JCMCGILL's profilenotallwhowanderarelostPhotosBlogListsMore ![]() | Help |
|
February 27 In the United States...Some things I have just recently encountered (apart from the usual differences like social security number versus social insurance number, imperial versus metric, candy bar versus chocolate bar, soda versus pop, and no Smarties or Shreddies, etc.)...
There are Armed Forces recruiting offices in shopping malls.
There are advertisements for lung volume reduction surgery for emphysema patients ON THE RADIO.
-see https://www.ccohta.ca/publications/exsum/410_lvrs_to_e_es.htm for CCOHTA's Health Technology Assessment summary
-see http://www.target.ecri.org/summary/detail.aspx?doc_id=29&q=lung&hl=1 for ECRI's Health Technology Assessment summary, but not sure if anyone can access it????
People look at you funny when you use the words "homo milk" - oops, I forgot to say "whole milk"!
I'm sure more will come up as I re-adjust to the US and I'll try to remember them - ha ha. February 25 No Breaking of Glassware!This time hopefully there will be no breaking of martini glasses (see evidence from 2004 )... Can't wait to see Kerry and visit with the Spicy Salted Salseros in Washington DC with March birthday celebrations galore !!
Salsa coming up soon :)My feet have been itching to dance more, so here are a few things I think I may go to:
Wednesday, March 1st - Salsa night at "North by Northwest" in Philadelphia - two sets of lessons...
Saturday, March 4th (?) - Social Dance at the Atrium Studio in Pennsauken, NJ...
Friday, March 10th - Social Dance at La Luna dance studio in Bensalem, PA...
Saturday, March 11th - Philly All Stars Workshops at La Luna dance studio in Bensalem, PA...
Saturday, March 11th - Salsa Party at Crystal Dansport in New Castle, DE (with Yamulee performing)...
Saturday, March 18th - Rueda in Washington DC (and mini reunion of the "Spicy Salted Salseros" to celebrate four (?) March birthdays)...
Yay! More Salsa PLEASE! Friday DinnerFriday night dinner may turn into a weekly ritual :) I had fun making food while Barb had her massage in Blue Bell then we had a lovely time eating the chicken pot pie / shepherd's pie / casserole thing. It is nice to have some stuff unpacked and semi-settled. Barb has already obtained great plants (which I promised not to touch with my deathly hand unless she goes away and leave precise instructions on their care - tee hee). I still have a bunch of boxes left and the living room furniture will take another month or so to arrive, but we're slowly getting there! Of course, I am a WEE bit distracted by a certain person up in Yellowknife (he he). February 23 Pablo NerudaI have been thoroughly enjoying the poetry of Pablo Neruda over the past few weeks. I stumbled upon his work when I watched the Italian film "Il Postino". Many of his political poems are tough to read, but his lighter pieces just resonate with me. I highly recommend reading some of his "Odes". Like "Ode to the Spoon", "Ode to the Onion" and "Ode to a Pair of Socks", but my favourites are his poems about the ocean, rain and clouds. Here is the link to his Nobel Prize bio, Il Postino (lovely movie) and some samples of Neruda's poems...
February 20 New Pic of Olivia - Sheila still in Nairobi, KenyaI finally had a chat with my dear friend Sheila who is over in Nairobi and has adopted a Kenyan baby girl (named Olivia). Medecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) is moving operations from Nairobi to Sudan (where the medical clinic is located) and Sheila has decided to not make the move, particularly since she needs to stay in Kenya for at least another year as the adoption process gets finalized. Whew - glad she is staying in Nairobi, which is quite a nice place to live if you don't live in Kiberra or one of the other slums. February 19 Still Unpacking - Ugh!Barb took this picture when I was stomping down all the paper - then caught me unaware afterwards. It is certainly exhausting this unpacking... and I have WAY too much stuff now. I remember those university days when all my things would fit into one car (well sort of). I think Andrea might disaggree a bit - tee hee - especially the episode with the fridge on highway 7... sorry folks that one only she would get! February 17 Names PublishedBarb & I are also already named as staff in the February 2006 "Health Devices" publication... no worries if you don't receive this illustrious journal - actually you'd really only see this if you were in a healthcare related organisation. Neither of us has an actual article yet, but some short ones may be coming in a month or so (it takes a long time to go through the review & editing processes). Formally Introduced at ECRIBarb & I got introduced in the internal publication called "Inside ECRI"... here is an exerpt...
New Employees--Beverly Miller
Barbara Majchrowski joined the Health Devices Group on January 16. Barbara was born in Toronto, Ontario and spent the majority of her formative years in the countryside of a small village named Hastings, about two hours east of Toronto. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Waterloo and her master's degree in clinical biomedical engineering at the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. Previously Barbara worked as a Clinical Engineer for Massachusetts General Hospital. Today she lives in Conshohocken and enjoys gardening, biking, hiking, and snowshoeing in her spare time.
Jennifer McGill, friend and roomie of Barbara Majchrowski, also grew up in Toronto, Canada. She graduated with a bachelor's degree from University of Guelph (Guelph, Ontario) and a master's degree from University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan). Her former job was the advisor to the government of the Northwest Territories (NWT) on new health technologies and NWT Liaison Officer for the Canadian Coordinating Office for Health Technology Assessment. Jen joined ECRI on January 16 as Project Engineer for Health Devices. Away from work, she enjoys salsa dancing and canoeing. Jen adds, "I hope to bring down my canoe in the spring, so please send me any favorite paddling spots/routes!"
February 15 Another Cousin's FamilyThis is my cousin Sheila's family - sister to cousin Ian in Alberta (not the same Sheila with the Kenyan baby girl)... all three of their daughters go to Havergal College (my old school) and one of them is in the same grade and plays ice hockey on the same team as a Clinical Engineering collegue's daughter (Tony Easty)... this connection I happened to discover while doing volunteer work with him in Jamaica! Small world. Cousins in AlbertaJust got some pictures of my cousin's family (the Ian Bells - on my Dad's side). They now live in Alberta and went on a horseback riding trip in the Prairies... Martin & MasksMore pics of Martin on my "Jennifer's Pictures" website... he has a fascination with masks and has started a collection, so I added one from Ghana... "Man of Peace" for his birthday (although of course, it arrived AFTER his actual birthday, because I am NEVER organised enough to get things ON TIME!!). Sooooo glad that he liked it :) February 14 Snow in PAIt snowed on Sunday here and I had great fun playing in it... I tried to make a snowman, but it just wasn't rolling (maybe I have lost the touch). I ended up making a big pile that eventually became a turtle - sort of... more snow pics in "Jennifer's Pictures". SLEEEEPY - ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... |
|
|