I’m a vampire every year but mortality felt inappropriately close this weekend. But, before the brush with death, October was fun. It’s the best month and it didn’t disappoint. We dressed up more than we have in the past few years and that was fun. Also, Halloween seemed to go on and on because Milwaukee […]
Category: epilepsy
Nuclear war?
We live in a globalized world. What’s happening to a country on the other side of the world affects the lives of those living in countries on the opposite side of the world. While bombs aren’t falling on my head, seeing them fall on civilians in Ukraine is nauseating and feels super close somehow. I […]
The Revelations/Revolutions of June
There’s those days of self-pity where you just have to crash out Les Misérables’ I Dreamed a Dream on the piano and make your dog serve as unwilling witness. Speaking of the dog, June Carter Cash has just started eating on her own. This is a revelation. I came home from work late one night […]
The Olympics of Every Day
Another week of being alive! Huzzah! That opening makes it sound like this week’s blog post is going to be exploding with good news and joy. I’ll do my best. Lately, my neurological realities have been on my mind and I’m trying to feel really grateful for the time I have. That’s not meant to […]
Hold on… hold on…
This week I’m identifying most and best with my broken car fob and our traumatized, terrified yet indignant and supremely weird new dog. This is because recently I hit a wall due to the rut of our present existence and other factors. When you’re feeling low, it’s good practice to count your blessings. There is […]
COVID and the Saddest Dog in the World
COVID has become a regular part of daily life. We live in a time of plague. Putting on a mask when leaving the house has become commonplace. Not seeing friends and family has become normal. My innate desire to feel repulsion when seeing a large group of people has been allowed to flourish along with […]
Have the Circus Pick Me Up: A Holiday Tale
I’ve found another career path: the circus. It’s not a huge surprise as I’m from Baraboo, Wisconsin, which is known as “Circus Town, USA” due to it being the home of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. Maybe your grandmother didn’t take you and your cousins to the circus every summer but mine […]
To Mastiff or Not To Mastiff
My epilepsy is stretching… Uh-oh. The fact that I’m aware of it stirring is alarming because it’s difficult to do under the cloud of medication I take to keep it still so, when I can sense its movement… I used to tell friends I was “happy” about having epilepsy because it served as a kind […]
My Own Private Shit Show: The Art of Coping
This week’s blog is focused on the events of my daily life and how I’m using perspective to prevent them from driving me completely insane. Letting Your Car Go We paid off our car. Which means we’ve given it permission to completely fall apart. You’re free, Marshmallow. While a mechanic was trying to figure out […]
When Words Don’t Cover It,1990’s Microsoft Paint Can
Words fail. That kind of thinking is detrimental for a blog. In any case, I think my logistics job is affecting my not-job-related memory, soul and verbal speech… or else… it’s not the super stressful job and, rather, the FTD/ALS is kicking in. I hope not because my job does not offer health insurance, and […]
My Final Blog Post…?
Hello to anyone reading this blog and who has perhaps even read other blog posts! Hello hello hello! I’ve started a Real Job. It’s the first time I’ve worked for a) not a cause b) not an educational establishment and c) for a for-profit start-up which essentially benefits the wealthy. It’s making me feel a […]
Epilepsy, 3 Hospitals, 7 Vials of Blood and a Key Lime Martini
So… how was your Monday? 😺 Mine turned out to be a Big Day. Now in this odd little blog, I tell a lot of random stories. But lately I’ve strayed away from my health issues (epilepsy etal.) because I’ve been enjoying a blissful break from hospitals. Yet, this all changed Monday and now you’re […]
I Am Batman
Little known fact that I am Batman. Though you may have had some clues given my being an orphan and certainly also having some unresolved issues in regard to the whole “being an orphan” thing. Yet, my lack of extreme wealth may have tipped you off that I’m not really the crime-fighting playboy cape-wielding superhero. […]
Stigma: Epilepsy, Mental Illness and the Same Old Treatment
Reality is a fickle thing. If you don’t share the reality most others share, life is more difficult. Some people run with their “outsider” status and others fight to change and expand how their reality is seen and experienced. And still others do what they can to hide their different reality and quietly assimilate with […]
The Fantastic Curse of Epilepsy
I recently had the pleasure of reading a friend’s poetry memoir regarding his experiences with epilepsy. He supplements his poetic verse with evocative photographs, and it’s creative, honest, authentic and thought-provoking. Since he’s the second person I’ve recently read about who has broken their jaw (or general “face area”) in a seizure, it made me […]
Maybe I’ll Have a Happy Electrified Ending
This blog is a little late this week because I spent Monday and Tuesday doing “real” work aka editing a grant application (for a friend but she paid me my rate and it was the closest thing I’ve done to “real” work in a long time). So that felt good. That update is for those […]
Monday: Electrodes, Needles, Nerves, Static, a Bed and Four Men and an Epileptic Crammed in a Tiny Room
I’m not going to lie. That 👆 sounds like a very messed up porn. Gross. Which is why I don’t feel a lot of people could do an EMG test. Because if you’re not “good with” needles, or have an issue with claustrophobia or with being electrocuted, or being essentially naked on a bed in […]
Hey Brain Wars Subscribers… Got a Minute? 😺
TOMORROW (THURSDAY 3/3/21) IS PITCH MADNESS! Otherwise known at #PITMAD. And I am once again pitching my graphic memoir WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU WEIRD AT PARTIES. UPDATE: Thank you so much for your help! Special shout out to Naomi, Gabi, Meredith and Jesse. Here are tomorrow’s pitches: #1 Diagnosed w epilepsy at age […]
Brain Update: To Fall or Not to Fall
“Are you afraid of falling?” “No.” The neurological specialist nodded thoughtfully and I redirected my thoughts to reflect on how “Stephen Hawking” fell a lot in the beginning of the movie The Theory of Everything. ☹️ The reason for this rant is how I went to the dreaded appointment with an ALS specialist because I […]
If I Was Rich, I’d Have To Get My Cardio Elsewhere: A Shoveling Tale
Milwaukee got pummeled by snow this weekend (church was canceled even) which meant the weekend was largely spent shoveling. I like shoveling because it provides me with cardio and the gratification that comes with putting work in and having it pay off. Immediately. Our apartment is on a corner so, as we are to shovel […]
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