Ask Mike! - Are you INSANE?

Finally! My first question posted to askmike@trefry.net

This first question comes from a reader in Phoenix, AZ, who shall remain nameless but for the sake of reference we shall refer to as ex-wife #1.

Ex-wife #1 asks:

Are you INSANE?

I am sitting here at my desk at work with a few minutes of down time, listening to Joss Stone, and I decided to check out your site to see if you had been up to anything interesting. You know like ranting about Allah or god or bush, but a personal column????????????? With YOU giving the advice??? WOW is all I have to say.

Well Ex-wife #1, the state of my mind is a touchy subject indeed as you may well know. Some days are better than others, but for the most part I think I come down pretty solidly on the sane side of things. Perhaps though, that might be just what an insane person would say. Do insane people know they are insane, or are they all just convinced, as I am, that everyone else around them is crazy? For instance is the guy or the corner having a full fledged conversation with someone I cannot see, actually insane, or is it just that I, not being in the same state of mind, cannot see this very sane person conversing with a very real entity?

I think sanity in general is a very malleable notion.

But maybe the point of your question was not really directed at my level of sanity as perhaps more towards my qualifications and ability to dole out advice.

The answer to that query is simply none. I have no qualifications. I am likely not capable of giving good advice should the life of the advisee depend on it, but that's why I created my disclaimer. On the other hand, I have made a LOT of mistakes in my life in the personal, romantic and financial aspects of it, and have learned a lot from it. So much so that I think I could safely give people advice on what NOT to do with their lives, but the disclaimer still applies. If you follow my advice and fuck up your life, it's your own damn fault.

Speaking of sanity, when the hell did you decide to like Joss Stone?