take your vitamins

to start. apparently there was an earthquake this morning. they're telling us it occured at 5:25ish - right as i was laying in bed waiting for my starbucks alarm to go off. so - i was awake and i still missed the bastard. it's been the one thing i've been majorly looking forward to since we moved here. you don't need to tell me...it's not something i should be wishing upon...like when i was younger and i thought it'd be pretty cool to get mugged and my aunt repeatedly, and sometimes angrily (word?), tried to convince me just how stupid this was and why would anyone ever want to get their stuff stolen and the shit scared out of them?!?! i now acknowledge the error in that thought process but still hold on to the dream of an earthquake. some day.

now, my recent trip to the lady doctor resulted in the Mrs. giving me a very stern lecture on how i needed to immediately start taking a vitamin D supplement. i feel like i'm pretty up on my mineral/vitamin knowledge and was slightly offended that she would assume i'd be so dumb that i would be blatently ignoring the health of my bones, and so on. i shrugged it off until she sent my results, along with a very informative tidbit on vitamin D:

"Most of the body's vitamin D is generated when ultraviolet B radiation from the sun penetrates the skin and triggers production of active vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is very common in the US, particularly in regions above 35 degrees latitude. Seattle lies at 47 degrees latitude. Therefore, even when the sun is shining, residents here receive very little of UVB radiaton needed to generate vitamin D in the skin." - New England Journal of Medicine

point well made. and point well taken. hopefully the next time an earthquake hits the area my amped up bones will be better suited to withstand any blows and falls that come my way. and, dear NEJoM, you might consider adding something about earthquake protection into your vitamin D Q&A. just a thought.