faulker009

100 blogs? Wow! It seems like just 154 days ago that this ride began. And here we are 64,031 words later, at least that’s what my computer tells me. I can still remember my first day in the blogosphere, sitting at the computer, basically writing a story for myself. I can also remember my second day. And my third day. But it was the fifth day that really opened my eyes.   That was the day that I wrote a blog titled, “Mom and Me”. It was about my 80-year old mother. At the time she had just moved into an assisted living facility about 15 minutes from our house. We had tried to have her live with us, but let’s just say, it didn’t work out. Over the next five months, I wrote about my mom many more times. I wrote about our weekly Tuesday lunches. I wrote about her joining a choir.  But the subject that got the most attention were the stories I wrote about her bipolar condition. The feedback and support I received absolutely blew me away. I have always enjoyed writing and I have alw...

Hi and Thanks. Those three words were on the subject line of a recent email I received from a loyal reader. On the surface, it looked a whole lot like so many of the other incredible emails of support I have received since I started writing this blog nearly four months ago. But there was something inside that was not so ordinary. The note, from a wonderful 26-year old with her entire life in front of her, spoke about how she recently moved back in with mom and dad because her paid internship had ended and she couldn’t get a full-time job. She was working two jobs and was still not able to pay the rent to live on her own.   She said that many of her friends are going through similar troubles and that it's hard not to get bogged down in the negative. I hear you sister. She said that my blog inspired her to restart her own blog in “an attempt to express some of my feelings about this new world I’m entering.” That’s where many notes I have received just like it, ended. But not hers. Sh...

Each time I write a new blog, one of my top priorities is making it entertaining for you. I truly appreciate you taking time out of your life to read about mine. I must warn you, this blog is different. This time I am writing it for me and I have a feeling it will be a long one. If you can't take it and you need to leave, I totally understand. All I ask is that you give me another chance next time. Writing my blog has been one of the most therapeutic experiences of my life and considering the stressful recipe that my life is cooking up these days, it is great to have an outlet. I am writing this blog in the computer room at my 80-year old mother’s assisted living facility. It is currently 12:07am and it will be much later when I finish. As I unfortunately predicted a few weeks ago, she was on the verge of another bipolar episode. Well, it is here. Loud and clear. We’ve been trying to head this one off by adjusting her medication, but unfortunately it isn't ...

I enjoy puzzles, even though I’m not very good at them. I love putting together jigsaw puzzles with the kids -- even though they see the answers A LOT sooner than I do. I love crossword puzzles -- as long as it's People Magazine and not the New York Times. But the one puzzle that I've been playing the longest and will never be able to figure out is bipolar disorder. As in my mom's bipolar disorder. Over the years, my brother and I have definitely learned how to recognize an episode in the early stages, but no matter how hard we try or hold our breath, there’s nothing we can do to stop it. I guess it must be like falling onto a train track and seeing the light coming your way. The warnings signs have become clear as day, but the only thing you can do is put on a seat belt and get her some help. When she calls at random hours on a very frequent basis with nothing to say, that’s warning #1. When the ratio of her words to mine during a conversation is like 99:...

I’m not sure yet if that's a light at the end of this unemployment tunnel or a locomotive train, but one thing for sure... ...this is going to be a VERY important week for me. Tomorrow I am headed east for two days of meetings with a company that I am VERY excited to be meeting with. CAPITALS can be VERY effective. Day 1 is with a bunch of executives and the head of human resources. Day 2 is with the President of the company. I hope I have two clean white shirts. From my standpoint, this process is simple. They say, “would you ____?” and I say “YES!”. Ok, maybe the blank part is important (and maybe it isn’t). The other twist in my week started today with some email dialogue with a local company. Last week they posted a job that speaks right to my background. If it was 10 years ago. I felt kinda dirty today pitching my “25 years of experience”, “relentless work ethic” and “passion for the business” as something they could definitely find valuable. Sales h...