EXCITING NEWS!

So, as I think you have figured out, I am really slacking on the blog posts. I have been super busy with school and work; I have really been lagging. My best friend, Brie, whose blog I have mentioned, has kindly let me be a contributor to her blog, so we will now be doing a joint NY-DC blog. It will be my same types of posts - events, public health, just things going on in my life in general. Brie's posts are similar. She includes a lot of current events and interesting and funny stories. So, from now on, head over to yeahlikethecheese.blogspot.com to see both Brie and my new entries! It should be an exciting new mix!

Inauguration Weekend

Insanity ensues in D.C.! I am sitting in Matt's apartment and there is a constant barrage of sirens and crowds of people swarming hotels and restaurants. There is an aura of excitement, but mostly it is just frustrating to do menial tasks.

I did not go to the swearing in of the new president. Matt and I had the opportunity to do so, but we did not feel it necessary to wait that long in the cold and brave the millions of people converging on the Mall. I stayed in all day and watched the ceremony on TV. It seemed to run pretty smoothly, but I was disappointed in the poor reception of President George W. Bush. I knew that it was likely, but I thought it was classless and he deserves better.

I went to the concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday. It was exciting, but super crowded. Laur and I had to stand all the way near the Washington Monument. We heard about three acts perform, including Springsteen and Bon Jovi (yay Jersey!). After that, the crowds were getting huge, so Laur and I trecked back to the Hill. At that point, the Metro was still navigable, which is not the case today. Someone reported waiting three hours for a train in Virginia!

Last night, Matt and I went to the Texas State Society's Black Tie and Boots Ball at the Gaylord Hotel in Maryland. It is a huge hotel in the very new construction at the National Harbor. I would like to visit that area to see what types of restaurants and shops are there. It has great views of the harbor and of the skyline. The ball was a lot of fun! Bush and Cheney were rumored to attend, but they did not show. There were a lot of Congressmen and other VIPs including Denzel Washington, who made a short speech. The bands that played were great. It was a mix between rock and country. The food/drinks/company were fantastic. The pictures are displayed below. The jewelry that I wore was very generously loaned to me by Chris from his salons in Bridgewater and Warren!

Text Messages Fight Crime

A superintendent in Broward County, Florida is encouraging students to text message (anonymously) a special number to alert school officials to any criminal activity in this report. I think that this is a great way to use technology. So many people are text messaging now; for younger people, texting is more convenient than calling. This new innovation could remove some of the barriers, such as voice recognition or call tracing, that may have prevented students from calling in tips to the hotline.

Texting could also be a very useful form of relaying warnings, even warnings about disease outbreaks and other health emergencies. In many rural areas in developing countries, the infrastructure would not support phone lines, so many people use cell phones to communicate. Texting would be an excellent way to disseminate important information to these people. There would be an issue with regulation and it would be difficult to validate anonymous tips of reports of disease, but I think if an efficient program is developed, texting could be a very important tool for public health officials.

Back to School!

Yesterday was my first day back to class in my last semester! I will (hopefully) be graduating with my MPH in May 2009. I am so excited to begin to work (and to get a paycheck!!!)! I am continuing my internship at Georgetown University at Project Argus where I am doing a heath policy project this semester about open source media research. I am looking around for jobs for when I graduate, but I hope to get into the Presidential Management Fellowship, which is a two year program that rotates you between several federal agencies to give you experience within those agencies and to help you figure out where, exactly, you want to be. I just took the exam on Friday, so I hope to hear whether or not I got in the first week of March. Wish me luck!

Classes are pretty interesting, so far. I have my vector bourne disease prevention class tonight that I am looking forward to. I am also working on my culminating experience paper and presentation that I will present at the end of the semester. Busy, busy for the next couple of months!!

GIANTS LOST

Very dissappointing game. The Giants played terribly against the hated Eagles. Eli still has a lot of work to do, even after his spectacular performance in last year's Super Bowl. Everytime he throws the ball, I get so nervous! They started off the season well, but after that Burress scandal, they fell apart. Let's hope they can pull it together for next season!




P.S. Congrats to Matt's Steelers who will be playing in the AFC Championship next weekend!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday, even though she does not like celebrating it! I will not tell anyone how old you are, Mom, even though it is not that bad! So, happy birthday! Love you!

GO BIG BLUE

My post today is blue in honor of the NY Giants! Let's hope they beat the Eagles today at 1pm!!

I am back in Washington, D.C. Things are getting crazy here as the Inauguration approaches. Yesterday I was walking home from my exam and I wanted to cut across the park in front of the White House, but everything was blocked off. It's like trying to navigate a maze with all the fences and prohibited areas. I also saw the Hay Adams hotel where Obama is staying. No one can get near it! Cars can't even park within blocks of it. It must be frustrating to be a guest there right now.

I don't think that I will be attending the Inauguration ceremonies. Huge crowds scare me; I am always afraid to be crushed. I hope everything goes off without a hitch! I really hope the metro system is not overwhelmed as it sometimes seems to be even on a regular workday.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend!