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.

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!

Press Play.

I was on my couch last night, watching an episode of House and scrolling through apartment listings on Craigslist when something dawned on me.

Being the social media addict that I am thanks to my job, I twittered my epiphany:

“You know what I just realized? I’m perfectly fine with the speed of life and there’s nothing that I want to skip ahead to.”

It was an amazing realization to have. I can’t remember the last time I was even remotely content with where my life is at. For a long time, I felt like I was always waiting. Like my life was a series of highly stressful commercials. Waiting for the summer to see my friends from high school who were away at school. Waiting for the term would end so economics would quit suffocating my soul. Waiting for heartache and homesickness to vanish. Waiting to move. Waiting to hear about a job. Waiting to finally feel that sense of belonging that had been escaping me ever since I left my hometown.

It became even more dramatic my last six months in Oregon. I was waiting to go to New York for job interviews. I was waiting to hear back from the interviews. I was waiting to move. I was waiting to find the right apartment. I was waiting to have friends, furniture and an understanding of the God-forsaken freeway system in New Jersey (which I have determined will never, ever happen).

For the first time in a long time, I’m not wishing for a remote control to fast forward my life or to rewind it to better day. There are things that I’m looking forward to like my trips to Oregon for my brother’s graduation and the Children with Diabetes conference in Florida, my twenty-third birthday rolling in at the beginning of August and hopefully a meet-up or two around the East Coast.

But none of these things are going to fix my life the way that I expected all the moving and changes in school schedules. I’m not expecting them to. There are things that I hope will eventually happen - like having a boyfriend, or moving to a nicer apartment, or changing job, or getting a kitty.

But I’m not looking to jump ahead to anything.

Right now is just fine with me. Enjoying the friends that I have made, either through this blog - which has been a godsend to me - or through my real life adventures. I’m perfectly content to explore the neighborhoods of New York City, and even New Jersey has surprised me on a number of occasions. I have friends that I can call or at least e-mail, though perhaps not quite as spur of the moment as I’d like, but we’re grown-ups with jobs and errands and things to do. Not everything can be as spontaneous as when you’re 19. I have made my attempts to join groups, and while they haven’t all panned out like I planned, it’s still been an enjoyable adventure.

I’m still homesick sometimes. But I don’t think I crave that sense of belonging that I did when I first came to the East Coast. I think that’s something blogging has taught me actually. With so many welcoming friends - sometimes friends that I haven’t even met yet - I know I belong. I belong everywhere and I can finally just press play.

That’s a very nice feeling to have.

Playing Tour Guide.

On Saturday, I took the train into the city to meet up with Jon Schlaman, co-founder of Diabetes Talkfest. It was definitely not the great day weather-wise for a day out (and considering how sunny it was on Sunday, I’m kicking myself for not double-checking the forecast). But we managed to have quite a fun time seeing some tourist attraction and actually going on Saturday worked out because I was able to go to church - which I really liked! yay! - and I managed to get everything off my list. My bangs are cut, I worked a bit more on my freelance article, I went grocery shopping and bought my mother’s present for Mother’s Day. Very productive indeed!

Anyway, on to the recap:

We met at Penn Station and walked up through Times Square and over to Ninth Avenue to lunch. After a quick bite to eat and a long discussion about the future of Diabetes Talkfest, we walked down Seventh Avenue after deciding to try going to the top of the Empire State Building. But right as we walked past 42nd, I spotted Madame Tussauds. We decided to check it out. I wasn’t sure if spending that much money in a museum full of wax celebrities would be that much fun, but man, this is definitely going on my Things to Do When Schlepping Tourists Around NYC List! Jon took out some of his anger on Bill Gates, I modeled for Annie Leibowitz, I rocked out with the Spice Girls, we said hi to the Clintons, I got some comedy tips from Lucille Ball and even my boyfriend came!

Afterwards, we waited in the longest line in the world to go to the top of the Empire State Building. It was far too cold and we really should have skipped it (or been smart and checked the forecast), but it was still amazing to be that high up off the earth and to see so far. You could even see the lights from Giant Stadium, which is next to where I work. Sadly, my camera ran out of batteries so I have no proof that I was actually up there, so you’ll have to take my word for it.

When we were done, we headed back down and hopped on the subway to Queens where we had Thai with Scott Strumello and then walked over to his apartment where I got to meet Phyllis, his adorable cat. I also saw the most amazing contraption in the history of the world.

A personal soda machine.

It’s amazing.

I want one.

Welcomed Weekend.

Another week has come and gone! Hard to believe. It feels just like yesterday I was moaning about how it was only Tuesday and then zooooom it’s Friday!

It’s kind of weird how that works. I wish that wasn’t how it worked on the weekend though. I want the weekend to move like molasses but that doesn’t usually happen. Mostly because I sleep through half the day since I don’t typically wake up until around 11:30 or even noon. By the time I’m awake, showered and dressed it’s usually after 1p.m. and the day is practically over and I have to get ready to go to bed again!

Okay, maybe not quite, but you know what I mean.

My plans for the weekend:
- Weight Watchers check in (ugh)
- cutting my bangs
- buying new shoes. I’ve been wearing these adorable silver ballet flats to the point that I’m starting to hate them. Our dresscode just changed to casual Friday everyday so wearing fancy shoes isn’t required but I don’t have many casual shoes now!
- going to NYC to play tour guide with Diabetes TalkFest’s Jon Schlaman and have dinner with him and Scott Strumello
- hopefully going to a new church (maybe, if I don’t chicken out)
- grocery shopping
- working on freelance article
- sleep?

What do you have planned for this weekend?

IRL.

IRL, for those of you unaware, stands for “in real life” and was created as a differentiator between people you knew just from the online community - be it blogging, social networks, message boards, etc. - and people who you actually knew in, well, real life.

The real world.

Well, I know a lot of you haven’t met many people with diabetes, so I always like to share opportunities where you can meet people with diabetes and/or myself IRL.

First up, for all you New Yorkers, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is throwing their annual Spring for a Cure event for young professionals on Thursday, May 8th at the Puck Building in Manhattan. Cost is $100, but the good news is that $75 of that is tax deductible! There will be food and beverage tasting from some of the hottest NYC restaurants, a silent auction, music and dancing.

Second, if you live within driving distance of Delaware, don’t forget we’ll be be having a Delaware D-meet on the shore on Saturday, May 24. Starts around lunchtime. Email me at amblass [@] gmail.com for the deets.

Lastly, Children with Diabetes will be hosting their 8,291 conference, Friends for Life, in Orlando, Florida this July. From July 22 until July 27, you’ll have non-stop education and support at one of the coolest places on earth. Some of the most respected minds in the diabetes field attend this conference - including some OC faves like John Walsh, Gary Scheiner, and Kelly Close - and you’ll get to spend a whole day at Universal Studios with some of your new best friends. This is definitely a conference not to miss. And if you’re thinking, “But I’m not a kid anymore!” So what? The conference topics for parents are often applicable to adults with type 1 and meeting new people, especially some of the people we read about everyday like Phil Southerland and Doug Burns, is definitely worth it.

I’ll be attending all three of these events, so if you have any questions or want to meet me, please email me.

And in case you missed it…

I’m not entirely sure why I bother posting things on Fridays since it’s one of the lowest traffic days I have (Sundays are typically the lowest of the whole week). But I want to plug something I wrote on Friday one more time in case you didn’t see it. Last Thursday, I attended the world premiere of Life for a Child, a documentary about families struggling to live with type 1 in Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world. Please check out my reactions to the movie and thoughts on the campaign and let me know what you think we can do to help thousands of children who die from a disease that is completely survivable.

In Bloom.

After six months of cold temperatures and drizzly skies, this was the first weekend I spent in Manhattan where I wasn’t dashing from building to building, using the heat from a boutique to defrost my fingers.

Waking up at the ungodly hour of eight in the morning (well, ungodly for a weekend), I took the train into Manhattan for my workshop. I met another girl from Jersey there, so after the workshop, we decide to wander around the city.

Being that it was the first really warm day we have had in a good long while, we thought a stroll through Central Park would be perfect.

Now, I have a confession to make. Despite living here for almost a year, and despite having gone to Manhattan three other times before I moved here, I have never really been to Central Park. Now, I’ve seen it, of course, from a distance, either at the Museum of Natural History last March, or when I’m at Columbus Circle, or the time my mother and I went in when we were at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and immediately left after taking the requisite photo op.

Sadly, Saturday was truly the first time I had really seen Central Park in all it’s glory. The trees sprouting new leaves, the flowers blossoming, runners huffing and puffing down the path, families and Columbia college students in bikinis spread out on blankets, tourists in shorts and T-shirts, and Upper East Side mothers pushing their babies along in Graco strollers.

It’s true what they say about Central Park feeling like another world - almost, dare I say, suburban, or even farther than that. Like a state park. Except for the apartment buildings peaking up from behind the trees, you’d almost think you were in upstate New York and not in the middle of a metropolis.

We walked for miles - literally. Our workshop was at 40th and Broadway, we stopped for lunch at 46th and Ninth Avenue, strolled up past Lincoln Center and entered the park at 66th, meandered our way along the various paths - past the Great Lawn, the Jackie Kennedy Onassis reservoir, and beautiful cherry blossom trees that sprinkled the path like it was snowing - and finally came out at 101st Street. We went one block to Madison Avenue, stopped for Starbucks, and eventually caught the subway at 68th and Lexington. We knew it would take us at least another hour to get to Penn Station at 34th, and neither of us thought our feet would be very happy if we did that!

It was also nice seeing a part of Manhattan that I don’t have much reason to visit - the Upper East Side. The rumors are true and it’s completely packed with apartments and townhouses. We saw twelve-year-old meadering about, more children’s clothing stores than I thought was necessary, and there were the mothers again, pushing their babies in their little Graco strollers (well, I have no idea if they were really Graco strollers, I didn’t feel the need to go up and ask which stroller brands they used).

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend too!

The skyline of midtown Manhattan, reminding us it’s still there.

“You think we’re the only ones who thought about coming to the park today?” I joked. “You’d think the entire city thought the sun was going to go away for another six months!”

The Jackie Kennedy Onassis Reservoir

The world is finally in bloom again.

For more photos from Central Park, visit my Flickr gallery.

A Weekend? Don’t Mind If I Do…

It’s Friday.

It’s sunny.

And it’s seventy-frickin’-degress!

I am sitting in my little cubicle at work decked out in a white skirt, purple flower-patterned blouse and my adorable ribbon-adorned silver flats. I’m totally rocking the summer look right now and it feels so good. Summer is taking it’s sweet time showing up here on the East Coast, so I’m very appreciative of some summer lovin’.

It’s also supposed to be nice and toasty (not burnt toasty, nice toasty), which is perfect because I’m heading into Manhattan early tomorrow morning for a workshop for young professionals and that whole “quarter-life” crisis crap. Hopefully I’ll learn something useful, or at least meet some people who also have no idea what they’re doing (yay!) and then of course I have the entire afternoon to enjoy myself in Manhattan. Might try to knock a couple more things off my 101 Things list, because I’m been slacking on that a little bit lately. Should sign myself up for a museum or visit an art gallery or something. Granted, I have more than two years left to go before this thing is over with and that seems like a long time, but before you know it, I’ll be twenty-five and still have eighty-six things left to do.

And well, crap.

On Sunday, I’m driving all of twenty miles to see my dad’s cousins in Edison. My great-aunt is in town for Passover, and while I’m not Jewish so I’m not going to Passover, it’ll be nice to see her and my cousins. We’re going for Indian food, which is the perfect thing to do in Edison because I think ninety percent of the restaurants in Edison are Indian restaurants. Don’t ask me why, but it’s true. If you want good Indian food, go to Edison, NJ.

Hopefully the weather is nice where you are too so we can all enjoy our weekend!

What I Love to Love.

I love driving, because despite how horrible it is for the environment and my wallet, there’s nothing more satisfying than a long drive with good tunes turned up so loud that I can sing along and I don’t even notice how bad I am. I love going to a new place, getting lost and finding out much fun you can have when you have no idea what to expect. I love flying in airplanes. I love the way pillow clouds look like castles and imagining an entire world exists in the sky.

I love the when the clouds are lit on fire by the setting sun. I love the way the Manhattan skyline looks early in the morning, just before the sun rises over the skyscrapers - the dark gray contrasting with the bright yellow. I love people-watching at restaurants, parks and on the subway. I love when people ask me for directions because it makes me feel like I belong.

I love purple. I love the scent of Oregon after it rains and the crackling of campfires. I love Portland. I love diabetes camp. I love waking up to birds chirping outside my window, because that means it’s going to be a nice day. I love Rita’s water ice, especially in mango. I love sitting in Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia. I love movies that make you think and songs that remind you of someone.

I love blogging and bloggers and RSS Feeds. I love writing. I love doodling. I love giggling. I love meeting new people. I love people who know things that I don’t know. I love asking questions, which I suppose means I love being curious and consequently, I love being a little annoying. I love bookstores. I love Sudoku and word searches. I love sitting on the back porch of Espresso Roma of Eugene, Oregon on a warm May afternoon with a cup of coffee and a good book.

I love when my phone rings. I love Facebook and Twitter and when the little blue envelope icon lights up when I have new email. I love the ping when I have an instant message. I love sussys and hand-written letters and when my grandmother sends me a card with a $5 bill. I love comments on my blog.

I love history. I love antique stores, the smell of old books and when an eighty-year-old couple holds hands.

I love CO Bigelow’s flavored lipgloss. I love going to new restaurants. I love naan and tandoori chicken and curry. I love Trader Joe’s. I love coming home from work and watching reruns of sitcoms. I love sneaking in fast food into a movie theater. I love going to the movies by myself. I love a big bowl of popcorn. I love movie trailers. I love art galleries and amazing photographs and taking photographs that I’m proud of.

I love when the pieces of life fall perfectly into place. I love hugs. I love reunions. I love volunteering and the satisfaction of making the world a better place. I love hearing that I’ve helped someone.

I love life, and you too.

I love that there are so many things in this world worth loving.

Edit!: I spent so much time on this that I completely forgot the challenge part. I challenge you to make your own list or leave a love of yours in the comments. The only catch? You can’t include a single person you know on your list. No “I love the way my husband laughs” or “I love hearing my little girl call for me.” It’ll be tough, I know. But this particular little exercise is about stripping away everyone who defines you and figuring out what you (not his partner; not their mother/daughter/sister/friend) love. (This meme is stolen from Michelle and the City).