend that was, well, illuminating. I don't want to slag my old HS, but it was, at best, average for south Florida. Overcrowded (better than 700 in my class, and more than 1000 in my sisters 2 years later and always at more than 2800 total), occasionally violent (stabbings, threats of gun play and the like), and frequently underfunded. Tia's experience was clearly VERY different. Her private HS (St. Mary's) here in Portland held an auction that could not have brought in less than a few hundred thousand dollars. A few of the guests donated $10,000 straight up. Many more donated various amounts less, none altogether insubstantial (they did not even deign to ask lower than $100). I was amazed. The fund goes to lower the overall tuition for the school for each student by a few thousand dollars. Significant, but I still couldn't help but wonder if it wouldn't be better spent offer full tuition to students without means or a much larger reduction for those with limited means. Seems like someone who could big $5000 for an Italian dinner for 10 cooked in their home would probably not notice a few thousand off a tuition bill. I also couldn't help but think what a different world it was than the one I knew in HS. Good on anyone who has the fortune to go to such a place. Guess that explains that while nearly 98% of the graduates of her school went on to college than my HS only graduated 57% period.

Been watching a lot of the Food Revolution with Jamie Oliver lately. It is illuminating and his earnestness is rather captivating. Whatever benefit he does for the community in West Virginia, I can say that he has made me start to re-examine my food choices (something I had promised myself I would do anyway). That and books by Michael Pollan make me realize that, sweet Jesus, we eat some awful shit. The latest example being the double down from KFC (pictured above) which is, at the very least, overindulgent and at worst criminally irresponsible. The fact that marketing research has proven (and I am sure sales will validate) that 2 pieces of fried chicken used as a bun of sorts for bacon, cheese, and a mayonnaise sauce could be in any way construed as food is revolting and frightening considering our already burgeoning weight problems. Yuck.

Well, off to exercise. If I need any more motivation I will just look at the Double Down. Blech!