So, I fell off the wagon a bit, but I'm back. This week I plan to eat vegetarian all week, except for the remaining pizza that I made yesterday. I thought I was going to make it Wednesday or Thursday, but somehow didn't get around to it until Saturday, so I have two days worth left. It's got one chicken sausage on the whole thing, so I guess half a chicken sausage during the week is better than eating meat every day.

Also, this whole being an adult thing sort of sucks, but that's a post for another day.

Vaccines

I wrote this for facebook, but I thought I'd put it here, too.
I have three main issues with the vaccine "debate."
1. It compromises herd immunity, both delaying vaccines and outright refusing them. As Brokk said above, delaying vaccines leaves children vulnerable for a longer period of time. Some parents don't finish the scheduled course, leaving children open to contracting these diseases, as well as passing them along to others who can't be vaccinated for various health reasons.

2. It's based on faulty science. This is why I don't think it's unfair to lump delayed vaccine and anti-vaccine people into the same category. Additionally, delayed vaccination is a way for anti-vaccine people to move the goal posts. Jenny McCarthy originally started with the vaccine/autism link. When that was disproved, she went to delayed vaccination. The idea that babies' immune systems are overloaded with antigens is false. From the CDC: "From the time they are born, babies are exposed to thousands of germs and other antigens in the environment and their immune systems are readily able to respond to these large numbers of antigenic stimuli.  An infant’s immune system is more than ready to respond to the very small number of antigens in vaccines."
Many people don't want to vaccinate because of a gut feeling, or Andrew Wakefield's report on the connection between autism and vaccines (which he completely falsified), or they don't want to see their special snowflake child suffer from the pain of a shot the kid won't even remember, or vaccines aren't natural and being exposed to the actual disease provides better immunity. That would be like someone coming up to me and saying, "I know evidence falls pretty squarely in line with the big bang theory, but I don't believe it." Note this is not the same as going to the doctor and saying, I have these symptoms, I think they might be associated with xyz. I have not had issues with poor medical care and misdiagnosis, so it's hard for me to speak to that, but it's not the same thing. Discussion is fine, blatant disregard for science is where I draw the line.

3. There is an incredible amount of privilege inherent in even having a discussion about whether or not to vaccinate. The reason that we don't have diseases like polio in the US is because of concerted vaccination efforts. To not vaccinate (or delay vaccination) because everyone else is vaccinated is selfish and eventually destroys herd immunity. Diseases like whooping cough are on the rise because of this, and the people that get sick and die are not just those who chose not to get vaccinated. The elderly, babies, and individuals who CAN'T get vaccinated because their immune systems are compromised are also affected, and the ones more likely to die. In countries where vaccination isn't prevalent, these diseases still affect the general population, and these diseases are deadly.

I have had more vaccines than most people, since I have done a lot of international travel. I get a flu shot every year. For me, there is nothing to think about. When I take the T, I don't know if the baby next to me has been vaccinated. I don't know if the woman next to me is immunocompromised. Being vaccinated protects them. Being vaccinated protects my elderly grandparents. I hate getting shots. I refuse to get my blood drawn. But since vaccines aren't just for my health, I do it anyway.

Failure!

I utterly failed at reading the New Yorker. I read half a New Yorker, a bunch of trashy magazines, and I finished a book. So I did a lot of reading, but not that much of the New Yorker.

This week, I will eat healthy and exercise 20 min a day (at least). I will also try and get my apartment back on track, cleanliness wise. That's a lot to do.

Week 2 Results

This week I resolved to clean my apartment so that it would be clean when my parents get here tomorrow. I thoroughly cleaned my kitchen and bathroom, including mopping the floor. Normally I just sweep, but I felt a good mopping was in order. I also busted out my generic magic eraser, which did not work as well as advertised. I put some OxyClean on the outside of the microwave door, since that's the only thing that really breaks down grease. I wonder if I could OxyClean my baking sheets? I swept up so much dust that my allergies are terrible, and I vacuumed my carpets. I also shredded about two years worth of credit card bills, hole-punched and put away a bunch of loose recipes, and stacked my New Yorkers into two neat piles. There are still a few things that I just hid instead of putting them away, but I'd say that overall the apartment looks pretty clean.

Since my parents are getting here tomorrow, I don't know if I'll be able to get anything done, but I'll try. Since we're going to the Cape for the weekend, and it will probably rain, instead of spending time online, I will try and read 2-3 New Yorkers.