A Conundrum

Right now, in a lot of communities here in B.C., it's difficult to find an MD.
 
Due to a lot of issues, I have migrated away from my local MD - Dr Johnny Depp  -  and am going back to my former MD an hour and a half drive away.

I don't know what the solution is....but whatever it is....the progress to availability to health care in some rural communities is going at a snail's pace.

Of course, we pay taxes that covers healthcare so "expensive"
doesn't really apply directly!But definitely hard to get sometimes!

The same with nurses.  There aren't enough of us out there....and this needs to change.

Our Union - BCNU - is now trying to negotiate with the government to commit to more nurses to improve health care in our province.   We are asking Zero increase in wages for the next contract.

If there aren't more nurses added to the workforce....our health care will continue to suffer.  Nurse burnout is rampant in all hospitals across the province.

We still love the system we have, we just want to improve it. 

More later.

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And by the way THERE ARE TWO EGGS IN THE EAGLES' NEST!!!!

TAKE A PEEK!!!

The Eagle's Nest has an Egg in it!!

So the Eagle has laid an egg....you can go to the website and take a peek.....or be like me and obsessively watch it!

Click on the Eagle photo to the right of this entry! ---------->

Japan Remembered: One year ago today

Some statistics from the Japanese Disaster one year ago:*

Strength of the Main Earthquake and Aftershocks on the Richter Scale:
Magnitude of 9                 :     1
Magnitude of 7 or greater :    6
Magnitude of 6 or greater :   93
Magnitude of 5 or greater :  559

Height of the biggest waves of the Tsunami:  132 feet (40 meters)
Coastline affected:    700 kilometers

Deaths:         15,824 (almost 9 times more than Katrina**)
Missing:         3,847 (more than 28 times more than Katrina)
Injured:          5,942 
Displaced:  400,000

Houses completely destroyed:       114,464
Houses half destroyed:                   154,244
Houses damaged:                           539,840

There is still a lot of cleanup to do.  No one really knows when it will be safe to live in Fukushima - since there is still a high level of radiation - and there is nowhere to put the radioactive waste collected.
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*Sources: National Police Agency, Japanese Red Cross and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
**Katrina mentioned only to give perspective to number killed or missing, not to compare disasters.

Unusual Birth Announcement

Couldn't resist it.

You have probably seen this, but I still think it's a pretty cool way to announce a birth!



I thought I had pretty much seen them all! This one would take a little planning.....approximately 9 months worth!

The most BEAUTIFUL place on earth....next to B.C.

I had to laugh a couple years ago when I heard the American broadcaster oon a certain American TV station declare that the Rocky Mountains made a beautiful backdrop to Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics.

What he was actually referring to was the Coastal Mountain range, because the Rocky mountains are a good 9 hour drive East from Vancouver.  You can't even see them from here.

I have posted a few videos of British Columbia - we all know how beautiful it is here....and it's reputation precedes it.




What you might not know, is that Alberta is just as beautiful.  Because the Rocky mountains run along the B.C./Alberta border, not only does Alberta have the prairie beauty - but they also have the mountain beauty.

I have relatives there....in Calgary, Vulcan, Edmonton, Medicine Hat and various other assorted small towns scattered about the province.

That's the province my Grandmother and Grandfather immigrated to in the 1920s - from the Netherlands - and where my R.N. Gramma worked as a Midwife.

Watch the video.  It really shows off some of the pretty countryside in Alberta!  There is more to Alberta than the Stampede and prairies!

KONY who? Think before you donate.....

Apparently people in Uganda are reacting to the Kony2012 campaign - negatively.


If nothing else, the Kony campaign gave this woman who lives in Uganda a voice :




A girlfriend of mine from Japan has been a volunteer RN for a Health Organization in several of these middle African countries for the past 5 years.  She had to move from the country she originally was in to another due to the conflicts in the areas she is working with.  

It wasn't Kony that was the problem there.

They are doing incredible work with other people from around the world to teach health and help those who are coping with day to day concerns and current health issues.

One of my best friends from school was Consul General at an Embassy in a West African country when bands of militants went door to door hauling out any foreigners from France -  and slaughtering them.  He narrowly escaped with his life.

Kony wasn't the problem there.

There are more issues in Africa than one man named Kony.   There are corrupt governments that do just as horrible things than Kony, diseases we have never heard of and other political issues that will take more than a poster campaign to correct.

As a board member on a non-profit,  I wince when I hear of an "Non profit" organization that is not as transparent as it could be and is perhaps a little bit suspect in it's methodology. 

People will always love a band wagon to jump on.  It makes them feel good.......for a little while.  When the popularity of the project wanes.....what are we left with? What is the next step? What can we do that is constructive?

To only be "aware" of a situation isn't enough.

One thing that I have done for several years, is participate in an organization such as KIVA,  which assists those people in 3rd world countries to get a loan where they would never normally qualify or where financial institutions don't exist  -  and help them to help themselves.

It's called MICROFINANCING.

It's not money that is handed free of responsibility.  First, they must create a business plan. The borrowers have to pay the money back.  Loan payback is approximately 98% - which is far better than any "regular" bank.   When your loan is paid back - you then choose another person/group to loan it to. 

The success rate of these businesses is phenomenal.

When we allow people to take the initiative, it will stabilize their life and in turn, they can participate in their own governments and political issues to make changes.

Go to the KIVA website and find out that there are better things to do than run out in the middle of the night plastering posters all over other people's property that someone else will have to clean up.

International Women's Day

My cousin's son is interviewed in this video that was created for International Women's Day.

He and his wife are in Bolivia at the moment working with MCC:



Take a moment and reflect on the Influential Women in YOUR life!

Regards!

It's a Dog's Life...

I loved the Snow Day video shot in Victoria - here is another one that will make you smile!

Dog cam -  on the loose!


Johnny Neon 'Hearts' from Dave Meinert on Vimeo.


I always wondered what a dog does when he escapes ....

Well done!

Just in case you are wondering: Shot in Cape Town, South Africa.

A Little Oscar Story.... True!

I remember years ago when I lived in the East Bay San Francisco - my roommate was dating a guy who was high up in the echelon of a certain TV station in The City.   She was invited to attend the Oscars as his date.

My room mate was quite a picky gal, but she had all kinds of suitors lining up to have a chance to date her. 

I remember one guy that had the misfortune to have a little car trouble on his two hour round trip to pick her up for a dinner date.  He was five minutes late.

Because of this tardiness, she kept him standing on the doorstep as she took the flowers he offered and told him that if he didn't respect her enough to be on time, she wasn't going to bother going out with him.  She shut the door in his face.

She didn't even think twice about turning him away.

She ignored my "awww the poor guy...." comment, and just refused to lower her standards - as she put it.

I secretly admired such confidence and attitude  - that she wouldn't put up with anything.....although, I did feel sorry for that one guy.

Back to the Red Carpet.

A couple days before the Oscars - she announced she had changed her mind.

Incredulously, I looked at her - mouth agape.

"I don't like the guy" she proclaimed.  "I'm not going to go."

That was the end of that.

I think that I probably would have suffered with the guy for ONE night - and gone -  just for the experience and the ambiance and to say I had attended the Oscars.

Anyway. 

Here is a little story of someone I knew - and worked with  - One of the Residents on L&D - and a very good one at that! - who performed at the Oscars a few years back. 

The Resident paid for her education with her part time job -  performing with Cirque du Soleil. 

Since the Cirque is performing again this year at the Oscars....I thought it might just be a very timely recycle.

Hope you enjoy it. 

That -  and the Oscars tonight.

THE EAGLES ARE BACK!!!

For the last month, the Bald Eagles have been back at their nest poking around, rearranging sticks and fluff to prepare their nest for another clutch of eggs!  Click on the Eagle Photo in the Right hand column to see the web cams!*

That must mean spring is almost here?

Just to let you know.....it snowed here again today. 

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*when you click on the photo of the eagle photo in the right hand column and get to the web cam page, you can choose to click on the black tab "Live Cameras" just below the Green header to view a few other cams brought to you by the Hancock Wildlife Foundation, including an owl cam, an Australian sea eagle cam, and also a hummingbird cam (not yet up and running).

Book mark the page!