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I guess technically, I joined the diabetes online community back in October, 2005 when I joined dLife, and I became active in the overall DOC some time in 2008 -- but it wasn't until this year that I, and others, had the opportunity to "eyeball" the folk we'd been e-mailing, blogging to, commenting blog posts from, tweeting, and otherwise conversing with on various diabetes-related forums and social networks. 2009 is also the year dLife launched the dLife Community, and the year I started blogging here at Blogabetes.

Some of my year's highlights include:

March

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I am currently writing from my new patio set on my balcony looking out at one of Texas' biggest cities. The wind is blowing, birds are chirping, and the sun is setting somewhere behind me. I am completely at peace with my life right now.

I am also a complete bundle of nerves and anxiety and excitement. Because I'm taking a leap that will be the biggest step possible for me right now. In February, I posted this about a change that I couldn't yet release to the general public. And now, I'm ready to share the news.

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I'll admit I've never seen Buckaroo Banzai; however, the catch phrase "Wherever you go, there you are" has become as much a part of our popular culture as "Beam me up, Scotty" or "Time to make the donuts!" Yet, with about one in eleven US residents having -- or being at risk for developing -- diabetes, it's no wonder that almost every time we turn around, we meet (or learn about) somebody else "with the D".

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With a new year come new ideas, new resolutions, new solutions to old problems, and of course new problems needing solutions.

Among the last is, once again, need for a full-time job. Cell phone sales were not high enough to keep me on until Christmas, so I am once again navigating the waters of unemployment and job-search.

For now, enough of that. The meme going around the Diabetes Online Community has been that of "spreading the word" -- both telling people with diabetes of the online resources available to us, and bringing our online activism out to the world in which we live, visit our doctors, purchase our food and medications, and educate our children. While most of us talk about outreach in terms of getting our real-life neighbors to hook up with our online resources, I see a different reality.

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As an informed person with diabetes and an active member of several online diabetes communities, it's important for me to "get out into the real world" and make connections with other people with diabetes and with people and associations whose purpose is to support us medically, psychologically, and socially. In addition to real-life meet-ups with members of my various diabetes online networks, I go to health fairs and community events to make contact, inquire about the state of diabetes-care support and diabetes advocacy programs, and have even given a presentation about how diabetes online communities positively effect the lives and health levels of people living with all types of diabetes. 

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Today was my first day at JDRF. I still can't get used to saying that I work for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Talk about dreams coming true.

It was a day of paperwork, training, and Gala activities. I'm definitely finding my footing on many levels even though I've volunteered with JDRF for several years and I've lived with this disease for over eighteen. There is a lot to learn and a lot to process.

But here I am, decompressing with my patio door open and the TV running in the background. I am about three pages away from being done with a major paper due Monday. I am also considering submitting an application to my alma mater for a Certificate in Non-profit Management. I haven't decided yet and don't want to waste the $50 though.

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While working at my previous job as a volunteer coordinator for a hospice, I thought work was sometimes too much of a reminder about diabetes. There were meetings where we discussed patients who were dealing with complications after years of living with the disease. The most frightening discussions were those that dealt with diabetics living with Alzheimer's or dementia.

That was a big reason why I decided to transition into a different field. I didn't enjoy being 22 years old and facing the realities of what this disease may or may not look like for me in forty or fifty years. With a family history of Alzheimer's, I didn't want to think about the burden I would be on my family with both diseases. I didn't want to think what it would be like to entirely forget that you needed insulin every day.

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Today, the first Friday of February, is national "Wear Red" day in honor (or observance) of Women's Heart Health Awareness, as spearheaded by the "Go Red for Women" campaign. So of course I will be wearing red to work and I've been handing out Red Dress pins.

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Sad to say, I've not had the bicycle out since Sunday morning. A combination of parental schedules, the Tour de France, rush hour traffic, and a heat wave have conspired to keep me indoors for most of this week. Now, this year's Tour de France has been about as predictable as an adolescent Type 1 girl's blood glucose levels are around menarche -- many favorites crashed out early; the second and third race leaders hung onto their leads far longer (and through more difficult terrain) than expected; expected attacks were never launched (while others were launched at unexpected times), and the French press has been having a field day (or ten) with the first potential French winner in more years than they'd care to count.

So much for "why watch, when I could be doing?".

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From the time we are diagnosed until the moment of our death, we are running a race against skyrocketing and plummeting blood sugars, heart disease, kidney failure, retinopathy, neuropathy, and a whole list of other "-opathies", as well as acute (but potentially fatal) issues such as ketoacidosis...

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