Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Monday, May 30, 2011

Reunion

Between my second and third years of medical school, I had a long break in which to prepare for and take my first national medical licensing exam. In the time between the exam and beginning clinical rotations, I went to England for 2 weeks with a friend. We spent a week in London and then traveled through southern England for another week. We rented a camper van much like this one,and I drove. That was a nail biting adventure, driving a van on the left side of the road. I brushed against a parked car only once, smacking the mirror. And it was my first experience with roundabouts instead of traffic lights.
We saw Derek Jacobi in Much Ado at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. Twice. My friend had a bit of a crush on Derek Jacobi and we sent him a gift backstage. In response he wrote a nice thank you note.

Shortly after we got home, my friend moved to Chicago and I went back to school. We were not good long distance friends, last seeing each other when I visited her right before my graduation in 1984. And we rarely spoke by phone, the last time over 20 years ago.

In February, I heard Derek Jacobi interviewed on the radio about his coming to New York to do King Lear. I googled my friend's name, found her email address and sent her a message. Did she want to see Derek Jacobi again?

And that is just what we did last week. We met in NY, went to the play and spent two days walking around Manhattan catching up on nearly 27 years of history, children, divorce, marriage, work, travel. It was so much fun. PRM

Friday, May 20, 2011

Finally the CDC addresses a REAL problem

Check out the new CDC bulletin, Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse.

Noach says the material lacks a critical step, identifying the type of zombie you are facing. So I'll give you his recommendations.

Fast zombies, now the most common, require that you are in a group, have munitions and food and a hand-to-hand weapon.

Slow zombies are less of a problems. The main suggestion, don't get cornered. They can be killed in the normal zombie-way.

The best place to face zombies is a prison. There are guns, food and you can get in a cell and they can't get to you.

Finally, if faced with 28 Day Later zombies, or "infected" zombies, you need to plan carefully. You must avoid the projectile vomit; it is immediately infectious. But they are vulnerable to being shot anywhere on their bodies. A head shot is not essential.

Be careful out there. PRM

Questions about the end of the world tomorrow

If you're easily offended, keep moving.

1. Is it a "rolling rapture"? And if so, where does it start? The international date line? Jerusalem? We, the no doubt damned, are wondering if it rolls east to west, could our daughter in Israel call us if she starts seeing people disappear and we could suddenly be saved? As my husband said last night, if you start seeing people disappear like that, your sudden embrace of Jesus would probably be quite sincere. But too late, perhaps. And certainly so for Shoshie.

2. Or is it a sudden event that happens at the same instant across the world? If so, we are SOL. I'll take the chance.

3. Do we know anyone likely to be raptured? Perhaps not locally. I guess that means we won't be very successful at the Post Rapture Looting event.

Just wondering. PRM