Archive for the ‘Humor’ Category
31
Aug
Written by Mike on August 31st, 2010
In light of Diabetes Art Day, I decided it would be nice to create a badge for the Diabetes Police. Well, in my mind, there are two distinct groups of Diabetes Police. On one side, you have those people who really are knowledgeable, have good intentions, and are only looking out for your best interest. You know, the kind that annoy you, yet are still tolerable. And on the other side, you have those people who don’t have a clue, yet still make stupid comment just for the sake of hearing their own voice. So, there are two badges. See if you can guess which one belongs to which group. 
So, without further delay, here are my first two attempts at creating a suitable badge:
Comments are definitely welcome!
7
May
Written by Mike on May 7th, 2010
So I was on my way to my 10:45 a.m. appointment at the cardiologist’s office when I looked up and saw the one thing that everyone dreads the most: the flashing lights of a police car in the rear view mirror. When I looked at the speedometer, I knew why I was being stopped, but I pulled over, got my license, registration, and insurance stuff ready, and waited for the officer to come ask me if I knew why he was pulling me over.
As it turns out, they were stopping every car going 45 miles an hour through that particular 30 mile an hour speed limit zone. Sounds like profiling to me, but that’s just me. Apparently my lead foot got the best of me, and was pressing that gas pedal 15 miles an hour harder than it should have been. Oops!
And much to my surprise, the officer must have met his ticket quota early this morning, because he let me off with a warning to slow it down and be careful. I was kind of speechless, and that never happens. lol. How the hell did I get away with a warning for driving 15 to 20 miles an hour over the speed limit? I don’t know, but it saved me $800 to $1,000 in fines.
I ended up being about 15 minutes late to the cardiologist appointment, but they didn’t seem to have a problem with that. I just told them I ran into heavy traffic downtown, and that was that.
The appointment went pretty well. There were no real changes in my EKG, and my blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, etc… were relatively good. And there were no changes made to any of my medications either, so that made me and my wallet happy, too.
They also did an echocardiogram while I was in the office. The technician said nothing major caught her eye, but they wouldn’t know for sure until the report came back from processing. I figure I’ll hear from them fairly soon if they found something strange, and if not, I’ll get the results when I go back in 4 months.
Until then, I’ll be working to keep the gears and wheels in me turning. And trying to keep the tire rubber from burning.
6
May
Written by Mike on May 6th, 2010
| So I returned home from somewhere last Friday to find Little G putting together the small office organizer shelf that I ordered a while back. The shelf matches a corner desk that I bought, which too has yet to be put together.
Now, I’m not sure what led Little G to take on that project. Maybe he got bored while at home alone, or maybe he got tired of waiting for me to get off my ass and put it together myself. I’m leaning towards the latter of the two possibilities, but that’s just me. The fact is, I learned something new about my little ninja friend. Apparently, Little G is also a carpenter.
I was amazed at the speed at which he worked, and how handy he was with the power screwdriver. I had to lend a hand here and there, because there were so many intricate pieces to the shelf, but Little G did all the hard work. As you can see in the pictures, he did a pretty good job, too. And there weren’t any left over pieces, so that’s always a good sign.
I’m kind of hoping Little G will also grow tired of waiting for me to put the desk together, and just do that himself, too. lol. Probably won’t happen, but I can still dream about it.
He did at least offer to lend a hand with putting the desk together when I got around to it. I thought that was pretty nice of him.
That’s what good friends do: they lend a hand! |
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19
Apr
Written by Mike on April 19th, 2010
Little G’s most recent adventure took a bit of a morbid turn, as he decided to tag along with April & I when we went to visit the grave of Johnny Appleseed on Saturday. Appleseed died and is buried in Fort Wayne, IN, where I live. The town hosts the annual Johnny Appleseed Festival each fall. Good times.
The original plan was to visit Johnny Appleseed Park and take pictures of the pink, white, and red blossoms on the trees. When Little G overheard April & I talking about the fact that Appleseed’s grave was at the park, our nice trip to the park turned into a full fledged adventure with the little ninja. I don’t know why visiting a grave was such a big deal to him, but Little G insisted on going.
When we got to the park Saturday evening, the little ninja was the first one out of the car, and he made a beeline toward the grave site. When we caught up with him, Little G was standing in front of the welcome sign, reading the information board. It was just a brief biography of Johnny Appleseed, but was interesting nonetheless.
There was a bit of a walk from the welcome signs up to the grave site, and Little G was being a bit mischievous along the way. We had stopped at a bend in the path and Little G was posing for a photo, when we heard something moving in the bushes behind him. And all of a sudden, this wild rabbit literally flew out of the bush, and ran down the hillside.
Now, I’ll admit it did startle April and I a bit, but not Little G. He took advantage of the time it took us to regain our composure, and his ninja skills for that matter, and simply vanished from sight before April and I turned away from watching the rabbit. We figured he had decided to run ahead to the grave, so we continued up the path.
Just before getting to the grave site, we caught a glimpse of something moving in the trees ahead of us. It was Little G. When we reached that spot in the path, the little ninja dropped down from the tree, and struck a pose in front of the grave site entrance. And, of course, Little G just insisted on having his picture taken in front of the grave itself. He’s such a hoot some times.
After looking at the grave for a bit, we walked on down to path to look at a cabin in the park. To our knowledge, the cabin was believed to have been one that Appleseed lived in before he died. That may not be accurate, but that’s the story Little G insisted on going with. And who am I to argue with a ninja.
It was rather cold and windy out while we were at the park Saturday evening, and April & I were ready to leave long before Little G was. In fact, he decided to drag out our suffering a little longer, as he pulled another vanishing act as we were making our way back to the car. We were not impressed, but Little G really didn’t seem to give a rat’s pertutti. He wasn’t feeling a thing.
We eventually found him, swinging through the branches of another tree. He stopped on one of the branches and posed for another picture. April & I intended on it being the last during this trip. As I was giving directions to Little G, and focusing the camera, April was making her way around behind him. As soon as I snapped the photo, April reached up and grabbed Little G, and stuffed him in the camera bag, and we made a beeline for the car. Oh sure, Little G was yelling and complaining, but our give-a-damns were frozen, and we really didn’t care.
All-in-all, April & I had a great time at the park. It may not have ended the way Little G wanted it to, but I think he’ll be able to look back on it and laugh someday. I know I will.
 Welcome sign at the grave site |
 Reading the information board. |
 Walking up to the grave |
 After disappearing, Little G reappeared in a tree near the grave. |
 Entering to the grave site |
 Here lies Johnny Appleseed. |
 A cabin believed to have belonged to Johnny Appleseed. |
 In a tree again, after a second vanishing act. |
| To see more photos from this and other adventures, visit the Flickr gallery titled “The Adventures of Little G“ |
14
Apr
Written by Mike on April 14th, 2010
On Sunday, as I was preparing for work, Little G made it known that he didn’t want to sit at home while I was at work. He, in fact, wanted to go to work with me. I was a bit hesitant at first, but after a great deal of insistence on Little G’s part, I agreed to the idea. So, shortly before 6 p.m., we got in the car and headed to the office.
| As soon as we walked through the door, Little G made a bee line for my chair. It’s a nice high back office chair on wheels. By the time he was done goofing around, that chair had been spun both ways, the levers had been pulled, and the whole thing had nearly flipped over. I swear it was like having one of my nieces or my nephew in the office. Crazy! I finally got him to settle down. Thank God! It’s a wonder the co-workers didn’t call the police with all the racket Little G was making in here. Who ever uttered the words “there’s no such thing as too much fun”, was obviously full of crap. They’ve never met Little G. |
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| After I kicked him out of my chair, so I could get to work, Little G decided to hop up on the desk and look at the items in the corner. He loved my Initech coffee mug. Apparently, the little ninja is as much a fan of the movie Office Space as I am. I was amazed at how well he could recite lines from the movie. And wouldn’t you know it, he knew the exact same lines that I did.
Little G then started looking through the programming books on my desk. As he flipped through the pages of the books on PHP & MySQL, Drupal Development, and CSS, I could tell be the look on his face that the languages were beyond his comprehension. |
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| I had to leave my office for a few minutes, and left Little G to hold down the fort. When I returned, I found him on the phone. Now, I don’t know who was on the other end of that call, but he obviously didn’t want me to know, because he hung up really quick when he realized I was in the room. I explained why he really shouldn’t be making personal calls on my work phone, and despite the stupid look he gave me, I think he understood. He promised not to do it again, but I don’t know if I believe him or not. After all, those ninjas are known for being sneaky. |
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| Little G also did a good job guarding my testing supplies on the desk. He even got a little pushy when it came to my bg testing throughout the night. I was amazed at just how much he knew about diabetes. He must have learned a lot during his stay at the Hoskins residence.
As he was looking through my meter pouch, Little G found the Underdog sticker I got from one of my doctors’ offices. I explained to him the symbolic nature of the sticker.
As a person with type 2 diabetes (PWD T2) and congestive heart failure, I am the underdog; the odds are definitely stacked against me. And every day is a battle against the evil forces that are waging war inside my body. Some days I win, and walk away unscathed. Other days I’m beaten, and left wondering how I’m ever going to keep going. But the fact that I do keep fighting is what makes me a winner. A true champion of the underdog.
Little G was speechless when I finished talking. His silence amazed me because that little dude has a motor mouth that just won’t quit. |
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| Before the night was over, Little G wanted me to take his picture one last time. So, he posed in front of my “Is This Good for the Company” sign (another Office Space momento). In the end, we agreed that the answer to that question was “Probably Not!”
And while it may not have been good for the company, having some company was definitely good for both of us. |
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