Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 5:00AM MTV used to have a comedy sketch show called The State which I used to watch. Not every sketch was great but this is one that stuck and I am sure you will know why.
Monday, July 20, 2009 at 9:23AM My CGMS use has been almost 24/7 since I received my sensors from Minimed. I have however taken a day off between just to give myself a little break since I have been able to get 7 days out of each one.
Except for the one I put on Friday night.
I think I have mentioned how intimidating the needle is for this thing. I swear, it looks like a sewing needle and no I am not exaggerating. It does make my infusion sets look like nothing which is good.
Anyhow this one was a bleeder. Like massive amounts of blood. And what was annoying was it didn’t start bleeding until after it was in and all taped up.
I noticed it felt funny so I lifted up my shirt to take a peek at the site and what I saw looked like a sea
shell in a small aquarium filled with blood. So gross.
I pulled of the Tegaderm, mopped up the blood that was everywhere at this point, and applied some pressure to get it to stop. After a few days (it seemed) the bleeding stopped and taped the transmitter back down.
Saturday morning was spot on. A finger stick and the CGM were 3 points apart which is pretty awesome. Later the day we went to a friends how for a BBQ. I snacked on some cheese and crackers when we got there as I chatted away with my friends.
We all went outside and cracked open beers as we played some Bocce Ball. I realized that I never bolused for the crackers and beer so I pulled my pump out of my pocket to check the CGM, it read 108 and showed that I had been at 108 for the last hour. Yeah right!
Try 364!!!
So I just stopped the sensor on my pump and took the thing off.
I think I will try again tonight but I was just too frustrated over the weekend to try again.
For those of you without CGMS, I still love it even though I do get frustrated and for those of you who do have it, does this always happen when you have a bad bleeder? Any suggestions on how to avoid this?
Friday, July 17, 2009 at 11:57AM My friend was taken off of life support yesterday but is still holding on.
My friend and co-worker’s father passed away yesterday.
My boss' father in law passed away last night.
I am here.
You are here.
Enjoy your weekend.
Enjoy it because you have it.
Enjoy it because you can.
Choose to enjoy life.
Love, George
Thursday, July 16, 2009 at 9:10AM
As promised I wanted to tell you about Geocaching.
Here’s the deal, my buddy came over the other night to watch some X Files. He did not watch it when it was on and we were huge fans, I mean, we named our daughter Gillian.
Anyhow, We are currently enjoying season 6 and each week we will pick a night, watch a few episodes and just hang out. Monday night after two very great episodes my friend says, “Dude, have you ever heard of Geocaching?”
I know I had heard the term but it immediately made me think of Geology, a subject in which I fall promptly to sleep. Sorry guys it’s just not my thing. So I asked him to go on.
He told me about Geocaching and I was sold. Here’s what he said.
“Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.”
Ok, so maybe I pulled that from the website but however he explained it, I dashed to the computer to sign up and find my first cache!
Later that night (11:00) my wife got home while I was putting on my shoes and getting ready to walk out the front door.
“What are you doing,” she said holding back a giggle since she knows I am so bizarre.
“Um, we’ll be back, we are gonna go find something.”
So Matt (Sorry dude but saying “My Buddy” a million times reminds me of that boy doll thing) and I hopped in the car
and drove around to find our very first cache. And when we found it, it was over. I am in. I love it!
I downloaded an app for my iPhone that helps us find them and am already thinking about places I could place
my own cache which will be very cool. Last night I took the kids out and we found a couple together. They seemed to have a good time after we finally found our first one together. It’s tough to find them especially with so many Muggles (people that are not Geocaching) around. You don’t want non-players to find them and remove them or disturb them.
Anyhow, I know some of you are into this. Please share your stories and advice because I am a total noob and would love some direction.
And let me know if you are thinking about checking this out. I would love to hear about your adventures!
For more info check out www.geocaching.com
Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at 9:59AM I am a people person. You may have gathered that from the way I write and the things I write about. I love making friends, and I have many I am thankful to say.
So at work, many of the people that work at the companies I deal with on a daily bases become friends. Sure most live in other states and I will never meet them but talking to a person everyday, at least for me, causes a connection and a friendship can blossom.
Last week one of those people that I talk to almost daily, with whom I have inside jokes with, whom I have actually met a few times, who has helped me out in several sticky situations, had a heart attack. She is 49 years old with 2 kids. And now, she is lying in a hospital in a coma. 
I call the company she works for every morning to check on her condition. I pray for her and her family hoping they don’t lose hope and praying for strength to get through whatever is coming.
This morning I was told that there is no hope. They are taking her off of oxygen tomorrow and then only time will tell, but my friend Maria will never come back.
It’s awful that it takes things like this to get me to remember how short life is. I should know this. My dad died at 43. He was 7 years older than I am now! Why do we worry about tomorrow when today can be so awesome?
It was like last night when we saw Harry Potter. When the movie started Gillian nudged me with her elbow to signal her excitement. I could see her smiling and the screen and holding back a shout of joy when she saw the title.
I started tearing up.
Life is too short. Life is uncertain. All those things we know, and see on magnets, and yet still we continue to worry about tomorrow without living today.
I can’t do that. After hearing about Maria last week something went off in my head. Which was when I decided to have the little adventure with my family on Saturday. It’s what made sure I did not blow off the club fundraiser thing on Sunday and which had me out until 1AM on Monday searching my city for Geocache (a post is coming about that).
Seven years is nothing and who knows when my time is due. I have WAY more health issues than my dad so how can I sit here and not make every day a memory with my kids? I have to. I love them so I have to. My mom and dad were divorced so my memories were made every other weekend. I am with my kids everyday and every day is a gift.
I hate that Maria’s situation has ignited a spark in me that should have been there already.
But if anything, I can say she helped me out one last time.
