(no subject)

[cblj_backup]

Well, I am back from a morning doctor's visit, or rather have been for a while but had catching up to do. Apparently my Vitamin D levels hover between ten and thirteen and should be hovering around thirty to thirty five. Small wonder I hate the sun, apparently it's totally useless to me.

Anyway, I got jabbed for one last test before they start giving me the big gun prescription vitamin suppliments, so now I have a ninja bandaid on my arm.

At the doctor's office I finished reading Priceless by Robert Wittman and John Shiffman, which is a memoir of Wittman's time with the Art Crimes unit of the FBI, mostly as an undercover operative. It's a little disjointed, like it's not sure what it's supposed to be doing, but the stories are fascinating and it's a good adventure book -- a mixture of crime, art history, and police procedural. One of the cases Wittman worked on was the Gardner theft, late in the game, and that part of the book got a little technical and political, but all round it's a good read. Excellent recommendation for fans of heist flicks and true crime. :)

SO, now I'm faced with the question of what to read next. I have two books checked out from the library and one I'll pick up when I return Priceless: "The Sushi Economy", which is about globalization and its impact on the spread of sushi as a delicacy, "A Night In The Lonesome October" which is presumably about October, and "Confessions of a Justified Sinner" which is, according to Wikipedia, part-gothic novel, part-psychological mystery, part-curio, part-metafiction, part-satire, part-case study of totalitarian thought.

I have to admit I'm eyeballing A Night In The Lonesome October suspiciously. Zelazny and I have not traditionally got on well.

Anyway, between that and being a bit low on blood (and Vitamin D), I think it's time to let the Cafe drive for a while.

[Poll #1740746]

Comments

[xturtle.livejournal.com]

Ditto the grilled cheese and the wildebeest. Also the vitamin D. I was so low I was getting hypoglycemic episodes and passing out on my office floor.

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, very interesting. I have hypoglycemia, and I was away and didn't take my D with me, and I had several bouts of the hypoglycemic shakes. I never would have put together the connection, but now that I know, I'm going to be careful.

[xturtle.livejournal.com]

It's a round-about one -- calcium aids in digestion of carbs, D aids in absorption of calcium. I thought I was going to be diagnosed as diabetic, until I started drinking fortified milk with meals and stopped passing out. And THEN I went to the doctor. *possibly waited longer than I should have.*

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

So much I never knew! I think you have it worse than I do, though, because I've only passed out a couple of times, and not at all recently.

[dreamwaffles.livejournal.com]

Huh! I'm also hypoglycemic! Actually, I missed lunch today working on a lab report and when I got out of the chair did the slow-controlled-floor-crumple thing. Then I got a sandwich.

I had no idea Vitamin D deficiency had anything to do with it. I spend a fair amount of time outside, though, so I guess it's just never been on my radar. (I'm quite pale, and I don't wear sunscreen unless I'm out for prolonged periods of time...yes, bad me, but apparently there's an upside to it.)

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

It seems to me I read somewhere that it's really hard to get enough D just from being outside, unless you literally work in the fields all day. So you may be less low than some people but still not be where you should be.

[dreamwaffles.livejournal.com]

Well, I *am* in training to be a field biologist, last summer I was a camp counselor, and last semester I sailed a research vessel through the tropics. XD

Then again, I live in the Pacific Northwest.

I do eat a lot of cheese and dairy products, though.

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

A field biologist? So cool! I volunteer at the Bronx Zoo, and the more I learn about our filed projects, the more I wish I hadn't been an English major all those many years ago. What are you focused on/hoping to focus on?

[dreamwaffles.livejournal.com]

I like plants! And/or oceanography. Really anything where I get to run around getting paid to be a five-year-old by picking flowers/playing on boats is cool. XD

I'm also a fan of genetics, so I can handle the molecular science as well. I've got a year left before I get my bachelor's, and it's quite possible I'm going to join NOAA.

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

What's NOAA?

[dreamwaffles.livejournal.com]

National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration! It's the smallest branch of the federal forces. They do really awesome science. And helped with the oil spill last year like BAMFs.