NO BOUNDARIES

Winning Strategies For The Game Of American Roulette

2010-08-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

System of eights

2 chips on numbers 8,14,23, and 29

4 chips on 1st dozen, 3rd dozen, column A, column C, and numbers 16/19, and 18/21

8 chips on numbers 4,6,31,33,17/20,0, and 00

88 chips total, 1,000 buy-in

Pergatory

2010-07-31T06:49:00.000-07:00

     I,ve been diagnosed with OCD before, but if I take my medications right, I usually don't have a problem. There's times that I've made the same simple mistake three times in a row. Which really got my wheels to turning!
     This anxiety disorder first started for me when I used to work. If I made three, or more mistakes in a day, I'd tell my boss that I needed to go home, because I was sick. That's one of the reasons why I was able to keep my job for so long, because when things got out of control at work, I would just go home right away. I knew I had to do this, because I used to try, and tuff it out. That's what got me to the point that I tried to commit suicide with tylonol somonex. I took forty eight of them.
     It was in the middle of the night when I arrived home that day. The voices in my head talked me into the whole situation. They fed off of my anxiety about making too many mistakes at work. I thought that the voices were real angels from god, and since they were saying I should do it , I did it. They even told me how to do it. They said to just take the pills slow. So, I did. Afterwards I lye down in bed thinking that I would soon go to sleep, and never wake up. It wasn't long after that, I started to vomit.
     It wasn't very long after that, my ex-wife, (who we will call Jane) woke up, saw what I was doing, and called nine-one-one.

Celeste and Norman

Two Pair

2010-07-31T06:24:00.000-07:00

     I also like to donate things to charity when I can. What I like most about giving things to charity, is that it leaves me more room, for more stuff. New stuff.
     Last season I donated a really cool Splitrail Ski Parka, a pair of leather biker boots, and some extra cloths that didn't fit me anymore to the local thirft store. And then, when I got a new pair of prescription eye glasses not too long ago, I had two extra sets of frames and some carrying cases when I was done. So I donated them to charity too.
     I thought it might be nice to see somebody have a good pair of prescription eye glasses that they really might need. I stopped giving my clothes away to charity though. Just because, I never know when somebody in my family is going to need them.

Celeste, and Norman:

Real-E-Vent Q&A

2010-07-30T15:11:00.000-07:00

Hi, Celeste here. Kurt aka Norman and I would like to invite you to use this spot to share your thoughts about the website, how you're feeling, questions and/or comments you might have for us.

Celeste and Kurt

Recent Trip To The Pharmacy II

2010-07-29T18:36:00.000-07:00

      I had just recently transferred to a new pharmacy a little while ago. Everything was going really smooth. They seemed to have all of my medications on file with the right amount a refills. So I was pretty pleased at what was going on.
    Only, for some reason I've been having no luck timing my pharmacy pick up.  The insurance company changed the amount of time I could refill my prescriptions from a week to eighty percent of the medication being used up. Which works out to be about six days for a thirty-day supply.
     I had no idea that it had changed so when I called the pharmacy, and requested a refill, I wasn't able to get it. I ended up having to call the insurance company, and find out what was going on from them.
    Not only did that happen, but on two other prescriptions, I was off on the number of days I had left before I needed to call, and have them refilled. due to the fact that I had three bottles of the same prescription lying around the house.  It was like that, because the pharmacy that I'd transferred over from had filled some prescriptions that I didn't need yet. Which just happened to be the reason why I left that pharmacy.
    I ended up calling in three different times to refill three different prescriptions, and it wasn't time to fill any of them yet. Largely, because of my own miscalculations. The second time I even called, and apologized. This time around, I thought that I should leave them alone, because I didn't want to make them angry.
   My biggest problem after that was, they have a sign up in the lobby of the pharmacy stating that,"they reserve the right to refuse service to anyone". I started to think that they were talking about me when they hung that sign! Celeste is always telling me,"Kurt, they're too caught up in their own lives to be worrying about what's going on in yours".

Celeste and Norman

What psych 'cocktail' works for YOU?

2010-07-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

I think it would be interesting to know what combinations aka cocktails people find work for them. If you'd like to share your 'cocktail' feel free to do so.
After a lot of trial and error I find, Seroquel, Trileptal, Zoloft and Clonazepam work best for my bipolar, anxiety and panic attacks.

Celeste

Medication

2010-07-27T11:38:00.001-07:00

On top of my bipolar, anxiety, etc., I have a wonderful host of physical problems. One of which is type 2 diabetes. This comes, in part, due to meds I take, one of which is Seroquel. It works great but diabetes is one of the side effects. I've tried other meds but Seroquel works the best, so it's a trade off. Anyway, I have just been diagnosed [within the last 6 months] with the diabetes and I sometimes forget one of my pills. It has to be taken 15-30 minutes before eating. I don't usually plan to eat that far in advance or just simply forget the pill! It sucks.

Celeste

PS I rarely forget my psych meds.

Dollars To Dounuts

2010-07-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

     I think when you sell on Ebay you should be allowed to post an item that comes with free shipping if you spend over a certain amount of money.
     For example: Maybe you want to sell an item for say, forty dollars. "Buy It Now". Then, at the same time, add an auction starting at ninety nine cents so people can bid on it too.
    Then, tie it all together with a shipping charge of seven dollars that could be waved if they bid over, say twenty five dollars. I think that I'd buy, and sell a lot more things on Ebay if I felt like I that kind of control.

Norman, and Celeste

Hedge

2010-07-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

Now some of you might think, 'Why is she writing about a stupid hedge?' Well, we have this flower hedge thing in front of our apartment and when it is grown out it completely blocks our beautiful view. This time they let it grow out to over 5 feet! So, you begin to feel boxed in. Late last week they trimmed it! Now we have our view back. Yeah! As that kid in the kaiser commercial used to say, 'Things are looking up!'

Celeste and Kurt

Add An Alias

2010-07-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

     I think that living in this world today anything can happen. But the one thing that always seems to amaze me the most is how the shipping industry works. Things like those huge cargo ships from all over the world dropping stuff off every day, all over the country, and around the World.
     I love it when UPS or FedEx comes to the door with a package. It's like Christmas or something. It sometimes is even more of a treat than going to the store and getting it. Especially when it's a surprise for someone you love, or something like that. It's the anticipation that gets me.
     Not that I don't prefer instant gratification, because I do. It's just amazing to me how it all works.  No matter what it is, or where it comes from you can get it in a matter of days. Even over-night if you want, and it comes right to your front door.
    When it comes, even if it's something that isn't exactly what I wanted, I usually keep it anyway. Unless it's boots or shoes. In that case I usually want to go to the store in town to get them, (because I know how hard it is to find a good pair of shoes that fit).
     Then there's the mail. All those letters from people everywhere. It's hard for me to believe sometimes, but it's something that can be done. Every time I see a truck go by I'm saying,"there goes brown", or "there's FedEx". And then of course there's the mail man himself. I sit on the couch looking out the window just to see if he's coming yet.
     So there I am, staring out my apartment window as people go by getting in or, out of their cars, and such. One day, Celeste looked up at me, and said, "what are you doing over there?". I said, "looking for the mail man". Then one of us said, "look, its Norman Bates! Every bodies going to think you are that guy from Psycho",
    Even though it's Norman's mother looking out the widow at him in the movie we still called me Norman. Which I kind of liked. So if you guys want to, you can call me Norman. Norman Bates.
Celeste and, Kurt aka "Norman"

Reality TV

2010-07-25T08:12:00.000-07:00

Kurt and I were just talking about reality TV. How many are on the air, etc. Kurt was saying how he couldn't believe how many there are. Here are a few of them:

Yes to the Dress
Ice Road Truckers
Intervention
Deadliest Catch
Wife Swap
All the 'wives' shows
Kate plus 8
19 Kids and Counting

There are many MANY more!

I think part of it is because they are comparatively cheap to make. No huge star salaries [unless the people become popular, i.e. Kate plus 8], no scripts, etc.

What are your views on this subject?

Celeste and Kurt

Chopsticks

2010-07-24T16:44:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to use chopsticks. Try as I may, and I've tried many Many times, I can't get the hang of it. They are so precise, I mean you can pick up a single pea or kernel of corn if you want! Amazing!

Celeste and Kurt

PS Of course Kurt aka Norman uses them with ease! LOL

Inclement Weather

2010-07-24T08:02:00.000-07:00

     I love outer wear. Ski parkas, wool caps, pack boots, leather gloves, and of course thermal underwear. But, I live in the desert, so you'll usually find me overdressed in the winter. I'll be walking around all layered up, while everybody else is walking around wearing a jacket.
     I love putting on my outer wear though. It makes me feel strong like I could survive the winter months knowing that I have the right apparel.
    Something that I really don't like about going outside is the wind. In the summer time it kicks up sand storms, and in the winter it brings a cold windchill. It's got to be the biggest thing that I don't like about going outside in the winter, or the summer months.
   But, Celeste makes sure that I'm stocked up on all the summer, and winter cloths that I need. Because of all the size changes I've gone through over the last year or so, I have three different wardrobes ranging from large, larger, and largest.

Pharmacy Struggles

2010-07-21T09:45:00.000-07:00

For anyone who has a lot of prescriptions to fill, the pharmacy is your 'life line.' For me it is a constant struggle with them to get the billing of my insurance correct. I had a tech who was great but she recently transferred to a different branch. I am back to square one. I am hoping her replacement will eventually be as efficient as she was. But, as of the moment, the struggle continues...

Celeste and Kurt

Fortitude

2010-07-21T08:21:00.000-07:00

   Have you ever had someone say to you that they are talking to the stars in the sky? Well, for me it was a reality. A fact of life even.
    After I'd been out working all night, they would keep me up all day, and into the next night talking. I wasn't getting any sleep. I'd get maybe an hour, or two here, and there but even with those little naps it felt like I'd just closed my eyes, and immediately had to open them back up again. No dreams, no nothing.
    I couldn't even tell how long I had been asleep. It might've been minutes, it might've been hours. I didn't know. That's when I started thinking that my alarm clock wasn't telling the right time, or wasn't set right for the alarm to go off. So the next day, I gave it a test run, and it seemed to work just fine. That's when I started using two alarm clocks.
     In case the first one stopped working, or wasn't set right the other one would be there to wake me up. I called these alarm clocks 'The Two Cylinders.' Something like a v-twin motorcycle engine except that they work independently of one another. That way if one of the cylinders stopped working, the other one would be there to save the day.
     Then, since I had the clocks set to go off at different times, what would happen is I would wake up, (sometimes even before the alarm), get in the shower, and then the alarm would go off. If not the first one, then the second one, because it hadn't been turned off right. Or, I had hit the snooze button or, something like that would happen. Thus, waking everyone in the house up.
     I also had began losing things all the time. I thought that some type of radiation had spread over the Earth allowing things to be teleported but, if I arranged everything just so, nothing could be teleported. So, I became obsessed with having everything arranged a certain way, and put into it's own little place.
     It wasn't long before my life became so unmanageable that I just couldn't function any more. It was shortly after that when I got the help that I so desperately needed.

Celeste, and Kurt:

Catch Syllables

2010-07-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

     I sometimes like to break down words into syllables. I feel that by doing that, I can gain insight into how the english language was formed.
    For instance: There are also names of people, places, and things that pretty much,"spelled out" what that person, place, or thing is going to be. Like a destiny waiting to be fulfilled.
     Take Tiger Woods for instance: His last name,"Woods" are also a kind of golf club, and I think the name Tiger is someone who is a great hunter.
     Then, there's the names of some people that also have a different meaning other than the name that was specified.  Just spelled differently. Like Crystal Shanda Lear. Or, Amanda Lynn.
     I also have noticed that some people's name matches their face. I even got it to where not only do I sometimes associate peoples names with their faces but, I associate some people into life like resemblances of one another. Even when they aren't necessarily related. Like different tribes or something.
     Something like the Bible Story told about The Twelve Tribes of Babylon.  Just  before I go though, I wanted to share with you my favorite," play on syllables". It's "Chester Cheetah"or, Chest-Or-Cheetah.

Kurt, and Celeste

Excellent Medical Resource

2010-07-20T17:27:00.000-07:00

We don't know if any of you have tried MedlinePlus but it's a great resource for drug definitions and medical conditions. We use it and WebMD. When Kurt called his insurance company's medical hotline the nurse gave him the same information as he found on MedlinePlus.

Celeste and Kurt

Here is the link to MedlinePlus
WebMD
Here is the link to

Good Timing

2010-07-19T16:36:00.000-07:00

     When I was boy about fourteen, or so I used to have a friend who I will call Galagher the Great.  Galagher was always talking about how his house was haunted by ghosts. So a friend and, I wanted to stay the night to see what he was talking about. He claimed that every time he woke up in the middle of the night and looked at the clock it would always be the same number in threes across the bord. For instance, it would say thirty three minutes after three o'clock. Or, five minutes to six, and so on. You get the idea.
     We stayed over but, he just couldn't get it to work. I was still fascinated by it though. Then when I was older, I started noticing the same thing happening to me. I started noticing that the numbers on the clock were all the same.
     Then after that, it was always twenty four minutes after the hour. Like what ever I was doing, or thinking about at the time that I'd inadvertently glance at my clock, (even if I was sleeping), and sure enough, it was twenty four minutes after the hour. I'd then use this information to determine if what I was doing at that time was good luck, or not.
     Later it became thirteen minutes of the hour, and then It went to cool numbers like eight fifty eight which is twenty one in black jack. Or neat little combinations that read forward, and backward. Like nine minutes and, nine seconds after nine.
     Lately it's been exactly zero seconds after any minute of the day. Some times I get really lucky and it's on the hour. Straight up. And speaking of straights, sometimes I see awesome poker hands like thirty four minutes, and fiftiy six seconds after twelve o'clock.
     What I really want to see is eleven minutes, and eleven seconds after eleven on November the eleventh, two thousand eleven. That will be twelve ones all at the same time. I'm really hoping to be able to see that one. It's going to be kind of like watching a comet go by that will never return again.
Celeste, and Kurt

Comments on 'End of An Inning"

2010-07-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to comment on Kurt's post. I think it is a GREAT philosophy to have. Good job, honey!

Celeste :)

End Of An Inning

2010-07-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

     Sometime in life, you might reach an impasse. I think in these times of your life, you might find out that you may not always be a champion.  But maybe along the way, what you might find out is that you're having some small victories that turn into a life changing event. I call these events, "The End Of An Inning".
     Because of this I believe in reincarnation. But with a twist. I think that you live, and die over and over without leaving the same body. Meaning you can live more than one life changing event, becoming a different person in the process.
     Some of my most embarrassing moments dealing with SchizoAffective Disorder haunted me for a long time. But if you stop and think, you might just see victory in your future. At the end of an inning.
Celeste, and Kurt

The Axe Grinder And The Bone Pickers

2010-07-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

        Most of the time, my mind is preoccupied with distracting thoughts about something other than the task at hand. So I tend to forget things a lot. I call these thoughts The Axe Grinder, and The Bone Pickers.
       People have to get used to being around me I think. Because not a lot of people wouldn't be upset if they where talking to someone, and the person whom they are talking to has absolutely no idea what you had just said.
      At least some of my time everyday is dedicated to finding things that I have misplaced. Or going into another room, and forgetting what I went there for. I get lost easily, and have gotten myself into trouble trying to get myself back home again. I really have trouble seeing past the end of my nose. And, I bite my tongue when people are talking to me.
    I do this so that I can pay attention to what is being said, and not having these "thoughts" drown out everything around me. What I really want is to have my thoughts flow in a normal fashion. Which I'm sure we all do. I like to say there is nothing better than a clean body, and a quiet mind. These are my goals for the future, and I think that writing is going to help get me there. .

Celeste and Kurt

Big Chance Selection

2010-07-19T06:43:00.000-07:00

     Celeste, and I met each other on the," NoLongerLonely", internet dating sight for people with a mental illnesses. I think if you haven't visited this site yet, you should, at https://www.nolongerlonely.com/ . And, the best part about it is its FREE! If you're single, looking for a friend, or if you're looking for a long term comitment, this is the place to go!
    Celeste, and I actually talked on the phone for years before we finally met in person. It was one of the greatist experiances I've ever had in my entire life. You can even leave a testimonial on their dating site if you want to.
    Celeste is one of the bravest people I've ever known. I've learned all kinds of stuff being with her. Both of us have been dealing with our illnesses for a long time, and we've both learned how to be around one another.

KurtandCeleste

My Recent Trip To The Pharmacy

2010-07-18T12:06:00.000-07:00

     If you're like me, you make a lot of trips to the pharmacy each month. I would like to talk to you guys a little bit about what happened to me at The Wal-Mart Pharmacy.
   But before I tell you about that, I would like to tell you a little story about how I do my medications. What I do is put seven days worth of medication off to the side, and leave the rest of the bottle out. I do this with all my medications. I open the bottles up everytime I take my medication. Day or night. Count them,and make sure they're all there before I take them. Well, to the best of my knowledge this is what happened to me at my local Wal-Mart Pharmacy: Anyway, here goes.
     When I first started using theWal-Mart Pharmacy I received a prescription that I was no longer using, and that I had not called in. So I asked the people at the pharmacy if they would fill only the prescritions that I had personally called in myself. Even if they were called in by a doctor, or were dropped off at the pharmacy in paper form, they were supposed to be kept on file until I called in and asked for them to be filled. They areed I could do that.
     Then recently, I dropped some hand written prescriptions off at the Wal-Mart that had been prescribed by my Psychiatrist. Basically, I thought that they would hold them on file for me to be filled when I called for them. Well, some of them were refilled even though I hadn't asked for them. So some of the prescriptions that I didn't want to be filled were filled and picked up. I just decided to let it be, and enstead of going to another pharmacy I woul just acccept what was given to me even though it would affect the number of prescription that I could pick up at one time. Thus, increasing my number of trips th the pharmacy. It also made it difficult for me to organize these prescriptions when I had tree bottlles of pills of the same prescription lying around the house.
     After that, I decided to request some other prescriptions that still had a few days left before they needed to be ordered thinking that since they filled the other medications when they weren't necessarily ready to be filled that they might fill these other prescritions also. Leaving me the ability to pick up more prescriptions at one time, minimizing the number of trips I had to make to the pharmacy.
     Once again, I started calling in prescription numbers to be refilled. My cell phone was getting calls from Wal-Mart Pharmacy's automated phone system letting me know that there were prescriptions that were ready to be picked up. When we were able to get to the pharmacy they only had two prescriptions ready fro me, and I was expecting four. They said the rest were too soon to be refilled at the time, but whe I checked my pharmacy account using the Wal-Mart Pharmacy web site the next day, they had several prescriptions listed as being ready to be picked up. I called the pharmacy to check and see what precriptions were ready to be picked up. She said one. I asked her to let me know when I should come in. She told me I would have four ready to be picked up on Saturday. It was like DeJaVu all over again.
     That's when I felt like the Wal-Mart Pharmacy was making me worry if I was ever going to get any prescriptions at all.
     They had said that I needed to stop requesting prescription refills before it was ready to be filled. But the thing was, at first, they filled prescriptions that I hadn't requested because I no longer used the medication. Second, they filled prescriptions that I hadn't called in, and requested. And third, they started telling me that prescriptions were going to be able to be picked up on a certain day, and when we got there only part of the order was ready.
Kurt

The Ferocity of a Crab

2010-07-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

     I recently posted to a blog on the message board of the Discovery Channel's website for the television series the Deadliest Catch. I was criticized by the other bloggers, and called names by the participants who didn't agree with my point of view on how the crab fishermen on the Bering Sea should stay at home if they expected the US Coast Guard to risk their lives trying to rescue them when they got into trouble. View Post
     I just thought that the men, and women of the Coast Guard shouldn't have to risk their lives for people who put themselves into jeopardy just for a boat load of crab. So I felt vindicated when they started to call me names, and such, because that's exactly how I felt about how we get treated by people when they find out that we have a mental illness, and have to live on disability.
     I think it's great how they support the crab fishermen, and I think it really helps people to understand that people with these kinds of illnesses are really in, 'the same boat' as the crab fishermen on the Bering Sea. In fact, it's the exact opposite of the way we treat one another.
     If these people knew that they were expressing the positive issues of people being on disability for the rest of their lives with one of these disorders they would say the exact same thing as I have said about the crab fishermen on the Bering Sea.
     I wonder just how well the families of the rescue workers must feel when one of their loved ones dies rescueing these guys from crabbing. I hope that by posting that message maybe people could see the correlation between the two types of people, and learn to help one another. Then I think the world would be a better place. I just wish that people would stop dying from crab fishing, that's all.

Kurt