It\u2019s not a competition, but I\u2019m prepared to nominate myself for \u201cworst diabetic ever.\u201d\u00a0 I went to college \u2013 two universities actually \u2013 and got a degree as an architect.\u00a0 Not an easy thing, excuse all the braggin\u2019.\u00a0 Over the years, I\u2019ve designed and built hundreds of buildings. My architectural photography is on view in several public and corporate spaces.\u00a0\u00a0 Thumbing my nose at the concept of sleep, I\u2019ve also spent two decades in theater; acting, directing, and writing dozens and dozens of shows on topics ranging from serial killers to iconic cartoonists to living in apartments formerly inhabited by dwarves.\u00a0 I do the New York Times crossword puzzle with fairly decent success (Monday thru Wednesday at least).<\/p>\n
All of this unhumbleness would make you think that I was the kind of guy who would take the news seriously when told by a doctor that I have a disease that, left unchecked, could lead to blindness, amputation and worse.\u00a0 And by worse I\u2019m not talking about erectile dysfunction; oh wait, it could lead to that too.\u00a0 But SURPRISE I\u2019m not that guy.<\/p>\n
Instead, I\u2019m the guy who in 1993, at the age of 31, on the day that I found out that I was a Type 2 diabetic, went on stage during a late-night sketch comedy show and did a \u201cbit\u201d where I drank a shot of vodka between each scene in the show – which amounted to drinking more than 10 shots of premium alcohol in the space of a 35 minutes.\u00a0 And on top of that I did my best impression of a carnival barker and announced to roars of laughter \u2013 I believe now it was probably uncomfortable laughter \u2013 that the audience should \u201cstick around because I might go into a diabetic coma before your VERY EYES!\u201d<\/p>\n
The lack of comatization that night (Oh, also I like making up words too) didn\u2019t scare me straight enough though, instead it marked the beginning of a life long ride of being good and bad and good and bad about dealing with this disease.\u00a0 This column will not be about educating you about anything other than my own experiences as an architect, actor, director, comedy writer, photographer, teacher, husband, son, father of twins and diabetic.\u00a0 Welcome to my roller coaster.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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