Saturday, June 29, 2013

Day 24. June 29th: Famous People!!!!!


Gotta Look cute..right!?
So yesterday, I recieved a FB message from someone I had met at the Students with Diabetes Conference in Tampa. She also recieved an internship through the SWD program, and has a placing in New Jersey with Novo Nordisk. She informed me she was coming to NYC today, and was wondering if I was available.


After going through my schedule, found out I was available!!!


Theater
We met up today at 1:30 outside of the theater on Christopher Street, for we were going to see a Broadway Show! (Technically Off-Broadway, but still cool!) I've only ever seen musicals, and this was not a muscial. It was also the last night for the show...called "Reasons to be Happy." Four actors, one stage (which we were in the front row for!), and minimal set.
It's my name!!!..In the Stars 
Pre-Show Stage

 It was awesome. Dramatic, funny, moving, and man can those actors cry on demand! Who was in it you may ask?


Well...
Jenna Fischer:
She played Pam on the T.V. Show "THE OFFICE!" She was amazing. and supper nice, because we got to meet her after the show! She was so personable, and kept thanking us for coming to watch. oh, and I got my picture with her!

Josh Hamilton:
He's done a lot of stuff, from movies to T.V. Shows. He also came out to say hello after the show!
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0357979/?ref_=sr_1


Leslie Bibb:
I couldn't figure out why she looked so familir, then after IMDB-ing her name, found out she was in IRON MAN 1 & 2! She was the reporter that Tony Stark was with! She's also been in Talladega nights, and Zookeeper. Unfortunately we did not get to see her after the show, but during, again, we were in the front row! (to the side, but that doesn't matter..)

Fred Weller:
His character was the most interesting, and intrigueing. Probably had the most growth. He has been in a bunch of other t.v. shows such as Plain Sight, Missing Persons, Blue Bloods, with appearances in THe Good Wife, Monk, and Law in Order. I did see him after the show!





After the amazing show, we found food at this fancy Italian Restuarant. 



After that, we made our way onto the subway and hit Time Square! This was Danica's first time, both on the subway, in NYC, and times square. She enjoyed seeing everything, and I enjoyed trying to be a tour guide! Of course, since we were limited on time before she had to hit the train back to New Jersey, we only went into the giant M&M store. Of course, met a few other "famous people on the way...
Chewbacca!

Batman, Ironman, Minnie Mouse, Master Chief
"Biggest Wall of Chocolate"

Then we had an adventure trying to find the Train Station part of Penn Station. Thankfully, we found her exact train right as they were on the final boarding calls. Talk about close timing!

Then I had to wait for my subway, for what seemed like ages, in the stifling, outrageous, hot underground. I felt disgusting. !







All in all, a GREAAAAAAAT Day! :)

Now to check on the Blood Sugar..It wanted to be high all day, but I think now, is ready for a boost back up again... guess we will have to take a check and find out!

If you want to read about another amazing Diabetic Intern's Experience...Check out Danica's Blog!
http://diabeticdanica.tumblr.com/


Day 23. June 28th: Whats wrong with having dinner twice?

So today was Friday!!!!!

Everything is better on a Friday...except all the work seems to build up and a rush to finish before the weekend!

A Perfect 100 BG
I was working hard on Children's Congress, and the giant push to the finish starts..well, 3 weeks ago.
I also did some more things on Twitter, creating tweets, and emailing ideas to people. I also had a few "meetings" as we worked through some more of the elements for putting on Children's Congress.

I went out to get lunch with the other intern in the office, and we sat ourside after our meal enjoying Bowling Green, the people, fountain, and pigeons.


After work, I knew I didn't want to go straight home, so I made my way to Battery Park. After snapping a few pictures, I then decided I just wanted to sit on the bench, listen to the jazz trumpeter, watch the ladies in their wedding dresses, and read my book.




I started reading Ender's Game (The Movie comes out this Fall...and has Harrison Ford in it, who is one of my favorite actors). I sat there for about an hour and a half. I thought it was going to rain on me a couple of times, but thankfully that didn't occur.
I made my way home, and started to make supper (Baked Potato). It was good, and I was just debating wether I wanted anything else when I got a text from my roommate (who had gone out for happy hour with a few other interns) saying they were going to get food in Korea Town, and if I wanted to join. I thought, eh, why not!

So I made my way to Korean Town. I waited outside the resturant for her to arrive with her other intern friends, and then we waited to be seated. This wasn't just an Americanized Korean place, it was legit! It had korean barbecue and you had to ask for a fork. In the group, I was the only (for lack of better term) white person. I was given a fork right away..I guess they knew I wasn't good with chopsticks. But I tried, and one of the other interns helped me out and gave ma lesson...Now I'm a Pro! (ok..not really, but at least I didn't starve). She also helped me decide what to eat, because, mind you, I had just had supper, so I wasn't very hungry. I ordered an apetizer, and went on her recommendation and it was good!

There was also a lot of other...random, unique, and traditional food on the table. It was such a cool expereince. The BBQ is also fried directly on the table, on a little burner as well! I really enjoyed meeting others my age, and we are making plans to see a movie (probably "The Internship") on Sunday!




Now, I have never had Korean Food before, So i had no clue what that was going to do to my Blood Sugars. They were high to start, and I didn't feel like I ate many carbs. To say the least, I went here with the good ole' Guess and Check method! I went to bed with a higher number, and woke up around 9am with a BG of 50. Glad I still wake up to being low. That is a blessing. I was actually having a dream about being low, and that's normally a sign to me that I am low.



Thursday, June 27, 2013

Day 22. June 27th: Bussssy Beeeee

whew! What a day, and it's not even over yet!

I feel like a honey bee hard at work in the nest. Although if I was a honey bee, my blood sugar would probably be through the roof.

At one point today I counted that I had over 25 different tabs, windows, and files open on my computer, with a pile of papers and notebooks on my desk littered with notes, highlights, and doodles.


Children's Congress is only 10ish days away, and the Pressures on to get everything done in time. Everyday new changes are coming, new elements need to be added, somethings taken away, and yet the to-do list continues to grow. I only see one part of the piece for putting on such a conference, and it's so extensive that I wonder what it's like in all the other departments right now!

Now that I'm looking back at the day, I don't remember where it went! After work, my roommate and I headed out to walk around Brooklyn, we went left instead of the normal right. After walking around we ended up at the fruit market place and got fresh fruit and some other needed items. Then we went back to the apartment, dropped those off and headed out again! This time to another grocery store that had a 10% student discount on Thursdays to get the rest of the groceries we needed. After that, it was time to make supper, connect with friends from home and watch some tv.


Day 21. June 26th: Wednesday.

So, about Wednesday...I don't have much to say.

I went to work, was a little sore from my run the day before, but nothing too bad. Morning started out slow, but it really picked up in the afternoon after my meeting and increase of things to continue doing in relation to Children's Congress. Keeping busy and working hard.

After work, I went straight home. I did do a recording of my entire commute home, and learned it takes 17 minutes to get home. Eventually I want to share that video with everyone.

Once  home, I charged my phone (because of course, can't go anywhere without it), and then ate a little supper. After supper I grabbed my Ipad, blanket, and went outside to sit on one of the benches overlooking the water.

I got about 3 pages into my book, and it started raining. Maybe it will pass. I put my Ipad away, and then just sat there hoping the dribbles would stop. They did stop...for a little bit. Of course during that time, I brought my Ipad back out. Then the drips started again, and this time came down harder and a little bit faster. I grudingly put my stuff away, and made my way back to my apartment. Guess no reading outside today!

Instead, once inside, I ended up finishing the book I was reading. Of course by now, it seemed like it was sunny outside again >_< My roommate went out for a run, so to get my physical exercise for the day, I did a few ab workouts...probably nothing to actually consider as exercise, but it made me feel good that I wasn't just sitting around.

I also went to bed early,..EARLY..no way! I consider early anything before 12am, and it was about 11:30 when I put the technology away and tried to let sleep take hold of me. Of course, I would have fallen asleep more at 11, but I was checking my blood sugar, and making sure that it was stable. It was weird, my blood sugar. I never dropped too low, but I did eat some carbs (popcorn) without taking insulin, yet my number before bed was perfect. Guess I would have been low without the popcorn!

I thought myself going low at about 11, and I took a check, found out I was fine, so I waited 20minutes to see if my BG had gone down a bit. It was exactly the same, so I took that as a sign I would be good for the night (of course, had my meter and 2 juice boxes right by my bed just in case). After taking care of the D, I fell asleep. (And this morning woke up with a lovely 74 (insert smiley face))

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Day 21. June 26th: There's an App for That


Look at that beautiful ness! I mean, mostly it's beautiful. Last night I went for a run, before I ran I was. Good number and after I ran I was also a good number, then I felt myself dropping in blood sugar, so I had a snack, felt myself dropping again, although I was perfect, so I had another snack! And boom! This morning, woke up with a wonderful number! That's how you do It baby!!! A great morning number equals for a great day!

 I got this iPhone app called Diabetes Monster. It allows me to put in my bg, carb, insulin, exercise, feelings, notes, etc. I've been using it for about 5 days now, and trying to make tracking my blood sugars a habit. I entered in numbers from meter dating till the beginning of June. The app calculates  your 24 hours, 7 day average, 14 day average, and deviation. I am very surprised with my numbers, and no...I'm not going to tell u what they are. I will say though that a lot of changes have occurred in the last 14 days which may have an influence on my numbers. But also, all three of those numbers are almost exactly the same, showing that I'm consistent! 

I've already noticed that I go high right after lunch, about 3, and then I will drop as soon as I get home, around six. Meaning that I can't take insulin to being my high down, else I will drop an outrageously huge amount and will end up in a constant low. 

This is just one of many apps I've found that are made for diabetics, and so far I'm glad I got it (it was free)! 

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Day 20. June 25th: Run Run Run!

Hopefully I can make this a short post, so that I can head to bed early tonight.
Early to bed means lots of sleep for walking up bright and early for work tomorrow!

This entire week has been a rough one when trying to get up in the mornings. This morning, although I awoke earlier, was still a rough one to get going. I just couldn't find the "right" outfit to wear, and tried on about 10 different combinations. You would think that with having a limited selection of clothing would make choosing them easier, but alas, that is not the case I feel, instead it makes it harder!

Although to make the morning better, I did get a free toothbrush walking on my way to work. Don't worry, it was from a dentist co., and fully packaged, so nothing shady. It wasn't like someone was selling them out of a unmarked white van.

The morning at work started slow. I continued putting names and numbers into the documents for Children's Congress, and once I finished doing that, emailed those I was helping to see the next stage of what I needed to do next. It was around lunch time by then, so myself, and the other intern went and got some food. We wanted to get outside because it was so nice, and not freezing like the office building.

I came back from lunch with multiple emails in my inbox, and the afternoon went by very fast as I responded to each of them. Some were about more information to add to my master sheets about Children's Congress, while the other was informing me that I needed to send my initial intake thoughts and ideas to some important people before they left for vacation tomorrow. I sent a five page document, sharing ideas for how to increase JDRF's audience with teenagers, young-adults, and the college-age. I also had some ideas to change in terms of social media, and website content. It was very scary/nerve-racking putting that document together, for I originally had created it with a different audience in mind. I really wanted to cut down it's size, but didn't know how, since each section had to go into a bit more specifics than the original audience member.

The day flew by. After work, I knew that I didn't want to go straight back to my place, so I took the uptown (instead of downtown) train and got off at 14th street. From there, I continued to walk, until I hit 20th Street, and made a stop outside of a building..known as Kleinfelds' Bridal.

Many you might have recalled that name, as the hosting of the show "Say Yes to the Dress." You are correct. I have a bad addiction to that show, and no I don't have a ring, and no, I don't even have a boyfriend if your wondering.! I just walked by, although I had friends tell me to pretend I was engaged just to get in the door, (no I didn't do that).



I walked back to the subway, and made my way  home. It got very hot on the subway, and I knew that I would have to take a shower tonight. I made supper, relaxed for a bit, and then headed back out to go running. It was just getting dark out, and there were lots of people outside. It was still very hot though. I ran/walked and it was great feeling. I will probably go low a bit later tonight, but I'm on high watch. I will be sore tomorrow though!!!!






Monday, June 24, 2013

Day 19. June 24th: Summertime

So, I can officially say it is summer!

 Not just because the calendar says so, but the weather. It was once again very hot outside today, with a chance of thunderstorms and rain.

I was excited to wear my new dress/suit outfit that I bought before I came to NYC from Yonkers. It was the perfect weather to wear it in. Except that I get too hot walking to work, then get to work, and freeze because it's so cold. It makes dressing very difficult. But everyone else can handle it, so that means I can as well!


Work was busy as I continued to help out with Children's Congress. Today, I finally got to the point where I couldn't read any more dates, names, times, or locations. They were all just blending together. I knew that was when I had to get up and take a walk away from my desk. I guess I finally understand what my mother goes through at her work every day.

After work, I knew I wanted to be outside enjoying the weather, but I also knew that rain was threatening to fall. I made my way home, on a surprisingly empty subway, and changed. After checking the weather, and giving my Ipad a boost of a charge, I grabbed some snacks, my blanket, and headed to the local Park here in Brooklyn.

The park was just what I wanted, except it was missing one thing...real grass. That's right, the park was made up of fake grass or turf. I hear it's so people can have picnics without the worry of ants, and then play soccer without worrying about destroying the grass. Silly City Folk, whats the point of a picnic if ants aren't invited? And holes in the grass...that's just part of the game of soccer! I put my blanket down, and started reading  one of the books on my Kindle. One of my favorite pastimes from home was to sit outside on a blanket in the grass, normally with lemonade, a bag of sunchips, and a kitten as Ii read a good book. II stayed there for about an hour and a half, when I looked up and noticed the sky was darkening, and I thought I felt sprinkles. I packed up my bags, and headed home.


It was nice to be outside, even if it was just for a little bit. I think I plan to sit outside like that more often, I made myself some supper when I got to my apartment, and then settled down for a Skype Date with my roommate from home.

I spent the rest of the evening just relaxing, watching netflix, and doing a few ab workouts. I have also made plans for what I want to do tomorrow after work!

It seems that my day was very uneventful, no strenuous exercises, no extreme food, nothing out of the ordinary, but when it came to my blood sugars, there were anything but ordinary. Since I've recently started recording my BG numbers on a phone app, I've started to check myself more. Today, voluntarily poked myself with a needle 15 times. My fingers hurt. and my blood sugars, you would think would be in great control since I had checked them so often, but that was not so. I woke up a perfect  106 this am, and went a little low before lunch, which I took a snack to treat, no issues there. Then for lunch, and this is the only explanation that I can think of, I had a brand new Pen of Insulin, and I don't think I Primed (shoot insulin out before shooting myself) the shot enough. After lunch my BG's went high, so I gave myself a few units to cover, but then as soon as I got home from work, I dropped, and since then, I haven't been able to keep them up high enough. I had to snack while at the park, and then was low right before I ate my supper, and then after my supper, I was low again. I should be good now, at least, I hope so. I don't think my fingers could handle being poked so much again.



Sunday, June 23, 2013

Day 18. June 23rd: Church, Laundry, Walking, OH MY!

So today, I got up and went to the church I went to last week. Once again, there were about 15 people there, but I enjoyed the service and felt welcomed again. After church, I came back home, and determined that I had to do laundry.

Today turned into Laundry Day, among other things!

I did three loads of laundry, and had one load in the dryer. The rest of the clothing got hung up to dry in my apartment where it is drying fairly quickly. Between loads of laundry, I ate lunch, cleaned up my area, and watched a bit of TV on Netflix.

By the time all of that was completed, it was about 6:30, so we decided to head out into the world! Well..into NYC that is.


We jumped on the subway, and made our way to 14th street and started walking. We actually realized this was the same street we had already been down once. We even found the cute little restaurant we ate at. It was different, seeing this major "young" saturday night area in the daytime. We stopped at a cute little Diner Restaurant and had ourselves a nice little supper. From there, we followed the people, and the stairs, and made it to the High Line of NYC!


For those of you who don't know, the High Line was once an elevated Train Track that when decommissioned, turned into a walkway and garden area. The high line was beautiful. Flowers were in bloom, people were playing music, the city was bustling below us, and the sky darkening around us. We got to see the city lights come alive.


After walking the high line to the end, we got back on solid ground, and made our way to see the Empire State Building. At first, we actually were headed to the Subway, but the Empire State Building looked so close that we had to go there! We got pretty close to it. We thought if we tried to get closer, that we wouldn't be able to see it in pictures. We then started walking more towards a subway, and found ourselves outside a building with a camera that took your picture with Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother. Of course we had to get our picture taken!!! My roommate got hers, (they email it to ya..a little shady, I know), and I'm still waiting on mine. I hope I didn't type my email in wrong!




Upon finally catching the Subway at Penn Station, we jumped on the 1 train, when we normally take the 2/3. Then we went down a station or two, and jumped on the 2 train home. It was hot, long, and tiresome waiting at the subway station. We felt gross, sweaty, and our feet were starting to hurt us. It was threatening to rain the entire time we were out, and did drop a few sprinkles on us.


Upon arriving home, we wanted to see if we could see the moon over the water. Unfortunately, we couldn't, but we had to look at the amazing Skyline of NYC. It was the first time seeing it with it so dark out. It was beautiful.



Now my feet hurt, I'm tired, hot, a little smelly, and ready for bed. Hoping I've been keeping good track of my numbers, and they will cooperate tonight. With the extra walking, wine at dinner, and high carb food,...it's an episode for disaster. So here's to hoping for a good night!

Day 17. June 22nd: Don't let the Insulin get to Hot Now!

One of the original diabetic teachings is that you're not supposed to get your Insulin too hot. When it's hot, it doesn't work as well. With todays heat, that might have happened.

It was nice to sleep in today. I of course woke up at 7am, like during the work week. After one look at the clock, I was like nope, that is NOT going to happen, and I went back to sleep, not to wake up until 11when my roommate woke me, saying we had plans to meet one of her fellow interns at 12pm.

We made our way back to Manhatten, and from there back to upper Brooklyn in Williamson. It was kind of obnoxious how we had to go to Manhattan to get to upper Brooklyn, and it took well over 45 minutes. We finally made it to the subway station, and met her friend there. We followed the horde of people, and made our way to the giant flea market.



The flea market had two rows of straight food venders. These weren't just those carnival venders, but these were real people, real food, from real places: Indian, Chinese, German, Italian, Burgers, Fries, Mexican, the list goes on and on. I ended up getting chicken Schnitzel on a pretzel Bun. It was really good, except that it had VERY HOT Mustard on it. Here I was worried about Horseradish, instead it had mustard. My eyes started watering, my nose running, and burning feeling in the back of my throat. In the end, I ate most of the meat, and the top bun. Then I went back and got Maple Syrup covered Bacon on a stick. That was the most delicious thing ever! I also got myself a Strawberry lemonade, to help my flaming throat. We ate on the grass right on the water's edge, looking at the view of Manhattan.


After we had our expensive lunch, then we walked around the actual flea market. It was also very hot at this point, and the mass amount of people, in a confined space, made it even hotter. The venders were all artists, craftsmen, photographers, and jewelry makers, along with a few other things. It wasn't like a flea market I've ever been too, which is venders reselling things such as a Garage Sale. This was more venders and their own products. Many of them sell their items on Etsy, like an Ebay site for homemade products. I did in the end, purchase a necklace for myself, and a gift for my lovely brother.

We made our way back to the subway, but made a side trip when we saw a street with many people walking on it. It also had venders, and was closed off to cars. This is the best part about it though, there was SOD (grass) in the middle of the street that people could sit on if they wanted to. With a sign that said, Free SOD at 8pm. It was the most hilarious thing in the world!


After getting back to the apartment, and drinking multiple bottles of water, I fell asleep. We had plans to go out that night and do what young people do on a Saturday night. In the end, the group we were going to go with ended up not working out, so it was a restful night in our apartment.