Kansas City, Missouri, March 8-10, 2013

I got home for the weekend on Friday and called my friend Erin. On Saturday, I didn’t do much besides go to Bruce Smith and pick up my prescription and buy a copy of Archeology magazine and ride my bike. The next day I did my laundry and rode my bike again. On the way back to UCM, my mom and I bought some shredded mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, and plain mini bagels, some beef jerky, fruit snacks, and some Snapple tea for the rest of the year before the break and when we got back I discovered I didn’t have my key. Luckily, a Public Safety officer was walking through the hall at the time and opened it with her master key.  In the meantime, my mom would send my key tomorrow and I’d just depend on Tyler to get in until my key arrived in the mail.

Warrensburg, Missouri, March 1-8, 2013

On the first day of March I went to my Geology class and took a quiz, which I thought I did pretty well on.  The next day I went down to Hastings and bought the new Buddhadharma magazine, which had a cover article called Confessions of a Zen Novelist which interested me being a Buddhist screenwriter. Later that night I watched one of Tyler’s movies, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, about a young sorcerer whose life is changed when he learns it is his destiny to defeat the evil witch Morgana, with Tyler and Mary, a very short first-year THRIVE student with Down Syndrome, who recently became very close together. The next day I heard that Tyler’s grandmother had died and I promised him I would go to the funeral next Sunday so I called my mom to tell her I would be coming home next weekend, the weekend before Spring Break. I also asked her to wire one hundred dollars from my account at home to my account at school.

                Later I finished my Excel 2 Capstone project and my Excel 3 tutorial and exam even later in the day I worked on the outline to one of my screenplays. I figured that maybe I’m feeling more inspired to write them after I’ve done a lot of things to help other people. Then that night after I finished running on the treadmill, I watched another one of Tyler’s movies, Take the Lead, about several troubled teenagers who are taught dance by a mysterious Spanish gentleman to help improve their behaviors, with Tyler, Jack, Mary, and Ryan, another first-year THRIVE students. Late morning to early afternoon the next day I watched another one of Tyler’s DVDs with him, Mysteries of the Bible, Part One. Afterwards, Nathan asked us if we, the THRIVE students, would stand out in the hall outside his room and ask Jena, his girlfriend, when she came out, “Will you go to the THRIVE formal with Nathan?” We did, and she said yes, if he would buy her a dress. I also worked on my Geology notes and understood the material better.

               

                The next day I worked on the Excel 3 Capstone project in my Essential Managing Information class with the rest of the class and found some more pebbles outside which I turned into mani stones. During my Person Centered Planning I realized that if my inspiration to write comes from helping people, then I’ll probably get a lot of inspiration from leading the UCM Autism Spectrum Support Group. Later I did my Transition Planning II homework and I found out on Blackboard that I got a four out of five on my Geology quiz. I printed off my flyer for the UCM Autism Spectrum Support Group and I made another toilet paper roll diorama of Palkhor monastery in Tibet. After study hall I went to Phillip’s apartment in Foster/Naux with Hillary and a few other THRIVE students, to see his new hamster, leaving myself about twenty minutes to run on the treadmill.

                The next day Tyler put his name on the flyer and I got a better understanding of my Geology material when we did a review for the next exam. I realized I still needed to go over chemical and mechanical weathering, what percent of soil it’s different parts are, the qualities of poorly drained and well-drained soil, and the different factors in climate change and their effect on it. The next day I got the hundred dollars my mom sent me and I worked on my Excel 3 Capstone project. When I went to my Geology lab, I got full points on the last assignment and after the lab I ordered refills of two of my medications.  During study hall, I came up with a pneumonic for the order of the letters for each level of soil (O, A, E, B, C), “Ocean and Evening Beer’s Cool.”

                The next day I made an appointment with Dr. Mayfield about the group for three o’ clock the next day and I kept understanding the material well in my Geology class and took another quiz, which I thought I did pretty well on. I realized that these autism groups form a good bastion of solidarity for autistic people and later that night, Tyler came to me with the flyer which was full of names which he had gotten himself. The next day I learned that Tyler’s grandmother’s funeral was a private affair and his mom would tell my mom. Later I did my homework for my Transition Planning II class and I went to my appointment with Dr. Mayfield where I told her about the flyer and she decided she could e-mail her students about the meetings so they could know what was going on without giving away their private information and she made a copy of the flyer to give to people who would be interested so she could send them updates. After class, I found out my mom hadn’t gotten the message about Tyler’s grandmother’s funeral and was already at UCM, so I decided to just pack a few things for the weekend and go home, even though I would be going home the next weekend for Spring Break.

Warrensburg, Missouri, February 2013

On the first day of February, a Friday, I e-mailed Mrs. Fahrmeier about my textbook problem and then I did my homework for my Transition Planning II class. Later I took out my trash and found two pebbles one of which II already had so I decided to give the other one to Tyler, who collects rocks. I gave Tyler that pebble and he told me it was granite, which is volcanic. Later that night, I watched Pitch Perfect, one of Tyler’s favorite movies, with him and Jack. I also finished three decorative flowers, each one containing part of a saying of the Buddha: the first, “Do good;” the second, “Do no evil;” the third, “Purify one’s mind,” and I put them on my bathroom door. The next day I worked on my Geology notes, then I went to Hasting’s where I bought an October-December issue of a magazine called BBC Focus on Africa. After I got back to the dorm, I read an article of Mindful magazine, their premier issue which I had bought days earlier, that studies confirmed that racists were more likely than non-racists to suffer from heart problems which I found interesting because about a year ago I started to believe that “ableists” (people prejudiced towards people based on their abilities or lack of thereof) would be more likely to suffer something like that to. 

                On Monday I did the first two Word tutorials for my Essential Managing Information class. The next day, remembering how last year our former THRIVE instructor Mrs. Carter volunteered to be the faculty advisor for the UCM Autism Spectrum Support Group, e-mailed her asking her if she would still like to do it. On Wednesday, after my Essential Managing Information class, I bought a mineral set to help me memorize the different minerals for my Geology Lab. Later I got an e-mail back from Mrs. Carter saying she’d be happy to be the faculty advisor but thought Dr. Mayfield was doing it. I e-mailed her back saying I was meeting with her on Friday and she and I could talk about it. Then, after my Transition Planning II class, I did my assignment that was due in that class that day and e-mailed it to Mr. B. While I was at study hall that day, I took the time to study over my minerals.

                The next day I turned the pebble I found earlier into a mani stone and the day after that I saw someone smile and wave at me in the cafeteria as I was getting ready to leave. I looked and saw that it was Cassie. I smiled and waved back and she sat down with Mckinsey just as I was leaving. Later on I went to my appointment with Dr. Mayfield and we decided we got have Mrs. Carter as a backup advisor, in case she couldn’t make it to meetings. We also decided that the most important things for me to do would be to write the group’s constitution and put a flyer out in the THRIVE hall about the group where people who were interested could put their names on.

                After my meeting, I did my Transition Planning II homework right before the class itself started and I got my last two paychecks, more medication, an Ethernet cord, and some Valentine’s Day Reese chocolates from my mom in the mail. Later that night we arranged for her to come and visit me tomorrow and go shopping afterwards. The next day she came and we went to Crazy Dog’s with Jack and Autrey then took them to Walgreen’s before we went to Bi-Lo Mart. There I got some apples, frappucinos, IBC Cherry Limeades, more cheese pepperoni, and bagels to make pizza bagels, some tea, and some fruit snacks. My mom also bought me a current issue of National Geographic Traveler. After she left and I drank an IBC Cherry Limeade, I added the bottle cap to my collection and my sign. The next day I finished the last two Word tutorials.

                Next Monday, when my Essential Managing Information class was supposed to take place in the library, I forgot the room number and missed class but I e-mailed a student to ask him what I missed then e-mailed my instructor explaining. Later I went down to Walgreens and bought a $25 Barnes and Noble gift card and also a copy of Time magazine’s 100 New Scientific Discoveries: Fascinating, Momentous, and Mind-Expanding Stories. The next day I did my Word Capstone project for my Essential Managing Information class and I went to my Geology class and took the test, which I thought went alright. On Wednesday I took a test for my Essential Managing Information class and got a 77%. I made another mani stone and I went to my Geology Lab and did the Lab Practicum, which I felt somewhat confident about. Later as I was going to my Transition Planning II class, Mrs. Fahrmeier caught up with me and said she got the book yesterday and I got it during the class. During my study hall that night, I worked on my flyer for the Autism Spectrum Support Group. On Thursday I made two more mani stones which I put in my bowl. On Friday I took out my recycling bin and on Saturday I made another toilet paper roll diorama of the Buddha meditating under the Bodhi tree and I went down to Hasting’s and got the new issue of Tricycle magazine. On Sunday I did my assignment for my Essential Managing Information class that the class went over on the Monday class that I missed.

                The next Monday during my Essential Managing Information class, we worked on our first Excel tutorial Capstone project. Later on I went to my Person Centered Planning and talked to Teresa about how I didn’t think I could ever get around to my bird-watching because I thought most birds come out in the morning but then I realized I might be thinking about this one time when I tried to watch for birds on campus later in the day and didn’t see any. That night I also agreed to go see a play called Death Trap with Tyler on Wednesday night. The next night I made up study hall to go to the play the next day and I finished the Excel Capstone project. The next morning I found out I got a 49% on the Lab Practicum but I did do a worksheet in the lab that would definitely make up for it if I got full points. I found out on Blackboard that I got a 60% on the lecture test but I had other tests and assignments to make up for it. Later I got some brown colored paper at the Union bookstore so I could make some more toilet paper roll dioramas. Then, after eating at Hong Kong Express, Tyler and I went to see Death Trap, which I thought was alright.

                The next morning after the snow cancelled classes, I made another toilet paper roll diorama of the Jokhang Temple in Tibet and started working on some wall art made from toilet paper rolls based on Buddhist geometric patterns. I started on a piece of wall art meant to resemble a pattern from the Hausa people of West Africa also made from toilet paper rolls and another piece of wall art of a Tibetan Buddhist mandala, also from toilet paper rolls. The next day I found I was missing my flash drive.  Later I worked on and studied my Geology notes and after dinner I realized that I had left my flash drive in the Lovinger computer lab as I went in there to turn in my Excel 2 Capstone project because I was hurrying to get to my Transition Planning II class and I decided I needed to stop rushing so much.  As I finished running on the treadmill, I practiced not rushing as I prepared to get back.

                Tyler (Fuches), Emily told me, wasn’t coming to UCM for some reason so I had the weekend to myself. During the rest of the night I covered my shelf for my toilet paper roll dioramas with white construction paper and the next day I worked on my Excel 1 Tutorial exam, which I did horribly on but had two more chances to retake it. The next day I retook it and got a better score and I took the Excel 2 Tutorial exam. I also got the last bottle cap I needed for my sign from my beer at Crazy Dog’s, where I tried their delicious Baja burger, and used it to complete my sign when I got back. I then stuck it to the wall in the corner beneath my Buzz Sutherland photo.

                The next Monday I worked on my Excel 2 Capstone project and afterwards I bought a new flash drive at the Union computer store. Later that day, when I was about to leave the Lovinger computer lab, I asked them if they had my flash drive and I got it from their lost-and-found. The next day class was cancelled because of the snow again so I used that time to do some laundry, work on my Tibetan Buddhist mandala made from toilet paper rolls, and practice my flute. Class was cancelled again the next day so I used that time to work on my Tibetan Buddhist mandala wall piece and read a book that I recently ordered called Somebody Else: Arthur Rimbaud in Africa 1880-91. Later I finished my flyer for the UCM Autism Spectrum Support Group. The next day, when class was finally back in session, I copied my Geology worksheet from last class period and I took a quiz in that class which I think I did alright on.