Tales from the Exam Room

It was my first meeting with this specialist. He had received detailed information through the referral process. He entered the exam room and started to summarize these facts both to confirm and add to them.

The history verified, he began to scold me. "Why did you wait until you were 40 to do anything about this? You should have been seen at age 37!" And on he lectured.

When there was a break in his objurgation, I said, "Hold on a minute. I've been 40 for just 4 days! And when I was 37, none of my sisters had been diagnosed with breast cancer."

It's only been 9 months since Roni was diagnosed with breast cancer, and Michelle is just 3 weeks post-op.

There was no way I was taking heat for this. His tone changed after that.

Mc Sidebar

From CBC News (May 9,2007) :

Chewed Gum found in Big Xtra

A Vancouver man says he's concerned about the possibility of contracting hepatitis after he found some chewed gum inside his McDonald's hamburger on Tuesday.

Max Ipinza was eating lunch with his co-workers at their office in Vancouver when he bit into his Big Xtra and tasted peppermint. story continues

He says "...immediately I knew something was wrong, because this is not what a typical McDonald's burger tasted like."

He's right. According to McDonald's Canada Food Facts, a Big Xtra® sandwich includes

Quarter Pounder Beef Patty
Sesame Seed Bun
Ketchup
Pickle Slices
Slivered Onions
Tomato Slice
Lettuce
Mayonnaise-style Sauce and
Grill Seasoning

Unless, the test-kitchen is trying out a burger that freshens your breath while you eat it.

[McDonald's Canada] [Fast Food Nation] [Chewing Gum]

Mc-Urgent

I heard the sirens before I saw the emergency vehicles.

A procession of various emergency service vehicles early in the afternoon, travelling along a major east-west artery. Lights ablaze, sirens wailing.

Two lead police officers on motorcycles entered the intersection and motioned for traffic to stop. Two more officers on motorcycles sped through followed by 2 marked cruisers. Next came an unmarked cruiser, an ambulance and then an unmarked Regional Police SUV. A fire hall ladder truck sped by trailed by another ambulance. A fire engine and one final cruiser anchored the convoy. Did I mention that each vehicle had its lights and siren in action.

The big emergency?
Upon each vehicle was a sign, the kind used to identify funeral processions. On the face of each sign,

McHappy Day.

That's some marketing muscle. Stop traffic on a major thoroughfare until your advertisement passes.
I'd consider it a stroke of genius if the 9-1-1 Dispatch script was changed to: 9-1-1 Emergency. Do you need police, fire, ambulance or a Big Mac?

The Dog Guide Program is our designated local charity.

[McHappy Day] [McDonald's Restaurants - Canada]
[Guide Dogs]

¡Viva!

Cinco de Mayo is widely thought to be the Independence Day of Mexico. Mexico's official Independence Day is in September. Cinco de Mayo celebrates the day of Mexico's Great Battle at Puebla.

Napoleon III's French troops occupied Mexico for five months in 1862. On May 5 the Mexican military overcame the French soldiers at Puebla. In defeating the French Foreign Legion, supplies to the Confederate Rebels in the U.S. Civil War were cut off. The U.S. rebuilt their own forces and beat the Rebels at Gettysburg the following year.

The French recaptured Puebla on May 8^th but were finally expelled from Mexico in 1867.

Así que qué, you ask?

A while ago, my brother and I were talking about Cinco de Mayo. Our sister, who was with us, said, with much disbelief, "Like you guys know when Mexico's National holiday is."
"It's the fifth of May," we replied together.
Joe turned to his son David, 4, and asked, "David, do you know when Cinco de Mayo is?"
"Yep," David answered. Maybe he did know, but he was preoccupied with removing the pepperoni from his pizza slice.

She wouldn't believe that we knew the celebration takes place annually on May 5^th.

We explained that Cinco de Mayo translates literally to May 5.

In her most scholarly voice, our sibling declared, "Well, the national holiday of Norway is November 3^rd."

"No it's not." Joe and I laughed. In fact, it's May 17^th.

So - ¡Viva Cinco de Mayo!
Today, celebrate a battle you've won.

[Cinco de Mayo] [Napoleon III] [Norway]

Sacrilege

After 3 + years without eating, there is little I miss. I've adapted - gotten used to not eating. I don't feel hunger and that makes it a little easier.

I will confess that there is something I miss:

Now, here I am, on the verge of enjoying food again, and this: the Chocolate Manufacturers Association has a petition in front of the FDA to alter the definition of chocolate.

According to Bloomberg News correspondent Adam Satariano,

They want to make it without the required ingredients of cocoa butter and cocoa solids, using instead artificial sweeteners, milk substitutes, and vegetable fats such as hydrogenated and trans fats.

Thankfully, this has been brought out! Don't Mess With Our Chocolate is a website started by Guittard Chocolate. According to Guittard, the purpose of the site is " to provide information regarding how to get involved in saving the real chocolate that we all love and enjoy."

Concerned consumers from around the world can register their comments on the CMA application. The FDA has extended the comment period until June 25, 2007.

Life is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get. Looks like that might be more true than Forrest ever knew.

I'll go ahead and tag this post, but Technorati's been having some technical difficulties.

[Chocolate]
[Chocolate Manufacturers Association] [Bloomberg News]
[Forrest Gump] [Chocolate is Good For You]
[Guittard Chocolate] [Technorati]

Random on a Roll

Hey, Mother Hubbard!

Go check your cupboard

And take out the canned rattlesnake meat.

It'll give you salmonella.

(That's more toxic than rubella.)

Wouldn't you prefer to have a scotch, neat?

[Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes]   [Rattlesnake Meat]
[Salmonella]

Random At Work

Helicopter parents need to lower their landing gear!

This article,
from U.S.A. Today, states "As Generation Y enters the job force, parents of new hires are calling employers to negotiate salary and benefits, and some are even showing up at job fairs."

Parents are interfering to the degree that Hewlett-Packard has 'specially-trained recruiters' to deal with parents.

When I was in a position to hire staff, if faced with two equally-qualified candidates, I would offer the position to the one who completed his own application over one whose parent filled it out. I rarely had ads targeted to college graduates. The article refers to post-secondary grads and their parents.

To me, the distinction is clear: one applicant shows that she wants to work; the other shows that her parents want her to work.

If I was a helicopter parent myself, I'd give you the definition of the term. You need to go look it up yourself.

(By providing the link, I think I have a Limo to the Airport parenting style.)

[Helicopter Parent]   [Student Job Fairs]

Random At Random

Man's best friend can go online to find his own friends now.

Pet Palio, is a website geared to pet owners looking to find friends for their pet. Aaron Rodrigues, 17, from Auckland launched the site after he " 'contacted all the pet stores and they didn't have anybody to connect me with other pet owners. They told me to join clubs, which were offline, and it was such a hassle, I thought there has to be a better way to do this ...' "

Sure, Aaron, the better way to find a playmate for Lasie, your Bichon Frise, is to search online, rather than meet people and their pets in person. There's just nothing more fun than a virtual trip to the leash-free park!

Want to know how many playmates Lasie has found? So far, he's the only pet listed on the site from New Zealand, although the article declares him to be "taken".

[Pet Palio] [Online Dates] [Forums for Pet Owners]