Developments in our Development

Here is the new signage for the beginnings of the development of the lot across the street. We'll officially be North Bethesda Center. Pretty nice sign, I love the stacked stone look, very nice. Its great having the grocery and pharmacy within an easy walk.

My mission in life...or one of my missions anyway....

The mission of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) is to advance the progress of medicine and improve the public health by:

1) providing all U.S. health professionals with equal access to biomedical information; and

2) improving the public's access to information to enable them to make informed decisions about their health.

The program is coordinated by the National Library of Medicine and carried out through a nationwide Network of health science libraries and information centers.
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I was thinking at Mom's funeral how little we really know about each other sometimes. Recently, I had the experience of being interviewed for my own job (in order to be promoted.) One of the criticisms I received was that I did not "sell" myself.

I would like for the people I love so much to know me a little better. I would also like some practice at the process of "selling myself." I guess we have to be somewhat self-centered in order to self promote. Is this a self esteem issue? I'm not sure. Modesty? Perhaps.

Anyway, occasionally, over the next few weeks, I intend to write a little about exactly what it is that I do all day. I like what I do, in spite of having a love/hate relationship with having to actually work. ::kidding!:: It will be good for me to examine what I'm doing, to define my work.

I have always liked books, information and the mysterious learning process. I love computers and smart systems. I like people. I like the sciences too, so I'm lucky I was able to transition from teaching to the health sciences field. OK, not just luck. I jumped in with both feet when I got this opportunity 17 years ago. My mentor was a doctor who said, "You can do this. You are a smart person and you have a Masters degree. You can figure out what you need to know." I think he was right.

I am very proud that I have been working all these years to give appropriate health information to doctors, nurses, researchers, scientists and consumers. I have been contributing in my own way to the betterment of medical science and our human condition. I want better medical conditions for all of us, I want all of us to be better informed consumers of health care.

Better quality of life is the end result.

North Bethesda has a new sign

My plan is to stop on the way home tonight from the Metro, and snap a photo of the new sign they have erected signifying the new North Bethesda Center. I guess, after nearly 5 years of living here, it is official. The promised changes are ever so slowly being implemented. The new sign is a nice change from the wooden sign they had up signifying the Harris Teeter has opened. That sign always blew over in the windy days we get here.

Ed is staying for a while. He had thought ahead and planned for his Doctor visit and even his dentist visit for Monday (yesterday). So, he got to see his endocrinologist and the dentist too. The endocrinologist gave him the H1N1 shot! Yay!! Between the two of us, I was able to get the seasonal flu shot, but not the H1N1.(Yet)
He has not been able to get the seasonal flu shot yet. But we are hoping soon!

He was able to get his annual eye exam this visit also, and it went very well.

I am trying to get caught up at work. It is going fine. I am getting my meeting notes posted to our wiki or our SharePoint site so other committee members will be able to review. We are looking at how to handle emergency situations and possible impact on our ability to distribute needed medical information to the public and health care providers.
In another group I'm looking at social media and how to regulate/or not regulate the use of such things as twitter, blogs, wikis, FB, etc. How to use these neat tools to help the public and underserved populations get credible medical information. Do these tools have a place in helping achieve our mission of credible health information access for all? How best to use them?
Our office is really busy preparing for the upcoming contracts for the next phase of our work.

Ed is teaching some in DC this week, classes so the new engineers can learn about the contracting rules, codes and federal regs. This will be a busy week.

We are both really looking forward to some time with both kids this weekend in NYC.

I have placed my two salt cellars in the china cabinet, where they look happy and right at home among my mishmash of beloved collected pieces.
My poor old wedding photo looks pretty faded in the light of day. Who realized 38 years of light exposure would do that? Like me, it has aged!
Gives it character!!

Rainy Sunday in Maryland

It has been a very wet weekend here in North Bethesda. Seemed cold outside, but with high humidity. I actually turned my air conditioning back on. I had the screen open to the patio for a while, but there is quite a bit of road noise from that, so I gave up and just reset all the "heat loop" settings and turned on the air. I suppose by tomorrow I'll have to set it all back so it can heat again. Weird time of year.

I had a "Litter Box Saga" - might be "TMI" Too Much Information --warning --
Having purchased a pretty wooden cabinet for my litter pan, I thought I had an acceptable and clever way to disguise the necessary dirty little box. However, I kept smelling an increasingly horrid smell, in spite of my ever vigilant efforts at emptying the contents of this box. Finally, I removed all the rugs in the room, and moved the heavy cabinet so I could mop.
Low and behold! Under the cabinet, there was a big puddle of pee, really smelly.
It seems that one of my cats must be an "elevator pee" cat, or a big cat that stands up and pees straight back. Yeah, guess which one of my cats is a huge big cat. Well, anyway, the pee apparently shoots over the top of the litter pan. I guess I would need a pan that is about 2 feet high. Then my cats might have trouble getting into the cat box.
Hmm...the pretty wooden cabinet was pretty much soaked on the bottom with the accumulation of pee. So I hauled it off the the trash room in the P1 level of my building. A quick trip to the nearby PetSmart revealed limited options, I ended up going back the the kind of litter box I had before. It is an enclosed box, that will contain the urine sprays. Its called a Booda Box, and helps keep the litter from getting tracked and kicked all over the place. I had two color choices this time, a "Metallic Gold" or "Watercolor Teal". I ended up the the Gold, hoping it won't look too obnoxious.
I don't know why I even worry, I don't have many guests. But nevertheless, I try.
So, after the whole afternoon of hauling old messy box out, getting new box into car in driving rain storm and up to the condo, along with a 28lb. container of litter, cleaning the floor carefully, and $65.00, I'm finally set up again. Whew. I need a nap.
















[begin whine here]

My hands hurt. The last few days, my hands have been swelling a little. I hurt my wrists and hands last week dragging my "much too heavy" suitcase from the old terminal at DCA to the shuttle for Metro [up three steep steps with a 50 lb. suitcase and 35 lb. backpack], then actually up the escalator to the Metro, Change trains TWICE, then from the Metro to my condo building. OK, it is my own fault. I should have just called a taxi. I know. But I tried not to waste money. It is a difference of about a $50 cab ride or about a $3.00 Metro ride.
But, I really sprained my left wrist a lot and my right wrist a little. They bothered me all week. I'm taking Aleve sometimes if it hurts too much. It hurst every single time I lift or pick up anything, from my laptop at work to my newspaper off the floor in front of my door.
While getting dressed this morning, I whacked my left hand really hard on the dresser while slipping into my tshirt. After crying around for 5 minutes, I got ice on it. Now I have a huge bruise on the back of my left hand. I have those veins like Mom and Dad, large and close the surface. They bruise easy and look pitiful quickly. I'm getting old. Just when you think "I will not be like my mother..."
[whine continues unabated]
Did I tell you my new young gynecologist officially diagnosed me as "Perimenopausal"? Huh. Great. Go figure.

OK.

If you look at the view out my condo patio door, you will see a green space. To the right of the green space, you can see the Metro station and tracks, which ensure price stability for our condo. We're right on the red line, good for commutes. If you look straight ahead, you can see the tall white building. That is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) headquarters. They have announced they are going to build a new building on that green space you see in front of my patio. Construction begins in March and will be done in two years. That will be an important piece of the "North Bethesda Town Center" which is supposed to be on that green space you see is my current view. This view is ever changing, last summer I could see 6 construction cranes at any given day, now to the right in the distance you see new 25 story building off in the distance.
It is an interesting development for me, as it will contribute to more people wanting to purchase a condo here. However, it strips out the little bit of green I have enjoyed for 5 years. There is supposed to be a Crate and Barrel and a Westin Hotel on my side of the green space....maybe a movie theatre. Twill be interesting. It isn't like this was a park, it was not a maintained green space, just weeds and a few junkies and homeless hiding in the bushes. I could sometimes see them from my vantage point.