a journal of one person with manic-depressive illness

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Ideas, Haircuts and Chairs--Oh My!

One of the more pleasant side-effects of mental illness is when you gamble with an idea, and it pays off. Mental illness is a blessing and curse; an onslaught of brain activity that is difficult to sort through and place properly. You may walk out of your house in an original ensemble, cleverly conceived and fashionable while simultaneously regretting the pending embarrassment of a bang trim gone awry.


This last week, my brain has done me proud! No matter the critic, I firmly believe that it is difficult to achieve these results without some talent and/or professional training...with mental illness, from time to time, neither is requisite!


My daughter needed a haircut--so naturally, I gave her one myself with no experience--if I had a friend over, or my husband looking over my shoulder, reason would have steered me far away from success!







Last, and somewhat least, is just a sample of my whimsical imagination. With a flathead screwdriver and dedicated arm, I plucked well over 500 staples from these wood chairs, repairing my homemaking image in just a few hours. Though I should give credit to the ease and convenience of a spray-paint can (probably invented by a manic/depressive). The bold colors matched with a traditional finish? A gamble this untrained eye would make again!




But throughout history, there are many more notable gambles that have enriched cultures, and lasted much longer than a haircut and dining room set. Many historians suspect that Leonardo Da Vinci, Mozart, and John Adams (well, the latter is actually my personal assessment) were manic/depressives. So that begs the question: Compared to their intellectual triumphs, can I really be considered a manic/depressive?


Perhaps this whole post is a bit ridiculous. Too late now--all of my mental energy has been expended on a haircut and I'm too lazy to re-write or even delete. But now I have come full-circle---the 'idea' of writing this post was really a manic delusion--and NONE of it is really that compelling.


This post is like a bad bang trim--a gamble that DIDN'T pay off.


Dang it.