San Diego

Every year I get to attend a Public Health Emergency Preparedness Conference for work. This year they had the conference on the west coast (nice change!), and as an added bonus, it was in San Diego. So, while everyone was at home freezing cold, I got to enjoy the 60 degree weather. =) The biggest take home from the conference was the knowledge I learned from Amanda Ripley, the conference key note speaker. Ms. Ripley has spent countless hours interviewing disaster victims, learning what people go through after being experiencing the unthinkable. She has combined this information in a book entitled The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes – and Why, which I am anxious to read. While most of us think of complete chaos in the aftermath of a disaster (thank you, Hollywood), there is actually a period of calm and do-nothingness. Interesting, eh? I think reading more of Ms. Ripley’s research will help me in my emergency planning efforts at work.
Outside of the conference, the view in San Diego was beautiful! We enjoyed an evening reception on the USS Midway, and I had a wonderful view of sailboats and activities on Coronado from my hotel room overlooking the San Diego Bay on Harbor Island. Too bad I had much work to do, I could have sat on my FREE UPGRADED personal deck all day long!