Yahoo! News - FoxTrot

What can I say? I like this comic strip!

Journey Inside My Mind: Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)

One of the main reasons I started this weblog was to be able to document the so-called "journey inside my mind". I tend to be rather neurotic, and I've often not been able to understand why my world seems to be in a whirlwind and out of control (see related posts: "Mind on Fire" "Whirlwind - A Poem").

Since undergoing therapy, I have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder (aka manic depression), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Throughout a lot of this journey, I've tried to learn as much about the mental illnesses as possible to see how and where I fit in. The idea is to glean from others' knowledge so that I can get well:

I'm currently being seen by a psychiatrist and a counselor, and the current diagnosis is what the doc referred to as "process OCD", which I'm understanding as Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD). It is true that I have some of the "content OCD" symptoms: I pick at scabs, touch my face or hands excessively, etc. But the big thing is that my "process" of doing things is so rigid.

So I'm journeying to discover more about this OCPD, and, thanks to the folks at Yahoo!, I was able to find a web site that defines OCPD. I link to it here more for my benefit, but if you also benefit, then that's a bonus.

Veteran's Day 2002

from email (thanks to Jeff I.)

• What is a Vet?
• Prayer for our Servicemen
• Closing Remarks

What is a Vet?

• He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.
• He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.
• She (or he) is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.
• He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back AT ALL.
• He is the Parris Island drill instructor who has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.
• He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.
• He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.
• He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.
• He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.
• He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.
• He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.

Two little words that mean a lot: "THANK YOU."

It's the soldier, not the reporter, who gave us our freedom of the press.

It's the soldier, not the poet, who gave us our freedom of speech.

It's the soldier, not the campus organizer, who gave us our freedom to demonstrate.

It's the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves others with respect for the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.

Prayer for our Servicemen

Lord, hold our troops in Your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. I ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Closing Remarks

When you've read this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our service men and women stationed all over the world.

There is nothing attached...Of all the gifts you could give a US serviceman, prayer is the very best one.

Collapse!

I just played this game at the public library's computer. It, like so many others, can be so addicting. I found it through http://games.yahoo.com.

Chimneys and Fireplaces

We've had our house for over a year, but we've never used the upstairs or downstairs fireplace. We had them inspected prior to buying the house and were told that they needed $1500 worth of work. I have no idea how they operate and what kinds of things need to be considered when using them, but I found a site that may help me: About.com's Fireplace Guide.

Two Frogs - Lesson in the Power of Words

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the unfortunate frogs they would never get out.

The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and simply gave up. He fell down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and suffering and just die. He jumped even harder, and finally, he made it out.

When he got out, the other frogs asked him, "Why did you continue jumping? Didn't you hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

This story teaches two lessons:

1. There is power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day.
2. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill them. Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path.

The power of words ... it is sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging word can go such a long way. Anyone can speak words that tend to rob another of the spirit to continue in difficult times. Special is the individual who will take the time to encourage another. That's what I'm doing here.

Cheers!

100 Words Update - October Batch Available

FBI as an Example of Useful Government - JOKE ALERT!

via e-mail from Steve

The phone rings at FBI headquarters:

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this the FBI?"

"Yes. What do you want?"

"I'm calling to report my neighbor Adrian Thibodeaux! He is hiding marijuana inside his firewood."

"Thank you very much for the call, sir."

The next day, the FBI agents descend on Thibodeaux's house. They search the shed where the firewood is kept. Using axes, they bust open every piece of wood, but find no marijuana. They swear at Thibodeaux and leave.

The phone rings at Thibodeaux's house.

"Hey, Adrian! Did the FBI come?"

"Yeah!"

"Did they chop your firewood?"

"Yep."

"Great, call the FBI back and tell them that there is cocaine in my garden. It needs to be plowed."

Alias Season 2 Episode 5 - "The Indicator"

Wow! What a great episode last night!

See These Pics

subtitled, "I didn't know you could do that with a blog!"

crazy white girl with a camera is a new blog with Kelly's pictures. Thanks to Mike for the link.