About the Antipretzel

The Antipretzel is a female living in the San Francisco Bay area of California.  She likes to speak, and write, in the third person.  She’s also an extreme animal nut, and has quite the collection of animals from the mammalian (dogs, rats, hamsters, gerbils), reptilian (snakes, Bearded Dragons, Old World chameleons – panther and Rudii), amphibian (poison dart frogs), avian (Senegal parrot [Bella], parrotlet, English Budgies [Fred, George and Renee], Zebra Finches, and Duncan the Lady Gouldian Finch), and several tanks worth of bony fishes, fresh and saltwater.

Ok, back to the first person narrative: I got lucky, managed to attend a good high school, went to a good college, goofed off quite a bit after graduation, moved back home with my parents for a while, and decided to attend law school for all the wrong reasons.  Didn’t study as much as I should have (meaning, hardly paid attention in class), got the J.D., didn’t study as hard as most peoople for the California Bar, and still managed to pass on the first attempt.  Not employed as a lawyer, due to a combination of factors, including the poor grades, failure to attend one of the “prestigious” law schools, and all around laziness when it came time to look for a bona fide law job. 

Unsure as to whether to belive the various psychiatrists/psychologists that have uniformally expressed amazement and encouragement from all that I have managed to accomplish despite having to deal with the whole bipolar issue.  I, being somewhat aware of my capabilities, am of the solid belief that I could be much more if I just gott off my lazy butt and get things done. 

Was never too good at making friends as a kid, but as the manic side of bipolar disorder came to light, I became less and less shy.  Credit for my social growth also has to go to a year’s worth of psychotherapy during my third year of undergraduate school, as the talk therapy helped me undergo a transformation of sorts.  Most people who meet me now would be and are usually shocked that I was once shy.  I am now known for my attention grabbing hijinks.  Which I sometimes think is a desperate plea for attention, a funny thing, considering that I never lacked for attention from my parents and such growing up. 

I am lucky in that I have managed to surround myself with a group of great friends that I feel I can rely on, and are concerned when it comes to my well-being.  I am also lucky in that I have friends who are themselves bipolar so they can truly relate to the issues that I face.  Am also lucky in that I live in a great county that provides fairly comprehensive services (both mental and physical) for those that otherwise could not afford it (me included). 

Enough babbling for now.  Most probably a lot more later.