If I were Robinson Crusoe

Here we are on Friday. TGIF? Not this time. At least, not completely. A quote comes to mind as we hit the last day of this week, and I reflect on the progress made, strived for and not achieved.

"Only Robinson Crusoe had everything done by Friday."

 ~Author Unknown

Hmm.

Sadly, it doesn't appear that I'm Robinson Crusoe. So, this doesn't apply to me. For two reasons: A.) I'm not a castaway on a tropical island. B.) While making it this far through the week feels like a tremendous victory, my To Do List lingers on and continues haunting me. Stealing sleep and stressing me out like a man who dropped his bacon on the floor.

So, as I scramble to end the week on a more productive note, I offer a light, randomly-assembled recap of the week's Highs & Lows plus a preview of what's down the road in the week(s) ahead.

(Warning: Link heavy, but all are worth the mentions!)

• Rain, please. Seriously. Why the Fuzzle Navel doesn't it rain anymore in Indiana? It cooled down slightly, but is bone dry. I'm tired of this crap. Someone needs to get on this. I'll sign the petition. Just make it happen. My lawn is begging you.
• Traffic needs to go away. I mean, Why The Hockey haven’t we developed what was clearly promised to us by now?!? Scottie isn’t just beaming us to where we need to be, and I don’t see flying DeLoreans making life any easier. I call shenanigans. As a result of this false marketing, I should not be held accountable for whatever road rage might be necessary by stupid drivers. Clearly, MY being on time for a Supreme Court argument should take priority over the rest of you idiots who are just in my way. Clearly.
• To Panera Bread: If you list on your menu a price for half of a sandwich, then customers shouldn’t be told you can only sell them a full sandwich. Taking advantage of their Low blood sugar states of mind and forcing them to pay for a full sandwich, plus a cookie, because they can’t think straight just isn’t cool.
• You do NOT want to screw with me on a morning when I have NO coffee in my system following a few nights of little sleep. To random Man In a Suit on the Street Corner: I apologize to you and whoever was on the other end of your cell phone during my post-Low lunatic rant on the Thursday lunch-hour.
• Just when the stress stomps you down and causes you to lose the ability to appreciate what you have in life, someone starts firing a gun atop a parking garage a block from your office before ultimately taking his own life. This tragic story happened Thursday afternoon, causing me to step back and re-evaluate everything I have and love and how good life is, despite the stresses.
• “God is Great. Beer is Good. People are Crazy.” Yes, I like that country song.
• This week whirled by. But the fastest hour was Wednesday evening from 9-10 p.m. Eastern. That's when the Diabetes Online Community gathers for Diabetes Social Media Advocacy (@DiabetesSocMed) on Twitter (#dsma), an awesome discussion organized by my fellow Indiana D-Blogger Cherise Shockley. This was Week 6, and the dynamic discussion delved into how D-Living may have shaped you into the person you are today, how people mark their diaversaries, songs that might go out to diabetes, three words describing your Life With Diabetes, and whether you think a cure will come in this lifetime. Mark your calendars and join in, if you haven't already!
• Carey over at dLife had an outstanding post called What if Charlie Had Diabetes?, which explores how parts of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory might have played out if little Charlie Bucket was in fact diabetic. A must-read, equal to the extraordinarily fun one by Jacquie a month ago called Beauty and the Betes: A Diabetes Fairy Tale.
• Honesty, Inspiration, & Poetry: 1.) If you missed it, K2 over at diabetesaliciousness had a great honest post about recognizing your strength and finding yourself. Worth a read. 2.) Shamelessly plugging myself, I'd invite you to once again check out my non-D post from Wednesday about finding inspiration and achieving your dreams. 3.) Once upon a time, I was a regular poet. My poetic pen does more resting than writing these days, but my eyes still dance at the chance to read whatever poems might be out there. There are many great spots to find it, but always on my list is Crystal's poetry over at Randomly Capitalized. Of course, this all tides me over until I find the time to fully dig into the "No Sugar Added" book that I snagged in late June.
• Speaking of books, that reminds me. I have too many on my bookshelves. The home office is overflowing. Yet, I want more. I could spend days just wasting away in bokstores and libraries, reading about whatever fits the mood. Most recently, I've set my sights on the works of fellow D-Blogger and Advocate Wil Dubois, who's penned several through the years and I want to read. Another is Richard Vaughn's chronicling of his 64+ years with Type 1, in Beating the Odds. These sound like worthy Christmas gifts (hint hint, wink wink...)
• My Pump Hiatus ends soon, and I finally get to re-connect to my pump (affectionately named Bacon Gibbs). This will likely happen by mid-week, which also happens to be National Infusion Site Awareness Week. Got a cool box on this in mail this week. Stocked full of goodies. Like cool temp tattoos that I may have to get some use out of.
• Cats rule. Dogs do, too. While I truly love my Riley Dog and Shadow Cat, there's an almost endless array of doggy coolness and feline frenzy out in the DOC! One of the newest I've come across online is loyal and awesome D-Alert dog Bradley. We must also pay homage to Wren, a courageous cat who's moved on after living with diabetes while on this Earth.
• The Indiana JDRF put together an Adult Type 1 D-Meetup on Thursday evening, on the northside of Indy at Joe's Crabshack. Despite not having the time because of work, I was so incredibly excited about it and made it up there to meet some new D-Friends! Recap coming on that Monday.
• Oh, don't forget it's D-Feast Friday. So make sure to check out all the yumy recipes likely posted throughout the DOC. You can find a comprehensive recipe rundown over at Lorraine's D-Feast kitchen-blog at This is Caleb.
• My wife's birthday is on Tuesday, Aug. 31. She's simply the best, and totally rocks. Totally. Sure, I'm biased. But I'd venture to guess that you'd probably agree with me. So, raise an ice cream cone in her honor. We will have cake. And ice cream. All of which plays into Diabetes Art Day on Sept. 1!
• Yes, kicking off the month is D-Art Day, inspired by the all-wonderful Lee Ann over at The Butter Compartment. I'll be working on my contributions this weekend, and you'll be able to see MANY throughout the online world.  
• September is my favorite time of year, best month in my opinion. It'd be even better if Suz's birthday was a day later, but whatever. Love the cooling weather. The Pure Michigan color-changes kick into high gear (I do miss that). Month of wedding anniversaries (including our 5th), as well as the slate of doc visits during what was once back-to-school time. I have an Endo visit Sept. 21, in which I'll be excited to participate in a new fun little Flickr activity that our Ninjabetic created, dubbed Waiting With Diabetes. Now, I just wonder  who the first person will be to get scolded or in trouble for brandishing a camera in a waiting room... (heh heh heh)

So, that's all. Lots of good stuff going on - past, present, soon-to-be. But as I mentioned at the beginning, my name isn't Robinson Crusoe. If it was, not only would I be a cool island-living dude but you also might have more substance here than these scattered thoughts. I might also have had a chance to read all the many many many D-Blogs out there. But it is what it is. So, happy Friday and best weekend wishes!