(no subject)

Suddenly I'm in demand. At least for a short while.

I called my temp agency to check up on the interview I had from last week. My contact said the company was still deciding on one of two positions (one had already been filled). She said they'd inform the agency tomorrow. I said, "Well, in case that doesn't work out, do you have anything else for me?" She looked through some info and gave me a lead for a client that was actually not hers (that is, she wouldn't get the commission, I don't think). So the other lady at the temp agency hooked the client up with my number, and thinks he would like to interview me this evening. So that's still in the works. He should be calling to confirm an interview time.

So why am I not at home? Because out of the blue I got a call from someone at McKinley, someone I worked for just a couple of months ago. Apparently there's openings for sales assistants out at this property in Fenton. I've never been to Fenton; apparently it's a thirty-minute commute. I'm more that willing to make that commute because I want to get my foot in the door at McKinley. So I have the email address of the lady who needs my resume. She would like to interview me tomorrow, as she's leaving for vacation next week.

Why won't Yahoo let me into email? *sigh*

(no subject)

So I met with the psychologist. He's a pain psychologist, which I thought was interesting.

We met at Whole Foods (!!) because I didn't readily know where his second office was (he also had errands to run there). He seemed like a nice person, very professional but approachable. He didn't ask me very much, though he did inquire as to whether I have billing experience (I don't) or if I could take dictation (I can't). But apparently the temp agency told him I was "the best candidate so far." I also thought that was interesting.

He admitted that he's trying to recruit someone specifically, so the position might already be taken. But he said I was the very next person he was considering. So that's good. He said the next time we meet we'll do so in his office, so I can meet some of the people there.

Promising, but not definite. I'll take that for now.

found in anti_bush

Bush Will Watch What He Says in Second Term

The president is unwavering in his commitment to the war on terror, but he will be a bit more disciplined with his rhetoric in his second term, he told ABC News' Barbara Walters in an exclusive White House interview.

"I watch what I say. … I said some things in the first term that were probably a little blunt. 'Bring it on' was a little blunt. I was really speaking to our troops, but it came out and had a different connotation, different meanings for others," he told Walters.

[...] Guerrillas in Iraq have used the president's words in a propaganda video narrated in English, according to the Reuters news agency reported. The narrator of the video says, "George W. Bush, you have asked us to 'bring it on.' And so help me, [we will ] like you never expected. Do you have another challenge?" The video then shows explosions around a U.S. military vehicle.

(no subject)

CDC finds gaping racial disparities in health

Black people in the United States are far more likely than whites to die from strokes, diabetes and other diseases, according to a federal study that shows wide racial disparities persist in health care.

The finding, released Thursday in a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, confirms a sobering decade-long trend seen by public health officials throughout the nation.

U.S. researchers have been warning that high-fat diets, smoking and poor access to quality health care were leading to gaping racial disparities in the rates for heart disease, stroke and cancer.

In its report, the CDC revealed that the number of potential years of life lost in 2002 due to strokes, diabetes and perinatal diseases was three times higher for black Americans under 75 than for whites of the same age.

That gap increased to about 11 times for AIDS and nine times for homicide, the CDC said. African-Americans also had substantially higher rates of some types of cancer in 2001, including stomach and colon/rectal cancer.

The CDC also noted black Americans were less likely to have health insurance, get vaccinated for influenza and pneumococcal disease, receive prenatal care in the first trimester and engage in regular moderate physical activity in adulthood.