The Corner Booth

It's no secret that I am a fan of both coffee and beer. Oh, and by the way: I'm now in my 30th year of living with Type 1 diabetes. And if you are here on The Corner Booth , you're quite aware that blogging is something that's also part of my world. Guess what? Now all of those items -- coffee, beer, diabetes and blogging -- are going to be my writing focus here on my personal blog. Since I'm now only days away from hitting my 35-year mark of life on this rock, I decided it was time for a bit of change. So not only am I focusing more on myself this year, but the writing is going to get a makeover here, too. Just refer to it as: The Diabetic's Corner Booth , 2.0 -- or more appropriately, Brew Point Oh . The focus: Anything written here will have been penned within a coffee shop or microbrew, or the topic du jour will be about java or beer. Hey, and where appropriate: diabetes will be mixed into the brew, as well. As I said, Brew Point Oh. I just l

The little iPod-sized medical device vibrates next to me. It's lounging on the bed just below the pillow where my head's still mostly-sleeping. Even on vibrate, I can hear it making noise. After pretending not to hear it, I reluctantly look. Even in this sleepy state, my D-curiosity can't be fully quenched. "High" The 200 mg/dL line has been crossed, and I've jumped even higher. From the several-hours overnight where I was cruising safely in the high 100s. And apparently, I'm heading toward the mid-200s. Maybe even upwards. It's about 6:30 in the morning. Eyes still half-closed, yet I can fumble and feel to see whether my infusion set's still connected. It is, so at least there's that. A peek at the insulin pump nearby shows I've got 38 units of insulin, so there's that, too. Grumble. "Leave me, alone." Whatever the culprit, this isn't the time. I'm not Low and I'm not sky-high enough to ca

Diabetes attitudes are pretty much the two sides of the same coin. On one side: positivity and optimism where everything's a "blessing" and you're working with your diabetes, not against it. "It's manageable, and there's a lot to be grateful for," you might say. And the flip side: Negativity and pessism, where you "battle" diabetes and see it as a burden, constant struggle or something nearly impossible to manage. Or hey: "it's a devastating disease that kills and leads to complications." Whatever. It's the same fucking coin. The day and mood just changes, dictating whether you need to flip the coin to the other side or not. You can be empowering at times, embracing the mantra of You Can Do This and sharing inspirational stories. While at other times, you have to allow yourself to be afraid, motivated by the possibility of complications or bad things if you don't at least TRY to do what you're supposed. E

So, this is the New Year. There's a lot to say, but so much doesn't need to be spoken. Some things are better left unsaid, as the saying goes. As we enter a New Year and go through both reflection of the year's past and what lies ahead of us, there is much to think about. Without getting all mushy and reflective on times gone by, here's my personal plan for 2014: I'm going to write more personal stuff here on The Corner Booth , as had been the case before mid-2012. It may be some personal diabetes stuff that's not all reporter-like and journalist-y, but it will be more the Coffee & Conversation that I'd once loved so much. Whatever the topic, it will be real and from the heart. Promise you that. On that note, I want to be more real in real life ( as opposed to un-real life, since that's a thing. ) Have more face-to-face conversations with people.... with friends, family and strangers. At the same time, I don't want to be out in fr