Posted: September 30th, 2009 | Author: jordan | Filed under: Work | No Comments »
This whole H1N1 thing has really put a damper in day to day activities. Just being able to have a social life of any kind is out of the question. I was at SuperStore the other day getting some pills when I ran into a friends sister, without thinking I shook her hand only to retract it with an immediate sense that I had done something wrong. I looked her square in the face and said “I have to go now.” Thankfully a quick text message to her brother and she was informed of her impending doom, I hope she is well.
Not being allowed to go to work has been strange. Of course I don’t mind being there while I’m sick but I’m sure my co-workers would have something to say about it. As strange as it has been, I’ve actually found myself quite productive in this satellite state. It’s as if the restrictions have been lifted and I’m free to go about working on things as I please. For example, today I delved into the inner workings of cloud computing and the competitive pricing models that are currently available, all the while build linux compute node images and migrating them with the Amazon EC2 cloud. Although I did happen to lose some hair while dealing with NFS. Which was OK considering I’m isolated anyways and therefore have no one to see my hair lose. I did however get an absolutely retarded picture of my mates chilling at pub and holding a glass up in honour of my absence. Thank God for iPhones.
Posted: September 27th, 2009 | Author: jordan | Filed under: Vancouver | No Comments »
Sun behind harbour center
Vancouver really is an amazing city. I forget this sometimes as I’ve just grown so used to it all. The sights to see here are world class, there’s always something to do whether it’s getting a drink in Railtown, climbing the Grouse grind, or hanging out in some of the hidden parks downtown. What I love most though is discovering something new in the city, especially when it was right in front of my eyes all along but I never saw it.
The view from Crab Park
One of my favourite discoveries is an unknown little park right down in railtown area called Crab Park. It’s so unknown that Google Maps doesn’t even have it labelled. To get there you have to go over the Main St bridge, yes that’s right Main St has a bridge at the very end. Go over the bridge and follow the roundabout. Park, and enjoy. It’s one of the nicest views the city has with its stark contract of colours from various shipping containers, the bustle of frigates moving in and out of the Port as well as the constant traffic from the Seabus and Helijet.
The only problem one might say about it is, because of its location and the issues that lie therein, a lot of people have ended up calling this little place home. Whether it be under a tree, in the bushes, or under the pier, there are a few less fortunate than I who have seemed to find a place of serenity amidst the turmoil of the DTES Some may find this a problem, I find it to be quintessential for mixing what is usually a vast dichotomy in this city. On one side you have the stereotypical Vancouver polished aesthetic, and on the other the disheartening reality of a large populace that have been beaten down and forgotten by our society. All things considered however, this is a great place to take the girl for a walk and enjoy the smell of some open air.
Posted: September 25th, 2009 | Author: jordan | Filed under: Insight | 1 Comment »
I decided a few days ago that I need to start a blog and what better way to begin than to post about what I just found out from the doctor! I have H1N1, for those of you who do not know what H1N1 is you can read this. Yesterday I was just a very sick man, and yes I am aware of how that sounds, but today I have an almost excommunicated like status, with all my friends and family concerned yet with a clause of fear.
I remember when the doctor first said to me, ‘Jordan, it looks like you have H1N1,’ I was in a little bit of shock for sure but then he proceeded to explain how it was just a mild case and not to be concerned. With of course the obvious awareness that if my symptoms are to increase at all I should go to emergency immediately. However I have been feeling a little bit better everyday and hopefully will continue to do so. After speaking with my parents, my friends and my girlfriend who was not happy with me at all, I began to think about their reactions and what it is that I have. One half of me was thinking, ‘holy crap! I have swine flu!’ while the other half was thinking, ‘don’t worry, you’ll be fine it’s just the flu.’ My close friends and family were of course all concerned, as they damn well should be, but at the same time I could hear a: i-fear-for-you-but-you’re-on-your-own sort of tone in their voices. Why was that?
When I got home I began to do some research on H1N1. What the symptoms are, how many people have been affected and what the death rate in North America has been. Much to my surprise H1N1 has been around for quite some time, originating in the 1918 as the Spanish Flu. In just one year it managed to wipe out 50 – 100 million people worldwide in just one year. It then remerged as the Russian Flu in the 1940’s and then again as bird flu or avian flu in the beginning of this decade. I can see why there has been so much fear about this flu given the death rate of the Spanish Flu. However in 2006 over roughly half of all flu infections were H1N1 and there was not a high death rate in North America. This says to me it’s just more media hype, but after digging for a bit longer I found that the death rate in 2009 soared in the Americas alone to 2,625. In fact the provincial Centre for Disease Control in BC just released the epidemiology for the virus
So now I am actually worried about this. I have to be careful not to mix this virus with any other for fear of mutating H1N1. I also have to be careful not to be close to other people ( people I care about anyways… no j/k ) in case I pass it on to them. I know that I’ve already given it to two other people in my life and neither of them are happy about it. It is a strange feeling though being in an almost quarantined like status, whereby everyone you know tries to avoid you at all costs. Brings back old memories…. 