Still trying to figure out what to tell acquaintances when they ask the polite question, "So what have you been up to?"...

This issue dawned on me last night at my brother and sister-in-laws traditional summer party. It was a tremendous time, though I find it's a little harder for me to stay awake late at night, considering my bedtime routine is now - asleep by 9:00pm and awake around 5:00am! It's a perfect 8 hours of sleep and it's just one of the many, many benefits I've experienced by taking Resveratrol. (I used to need 9 - 10 hours which was unhealthy. Now it's at the perfect, normally recommended amount of sleep. Thank you, "normalacy"!)
Anyway, as I was saying, at the party were a number of people I'd not seen in some time. One of my brother's old friends from high school was there with his wife. I'd run into him at Walmart a while back but last night was able to talk a bit more to him. It was great, just... a little perplexing.
See, that question, "What have you been up to lately?" is a loaded one. It's really just a polite way of saying, "We may not have a lot to talk about, but do you have anything light and interesting to say?"
Well, heck ya! How about this: I was diagnosed as Schizo Affective Bipolar Disorder, about the worst mental illness imaginable, 10 years ago. But I discovered for myself a potential medical miraculous mental remedy that science appears not yet to know about from a supplement that can be easily purchased at almost any health food store. On it, I've experienced a dramatic, 180 degree makeover that is transforming my life! I'm thrilled that I may have stumbled upon something that could ultimately change countless other lives afflicted or affected by mental illness and it's ravages. It could make society as a whole healthier, possibly! Oh ya, did I mention that I haven't been able to hold a real full time job for almost 10 years so I've been on Government Funded Social Security Disability due to this illness. I'm coming off it as we speak! I moved out of my parents home after living there for 35 years with this illness - thank God for them -because of the spectacular progress I made with this simple but remarkable supplement. Did I tell you (remember, I'm still pretending to talk to the person asking the question.) that I'm about to release all of this infomation and my findings with all my personal records to the press and perhaps even, dare I say, Oprah! Do I dare tell you that, after 35 years of being haunted by social phobia and experiencing a hidden but genuine terror of people, I'm now participating in a public speaking group called Toast Masters to brush up on my new sudden ability to be able to talk to an audience in a fun and clear way! Also, I was just accepted into a small but prestigious school which teaches writing for children, based on my new ability to write well thanks to Resveratrol! This metamorphosis is sending me into a new direction to become a motivational speaker for people (adults and ultimately kids too) with no hope - mental illness or not! And, how could I leave out the fact that the bottom line is... I was diagnosed as Schizo Affective Bipolar Disorder in the mental ward of a hospital 10 years ago, but I haven't felt anything but perfect - no depression, disthymia, hypo mania, mania, paranoia, psychosis, delusions, hallucinations, anxiety, panic, social phobia, OCD, ADD symptoms, etc... since 3 days after taking my first pill of this amazing supplement that no doctor told me to take. (P.S. - I love all the doctors I know - they're all fantastic), but Yes, I did find it for myself. And what does THAT mean? That means the biggest lesson here is HOPE! ANYTHING is possible! Despite your medical prognosis (this condition's prognosis stinks, to put it mildly!) No matter what your diagnoses. No matter what your socio-economic status, race, religion, creed, nationality, gender, age, sexual orientation, etc... anything IS POSSIBLE, no matter the issue at hand! That is my true discovery. And that... is exactly what I've been up to.

But see, as I said earlier, it's tricky to squeeze that all into a 5 minute polite conversation without making the other perfectly healthy person go temporarily insane with information overload. I don't want to do that to people. After all, I'm all about health now! lol
So this is what I do. To their question, I answer... "Not much."
It's an unfulfilling position to be in and I'm not crazy (definitely not anymore!) about censoring myself like that. But I guess it's for the benefit of the individual who probably simply doesn't have the time to really know the truth to what I'm going through. I do believe though that it is a vitally important message for people in our increasingly violent and hostile society, to know. Mental health and hope can potentially be available to all!
And, that's where I hope the media will help in my question to relay the message. Hope IS there for us all. It's a guiding, shining light that leads us through the storm. I'm a mere example of it. If I can find this answer to my question, you can too.

So, I now turn to you... what's YOUR life question?

Think about it.
My greatest one has been answered. Thank you God for that. But life is funny and fun and full of new surprising questions. What's my new question right now?
"Is Oprah going to call?"