alan.bradford

Hot Sweaty Mess

I'm not sure if I should be offended or concerned. Everyone reading this is encouraged to help me out by leaving a comment below.

My mother-in-law, bless her red-headed soul, loves to pass along information via electronic mail. Over the years, I have been notified of freeway closures, community events, and cancer-causing food products. I have also chuckled at pictures of redneck weddings, scoffed at questionnaires that predict my "real age," and belly-laughed at videos involving family pictures and dancing elves.

Yesterday she sent me a link to a health-related story. The headline reads:

Night Sweats in Middle-Aged Man: His cheesy-smelling sweat (link)

Granted, I am not middle-aged. But I have been known to sweat. And I have also been known to fancy myself a string cheese snack. I also consumed two cheese crisps before retiring to my bed last night.

In rapid-fire retaliation, I blasted off a response to her link:

I don't know why you would have sent this to me. My night sweats smell of lavender and honeycomb. My day sweats smell of jasmine and cherry blossom.

It felt good to stand up for my pristine odor. But now I'm having second thoughts.

Maybe there's a reason nobody sits next to me in biology class.

Help.

Help Save Indie Entrepreneurs!

If you've ever been looking for the perfect unique gift for a friend or family member, chances are you've poked around at Etsy.com. If you haven't heard of it, this is a website where regular folk like you and me can sell handmade items. They've got everything from clothing to ceramics. It's filled with stuff that you won't find in the aisles of your local Walmart. (Translation: you will not risk being trampled to death while shopping on Etsy.com) If you've got a niece or nephew, this is an amazing place to find some cool handmade toys as well.

mandates third party testing and certification, and requires manufacturers of all goods for children under the age of 12, to permanently label each item with a date and batch number. (source: change.org)

Thank You For All The Support!

We're back in town from our Christmas trip to Disneyland. I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has reached out to help our neighbors who recently had their house burn. There have been several generous donations of both time and money.
 
As of last night, there has been over $250 donated through the PayPal page I set up. I will be giving this to the family soon. I will continue to keep this page open. Any donation will be much appreciated. If you got an ugly sweater for Christmas or Hanukkah, just return it and donate the money. You'll feel better about yourself and your neck won't itch.
 
According to the owners renting out the home, the Jessen family will be in a hotel until Wednesday. I should be hearing from the owners to let me know how long the repair process will take. The owner thinks it will take at least 6 weeks. Coming from someone who just had their car in the shop for about 6 weeks, this is not going to be a fun experience. If anyone in the area knows of a short-term lease that will accommodate a family of 5, please get in touch.
 
Here's that PayPal button one more time for all you ugly-itchy-sweater-recipients:

Help Your Neighbor This Holiday Season

   

Jenny and I came home from some last-minute shopping today to see fire trucks on our street. At first we thought the worst - that our house caught fire while we were gone. Turns out it was our neighbors' home. Because we have both been so busy with school and work, there are a few neighbors that we have not ever met. Today we met the Jessen Family for the first time. Gary, Nicole, and their children are officially without a home on the day before Christmas. Something happened with their Christmas tree that sent it instantly into flames.The house was engulfed in flames and smoke within a few minutes.

Luckily everyone made it out without any injuries. Another family on our street is having them over for Christmas dinner. They are still waiting to find out how long the repairs will last. They're renting the home, and luckily they have renter's insurance. Their insurance is putting them up in a hotel tonight, but we're sure that life is going to be difficult for them in the coming weeks.

They have three teenage children - two boys and a girl. Nicole is trained as a CNA, and recently was laid off. She told us that her employer let her go because she missed too much work. She was missing work to be with her husband, Gary, in the hospital. Talk about a depressing situation.

I've set up a donation site for the Jessen's through PayPal. If you can find it in your heart to donate anything, it will be much appreciated this holiday season. Click the Donate button below to be taken to the site.

If you live in the Queen Creek, AZ area and would like to drop off any donations, please email me at alan.bradford@asu.edu and I will arrange a time and place to meet. If you know of anywhere that is looking to hire someone with CNA training and a medical field background, leave a comment below and I can put you in touch with Nicole.

Thank-you to everyone. Please forward this along to friends and family that would be willing to help.