Friday Foolishness – Galactic Edition

Today’s Music: The Firm – Star Trekkin’
Note on Today’s Music: TMWGITU made me use this. The things we do for love…

Well, I had a kill-yourself kind of week. I’m tempted to call out the laptop manufacturer whose product has been driving me batpoop crazy all week, but I don’t think the Lenovo people, or their buddies at IBM would appreciate it. The T520 team definitely wouldn’t, so I’ll just let it go.
But the fact that it was such a long week made reading the other blogs that much more fun and appreciated as I struggled along.
Lisa shared some of her addictions, and I hope she never goes into rehab for them, because they’re too funny.
Asplenia earned herself a lifetime pass from cooking, and finished up the post with one of my favorite bits ever from a Monty Python flick.
And the Girl in the Cat Frame Glasses put up her Epic Four Part Bio, with a nod to mental health in part 3. It’s a great well told story.
(It’s still Mental Health Awareness Month.)

Thanks to them and everyone else for feeding my addiction to great stories!

Last week, instead of doing the smart thing and asking how these polls should be asked, we went the other way, and asked how they should be answered. Several people were confused and had no idea what I was talking about. Welcome to my world ladies and gentlemen…
So here they are, your answers to last weeks poll, The correct answer for these polls is… (As always, my comments are in italics)

lurking somewhere just beyond the horizon Laura (liveclay)
(Not sure if that’s Joe Walsh – In the City, or Rod Serling…)
there’s an app for that.
(You know, Angry Birds can’t solve everything.)
Filling in bubbles is so inside the box. No boxes. Red.
(Perhaps an oval, with a Möbius strip wall?)
take two aspirin and call me in the morning. Barking in the Dark.
(If you hold the pills between your knees, you won’t have good stories to tell in the morning.)
all of the above and then some.
(Wait, going above and sideways? I like it!)
With a shotgun_Barb
(Step awaaay from the coffee, Barb.)
Huh? Elyse, 54.5
(I believe you have grasped the essence of these polls, Elyse!)
Roast beef
(No, that was the pickle poll a few weeks ago…)
Always mine. Quirky
(I am so tempted to write “WRONG” here. Fortunately, I am (barely) not that immature!)
Call me a dumb blond on this one cuz I’m just not gettin’ it. Michelle Motley News
(It was a test, Michelle. And you’ve passed brilliantly!)
Yours for only $19.99….that’s a $60 value! Stay Abnormal
(I’ll take seventeen hundred!!! Will you throw in an oven mitt?)
Umm, whatever he said (jerking thumb to the left) Kanerva
(GAH!!! Watch those thumbs lady! That was my eye!!!)
whatever I answer I decide to grace you with. G-Snaap
(Who is Grace, and why are you waving her at us?)
The correct answer is ‘me’…’cause I’m always right! KJ
(By official order of the President of Canadia!)
C and some that I typically can’t provide – a quick, witty answer. (Frank)
(At least you have the wisdom not to fake wit, Frank. Unlike a certain Friday Foolishness poll writer I could name.)
if I KNEW.. I would win one WOULDNT I? lizzie
(Wait for it…)
I am confused
(Hey, you can join Michelle and Elyse at the support group! I’ll be there too. Sigh.)
Dude, you have too much free time on your hands. WG
(god, how i wish that were true…)
I did NOT have sexual relations with that woman! lizzie..
(yes…I think…can it be…
WE. HAVE. A. WINNER!!!!
and despite what that Linda Vernon character thinks, I was not intimidated into picking you this week.)
(I’m not scared of her.
(Much.)

Congratulations to LizzieCracked for this weeks winning answer! And for those that are wondering, the most popular poll choice was F. What the hell are you asking me for?.
Congratulations to you all. For making it through another one of these. Sigh.

There’s been a bit of hullabaloo in NYC. They flew in a space shuttle, and are going to put it in the incredible Intrepid Air & Space Museum. Until then, it’s sitting in an airport. Under a shed. Next to the highway.
Hmm…
Why are the best ideas also the worst? I’m going to take a short drive this weekend just to see it. I swear, officer who might be reading, I’m just going to look.
But for those of you who’ve been here a while, this week’s poll asks. Where you wanna go?
Vote often, and if you write in an answer, leave a way to recognize you and I’ll link back to you next week. Just do it by 2359 EST on 24 May. Because that’s when the poll closes.

And to keep you entertained until I call for bail, enjoy these:
The first man on the moon

and a quick look ahead, from NASA

Have a great week all. I gotta go catch my ride.

People

Today’s Music: Sly and the Family Stone – Everyday People
Note on Today’s Music: When the idea for this post came to me, this song leapt into my head. At least it took it;s shoes off first…

The month of May is Mental Health Awareness Month. It’s a month to draw attention to what mental illnesses are and how the people that have them deal with them, what symptoms are, and what can be done to help.
It isn’t hard to do. They’re just people.

I know a woman who has ADHD. And a husband and kids who are all at that age. She has a wicked sense of humor. She is insane, in the non-clinical, best sense of the word.
Every so often, she breaks down and just needs to talk about her struggle with the illness. Much like the rest of us sometimes just need to vent about what’s going on in our lives.

I have a friend who’s bipolar. She gets upset about things. Just like the rest of us. She gets happy about things. Just like the rest of us.
The fact that she has a mental illness doesn’t take away from struggling with the same problems as we all do. It just adds another layer to it.
But she also has a hilarious outlook. Even when she’s swung to the low end, she can say something that will make me laugh out loud, which makes me say something that makes her laugh, and back and forth we’ll go.
The conversations often end with “Thanks”, because both of us find them good conversations. Both of us will say it. It’s the conversation that matters.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month.
It’s funny, there’s a lot of stigma attached to mental illness. People that have it often try to hide it and avoid it.
The two people above have openly admitted it. They’ve said when they’re going through a reaction to it, invited questions, and explained what it means.
They’ve said that the biggest help in dealing with it is knowing that they don;t have to hide it and that their friends are accepting.

Poke around. If someone you know has Depression, is Bi-Polar, has OCD, even something like an eating disorder, look into it. Find out what it means.
Think about the people that stuck by you when you were having difficulties in your life. Think about how when you’ve revealed something you were deeply ashamed of, those close to you just said “Ok”, and went on being close to you.

We’re all just people. we all have baggage.
Doesn’t make any of us any less worthwhile than anyone else.

So please, take a moment to find something out about Mental Illnesses and the people that have them.
People. Just like you and me.