Category / Health & Wellbeing

by shannonchance

It’s Just Like Riding a Bike… You Never Forget

Getting ready to put the dublinbikes membership card to use.

Mom needed me to run an errand, and I took it as an opportunity to learn something new. I grabbed my new dublinbikes membership card, donned my helmet and reflective vest, and headed to the bike rack.

I took a detour through King’s Law building and its park… all because I couldn’t cross the busy intersection by bike.

It all looked harmless enough, but was it?  NOOOOOOO!

Riding on the opposite side of the street — over cobblestones — and zigzagging through the maze of one-way streets that do not flow together with any logic that I can ascertain….

Well, it was very, very difficult getting just six blocks.

And, believe it or not, Dubliners in cars do not yield to pedestrians.  They do so a little — just a little — for bicyclists.  Pretty hard to believe, I know, but that’s my experience.  Pedestrians waiting at crosswalks, don’t elicit empathy, slowing, or stopping.

Today, I took a number of detours in places I couldn’t cross due to heavy flow of traffic. Fortunately, I made it the six blocks alive.  I returned my bike to the dublinbikes stand.

Bike safely returned and locked in place.

In the end, my right hand was dirty from clutching the handle and switching gears.  I made Mom’s purchase, picked up some dairy at the grocery and veggies at the produce stands, and walked the six block back home… nice and safe, on foot!

Must have gripped the handle too hard going over those cobblestones on Henrietta Lane!

by shannonchance

Sláinte (to our health)!

Having access to clean, pure water is something of concern to many of my friends back home, so I decided this was worth a post.  I found a great  water purifying system and wanted to let you know about it.
The “EVA Advanced Water Filtration System” is available in much of the world (but I think not yet the USA).  I’ve attached a photo of 7-liter, 9-step version of the filer that I purchased for 179 Euro.
A product manual is available on line and it explains exactly which contaminants the system was able to remove (in laboratory tests).  It’s quite impressive.
I’ve had my EVA filter for three weeks and am quite pleased with its performance. My only concern is with the release valve/faucet, which is entirely plastic (and not aesthetically pleasing to me, either).  I plan to replace it with a more durable one at some point in the future.

EVA Advanced Water Filtration System.

by shannonchance

Wilde Fun at the Gaiety

Inside of the Gaiety Theater, mentioned in Oscar Wilde’s “Dubliners.”

It’s hard to feel lonely when you have a Facebook community to lean on. Being five hours ahead of the time at home can make me feel a little isolated on Sunday mornings, when the people I love most are still asleep.  But what do you know, another Fulbright living in Ireland jumped right in this morning via FB and offered solidarity.

Scene from Wilde’s story about the characters of Dublin, set in 1848.

I perked up after heading across town to the Gaiety Theater for a Sunday matinee.  Oscar Wilde’s stories were  delightful due to some great choreography and skillful acting.  Perhaps he didn’t mean it to be so comical, but nevertheless, it was a highly entertaining theatrical production. It was delivered entirely in third person to keep true to Wilde’s text (which wasn’t penned for the stage). The stories involve a bunch of off-beat personalities, but most of them are lovable enough. I’m sure the book itself could get depressing, but the play seldom did.

Anyone care to join me?

There was even a singer in the play who reminded me of my Dad’s cousin, Robin Massie.  With her beautiful curly red hair, super-cheery personality, and incredible soprano voice, Robin could definitely find a place on stage here.

Sunday afternoon streets are always full of people — as long as the rain holds off.

The design of the Gaiety Theater is itself a treat.  Inside, it looks a lot like the Olympia (which I posted a picture of previously), except that this theater is bigger.  It’s where Riverdance performs, for instance.

I also finally sought out the Cornucopia restaurant. It specializes in vegetarian, wheat-free, gluten-free, vegan, and sugar-free options.  And, believe it or not, they also specialize in delicious dishes!  I wonder:  How on earth did it take me so long to find this place? Mark (at the Kildare Street Hotel) told me about it weeks ago.

Shopping for light bulbs, a bell pepper, and ginger root on the way home… along with everyone else!

The play and a warm bowl of soup did wonders for my day.  The rain showers melted into sunshine.  The afternoon streets filled with people.  I even found one of the light bulbs I needed to purchase while I was on the way home (even the light bulbs are different from what we have at home, and so keeping each light fixture aglow offers me new challenges.)

Shopping successful, tummy full, and Shannon happy, I returned home to reflect and transcribe.

PS — My new URL is shannonchance.net to save you a few keystrokes.  If you receive my blog posts by email, I recommend you click the title of the piece when they arrive, so you can read the online version.  That way you get a better graphic experience (and sometimes a few less type-os). Now, if only I could figure out how to control this crazy template’s layout.

An urban reflection from today.

by shannonchance

Necessary Evil

I felt pretty good after an hour of transcribing.

The veggies I had for lunch were wearing off. I’d polished off the goat cheese Dave left me in the fridge.

I’d spent two hours transcribing interviews — and that puts a real strain on the back!  All told, I put in about five hours transcribing today. (I have so much more of it ahead of me this year. Manually transferring voice recordings into word files is excruciating — but it’s a necessary evil of qualitative research.)

Feeling wilted, I decided to treat myself to some veggie nut loaf at Mulligan’s Grocer, a restaurant I’ve mentioned before.  Yum!  This is one of Dave’s favorite meals in Dublin.  It perked me right up!

Returning home, I conquered the interview tape by 10:30 PM and found reason to celebrate when I got some good news from Google Alerts.  William and Mary just published a story about the class I taught this summer.  Check it out!

by shannonchance

Some Things Are Easier Than Others

Getting moved into an apartment hasn’t been the smoothest process.  The size and location of the one I’ve selected are great.  The price is reasonable for the market ($1200/month furnished).  But the landlord is difficult.  He believes the apartment was already “professionally cleaned,” but the carpet hasn’t been vacuumed let alone steam cleaned (which it needs even by my not-so-high standards).  In any case, I’ll be taking on a fairly dirty apartment and cleaning it myself.

The good news is that I should be able to move in tomorrow.  Dave and I will haul all our bags across town… somehow.  I’m hoping to arrange a large taxi.

Fortunately, most everything else about this move has gone much more smoothly than securing the apartment.  The people at the Kildare Street Hotel (most notably, Peter and Mark) have been absolutely the best!!!!  They are full of helpful information and insight.  They’ve helped step me through this move.

Vegetarian, gluten-free lunch

Vegetarian, gluten-free lunch.

My iPhone now has calling capacity and roaming Internet connection.  Today, the apartment management company and I were both paid.  That means I was able to apply for a bank account, since I can now claim to have a home address.

By Friday, I’ll have access to Euros instead of having to spend US Dollars.  That means I can buy things and pay in Euros.  I’ll be able to avoid paying the fees associated with buying Euros (due to exchange rates and international transaction charges).

Something else that has made all this easier: delicious food is readily available!

Lest you think all the meals here are laden with calories, I’ve attached a photo of the lunch I had at 4 pm today (after many meetings).  It was vegetarian and gluten-free.  There are many gluten-free options in the restaurants here. That’s because, unfortunately, Ireland has the highest number of people, per capita, who are celiac and can’t eat wheat proteins.  Many can’t even eat from a kitchen where wheat has been used.  I fear that we’ll see a rise of gluten intolerance in the States, because our standard American diet today is so high in gluten.  I think people are likely to reach their thresholds at some point — like I did with formaldehyde.

In any case, the open air market here is full of summer vegetables at amazingly low prices (5 red bell peppers for €1).

Restaurant food nation-wide is quite expensive, however.  My lunch (as pictured) cost about $12.  Looks like I’ll be eating at home a lot!

by shannonchance

Nearly Formaldehyde-Free

Thank God for Environmental Working Group (EWG) which has been pushing to remove formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing chemicals from the products we use everyday.  This family of chemicals is added to products to help prevent bacteria and mold from growing in them — so we can keep them on our shelves for ever and ever.

These compounds are not only irritants to many people’s skin, they are also known carcinogens (cancer-causing agents).  Unfortunately, in the US, they are not listed on the labels of many products that contain them.

They are hidden in lotions, cosmetics, soaps and cleaning supplies, building materials, fabrics, medical ointments, vaccines, and all sorts of places you wouldn’t expect (including some meat and milk preservatives).  I’ve memorized a list of more than 40 chemical names to watch for, but many product labels don’t bother to list their components.

Three years ago, I developed a severe contact allergy to formaldehyde.  As it turns out, the ointments I’d been given to treat a tick bite contained formaldehyde.  Applying these medications caused me to break out head to toe.  It took until this past February to identify the source of the problem.  My dermatologist didn’t even mention the availability of patch tests (that could be used to determine the underlying causes of my itchy rash) until I asked.

These compounds are not only irritants to many people’s skin, they are also known to be cancer-causing.

It seems that health care providers in the US are trained to treat symptoms by prescribing pharmaceuticals rather than to ferret out the source of a patient’s trouble.  How I wish we’d re-conceptualize health care as a public service rather than a prescription-writing industry.  Isn’t it time, America?

I should have realized sooner that environmental toxins were to blame.  They are a focus of a book I’ve been discussing for years with my students.

I highly recommend reading Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things.  It’s written by an architect and a chemist.  It’s a definite paradigm-shifter that will hold your attention to the end.  (My architecture students at Hampton University and educational planning students the College of William and Mary frequently assert that everyone should read it.)  You can buy a copy for under $12.

I’m so glad that EWG and the authors of Cradle to Cradle have been researching environmental toxins and lobbying companies to make healthier products.  EWG has now convinced Johnson & Johnson to remove formaldehyde from its offerings in the coming years.  Maybe other companies will follow suit and ditch carcinogens and skin irritants from their products.

Here’s to hoping that the products I encounter in Ireland are better designed than the ones we use in the States!

Thanks to an AP Environmental Science teacher for posting this image. Visit his blog or read the book to find out why this book is submerged in water.