Heat

After an up-and-down spring and a spotty early summer, Toronto’s now in full-blown heat mode. Weather-warning, too-hot-to-be-outside-without-feeling-a-little-nauseated heat. I used to love luxuriating under the sun. Being uncomfortably warm was my preferred state: I felt a certain affinity toward camels, salamanders, and, of course, the mighty kangaroo rat. I inwardly rolled my eyes when people … Continue reading Heat →

Labelling

Late last week, a friend gave me one of the finest gifts I’ve ever received: free reign to use her label makers. She must have underestimated how much I love putting labels on stuff. It has to be one of the most satisfying tasks known to humankind; how rewarding it is, after all, to almost … Continue reading Labelling →

It Was Purple Day (for Epilepsy Awareness) on Saturday

… and, to be honest, I only remembered because a friend sent me a text wishing me a happy Purple Day. I’m pretty sure the fact that it totally and completely slipped my mind makes me a bad PWLWE (Person Who Lives with Epilepsy). Or maybe it has more to do with the other “stuff” … Continue reading It Was Purple Day (for Epilepsy Awareness) on Saturday →

Isolation, OCD, and a Request

I recently wrote a longish autobiographical piece about my childhood OCD-based fear of waterslides. (It’s still not polished, and I’m not sure what I’ll do with it after the final edit, so I’m not posting it here.) Waterslides weren’t the only way OCD affected my life when I was a kid, and my brain eventually … Continue reading Isolation, OCD, and a Request →

Yet Another LEGO Appreciation Post

If you know me in “real” (scare quotes because what’s real, even, in this day and age?) life or read this blog, you almost certainly know that I’m a LEGO superfan. Those little plastic bricks aided me as I recovered from a brain injury; they’ve distracted me during long hospitalizations; they’ve rewired neurons fried from … Continue reading Yet Another LEGO Appreciation Post →

This Christmas

I'm taking a few minutes from my Boxing Day to wish you a happy holiday week (if that's relevant to you). I hope that you're striking a balance between celebration and safety and that you're responsibly marking the season in a way that feels right to you. In other words, Merry Christmas! Or not. My … Continue reading This Christmas →

Boosted!

My husband and I each got a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday afternoon. So many (unexpected) emotions! Most of all, I’m grateful, relieved, and more optimistic than I was about my ability to hunker down and survive—emotionally and otherwise—whatever this next COVID curveball throws at us. In a word, I’m boosted. I don’t … Continue reading Boosted! →

A Glimmer of Hope for “a Challenging Case of Very Intractable Epileptic Seizures”

It's a pretty normal Saturday in hospital land. I've eaten many things and drunk many Ketocals. I've socialized a little (something I wasn't doing much of when my postictal psychosis was at its worst) and considered building a new LEGO set. I've had a seizure. My seizure frequency means that I wake up knowing that … Continue reading A Glimmer of Hope for “a Challenging Case of Very Intractable Epileptic Seizures” →

Check In/Check Up

I’ll begin by acknowledging that despite having had the best of intentions to write at least a post a week throughout January, I’ve instead continued to more or less ignore this blog. I’ve had legitimate reasons for falling short on my WordPress duties, but the guilt nonetheless remains, so I’m just, you know, putting it … Continue reading Check In/Check Up →

Representation Matters: Netflix, “The After Party,” and How to Hurt One Group in Order to Entertain Another

Though I'm a little late to the party (sorry, that was a groaner), I wanted to weigh in on an unlikely controversy that has many members of the epilepsy community angry. I'm angry, too. In August, Netflix released the film The After Party. I haven't watched it—I'll admit that I'm a little curious, but I know … Continue reading Representation Matters: Netflix, “The After Party,” and How to Hurt One Group in Order to Entertain Another →