One Month With BiPolar

So it is officially One month since I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. Let me tell you how I got here. After the last drunken episode with Mom, the one that sent me hitchhiking my way to Appleton, the one that led to the tearful call home for her to pick me up when I got stuck in the storm of the year about half way to Eau Claire, I decided to try and make some changes in my life. Not the kind of manic change I make usually, but a well thought out productive one. I sat down alone and wrote down my main issues that hold me down. Next I decided on some steps to take to address each issue. I won't tell you the issues, they are a bit to personal, but I will tell you the steps I am taking to solve them. Here they are:

1. Seek Therapy. I did that and I am still doing that. That's what led to my diagnosis.

2. Quit drinking. Nuff Said.

3. Enroll in tech school. One decision made during one manic phase that I regret the most was dropping out of Stout. I am enrolled in their Computer Specialist program, ad it will be a tuff 2 years, but as long as I stay healthy and with it, I think I can do it.

4. Take at least one full day to make a major decision. Discuss it with friends and family, and then the next day decide. One thing about people with Bipolar is that they make terrible and risky decisions during the manic highs, such as buy expensive items like cars, or in my case jumping a Greyhound and traveling across the country with out any means. This can all take place on a whim in a matter of minutes.

So armed with with these rules, and my daily dose of Abilify, things are looking up. The lows are not as low and, well, I haven't had a high yet. I'll keep you updated on how things progress. And thanks for reading. Joey.

My Late Night Radio

I have always thought it would be cool to own my very own radio station. I spent much of my teen years riding around in my best buddies '78 T-Bird, trying to tune in A.M. stations, looking for the best Classic rock tunes. One that sticks out clearly in my mind is WACO I believe out of Cleveland. Best mix of 50s and 60s rock and pop rock money can buy. At least for a 16 yr. old, growing up in rural Wisconsin. Since than my tastes in music, and everything else has expanded, but it is true. Something's never change. I still cherish my roots, lovin' that old pop rock. Recently I had a dream that I owned a radio Station. It was a simple tower on top of a Record shop. I worked in the shop by day, and by night I spun records. If you ask me, that's as close to paradise a man can get.

10 Guilty Pleasures

10 of my guilty pleasures, in no particular order than the one in which I thought of them.
♦ Eating potato chips in bed
♦ Using my sheet as a napkin
♦ Watching t.v. with mute on, while listening to records
♦ Using up something in one day that was supposed to last me awhile (i.e. cigarettes, said bag of chips, bubble bath)
♦ identity theft
♦ eating sandwiches with more than one kind of meat on them
♦ digg it
♦ Neil Diamond
♦ cracking my wrists
♦ lying to strangers about my guilty pleasures
Your turn. Share your guilty pleasures with the world.

Robots To Teach Kids

Educators in Britain are now using a robot named KASPAR (Kinesics and Synchronisation in Personal Assistant Robotics), to teach children with autism human social skills. The robot costs $4.33 million, and can smile and stimulate surprise and sadness. They hope that KASPAR will encourage social interaction among the students.

My question is this: How will a robot that simulates human emotions teach autistic children how to socialise, when real people who naturally have the ability to stimulate surprise and sadness cannot?

Perhaps the answer lies in the nature of the disease. People with autism are generally emotionless, and are obsessed with repetition. Sounds like a robot to me.