There’s a Spark in You

I’m sure you already know this, but there are people in this world who would love nothing more than to see you fail.  You probably have a special skill-something you’re known for and you’re REALLY good at it- and there’s at least one person who actually despises you for it. It could be a friend, BUT if we’re being honest here, it’s probably someone in your family. Am I right? (I’m right).

In my 20 years on this beautiful planet, I’ve found that there are two types of people: People who encourage you and genuinely want to see you succeed and then there are the haters. People who actually PRAY for you to fail. If you have people like that in your life- CONGRATS! It’s because you have something that they WISH they had. Let’s call it: shine.

Listen to me, people of the internet: pay no mind to haters. If you ignore them, their evil micro-hate waves can’t dissolve your shine. By ignoring their stupid remarks you’re even converting those hate waves into something greater– motivation. (I know, this whole thing is starting to sound scientific. I’m sorry; I’m a science major). Whenever someone tells me that I can’t, it makes me try even harder to prove them wrong. Remember, people who tell you that you can’t are just afraid that you will. 

Rachel Berry once said, “Stars are rare. And when they’re found, you have to let them shine.” So, SHINE ON!!! Don’t let haters steal your shine!!!

Twinkle, twinkle little star! Keep shining!!

Hi. I’m Noelle and I am a vegetarian.

Yes, the rumors are true: I, Noelle Chiafari, am a vegetarian. I have been for some time, actually. Why am I sharing this? Well, I really just wanted to share my experience so far. It has been quite interesting.

Let’s start with the positives, shall we?

I have never felt better in my entire life! Cutting meat out of my diet is honestly the best thing I have ever done for myself. My body responded SO well to this new lifestyle. I feel lighter and healthier than when I was eating meat. I’ve also noticed that my moods have improved too! I generally feel happy all of the time. Can’t argue with that!

Another cool thing for me is that I have been eating foods that are tasty and different. I have always loved trying new foods and this has proved a great way to try some new things! I have been discovering new foods that I absolutely cannot live without! Things I never would have even tried had I not cut meat out of my diet.

Here come the negatives…

If I’m being honest, vegetarianism has not been hard for me. I do not feel deprived in any way!! The problem really arises with other people. I told my friends that I was a vegetarian and some of them were actually angry with me for a brief period of time!! Crazy!! Usually when I tell people they go, “Really?”, like I have some kind of disease. People’s reactions have been quite different. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of people who have been very supportive!!

Another issue, I get teased at least once a day by family and friends. It’s getting old. They just don’t get it. They say the food I eat is “gross”. For example, every time I mention tofu they start the ridicule. Now, I get it… I used to think tofu was gross too, but no one I knew ate it. I would never tell them that the food they ate was gross. As a matter of fact, I always keep my mouth shut while everyone is eating steak and I’m eating veggies… I never make fun of them for eating meat. So why do people think it’s ok to do that to me? I try not to let it get to me and most of the time it doesn’t. I’m not going to lie, there are times I want to explode and them how gross the food they are eating is actually gross, but I don’t. Why bother? In the back of my mind I know that what I’m doing is right for my body and it makes me feel like a superhero.

So, if you’re reading this and considering cutting meat out of your diet, I say GO FOR IT!! You’ll thank yourself!! It’s the best thing I’ve done for myself!! I honestly don’t miss meat at all!! Now, for you it may not be that easy, we’re a nation that eats meat at every meal. If you don’t want to go cold turkey (no pun intended) try to do a couple “vegetarian days” a week. You’ll feel GREAT!! I promise!!

Well, that’s my experience. I just felt I needed to get that off my chest. Hope you enjoyed my little piece!

P.S-I may even be taking this one step further and going vegan. My taste buds love cheese, but my body hates it!! One step at a time though. As of now, I try to sneak in “vegan days”. I know it will be easy, too. I NEVER liked milk, even as a kid. I mean, seriously… who drinks milk?! Ew.

Remember: Love the animals, don't eat them xoxo

Happy Freaking Monday

Now, don’t let the title fool you. I’m not one of those “Curse you, Monday!!” people. Well, I try my hardest not to be anyway, because I am Noelle Chiafari and I try to be as optimistic-and realistic-as possible.  I’ve found that it is just as hard to wake up on Monday as it is on Thursday…bad example, I don’t have class on Thursdays…  The point is that I don’t let “Monday” ruin my [Mon]day.  (Plus, HouseMD is on Mondays) But as the great philosopher, Jagger, once said, “You can’t always get what you want.” (Don’t give me too much credit for that last line; I borrowed it from the great philosopher Dr.House)

This particular Monday was one of those Mondays that felt like it was being drafted by a screenwriter or something. It was like I was completely out of sync with the universe.

I woke up and realized that I was behind schedule already. Running late is not something that happens to me, by the way. I don’t set an alarm. My biological clock never fails me… unless, of course, I’m not feeling well. Which was the case Monday. I just wasn’t feeling well and I wasn’t in the mood to go to class. Honestly, if someone told me, “Uh, Noelle, it’s 27º outside, you can’t go,” I would have stayed home. Problem was, I wasn’t terribly ill and no one gave me any obscure reasons to stay home. Reluctantly, I got up and got ready.

I yelled up to my mom, “I’m going to start my car!” My Jeep is about 11 years old, so it needs to warm up for a good 10 minutes before it even considers moving.  I went outside and got to my car, tried putting the key in the lock, but it wouldn’t go in because ice was covering it.  I got the car unlocked,  and tried to open the door. The handle wouldn’t even budge. It was literally frozen shut.

I went back inside and told my mom my dilemma. I was hoping that this would be my excuse to not go, but conveniently, the public schools had a 90 minute delay due to flooding after the heavy rain we had. So, my mom offered to drive me, “Go start my car.” I went out to her car and guess what? It was frozen too. Super.

I went back inside and explained the misfortune to her. Luckily, my dad was off of work and said he would drive me. I went out to his car which, to my surprise, actually opened. Of course, it was the back door. I had to climb through the car to start it. Whatever. So, off we went to school.

We were driving along happily (I guess). I was a little disappointed that I actually had to go after all that, but I knew I shouldn’t miss class. We got to the intersection and what do you know? The main road is flooded. I’m not talking just a little water here. I’m talking they shut Federal Road down because it looked like Federal River. So, we were detoured to the highway. We FINALLY got to my school. I was honestly half expecting my school to be in flames or something at the rate the morning was going. Oh, but it was there. Standing strong.

I said goodbye and thanks to my dad (I may have thrown in a “Do I have to?”) and heading to my second home, the science building. I walked in, and was heading to the stairwell. I got to the door that leads to the stairwell and it.was.locked. LOCKED. That door is NEVER locked. I didn’t even know it COULD lock.  The strangest thing was that while I was walking in to the building, I was a good 50ft behind my classmate who was also late. Somehow he got through the door and I didn’t.  I still don’t know how that happened.

You want to know what I did then? I turned around and walked out of the science building. Instead of going to animal physiology, I went to the campus cafe and got myself a cup of coffee.

I have never had such a weird day. I really feel like the universe didn’t want me learning about neurons and graded potentials that day. Don’t ask me why.

Well, that’s my story. I hope it at least gave you a chuckle.

Instant Karma

Just a simple little story to start off the weekend.

This morning on my way to school, I was approaching the intersection where I needed to turn to reach my destination. As I got closer, I noticed a car trying to turn left onto the same street I needed to turn on.  I stopped and  I happily gave him the “after you” wave and in return I received the “thank you” wave. If you’ve never experienced it, it’s kind of like a “stop, I’m going first” wave, but you realize that it’s not that wave because you already established who was going first. Anyway. For reasons beyond me (it may have something to do it being 7:45am) I asked myself, “Noelle, why did you do that?” I thought about it and answered myself, “Because I would want someone to do that for me.” I parked in the university garage and went on my merry way. And by “merry way” I mean “animal physiology.”

When I was done for the day, I got in my car and joined the other cars in line waiting to turn left. When it was my turn, my chances of turning seemed slim. (This is because, the traffic on a main road in Danbury during the afternoon is pretty crazy). I was waiting, and waiting, and waiting…..”Ok, the right side is clear, what about the…oh!” Yes, that’s right, some nice old man was giving me the “after you” wave. I graciously accepted (and gave the “thank you” wave).

This story proved to me that kindness can be a chain reaction. Call it karma or whatever you wish (‘Jocelyn’ is nice).  For you skeptics out there: Yeah, it probably could have been a coincidence that he let me go, but I think it’s something better. You see, every action we have, has an impact on someone or something else. It doesn’t ever go unnoticed. Just try it out, hold the door for someone who is just a bit behind you. Give somebody in your class or workplace a compliment. “I like your shirt today”, always works (you don’t have to use this. Feel free to change it and make it your own). It may be instant or it could take a while to come back to you, but just keep an eye out. What’s the worst that could happen? Nothing could come back to you, but at least you were nice to someone. Is that so wrong? (the answer is “no”).

Normal’s not Normal

Dr. House (Hugh Laurie)

I was cleaning out my folders and came across this essay I wrote last year for my Writing 101 class. Hope you like it.

House MD: Normal’s Not Normal

House MD is a popular medical drama on the Fox Network.  According to the Nielsen ratings, on Monday November 30, 2009, House MD had 10.4 million viewers and was watched in an average of 7.9/12 households on that day alone.  House MD is aired in 66 countries throughout the world and in 2008, was the most watched TV show in the world.  The show is centered around the misanthropic medical genius, Gregory House, played by Hugh Laurie.  House heads the department of Diagnostic Medicine at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. His department gets the strange cases that other doctors can’t figure out.  His team consists of three doctors, Dr. Allison Cameron, Dr. Robert Chase, and Dr. Eric Foreman.  We can’t seem to get enough of this character.  Why are we in love with a pill-popping, sarcastic doctor who seems to have no ethical boundaries?

Dr. House has a habit of saying what most people keep to themselves.  He is extremely sarcastic to everyone, including patients.  An example if this is when a man comes into the free clinic complaining of hiccups.

Patient- “I’ve tried everything.”

House- “(reading his chart) Mmmm…pulling the tongue, ice packs on the throat, hitting yourself, the groin pinch. Well you’ve certainly covered all the normal medical bases. Ah, how are you hitting yourself though, is it an open hand or fist?”

Patient- “Open hand.”

House- “Ah huh, well that’s how they teach it at Harvard Med. How hard though?”

(Dr. Cuddy, the Dean of Medicine, walks in)

(Patient slaps himself in the face)

House- “I’m sorry, I missed that. Could you do that again?”

(Patient slaps himself in the face again)

House- “Just dial it up a notch and repeat.”

House has a knack for treating clinic patients very unprofessionally.  He feels like their problems aren’t “interesting” enough to deal with.  Most people in this situation would obviously think this patient was an idiot, but they probably never would have said anything like House did.  This is one of the reasons that Dr. House is such a popular character.  He actually says what we wish we could say.  The United States is politically correct about practically everything.  Dr. House, however, is the opposite of being politically correct. He makes borderline racist and sexist comments to his team on a daily basis.   A good example of these comments is when Dr. House speaks to a member of his team, Dr. Foreman, who is African American.

Dr. Foreman: “Why are you riding me?”
Dr. House: “It’s what I do. Has it gotten worse lately?”
Dr. Foreman: “Yeah. Seems to me.”
Dr. House: “Really. Well, that rules out the race thing. Cause you were just as black last week.”

House also makes sexist comments to another member of his team Dr. Cameron, who is a female.

Dr. House: “I hired you because you are extremely pretty.”
Dr. Cameron: “You hired me to get into my pants?”
Dr. House: “I can’t believe that that would shock you. It’s also not what I said. No, I hired you because you look good; it’s like having a nice piece of art in the lobby.”

House’s statements are usually politically in-correct.  This is why House is such a popular character.  The US is so politically correct that House’s comments almost seem like a breath of fresh air.  He says what he is thinking and holds nothing back unlike many people in society.  We envy his willingness to speak his mind and hold nothing back.

Dr. House suffered from an infarction in his upper leg.  The surgeons had to remove part of his thigh muscle because the muscle was dying.  House is now in chronic pain, has to walk with a cane, and was prescribed Vicodin.  House takes much more Vicodin than he needs.  He makes his only friend, Dr. Wilson, write him Vicodin prescriptions.  Dr. House is a drug addict and he is aware of the fact. He says, “I said I was an addict. I didn’t say I had a problem.”  Dr. House even goes so far as to make jokes about his addiction.  While working in the free clinic (which he hates doing), he introduces himself to the entire waiting room full of patients.

Hello, sick people and their loved ones! In the interest of saving time and avoiding a lot of boring chit-chat later, I’m Dr. Gregory House. You can call me Greg. I’m one of three doctors staffing this clinic this morning. I am a board certified diagnostician with a double specialty of infectious disease and nephrology. I’m also the only doctor currently employed at this hospital who is forced to be here against his will. But not to worry, because for most of you this job could be done by a monkey with a bottle of Motrin. Speaking of which, if you’re particularly annoying, you may see me reach for this. This is Vicodin. It’s mine. You can’t have any. And no, I do not have a pain management problem, I have a pain problem. But who knows? Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m too stoned to tell.

Society has programmed us to not admire such a quality in people, especially in doctors.  On television, doctors are portrayed as flawless individuals who are almost saintly.  A drug-addicted doctor seems like an inaccurate portrayal of doctors, however, it may be more accurate than we have been taught. In fact, the Medical Board of California believed that 2% of it’s physicians have abused drugs.  People like Dr. House so much because this is a reality in our country.  People, even doctors, can be addicted to drugs.  People are not perfect and probably never will be.  The people on TV, especially doctors, are portrayed as flawless individuals, however, this is not realistic. House is so popular because people can relate with his flaws.   As Dr. House would say, “Normal’s not normal.”

Dr. House seems to know no boundaries.  He ignores standard procedure and lies to patients.  To get something done, House has gone so far as to blackmail doctors in the hospital. For example, one of House’s patients needed a liver transplant.  House went to a transplant surgeon and explained his dilemma. House first tried sweet-talking the doctor, telling him that he was the “best transplant surgeon in the hospital.” When that failed, House told the doctor that if he didn’t do the surgery, he would send an anonymous letter to the doctor’s wife explaining how he was cheating on her.  The doctor was forced into doing the surgery and their conversation ended with House adding, “And for the record, you are the worst transplant surgeon in this hospital. But, unfortunately, you are the only one who is currently cheating on his wife.”  In addition to blackmailing faculty at the hospital, House is known for doing very high-risk tests and treatments to find a diagnosis for his patients. Sometimes he even skips the tests completely and jumps right to treatments.  “Tests take time; treatment’s quicker. If he lives, I’m right. If he dies, you’re right.”  This can seem very unethical at times and raises the question, ‘Why hasn’t Dr. House been fired yet?’  House is required to take his crazy ideas to the Dean of Medicine at the hospital, Dr. Lisa Cuddy.  She is the only one at the hospital who can keep House in line.  House often annoys her and asks why she takes such great pleasure in turning down his ideas.  She responds, “It’s what I live for.  Once in a while, though, try to ruin my day.  Ask me something I can say “yes” to.”  Dr. Cuddy is aware of Dr. House’s personality.  She knows about the blackmailing, the Vicodin, and the tests (which he sometimes does against her wishes), yet, she doesn’t fire him and she won’t.  House is not an average doctor; he is a genius.  Dr. Cuddy won’t ever fire House because she knows that at the end of the day, House does the right thing and saves the patients life.  House has often said, “I take risks; sometimes patients die.  But not taking risks causes more patients to die, so I guess my biggest problem is I’ve been cursed with the ability to do the math.”  This is also why we have fallen in love with Dr. House.  He ignores standard procedure and disregards patients wishes, but he ends up saving them the majority of the time.  His methods can sometimes seem unethical, but at the end of the day he saves lives.  Dr. Cameron has said to him, “You’re abrasive and rude, but I figured everything you do, you do it to help people. But I was wrong. You do it because it’s right.”  Dr. Cameron is right.  House often seems to do things that seem unethical, but everything he does is the right thing to do.  His crazy ideas save people and that is why we love him despite his disregard for rules.

Dr. House is devoid of bedside manner, he lies to patients, he blackmails doctors, he pops Vicodin like they are breath mints, and he has no faith in the human race.  His biggest philosophy is “Everybody lies.” How is it possible that we have fallen in love with a character like this when we have been taught not to admire such qualities in people?  We have been programmed to admire the good qualities in people, however, nobody’s perfect.  Everyone in the world has problems of some kind and this is why we identify with Dr. House.  He reassures us that “Normal’s not normal.”

“Welcome to the end of the thought process”- Dr. House

Going to a Place Called VERTIGO

I have experienced vertigo for the past two years. When I used to lay down to go to sleep, I was suddenly bombarded with the feeling that the room is spinning. That kind of feeling gets old fast. So this is my story-which sounds (and felt) like a scavenger hunt.

I mentioned the vertigo to my regular doctor and she was thoroughly stumped. However, I was referred to the Ear Nose Throat doctor (ENT) who was located upstairs.

The ENT did a whole bunch of tests which took about an hour to do. I don’t remember the names of them but I remember a hearing test, a few tests where they places some electrode-like devices to my head and I was told to follow circles with my eyes. I also remember getting hot and cold water pumped into my ears so they could monitor my eye movement or something. Anyway, all of the tests came back negative. Ok, so there was nothing wrong in my inner ear. The ENT suggested I go see a neurologist just in case the problem was in my brain.

At the neurologist: I had a neurological evaluation- the kind of tests that are so simple, but you feel like you’re doing them wrong. Something like, “Walk heel to toe, now backwards. Touch your nose then my finger.”- I passed that test. Next step was an MRI with and without contrast. After a long battle with the insurance company, who was convinced that my MRI wasn’t necessary unless I had Vertigo coupled with a short list of other ailments, I got my MRI. Thankfully (and frustratingly), everything came back completely clean. So, the neurologist sent me off with a prescription for Meclizine and for the Vestibular Physical Therapy place (again, conveniently located on the next floor). The meclizine, by the way, was somewhat unreliable for me. It would work sometimes and then it wouldn’t.

The physical therapist did a bunch of diagnostic tests to see how well I could balance, etc. Then she gave me a list of exercises to do at home. An example of the exercises: I was given a few pieces of paper with an ‘a’ on it. I was told to hold two side by side and, with my eyes only, look to and from each ‘a’. Well, I did every single one of those exercises for about a month (mostly because I was getting desperate). They didn’t work.

Extremely frustrated, I had reached a dead end. Not one doctor had any idea was wrong with me. Desperate, I decided to do some research. So what did I do, I Googled “vertigo”.  Another dead end. All of the sites said, “See an ENT” “Have an MRI”. I felt pretty helpless. With no more doctors to turn to, I threw in the towel. I figured that I would just have to live with it. I was actually told that maybe I would “grow out of it”.

I went to my dentist for my biannual cleaning. (hang with this story for a while, it will all make sense) My X-Ray showed that I had four impacted wisdom teeth. Well, shortly after that news I started to get really bad headaches on the sides of my face and forehead. It was determined that my wisdom teeth needed to come out. After another insurance obstacle, I got my top two problem wisdom teeth out a week ago.

You’re wondering why I’m telling you this? Because since I’ve had those two teeth out, I haven’t had any vertigo (knock on wood). It’s only been a week, but I use to feel it every.single.night.  I even looked online and it is possible that the top wisdom teeth cause vertigo because of their close location to the sinus and middle ear or something like that. Coincidence or not, I have been vertigo free for a whole week and that is amazing. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t go to bed spinning.

So, why the lengthy story? If there is someone out there who is having the same problem, maybe this will help! I hope it does!!

HATE ENDS NOW

If you’re a fellow Gleek, you saw last week’s episode, Never Been Kissed. I don’t know about you, but every time that bully pushed Kurt into the locker, it made me so angry! Bullying has always been around and it always will if we don’t do something about it.

Kurt confronting the bully

 

Kurt was getting bullied because he is gay. Like, seriously??- It’s almost 2011, I think it’s time that we put an end to homophobia.  People who think gay people shouldn’t be allowed to get married are just annoying. What’s the big deal? If you’re religious, you’re probably saying, “But the Bible says!!!” Well, I bet you think Noah actually took two of every animal on a giant ship. Anyway, whatever your religious beliefs, I like to believe that God is a loving entity and he LOVES EVERYONE. I’m sick of people saying, “marriage is suppose to be a sacred union between a man and a woman.” Well, I have a question for you- why is that? And don’t give me the Bible excuse again.  Isn’t LOVE the foundation for marriage? So if two people love each other, who are we to stop them from getting married? It doesn’t make sense.

It breaks my heart when I hear about kids getting bullied. I am sick of hearing on the news that a kid took his life because he was bullied so much for being gay. THIS NEEDS TO END NOW!!!! It’s easy to judge people that are different than you. It’s simple to hate. Loving others, no matter how different, that shows real strength. Instead of spreading hate and disdain, spread LOVE and PEACE.

HATE ENDS NOW

Don't be a hater-don't be that kid. No one likes that kid.