A little mania can be nice...

I think the Abilify is making DH just a LITTLE bit manic. He's been smoking more, and sleeping less. But I haven't seen anything (since Saturday) that made me too worried. Mostly, I think, whatever is going on, has been very good!

DH actually did ALL the laundry in the house (and it was pretty backed up!), folded it, and put it away. He called an electrician and found the true cause of the problem with the lights in DD's bathroom. He vaccuumed and also visited my mom!

Wow.

And the conversations with him have been very laid back, easy-going, kind of like they were when we first got married. I guess I didn't realize that we hadn't had that for a long time, until we suddenly did again.

Oh--and he agreed to start going to Spenders again. I told him I wasn't buying him any cigarettes until he promised me that he would. Now that he's promised, he seems pretty excited!

On a slightly more stressful note, one of DH's friends that he worked with a LONG time ago just "up and came over" today. We weren't expecting him at all, and of course the house was in chaos....although less chaos than usual, due to DH! I knew DH had talked the this person on the phone last week, and DH had told me that he had not told his friend what's been going on with him. I understand why, of course, but I don't have the exact plan for what DH told him, so I was afraid I was going to say something that would blow it.

I think this friend, though, has some kind of idea, because he used to come up to our place almost every weekend, but then when DH started "getting weird", he just stopped calling and he stopped coming by. I figured it was just one of those things that comes with mental illness. Now that he's back, I'm not sure what to think.

Anyhow, DH had allowed DD to rope him into appearing at her school to talk about his "career(s)". I had very grave concerns about this, for so many reasons. But DH was sure that he could do it, so that was that. Luckily, though, I guess, DH's friend went with him, because DH said "my thoughts were all jumbled. I was done in 5 minutes. I didn't know what to say." So DH's friend, who was a truck driver and is now retired, took over. So maybe his showing up at our house was just an angelic way of saving DH's face.

Oh. And leave it to Carol to open her big mouth! DH's friend told a joke, so I told a joke about G.W. Bush. I'm definitely not a fan of his. But after I told the joke, DH laughed out loud, and the friend gave a polite laugh. Then we found out that not only is he a Republican, but he is an ardent fan of George W. Oops. I guess I thought EVERYONE disliked Bush. Note to self: Only tell safe jokes when you are in the company of someone you don't know well.

Barack Obama's speech

I'm really not much of a political crusader. I tend to vote Democrat, but have voted Republican, too. I have told my friends that it really doesn't matter if it's Obama or Hillary, I'd vote for either one. I would've voted for Ron Paul. I wouldn't probably choose to vote for any traditional Republican "this time", because the current administration has made such a slop of things. So here's the thing:

I had heard that after the hullaballoo about Obama's preacher came out, that he (Obama) made a good speech, a speech for the ages, a historic speech. I am not much one for speeches, so I left it at that. (And it was easy, remember we still don't have TV..) I gave some thought to the Obama-preacher thing and recognized that I can relate. I was raised Catholic. There are many issues with the Catholic church that I do not agree with. But that doesn't mean I need to completely sever ties with the Church. I am a grown up person and capable of separating the stupid stuff from the good stuff. I presume Obama is the same.

With that in mind, I decided that I would still prefer Obama, but I really didn't care much one way or the other. Until very recently. The other day, I was meandering around the web, and I came across a blog where the author urged people to read the full text of Obama's speech. The blog wasn't a political one, but yet the author so strongly urged me (and everyone else) to read this speech, I decided to give it a go. And you know what? It was a historic speech. Incredibly moving and powerful. A speech that brought tears to my eyes, and a speech that made me want to share with you. So, regardless of who you are planning on voting for, even if you are voting for McCain, or some grassroots candidate, I am going to urge you to read this speech. Please. Here's the link:
Obama's Speech

P.S. When I told Jim about this speech, he said "Well, anyone can have a good speechwriter", and DH agreed. So I checked around and from all reports, Obama wrote the speech himself and stayed up until 2am doing it. So it adds even more credence to the thing.

Who should you vote for?

I was perusing online and I ran across this very cool site:

http://www.electoralcompass.com/v/wsj

I haven't really followed the elections as much as most people--although I've been following the economy (or lack thereof) very closely, I had thought that Obama was the one I identified best with, but I was surprised to see that my beliefs are more attuned to Hillary Clinton's. I also compared my beliefs to Ron Paul, they didn't match (surprise surprise), but they were closer than I thought they would be. If I had to vote for a republican, I'd probably go for Ron Paul, because he doesn't seem to be as much of a game-player as all the others. Anyhow, no matter what your political affiliation, I thought you might find this site interesting.

Is George Bush mentally ill? (Warning: Democratic slant)

Hmmm.... an interesting thought, isn't it??? And one that has been apparently considered by a number of people. It never really entered my frame of reference, despite my current life revolving around mental illness. I mean, how did he get to be president, if he's "not quite right"???

The thing that got me wondering about this was this article from CNN: Kucinich Questions Bush's mental health state over Iran. I happened to notice that, and questions started to pop into my mind.

I need to explain that while I tend to vote Democrat, I have never been someone to criticize the President. When Reagan was president, and even George W.'s father, I accepted that while their core beliefs probably weren't the same as mine, they would do their best to help the country and its citizens succeed. I have consistently tried to view the current administration in the same light and have found it impossible. I could go on a long rant about the things I vehemently disagree with, but I assume that after all this time, most of you have already formed your own opinions as to this issue. In a nutshell, when an educated (and presumedly powerful) person cannot pronounce the word "nuclear" correctly, it casts a shadow on everything else they do! (By the way, I strongly support the troops, just not the "reason" they are there. I don't think we can just up and end the war, there are too many things that are "half done", but I do think we should not have gone there in the first place, if you're wondering where I stand on that).

Anyhow, I started to try to examine Mr. Bush in terms of bipolar, and it just didn't fit. He doesn't seem to have the right symptoms. And I am not one to accept the fact that "Mr. Kucinich thinks he's crazy, so he must be, right?" I don't know much about Mr. Kucinich, truth be told. But it seemed like a logical explanation for a lot of things I don't understand. So I started to look into others who have been questioning Mr. Bush's mental state, and I found this:
Is George Bush insane?

And you know, it did make sense, even if it is a slightly outdated article.

And then I found this:
The neuropsychology of George W. Bush

And suddenly the whole "noo-kee-lar" thing was clear to me.

The only thing that doesn't make sense to me is why is he our president???? A person who won't or can't read??? Or write??? Who has all these things done for him so that he can have power???? I am postively flabbergasted. I don't know what to say. Like I said above, it had never even occurred to me that maybe there was more than just a person I don't particularly like, whose ideas I find repugnant. After reading a little, I am just stuck wondering what has become of our country, that enough people could vote for him, that he could be our leader? But then I didn't know either.

And who is really running the show, anyhow, if he isn't reading and isn't writing, and can't speak well?

Oh, and just for fun, and in case you still have doubt.....
Famous Bush Quotes