Draconator

and infrastructure.

Thank you. I've always been one to help, so if this helps anyone, I've met my goal for this.

Got this idea from the Johnny Manziel thread on TSW. I shared some of my Bipolar journey there but thought it wouldn't hurt to start a new thread specifically for Bipolar. I am an open book when it comes to this. So if you had any deep, dark questions about Bipolar in general, feel free to ask me anything about it. I'll give you an answer from my real life experience having been diagnosed with it for 16 years now. I was diagnosed with Bipolar 1 with Rapid Cycling in April 2007. What led me to my diagnosis was the break-up with my ex. I didn't take it well, and seeing a doctor at the clinic I was going to, what I was going through clued him in that I may have BIpolar. So I met with a county psychiatrist for close to 2 hours. That's when she diagnosed me with Bipolar 1 with Rapid Cycling. Bipolar 1 is the more severe form of Bipolar. Rapid Cycling is you have manic and depressed events 3 or 4 times a day, as opposed to 3 or 4 times a year with someone with BIpolar who doesn't have rapid cycling. What is it like to live with Bipolar? You spend a LOT of money while manic. It's nothing to drop that month's rent at the casino, trying to pay for rent. You already have it, but you feel you need more money for it. You drive like a lunatic. Like 75 in a 35 is no big thing. You want to have sex a lot and will ask any female to have sex with you. I didn't resort to abuse thank goodness, but having a lot of sex is a form of mania that many bipolar folks have. You drink a LOT. In my earlier days, I would spend $150 to $200 a night at a bar, buying drinks for random strangers. I still do have about 2 to 4 drinks a night. But I am not drinking in order to get hammered drunk. In fact, I hate being drunk. I know I joke about my drinking here, but I do drink more than my fair share. When I'm feeling a good amount of buzz, I'm done or take a long break between drinks. With my now wife, I was living near Oakland, California, and her in Buffalo when we reconnected. We went to high school together, and we were in show choir, chrous, orchestra, musicals, and plays together. We however didn't say more than 5 sentences to each other. She had her own group of friends and I had mine. We reconnected via Facebook. Facebook messages turned into phone calls. On our second call, I told her I had bipolar. Not wanting to hide it. Her response made me think she's a keeper. She said, "How can I help you with it"? She still helps me. Whenever I feel like I'm entering a cycle, I tell her exactly that, and she immediately sits me down and we talk about what I'm feeling, and how I can make it through it. Thankfully, I haven't had any real cycles for a few years now. Her help and the medication I am on have made a tremendous difference. For those playing at home, I take Latuda as my main medication. Last winter I was entering a depression. I spoke to Jen my wife who encouraged me to see my PA. She diagnosed me with severe seasonal affective disorder. So she also prescribed me Trileptal which back in 2011, was my main bipolar medication. Back in my time in California, I was seeing a county psychiatrist. She could only prescribe medications that were approved by the county. So Latuda was not an option. When I moved to New York, I was in the Erie County Medical Center psych unit the first month after I arrived, because I didn't have a doctor at the time and was off medication. Jen worked with me after I was released (thankfully after 2 hours instead of the mandatory 72-hour hold), helped me find a doctor, and got me back on medication. I was taking different medications with screwy side effects. I was on Geodon, which gave me daily mini-seizures. Also, while on Geodon, I could not drink alcohol, at all. I had a glass of champagne at midnight on December 31, 2013, and passed right out 5 minutes later. The most common side effect of bipolar medication, and true in my case, is excessive weight gain. When I started on medication, I was around 205 lbs. I'm currently 280 lbs. I don't tend to lose any significant weight either. I was at my lowest 240 lbs a few years ago, while working out every day and intermittent fasting. Once I stopped fasting and working out daily, the weight came right back. More as it pops into my head. Feel free to ask me about what I stated above, or anything about bipolar in general. Or go ahead and call me tubby. I'll just sit on you and fart in your general direction.

When I was standing on the deck of the Golden Gate Bridge, I had been talking to a close friend. I decided after going to work that morning I was going to end my life and messaged her to tell her, so she could watch after my daughter. We were in constant contact all day. When she didn't hear from me after a while, she called me. I just so happened to be standing on the bridge. She simply said, "Just go to the psych ER one more time. If it doesn't work, you have my permission to kill yourself". That sounded reasonable to me, and that's what got me into the ER. So yes. It was divine intervention.

My wife and I plan a trip every February, just to get a break from all the suck. We've been to Nassau and Key West (2020), California, Nevada, and Arizona (2021), Laurel, Mississippi which is a wonderful little town (2022), and a 10-day Caribbean cruise (2023). We are going to visit my daughter and her visiting boyfriend in Californa in 2024. She lives in California, and her boyfriend lives in The Netherlands. She's there right now visiting him.

The summers here are glorious. But the 6 months plus of doom and gloom is depressing. When you're driving back to Buffalo during the winter from the south, you get to about Cleveland, and you see the line of grey suck. It extends all the way to Buffalo.

My wife helped to stabilize me, and my new therapist agreed to try a medication I wanted to take back in California. I've been on that medication for 8 years. That and my wife's help helped to stabilize me greatly. You never know what is right around the corner. I'm grateful for your awareness.

Einstein will at least engage with those that outright disagree with him, or defend his position. Airseven just blasts out negative opinions, and then runs and hides when he is confronted with those opinions. Einstein > Airseven. (Although both make me drink)

I didn't watch it, but read that when he was diagnosed with Bipolar, he didn't accept it and went into a spiral. As one who also has Bipolar, unless you find the right partner/therapy/medication, it is nothing to play around with. I was standing on the deck of the Golden Gate Bridge, ready to jump. My therapist at the time played around with my medication. Thankfully I walked off and went to the Psych ER instead, got my meds straightened out, and reconnected with my now wife 4 months later.

Can't believe this hasn't been mentioned.

I'm very familiar with the Union location. We may be contacting them, as my wife wants to go from the funeral home to the cemetery in a horse-drawn, glass-enclosed hearse. The only thing is, the Town of West Seneca prohibits horses on town roads, so we would have to get the Erie County Sherrif's horses to pull the hearse.

So, mark my death on my Google calendar. Got it. I kid.

To that end, I am having an open bar at my wake. I actually spoke with a funeral director who said he could make that happen.

I mean, once you read this, it sure sounds like it's Trump who's still butt-hurt that he couldn't outbid the Pegulas... From our friend, @I am leaving for good I have no comment on Ron Raccuia. As for PSE when it comes to the new Bills stadium nothing I say is going to matter when it comes to the new Buffalo Bills stadium. Seeing is going to be when Buffalo Bills fans like myself and others vocal critics of the new Buffalo Bills stadium will be proven right about our current ownership PSE and our Western New York representatives. Time isn’t going to reflect well on PSE ownership or our Western New York representatives. Again I agree we need a new Buffalo Bills stadium. Where I disagree is middling the new Buffalo Bills stadium and not putting real events in the new Buffalo Bills stadium. Barbie and Ken Bills fan getting married in the new Buffalo Bills stadium isn’t a real event for the Bills stadium it’s ridiculous is what it is. Real tenants like a Buffalo MLS team or a Buffalo WNBA team for Key Bank Center not garbage junk that doesn’t make Western New York quality of life better. Better for Barbie and Ken yes but that’s about it. Sadly we don’t have enough Buffalo fans speak up and unfortunately they will speak up but when it’s too late. MLS ever expands to Pittsburgh and Cleveland it’s like MLB baseball in Buffalo all over. Same if WNBA goes to Toronto it’s all over for Buffalo WNBA ever. We need a Western New York sports commissions that is volunteer group of people to lobby for Western New York behalf when it comes to sports. We don’t do that while other areas do. Miami just got a MLR rugby franchise the Miami Sharks. Buffalo can’t even get a Buffalo MLR rugby franchise. Only stubborn people that are in total denial about Western New York will say ban Buffalo fans from telling the truth about our representatives how Western New York is getting screwed with no real betterment in the future because of poor leadership. We have some Bills fans that are in fantasy land if they think middling the new Bills stadium is going to keep the Bills tickets prices down it won’t. My point has always been Buffalo Western New York should have nice things not middling it. Again with this stadium we should have had a Buffalo MLS team with the new stadium. Why? Why because there is no MLB baseball in Buffalo. There is no MLS in Cleveland or Pittsburgh. Buffalo MLS would have a huge territory to draw soccer fans from that aren’t served by MLS now. This whole new stadium situation is a giant missed opportunity for Western New York. I want to hear the Buffalo Bills fans excuses why Buffalo couldn’t support MLS or MLR in a new Bills stadium with a open area from Pittsburgh to Cleveland to Rochester and Syracuse? You can’t explain away with excuses except a cheap PSE ownership with Western New York representatives not demanding better for Western New York. This is a Western New York area that once got two major league teams in a year in 1970 NHL Buffalo Sabres and NBA Buffalo Braves. Today Western New York can’t even get MLS soccer team in a state of the art soccer stadium with a huge open territory with no major league sports teams in the summer in Buffalo. We don’t even try for MLS in Buffalo we get what we voted for representatives wise and accept middling junk from PSE. For the money taxpayers put up the Benefits Agreement should have been Buffalo MLS from PSE. We don’t even get WNBA expansion for Key Bank Center PSE is a disgrace. No Buffalo MLR rugby franchise but Miami with tons of teams that aren’t supported very well just got another new Miami franchise. Yet all I hear is Western New York is happening how? I want to hear our Buffalo Bills experts that think I am totally wrong expand why Western New York can’t afford a Buffalo MLR rugby franchise and how PSE is the best owners ever to have total control of both our major league buildings Highmark Stadium 2 and Key Bank Center with nothing in it besides the Buffalo Bills, Sabres and Bandits? I am on record PSE are terrible owners and so are our Western New York representatives neither that are forward thinking for Western New York while Miami gets more and more every year. I am getting my popcorn ready for the excuses this should be a fun read in my opinion. Go Bills! Let’s Go Buffalo

Gotcha

beer

Tell me your brain didn't hurt from reading that post. I get a mulligan.

I hate the Pegulas. I hate Buffalo sports teams' marketing. I hate how all Buffalo sports franchises are run. Go Biils. Go Sabres. Go Bisons. Go Beauts. Let's Go Buffalo.

We don't care

Updated construction pictures, taken by @mrags, uploaded by me, hosted by a multi-billion dollar company. The new ones start at either 41.jpg or 42.jpg. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1slFkG1Tgt1z6Sr5_PsRrflmzreYclzkI?usp=sharing

Lemme see your 2022 W-2 first.

I bought it because I didn't find any PBR. (This is better btw)

My new favorite beer is Sunshine Blonde Ale from Wellington Brewery in Toronto. I also very much like the Helles Lager, also from Wellington Brewery. I was going to go to the Duty-Free in Fort Erie and get a case of Alexander Keiths but didn't feel like driving to Canada. So I made the much shorter trip to Consumers for whatever was cheap and seemed good. I'm not disappointed in this beer.

But with the aforementioned information that this is the official beer of Margaritaville, I'm now ok with drinking this openly and freely. I mean a little Jimmy Buffet never hurt anyone. sssshhhhhhhh