taken without consent

So, I decided to take some time away from reading fiction and try to read more nonfiction and business books. I have a subscription to the New York Times bestsellers list on my nook and regularly peruse it for new, exciting books to read. One that has been on the list lately is "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks". I bought it and just finished reading it.

This story about is about a black woman in the 50's with cervical cancer. She went to John Hopkins for diagnosis and treatment. During diagnosis, a sample of her cells were harvested and found to be immortal, they reproduce forever, have never died, are immortal. Her cells were used (and still are used) throughout the world for medical research. Many of the vaccines we have now were discovered because of her cells.

What is interesting about this book is that her cells were harvested without her consent. She had no idea that her cells lived on, and on, and on. Neither did her family. Twenty years later, the found out and since they didn't understand (none of them having much more than a fourth grade education) what it meant to have her cells flown into space, blown up in a nuclear bomb, etc. they were obviously upset.

So, it got me thinking. How would I react? Well, just as I was finishing this book I had an opportunity to experience a similar experience. This week while going through security, I set off the metal detector. I never do this! I don't put anything in my pockets. I take off my shoes. I take off my belt. I take off my jacket. I put my cell phone in the bin. Still I set off the alarm. Well, I was directed back through and asled to step aside. The man wiped my hand with some wet something and told to wait while he "checked it out". He wouldn't tell me what he was doing, just smiled and waved me through when I passed the test. I was totally offended! I wanted to yell "what are you doing?" and "why?"

I felt violated and angry and it was only 10 seconds on my life.

Red is the color of power...and marlene

The kids came home talking about their color personality one day. I knew what mine color was and what it meant but had forgotten what the others were. So, I took the test again to see if my memory served me well on remembering my color. Yup, it did. All in all the Martineaus and a very colorful family. Doesn't this sound like my cute little family? :)

Kaitlyn is Yellow: Yellows are motivated by Fun. Without their natural talents of enthusiasm and optimism, the world would be a boring place for all. They are here to have a great time. Yellows have an innate ability to be happy. Yellows love to enjoy life. They have a mental attitude that allows them to appreciate what they have rather than be miserable over what they don’t .

Wells is White: Whites are kind, considerate, patient and accepting. Whites truly believe that with patience all things come to those who wait. The problem is that they are sometimes too content with sitting around waiting. They seek contentment more than power, money or, for that matter, more than friends. They are happy having one or two good friends and one or two hobbies. In fact, they tend to have only one hobby at a time. Instead of trying to carry on with two hobbies, they will drop one to take on another. Having two is too much effort. Their only demands from life are the things that make them feel comfortable. That feeling fosters their need to feel good inside.

Lee is Blue:  Blues are very observant and intuitive, noticing quality and detail. With their combined assets, their sense of purpose, and their ease with showing compassion, they become integral parts of every society. They believe if you don’t have a sincere connection in life, then there really is no other value. Earning money, having the Mercedes, and being in the windowed office are nice but do not represent a purposeful life to a blue. Blues are very purposeful people who love to serve and give of themselves freely to nurture others' lives. They are loyal friends, employers and employees, and their personal code of ethics is very strong. They expect other people to live honest and committed lives as well. Blues are dependable, thoughtful, and analytical; but they can also be self-righteous, worry-prone, and moody. They hold on and never let go of something/someone once they are committed.

Marlene is Red: Reds boldly move forward with logic, vision and determination. These qualities make them natural born leaders, as they make things happen by sheer force of will. From a Red perspective, emotion has little to do with accomplishing a task.  Reds are visionary and seem to have insight into the future. Keeping their eyes on the future averts them from the mundane day-to-day. In dealing with day-to-day circumstances, they make swift decisions and their independent nature doesn’t require someone to hover over them to see them through. Reds can be difficult to work with if they don’t get their way.

and the winner is...INPUT

At work, all the managers are taking the Strengths Finder 2.0 test. This test uses opposing statements to help you find your strengths as a person. There are 177 questions and they are not always easy to answer. Anyway, at the end of the test, you get a list of your five (out of 30) strengths. For the most part, they are spot on. There is only one with which I do not fully agree. One of my strengths is INPUT. and this is why that is funny.

You know the name of my blog right? You know the description of my blog right? Well, here is the description of INPUT.

"You are inquisitive. You collect things. You might collect information - words, facts, books and information - or you might collect tangible objects such as butterflies, baseball cards, porcelain dolls, or sepia photographs. Whatever you collect, you collect it because it interests you. And yours is the mind that finds so many things interesting. The world is exciting simply because of its infinite variety and complexity. If you read a great deal, it is not necessarily to refine your theories but, rather, to add more information to your archives. If you like to travel, it is because each new location offers novel artifacts and facts. These can be acquired and stored away."

How funny is that? I just laughed when I read it. And knew I had to blog about it. :)

you know you are addicted when...

You spend time at work looking for a race you can do in two weeks cuz you have races planned before and after but don't have anything planned for that one saturday in October. Yup, I think I'm becoming addicted. Not that I am actually any good at the races (don't think I'll ever place) or that I'm out running/biking every day (far from it) but I think I just really like running with my sisters!

It is fun to have a couple of you all cheering me on and getting excited and making plans for me to join you in races. It is also a lot of fun to cheer you back and see the progress we are making together. I can't wait until November when I get to run with Pauline! Too bad she can't make it to Ogden in May, that would be too much fun and a great way to kick off my summer season. Guess I'll have to make atrip to Cedar City next summer as well for some fun running!

Now, who wants to start cycling with me? :)

one minute faster!

I ran my second 5K this weekend and I was a FULL minute faster! I don't know if that is a very cool thing in a 5K but I think it is a big deal. Allison kept telling me that I was running faster. I felt faster. Here are my pics!

We are at the starting line. It was a cold, but warmer than our last race.

Yah! I finished my race. Wow, I look wiped out.

Here I am planting trees for Wells's eagle scout project. I did this right after the race. Yup it was fun. :)

so you think i'm crazy?

I'm beginning to wonder! :)

After my 5K, I got so excited I've decided to sign up for a duathlon. AND i'm dragging Allison with me! We are going to have so much fun. So, we will run the TOU 5K on the 18th and just one week later, we will do a duathlon. What's a duathlon you ask? Well, let me tell you! :)

A duathlon is a run, ride, run course. For this one, we will be running 2 miles, riding 12 miles, and then running another 2 miles. We can do all of those individually and are excited to see if we can do them all together! It will be an adventure. Stay tuned.

My first official 5K!

For several years I have dreamed of running a 5K. It was not until this year that I actually made the commitment do actually do it. Thanks to my ambitious sista, I ran my first official 5K on September 6, 2010 in 37:27 minutes. :)

Here we are pretending we are the baddest runners of the day!

 We made it around the block! Look at us go!

Coming up on the finish. I had just run up a hill that knocked the wind out of me. Allison ditched me to sprint to the end. I'm still smiling though, can you believe it?

Even though she ditched me you can see Allison cheering me on! She was awesome! I loved all the motivational cheering she did throughout the entire race. :)

BIG FINISH!!!

With love to Wellsville for giving me the opporunity to prove I am a runner, a very slow runner but still. :)