Monday, September 17, 2012

Friday, September 14, 2012

So I invested in a cute pair of colored pants at the beginning of the summer before my India Trip..when I came back to school I figured I could still where them as casual pants for a while...but I started to notice several people rocking the colored pants look with professional wear...and I feel as though this is a must. Neons can be worn in the fall:


So basically my entire outfit is from target! That is all =)

Have a wonderful Friday!



Thursday, September 13, 2012

As an Aspiring microbiologist one of my favorite viruses EVER...is EBOLA. For those of you who know think this is a brand name for a fashion label here is a small quip from the CDC:


What is Ebola hemorrhagic fever? Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Ebola HF) is a severe, often-fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees) that has appeared sporadically since its initial recognition in 1976. The disease is caused by infection with Ebola virus, named after a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) in Africa, where it was first recognized. The virus is one of two members of a family of RNA viruses called the Filoviridae. There are five identified subtypes of Ebola virus. Four of the five have caused disease in humans: Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, Ebola-Ivory Coast and Ebola-Bundibugyo. The fifth, Ebola-Reston, has caused disease in nonhuman primates, but not in humans. 

How is Ebola virus spread? 
Infections with Ebola virus are acute. There is no carrier state. Because the natural reservoir of the virus is unknown, the manner in which the virus first appears in a human at the start of an outbreak has not been determined. However, researchers have hypothesized that the first patient becomes infected through contact with an infected animal. 
After the first case-patient in an outbreak setting is infected, the virus can be transmitted in several ways. People can be exposed to Ebola virus from direct contact with the blood and/or secretions of an infected person. Thus, the virus is often spread through families and friends because they come in close contact with such secretions when caring for infected persons. People can also be exposed to Ebola virus through contact with objects, such as needles, that have been contaminated with infected secretions. 
Nosocomial transmission refers to the spread of a disease within a health-care setting, such as a clinic or hospital. It occurs frequently during Ebola HF outbreaks. It includes both types of transmission described above. In African health-care facilities, patients are often cared for without the use of a mask, gown, or gloves. Exposure to the virus has occurred when health care workers treated individuals with Ebola HF without wearing these types of protective clothing. In addition, when needles or syringes are used, they may not be of the disposable type, or may not have been sterilized, but only rinsed before reinsertion into multi-use vials of medicine. If needles or syringes become contaminated with virus and are then reused, numerous people can become infected. 


I think I was in high school when I first heard about this virus and watched a video on how EBOLA Zaire was treated using the blood of those who had been infected and survived..so it was in some essence a vaccine. Of course there were several things that could go wrong with this for example if patients whose blood were used had aids ...potential transmission of that disease. I think I wanted to eventually work for the CDC and become one of those people who traveled to countries such as Zaire or the Congo and help control the disease epidemic.

So it would make sense that when i was browsing through Yahoo's homepage I found this news clip (because yahoo news is the most reliable news out there...):

http://news.yahoo.com/ebola-death-toll-doubles-31-congo-121450941.html

Do you have a favorite disease state? (what an odd question...leave a comment!)



Tuesday, September 11, 2012

I was asked to write a small article for a local church organization and I thought I would preview it here first.


Two Standard Deviations From the mean

Every year before the actual semester begins, my school offers (forces) a mandatory benchmark
over all the materials learned the year before. This is to ensure that you didn’t manage to forget
everything during those long summer months; hence eventually attempting to prepare us for the
board exams. The unique thing about this exam is that it is graded based on an average. As long
as you are within the average or two standard deviations from the average, you will pass.

So this year, true to form, I took the benchmark exam and waited with anticipation for the
results. I opened my email and was relieved to see a 65% (which was considered passing). I
jumped up—I shouted—I was extremely excited! I had managed to scrape by.

Later in the evening as the excitement settled, I started to think….I only mastered 65% of the
material….yet I was still glad that I was just as clueless as the rest of my class. It didn’t bother me
that I had forgotten 35% of the material or that ….70% or higher was considered conventional
passing. Just as long as I was like everyone else, I was satisfied. And MORE importantly, I
was relieved at the fact that I would not have to retake the exam. I then extended this to an
even bigger analogy…how many times was I happy being a “within two standard deviations”
Christian?

Often times when I look back on my Christian walk, I have been guilty of being satisfied with my
51% because my neighbor was sitting at 40%. I mean, there are a few who are high achievers.
But when you average all of us together, I am right there in the middle of the bunch. I am sure
this will let me scrape by past heaven’s pearly gates…or will it?

As I really begin to think about it, I am not so sure that this is what Christianity is about at all. In
fact, what I just described to you are some of the signs and symptoms of a lukewarm Christian
(as per Francis Chan). I am not guaranteed admission into heaven or even a glimpse of Jesus
because I am better than the next guy. Just because everyone fails does not mean Jesus grades on
a curve. You see, His blood is too precious for us not to be living according to our calling or for
us not to be striving for better.

Don’t get me wrong; sin is second nature to us. We are constantly fighting battles against the
flesh and there will be days when we will fail. The question is not whether we will fail or fall, the
question is whether we are okay with that or do we keep pushing for better - striving to beat the
odds. Remember, God looks at the heart. David wasn’t called a chaser after God’s own heart
because he was blameless and perfect, but because even after he failed he sought to be better and
to do better.

So today, dear brother/sister, don’t be satisfied with where you are because you’re “average”.
Strive to be better. For those of you who are not currently passing - don’t worry. There are still
opportunities to remediate or to relearn the material and take the exam again.

As Paul states, let us keep pushing and striving for the prize of the upward call (Phil. 3:14).

Thank you and may God bless.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Monday:

-Went to class

-Went grocery shopping-needed to keep supplied for the week

-Ran- I nearly passed out..its ben a while...I had to stop several times to breathe....on a side note really beautiful weather in kingsville...not as nippy as I like but still not as hot....so running outside is great

-Cooked- Thats right...I cooked dinner....baked Tilapia!! and it didn't taste bad either!
-Finished power point for a committee meeting.

-Basically everything on the planner was checked off.

YAY FOR PRODUCTIVE MONDAY'S