Tired of it all...

Yesterday, we went out to lunch. The Lions normally meet at the Knights of
Columbus hall but the new club President is also a board member at a local
museum. So, we went to the formal dining room of this museum and had a
really nice salad. Well, for $6 each and a choice of water or ice tea it
damned sure better have been nice! (Actually, it was quite a bit nicer than
the current meals at the Knights or maybe that is simply the shock of
something new. When I went to junior college, we got a new catering service
one year and we all thought the new food was wonderful. However, after about
the fifth time we'd had some recipes, we were completely tired of it!)

We were supposed to have ice cream for desert but they never brought it out.
I had been wondering if Carla was going to rag on me about eating ice cream
but she never got a chance.

After the Lions meeting, I went to the first aid course (1:30 - 4:08). It
was supposed to be a two hour course but I kind of helped make it run late.
Then, I decided that I was completely sick and tired of "being good" and
went to Dairy Queen and had myself a medium hot fudge sundae. Well, having
done this, I'm fully ready to "be good" for a while longer...

less pain...

I recently saw an ad for a blood sugar sampling method that promises "less pain"! Well, if you want "less pain", then avoid the fingers and sample off your forearms or tops of your thighs. Just realize that the pain induced is quite trivial and easily ignored (this from someone who flinches when his finger is "pricked"!)

This ad just seems like explotation to me.

As an aside, you can't tell where my brother-in-law Jack Q. is testing his blood just by looking at his forearms...

I guess my "secret" is fairly safe. (Secret? With the exception of my side of the family, my diabetes is known to everyone who matters to me...)

Instruction...

About 8 years ago, I was remembering that my father and his older brother
had gotten into a pissing contest and had not talked to each other from
early spring 1971 to sometime in the late 1980s. I decided that my brother
Jeff and I were in danger of this happening so I wrote my dear brother,
explained this and said it was time to patch up those childhood problems.
Well, me dear brother wrote back saying that if it weren't for us being
brothers, we would never have met. He talked about his life
revolving around his wife, kids, in-laws, co-workers, church friends, etc.,
etc. and effectively disowned me.

I was pissed.

My feelings were hurt.

Well, my youngest brother was also disowned and we felt closer for this.
About two years ago, my brother's Jim and Charlie were with my wife and I at
my Mother's house. Jim explained that Jeff had "driven a wedge between him
and his brothers". Jim didn't know why. I would have figured that Charlie
and I are lowly 5 figure a year worker bees and Jim is in the low 6 figures
and Jeff makes a lot more. We figured that having kids in common and not
being a lowly wage slave would have bonded Jim and Jeff. Apparently not; Jim
was apparently "beyond the pale" as well.

We're going to drive over and see my mother later this summer. She has
scheduled a family dinner and told me that Jeff and his younger daughter
will be coming to town. I was completely shocked! I haven't seen Jeff's
second girl since she was in diapers and now she is in 5th grade! It will be
like meeting the girl for the first time!

Well, I'm going to make the most of this visit as I'm not likely to meet the
girl again until my mother's funeral and then I will likely never see her
again.

So, how do I feel about lying to my family or at least not being candid
about the type 2?

No big deal! I haven't told my parents (mother now) or brothers anything
that really matters to me since I was 13 or 14. This would be about 38 to 40
years of secretiveness and I don't really see anything to be gained by the
speaking. My family has become my wife's father (a widower), my wife's
sisters, their husbands and to a minor extend the nieces and nephews.

I'll change that a little. My youngest brother is in the "family category".
My other brothers are in the brother but not at all close" category. 'Tis
a damn shame, actually. When my brother Jim and I were small boys, people
thought we were fraternal twins (one bigger than the other) since we were
inseparable.

I grieve for the loss of my family and wonder if doing an 8 step and 9 step
"admission of guilt" for my "sins of omission" might help?

too high and then too low...

On Monday, 21 June 2004, I saw my MD as a follow up to the pneumonia. He
asked what my blood sugar readings were. When I told him, he said the
readings were too low! I started this business of two
tabs (500 mg each) per day of metformin and two blood sugar tests a day, two
days a week since he was concerned.

This was a bit of a let down. It would seem that my body is reacting in the
abnormal category. (Like this is a surprise to me? Hugh amounts of caffeine
put me to sleep and commercial sleeping pills have me wandering around the
house, wide awake and stoned. I avoid both...)

Take this test!

For you folks who believe in the slogan from George Orwell's "1984" ("Ignorance is Bliss"), here is a gentle little wake up call. Take this test produced by the American Diabetes Association.

I took it somewhat after the fact and the test was quite accurate.

I "took" it for a co-worker of mine and guessed that he didn't have Diabetes in his family and probably underestimated his weight. My friend came up in the "high risk category!

I think that I'll xerox off the printed version and distribute them to all my co-workers. Perhaps, I can cloak in the guise of a "work place related issue " and get our union steward to "stir her stumps" and distribute the forms (no, this woman isn't probably at risk for diabetes as she is rather slender; very nicely "top sided" but we married men aren't supposed to notice such "d"-lightful things! (Married but definitely not blind!)

Back to an earlier subject: if you think Orwell was unduely pessimistic, reread "1984" or "Animal Farm" and then consider the number of cities putting cameras on the streets...