Questions Bipolar Version #8

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeyondtheRainbow 250 sq feet in a dream area Did you go to camp as a kid?

I went to summer camp as a kid and worked as a camp counselor every summer between the ages of 14 and 20. When I was 20 I was hired by the camp as assistant director. Fun times!

Do you like to binge watch shows?

I’m not much of a binger, if I have the DVDs and there’s no commercials then I might binge favorite shows. But seriously after the second show of any kind I’m getting antsy. Strange cause I can read all kinds of books for hours but tv I need change.

If you could cast a movie with all your favorites who would you pick, alive or dead.

I don't know what kind of a movie it would turn out to be (a strange one, to be sure), but let's go with Frances McDormand, Willem Dafoe, Joe Pesci...& Chris Farley?

Have you ever played/studied a musical instrument? What made you choose it, & if you stopped playing, why?

After my ballet days ended (long story), I started studying the piano. I've always loved the instrument and had an upright piano. I stopped during a period when symptomatic with bipolar. Years down the line my mother wanted me to take my piano, but I couldn't because I didn't have enough room in my house. That was pretty sad. I wish I had been able to. Too long ago now.

Can you sing well? Regardless of if you can/can't, what do you like to sing?

I can’t sing at all. But I love professor Child’s ballads. I’ve forgotten most of them now. Way back, way, way back at the U they had live music at the college coffee shop. One weekend it was a woman who sung old ballads mostly a cappella but also had some renaissance instruments. She told me all about the ballads and I loved them. Most are about fair maidens and mischievous knights.

Have you ever listened to or sung folk music?

Yes in high school I use to sing Scottish songs and have done for my exams. There is also a thing here called The Leng Medal which I have done 3 times coming 2nd twice and 3rd. Kids do this at 11 or 12 years of age until 18 years old.

Question: What things do you do to keep the depression at bay?

Exercise, eat better with focus on gut health....

Have you ever been homeless?

No, thank God

Have you ever looked for your therapist or pdoc on social media?

Sadly yes. Not in recent years though. I just wanted to know more about my therapist since I told her so much every week about me. I went and discovered she is normal person. What is your best mental tool in the tool box?

I’m pretty none impulsive. That gives me time to think things though. Of course when I’m manic that goes flying out the window 🪟( always seem to break the glass and do great damage) the key is to be alert to head off the mania by lifestyle and med change

If you could pick up a certain skill instantly, what would it be, and why?

I don't think it's so much a mental tool as it is an emotional one, but accepting the fact I'm often powerless over the people, places and things in my life is an important guidepost. I can do my very best to control my actions and reactions to these factors, and limit the power I let them have over my emotional well-being. It's not easily done when serious BD episodes strike, though.

While you don't have to do this every day, what's the favorite part of your normal routine? Describe what it does for you.

I like watching my soaps at sunset. They're very amusing and i get pleasure out of them. I watch 3.5 hours worth so i really get to enjoy myself. I like the clothes and the decor almost as much as the story. They are all different. One is elegant, one is zany, one builds climaxes really well and one is sort of unremarkable.

What kind of eye-glasses do you like? Funky? Elegant? Subtle? Bold? Unique? Inconspicuous?

I go with subtle yet colorful. My current ones are teal wtih some sand-color swirled in on the bottom.

Do you like to be warm or cold when you sleep?

I like our bedroom cool so the temperature under the covers is just right.

Do you prefer to have the bed to yourself for sleeping, or do you like having another person there?

Totally alone, not even my cat will sleep with me as I toss and turn too much for him. Now that I have a full sized bed the pillows mostly stay on the bed, but not always.

Do you collect anything? What?

Glass mice, most hand-painted. I had a very sad day last year when a transformer outside my house blew and the impact on my house knocked the shelves over and broke half my collection (and of course the most expensive ones).

Do you prefer a big store like Walmart or a smaller more community based (but much more expensive) for groceries? (welcome to my town )

Even if a Walmart had been closer, I would never have done regular shopping there. Walmarts just don't have the variety and quality of products I would want. I rather shopped at a large Shoprite market. That offered a huge variety (plus a lot of local population-based stuff), but was the cheaper of the options. Only occasionally would we go elsewhere, and usually only for some special item(s).

In Czech Republic, there are all sizes of grocery stores, too. When we actually go to one, we tend to go to a huge Globus. They have almost everything you would want. They have a good foreign foods selection, but when it comes to Czech food, it's a paradise. The more "regular-sized" places have fewer options. Some in-city places are more like bigger corner stores. We have actually been ordering online a lot since the pandemic. When in the US we ordered from a New York City based grocer or Whole Foods. In Czech Republic, we mostly order from rohlik.cz. Another online grocer is kosik.cz, but that's bigger closer to Prague than the city I'm now living in.

How much do you order online (Amazon, groceries, other)?

I order next to nothing online other than tickets to sporting, music, or arts events. We do in-person grocery shopping, & I'm not much of a consumer to begin with. My needs & desires are few...I'm a simple SOB. When I do need to buy something, I like to examine it with my own senses. With brick & mortar stores becoming a thing of the past, however, my mode of shopping may become a mere memory.

It's only Thursday, but there's a weekend coming up. Taking your limitations into consideration, what would your ideal April 17 & 18 look like?

honestly I think I'd just be happy with no pain, good mood, and some energy. all things that are currently failing me.
at what age were you told the truth about santa (or if you wern't, at what age did you figure it out?)

I was maybe 6 1/2 years old. My sister, who is 6 1/2 years older than me, told me. She even showed me where our mother hid the presents to be wrapped. I think it's sort of common that older siblings spill the beans. She also told me there was no Easter Bunny. I think I learned that even a year earlier. I believed in the Tooth Fairy about the longest. Maybe until almost 8 years old, then I figured out that it was my folks, on my own.

What special holiday custom does your family practice, that most families in your country don't?

Since my partner & I have lived together for 18 years, I'll consider this as part of my holiday custom. My partner is 100% Polish (none of her great-grandparents ever learned English). Food is a big part of true Polish holidays. At Christmas & Thanksgiving they always serve jellied pigs feet (disgusting, IMO), duck blood soup (also nasty), & pierogi (the good stuff!). Making pierogi is an all day affair that takes place a few days before the holiday...the dough & fillings are made from scratch, & there are different stations on the pierogi assembly line (it usually takes five people). In my primarily Anglo family, the closest thing that can be called "ethnic" or "exotic" is green jello salad!

How much do you know about your genealogy, or family history? Where did your family come from? When? Why? Or has this information been lost to history?

I grew up with the Norwegian side very emphasized. The sweets breads and cookies especially and lutefisk and lefse. Now there are a few churches that make the lutefisk dinners but it doesn’t really get made at home anymore. Mum’s German side didn’t get a lot of say. But we’re very German in emotional baggage. The English side got totally overlooked along with the Czech side. Mum is 100% German and dads side only celebrated the Norwegian stuff.

Have you ever done a dna kit?

This is telling me my message is too short?

I never did, but my sister did. I guess that's basically the same result, in terms of family background. I don't know if it told her anything significant about a medical propensity. Anyways, we knew where our family came from. No mysteries there. Our most recent immigrant ancestor was a great great great grandfather from Dublin, who was a famous horse jockey. All the rest were mostly from southern England, many from Devon from as far back as the late 1600s and early 1700s. Frankly, we feel much more like Central New Jerseyans (early American colonist) than of other backgrounds.

Do you feel more attached to your state (or section of a country) than the country as a whole?

Definitely. I love California. There's so much beauty here, and I appreciate the progressive mind-set that most (certainly not all!) Californians have. I will say, however, that my family comes from Brooklyn and when I'm in NYC it sure feels comfortable to me.

Are ceiling fans popular where you live?