Snails Ahoy!

[wednes]

I used to have a fish tank, a 20 tall to be exact. In it were some poisonous frogs, a fire newt, and some snails. Oddly enough, the snails were far and away the most interesting things in the tank. the frogs just sat there, and the newt, as it turned out, was trying to avoid being eaten by the frogs. BTW, never trust anyone who works for PetCo to know anything about the animals they sell.

Anywhoo, I gave the frogs et al to the nephew of a friend. The snail, name of Gary (ha), is now bigger than a human fist. I miss him, all big and yellow tooling around the tank.
Yesterday a buddy of mine without an LJ came over with a book for me. He said he was getting rid of his 5 gallon tank and the plants within. Perfect, I think, for storing a snail or two. So I have it. It's full of plants and water being filtered so that in a week or two, I can intriduce a yellow snail, and maybe a brown one. It's gonna be great.

In other aquatic news, Jimmy Hall, who was supposed to host Shark Week this year, won't be. Apparently he died base jumping. He only taped half of his Shark Week segments, so who knows how that'll work out.
As if that weren't freaky enough, Ken Doudt who wrote a best selling book about his own shark attack 20 some years ago, has drowned while surfing. This confirms my theory that being one of those outdoorsy people is a recipe for death. I knew it!

Reading over my recent journal entries has convinced me that I'm depressed enough to warrant taking a look at the meds I'm on. I'm seeing the doc this week to make him give me something (or maybe take away something) so I can feel a bit peppier, more alert, and less fucking depressed. This particular dark cloud has been here for over 2 months, which is far too long.

Comments

[pleasing-tint.livejournal.com]

Snails sound good!

How do you know it's meds and not just normal human fluctuations? Like, you have a wedding coming up and can't that stress lead to mood alteration and stuff? Just askin' is all.

rock on.

[wednes.livejournal.com]

It can be really tough to tell if what I'm feeling is just normal human life stuff, or if it's the bi-polar rearing it's ugly head. Since it's been going on for months, despite the fact that I'm basically pleased about everything, I figure it's time to discuss it with the doc.

[batarde.livejournal.com]

Hey, I know you like sharks quite a bit and I've been wondering if you've had a chance to see Sharkwater yet. If you haven't, you really should.

[wednes.livejournal.com]

I haven't, but it's been on my list. I've heard great things, even though I guess there's some controversy too. I love a good controversy, esp if it's shark related.

Thanks!

[diachrony.livejournal.com]

New fish tank! Cool!

I'm impressed by how self-aware you are re: depression, meds, etc.

I think I might need meds, but I'm not sure and I waffle. I am afraid if I get started, I'll need to stay on them ... never be able to stop. That's probably an unfounded fear based in ignorance, though. Never had therapy, probably need it. (What do I mean "probably"?)

[wednes.livejournal.com]

You are actually half right about the meds. Sometimes they are given to get you through a rough patch, a few weeks or months. Sometimes they are needed for "the duration" depending on if you have a chemical imbalance or not.
Problem is, it's very easy to get misdiagnosed depending on what kind of mood you're in when you see the doc; the doc's personal attitudes toward various diagnoses, or whatever. It took me many years to get a proper diagnosis, which is one of the reasons I've taken to doing my own research and *try* to be self aware.

Talk therapy, OTOH, can be enormously helpful if you have a therapist you like. I feel very lucky to have the therapy team I have to work with.

[spiralwitch.livejournal.com]

being one of those outdoorsy people is a recipe for death

now i know it's true! lol.

[wednes.livejournal.com]

Sad fact of life...

;-]

[groovesinorbit]

Gary sounds really cool. What did you feed him that he got that big?

[wednes.livejournal.com]

He only eats algae and plants from the tank. I think the kid who has him now feeds him fruit sometimes, but you don't have to.

I'm pretty excited to have new snails.

[groovesinorbit]

So much for the argument that you need meat to get big and strong. ; )

I bet. Snails are neat.

[kissdbyagnome.livejournal.com]

Do you have to clean the tank, or is that what the snails do? I almost bought some african swimming frogs on impulse, glad I didn't now.

[wednes.livejournal.com]

I may have to scrub out algae occasionally, depends on whether or not the snails can keep up with it. I may also get a single fish, they'd like to swim in all those plants.