Roll call

Here.

Brook! So good to hear from you. I've been thinking about you and wondering where you were. How's your wife?

What kind of enlightenment are you seeking? I'm not sure we're actually knowledgable, but amongst the lot of us you'll no doubt find someone to take stab at answering any question you care to bring.

She has been diagnosed with diabetes. She spent close to two weeks in the hospital while the learned what kind of insulin and how much insulin and they needed to teach her how to administer it also. It is her birthday today and I gave her some DVDs and a word search book. She is in a good mood. We will be going out for lunch at our favorite resteraunt later also.

I was being cynical with the enlightenment thing. Sometimes I believe mental health workers need to lighten up, or I might go crazy, ha ha...

Thanks for responding Costello, I hope your son is doing better. I hope to read another post soon Brook.

Happy birthday to her! Hope she takes care of herself and stays well.

I thought you were. That's why I gave a bit of a flip answer.

I was serious when I said I was glad to see you again, though. You've been MIA for a while.

He's doing remarkably well for a guy who was fired from his job a few days ago. He was pretty down over the weekend, but yesterday evening he was really chipper. He was doing his obsessing thing but not in a really agonized way.

He didn't sleep well last night. He was wide awake at 2 am, so I sat and talked with him for a while.

He was fussing over a tattoo he got on his upper arm a couple of years ago. Should he have gotten it? Is it uncool? Is he a weirdo for having it? Should he remove it? Will he regret it if he removes it? etc., etc., etc. And all this after he told me he likes the tattoo.

Personally I think he's only really "happy" when he has something to fuss about.

I'm here. I think I might have forgotten yesterday; I'm extremely busy.

Somebody is . . . I don't know . . . electric-sawing or something outside my building and it's disturbing my vision. I'm seeing all these flashes and patterns in lights around my face.

Here.

I don't know where else to put this, so I'll just put it here.
London is turning into a miniature police state in preparation for the Olympics, and it is proper messing with my head. There are so many police around, not to mention the soldiers, transport police armed with machine guns, boats patrolling the river . . . now there are news reports they're going to put surface-to-air missiles all throughout my neighbourhood. And there are still two months before the Olympics start!!

None of this is making it easy to control my paranoia. Maybe I need to overcome my curmudgeonliness and buy some Olympics memorabilia - like maybe a rubber bracelet - so I can always be reminded of why everyone is armed to the teeth.

I'm here.. not that anyone really cares.

Here. Dreamed my cat Tiger came home last night.

My son was upset a couple of days ago that the "receptionist" at the local Social Security office was an armed security guard.

I'm always glad to see new people become active on this forum. You're welcome here.

Here.

Here. I saw a Chinese medicine practitioner this morning - first time ever. No idea if he helped or not.

I'm well impressed anyone stays any kind of sane in the States, with the mere knowledge that anybody could be armed.

FYI -- those with CCW permit are now allowed to carry in churches and worship centers and even crowded grocery stores !

Powercord came for my laptop so I can tell you I didn't drop off the face of the earth. Things have been pretty bad lately. Got in major argument with the in-laws and hubby thinks it may be best if I just don't correspond with his family at all. Apparently his mother thinks I'm evil and manipulative and everything I do is in some malicious attempt to ruin their lives. Is it bad that I kind of wish that were me goal in life, cause now I have all these plans of things I could do. I won't, because despite their feelings, I am not evil incarnate. Ever since this happened I'm having insane hotflashes, dreams I don't know are dreams until something in reality contradicts them (Their stupid things but it bugs me cause I thought they were real), and if I'm not distracted I feel like I have cuts all over my arms that are a few days healed, (I use to SI), and if I don't distract myself from it my arm muscles strain until they become paralyzed. My arms are so sore and tired (like I've been working them out all day). It makes it hard to do anything. I want so badly to escape my life right now. And I feel like someone is spying on me but I'm too tired to care and am wondering what their motives are and if they are going to try and use this information against me.

It depends on the state. In my state you can't (legally) carry a concealed weapon in a church but grocery stores are ok: http://www.usacarry.com/kansas_conce...formation.html

Glad you're back, ickydog. Sorry you're having in-law problems.

My mind, she boggles!!!

hello. been having unfamiliar bad'ns popping up which has been very upsetting.

costello-have you looked into assisted living or adult foster care for your son? my wife lived in an adult assisted living community for a couple years between moving from her parents home to her own home. there were plenty of negative things about it, but more positive things than negative.

Costella- as caregiver to your son, you must take care of yourself first. and give yourself a respiete. despite loving your son deeply, you must still get a break from it all just for you. ( a bubble bath comes to mind) some soft music and a glass of wine.
my own mother does what she can to help me, but she always takes time for herself, even if that is perceived as being selfish. ( a bit offf thread topic, sorry)
when i go out into my community, i see that most people arre still helpful and do not act or behave in "odd" ways. the people do care. sometimes, you just have to observe and take away the feeling of hope in our unpredictable times. take care,
costello, do something fun with your son if you can. simplicity is a good thing.

Here on a sleepy Friday morning.

May 11, 2012 is the 19th anniversary of my father's death.

I'm here. So tired. I seem to be shopping to cope with stress, I dislike that.

I am very sorry for your loss Costello. I hope you will be able to enjoy some happy memories of your father.

I'm poking out from behind a massive stack of books. They've started talking to me.
Anyone want to place bets on how medicated I'd be if I told a psychiatrist that my voices are reciting the Civil Procedure Rules?

Here.

Thanks, Gr3tta. It was a long time ago, but I always think about my dad on May 11.

My dad and I were always close. We had more in common than my mom and I do. We even looked more like each other.



I was away at library school in Illinois when he died. The last time I saw him was the weekend of my son's birthday in March. My parents drove to Urbana to see him. My dad adored my son. He'd had three daughters and really wanted a son. I think he felt close to him as well, because my dad lost two dads as a child - his bio dad put him up for adoption and his adoptive dad died when he was 13. He felt the pain keenly and sympathized with my son whose dad had also abandoned him. So he doted on him. And my son loved his poppo. I sometimes wonder if things might have been different in some way for my son if my dad had lived longer.

The last time we spoke was on Mother's Day - two days before he died. That was the year it rained so hard. I don't know if you remember. The Mississippi was huge: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_M..._Flood_of_1993. It was massive when I graduated in August and drove over it on the way home. Anyway that's what we talked about - how much it was raining and how wet it was and how he wasn't able to get out and mow the lawn.

He died on a Tuesday which I had long considered the worst day of the week. He hadn't been feeling well for some time and was depressed because of it. He came home from work, and my mom asked him to come out and work on a tree in the front yard. As soon as he got outside he collapsed and died almost immediately. I've always thought it was the perfect way for him to die - very quickly, on a spring day, outside, working on a tree (he loved trees). He wouldn't have liked to linger with a slow death. He didn't like doctors. I think if he could have engineered it, that's pretty close to the death he'd have chosen.

I remember a few months after he died I was home and sitting in the front room with my mom. We heard a very loud bird call from that tree. I've never heard that call before or since. My mom and I just stared at each other. Neither of us are particularly superstitious, but we'd both had the same thought - it was a message from my dad.

Good luck, fish. I've worked at a law school for 15+ years. I've watched hundreds of students prepare for the bar exam. Very stressful. Just do it right the first time so you don't have to do it again!

What a lovely story about your father, Costello! I hope his memory still brings you comfort.