Group Shot (appropriated from Allison!)

On the Train to NYC

As has been reported elsewhere, Sunday was a big D meet-up in New York City. Jason and I set out at 8:30 to drive to the train station in Central New Jersey to catch a 9:36 train to New York. I am notoriously late for just about everything, which drives Jason nuts, so there was a tone of ‘aren’t-you-glad-I-insisted-we-leave-on-time?’ as we pulled up to an oddly long line of cars at the parking garage of the train station. While he waited in line, I jumped out to go get our tickets, and soon enough, it was apparent to me why there was such a ridiculous amount of people waiting for the train on a Sunday morning – the Phillies were playing the Yankees in New York.

We were the first people to get on the train, so we got comfy in our seats while the other bazillion people boarded and tried to find seats together. Our uneventful trip ended at Penn Station in New York just before 11AM. We made our way out, and I snapped a few pictures of the Phillies fans, just because I thought it was cool to see so many of them in NYC.

Phillies Fans Overtaking the NYC Subway

The agreed upon time to meet was 11:45, so we had plenty of time as we began to walk the twelve or so blocks towards Marseille, the restaurant that Allison, our party planner, chose for our gathering. The weather was beautiful, albeit just a bit warm as we walked up 7th Avenue. A few blocks short of our destination, I heard, “Lee Ann!” and there was Val, who had also arrived by train a little early.

Once we arrived at the restaurant, we stood outside, and the diabetics started to arrive. Tia, then Wendy, then Brenda and her SO, followed by Allison and her man, Erik, Erica, Cara and her friend, and as soon as we got seated, Amylia and Chuck. It was a sizable group considering a good many people had had to decline the invitation due to previous Memorial Day weekend obligations.

Allison caught me taking a candid shot

As seems to be the case with large groups of diabetics, there was plenty of conversation about pumps, CGM systems, insurance coverage, highs, lows, and a wealth of frustrations that only people who live it can truly understand. I was worried Jason would die of boredom, but he even chipped in his two cents a few times. Next time, I’ll have to make sure he’s sitting closer to the other type 3’s so he can also enjoy the experience of commiserating with people who “get it” – it being the never-ending nonsense that comes with trying to be there for a diabetic loved one.

The food was delicious. The multigrain waffles with strawberries sounded heavenly, but I was a little more carb-conservative with my asparagus-goat cheese omelet and bagel. A few people splurged though, opting for those waffles, and some French toast which made my BG jump just looking at it – a stack of thick slabs of bread coated in crushed cereal, topped with sautéed bananas and maple syrup. Jason and I had plans to go to a barbeque once we got home later that afternoon, so I knew there were far more carbs than I ordinarily consume in the near future – otherwise I would have been all about the waffles.

Drooling over Dessert

I also skipped dessert, but wasn’t shy about drooling over the desserts that were ordered. One of them looked like layers of chocolate, which I would have happily sampled, but lucky for me it was coffee-flavored and I don’t do coffee or coffee-flavored anything. As you can see, I snapped a picture of the dessert menu just because I’m weird like that.

Chuck impressed me with his dedication to working out. I hoped that a little of his enthusiasm for it would rub off on me by sitting next to him, but if it did, it’s having a delayed effect. Wendy shared her experience with Dexcom, which made me all the more anxious for the anticipated integrated Animas-Dexcom system so I can trade in my Minimed version. I was really happy to meet Tia, a fellow fruit-lover, who is studying to be an optometrist. Brenda explained to me how she’s been educating people locally about the DOC by speaking at health fairs and offering poster presentations.

I was bummed that I didn’t have more of an opportunity to chat with Cara because she had been sitting at the opposite end of the table, but we did get to talk for a few minutes and got a couple of pictures. She seriously couldn’t have been any nicer, and I’m hoping she makes her way to Philly sometime so we can spend more time together. Amylia and I had some time to chat, which was cool. She is super nice, definitely someone I could see myself hanging out with if we lived closer, but since we don’t, I was thrilled to at least get to meet her. Needless to say, I was delighted to see Erica, Val and Allison again.

After eating, we snapped lots of pictures before everyone was on their way. Jason and I headed to Penn Station with Val, Wendy, Brenda and Frank, although, I didn’t get to say a proper good-bye because we were hustling to catch our train since we still had to get to the barbeque.

A huge thanks to Allison for putting it all together. It was an awesome time – good food, seeing some “old” friends, and making some new ones. I couldn’t have asked for more!

Amylia and Me

Me and Cara