Recommended Inoculations

On a visit to the allergist last month she asked whether I had a flu shot yet.
No, I'm having a physical in January and I'll get one then.
That's great, she said. Meanwhile, you might want to ask him about these others. She brandished a report by the CDC:

Vaccines Recommended for Older Adults

Influenza vaccine, which protects against seasonal flu (for all adults every year)

Td vaccine, which protects against tetanus (for all adults every 10 years)

Tdap vaccine, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (also known as whooping cough) (for all adults once instead of Td vaccine)

Pneumococcal vaccine, which protects against pneumococcal diseases that cause infections in the lungs, blood, brain and ear (for all adults over 65 years old, and for adults younger than 65 years who have certain chronic health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, lung disease, or who smoke)

Zoster vaccine, which protects against shingles (for adults 60 years or older)

There may be other vaccines to consider because your health, job, or lifestyle may put you at higher risk for certain diseases. For example, people with diabetes are recommended to also get the Hepatitis B vaccine.

I wish that I had been made aware of these recommendations in 2012, before I came down with the shingles that put me out of commission for over a month.

Any one of the other maladies will put a crimp in achieving ambitions for 2014. Recommended inoculations: another item on the to-do list for January. © 2014 Stephen Yuen

Merely a Gesture

A lot of sticky messiness for $9.73.

The holiday festivities were pau (some Hawaiian words just stick with you throughout your life). I took the plastic bottles to the recycling center. For a couple of hours' worth of sorting, transporting, waiting, and dealing with sticky messiness the compensation was $9.73. I probably won't bother next time and just put the bottles in the blue container that Recology picks up every week.

I felt sorry for the sole worker at the site. He had to deal with long post-New Year lines and overflowing bins; he told me that the truck was very late. I gave him $2. No, the amount made no difference to him or to me. Amidst the vermin-attracting grime it was merely a gesture toward civic society. © 2014 Stephen Yuen

Not Going With the Flow

The technician tapped my left arm, searching for a vein. She inserted the needle. It was a dry hole. Her second attempt on the right wrist was successful, and the sample vials were filled in short order. The visit was more pleasant than average, however, with three or four tries being the norm.

Lab technicians have explained the multiple pricks and prods (and bandages) as being due to my veins being narrow and difficult to locate. I'm a wuss for admitting it, but the unpleasantness of the experience has caused me recently to forego donating blood (5-10 years ago the technicians seemed more skilled).

It's unfortunate that the blood banks aren't integrated with the labs, because I'd be perfectly willing to donate a pint once they take the relatively small amount needed for testing. After I've made the trip to the laboratory, filled out the paperwork, and incurred the discomfort of getting the flow going, the marginal cost of extracting a pint is minimal. There's probably a bureaucratic reason why blood donation and testing can't be done at the same time, but it escapes me.

New Year's "W"-esolutions

Every year we try and only partially succeed, if not fail. This time we really mean it! (right?)

This 17-year-old didn't need
to lose any weight.

Weight loss: This is the number one New Year's resolution for Americans. I resolve to lose 1½ pounds per month---an 18-pound weight loss should get the doc off my back. Exercise and diet will be the means of achieving this goal.

Wealth: I resolve to pay more attention to investments. Buy-it-and-forget-it is not an option, and neither is too much concentration in one stock or one sector.

Work: This one seems to be related to wealth, but it's really not. Whether doing something for pay or for love, I resolve to accept tasks sparingly and finish the ones that I do undertake.

Wisdom: I resolve to take 80 hours of continuing education and restore my CPA license to active status. Also, I will read at least one non-business book each month. Excluding work and education, I will limit online time to two hours daily.

The above may not seem overly ambitious, dear reader, but rest assured, they are. © 2014 Stephen Yuen