Proud Daughter

My mom and three other women held an art show last night at a neighborhood clubhouse in Jackson. It was her first time to show her work to the public. She has been painting like a mad-woman for the past several weeks and it paid off. She sold several paintings and got two commissions. I am so proud of her. It's wonderful to hear the happiness and excitement in her voice too.

Mom has been painting for about four years now. When I was little she worked with charcoal and pencil. I used to love to sit on the floor and go through her sketch books. I especially remember the mermaids. She has always had a natural talent and it's wonderful that she has polished it and is pursuing it so tenaciously.

I took pictures of her paintings when I visited her on Wednesday. They aren't the greatest quality photos, but I want to share them anyways.

Material Girl

Ever since women have been trying to assert their place alongside men in the professional world, fashion has been trying to make women appear masculine and powerful. When that doesn’t work, women go back to flaunting their breasts. It is an eternal pendulum. I think it is high time women remind men that we are more than a bag of bones behind a silk sundress. I propose these fashion changes for the militant feminists everywhere. Once the trends take off, I promise dig my mom’s purple power-suit out of the closet.

Bloomers

When women working in hospitals started being something more than glorified maids, the dresses became cumbersome. Imagine nursing in a full-length, pleated dress complete with a smock and a silly little hat perched on top of your head. Thus, women started wearing shorter skirts and bloomers. Bloomers do the double-duty of making a woman look manlier and giving men what seems to be a titillating sneak peak. It’s a classic one-two punch.

Shoulder pads

The eighties were Big for women. Big hair, loud colors, and shoulders like line-backers made sure that men understood that we were here to stay. Nothing said ‘executive material’ like being able to poke out the eye of your competitor with the corner of your business suit.

Powdered wigs

This fashion statement screams ‘Respect me.' Anybody wearing a two-foot tall mass of horse-hair and talc powder deserves the attention of everyone in the room. I commend the woman who saw the wig for the furry phallic symbol it is and put it her head in order to assert her place in society. I bet med compliance would sky-rocket if the nurse wore one of these every time she gave drug education. The patient would be awed into submission. Hee hee.

In case this plan fails, ladies. Here are some alternative ways to get what you want.

Corsets

A timeless way to say ‘I would give my dying breath just for a little bit of your attention.’ Works like a charm, as long as you can keep breathing until he escorts you to the boudoir.

Lace

Just like a woman, pretty, fragile, and not all there. I know… shame on me. I just couldn’t resist.

High heels

Heels let a man know that you are strong and talented while making even the shabbiest of legs look sexy. Again, the one-two punch.

This post was inspired by Ar-Jew-tino

Enough Said

Happy Kitten. :)

Was it good for you?

Don't be ashamed, my friends. I, too, had an iGasm when the new iPhone came out. I was taken in by the shiny touch-screen, the bold, child-like icons, and the ability to watch movies while I drive my car.

I decided before Monsieur Jobs was through with his litany, that I must have one of those glorious gadgets! I knew, in my soul of souls, that once I had the iPhone, people would just know that I was important and my life was SO busy that it took the genius of Apple to keep me organized, connected, and entertained.

Then I realized that the phone will probably weigh more than my stethoscope and I'll end up having to get it one of those silly gadget-condoms that protect it from scrapes and chips. That is a major loss of cool-points and I'm just not sure my fragile ego can handle that kind of damage.

For now, I will stick with my utilitarian Motorola flip-phone. It may not have bells and whistles, but it's got a ring tone and volume control. It keeps me in touch with my honey-pie and doesn't relent when I'm in elevators or subterranean vaults, on highways or under the covers. It always gives me what I need, the voice on the other end of the line. So what if I've got mail? I've got two computers that work just fine for that...for now.

That Neighbor

"Hi, my name is Big C. Some people call me Vanessa," were the first words spoken to my by any of my new neighbors when I moved to this apartment last May.

Big C is an RN, a drag queen, a loud-mouth, and a person who is prone to 11 decibel fits of rage and anger.

One of the first times I hung out with my neighbors as a group was when we all went to support Vanessa at her pageant. MMHmm Giiiiiiiiirl, lemme teeeeeeeeeeell you. It was quite a site to see. When Vanessa walked out there with all the sass and beauty-queen attitude she could muster (which was more than enough) I didn't know what to think. One thought I do remember was 'Grown men should never wear white evening gowns. Darker colors would work so much better.'

Big C adds character to our little family at The Nest, where most of us are simple college students with simple lives. He is constantly regaling us with stories about his 15 siblings, his ever-present lawsuit and the lawyer who is out to get him, and his "Paaaaaaaaaagints."

Today Big C came over to use my computer and printer. As he stepped in the door, he got on the phone with a friend whom he lovingly referred to as "Alright Bee-atch." As in, "Alright Bee-atch. You know I was the best at that Paaaaaaaaagint." Not only was Big C loud enough to send my cats cowering, but the young man on the other end of the phone was clearly audible from my safe distance of 6 or 7 feet away. I finally got what he needed printed. As he said "Thank you guuuuurl," he gave me a kiss in the vicinity of each cheek (one hit my ear).

Running into Big C is like hallucinating that the entire world is a little bit louder and a little bit more technicolor than it actually is. God bless 'm, that 'Bee-atch.'

Is it rape?

After last night's drama and cries of rape, I began to think. Was she raped or was she regretful?

Now, I wasn't there and I don't know the whole situation. All I know is the girl's character and tendency to get extremely inebriated and uninhibited. I realized that this gave me an extremely biased opinion of the situation and I began to wonder "What is rape? If a woman causes her own inebriation, is the man who takes advantage of her committing a crime?"

There is a term for situations like this. It is called ambiguous rape. There are many other types of ambiguous rape and to try to consider them all together would be too much for this one blog post.

There is a concise article written by a JMU professor who took a poll on women’s perceptions of rape. Only 18% of the women polled believed it was rape if "woman was severely impaired by alcohol and/or drugs and did not have the ability to resist." That's a pretty harsh judgment they made on fellow women.

Another site had some sad, but interesting statistics on the subject:

-One in four women surveyed was victim of rape or attempted rape.
-An additional one in four women surveyed was touched sexually against her will or was victim of sexual coercion.
-84 percent of those raped knew their attacker.
-57 percent of those rapes happened while on dates.
-One in twelve male students surveyed had committed acts that met the legal definitions of rape or attempted rape.
-84 percent of those men who committed rape said that what they did was definitely not rape.
-Sixteen percent of the male students who committed rape and ten percent of those who attempted a rape took part in episodes involving more than one attacker.

An article written in Time mentions that most people perceive rape as a crime of power, acted out by a stranger in a dark alley. It goes on to mention that a possible reason for this perception is that women don't want to face the fact that rape could be perpetrated by someone familiar. With that reality, how is a woman supposed to let her guard down and be comfortable around friends? I'm not sure if I agree with this sentiment, but I digress.

The question is- if a woman is drunk on her on volition, is the man she has sex with a rapist? After reading some articles online today and using knowledge and opinion I already possess, here is how I feel about the situation.

1. If she says 'No' in a direct and unambiguous manner, it is rape. It is an assertion of power over a woman against her will, whether or not there is violence. Rape is such an awful crime and we need to be careful not to stereo-type it into the 'back alley stranger' crime that it is often portrayed as.

2. If she never says the word 'No,' it may be a reprehensible action, but it is not rape. The man, I believe, is taking advantage of the woman's lack of good judgment, but she is consenting. However, this does not take into account the man’s motive for his actions. How do you judge whether or not a man believes he is partaking in consensual sex or if he is exerting power over someone he knows is powerless to resist his advances due to her intoxicated state? I believe that if there was a way to accurately determine motive, legal judgment in cases of rape would be simple and straightforward. However, it is very difficult to determine a man’s motives and the stakes at hand are too high for error. It becomes a dangerous game of ‘he said, she said.’

3. If she says 'No' but is coy, misleading and ambiguous, it is a miscommunication on the woman’s part. I think that in this case, with the woman (and possibly man) being intoxicated, there is a lack of moral responsibility to one’s self and to one’s neighbor that is taking place. I’m just not so sure I could call it rape and have the man punished legally, socially, and psychologically.

Even as I write all of this, I have doubts about every stance I have taken. I don’t believe that anything I have said is an inaccurate portrayal of my opinion; but every situation is different and it is impossible to come up with a standard for judgment, even within the specific parameters I have explored.

If there is anyone reading this that has been raped, know that my heart goes out to you. Even though my definitions may not call your experience rape, I understand that each woman knows the truth about her own experience even if that experience cannot be accurately defined by law.

How do you feel on the matter? Do you agree with me? Think I'm dead-wrong? Let me know.

Twilight Zone.

Tonight was just strange.

After hanging out with the neighbors and the three Frenchmen they had collected, I went to my friend Myke's barbecue. This would have been a totally fine and dandy time, except tonight was 'meet the girlfriend night.' Girlfriend is a wee-bit possessive (do you like how I downplayed that for sarcastic effect?) and Myke was a wee bit oblivious. I told him that she didn't like me and his response was 'We don't have those issues.' Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight. I wasn't very comfortable and so I left.

I came home and partied with the at the neighbor's place. Besides the Frenchmen, there was a Spaniard, a few Americans, Romina from Venezuela, and Robbie- the resident of said apartment. The Frenchies were very nice, hard to understand at times, but nice. I have to admit though, I was proven wrong tonight. I thought the story about French people having serious BO was a myth. It's not. They don't give a f*. Oh, and according to them "'Merican wine is sheet, just plain sheet; not real wine." Fair enough, I guess.

Then the local train-wreck twenty-year-old alcoholic stirred up some drama. She said someone raped her (I doubt it, but can't say for sure). His little group of loser friends showed up to make a point. Train-wreck got all dramatic and hell broke loose. Such crap. I just wanted to enjoy my little beer, hang out and listen to foreign languages, and meet some new people. As the Frenchies would say, "Sheet. Just sheet." Damn juvies.

Oh yeah, don't forget about the cops showing up. That was classic. All the young'ns were running for the bedrooms to hide from the cops while Mr. Bravado decided to go and tell the cops that everything is just fine. You know, there is always that one guy that is sure he can smooth things over. I felt like I was in high school again.

Anyways, I'm off to bed. I just needed to put this in writing so that when I wake up in the morning I'll know it really happened. My life is very quiet and the whole evening was just a little surreal.

Acid and Base

I have a test tomorrow on acid-base balance and renal function. I've been told that teaching something is the best way to learn it. You all get to be my students. Don't you feel lucky? Now pay attention, there will be a question at the end.

pH is determined by how many hydrogen atoms you have floating around in your plasma, which is the part of the blood that is not red and white blood cells. pH can also be measured in the urine, cerebro-spinal fluid, and GI tract for medical analysis.

We are going to focus on blood plasma pH, because that is what is measured in an ABG (aterial blood gas). If the hydrogen atoms are high, the pH is low. If there are not enough free hydrogen atoms, the pH reads high. The normal range for pH in the blood is between 7.35 and 7.45, with 7.4 (obviously, but importantly) being the dividing line.

Two compounds control pH through their respective body mechanisms. Let me explain. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is retained or 'blown off' by the lungs. The measure of CO2 in the ABG tells you if the lungs are functioning like they should, therefore it is the respiratory element of the puzzle. A change in CO2 reflects a problem with respiration; unless it is a compensatory mechanism, which I will discuss later. The normal range for CO2 is 35-45 (just like the decimal points in pH).

Bicarbonate (HCO3) is the other compound we look at in an ABG analysis. It is the metabolic element of an ABG analysis. It shows how well the kidneys are doing their job. It could also be out of normal range as a compensetory act for a respiratory problem. The normal range for HCO3 is 22-26.

These values can give you a plethora of information about a patient's state of health and possible causes for the medical problem.

pH: acid-7.35-normal-7.45-base
CO2- base-35-normal-45-acid
HCO3- acid-22-normal-26-base

Still with me? If so, you're a champ. Ok, onward we go.

If you will notice, there is a much wider range for CO2 than there is for HCO3. Respiratory compensation for acid-base imbalance is much quicker than metabolic and so less exact. It is also not quite as powerful as metabolic (think kidneys) compensation.

There are four main pH imbalances. They are:

1. Respiratory acidosis- pH will be <7.35, CO2 will be >45, and HCO3 will be WNL (within normal limits).
Here is an example.

pH- 7.20
CO2- 47
HCO3- 24

Respiratory acidosis is caused by a retention of CO2. This is an easy one to observe. The person will not be breathing. This can be caused by suffocation, barbituate overdose, trauma, pneumonia, sleep apnea, CHF (congestive heart failure), obesity, pulmonary embolism, and other problem that affect the lungs. You get the point. You don't breath, you get respiratory acidosis. To solve the problem, I suggest breathing again.

2. Respiratory alkalosis- pH will be >7.45, CO2 will be <35, and HCO3 will be WNL.

pH- 7.48
CO2- 31
HCO3- 25

Respiratory alkalosis is caused by hyperventilation. A person flips out over seeing a spider, starts breathing too fast, the lungs 'blow-off' too much CO2 and the blood becomes too alkaline. To solve this problem, kill the spider. Aspirin overdose can also cause respiratory alkalosis.

3. Metabolic acidosis- pH will be <7.35, CO2 will be WNL, and HCO3 will be <22.

The lab values could look like this:

pH- 7.33
CO2- 36
HCO3- 20

Metabolic acidosis (remember it's renal) can be caused by diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), starvation, dehydration, diarrhea, end-stage renal disease (ESRD), hyperkalemia, or lactic acidosis.

4. Metabolic alkalosis- pH will be >7.45, CO2 will be WNL, and HCO3 will be >26.

pH- 7.48
CO2- 40
HCO3- 29

Metabolic alkalosis can be caused by persistant vomiting, gastric suction (getting your stomach pumped), kidney failure, use of a potassium-wasting duiretic, severe burns, or hypovolemia (blood loss, lack of fluids).

Is your head spinning yet? If not, stay with me and I'll tell you about all that compensation mess I mentioned earlier.

This is fairly simple to understand. If the lungs are causing too much acidity, the kidneys will respond with a more alkaline value. If the metabolic value is too acidic, the lungs will try to 'blow-off' more CO2, causing deep, rapid breathing known as Kussmaul's respirations.

If the lungs are causing the blood to be too alkaline, the bicarbonate value will become more acidic. If the kidneys aren't working right and the bicarbonate value becomes to alkaline, the lungs will compensate with a lower CO2 value.

Fascinating, isn't it?

Now for the question...

Do you like spiders?

Travel Map

The red dots are the places that I have been. I will get to add California in a few weeks. The lilac dots are the places that I want to see one day. If I listed all of the places I would travel if I had a lifetime to do so, the entire map would be bleeding lilac.

DC is my favorite red-dot. I love the city, with all it's museums, monuments, and the Metro. Riding the Metro is my favorite way to get around (sorry, Mad). I love that it is a big city, but feels like a small city and it is very clean- at least in the epicenter and up near Dupont Circle. I walked for miles by myself one day and felt safe the whole time. My two favorite places to eat there are Zorba's and the cafe under the Smithsonian Art Museum. I miss DC and hope I can go back to visit soon. I can't wait to share it with Wesley.

Oh Happy Day

Just a quick post to say that I did not get bitten by fleas last night! Whoo!

Oh.. and GO COLTS!! I really wanted them to play the Saints, but at least I will know who to cheer for in the Superbowl.

Who is Jack Bauer's hero? Peyton Manning. heh.