So a couple of weeks ago I was honored to be featured on Kelly Writers' House Live, airing on Philadelphia's WXPN 88.5fm. I'd like to thank my friends at Apiary magazine for inviting me to appear, and I'd like to thank Michaela Majoun for her gracious hosting. Also a big thanks to the University of Pennsylvania for having such an awesome Writers' House and a great bunch of people in it, including Alex (I could have her name wrong) who was running the show.
It'll be archived online soon enough, and I'll let you all know where you can go listen once it's up.
But all this poetry stuff has me thinking--is there a way to combine writing with helping people with diabetes? Has anybody done writing workshops for PWDs? Do you think people would be interested? I am seriously contemplating how to facilitate this one; I think it could be a cool exercise in patient empowerment.
So much brainstorming right now about so many different subjects! This is merely one thing that's on my mind, but I figured a great thing to bring up among my diabetes community compadres.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Any takers? Maybe?
Have a great weekend, all.
Over a decade of high levels of glucose and geekery.
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Friday, March 8, 2013
Monday, November 19, 2012
Oh, You Know, Just Being Awesome.
I've talked about writing poetry. I've talked about performing poetry. If you've been waiting to see me actually do a poem, here it is! Thanks to all my Philadelphia poetry family.
And thanks to Warren, who is a great friend and a fantastic poet. His editorial suggestions for poems are usually quite good, and his compliments are among some of the most sincere and well thought-out I've received regarding my writing in the past year.
And now, on with the show! Diabetes Online Community friends, welcome to hearing the sound of my voice! (At least my poetry performance voice.)
And thanks to Warren, who is a great friend and a fantastic poet. His editorial suggestions for poems are usually quite good, and his compliments are among some of the most sincere and well thought-out I've received regarding my writing in the past year.
And now, on with the show! Diabetes Online Community friends, welcome to hearing the sound of my voice! (At least my poetry performance voice.)
Thursday, November 1, 2012
And so November begins...
It's Movember! It's NaNoWriMo and NaBloPoMo!
It's National Epilepsy Awareness Month!
And most importantly, for most readers of this blog (as well as the author), it's National Diabetes Month.
JDRF declares the first day of November to be T1D - Type 1 Day. Wego Health has also declared this month to be National Health Blog Post Month. Whew! That's a lot of stuff. It's in the spirit of Wego Health's post suggestions that I start this month. I am going to aim to follow them for all 30 days, but we'll see what happens, eh?
Wego says one of the Day 1 topics is "why I write about my health", and what better day to say something than Type 1 Day?
I write about my health because it helps me immensely to be a part of a community that really "gets it". Having diabetes isn't easy. Keeping it in control isn't easy. If you are the type of person who doesn't need to talk about what's going on in their life in order to feel happy, you probably would never feel the need to blog about anything. I am a writer. I am compelled to write about everything--what I ate for breakfast, who I have a crush on, what my blood glucose is right now. Many people do not understand that latter fact.
The people who understand the most about having Type 1 Diabetes also have it themselves, and while some of these people live near me, many of them don't. Many of us took to the internet in the hopes of finding community, insight, and the occasional bit of advice.
I write about my health because sharing my story with diabetes is cathartic for me. I love storytelling, both real and fictional. There are days I feel my life revolves around telling stories, and if I can't involve diabetes in these stories I am, in essence, denying a part of myself.
I actually wrote about this a bit here as well.
If you are reading Dorkabetic for the first time, welcome. These are my stories. They are sometimes better when accompanied by a beverage of your choice or a bowl of ice cream. Stick around for more.
It's National Epilepsy Awareness Month!
And most importantly, for most readers of this blog (as well as the author), it's National Diabetes Month.
JDRF declares the first day of November to be T1D - Type 1 Day. Wego Health has also declared this month to be National Health Blog Post Month. Whew! That's a lot of stuff. It's in the spirit of Wego Health's post suggestions that I start this month. I am going to aim to follow them for all 30 days, but we'll see what happens, eh?
Wego says one of the Day 1 topics is "why I write about my health", and what better day to say something than Type 1 Day?
I write about my health because it helps me immensely to be a part of a community that really "gets it". Having diabetes isn't easy. Keeping it in control isn't easy. If you are the type of person who doesn't need to talk about what's going on in their life in order to feel happy, you probably would never feel the need to blog about anything. I am a writer. I am compelled to write about everything--what I ate for breakfast, who I have a crush on, what my blood glucose is right now. Many people do not understand that latter fact.
The people who understand the most about having Type 1 Diabetes also have it themselves, and while some of these people live near me, many of them don't. Many of us took to the internet in the hopes of finding community, insight, and the occasional bit of advice.
I write about my health because sharing my story with diabetes is cathartic for me. I love storytelling, both real and fictional. There are days I feel my life revolves around telling stories, and if I can't involve diabetes in these stories I am, in essence, denying a part of myself.
I actually wrote about this a bit here as well.
If you are reading Dorkabetic for the first time, welcome. These are my stories. They are sometimes better when accompanied by a beverage of your choice or a bowl of ice cream. Stick around for more.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
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?
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?
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