I’m posting here some photographs from my New Orleans trip I took this past weekend.  In the next couple of days I’ll update y’all on some of the fun stories that happened (including my 2 breakfasts with Kevin Spacey).

Isn’t New Orleans called The Big Easy?  Well anyway, Dan and I are going to tag along on Erin’s HR Conference.  I won’t be blogging at all this weekend but I will be on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MrMikeLawson

Of course I’ll post some photos once I get back to Phoenix.  Until then, peace out blog.

I was standing in what appeared to be a non-moving pharmacy line.  The elderly gentleman picking up his medications was confused about the prices being charged, and demanded an explanation.  “I”ve been taking these same pills for 10 years,” he said. “Why does it suddenly cost more?”

I hate this.

To make matters worse, the lady in front of me is talking on her cell phone.  The guy in front of her is getting visibly grumpy.  The pharmacy employee is getting upset.  And right then, after waiting in this long and stagnant line for fifteen minutes, I had every excuse to be grumpy too.

I’ve blogged a lot here about the struggles I have had recently living as an uninsured diabetic.  For the past 6 months I was insured, but diabetes was considered a pre-existing condition and wasn’t covered.

And since May 1st I have had insurance to help me pay for all of my supplies.

All I want is a new vial of insulin, I thought to myself.  Then I started to think about last spring.  I remembered how a trip to the pharmacy was going to break the bank.  I remembered back to April when I literally had to choose to pay my car payment of buy insulin (I picked the wrong one, btw).  I remember trying to convince myself that I could put diabetes on hold for a month or two while I took care of some other financial responsibilities.

Eventually I made it to the front of the pharmacy line.  I smiled when the pharmacist told me that the vial of insulin that I was paying over $100 for a few months ago would only cost me the $10 co-payment.  Things aren’t so bad, I thought.  Now if only there was something we could do about those pharmacy lines.

So Dan and I are going to have lunch at my parents today.  This will be the first time I’ve hung out with all of them together for an extended period, and I am kind of afraid of how my mom will embarass me this time.  Updates to come.

I’ve got a dilemma, and I was hoping some of you can help me.

Since my DKA in May, I’ve been seeing a doctor that I randomly found by flipping though my insurance provider’s list of approved doctors. I made my first appointment and went in and told him my whole story.

I won’t bore you with my back-story, but the gist is that my insurance just recently started covering Diabetes care after a long waiting-period because of a “pre-existing condition.” Dumb.

So the Doctor comes in and is a really fast talker. He interrupted me while I’m talking a few times. And he scribbled a prescription and walked out. A few seconds later a nurse walks in and cleans my ears out (I guess scratching the inside of your ears with your car keys is bad for them…who knew?), and tells me that the doctor wants to see me again in a month.

Okay, so he loses points as a conversationalist…but I know that a lot of doctors are in-and-out, and I’ve heard a lot of people complain that they don’t get enough face-time with their doctors.

When it came to my treatment plan however, I really feel that for the first time this doctor really “got me.” The basal/bolus regiment is working. My numbers (for the first time in years) are close to stabilizing. And I’m hopeful that I can live comfortably with diabetes.

So here’s the dilemma: It’s time for me to make another appointment. Do I find another doctor to see?

THE PROS: If I cut ties now with this doctor, I’ve invested very little of my time and money into him. I can go find someone that clicks with me, and we can have a long relationship. It’s possible that in a few months I get fed up with the curtness of the current doctor and end up switching anyway.

THE CONS: Eventually you need to settle down and start building history with one physician. It’s close to impossible to find that “soul mate” doctor that connects from the moment your eyes meet. Stop doctor-hopping and start getting in control of your diabetes.

What are your thoughts?

So, I got this in the mail last week, and it was super depressing.  Wow…10 years.

On the 12th day of each month a bunch of bloggers take 12 photos of their day. Here are mine for June, 2009.

If you’d like to see the collection of everyone’s photos, go to Chad’s page.

I'm really bad at taking those extended-armed self-portraits. Can you tell?

I run a technology lab at a youth development agency.

Lunch time. Look at my nerdy lunch box that keeps my insulin cool.

Fridays are a pretty dark day for the recording studio. All the magic happens early in the week. The kids have gotten a lot better at editing together their shows, and we're usually done by the middle of the week.

After lunch quiet time. I've been playing "retro" cartoons for the kids. Today it was Dennis The Menace. Last week we watched Flintstones. It's hard to tell, but the 5 & 6 year-olds are lying on the floor under the screen.

That's Señor Lawson, to you.

How could you hate coming home to that face?

This is why my boyfriend is skinny. How the hell do you not eat Peeps that have been in the kitchen since Easter?!

I made Jumbalaya (from the box).

I went to sit down with my dinner in front of the television, and look who stole my seat!

After dinner Dan went to his office, and I waited for him to finish his work so we could watch a movie.

Hmm...I'm one picture short. Hey, that flour looks interesting.

I’ve blogged it before, but I’ll repeat myself.

Before getting a tattoo I have to complete the following process:

1. Come up with a design. Nothing iffy. It has to be on paper (or in a photoshop file). The thought, “I want a Chinese character” or “I’d like something that reminds me of my kids,” isn’t specific enough.
2. You have two weeks to improve it. This design is going to be on you forever. In the next two weeks make changes to it. Re-design it. Use a different font. Perfect it.
3. Hibernate it. Put it away, but don’t forget about it. You need to sit on the design for one year. If you still want to put this design on your body 365 days after you originally came up with it, do it.

Well today I finished step one.  Here’s my solid design.  Nothing iffy:

Imagine I just had a really bad low, and ended up face-down in the middle of a parking lot.  When the EMTs roll up, do you think this tattoo would be catchy enough?

Let’s see if I still want this one year from today.

What fast food restaurant has the best french fries?  I was talking to Adam the other night and he mentioned that he didn’t like McDonald’s fries…and in all honesty, I can’t remember someone ever saying that before.

And this conversation made me evaluate my own french fry preferences, and I came to the conclusion that I only really, truly like french fries from 2 fast food joints.

Del Taco and In N Out.

What about you?  Is there a fry that you’d kill for?

At work I’m teaching a digital art class, and members are asked to recreate different types of art using computers and digital cameras.  We started with some still life and I was super-impressed by the different perspectives taken on Warhol’s Campbell’s Cans.  Which is your favorite?