Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Jason Statham's Cranked Up Cozmo


I enjoy all kinds of movies, and last night was no exception. Netflix delivered us the action fun-fest known as Crank, which features Jason Statham running all over Los Angeles like a one-man-army. All you really need to know about the basic concept is that the bad guys drugged Statham's character. If his adrenaline stops pumping, he'll die. It's sort of like Speed 3: Bodily Fluids (or...um...whatever).

There is one scene near the end of the movie where Statham's character's doctor has hooked him up to some kind of portable pumping device that's feeding epinephrine and meth into his system. He gets into a fight and a guy pulls the whole thing out.

I cringe, knowing the pain of a snagged infusion set. Owwwwww.

And then...OH and then...

The crime boss says, "What is that thing, an insulin pump?"

I kid you not.

Then, to break the audience's confusion (or to amuse the diabetics), one of the crime boss's goons says something to the effect of, "What the f*** is insulin?"

Fighting re-commences.

And now that I look at it, I realize that the movie pump looked identical to this Deltec Cozmo, except perhaps dark blue...or maybe blue and silver?

At first I figured one of the writers either had diabetes or had a close friend or family member with diabetes. Now I'm wondering if it's an odd product placement for Deltec Cozmo pumps! It's probably unlikely.

Congrats, Cozmo users. Your pump is famous.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Resolutions and...um...Reservations?


A friend of mine recently was talking about having New Year's Eve all over again, just taking another night to start over. To feel like the slate is clean.

I rarely make New Year's resolutions. I generally want to avoid disappointing myself, because like many people out there, I don't keep them. For years, every year I resolve to take better care of myself, my diabetes, lose some weight, get into shape...and it just doesn't happen.

This year, I want to do something different. So here it is, going on the end of January, and I am ready to start doing better things for myself all around. Tomorrow I'm buying new sneakers. Tuesday I'm heading to the gym after work. I have to also remember to Paypal my 5 bucks to Allison over at the OC New Me Challenge. I am hoping that working out, eating better and more frequent testing will be made easier by the support of all my OCNM peers.

So...um...

Let's get physical!

*puts on Olivia Newton-John 80's workout headband*

My other inspiration for getting in better shape right now? My job.

I work at a liquor distributor. I am the assistant to the sales department there, so I get to spend my days surrounded by wine, beer and liquor. I'm not a huge drinker, but I like a little now and then, so it's cool to be able to have knowledge of what's on the market and what the best wines are. (I'm still learning though, so I don't really have any suggestions at this point...) It's a great job for me...I'm always doing something different.

Sometimes doing something different involves lifting stuff. Cases of glass bottles can be relatively heavy, at least for someone like me. My arms are relatively thin, but they are definitely more cuddly than muscular. You know that Bugs Bunny cartoon where he makes a muscle, but instead of bulging up like the bad guy's, his skinny little arm just goes slack in the middle and droops down? That's me. So 12 bottles of wine in a box? Difficult lifting.

Then this past week, I didn't know if I was going to make it. It combined my general lack of arm muscle with my fear of heights. I was helping out with pulling Point-of-Sale items from my employer's warehouse. Bar mirrors and lighted signs weigh a lot. And climbing a big metal stepladder, even with railings on it, is pretty scary for me. Maybe some more muscles will make me more confident in being six feet off the ground. Gulp.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Test Before You Drive

This story from my local paper shot up some mental red flags.

Be careful out there...I know I don't always test before I get in the car, but maybe it's something more of us should think about before your local paper needs to run a story saying your accident was caused by "complications of Diabetes Type 1".

I think that's a very strange way to put things. Was her accident caused by passing out from high or low bloodsugar? Did something else happen, like a seizure? Would this have been preventable if she had some glucose tabs or took some insulin?

Normally, when I think of someone who has died from diabetes complications, I think of heart or kidney disease. A coma induced by ketoacidosis...

I guess the lesson we should all learn here is just do a test before you get in the car, especially if you feel like your body is trying to tell you something. It's 5, maybe 10 seconds of your time that will save your car and also possibly your life.

What are YOUR thoughts?

Monday, January 8, 2007

Calling All Lurkers

Are you reading this right now and not posting any comments?

I'm not upset, don't worry. I just want to know who you are and if you have a d-blog of your own. Why so nosey? I studied journalism in college.

Oh, and also if you have a blog and you regularly read my blog, I want to link to your blog!

Hmm, I don't think I want to type "blog" so many times in a sentence again. It starts to look funny.

Also, I have joined The OC New Me Challenge. My A1c needs to come down, and honestly I'd love to weigh under 200 pounds again. Can I pull it off? I can at least try! Bring on the excercise, the BG monitoring, and the veggies!

Um, after I eat this pile of Pringles...shhhhh.

Friday, January 5, 2007

A Catch-Up in List Form Because I'm Lazy

1. My heart. It's beating too fast. Enter Atenolol into my already sizeable mix of drugs. The doctor didn't call it autonomic neuropathy, but she said it might have something to do with the diabetes. My thought is that my dad has a history of heart disease, and some kind of odd physical thing about his heart. I believe one of his arteries was bent oddly, which they discovered about a year ago when he had open heart surgery. So what is it to me? Right now, one more pill to take unless that doesn't improve things in the long run.

2. My new job is great. I have never been so busy at any job I've had. I am the assistant to the entire sales department of a beverage distributor. I'm learning more than my share about wines, liquors, and some beer. (Though thus far I've learned more about beer from my homebrewin' husband.) Ever get that feeling at a new job that you're a novelty in the department when you first show up? I think I may be the youngest person working at the company (except for a guy who looks my age out in the warehouse). I get to be creative and do some office-y stuff. Who's gonna learn to change a toner cartridge? Who's gonna make 200 copies of a Champagne Brunch menu and then cut them to size? Who's gonna call up the sales force to tell them to come pick up their damn samples already? Oh, that's just me. Plus, health benefits kick in this month. Rockin'.

3. Happy New Year. It's 2007. As one of my favorite Death Cab for Cutie songs goes, "So this is the new year, and I don't feel any different." I hope this year I can feel better. Maybe get healthy. Maybe join The OC New Me Challenge. I'll try to decide by tomorrow. I don't want to run out of time! Argh!

4. This Christmas, I got a refurbished iPod mini. It's pretty. I haven't tried to use it yet, because I am waiting to hook it up to my husband's old computer, and his iTunes has a bunch of music I don't like in it. I don't want that crap on my precious iPod...I want some freakin' pop-punk and show tunes and disco and 80's stuff...................

5. Saw the movie "Children of Men". Was blown away. If you like dystopian tales, see this movie--the gritty realism of a future Britain where no one can have children and the government stages a war against illegal immigrants, plus tidbits of heart and humor that don't feel forced or faked. There aren't many movies where you can see humans at their best AND worst.

6. An amusing story. At work the other day, I felt myself going low. Check my blood--81. I feel awful and need to drive home in half an hour. Sure, 81 is "normal" for some people, but since I'm usually high, I feel crappy. Hungry. Shaky. No glucose tabs in my purse. No candy in the sales office, and I don't feel like walking down to the reception desk to raid Carol's stash of LifeSavers. Into the break room I go, searching for a sugar packet, when what to my wandering eyes should appear? Individual-serve sweetened Coffee Mate (the liquid kind) in French Vanilla. I popped them open and drank them like shots. Honestly, they were pretty tasty by themselves. My roommate, upon hearing this, agreed on the tastiness, while my hubby and a friend both made faces and said, "Ugh, too sweet."

So, what's the most improvisational thing you've ever done to treat a low?