What the Jules, What a life, WTF? @whatthejules - Tumblr Blog

It's All Funny

It’s All Funny

I have a funny one for you!

When I was a kid, I was the funny one. I had two switches, to me it was all funny, or it was all the worst ever. At my house, I could be the firstborn, the secondborn, or an only child depending on the day or date. My ever changing birth order set the stage for my adolescence of comedy and drama. Attention seeking vs. the other stuff. It was complicated.

I grew up in…

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I Need An Intervention Not A Resolution

I NEED AN INTERVENTION, NOT A RESOLUTION

Yes, I say this every year. I do mean it, and I consistently complete a little something. I say that I am not going to make a New Year’s Resolution, I am going to set small goals. This year is no different.

To begin with, I know that I always write about the same things, or at least in the same way. I frequently write in a similar style. Over and over I…

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High, Low, Buffalo

I just got back from a vacation with Mom, Dad, and two of my sisters. We went to Washington DC. It had been over two decades since I visited DC and I was excited to go.

A big vacation with a group of people can be trying. Doing this in a busy place where there is more to see than you could see in four days is likely to create tension, mix-ups, and possibly arguments.

Not only…

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Too Many Moving Parts

“Someday, the universe will throw a wrench in the works and your well-oiled machine of a life will grind to a halt. And then it will keep going. Because after you got bored of crying and worrying, you took a deep breath and pushed it back into motion. “I” ― Nora McInerny Purmort, It’s Okay to Laugh

I notice that we spend a majority of our time managing our chronic illness.…

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Pain Management And The Opioid Epidemic

Unless you have been under a rock, you know that war has been declared on the use, more specifically, the abuse of opioid medications. You probably are also aware that this nation has a staggering number of citizens living with the burden of chronic pain.

What some have not considered is the impact that this has on honest chronic pain patients. Some of us…

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Gratitude Is A Gift

Gratitude is the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness

Gracious: generosity of spirit

When someone tells me I am appreciated it is something entirely overwhelming. I am not always sure that I have done much or worked very hard at a thing until one day, seemingly out of the blue, someone will thank me for something.It is at that…

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Tuesday Thoughts: Stream of Consciousness

Tuesday Thoughts

These are streaming thoughts. If you are looking for a blog about something specific, this isn’t it. I am thinking about a bunch of things. I am writing a book. This book has me considering parts of my life that I would rather not consider, but I have to.

Welcome to my stream of consciousness.

Nature? Nurture? Faulty Wiring and Choices.

Thoughts About Culture

This morning, I was…

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What Is Mentally Healthy? What Is An Advocate?

What Is Mental Health?

What is ‘mental health’? What is ‘mentally healthy’? May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time for this conversation, and I wanted to join in. Mental health and being ‘mentally healthy’ are not the same thing. When I talk about ‘mental health’ I always say that mental health is everyone’s health. We all have mental health. Some of us have a mental illness. Mental…

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World Bipolar Day 2017

World Bipolar Day

This morning I woke up Bipolar. The same as I have for the last 30 years. Yep. I hit the big three ohhh this year. Happy World Bipolar Day.

Happy World Bipolar Day

Is that right? Do you say “Happy”? I suppose that depends on the terms you have come to with your illness. Have you had a discussion with your Bipolar Disorder and set the rules? Have you told your mania how far it…

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Be Brave! Take Risks!

Be Brave, Be Strong, Take Risks

When we become ill we begin to ask questions:

How did this happen?

Why did this happen?

What did I do?

Is this my fault?

Why Ask Why

We try to be brave. We try to be strong. We have trouble pushing the boundaries of illness when the tough questions hold us back.

We want to get out of the rut of chronic illness. No one wants to be inside all day, in bed all day.…

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International Day of Awesomeness

Happy International Awesomeness Day! WHAT MAKES ME AWESOME? What makes me “Chronically Awesome”?

International Awesomeness? Awesomeness celebrated throughout the world! Well, that is cool. We are not talking about a trait like hazel eyes or being 5′ 9″. Awesomeness is not a talent, as in, “this is something that makes me better than you.” Awesomeness is a…

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Finding Equilibrium: My Rare Disease Story

Any of us who have lived with a rare condition for several years have had many chapters in their journey. As my life with a rare disease has progressed, my story has changed many times. Finally, my rare disease story has brought me here, to a time where I am finding equilibrium. Like many of us, I have learned to adapt. That is how we all live, not just…

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Mania: You Don't Own Me -- Much

Mania: You Don’t Own Me — Much

I was awake at 2:15 this morning, and again at 4:30. Finally, at 5:30 I got up. I knew that sleep was not coming back. So, I made myself a cup of coffee, wandered into my dark office, and started to work.

See, You Don’t Own Me!

The weird thing is, the things keeping me awake, the thoughts and ideas whirling manically around my head were truly fantastic. They will…

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I Hate Love

“I Hate Love” a quote by Neil Gaiman

“Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn’t it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders…

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Living In Small Moments

A Series of Moments

From the time we are born until the time we die we are a living a series of moments. Like popcorn on a string placed haphazardly around the holiday tree, the distance between the moments and the branches they land on are as much about how fate strung our moments, how they have come to rest, and just plain old gravity.

When we trip, the likelihood of us hitting the ground…

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Resolution To Take Baby Steps

Happy New Year! I hope that you had fun last night. Making a resolution for the coming year while letting loose and shaking off the stress and bad memories of the year before. New Year’s Eve is the night that we celebrate the milestones and goals of the year while making new goals. We are following the traditions that began thousands of years before we were born.…

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Endless Summer, Orange County, CA niume.com

For those who dare to park along South Orange County's Coast Highway and dart across the speeding traffic to this hidden, rocky staircase, you will be rewarded with the gem that is Aliso Point …

Photos of beaches in Laguna, South Orange County, California

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