Tag Archives: Humor

I Wrote ‘5150’ To Help Others

10 Thursday Oct 2019

Posted by in Writing

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The first novel in my series, 5150, is a gritty self-exposure of the inner workings of a teenage mind in the throes of psychosis. It’s a roman ‘a clef revealing some of my deepest secrets. Most people who know me long enough to remember that period in my life are aware I was diagnosed at the time with schizophreniform disorder. The rest of my friends were astonished to learn that I had been hospitalized and still suffer today from a fairly mild case of bipolar depression.

Good friends know that I have an attention-seeking part of my personality that wants fame. They know that I have deep-seated money worries that I try to resolve by creating intellectual property that I dream will sell to a mass audience. Those were motives when I wrote the novel, I admit. But the motive I fail to publicize enough is altruistic. I want to provide comfort to families dealing with a loved one who is mentally ill. I want them to know that sometimes it really does get better. I want them to have hope.

How can a book help? Laughter. The story is uproariously funny in places. Tears. The story goes to some very dark, sad spaces in the mind of the protagonist. Compassion. People who read 5150 can’t help but feel compassion for poor suffering Ethan. They want him to get better. They want him to stop making stupid decisions.

So fame and fortune may seem like a selfish motive, but here’s why they aren’t: the more people who read this book, the less stigma circulates around mental illness. The more money I can earn from my writing, the more books I can write. So please read the book. The ebook is available at a lot of libraries, and it’s free (name your own price) on Smashwords, so you don’t have to contribute to my ‘freedom from time-sucking data analysis’ fund. Imagine if someone finally saw its potential and made it into a movie, or perhaps a Netflix Series. How great would that be?

A book to soothe and comfort the families of the mentally ill

Click here or on the image above to go to the Amazon Page for 5150.

Sometimes a Whisper Can Be Just Like a Fart

05 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by in Business, Public Relations

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A lot of us work in cube farms.  We are surrounded by other co-workers, and we have very little privacy.  Every conversation is heard, and every person coming and going to see you at your cubicle is subject to the scrutiny of your neighboring cube farmers.

I am not sure if Emily Post planned for this type of work environment or not, but I haven’t really seen any formal rules about how to conduct oneself when surrounded by neighboring workers.  There is one I would like to add to the list, if it is not already written down.

Please, do not whisper while speaking to a visitor, and please do not whisper on the phone.  Much like a fart, it is best to excuse oneself politely and leave the room to have a conversation that you don’t want others to overhear.

Whispering is often just a harmless activity between friends, but at work, it can lead your co-workers to believe any of several things:

1. You have something you’re not sharing

2. You don’t feel the people around you are entitled to hear what you are saying

3. You may be gossiping about others within earshot

4. You don’t have the courtesy to take a private conversation to a private place

5. You indicate that the person receiving the whisper is somehow more worthy of hearing what is being said

I read on a fellow blogger’s post today (Leadership Freak) that we should use the “In The Room” rule when talking about others.  The rule states that you should not say anything about a person that you would not feel comfortable saying if they were in the room with you.  If you are whispering, you may be breaking that rule.

You may also be discussing your herpes test results with your friend, or telling someone that your sister has been locked up again…but whether these conversations are in person or over the phone, they really need to be taken out of the cubicle and into a more private environment.  Just like a fart.

When I have a whisper-worthy statement to make, I usually say to my co-worker “I need a cup of tea, would you like to join me?”  If it is on the phone, I tell the person that I need to call them back from my cellular phone and take the conversation outside.  That shows respect for the people I work with, and prevents people from feeling that I have a low opinion of them.