Misconceptions.

Yesterday while I was surfing the Internet, I stumbled upon this jewel of a segment:

Apparently, Good Morning America aired a segment on ways to cut your risk of developing diabetes.

Notice something strange?

That’s right. They neglected to distinguish that this was type 2 diabetes they were talking about. I did not watch the segment (thank God) but apparently the doctor on the segment did not make one attempt to indicate that you can only cut your risk for type 2 diabetes, but there is nothing you can do to cut your risk for type 1 diabetes.

A write-up of the segment was posted on their website, and quickly the title was changed to specify type 2 diabetes. But the damage was done.

Thousands - possibly millions - of people were once again fed the message that there is only one diabetes. While many people have protested against the almost criminalization of type 2 diabetes, which I am opposed to as well, the fact is that type 2 diabetes does display certain characteristics that are contrary to type 1 diabetes.

The idea that diabetes is preventable is a misconception on both sides of this coin. For type 1 diabetes, it is never preventable. Ever. It is not curable. Ever. It can simply be managed through insulin and an understanding of how food, exercise and other factors can impact your blood sugars. For type 2 diabetes, it can be preventable, but not always. Even if a person could have prevented their diabetes, there is no reason to make them feel like a bad person. Some could say that a high blood sugar reading is “preventable”, but we encourage the belief that a reading or an A1C result does not reflect the worth of a person. We need to remember that if we don’t want to be judged by our numbers, then type 2 diabetics deserve the same in return.

We are then left with the misconceptions perpetuated by the media. Already more than 80 people have commented on this story, including myself, Bernard, Landileigh and Kerri (perhaps more, though these were the only ones I know of). My hope is that this shows the producers at ABC that we will no longer tolerate these misconceptions being spread by the media.

In my view, there is no other disease that is so consistently misrepresented in news broadcasts which I feel is an enormous disrespect to all of us - people with type 1, people with type 2, families, friends and colleagues. So many hours are spent educating the public on AIDS, cancer, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and now autism.

This entire disease is ridden with media misconceptions. I’m tired of it. We’ve raised our voices inside this community with our blogs posts and message board threads. It’s time to move this conversation outside of our circle. We need to stop chastising journalists and instead we need to prevent it from even happening. Proactive, not reactive. We need to start sending these letters to those who have the biggest influence in public knowledge: the journalists. Start small. Contact your local newspaper’s health reporter. Contact your local TV channel. Tell them your story. It’s worth being told. Even if you don’t get on the television, even if you aren’t in a newspaper, at least the reporter is aware for the next World Diabetes Day, for the next celebrity diagnosis, for the next athlete’s achievement.

We need to start now.

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?

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).

Appetizer

Just a quick little blog before the big massive one coming later today…

The memoir meme is going around. Most of you have probably seen it, so I’m not going to bother posting the rules.

Here is mine:

I love life, and you too.

So. Much. To. Do.

I have less than three days left before I take off for my vacation in Boston with my mom. I’m leaving immediately after work - actually I’ll probably leave about an hour early to try to beat traffic - on Friday and I’ll be gone until Tuesday night. My mom doesn’t actually leave until Thursday, so we’re spending Wednesday in the city. Which basically means I have to prepare myself for being away for almost a week.

There is so much to do.

I had to pick up my contact today and buy an iPod USB cable (which went missing about a month ago). I also need iPod car adapter so I can listen to music on my drive up, get my oil changed because I’m way way behind, send out second round of questions for the JDRF Blogger Round Table, try to get some progress made on the Diabetes Self-Management article and JDRF article, and clean my apartment or at least enough so that my mother doesn’t gasp when she sees the way I’m living, which I have to admit isn’t very pretty at the moment.

Did I mention I work nine hours a day?

It’s a lot and I’m already tired.

By the way, if there are any college students or just-out-of college students who would like to answer a few questions about nutrition during college, please shoot me an email at amblass at gmail dot com or leave me a comment with your contact information.

Boundaries.

Ever since Kerri posted about the play that she, Nicole, Shannon and Julia went to a couple weeks ago, I’ve been thinking about the whole concept of Internet privacy and boundaries and how they play a role - if any - in how I blog. Anyone who reads my Twitter feed has probably seen a couple of casual mentions about starting a new and different blog. It isn’t the first time that I have attempted to step away from the diabetes spotlight since I started blogging about it almost three years ago. My ill-fated attempt at creating an comprehensive blog for myself did not go as well as planned. The reason I think that happened is because I had already established a rather diabetes-heavy audience and switching to an entirely new topic (my life in college) didn’t gel very well because most of the people who read my blog were not in college and I often felt a bit boring.

So an audience disconnect was one problem.

Another problem that I’m mulling over is the fact that there are things that I want to write about that I’m not necessarily sure I want the entire world to know that I’m writing. I became “Internet famous” at a rather young age. I was sixteen years old when I started my first website, I was seventeen when I started hosting Teen Talk, I was nineteen when I started this blog and I was twenty when I started Diabetes Teen Talk.

I went to prom, graduated from high school, started college, met new friends, dealt with deadlines, had my first job, traveled the country, took finals, met new people, got interviewed, graduated from college, found my first real job and moved across the country all on the Internet.

That’s a lot of my life, and not even including all the conferences, meet-ups and magazine appearances I’ve had.

I’m not exactly an unknown person.
But there are things that I wish I could talk about without having to worry about my parents, my boss, my co-workers, my grandparents and cousins and friends (all of whom read this blog ::waves::).

I feel stuck, in a way. I don’t want to stop writing about diabetes. I love having this outlet and I love hearing that this has helped others, like the mother who wrote me this week, “Your blog gives me hope.”

I mean, how can you stop writing a blog after that?

On one hand I want to write more about my life and I want to write about things without worrying about offending anyone’s sensibilities or having it brought up in real-life conversations or held against me in the future. I have been reading some blogs written by other twentysomethings who talk about boys and sex and work and living on their own and fashion. I want to write about the ten million other things going on in my head because right now, I need a “twentysomething support group” much more than I need a “diabetes support group.” Handling a disease is easy compared to starting a life practically from scratch. I know that I haven’t written very much about my move across the country, but damn is it hard.

On the other hand, however, I don’t necessarily want any of the aforementioned groups to know every last detail about what I’m thinking about or what I did last Saturday night (not that I did anything last Saturday night - this is purely hypothetical…).

Sandra also posted today with concerns about privacy for her son and how to maintain a balance without embarrassing him. With this blog, I’ve always been pretty strict that I don’t talk about anything that could potentially embarrass the person I’m writing about. I don’t write about arguments with my parents, I don’t write about the stupid things my friends do and I pretty much avoid the topic of work at all costs (except for that one post about the holiday party, but that was somewhat diabetes related so I feel that can be excused). Everything is in the context of what we do, not what is said, and I feel that is a pretty safe avenue to go down.

I don’t even know how to end this post because I’m still unresolved. There’s no magical resolution sentence saying, “But I’m going to do this and live happily ever after… the end!”

How do you break out of your shell without anyone knowing?

Eight in ‘08

8 Things I’m Passionate About.
1. Photography.
2. God.
3. Traveling.
4. Family.
5. Friends.
6. Writing.
7. Diabetes advocacy.
8. Social justice.

8 Things I Want to Do Before I Die.
1. Visit Israel.
2. Become a mother.
3. Become a grandmother.
4. Have a shotglass from every state and every country in the world.
5. Finish at 1,001 Things in 1,001 Days Challenge.
6. Have a wing of a museum named after me (I thought up this when I was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art when I was 15 and I still think it would be pretty cool!).
7. Learn to speak with a proper English accent.
8. Be at my goal weight and maintain it.

8 Things I Say Often.
1. “Good morning!”
2. “Uh… what?” Or sometimes, “Uh… who?” especially when my boss and/or co-workers discuss 80s and early 90s pop culture for which I was either not born and/or not culturally aware.
3. “I’m tired…”
4. “You’re going to Twitter that, aren’t you?”
5. “What’s up?”
6. “Oh my God…”
7. “Awesome.”
8. “See ya.”

8 Books I’ve Read Recently.
1. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
2. The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke by Suze Orman
3. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
4. The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith
5. part of How to Date Men by Janis Spindel

Parts of two of books, which I have not continued - not because they were bad but because I just stopped reading them. I have a really hard time with reading these days, mostly because I have fallen out of the habit of reading. I just don’t carve out the time like I used to and when I do, I feel like stopping rather quickly. It took me almost a month to read Eat, Pray, Love when it takes most people just a few days. That’s why I put reading 1,001 books on my Challenge list, but obviously I’m not doing such a hot job with that one.

8 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over.
1. Porcelain - Moby
2. Almost Lover - A Fine Frenzy
3. pretty much anything by Madonna, especially late 80s/early 90s to mid 90s Madonna, which is what got me hooked on her to begin with.
4. Let Go - Frou Frou
5. Faster Kill, Pussycat - Paul Oakenfold featuring Brittany Murphy (yes, *that* Brittany Murphy)
6. Marcella Behind Liquid Blue Eyes - Dahlia (you owe it to yourself to listen to Dahlia at least once)
7. Clark Gable - The Postal Service (but really anything by The Postal Service)
8. Breathe (2 a.m.) - Anna Nalick

8 Things That Attract Me to My Best Friends.
1. They are completely different from me.
2. They are brilliant and brave.
3. They are hilarious.
4. They don’t pay any attention to the diabetes, unless it’s absolutely necessary.
5. They understand the importance of certain traditions that no one else does (namely, Candy Houses).
6. They challenge me to think outside my box.
7. They know how to have a good time, and they know how to get me to have a good time, too!
8. They listen.

People I Think Should Do Crazy 8s.
1. Everyone reading this, duh.

One (Not One Hundred and One)

A new meme is floating around. You’ve probably seen it on Beth’s, Amylia’s and Jillian’s blogs.

You leave a comment and tell me one word that you think describes me.

I think this is actually very interesting because I often received memes and surveys from friends on my Livejournal blog throughout the years (that one is strictly for high school and college friends - sorry folks!) and quite a few had the question, “What are X number of words that people use to describe you?” And I always answered, “I don’t know! Ask them!”

So now I’ll know.

Thanks in advance.

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/
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