I attended the NAMI facililitator conference

Hey, everyone! I just got back from attending the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) group facilitator conference where I got certified as a group facilitator, which means I can create a support group for people with any kind of mental illness. Ah, the freedom to help those who are a bit on the loony side. (Principle of Support No. 9: We embrace humor as healthy.) It was held at the Embassy Suites near the Logan Airport, and the accommodations were suite. Get it? They were sweet/suite. Because they gave us suites. And they were very nice...

I spent 2 1/2 days in classes learning different ways to facilitate a group of people with a mental illness diagnosis, which could be easy or could be very difficult. I met lots of great people, had lots of good food (too much food, methinks, because I'm on Weight Watchers now and I totally didn't keep track of my points). A few of us also played Cranium on Fri. and Sat. night. which resulted in many laughs and poorly drawn Miss Americas.

So here's a shameless request for donations for our NAMI Walk that Jay, Matt, Lisa (Matt's girlfriend), and I are participating in.

"I would like to ask you to come and walk with me or to donate to support my participation in this great event. Visit my personal walker page to sign up: http://www.nami.org/namiwalks08/MAS/erin_bailey. It features a link to my team's page where you can see who else is walking with me. There is also a link so you can donate directly to me online. Donating online is fast and secure, and I'll get immediate notification via e-mail of your donation"

For those of you who have donated already, we thank you so very much! If anyone else is interested (oh, I know you're ALL interested) and would like to donate, it really is very easy. Any amount is appreciated. The walk is on Saturday, May 31st. I guess last year there were like 7,000 people there! I couldn't believe that number. They're going to have lots of refreshments and music and stuff, so if you'd like to actually come join us in walking or want to just watch, it's at 11:00 a.m. at Artesani Park, along the Charles River. It'll be a 3-mile walk. Small beans! (Is that a phrase that's commonly used or did I just make that up?)

In other news, I have a new favorite film. No Country for Old Men. I have a crush on Javier Bardem, who played the psychotic bad guy with no sense of humor in this movie.

He won an Oscar for his role in the film (and the film won Best Picture), and his portrayal of this murderous man with a great haircut is just mes-mer-iz-ing. Personally, I think he should have been the star of the film, not Tommy Lee Jones. But that's just the way it is. You should definitely check out the movie if you haven't already. Ooo, so good. And ooo, such a crush on Javier Bardem...


I shall end this long post now. I have to pee.