It’s been a couple weeks since I
posted and it really feels like we are starting to drift apart and I want to
apologize for that. To regain that trust that we had of me spilling my guts to
you as you laugh at the inconvenience and disappointment that at times is my
life I’m going to try and tell you a few funny stories from the past week.
First off yes I really did like the
First Lady Dresses exhibit in DC and I don’t care what anyone says; but that yellow
jacket that Nancy Reagan sported is even pretty hideous in person (does that
display her lack of style or validate my nickname of Gay Derek in college?).
Secondly women if you get into every museum free that’s basically in DC then
don’t bitch about Diet Coke prices. I know they’re expensive but seriously you
just saw the original flag flown with the battle scars still on it that
inspired our National Anthem, let’s keep things in perspective.
My last story has to begin with the
cover art that my publisher put together as an option for “Somewhere Over the
Rainbow” so check it out:
I must admit I’m not one that really
gets into or understands art. All I really know is that I like something that
is unique. By that I mean art that gives someone a different perspective
whenever they look at it. I like art that allows people to see different things
and experience it in their own way; something unlike anything else. Kind of
like my cover up there only when I look at that cover I only see one thing;
stigma.
Last week I attended Ohio’s NAMI state
conference and other than trying not to totally drop the ball and be funny when
signing my books (not very successful by the way) I listened to the Keynote
Speaker. The topic of the conference was the “Elephant in the Room” and it
focused on the discrimination, stereotypes, and stigma’s associated with mental
health. Patrick Kennedy (who credited none of his political career to his last
name; or was it mainly all of it?) had personal experience with stigmas and the
like and touched on a number of issues that could be resolved and even
discussed the role of our Vets in the fight.
For some reason in my day to day fight
even when I experience stereotypes or stigmas it never really bothers me. I’m
not sure if I purely see it as an ignorant comment that the person has no idea
they’re doing or if I have bigger problems to worry about. As of late I’ve
started to see the light at the end of the tunnel and am feeling anxious to get
back to a life not completely filled with worry about my health. Now it seems
at times I can lose my patience and become irritable with having to wait around
and “kill time”. It’s at these times
that I try to focus on the stigmas and stereotypes that I never used to have
time for.
I mean look at that cover; I sent over
a page description of my book and they “creatively” came up with that. For shit’s
sakes look at the sun’s eyes (never mind I’ve never seen the sun without
sunglasses, I mean it is the sun) I have no idea how that represents bipolar
disorder. Now just like with art I know people can have different perspectives
with mental health and I can respect that. However I’ll be honest I really don’t
like the way most people are looking at bipolar disorder and I’m planning on
changing that (yeah, that shouldn’t take any time at all).
Since many of my manic experiences
involve music I’ve decided to add random music videos to the blog for my
enjoyment and your inconvenience. Enjoy!
Coming Correct,
d01roK
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