Adventures in Genetics!
I'm home tonight with a lingering cold that just won't call it quits. :-(
But I thought I'd share something that might be of interest. I ordered a genetics test kit from 23andme.com and sent it in a couple of weeks ago.
I was at M&A (Jew Crew friends)'s a couple of weeks ago and, although I am half Puerto Rican, it is often noted that I do not have a Puerto Rican surname (my maiden name, of course). She wondered if perhaps I was one of the Conversos, or "Secret Jews" that made their way from Spain to Puerto Rico.
Then another person at the party mentioned getting genetics testing for a variety of diseases common to Ashkenazi Jews. So I thought, hmmmm, that might be something interesting to look into.
Then I happened upon this article on Vanessa Williams and discovered it only cost about $100 with the company I chose. So there I went and ordered!
There was one slight snafu. Due to laws in NYC, you can't collect a sample or mail it in from the state of NY without a doctor's supervision. So T-Rex and I simply took the PATH train across the river to Pavonia, NJ and submitted it there! We tried making a video, but I've not had the time (or frankly the skill) to piece it together properly.
My saliva sample is now in the process of being analyzed, and that can take up to three weeks. So pretty soon I will have a whole host of new information about myself, and it's kind of exciting!
I don't suppose anyone else reading this has done such a thing, have you?
I leave you with this photo of origami tanks. The owner of a local vietnamese sandwich shop made them to guard the tips from some ne'er-do-wells who have taken to stealing the money out of tip jars lately.
But I thought I'd share something that might be of interest. I ordered a genetics test kit from 23andme.com and sent it in a couple of weeks ago.
I was at M&A (Jew Crew friends)'s a couple of weeks ago and, although I am half Puerto Rican, it is often noted that I do not have a Puerto Rican surname (my maiden name, of course). She wondered if perhaps I was one of the Conversos, or "Secret Jews" that made their way from Spain to Puerto Rico.
Then another person at the party mentioned getting genetics testing for a variety of diseases common to Ashkenazi Jews. So I thought, hmmmm, that might be something interesting to look into.
Then I happened upon this article on Vanessa Williams and discovered it only cost about $100 with the company I chose. So there I went and ordered!
There was one slight snafu. Due to laws in NYC, you can't collect a sample or mail it in from the state of NY without a doctor's supervision. So T-Rex and I simply took the PATH train across the river to Pavonia, NJ and submitted it there! We tried making a video, but I've not had the time (or frankly the skill) to piece it together properly.
My saliva sample is now in the process of being analyzed, and that can take up to three weeks. So pretty soon I will have a whole host of new information about myself, and it's kind of exciting!
I don't suppose anyone else reading this has done such a thing, have you?
I leave you with this photo of origami tanks. The owner of a local vietnamese sandwich shop made them to guard the tips from some ne'er-do-wells who have taken to stealing the money out of tip jars lately.