A Blogging Birthday.

Tomorrow is my blogaversary.

I am writing this today, however, because tomorrow I’m going to be wandering around Beaver Brook Reservation in Massachusetts with a bunch of the coolest, craziest cats this side of cyberspace. Because I’m one of the 12 people in the world without an iPhone, I’m not able to post on my actual blogaversary.

As most of you know, I’ve been involved in the diabetes community since day one. My family participated in all the JDRF Walks to Cure Diabetes, I went to diabetes camp, I was a Children’s Congress delegate and I’ve been to conferences. I’ve done all the “in real life” stuff that you can do, but there is still something incredibly remarkable about blogging and how much I have seen this change not only my life, but the lives of everyone else involved in this community, whether they are a fellow blogger, a commenter or a lurker.

I’m involved in social media on a daily basis. I read blogs for a living. I see communities formed around everything from music to food to motherhood and everywhere in between. It’s amazing the trusting relationships that can form between complete strangers. The instant communication and the constant support that comes from reading and re-reading blogs, message boards or IMing someone I’ve never met (well, in my case, it’s more like “I’ve only met once”) is incredibly uplifting. I know some people have said that when there is a cure they will stop blogging. I don’t think I’ll ever stop blogging. Sure, I will stop writing about diabetes, but all of you have become a part of my life and have helped me in so many ways. You have been a part of my life, from my West Coast life to my East Coast life, from the good days to the bad days, sharing in my accomplishments and supporting me in my depression.

I wonder if the people who first blazed the blogging trail realize how much they have changed the lives of so many people.

To me, you are not just people with diabetes. You are not just my imaginary internet weirdo friends.

You are my friends, in every sense of the word. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate my three year blogaversary than at the First Annual New England Diabetes Meet-Up.

A Whole Year.

Last Saturday, I drove down to my dad’s cousin’s house for dinner after babysitting for a little girl with diabetes and her baby brother. My great aunt was also there, so we spent some time catching up on work and life. I told them about my plans for moving, talked about my job, and I found out that her daughter, my cousin lives in Israel, is going to have a baby girl soon. Then I realized that it had been exactly one year since I moved to New Jersey and I was exactly where I started. A full circle.

Today is another important date. Well, to me it is. I started my job one year ago today. I feel a little self-conscious bragging about my job and co-workers because, well, they all apparently read this. (Hello co-workers!) But needless to say, I’ve learned more about social networking and blogs than I ever did in the two years of being a blogger and I’m very, very appreciative that none of the people I work with are psychos. They are a little nuts sometimes but thankfully just the good kind.

Besides growing professionally, I also feel like this was the year I became a full-fledged adult. I pay my own rent. I have my own 401K and health insurance. I have made new friends, including some that don’t rely on artificial insulin! When I wake up in my apartment, or when I get another bill, or when I’m standing in the hallway getting a new reservoir from the closet, I still get a little thrill that this is all mine. I don’t know how long this will last… Maybe I have only a few more months before I think being a grown-up is totally overrated. Okay, occasionally I think being a grown-up is overrated, but mostly I think it’s pretty cool.

I’m excited to see where the next year leads me, especially with my impending move, and seeing how my responsibilities change both professionally and personally. I have added new freelance jobs to my resume in the past few months. In November, I signed on as a writer for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and I’m leading the JDRF Blogger Round Table, this spring I’ve been working on a new article for Diabetes Self-Management, and on my trip to Oregon, I met with the founder of SweetSpot.dm and agreed to help with publicity. I continue to enjoy exploring New Jersey, which despite the rumors is actually very nice, and the entire East Coast.

Plus I have this whole list of exciting adventures to complete.

When I moved, I knew my life was going to change dramatically. But I couldn’t imagine just how true that was going to be. Although I am living in New Jersey, a state I never imagined living in (seriously, who grows up saying “I want to move to New Jersey!”) and although I’m working at a PR agency instead of that non-profit I spent five years preparing for, I think “Allison” has still stayed the same. I try to keep the same values that I was raised with. I still hate the humidity. I think sales tax is the most annoying thing in the world. I am still frustrated that my apartment complex doesn’t support recycling. I still wish I could see Mt. Hood, I still think trees are as important as people, and I still think people need to slow down and enjoy life just a little bit more.

You can take the girl out of Oregon, but you can’t take the Oregon out of the girl.

Next Stop: Philadelphia!

I made a promise a little over a week ago not to go online during the weekends, so I’m writing my “one week notice” today instead of tomorrow even though our diabetes meet-up in Philadelphia isn’t until next Saturday, June 21.

If you’re looking for a great, easy way to meet some new people with diabetes in the mid-Atlantic region, I strongly urge you to send me an e-mail requesting information about our meet-up location (as previously mentioned, I do not post locations of meet-ups on the Internet. You have to contact me by e-mail.). The plan is to meet for lunch at 12:30 p.m. just outside of downtown Philadelphia, so it’s easily accessible by car. Afterwards, you are free to go, though I will probably head into town to check out Independence Hall because it’s one of the few places in Philadelphia that I haven’t been to (I stayed there for a week the summer after my freshman year in college, so I’ve seen almost all the historic sites).

You are more than welcome to bring your spouse, children, friends, whomever you think might be interested in chatting about diabetes for a couple of hours. Some people who have already RSVP’d are Hannah from Dorkabetic, Kelly from Diabetesaliciousness and Gary Scheiner from, well, he’s not a blogger (yet!) but you may have heard of this little book he wrote… it’s called Think Like a Pancreas.

Any questions? Hit me up here: amblass [@] gmail.com.

The Return.

I actually wrote this on Wednesday but did not have time to post it.

Yesterday, I drove down to Eugene, Oregon, the town where I spent four years of my life attending the University of Oregon. Before I went to campus to speak at a few of the public relations class at the Journalism school, I checked into the hotel across the street.

“Are you visiting the college?” the lady at the front desk asked.

“Yes,” I replied, then realizing she meant as a prospective student, so I quickly added, “But I’m an alum.”

It was weird saying that out loud. An alum. How did that happen? I thought to myself.

I didn’t like college. It was not the happiest time for me. Changes in personal relationship and my own identity led to months of anxiety and depression. I enjoyed certain aspects of the school. I had friends and I enjoyed several of my classes, but most of my personal satisfaction came from the work I was doing in the diabetes community. But the diabetes community in Eugene is very small and I spent most of my time wishing I was somewhere else. After spending four years isolated in this town, it really doesn’t surprise me that I was so eager to move across the country.

I remember vividly driving away from the campus, from the city, from all of the people and the memories, and thinking to myself that I was never coming back.

You can imagine my surprise, then, that I came back. The journalism school has changed in the way it teaches public relations and they are starting to incorporate more about social media. STudents are now required to blog in their Advanced PR Writing class and professors are active bloggers and participants in social networks. This is how I became reacquainted with several of my former professors.

I knew I was coming back to Oregon for my brother’s high school graduation, which takes place in Portland on Friday. Initially, this trip was going to be bump and run. I would fly in Thursday night after work, take Friday off of work, spend Saturday with my family and fly out early (and I mean early!) on Sunday morning and be back at work on Monday. But in a Twitter exchange, I worked out with my professor that I could come to speak earlier in the week, which led to my weeklong visit to the state.

So now I’m back. I’m sitting on the back porch of Espresso Roma, the cafe where I spent so much of my time before, between and after classes during the last couple of years of school. Most of my friends are now gone, though I do recognize a few faces. But the students here still look the same and it’s a constant surge of deja vu. Students sit at tables, drinking their dollar coffees (yes, coffee really is that cheap here), chatting about politics, the environment and the latest drunken adventures from the previous weekend. They lean over hundred dollar textbooks and notebooks, poring over their notes as they prepare for final exams next week. Or they have completely forgone any hope of studying and instead laugh with their friends. They wear mismatched second-hand and vintage clothing, colored sunglasses and berets. Their hair is unkempt or pulled back into low-slung ponytails. They look nothing like the people on the East Coast and I miss the freedom that college allows in lifestyle. I imagine this is what old-school Brooklyn was like before the yuppies made their mass exodus from Manhattan, what with the continuing rise in housing prices to the point where only the Olsen twins and Madonna could possibly afford even a one bedroom apartment in Harlem. There are no Manolos or aspirations to be Carrie Bradshaw, and even the professors wear jeans and flannel jackets as they bike to class.
I don’t miss college. I don’t miss final exams or changing professors every ten weeks and having to re-explain my diabetes - or even skipping the five minute lecture and instead praying that I don’t have a low blood sugar before an exam. I don’t miss having my identity questioned by every social circle I came in contact with - the hippie liberals or the Christian youth groups or the preppy sorority girls (no offense to sorority girls, or Christians or hippies - honest, I love you guys). College seemed like a never ending series of recruitments to save the environment or save the country or save the babies or save your soul. Out of college, it doesn’t seem like anyone is doing any recruitment for anything. Half the time you can’t even do that because it’s against some kind of corporate code where you’re supposed to remain objective and just focus on your job. No one asks you who you voted for, no one asks you if you go to church and no one asks you if you want to save the whales.

They say you can never go home again and this is true. It’s even more true if you never even considered the your home. Your mind keeps the place in a weird time warp and I wonder if enough time will ever pass for me to like Eugene and forget some of the terrible insecurities this placed reminds me of.

But as I sit here, I instinctively turn towards the back door of the patio. I hear it creak open and my subconscious briefly hopes that the person walking in is a friend with whom I spent so many hours, laughing with, debating with and simply sitting with. I realize that this place changed me and influenced the person I have become and for that I must, at the very least, respect it and be grateful.

Lessons Learned at Powell’s in Portland

This afternoon, after my speaking gig to a group of soon-to-be graduates of the University of Oregon’s journalism program, I decided to take advantage of being in Portland and I headed to one of my favorite places in the city: Powell’s Books.

Now, despite the fact that this bookstore is on my top 10 list of Places You Must Go When In Portland, it has not always been this way. Powell’s Books takes up one city square block and is three stories high. The bookstore is divided up into rooms based on genres and each room is named by a color. Among them are the Gold room is the science fiction/mystery/thriller room, the Orange room is the business/planning room, the Purple room is the religion/language/travel room, and the Blue room it the literature/poetry room. The cases are ten shelves high and are jam-packed with books, sometimes two rows of books on one shelf. Powell’s Books is one of the largest bookstores in the world, having rightly earned the nickname the City of Books.

Unfortunately, because of the sheer enormity of the building, the bookstore had a tendency to scare me as a small child. I didn’t like to go because I was afraid of getting lost - which is not hard to imagine because even grown-ups sometimes lose their way around the building.

But now I have come to appreciate Powell’s selection and as an West Coaster-turned-East Coaster, I also appreciate Powell’s ridiculous good prices. I browsed the bookstore for about an hour with my Peet’s coffee, another love of mine, though it doesn’t rank nearly as high as Powell’s. Though Peet’s does serve as a reason for at least a couple Boston pilgrimages a year, as Boston is the only city on the entire East Coast that has Peet’s Coffee and Tea locations.

I ended up with a selection of about ten books but I knew I couldn’t afford all of them… the total price was over $60 and while that’s a steal, that didn’t necessarily mean my bank account would approve. I wheedled it down to six books for just under $50. My purchases include The Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd, because I read The Secret Life of Bees and loved it so I thought I would enjoy her memoir; The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, because I saw the play last summer and loved it, plus it came highly recommended from a couple OCers; The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, which I have been nagged to death to read by several people, plus his other book Friends, Lovers and Chocolate, which is the second in the series after The Sunday Philosophy Club which I finished earlier this year; The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, which is a monster of a book but I’ve heard rave reviews about it so I’m hoping it’ll be worth my while; and finally, The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College, which I’m giving to my younger brother who is graduating from high school on Friday.

This is definitely quite a bit of reading material and I’m not even starting on any of them until I finish Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, which I bought a couple months ago but just started reading on the flight out here on Saturday. I’m over sixty pages in so far and I’m really enjoying it.

In the past, I go on the book binges with the intention of devoting a significant amount of time to reading and absorbing the messages and lessons in these books. I have visions of myself curling up in a coffeeshop and reading for several hours, while refilling on cappuccinos and munching on scones. Of course, this never, ever happens. Usually I go through two - maybe three, if I’m lucky - books before craving yet another book binge which leads me with six more books that will sit on my shelf, patiently waiting to be read in a never ending queue of literature.

But I have decided that it is absolutely imperative that I break this trend. For the past few months I have become acutely aware of how much of my life has been devoted to the Internet and the mindless social networks that eat up so much of my time. I’m not even talking about the amount of time I spend on the Internet at work. I’m talking about all the hours and hours I spend glued to a computer screen, which I’m sure is going to cause brain cancer someday. As I zig-zagged through the halls of books, I realized that unless I made some serious changes to my time-management I was going to spend most of my life twittering it away and not actually do or experience anything. I mean, how much life reflection can you do on Facebook anyway?

One of my items on my 101 Things To Do in 1,001 Days is to give up the Internet on the weekends for one month (#92). But I have decided to expand it for the entire summer. It doesn’t hurt that my weekends are already swamped with plans, but adding a few extra weekends to the goal will really help me make the most of the summer before the weather turns so cold your air starts to freeze and your breathe turns into slabs of ice (okay, so that hasn’t actually happened to me, but I’m sure it could!)

Starting today and ending Labor Day weekend, I will not be using the Internet at all during the Saturday and Sunday hours. The only reason I will allow myself to log online is to get directions or look up a phone number in case I am absentminded and forget to do it at work, which, knowing me, is bound to happen. I did this last summer for a little over two months because I was without the Internet or television for six weeks when I moved into my apartment (that was the earliest the cable guy could come and install the equipment in my apartment). This meant I was forced to explore my new surroundings and I really appreciated how it helped me acclimated much faster to where I was. I felt comfortable with New Jersey much faster than I would have had there been an excuse for me to stay inside my apartment.

Hopefully by the end of the summer I will have regained a bit more of a sense of self instead of relying so much on other people’s lives to provide entertainment. I shouldn’t have a constant feeling of watching the Real World. I need to be out there. I hope you’ll join me.

Summer Plans.

I’ve been babbling for awhile now about all the places I’m going this summer. While I’m very excited about it all, I realized that I have absolutely no idea what anyone else is doing this summer. I remember when I was in high school and college, discussion about summer plans were pretty much non-stop the two weeks before school got out. But now, being a working girl and all, vacations are sort of randomly placed throughout the year.

Despite this, I know some of you have to be doing something cool this summer. So on the eve of my return to Oregon, I’d like to hear from you: where are you going? Who are you going with? What are you planning on doing? And most importantly of all: you wanna buy me a shotglass?

The picture of Portland (with Mt. Hood in the back) that I have as my laptop’s background.

MadLibs Interview

From a random stranger, dreamsofmist:

1. What do you think of Harry Potter?
Don’t hurt me, but I’ve never read the books. Well, I read the first book right before the first movie came out, but since then, I haven’t read any of the books. I’ve seen all of the movies though and I like them, but I’ve never been really into the franchise.
2. When did you last have a nice relaxing sleep?
I always sleep pretty well during the weekend, because I can sleep in. But the last time I really slept well was probably last Christmas when I was at my parents. My apartment makes some pretty odd noises. Footsteps, old pipes, televisions still on at two in the morning…. oy.
3. Love or friendship? Why?
I think friendship. Mostly because it’s the only thing I’ve ever known. I’ve never been in love, so that makes me a pretty big fan of friendship.
4. What did you have for breakfast?
Well, I attempted to have sliced bananas in milk but the banana wasn’t very good so I ended up eating a muffin and some strawberries.
5. What’s your favorite song?
Honestly, I don’t have a favorite song. I really like a lot of Moby’s songs. I can listen to his records on repeat for hours.
6. How would you react to a complete stranger commenting on your blog?
I love it! Complete strangers are just friends who haven’t commented yet.
7. Whom would you most like to meet (in terms of celebs)?
Oprah. She has such influence in the world. I think it would great to meet her and not only tell her my story, but also hear some stories from her. Besides, who wouldn’t want to meet Oprah?

From Molly:

1. What do you think of eating salad without salad dressing?
I don’t think I would like it very much. I’m a big fan of salad dressing.
2. When did you last test your blood sugar?
Lunchtime.
3. Splenda or Equal? Why?
Neither! Sweet N’ Low! I suppose I would choose Splenda, since I hear it’s healthier.
4. What did you have for breakfast yesterday?
What’s with the breakfast questions? Haha. Yesterday I skipped breakfast, but then I had some fruit and a cookie during a morning meeting.
5. What’s your favorite sweatshirt?
Actually, I don’t wear sweatshirts most of the time. I’m a huge fan of hoodies though. I have about five. I like my green hoodie from Express and the flower-pattern hoodie from Macy’s.
6. How would you like to have the power to become invisible?
I think it would be fun for awhile but then I would get lonely. It would be a nice super power.
7. Whom would you most like to ride on the ferris wheel?
This is a hard question! If I had a boyfriend, I would say him, but since I don’t, I would probably say my two best friends from high school. Hopefully I will this summer when we go to London. I really want to go on the London Eye while we’re there, even though I hear it’s ridiculously expensive.

From Aaron:

1. What do you think of CGMS?
The CGMS is an awesome idea but I wish it was more accurate and easier to get. The fact that there are so many errors make me less inclined to fight for it.
2. When did you last watch TV?
I’m watching TV right now, actually. Home early from work, so I’m watching Star Trek: Voyager.
3. Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi? Why?
I drink Diet Coke, but I like both. My dad always bought Diet Coke because it was cheaper. I’m just used to it. I have to say, I absolutely loathe all derivations, Coke Zero or Pepsi One or any of that other “no-carb-yet-not-diet” soda is gross.
4. What did you do with it?
I drank it.
5. What’s your favorite sport?
I hate sports. I’m not a team-player. Haha. I’ve never been very athletic, but I like things like ballet or yoga. Not team sports. I get anxious having to perform in front of people or impressing people.
6. How would you tell your boss you don’t want to work late?
“Tom, I’m going home.” No, seriously, it would probably be something very similar.
7. Whom would you most like to share a cab with?
A rich person so they would pay the cab fare.

From Bernard:

1. What do you think of French movies?
They are weird! Very interesting, and I like them a lot, but boy are they crazy. I remember watching a French movie in high school where a man becomes obsessed with his half-sister or cousin or something like that, only he didn’t know. It was just weird.
2. When did you last eat a chocolate pudding without guilt?
Wow, that means I have to remember when I last had chocolate pudding… I have no idea… But I don’t remember ever feeling guilty when eating it.
3. Apple pie or ice cream? Why?
Ice cream. It comes in more flavors.
4. What did you about moving across the US?
Ack! Bernard, incompletely question! Leave a comment and tell me what this is supposed to be an all edit it.
5. What’s your favorite ocean view?
My favorite ocean view so far was when I went to Mendocino, California a couple of years ago with my friend Annie.
6. How would you like to be US president for a day?
Sure! I’d overturn the veto on stem cell research and give more money to research.
7. Whom would you most like to kick?
I don’t really dislike anyone, so I have a hard time thinking of anyone I would really want to kick. There are people I find annoying, but I don’t really think they deserve to be kicked. That’s a little too mean.

From Penny:

1. What do you think of me?
I think you’re very sensitive, just like me. You’re also a very good mother, and very sweet and caring.
2. When did you last drink a regular soda?
Weeks ago. I have no idea when, though. I think maybe when I was in Boston, but I’m not sure.
3. Sweet or sour? Why?
Sweet. I love candy. I have such a sweet tooth.
4. What did you eat for supper last night?
Spaghetti and a salad.
5. What’s your favorite car?
A Mercedes-Benz. I have no idea why. I’m not even sure they’re really that great of a car. I never liked BMWs because they always seemed so boxy, but Mercedes were nice cars that looks a little more sleek. So I’ve always wanted one.
6. How would you tell someone they are dying?
Wow. That’s a tough question. I think I would talk to some of my friends who are doctors first and see if they had any suggestions.
7. Whom would you most like to meet (that is alive and well)?
Well, I said Oprah already so I’ll skip her for this question. If I was going to meet someone else, I think I would want to meet Natalie Portman. I’ve been a huge fan of hers since I was in high school and I think it would be great to finally meet her.

From Jillian:

1. What do you think of pointy toed shoes?
I like them, as long as they aren’t too narrow. It’s really shoes with high heels that annoy me.
2. When did you last hear live music?
In February. I went to see The Magnetic Fields in NYC.
3. Boxers or briefs? Why?
Whatever floats your boat… It’s not like I’m wearing them.
4. What did you last take a picture of?
I took a picture of my friend Gayle at her 30th birthday party.
5. What’s your favorite scent?
I love vanilla. It’s so soothing.
6. How would you react if a random person offered you a free hug?
Depends on if they looked like a crazy person or not. I remember in college a group of students would stand outside the student union and give hugs. I never went up to get one but I thought it was a fun idea. Makes people smile.
7. Whom would you most like to meet that you only know from the internet/blogging?
Of course, I would love to meet everyone from the O.C., but if I was to think outside the box, I would like to meet Veronica Belmont. She’s well-known in the tech circles and she seems like a really fun, smart lady. We actually know a few of the same people, so perhaps I will someday.

From Autumn:

1. What do you think of automatic faucets, soap dispensers and paper towels?
They ANNOY me SO MUCH. Ugh. Why can’t I be trusted to get my own soap and paper towels? Are we no longer smart enough to do that? I mean, seriously.
2. When did you last visit a theme park? (Disneyland, 6 Flags etc)
The last time was in July 2006, when I was at the Children with Diabetes conference.
3. Perfer to sleep in or get up early? Why?
Neither, actually. I try to get up around 10 a.m. on the weekends, which gives me a couple hours extra, but it’s not so late that I don’t get anything done during the day.
4. What did you plan on getting a degree in your 1st year of college?
Journalism. I never changed my major. I’m completely serious. I’m probably the only college student I know that never changed her major. I added to it with Religious Studies and Non-Profit Management, but I stayed in the J-school all four years. It’s probably why I ended up graduating a term early.
5. What’s your favorite pair of jeans?
I don’t really have a favorite pair. Most of my jeans are new so I like all of them.
6. How would you go about talking yourself out of a speeding ticket?
The only time I “talked” my way out of a speeding ticket was at two in the morning on the way back from a bar. However I was around the corner from my house and the police officer actually shined a light diretly on it, so I think the fact that I was already pretty much home made him a little more lenient.
7. Whom would you most like to have play you in a movie?
The only celebrity that I think looks remotely like me is Thora Birch. We’re about the same height, have the same hair and skintone. I also thinks she’s a great actress so I would be happy to have her play me.

Leaving On a Jet Plane.

The third JDRF Blogger Round Table is now online and this month, we’re talking about my favorite subject: travel! Traveling with diabetes can be an arduous experience, especially when the goal is to get some R & R, but the nine bloggers on our panel (some of the OC’s best: Amy, Kerri, Scott Strumello and Scott Johnson, Allie, Sandra, Manny, Bernard and Gina) have some great tips for packing, road trips, warm weather and handling the infamous… Airport Security. Cue scary music.

I consider myself a seasoned traveler (I hit a record of eight states just last year!), and I’m continuing my Lemonade Life Summer Tour 2008 with stops in London, Orlando, Delaware, Washington D.C., and hopefully Philadelphia and Boston… not to mention my trip next week to Oregon for my brother’s high school graduation! Wow, I’m tired already.

Summer is the universally accepted season for travel (not that I’ve ever let a little thing like rain, sleet or snow stop me!) so most of us are probably gearing up for our vacations. Hopefully this blogger round table session will be useful for you and your family as your planning your next vacation. If you see anything that isn’t there, however, please feel free to drop me a note at amblass [@] gmail.com or leave a comment and let me know what’s missing. I’ll include any extra tips in my personal travel entries.

Bon voyage!

I’m Kind Of Weird…

Well, technically no one picked me to do the Ten Odd Things About Me meme, but a couple people tagged “everyone” so I’m claiming those. Here are some random things you may or may not know about me. I’m also not tagging anyone, because I’m pretty sure everyone’s been tagged by now. But if you haven’t been tagged, feel free to use me as your excuse.

1. I have some odd eating habits. I love to eat kiwis with the skins still on - I like the fuzzyness. I also like to eat the tails of cocktail shrimp. Nice and crunchy. I also have to thank The Parent Trap remake for introducing me to Oreos and peanut butter and I owe my obsession with ketchup and Ranch dressing to my best friend K.

2. I sleep with a sound machine. Between the weird noises my apartment makes and the footsteps and television blaring from the apartments around me, the only way I can fall asleep is with a sound machine to give me something to focus on. I have it set to “rain,” which is a sound I got used to falling asleep to after growing up in rain-soaked Oregon.

3. I really like popcorn. I have a bit of an unusual passion for popcorn. Movie theater popcorn, air-popped popcorn, kettle corn, low-fat. I’ll even eat stale popcorn. I’ll eat pretty much any kind of popcorn, though I’m not a huge fan of white cheddar popcorn, the kind that comes in those air-filled black bags at the check-out counter at grocery stores. You know the ones. They make me ridiculously thirsty and they make my fingers sticky. So I try to avoid it.

4. I’m five foot eight. Apparently this is tall, as I’ve had a few people remark to me how tall I am. I am also, for the record, twenty-two (almost twenty-three!) as several people have also remarked to me how I seem older. I used to think that was really cool, but I think this summer might be the summer when I stop thinking that looking older is cool and start thinking that looking older kinda sucks.

5. I hate having my knees touched. I know that posting this on the Internet is a very, very dangerous thing and I swear to God I have no qualms with kicking you in the balls and screaming if you even pretend to touch them. But this list is supposed to be about weird or unusual things about me, so there you go.

6. I named my first car Buffy. True story. When I bought my car, I thought about naming it because we had christened my dad’s car the Groovy Mobile. My dad suggested naming my car Hal, but I thought naming it after a psychopathic computer that killed the crew might be sending the wrong message. So I went with Buffy, because my mom and I both thought Sarah Michelle Gellar was adorable.

7. I’m a Trekkie. Hardcore. Conventions, dressing up as characters (I was Captain Janeway for Halloween when I was 12 years old) and I even collected autographs. I know a ridiculous amount of Star Trek trivia, bought Star Trek books and went to the opening day showing of Star Trek: First Contact, which I have seen about twenty times.

8. I don’t like shoe-shopping. I’ve never been the kind of girl that has a “thing” for shoes. I find most cute looking shoes to be terribly uncomfortable, and it’s hard to find cute shoes that don’t make me come home with red welts and tears.

9. I took French for six years. I started when I was in seventh grade and went all the way up to my senior year in high school. Despite all that, I speak French very, very poorly. Reading is not too hard, but I’m terrible at speaking. It would probably take me five minutes to pull together a simple phrase.

10. The alternate choice to “Allison” was “Kirsten.” My parents still have the list of possible names for me in my baby book. My middle name, in case anyone is wondering what the “m” in my email address stands for, is Michelle.

One-Fifth

Last Saturday, I watched Number Twenty on my 101 movies in 1,001 days challenge. That means I am one-fifth of the way done with that challenge and I still have more than two years until the challenge is over. Although two years sounds like a long time, if you look at my list, you’ll see that there is a lot of other stuff on my list that I still need to finish!

I finally got around to updating my NYC Restaurant list, though I’m pretty sure I’m leaving one or two out. There is also a Thai place I went to in Queens with Scott and Jon but I don’t remember what it’s called (Scott! Help!). It was yummy, too. The 101 movie list is still sorely outdated as I have way too much catching up to do, and with all those movie links to do… it might take me awhile. I also have three movies from Netflicks waiting for me at home.

As far as the other items on my list, we all know that I’m now going to London. Then there’s the upcoming CWD conference (one goal is to go to a CWD conference once a year) and I have more blogger meet-ups planned throughout the summer. I might actually reach my goal of meeting ten bloggers by Labor Day! I’ve also found a church that I like, so I’m two weeks into my (at least) six month stint there. I’ve also begun downloading the sermons from my old church, Imago Dei Community Church, off of iTunes and I’m about a month into that.

I would love to hear suggestions from you at home about what I should work on next or how to accomplish them. Do you know of a cool art gallery (#36) or restaurant in NYC (#42) I should check out? How about a place to get a massage (#20)? Are you a diabetes blogger who is in the NYC area who wants to meet me? Just send me an email (#5). If anyone want to surprise me with tickets to the NYC Ballet (#40) or a live taping of a TV show (#47), hook a sister up!

As you can see, I’ll definitely need the next two years to get everything done. But it sure is fun!