The world looks blurry from up close!

The symptom that finally sent me running to the doctor was blurred vision. I managed two weeks of frequent bathroom trips and ignored it when my water began to taste metallic, but when I went through three days of vision so distorted that I couldn't make out a wall calendar or distant freeway signs, it scared me sufficiently to visit the urgent care facility.

After a few days of medication, the blurriness went away. For awhile. Now, it's returned with a vengeance, but with a twist. Before, things that I saw in the distance were blurry. Now, my vision up close is blurry. I have difficulty reading anything that is a few inches away from my face (though this large computer screen, a couple feet away is OK). During lunch today, I struggled to set the time on my father's watch because I couldn't read the print on the buttons.

This is apparently a natural phenomenon for diabetes as my eyes snap back into shape with a decreasing blood sugar level.

But, it feels strange to not be able read a book in comfort.

The Big D

I was diagnosed with diabetes on March 11, 2010 after I struggled through three blurry vision days in court. I could barely see the huge calendar on the court wall, but struggled through several hearings. Justice may not have been blind, but this attorney almost was!

I'll blog further on it as time permits- but for now let me just say that diabetes is truly life altering when it comes to your diet.

As of this weekend, I had lost about 10 pounds since my diagnosis and am eating less than ever before in my life as I adapt to this new reality.

My closest friends, as always in a crisis, have been there for me. They've worked out with me, listened to my venting sessions and have generally helped me through this.

My family, those who know, have also been great. My brother Carlos, as usual, is my irritable confidant (you'd be irritable too, if you had to listen to "unfiltered" Ray). My mother has offered her usual mix of intelligent reasoning and crackpot medical theories (diabetic tea and the such..). And my wife has been mostly patient at eating her meals with a mad man who looks at the corn bread on her plate as if it were a long lost love.

Ah, cornbread, I remember you when...

A night with Culture Clash

It's funny how life takes you down different paths and it's interesting to think about who you could have been. Last night, I watched a Chicano acting group named Culture Clash put on a series of skits about what it means to be American. The last time I'd seen the group perform was at UC Berkeley as an undergrad. At the time, I played around with the idea of trying out for a similar group. My girlfriend at the time was all for it.

"You make people laugh. I think you'd be a natural for it."

"I think people would be laughing at me, not with me. And I haven't acted since high school," I said, but I remained tempted by the idea. I made a mental note to look into the try out.

"Just don't let them know you voted for Reagan!" she added sarcastically. It wasn't true that I'd voted for Reagan(I was 13!), but having grown up in a small family business I did tend to be a bit more conservative than my friends.

As a student at Berkeley, I was drawn to the provocative and enjoyed watching a theater that made me think about society. I've always like to have my opinions challenged. I also loved the idea of possibly being a part of something similar to Culture Clash, but I ended up involved in local politics and never followed up on the acting.

Some eighteen years later, I remembered this as I walked into the theater to see Culture Clash.

An interminable two hours later, I found myself wishing that anyone but the actors on stage had tried out for Culture Clash. Their performance was, to say the least, less than provocative. One bit made fun of the different way that Latinos from different countries dance. Another bit, in the age of Will and Grace, made the shocking point that some Latinos are gay.

I was tempted to stick around for the 'question and answer' to ask where the revolution went. What happened to the radical guys that I watched in college?

I guess Culture Clash lost its bite as it's actors aged and got mortgages.

Maybe they would have been better off with a guy that voted for Reagan?