Want to be in JDRF’s Newsletter?

I tried posting this on TuDiabetes but I got shoved off the main page too quickly so I’m not sure anyone ever wrote back about this.

I’m writing a story about health 2.0 (websites, social networks, blogs, etc.) for people with diabetes and I need a few quotes from people who have used these services (including but not limited to: The Diabetes O.C., TuDiabetes, Diabetes Daily, Diabetes Talkfest, etc.).

In a few sentences, please tell me the following:

1. Why do you think health 2.0 is useful for people with diabetes?

2. How has it personally impacted your life? Please use specific examples if possible.

I’m only going to be able to include two or three quotes from people, so please do not be discouraged if I do not include you. I may use your quote for another story.

Also, this is time sensitive! I need to send my quotes in by 1 p.m. EST today (January 23).

Update: There’s still time! I’m not sending the quotes in until at least 2:30 p.m., so feel free to keep posting even thought it’s after 1 p.m.

An actual real post coming later….

Thanks!

One Hundred and One

I have never really been good at making and keeping resolutions (though let’s be honest, who has?). I have seen a few lists popping up around the Internet that cater towards more long-term goals that people can set for themselves, such as 43things.com or my50.com, which guides you through making life achievement goals. The latest one I saw is the 1001 Day Project, which asks people to create a list of 101 things they would like to do in 1,001 days. For those of you who haven’t done the math, 1,001 days is approximately 2.75 years. If you started the project today, it would end on September 28, 2010. The reason behind the madness of 1,001 days, which does seem terribly long, is because sometimes you need several seasons or an extended period of time in which to accomplish something, such as losing a large amount of weight or traveling overseas.I thought this was a brilliant idea and certainly a creative way of doing some much needed self-improvement. Over the past three days, I have been wracking my brain trying to think of 101 things I want to accomplish by the time I turn 25 years old (well, technically I’ll be just under 25 years and 2 months old when the challenge ends). I divided my challenges into more specific subcategories that are important to me.

• Diabetes
• General Health and Improvement
• Spiritual
• Educational
• Food and Entertainment
• Travel
• Photography
• Purchases
• Finances
• Giving Back
• Random

Some goals (such as books or doctor’s appointments) have parenthesis next to them with the amount I’ve achieved out of the total number of times I want to do them. This is because these goals are spread out of such a long period of time that I want to keep the progress up-to-date. Goals done in one chunk of time (small or large) will just be marked as being in progress when I start.

I also have a key for the folks at home who are following along:

The Key:

Not Started
In Progress
Accomplished (with the date)

I will be blogging each accomplishment as it happens, and possibly the progress, depending on what it is. Some of the goals, like the 101 movies and 101 books, I will definitely need suggestions, so feel free to send me an email at amblass at gmail dot com if you can think of ways to help me meet my goals.

If anyone wants to join along, you can start this project at any time. Use this handy tool to find out when your end date will be.

101 Things in 1,001 Days

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Start Date: January 1, 2008. End Date: September 28, 2010.

I will donate $2.00 to JDRF for every item not completed.

Diabetes

1. Get an A1C under 7% at least once
2. Write my blood sugars down for 7 consecutive days once a month (0/33)
3. Get a CGMS
4. Visit the endocrinologist 3 times a year (0/8)
5. Meet ten new diabetes bloggers (0/10)
6. Go to at least one CWD conference every year
7. Update the Diabetes O.C. Directory once a month
8. Write another article for a diabetes magazine
9. See a conference for adults with type 1 come to fruition
10. Change my lancet once a month

General Health and Improvement

11. Keep a food journal and write what I eat everyday for a month
12. Stop drinking soda for one month
13. Attend a yoga class at least once a week for a month
14. Go to the gym 4 days a week for two months - extended if sick
15. Lose 20 pounds (0/20)
16. Go to the dentist twice a year (0/5)
17. Go to the gynecologist once a year (0/3)
18. Drink at least two bottles of water everyday for a month
19. Finish a bottle of multivitamins (but starting from new, not counting the one I already have open)
20. Get a professional massage
21. Eat vegetarian for one week
22. Floss my teeth everyday for a month
23. Go one month without eating fast food
24. Take an adult ballet class

Spiritual

25. Find a church and attend for six months, though not consecutively (too much travel)
26. Read the entire Bible
27. Attend a Bible study class for six months, again, not necessarily consecutively
28. Write in a prayer journal once a week for six months
29. Download and listen to sermons from Imago Dei Community every week for six months
30. Succeed in giving up something for Lent

Educational

31. Learn Hebrew
32. Take a photography class
33. Read 101 books (0/101)
34. Become a member to a museum in New York
35. Become a member at the New York Public Library
36. Visit 10 local art galleries
37. Complete a Sudoku book

Food and Entertainment

38. Attend one Broadway play a year (0/3)
39. Watch 101 movies (0/101)
40. Attend a performance by the New York Ballet Corp
41. Attend a concert at Madison Square Garden
42. Try one new restaurant in New York City every month (0/33)
43. Buy a cookbook and make every recipe out of it (except for beef recipes - yuck)
44. Host a dinner party
45. See Moby perform live
46. Attend the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
47. Be a part of a live audience for a TV show
48. Celebrate New Years in Times Square
49. Attend a performance by the New York Opera

Travel

50. Visit Israel
51. Visit London
52. Visit Amsterdam
53. Visit 5 new states
54. Watch the sun rise in Montauk
55. Go camping
56. Take a trip with my brother
57. Take a trip with my mother

Photography

58. Buy a pre-professional camera
59. Have a photo in a professional magazine/website/exhibit
60. Purchase Photoshop and learn to love it
62. Start a photoblog
63. Go to three photography exhibits (0/3)
64. Participate in the Diabetes 365 project
65. Take one photo a day for a month (that isn’t diabetes-related)
66. Print and frame my favorite photographs to give to my grandmothers and my parents

Purchases

67. Buy a laptop
68. Buy a PDA of some sort
69. Buy wireless headphones
70. Buy a Coach purse
71. Buy new and funkier dishes
72. Buy a coffee table
73. Buy a bookshelf for the living room
74. Buy only cleaning supplies and mostly organic food

Finances

75. Save $5,000
76. Invest in stock market
77. Catalog all expenses for one month every year (0/3)
78. Eliminate debt
79. Pay off full balance every month once debt is gone

Giving Back

80. Volunteer 101 hours to something that is NOT diabetes-related (0/101)
81. Donate $50 to the National MS Society during National MS Week (0/3)
82. Participate in the JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes
83. Sponsor a child in a third world country
84. Join Big Brothers/Big Sisters
85. Donate blood
86. Find out where the nearest recycling center is and start recycling weekly
87. Vote in the 2008 elections
88. Mail a sussy to five people
89. Send only handmade (either by me or someone else) gifts for Christmas one year
90. Mail 12 birthday cards to friends and/or family a year
91. Send a handwritten letter once a month

Random

92. Avoid the Internet on the weekend for a month
93. Send a secret to PostSecret.com
94. Identify 101 things that make me happy
95. Write a blog entry everyday during the workweek
96. Complete NaBloPoMo’s in 2008 and 2009
97. Visit the Bronx Zoo
98. Get a tattoo
99. Move to the city or Hoboken
100. Get a cat
101. Celebrate my 25th birthday in another country

Speaks Volumes.

This past Sunday night, I was watching Joel Osteen on ABC Family channel…

Okay, perhaps I should back up. I wasn’t really watching Joel Osteen, I was flipping channels and my remote control somehow became stuck on the channel and it wasn’t just Sunday night, it was just past midnight on Monday.

Despite the fact that I am a Bible-believing, Jesus-worshipping, cross-wearing (sometimes) Christian, I cannot stand Joel Osteen. Seriously, doesn’t his voice just make you want to crawl under your bed and cry?

But for some strange reason (perhaps I was momentarily possessed by the devil), I listened to Joel Osteen give another one of his impassioned speeches.

And I have to admit… it wasn’t too shabby.

Let me explain:

Mr. Osteen was talking about self-esteem. Now, this is something we can all relate to. He told some stories about how when he was a young minister, he often relied on his congregation to boost his self-esteem after a sermon. He said that he often needed ten or fifteen positive reviews for him to feel good about what he did. He added that if he even had one negative comment about a sermon, he would be depressed and discouraged for days.

As I was listening to him, something occurred to me (perhaps God spoke to me?) and I thought, “This is kind of like what I do with my blood sugars.”

When I have a blood sugar either in my target range or just around it, say 141 mg/dl or 164 mg/dl or 92 mg/dl, I think “Oh, well, that’s good.” And then I move on to doing whatever else I was doing, like watching television or cooking dinner or working on a report. Sometimes I’ll even think, “Gee, I wonder how long it will take me to mess this up…”

But when I get a “bad” blood sugar, like 210 mg/dl or 335 mg/dl or a 53 mg/dl, I think to myself, “Dammit! What did I do? I’m so stupid. I shouldn’t have done this or that or the other thing. Life is so unfair! I hate diabetes!”

Anger. Anger. Anger.

Why is that? I mean, to be honest, I probably spend far more of my time in the “good” blood sugar range, because if I really spent as much time being high as I think I am, I’d be blind and on dialysis by now. So obviously I have to be doing something right, right?

Osteen, the crazy kook that he is, said that nowadays, he focuses more on his own opinion of himself than what other people think of him. When people say something negative, he doesn’t dwell on it. He just accepts it and moves on. When someone says something nice, he appreciates it and moves on.

He reflected on why the negative comments are so hard to overcome: “They are so much louder!”

I wonder if maybe Mr. Osteen is on to something, diabetes-wise. Don’t high blood sugars just seem so obnoxious when you see them? I hardly ever hear anything when my blood sugar is 116 mg/dl, but if you switch it to a 316 mg/dl, I practically have to cover my hears from the screaming shame coming from the screen.

Maybe if I spent half as much time thinking, “Yay! You are 157 mg/dl! Woohoo! You rule!” and dancing around (assuming I was at home where no one can see me) as I do on the “You’re such a loser, Allison, what the hell is wrong with you?” thoughts, I would probably be a much happier person and I probably wouldn’t hate testing nearly as much as I do.

I’m 221 mg/dl right now. And you know what? I’m accepting that as a fact, telling the 221 mg/dl to shut up, taking a correction bolus and moving on…

… to the bathroom where I can wash my mouth out with soap for agreeing with Joel Osteen.

The Thursday Three

In lieu of the Third Annual D-Blog Day tomorrow (which basically is a call to action to have everyone in the blogosphere write a reflective post about diabetes), I am posting my little weekly nuggets today.

And because I’m hell-bent on keeping up with alliteration, you’re only getting three items. Which is good, because I only had three items in my folder to begin with.

1) Starting off we have our Press Release of the Week: Coming straight to my inbox from the fine folks at JDRF (okay, so I’m a tiny bit biased) is word that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced they are issuing billing codes for continuous glucose monitoring technology. What does that mean? That means we finally have legitimate codes to send to our insurance companies when requesting compensation. Now, I don’t think that means that insurance companies are obligated to pay a percentage of the technology, it just means that the code is available for processing. The codes are A9276 for the sensor, A9277 for the transmitter, and A9278 for the receiver and they will be effective starting on January 1, 2008. Very exciting news for those either on the CGMS or in the process of getting one!

2) On Tuesday, I was working at our NYC office and one of the assistants told me that I could use the office of one of our Vice Presidents because she was in Europe. Excellent, right? Turns out this office was overlooking Sixth Avenue and 48th Street, and anyone who knows anything about Manhattan geography knows that these are two of the busiest streets in the city. I had to deal with hours of honking and a frigid office. Almost made me wish I was back in Jersey. But that’s nothing compared to the lives of these folks - Wired magazine has published the winners of Saddest Cubicle Contest, which included 11 entries of pathetic office space that real people actually have to survive in. If you’re a fan of the TV show Office Space, you should definitely have a look… and a laugh.

3) True or False: Catholics have a sense of humor. Give up? Well, according to this little creation, at least someone can take a polarizing moral issue and elicit a few giggles. It’s Umbert the Unborn child and it’s a comic book depicting the adventures of a fetus. If you’re a staunchly politically correct, this might not be for you, but for everyone else, go check it out!

Putting the “World” in World Diabetes Day.

First, some background:

I’ve known the co-founder of the Unite for Diabetes campaign, Clare Rosenfeld, since we were ridiculously precocious eight-year-olds attending Gales Creek Camp in Forest Grove, Oregon. Even back then, Clare was the most up-front, “this is my life and let me tell you about it” regarding diabetes as she is today. Because I have been friends with her for so long, I joined her in whatever crazy scheme she came up with to help others with diabetes.

In 2000, Clare founded the International Diabetes Youth Ambassadors, which was a program of Children With Diabetes to bring together children with diabetes from around the world to educate and find a cure. It was a great idea, and it did some good in its infancy, though I’m not sure if the members do anything currently. Listing our profiles, participating in online chats and exchanging emails about advocacy was pretty much our main activities, so I ended up “meeting” a lot of people with diabetes from other countries.

Early on in the program, one girl that I met through IDYA was Anja, a girl from Denmark who has gone on to become one of the most well-spoken and well-traveled diabetes advocates that I know. She is an International Diabetes Ambassador for IDF and she also sits on the Novo Nordisk Youth Panel as well as a few other organizations.

And this week, she is in the United States in preparation for next week’s World Diabetes Day.

We have exchanged dozens upon dozens of emails in the past seven years, but of course, being that she lives in Denmark, we never actually met. We’re friends on Facebook and regularly post silly comments on The Wall (Facebookers will know what I’m talking about).

Today, I finally met this young lady when I took the train into the city, along with her friend, Caitlin McEnery (haha, I almost typed McEnergy, which actually would be a much more appropriate surname!), one of JDRF’s leading advocates. We met up at the Corner Shop Cafe (thanks Kerri!) and spent a few hours browsing the shops in Soho.

As always, it was a terrific afternoon of blood sugar testing, comparisons of Symlin experiences and complaints about doctors who insist they know more than we do about our own bodies and what is best for us. We also chatted about the differences in between life in the United States and Denmark, and they shared stories from the International Diabetes Federation conference in South Africa last December. I feel like we get so caught up in America and the U.S. health system and the trial and tribulations that we have to deal with on a regular basis, but when you become a part of an organization that has such a far-reaching influence, it’s amazing to realize what people have to deal with on a regular basis - fighting to get access to even a glucose meter or one bottle of insulin that actually works or a doctor who even knows what diabetes is. Despite all the hardships we have dealing with our medical system and professionals - and believe me, I know how imperfect it is - I still feel blessed to know that I have access to the resources that I need because I live in a developed country.

It was great to finally meet two ladies who I have wanted to meet for such a long time. I can’t wait to meet more of the advocates when they start arriving next weekend, and I especially can’t wait for the big day! You can be sure that I’ll have a full report.

Friveday

Well, I have to admit a huge gaffe on my part this week. I have been waiting for weeks for my company to give me a laptop to use when I go to our NYC office and on business trips (yeah, my total of one so far), because I can’t access our client or personal drives otherwise. It sucks and makes it hard to get stuff done.

I was told on Monday I would be getting my laptop. But I hadn’t moved all my personal documents onto the main server - everything was on my hard drive. So then the IT guy and I made a plan for Tuesday. But it never happened. Then Wednesday came, and still nothing. Yesterday we made a plan for lunchtime, but I ended up leaving before the IT guy came.

Finally, today arrived. I shut down my computer, the laptop and dock was installed and after a bit of a glitch involving the keyboard, I was on my way.

Then when I logged into my computer, I noticed something. I had to reinstall Firefox. Obviously. Which meant I had no bookmarks. At all. I’m brilliant, no?

So, the Friday Five is going to be a bit bare this week. I actually only found a couple of things that I wanted to share with you all during my week of surfing the internet. Research and blog-hopping has been a little dull this week, actually.

1. I received a new email from Melanie Seasons, who works for the PR agency representing the Inspired by Diabetes campaign. She wanted to let us know that Elliott Yamin is now the spokesperson for the competition! He is participating as one of the judges, and the donate a package of concert tickets and backstage passes to the U.S. grand prize winners. In addition to the concert tickets for U.S. winners, the U.S. and global winners will still each receive a $5,000 USD contribution to charity and a trip to the U.S. or global Inspired by Diabetes art exhibition. So if you’re an American Idol fan, hop to it!
2. A few days ago, Rich posted a comment about a treadmill that was attached to a computer console called the Walkstation. The idea is that you can exercise while you work, giving a whole new meaning to multi-tasking. The speed is fairly low (.5-2 mph) while you work, but after an 8 hour work day you have walked a few miles! Don’t get too attached to the idea though. The computer-treadmill-mashup runs about $6500! Click on the link to see a picture.
3. I’m doing some research on virtual worlds for work right now, and I was just curious to know if anyone has ever logged onto Second Life. Second Life, for those living in a broom closet, is a virtual world created by San Francisco-based Linden Labs. It currently boasts a population of just over 7 million users and is almost entirely user-generated content. Right now a lot of PR agencies are talking about using this as a way to market products and services - already companies like American Apparel and Intel have set up shop in Second Life, and countries, like Sweden, are actually creating virtual landscapes in order to attract tourism. For a group that is so internet-savvy and dependent, what do you think of Second Life? Is this something we should consider tapping into or is it way too out there? Not that I’m planning anything. I actually have never used Second Life, I have just read a lot about it.
4. Thanks to all the wonderful comments and feedback I have received for my article in Diabetes Self-Management! If you haven’t, you really should check it out. Not because I wrote it, but because George, Penny and Rachel were such excellent interviewees! Amy Tenderich, Dr. William Polonsky and Dr. Bill Quick also tossed in some excellent comments.
5. I am heading down to Philadelphia this weekend to meet yet another person with diabetes! This time it’s a teen by the name of Jamie who is an active member of my old website, Diabetes Teen Talk. I will be walking with her at the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes at the Philadelphia Art Museum. If anyone wants to meet me either at the Walk or afterwards, I’m available until 7pm - that’s when I have to hightail it home so I can not fall asleep at my desk like I almost did this last Monday! Just shoot me an email by Saturday night.

T.G.I.F. Link-A-Palooza!

It’s been awhile since I’ve sat down and done up a list of my favorite links of the week, but Jill has made a special request, so I decided to get myself into gear and do it!

However, I’m actually in our New York office today and totally didn’t prepare myself for this update. Going off pure memory, I only came up with four - but hey, at least I kept the alliteration going!

Here is The Friday Four:

• First, a shameless plug for a project I’m working on at work (MWW Group). For months I worked with the consumer account team working on Gardenburger, and two weeks ago we launched a campaign called Real Men Eat Gardenburger with a mission of finding and rewarding a real guy out there who loves Gardenburgers and isn’t afraid to admit it! You can check out the fruits of our labor at the Real Men Eat Gardenburger website or you can check out my personal contribution to the cause by going straight to the Search for America’s Real Man contest page. If you submit yourself or your man, you could win a chance at a new flatscreen TV, a Ducane stainless steel grill, a year’s supply of Gardenburger and a catered party… The people are the voters so don’t think I hold any sway over the results. Have fun!
• Now, I like to think of myself as a ballsy girl, but a senator from Nebraska has thought up this crazy scheme to sue God to prove that Americans sue over stupid reasons might have gone just a tad too far… Wait a second, did I say might? Ha! I meant totally did! What’s he thinking? I suppose God only knows…
• A few weeks ago, Steve Jobs posted an apology letter to customers after Apple decided to knock off about $200 off their retail price for the snazzy iPhones three months after going on sale (no, I don’t have one, no, I don’t want one - knowing me and my track record with gadgets, I would probably break it). Well, the folks at Woot decided to have a little laugh at the expense of both Apple and Microsoft by writing up a sarcasm-laden apology letter to customers of Microsoft’s Zune. Larry Stalin, you rock.
• In more technology news that evokes a “seriously?” reaction from readers, Marie Claire asked femgadget blog Popgadget’s founder what her ideal cell phone would be, called… get this… the ShePhone. Yeah, can I vomit now? Anyway, hop over to Wired’s blog The Underwire to see a full diagram.