Personalities

For some odd reason I picked up watching this "Under the Dome" TV show.  I am not even much of a Stephen King fan but whoever is producing this show has intrigued me.  The makeup of the characters and the development of the town, from first trying to figure out the dome to now where they realize they might always be in this dome and how will they survive the rest of their life when they run out of stuff.

That got me thinking about one of the huge issues with camping, being outdoors, hiking, biking, walking, or heck just name it and it applies to it.  You need the right people with similar personalities with you.  Have you ever been on a trip and it was so much fun BUT that one annoying person that did something to bug you the entire time?  We have all been there and done that. 

So I wanted to share a little advice (disclaimer:  Never listen to anything I say, this should only be used for entertainment value and never construed as advice) on how I have come to do group outings with either people you don't know or with people that are irritating in some way.  The first thing and the most important thing to do is ask the other person questions about themselves.  This might be hard for some people but the more the other person talks the less you are going to irritate them.  I have to do this because my personality comes off harsh to alot of people, take my buddy Vic for instance.  He couldn't stand the air I breathed when we first met, then I warmed up to him by asking him questions and that in turn got us to know each other better and eventually he became my diabetes sports mentor.  Next is to have a positive attitude no matter what.  The old saying that critters are attracted to honey and not vinegar is true.  No one likes a complainer so listen to your mothers advice and never talk bad or negative.  The only time to ever talk about bad situations are when they are over and in a comedic light.  For instance say your car breaks down with you and a few annoying friends.  don't argue about what happened, just figure out how to fix the situation and when it is over you all can laugh about how hard it was to figure out the jack, and how long it took to get the tire off.  This is a way to bring the group to like each other because everyone stayed positive and defused the situation.  Last, is to pay attention to your surroundings.  Just think of your diabetes in this situation (OK if you don't have diabetes I can't remember what that is like so read another blog that is from a normal person without diabetes) when those annoying diabetes police come to you while treating a low and they tell you about how that orange juice is going to kill you.  There is also the person that meets you and wants to share their relationship to diabetes with you and they say something like this: My grandmother had diabetes and they cut off her toes and spleen because of it.  That doesn't make us feel better.  These are people that don't pay attention and are trying to help but in fact you want to punch them in their pancreas because of what they say.  Don't do that and to avoid this type of mistake you need to notice peoples reaction to something you say or listen to things people talk about.  We all hate the absent minded person that is like a round diabetic trying to fit into a square insulin pump.

In the end any situation can be kept from being a bad one just if we all use proper personality.  Whether you are lost on a hike, in a broken down car, or trapped in a snow globe you can always have a good time with the right personality.