Checking things off my list...one shot at a time.

I had a lovely visit with the health center staff today to knock out two more immunizations from my never ending list. I'm now done with the MMR booster and the second round of Twinrix for Hep A & B. With those two off the list, I've got meningitis, polio, typhoid, and the third round of Twinrix left. Thankfully it's not much hassle to walk in to the clinic and get what I need for the shot based immunizations, but the typhoid requires a bit of planning.

I opted for the 4 capsules, but this particular prophylaxis needs to remain refrigerated. We have a refrigerator in our office, but since the medication needs to be taken every other day - I'll need to transport it home anyway. My prescription was already written and I can pick it up anytime, but sooner would be better. Apparently this one doesn't play nicely with the malaria prophylaxis I'll need to take. With months ahead, I can easily finish the typhoid course well before my trip commences.

If you haven't had the pleasure of Vivotif, which is the brand name of the typhoid prophylaxis I'm preparing for, you can always find piles of peer reviewed journal articles to sooth or skyrocket your fears. As of late, my favorite was published last year in the International Journal of Experimental and Clinical Chemotherapy. The title is Vivotif® - A 'Magic Shield' for Protection against Typhoid Fever and Delivery of Heterologous Antigens

It's not often you find the word "magic" in the title of a journal article... click HERE if you're up for the challenge of reading it. Vivotif is an attenuated live oral vaccine.

In other news, my passport did arrive on December 8th. I was quite excited about that. Hooray for the USPS. Additionally, my friend Theresa has settled her flights as well so we'll be on our trips simultaneously.


To prevent the possibility of chickening out on the Kilimanjaro trek, it's definitely time to begin ramping up the hiking schedule.




It's been quite cold lately, but I have managed to get in a few 6am hikes these last few days thanks to visiting researchers in our area. Nothing like sunrise above the riviera.

Crawling the Internet

My dear friend Catherine provided me with a wealth of protective clothing information, and I've just been waiting to pounce on any holiday sales. Thank God for her, because I was relatively clueless. Most likely, the sales won't arrive until the spring when cold weather clothing goes out of demand.

So on my list you'll find Capilene and Biostretch Baselayers from Patagonia...
The trick is to layer bottoms, t's, and zip necks. Capilene is light weight, wicks moisture, and is made from at least 50% recycled materials! Hooray for the planet.

When I'm not searching aimlessly,

I use Zingsale.com to track prices for me.






Check it out if you haven't heard of this super cool website. You do a search for what you want to purchase, it finds websites that sell it, and you enter the price you want to pay. When the price drops to or below your specification - you get an email with details and a link to the vendor. Their logo chick is kinda hot don't you think?

I've also been doing a lot of agonizing over Kilimanjaro tour companies. Climb prices are all over the place and it's really hard to compare them because they all list the same information for the most part. Luckily I have my friends in Kenya to do some checking for me, although they've been incredibly busy as of late.

While taking a break from my usual academic rock-stardom - I did a Google search for "Kilimanjaro 2009" to see what trips had been added since my last check a few months ago. In the process, I fell upon another blogger planning a trip with her dad.
http://onebigmountain.blogspot.com/

And the last tidbit of information for this lively entry: My passport is totally on it's way. This morning at 1:55am, it was approximately 82 miles away - in a USPS distribution center. I can't wait - any day now. Maybe even today when I get home... but better not to put that much faith in the US postal service...