A post in which I ramble

I know, I haven't been here in a while. Don't be scared.

I'm not dead! Well, probably not. But I suppose I could be a ghost who's mastered telekenetic energy and Internet use to keep this blog alive!

LOL, no.

Although, to be honest, I've felt dead for the last couple of months. Well, really September until November. Or, more accurately, since April until about November.

Why, you ask?

Um, because my body decided it hates, loathes, detests, resents, abhors, (what have you) my pancreas. My pancreas is Public Enemy Number One according to my immune system and loves nothing more than slowly killing it for fun.

I know, it's awesome. Especially since I'm the middle-man in this war and have to deal with all the consequences of this battle while my pancreas just dies and my body gets boatloads of gleeful enjoyment from its murderous rampage. 

I'm not particularly fond of my immune system at the moment. Or my pancreas for being a weakling. 

Sparing you all the inanely boring details of my diagnosis, I'll keep it simple. I've been diagnosed with Type 1.5 Diabetes, or Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults, LADA for short. Basically, I'm a slow-onset Type 1 Diabetic, in that I'll eventually require insulin to maintain my blood sugars without dying.

Yay!

I've already been started on a long-acting insulin I give myself daily, which is 99% due to my insistence at my last endocrinologist appointment. My endocrinologist loves me, because I'll never be non-compliant. I know too much about diabetes because of my job to let myself be stupid about this.

So, that's my life now. :/

LB's Reaction to Her Diagnosis

(Now in Six Easy Steps!)

1.

(The: "I'm sorry, what?" Phase) 

2. 

(The: "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Phase) 

3.

 (The Complete and Utter Disbelief Phase)

4.

 (The Temper Tantrum Phase)

5.

(The Cry Uncontrollably Phase)

6.

(The "Bitch I'm Fabulous, Now Let's Go Get Smoothies" Phase)

And there you have it: the six stages of diabetes diagnosis. I also like to call step six the "YOLO Swag" Phase. I mostly stay in the sixth phase, but sometimes I live in four and five combined and if I think about it hard enough, phase three.

Because I lost 70 pounds, eat healthy and work out, I should be the last person to get diabetes. The Universe is trolling hard. 

Since I've seemingly revived this blog, I'll post my resolutions for 2014.

1. Take a picture a day

2. Have a song reccomendation of the week

3. Post here once a week on my off weeks (so twice a month)

4. Make 2014 "The Year of the Concert"

5. Get serious about exercise again

6. Read over 60 books

Six is good for now; favorite number and all. 

The picture a day and song recommendation of the week will be hosted on my Tumblr and Twitter, which I'm not linking here. Anonymity and all that jazz. 

I realize "Year of the Concert" is vague, but I've already got five concerts lined up for next year (Justin Timberlake TIMES TWO, Pentatonix, The Sing Off Live Tour and Lady Gaga) and I want to maybe reach at least ten. I might go broke before then, but that's okay. 

Resolution five is self-explanatory. Exercise kind of died when I felt like a giant pile of steaming poo. :)

I had the goal of 60 books this year, but am gonna fall short by two. THIS BOTHERS ME. So, next year, I'm gonna get over 60.

I think I've rambled long enough. Catch ya'll next year. :)

LB Likes Lists and Dislikes Life Right Now

I'm whiny, hormonal and throwing myself a mini-pity party because of reasons and I don't really feel like posting some long diatribe about how certain things annoy me.

My current feelings towards life in gif form

So...because no one wants to hear me whine or wallow in the current suckitude of my life, I'm making a list post. I know it's not Thursday, so this technically isn't a top 5 post. It's a top...6 post. HA. 

LB's Favorite Youtube Videos

(As of this week)

1. (I Wanna) Channing All Over Your Tatum

I stumbled upon this gem earlier in the week and good Lord, it's both stupid catchy and entertaining. I find myself singing it at random times and I've developed a comedian crush on Jimmy Kimmel. Also, the Matt Damon cameo is everything.

2. Pusher Love Girl Cover by Pentatonix

YAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. 1: I love Justin Timberlake (this has been stated multiple times before. It's a full blown obsession, TBH). 2: I love a capella styled singing (which has also been stated before). 3: I'm kind of in love with Avi, the guy on the bottom left. 4: And most importantly, Pentatonix is the shit.

3. The Reel Nsync part 17

My babies. Between Justin's probable seizure/acid trip and JC's uncontrollable laughter, there's nothing not to love about this video. Also, if you didn't laugh during this, you're lying.

4. Call Your Girlfriend

I told you I like a capellas. This video comes courtesy of JC Chasez's twitter, but I'm glad I clicked the link. These three girl's harmonies are flawless.

5. How to Pronounce Eyjafjallajökull 

I don't know why these YouTube video's exist or why anyone thought they were necessary, but they're hilarious. This one, the Ellen Degeneres one and the Benedict Cumberbatch one may be my favorite.

6. End of Time Target Flashmob

I love flash mobs and everyone loves Beyonce.    

Maybe I'll make a real post soon.  Now if you'll excuse me, I've got more Arrested Development to watch; I know, I'm late on that train. 

Post Nsync Reunion Post

Fair warning, I’m going to wax poetic on Nsync. I realize this may sound strange to some; a 25-year-old gushing about men ranging from the ages of 32-41 that were formerly part of a boy band, but I’ve realized in the last couple of days—I don’t care.

None of my current friends knew me at the height of the Nsync craze. They didn’t see how utterly obsessed I was with those five boys. I was ten when their first album debuted in the United States, and like every other girl in the country, I hopped on the Nsync train and never looked back.

I was part of the 2.4 million people who purchased “No Strings Attached” in the first week of its debut. I waited outside of the music store on July 24, 2001 to purchase my copy of “Celebrity”. I had wall-to-wall posters covering every inch of my bedroom (and even some ceiling space).

I videotaped every single appearance, performance, award show, music video, public appearance, commercial—ANYTHING—featuring those five boys. I bought the VHS tapes (oh, how this dates me), I bought the bonus remix albums, I bought the piano sheet music (because I fancied myself a skilled piano player, obviously), I bought the lip gloss, I bought the marionette dolls and bobble heads.

If there an Nsync product, I was begging my parents to buy it for me or saving up babysitting money to buy it myself.

I was fortunate enough to see them in concert twice; once for the “No Strings Attached Tour” and once for the “Pop Odyssey Tour”. Each concert was the event of my year.

I listened to their albums incessantly. I memorized every song, every little nuance and loved every minute of all three albums and Christmas album.

These boys were my life for almost four years. 

Look at how adorable they all were!

Then Justin Timberlake announced his releasing a solo album. I remember getting an uneasy feeling about it, because despite all the sayings to the contrary, I knew Nsync was going to take a backseat. I knew, deep down inside, that the days of Nsync were ending. It is tough enough in any situation to realize that things are going to change and that things are going to become different, especially for a young teen going through rough changes in terms of growing up who craves stability.

I was fourteen when Nsync was placed on the back burner for Justin’s career. And I ate Justin’s solo career up.  I started drinking his tasty kool-aid in 2002 and continue to sip daily. (Although, I think it’s something to be said that I’ve disliked every single he’s released. They all grew on my eventually and I cannot imagine disliking “Like I Love You” now, but I initially did not like it.)

I saw Justin live for the “Justified/Stripped” Tour. I bought his debut album and actually enjoyed it. I remained spoiler free for his 2006 release of “FutureSex/LoveSounds”. I’m currently bathing myself in “The 20/20 Experience”. I hopped on his acting train and watched him act on the big screen.

That’s not to say I didn’t have love for the other members either. I bought JC’s “Schizophrenic” album and actually had the pleasure of meeting him in 2004 while he was out promoting the album. I followed Lance, Joey and Chris’s non-Nsync activities.

But with each passing year and with Justin becoming more and more of a pop phenomenon, I knew the likelihood of the group getting back together was becoming more and more dismal. And it upset me.

I think the majority of my sadness towards that realization was because there wasn’t ever any closure. They never truly officially said they had broken up. It was portrayed as a hiatus to let Justin try something new. And then, suddenly, there is no Nsync. Then came the rumors of nasty falling out between all the members and the memories of a fun-loving group of boys—brothers—became tainted with bitterness.

In the ten years since Nsync stopped performing together, I grew up. I took down my posters, I got rid of my seemingly childish memorabilia and threw out my piles of VHS recordings of their performances. My hopes for a reunion dwindled down to near non-existence.

I just recently turned twenty-five and I was having a difficult time coping with that fact. I know twenty-five isn’t as big of a milestone as say turning thirty or forty, but I was smacked with the realization that I’ve lived a quarter-century and suddenly felt insignificant. To cope, I turned to nostalgia. I began listening to Nsync albums again, blasting them through my iPod speakers, letting them be the soundtrack to my everyday life.

I started listening to them when I read. I started listening to them while I cleaned. I started listening to them when I worked out (which I highly recommend). I started listening to them on my way to work. I started listening to them while I did nothing, just lying around the house.

With each song that played, I was transported to a time where things were simpler. My biggest worries in 2000-2001 were surviving middle school without some everlasting shame. I didn’t have to worry about a job, maintaining a home or balancing a budget. 

With each song that played, I remembered how much fun I used to have being their fan. And more importantly, how much fun those five guys seemed to have with each other. Watch any YouTube video from 1997-2002 with those guys and you’ll realize how much they enjoyed each other. They were goofy and stupid together and that camaraderie permeated everything they did. 

 Like this. HOLD THE PICKLE.

I began hoping once again for a reunion. 

I cannot even put into words the feelings I had after the initial rumors surfaced of a possible Nsync reunion at the VMAs on August 25, 2013. I felt like I’d been waiting for so long that a reunion was never within the realm of possibility. I got jittery and jumpy and almost didn’t want to believe the rumors because I didn’t want to be disappointed if it never came to fruition. I’d survived the breakup and didn’t want to relive all those feelings of utter letdown if the Internet was just spinning fancy tales. 

I tuned into the VMAs boiling with nervous energy and a rolling mass of anticipation. I knew that if Nsync did reunite, it was supposed to be a surprise, but that didn’t stop me from panning the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of them sitting together. When the commercials announced Justin was performing and possibly “not so solo”, I literally began to shake. I couldn’t text my friend back without a tremor in my fingertips as she texted me “OMG, not so solo!”. I knew her excitement was mostly for me (she’s rather indifferent towards Nsync), but in that moment, I knew she shared my feelings. 

When Jimmy Fallon came out to announce Justin’s performance, I was bouncing in my seat. My heart was pounding my ears and I couldn’t think straight. With each passing minute of his performance, I grew increasingly nervous. After almost nine minutes of performing, I thought maybe the rumors were false. While Justin was undoubtedly killing it (and snatching everyone’s wig), each new song intro was one of his own. 

When the opening lines of “Pusher Love Girl” morphed into “Gone”, all rational thought went completely out the window. As the silhouettes of the four other members of the band slowly rose from the stage, my hands flew to my face in awe and I immediately started crying. I missed most of their performance together because I was a blubbering mess and saw it in its entirely through multiple replays on my DVR after I calmed down. 

 Ten years and they've all still got the moves.

Ten years of waiting for a public performance and it had finally happened. Was it exactly how I pictured? No. Would I have liked for it to have been longer? Most definitely. But here’s the thing: this was Justin’s night. He was being honored for all of his spectacular work in the past eleven years as a solo artist and I don’t think an Nsync reunion should have trumped that. 

That being said, they honored themselves and I’m forever thankful Justin realized that those four other guys were such a monumental part of forming who he is and paving the way for his success. Say what you will about Justin Timberlake, but he would have gone nowhere without Nsync as his starting point. With all the rumors of animosity between everyone and Justin, I found it incredibly humbling of Justin to not only perform again with Nsync, but to give them attention after the performance was over (I mean, he turned his back on the audience and let the other four guys have their moment), and also share the Video Vanguard Award with the rest of the group. 

Justin Timberlake: classiest mofo you'll ever witness

Also, I can’t not mention this—the 2000 VMA Nsync performance is hands down the best performance in VMA history. Fight me on it. No other group could come close to what Nsync did with that performance, so be still by beating heart when they paid homage to that performance with their rendition of “Bye Bye Bye”. I also wasn’t expecting them to have actual choreography, so seeing all five guys dancing to classic Nsync choreography from thirteen years ago just about killed me. 

If you don't like this, you're wrong

Way to bring it boys, way to bring it. 

Their performance was something I’d been waiting for since 2003. No one I’m really close to today understands exactly what that performance meant to me. I’ve been getting some flak from coworkers and friends in real life thinking, “Really? You got that excited about an Nsync performance?” 

Yes, I did. I stated it before—this performance meant closure for me. It put an end to all those he said/he said rumors of Justin and Lance, or Justin and JC hating each other. It put an end to all the “we’ll never perform again” comments. It put an end to all the naysayers claiming they couldn’t be nearly as good as they were ten years ago. If they never perform together again, it gave me a definitive end to their legacy. 

They went out there and proved to every artist watching that they still have star power. Days before the performance, Nsync reinstated their Twitter handle and hundreds of thousands of people instantly started following it. We went nuts over one lone tweet and in that moment, I swear, we were all teenagers again. 

I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to see them perform live again and despite whatever endeavors they may choose to do next—whether it be solo or together—each of them should know, I’ll follow with just as much enthusiasm as I did all those years ago.

I'll love these boys forever

Top 5 Thursday #4

I'm gonna level with you all right now...this post is the result of the Nsync dance party I'm having right now, by myself. Because this is what adults do. 

Actually, it's 50% because of the Nsync dance party and 50% because of the rumors that Nsync is going to reunite for the VMAs on Sunday and I literally CANNOT HANDLE MYSELF.

I blame Lance 25%, JC 15%, Chris 30%, Joey 15% and Justin 15%. Actually, I blame Justin 50% and everyone else 12.5%.

Yes, I realize the height of the boy band craze was the mid-to-late 90s, but that doesn't change the fact that some of it is infinitely better than the music that currently invades the airspace.

And because, after ten years of silence, I will possibly see Nsync perform together again, I made a list of my favorite Nsync songs. Because I can.

LB's Top 5 Nsync Songs

(Ever)

1) Tearin' Up My Heart

This song started it all. This song pinpoints the start of my obsession with these five boys. It's an obsession that's, so far, spanned 15 years. 15 years and this song still makes me as excited as it did when I first heard it. Also, it's classic Nsync. If you don't like this song, you're wrong.

2) It's Gonna Be Me

This song's legacy is the "It's Gonna Be May" meme on Tumblr and it's glorious. Bonus, it's from the album "No Strings Attached", which still holds the record for most number of copies sold in a single week. I'm proud to say I added to that number.

3) Bye Bye Bye

If you don't dance to this song, you're lying. 

4) Pop

I remember waiting in line July 24, 2001 for my copy of this album and then spending the rest of the day with my two friends dissecting every tiny part of each and every song. Pop is a flawless song and works amazingly to get my hyped up. Also, it was the album in which Justin debuted his buzz cut, which, let's face it, was waaaaay better than the fro. 

5) This I Promise You

ALL MY FEELS. This is the perfect ballad and I hate all of them for sounding so stupidly dreamy. Even Lance. That bastard.

BONUS: Digital Getdown

Label this under: Things I Did Not Realize As A Child. THIS SONG IS FILTHY. I played Justin's opening lines over and over and over and over again and I didn't realize until a few years ago exactly what he was singing about. This song gave me many feelings as a youngin' and I realize now that Justin was turning me on. Thirteen years later and he continues to do so. 

Bonus #2: Up Against the Wall

YES. I workout to this song and it's fabulous. It's got a stupid catchy beat that I still find relevant 12 years later. Also, it's about grinding (or sex. It's probably sex) against a wall, which I'd be okay if any member of Nsync decided to try that with me.

Honorable mentions: 1) God Must Have Spent (A Little More Time On You): mainly because it's acronym is awesome-GMHSALMTOY. 2) I Want You Back: because the music video is atrocious. 3) I Drive Myself Crazy: because seriously. 4) Giddy Up: because it's ridiculous. And totally not about horses. 5) I Thought She Knew: because the harmonies make me want to cry.

Justin thanks you for your time.

Genetic Testing

 

I’ve stated before that I’m kind of a nerd and that very science and medical related things excite me more than the normal person. DNA, genes, chromosomes…it’s all very interesting and confusing to me and I just want to READ AND LEARN ALL THE THINGS.

With genetic testing highlighted in the media recently due to Angelina Jolie’s reveal that she underwent a double mastectomy based on genetic testing results, I figured now was the time for this post.

A while back, a friend had her genome sequenced through a website called 23andme.com. Due to familial circumstances, she had many questions about her ancestry and health history. She posted a few of the results on Facebook and I instantly became curious. 

 

No need to poke fun, John, I was interested

My friend explained to me more in depth all the things she had learned through doing the sequencing and highly recommended that I purchase a kit and sequence my own genome.

So, I took the plunge and coughed up the $99 it cost to buy the kit.

And what a well spent $99 it turned out to be.

LB’s Top 10 Interesting Genome Sequencing Results

(In No Particular Order)

1)     I have a decreased risk of breast cancer

Reproductive cancers of all kinds (breast, uterine and ovarian) run on my mother’s side of the family from her paternal side; all of her aunts (my great-aunts) have developed one or more of the cancers I listed previously. Because of this familial link, my mother has been followed very closely at her doctor’s appointments and mammograms. Last year, I found a lump in my breast, which I’ve been following since then.

My lump is benign and my familial link to cancer is more distant, but the genetic components are still all there and scary to contemplate.

23andme.com doesn’t test for all the mutations located on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, but it does test for three of the most common mutations linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancers. I don’t have any of the three.

Based on the genomes of other Europeans, I’m only 10.8% likely to develop breast cancer in my lifetime compared to 13.5% of other users. Obviously, as with all genetic testing, it’s not a definitive no, but given my family history, I’ll take what my genes are telling me.

2)    I have a decreased risk of coronary artery disease

If the reproductive cancers plague the women in my family, coronary artery disease runs on my father’s paternal side of the family. My grandfather, in his lifetime, had a 5 vessel bypass (which is a significantly large number) and eventually ended up passing away from heart failure.

I always figured, “Great, if cancer doesn’t kill me, my heart will.”

Luckily, compared to other European genomes, I’m only 19.2% likely to develop CAD compared to the 24.4% of other users. That combined with recent foray into eating well and exercise, I’m kicking genetics in the ass.

3)    I don’t have the APOE ε4 variant of the APOE gene, which contributes to Alzheimer’s Disease

Huzzah!

I recently found this out and I thought it was exciting.

4)    I have an increased sensitivity to Warfarin (Coumadin) and Phenytoin (Dilantin)

If I were to ever have to be placed on either of these medications, I’d probably have to be on a smaller dose. Who knew!

5)    I am a carrier of Gaucher Disease

This result came from left field.

My mother has a recessive anemia disorder called Beta Thalassemia Minor. Being a carrier causes anemia, but two recessive copies passed down to children causes Beta Thalassemia Major and causes several health problems. My mother had both me and my brother tested at birth for either the major or the minor subgroups. We tested negative to both. All my life, that was the only genetic thing I thought I could possibly have.

Wrong, apparently.

Gaucher Disease is recessive and I only have one copy of the mutation, so I don’t exhibit the disease, but I could pass it along to my children. Which blows donkey chunks.

The mutation for Gaucher Disease is located on the GBA gene, which unfortunately leads to the fact that…

6)    I’m 4x more likely to develop Parkinson’s Disease

Awesome. My overall risk is 6.3% compared to the average of 1.6%.

My mother’s father (my Papa) had Parkinson’s Disease and it scares me that my genes could very easily tip me into craziness later in life. Thankfully, developing Parkinson’s is 27% attributable to genetics and a relatively rare disease. Also, there are certain lifestyle factors that decrease a person’s risk, such as drinking coffee and maintaining an active lifestyle.

Check and check.

Despite these worrisome results, genetics also are not the end-all-be-all.

7)     I’m 2.8% Neanderthal

All humans have some Neanderthal DNA within them. I’m proud to be 2.8% caveman!

8)    I’ve got French and Irish ancestors

For the longest time, all I knew was that I was 75% German and 25% Italian based solely on both sets of grandparents. I always envied those who could claim more than two ancestral roots.

Overall, I’m 99.9% European, which does not surprise me at all. But the breakdown is where I got excited. I’m 23.4% French and German; 7.8% British and Irish; 3.6% Scandinavian; 5.0% Greek; and 3.8% Italian. I’ve got a large smattering of nonspecific northern and southern European (which could mean several countries) and a tiny speck—0.1%--Sub-Saharan African.

I’m basically a European mutt.

9)    I’m part of the H1 haplogroup

All people alive on Earth can trace their mitochondrial DNA to one woman who lived 170,000 years ago and from her, the haplogroups formed based on migratory patterns subsequent generations followed.

The H1 haplogroup first appear 13,000 years ago and covers several regions including Europe, Near East, Central Asia and Northwestern Africa. Common theory is that during the Ice Age, glaciers forming over Scandinavia pushed people further south into France, Spain and Italy, thus forming the H1 haplogroup.

10) I share DNA with 608 other 23andme.com users

I have 608 relatives, most of whom share very little DNA with me, but still, somewhere along the way we share a common family member. Most of the 608 are distant cousins, but 7 of them 23andme considers second to third cousins and 48 of them 4^th cousins.

It’s humbling and mind blowing to think of how connected we all are.

If you have the opportunity to purchase a testing kit through 23andme.com, I highly recommend it. I've had my results since April and they're constantly updating your results based on new studies. And it's just fascinating to read. So many increase/decreased risk factors are attached to several genes and I still haven't read about all of them.

You also get access to all the raw data, which gives you links to other websites that describe the purpose and in-depth information on each gene. 

For all the information you get, it's definitely worth the $99 price tag.