Goodbye, 2013.

Out with the old; in with the new.  Sounds like a good plan to me.

In 2013, I didn't blog as much as I wanted.  I renewed my URL, but never quite got it applied because of the hassle I was going through and a lack of time.  I allowed aspects of my struggling work life to interfere with the life I enjoy, but at the same time, I made a lot of changes for the better.  What happened that was notable?

I was a reader on Live from the Kelly Writers' House on WXPN fm.

I had a couple of poetry features in different places.

I was published in APIARY Magazine, then later ended up joining their staff as Coordinator of Outreach and PR.  I met a lot of really great people by doing this, and my life is better for it.

I celebrated my 31st trip around the sun, and my 23rd year with Type 1.

I moved into the City of Philadelphia proper.  I am still learning the ways to make it my home, but it's coming along nicely.  I like it here.

Despite the anxiety and stress I've been under on the job, I still get up, I still come in, I still do my work.  2014 is the year the daily grind is going to stop grinding me down.  I will find something new.  The "daily grind" will be more like some fresh-ground espresso--exciting, energizing...good-smelling?

I made plans to get myself in gear after a really awful A1C.

I got a new insulin pump!  (Tandem T-Slim)

I decided on a potential name for my Dexcom G4: Jadzia.  If you ever watched Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, you will hopefully find this as amusing as I do.

Here in December, I began experimenting on Victoza.  I took a little break for the holidays, but I plan on being back on it by Thursday.  I am definitely going to share some experiences with you all.

I didn't write enough blog posts.

I got to be a guest on DSMA Live!

I dressed an insulin vial up for Halloween.

I wrote some new poems, but I definitely didn't write enough of those either.

I wrote one short-short story, and that felt pretty good.  I think I need to do more of that.

I changed my hair color a couple of times.

I discovered how much I love brightly colored and bold lipsticks.

I let my inner girly-girl win out and got subscriptions to Ipsy, Birchbox, and Julep.  (If anybody else out there would be interested, I think I have referral links you can use that benefit both of us in the end.)

I met Scott J!  And Cherise!  And Sara K!  And Mike Lawson!  And Hannah and Aaron and Jerry the Bear!  And Chris Snider!  And Colleen!  And I saw Allison and Kerri and Manny and others!  What a kickass year for DOC hugging!!  It deserves more exclamation points than I can comfortably continue to fit in this little line break.

Most of all, I am happy I made it through another year in relative good health and high spirits.  May we all learn something from 2013, may we all reflect fondly on the good things.  Happy New Year, Dorkabetic readers!  See you in 2014!

D-Blog Week, Day 2: One Great Thing

Yesterday, I mentioned on Twitter that I've never heard anybody say that they love having diabetes.  I did have one excellent response to the comment.  Basically, the person responding said diabetes has forced them to "keep fit and make healthier choices".  I definitely agree that is an upside!  I am also sure that most of us, given the choice, would NOT choose to continue having diabetes if given the opportunity to ditch it on the side of the road somewhere.

So what's one great thing that diabetes has done for me?  Well, it pretty much forced me to become a blogger.

In 2006, the word "blog" was pretty new, and the word itself made me gag a little.  I just didn't like the sound of it, much like I hate the words "eyesore" and "moist" and "sportswear".  Having a Livejournal account for years, I was much more accustomed to the phrase "online journal", wherein you could go and type whatever was on your mind.  Blogs were becoming a thing, and at the time, diabetes management was becoming a thing for me.

I wasn't long out of college, and I never had any friends with diabetes.  I was feeling frustrated and struggling with depression.  I turned to the internet to see what people were saying about diabetes and what kind of message boards were out there.  It wasn't long until I discovered the burgeoning Diabetes OC.  There weren't so many of us back then, and it took another couple of years for tweeting to really catch on.  Yet I found a little piece of something on the interwebs, people with smiling faces and joyful lives who also had to pause to check their blood glucose levels.  They were bloggers who struggled and laughed, who shared good times and bad with diabetes.

Finally, I found a place to share my own thoughts on living like this.  I do hope I've found a way to help some of my non-diabetic friends understand what it's like.  Without writing this blog, where would I talk about the guilt-ridden nuances that ride on top of a heavily frosted cupcake?  Where could I post pictures of my Dexcom read-outs and make jokes that involve the song "Love Rollercoaster"?  Blogging is a one-stop-shop for me to talk all things diabetes.

Being a "blogger" became less about using a stupid-sounding title, and more about regularly writing and speaking my mind.  

Blogging helps me connect to the various ins and outs of social media.  Knowing a lot about social media makes me feel like an expert, and using this expertise is something that I hope will land me a new job at some point in the future.

Not everyone I know can say they have their own dot-com web address.  Blogging makes me write and care about presentation.  Blogging makes me Tweet and start a Facebook fan page.  Blogging makes me curious about all the latest programs for managing all the social media in your life.

Blogging keeps me current.  Diabetes keeps me blogging.  It's not so bad for a word I never liked that much in the first place.  And sure, diabetes always keeps me on my toes, which is sometimes a good way to be, but I guess I am grateful that diabetes, burdensome as it can be, is one more thing that spurs on my passions.

I assure you this: if they cure diabetes in the next few years, well, I hope you like really personal blog updates, because what else am I going to talk about?