New Life at Home

After graduation day I spent the first part of the morning going down to La Provence with my mom, Dave, my grandmom, and Cam, doing a little unpacking, and refilling my medication prescriptions. Then I rode my bike, went down to Starbuck’s, and filled out a UCM Housing application. I wrote a haiku about missing Cassie but also feeling happy for her and I called work and found out I work on Saturday from 9-5:30. At dinner I got a UCM hoodie from Mom and Dave as a graduation present. I also talked to my granddad and he and I both agreed that even though I would miss Cassie, some new Cassie-like figure may soon be awaiting me who would drive out that void maybe at the UCM Autism Spectrum Support Group.

The next day my grandmom and I removed several of my books, ethnic musical instrument collection and other belongings off my old bookshelf and into Jamie’s room temporarily so I could move them onto the new bookshelves that were once cupboards bought from a local Baptist church.  She saw a book on my shelf by Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea, and told me about how on the news she heard how they discovered he was really a fake and pocketing the money people gave him to build schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I was not so shocked to hear that Greg Mortenson was a fraud, in fact, that being made public felt highly welcome to me. I knew that were several big-name autism “charities” that were more in the business for themselves and if Greg Mortenson was revealed like that, it wouldn’t be long before they were to. I also spent more of the morning unpacking my stuff.

Later I fed the cats later, helped clean out our pool, and went to Cam’s high school graduation. I could not help but imagine running into a girl everywhere I went at UCM from the group and the net morning I remembered how I once read that girls with autism often take longer to outgrow things like dolls and imaginary friends but thought that might not be the case if they made real ones. The fact is that people with autism are often not prepared for the real world the way schools are supposed to prepare them because while they may get along well with others, they often don’t have certain social skills, which could decrease their self-confidence, thus their ability to form friendships, find employment, be proud of who they are, and come together to fight autism discrimination, thus exacerbating prejudice and discrimination against them. The next day I rode my bike and realized the UCM and JCCC groups might make autistic people feel better about their disability. And with that they might be more likely to challenge discrimination against them.

That evening I pulled some weeds before going doing to Barnes and Noble with my granddad before we went to the Pathless Land and I got a Lonely Planet book on East Africa, another journal for my meditation journal, a Summer 2013 issue of Parabola magazine, a Summer 2013 issue of Tricycle magazine, a May 2013 issue of Afar magazine, and an April 2013 issue of Africawatch magazine. I had pretty much used up my new debit card, but it was worth it. My granddad and I went down to the Pathless Land together and did some Dzongchen meditation with the other people there, where we did three things: sit, breathe, and be. After that my granddad and I went down to Roasterie Coffee in Brookside where I got a coffee that was very artistically done and reminded me of a Tibetan Buddhist mandala which is art that is impermanent. When I got home, Dave helped me get my internet working, and Cam gave me a box which had several graduation presents from my dad: a recycled paper beads kit, a book called Rubbish!  Reuse Your Refuse, and a book called Ideas for Creative Reuse. I later found out about a shop in Uganda selling ethnic musical instruments in my Lonely Planet book and a travel article about Zimbabwe showing a different angle about the country then the one we often hear of in the West. 

The next day I went to my art class with Jack, and I found out about a place in Uganda with several cave paintings. I also fed the cats and rode my bike for half an hour. The next day I learned I got find magnet pieces down at the hardware store for making bottle caps into magnet. I deposited my check from my grandmom and took a little bit out for myself and I got an issue of Native magazine at Corinth Hen House and some magnet pieces at the hardware store in Prairie Village shopping center. I realized that the reason I’m so relaxed at UCM is probably because I exercise every night. Then I pulled some more weeds, and I rode my bike for half an hour. I got to thinking that good health, food, moods, friends, family, encounters with nature, hobbies, vacations, travel, spirituality, self-assurance, and gratitude are probably the best things in life and I decided to try and ride my bike for an hour when I could, the same amount of time I exercised most nights at UCM. 

I went to work the next day and I realized that the UCM Autism Spectrum Support Group could help autistic people find careers by making them more comfortable to join groups, less stressed so they can get more out of their classes, and more comfortable talking about their interests with other people, and that way people will be more familiar with autistic people and less prejudiced and thus less likely to force a “cure” on them which have caused them to get injured or even killed. I got a new USDA cap from my drinks on my first break and the schedule which said I work on Sunday from 7-1:30, Monday from 8:30-1, Thursday from 10-2, and Saturday from 9-5:30. After work I made a belt loop from the letters on the beef jerky wrapper from my first break saying M-A-T-A-D-O-R. I went to work the next day, and I got two new USDA caps on my first two breaks. I also worked on a poster to put up in the Union when they had them with a sheet called Facts and Myths About Autism and I realized that my Matador belt loop reminds me that I am a warrior who is brave which the late Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche taught about.

I went to work the next day and got a new USDA cap. I also came up with two parts of the poster board called The Autism Warrior Pledge and What You Can Do to Help. I later changed the title of the first one to The Friend of Autism Pledge and I got back and found out the movie Kon-Tiki was showing at 7:05 and I called Tyler and left a message for him about it.  I also wrote the Friend of Autism Pledge. Then the next day my mom and I went to the thrift store, and I got some new shorts and some cool new button shirts there. I went down to the Hen House on Prairie Village shopping center and I got National Geographic’s: The World’s Most Beautiful Places: The World’s Unforgettable Destinations. I called my friend Erin, and I made some fries for dinner. I worked on the beads my dad gave me, and I learned he was saving several bottle caps for me.

The next day I went to work and switched my schedule for tomorrow with another courtesy clerk so Jack and I could go to art class the next day. I also got a new USDA cap on my lunch break, and I realized I can be a role model for people with autism helping them to accept themselves more and making others more likely to help them. Afterwards I went to a Half Price Books with Granddad and learned about some archaeological sites in Zimbabwe then we went to the Pathless Land. Ben Worth, the director, wasn’t there that day so at the end of the session I did for us the dedication of merit he does at the end. My granddad and I went down to Roasterie Coffee after that and I got another latte that was artistically done.

The next day I went to art class with Jack and when I got home I worked on Facts and Myths About Autism. Then at 3 I went to work and got another USDA bottle cap during my break. The next day my mom, Jack, and I went to Winstead’s before seeing an archaeological exhibit in Kansas City Later I went to my Dad’s and showed him Facts and Myths About Autism, What You Can Do to Help, and the Friend of Autism Pledge.  He liked them all and gave me a few suggestions to improve them which I took. What You Can Do to Help and the Friend of Autism Pledge ended up looking something like this: 

What You Can Do to Help

-Show empathy and support for someone with autism when you see them experiencing difficulty on account of their disability, keeping in mind not to take away the person’s dignity.

-Remember a person with autism who is suspected of something wrong may be so on account of or misunderstanding due to their disability and may have trouble presenting their side or the story on account of their autism.  When making judgments and decisions on such a case, remember to do so only on a bases that is factual and relevant to the conflict.

-Always speak of autistic people in a way that acknowledges them as people first, avoiding terms such as “disorder” or “suffers from autism” and instead using words such as “condition.”  Avoid generalizations and mentioning the fact that a person has autism if it is not relevant to the discussion taking place. 

-Do thorough research on organizations claiming to represent autistic people getting to know facts such as where their money goes, what percentage of their organization is autistic, how they portray autism and people with it, and how their actions are viewed and affect people with autism.  More autism organizations are in it for themselves than you might think.

-Get to know people with autism if you have the chance.  Under the surface, they can make excellent friends and having good friends can really make a positive impact on their social interaction with people as a whole.

-When reading material about people with autism by so-called professionals, pay attention to the tone of the material and how favorably it is towards people with autism.

-Make notes of anytime you see a person with autism manipulated or treated unfairly due to their disability.  They may come in handy later.

-Learn all the sides of autism rather than just what is shown on television.  Autistic people have many great strengths in addition to whatever challenges they may face because of their disability.

-Get opinions from people with autism on their issues and things related to them.  Showing genuine interest may help more people with autism to advocate for themselves.

Friend of Autism Pledge

I pledge:

-to never victimize, abuse, discriminate, or defame a person on account of having autism.

-to see the entire person when looking at a person with autism, rather than merely their disability.

-to be cautious of the picture today’s media paints of autistic individuals, knowing that they are often exaggerated or only half-true.

-to do thorough research on autism organizations before investing, donating, or working for them, such as learning where their money goes, how much autistic people are represented among them, and how they represent people with autism and help others do the same.

-to be aware of what people with autism may experience from other people due to their disability.

-to respect both the challenges and blessings that autistic people have on account of their disability and learn to see themselves from their own eyes.

-to honestly strive to never help a person with autism in a way that takes away their dignity.

-to help any person with I know or suspect might have autism when I see them struggling with a situation with my own discretion.

-to recognize that if a person with autism is involved in an interpersonal or social crisis or accused of something that seems unlikely to remember that they often might have trouble presenting their side of the story and to help them if I can to bring it to the people in charge of dealing with these situations.

-that when I read anything or view anything mentioning people with autism, to pay attention to the tone of the author or maker to them and see how friendly it’s treatment of them is.

-to speak the honest, entire truth to the best of my knowledge whenever I talk about autism.

-to not turn a blind eye when I see an autistic person in a crisis involving other people due to misunderstanding on account of their disability and bring the issue to the attention of someone who would be an appropriate and likely candidate to help them.

-to be aware of whatever strengths a person with autism might have due to their disability in addition to their challenges.

-to not deliberately misrepresent an autistic person’s voice on their disability for my own or someone else’s reasons, whether they be selfish reasons or otherwise.

-to reevaluate any mistaken first impression I may have of an autistic person due to behavior of theirs as a result of their disability.

-to make judgments and decisions about people with autism that are not influenced by personal biases or facts unrelated to the matter about autism.

-to find a way stand up for myself when and if I am pressured by other people into doing something reprehensible to a person with autism on account of their disability.

-to be cautious of the feelings of autistic people when responding to or talking about their disability and anything related to that.

-to value the opinions of autistic people on matters about themselves.

-to judge the ideas, actions, and other effects of people with autism by their inherent qualities, not the person’s disabilities.

-to show empathy and support for autistic people I encounter who are going through pain on account of things related to their disability.

-to talk about autistic individuals as humans first and having autism second thus avoiding terms such as “disorder,” “suffers from autism,” or using broad generalizations or mentioning an autistic person’s disability when not relevant to the discussion.  I pledge to recognize that people with autism, like everyone else, seek food, water, physical support, free self-exploration, and love.

The next day I went to work and I found out I work the next day from 7-1:30, Monday from 8:30-1, Wednesday from 10-6:30, Thursday from 10-2, and Saturday from 9-5:30. When I got back, I got a call from Jack asking me to come over to his house the next day while his dad was at a party and I agreed. I went to work the next day and got a new USDA cap. It said:

I have Asperger’s.  What’s your excuse?

                                                                        -Ben Sheldon

After that I went to the lake with my dad and grandparents and did some bird-watching. I realized bird-watching can help teach people compassion remembering how one time a woman asked the Dalai Lama how to teach children compassion in a world filled with violence and he said, “teach kids to learn about insects.” My granddad also gave me the latest issues of Mindful and Smithsonian which he finished for my collection. I read in there that Congressman Tim Ryan wanted schools to help kids reach their full potential much like my idea of schools helping people with autism be prepared for the real world. Later I ate with my dad and grandparents before my dad took me to Jack’s place.

I got to Jack’s place and we decided to first watch a movie. After sorting through some we decided to watch The Life of Pi. We ordered pizza from Minsky’s, and I found out he also liked it with no sauce. We paused the movie to eat our pizza then finished the movie. We both thought it was pretty good and afterwards shot some basketball hoops and I told Jack about my work schedule. Afterwards we took a walk around Westwood Hills.

On Monday I went to work and got another USDA bottle cap on my break. After work I called Tyler and we agreed that we, Jack, and Mary should go down to the lake together. The next day I got a new pocketknife at the hardware store then went to work after that where I got another USDA bottle cap during my break. I also read during my break on my phone a quote by Maja Toudal about how she always has to try and guess people’s intentions and I realized that can take a lot of energy out of them giving them trouble with things like homework and I realized the UCM and JCCC groups should help them with that. I went to the Pathless Land with my granddad afterwards and at the end I did the dedication of merit for them as Ben wasn’t there this time either. After that my granddad and I went to the Roasterie Coffee on Brookside together.

The next day I went to work and got a new bottle cap on my break, not a USDA or crown one, and afterwards I filled out a request form for Wednesday and Thursday. Afterwards I rode my bike for an hour, and I carved some “bullets” from sticks. The next day I practiced my flute-playing some more.

Day at Home and Graduation

On my day at home before the graduation day, my mom and I picked up my grandmother at the airport and after that, I got a haircut and a miniature bust of Abraham Lincoln at Bruce Smith Drug’s to put on my desk. I rode my bike around town afterwards and the next day before I went to graduation my grandmom gave me a fifty dollar check and she gave me a present from my Aunt Nini: a Sayings of the Buddha Journal. Then we drove down to Warrensburg for my graduation ceremony and after they had announced the THRIVE program they called my name and I went up and got my certificate. When they called up the Harmon School of Business and Technology I couldn’t stop watching and listening for when they called out Cassie’s name and she went up to get her degree, knowing I would miss her next year when she wasn’t at UCM, but when they called her name and she got her degree, I also felt happy for her knowing she was one step closer to achieving her goals. 

                After the ceremony I met up with Cassie and we congratulated each other. I met up with my dad and his parents and my grandparents gave me a hundred dollar debit card. Then I went to a graduation part for THRIVE in the Union and we each got these little wooden pens pencils with our names carved into it and enjoyed some cake. Tyler also gave me a book as a parting gift before I left. After that, my mom, Dave, and my grandmom drove back home. After we got back I pulled several weeds in our garden and patio and I went to Jack’s graduation party where I got the chance to see Jack and Oscar.

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.

An Exciting Prospect for the Semester Begins

When I got back, I found out my study hall days were Mondays and Wednesdays. I also found out, unfortunately, that my payments for my Geology and Lab class and my Essential Managing Information class had not been received so Kriti told me to go met with Jessica tomorrow at eight. 

                The next morning I met with Jessica and we got me signed up for Essential Managing Information at 9-9:50 on Mondays and Wednesdays and Intro to Geology at 3:30-4:45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays and a Geology lab from 12-1:50 on Wednesdays. I went to my Essential Managing Information class afterwards and after that I found two new pebbles for my collection and turned them into mani stones. Then I made a toilet paper roll diorama of the city of Timbuktu in Mali and started making flowers from paper plates, one saying, “Do good,” another saying, “Do no evil,” and another saying, “Purify one’s mind,” forming a saying of the Buddha. Later I went to Crazy Dog’s and then I went to Hasting’s where I bought a current a current issue of Sufi magazine and a November 2012 issue of National Geographic Traveler. I also went to my Transition Planning II class at 4 which I had on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 4-4:50 and there we got our textbooks.

                The next day I talked to my granddad and he mentioned my internship, which I still didn’t know what it was. He said he knew but wanted me to be surprised saying, “Oh, you’ll enjoy it!”

                On Wednesday I didn’t have my Geology Lab. I found out when my teacher dropped by the lab I was sitting in and explained that he sent an e-mail out to all the students saying it wouldn’t start until the week after next week but I wouldn’t have gotten it because I wasn’t signed up, so I sent that time deleting several old e-mails. On Friday I went to Crazy Dog’s with Tyler and that night we watched one of my DVDs called Secrets of Shangri-la about hidden Buddhist texts and art found in caves in the Mustang region of Nepal. The next day I found another pebble for my collection which I turned into another mani stone and I worked on my decorative flowers made from paper plates. I also made another toilet paper roll diorama of the city of Djenne, also in Mali. The next day I went down to Walgreen’s and bought some shampoo. Then I went to Hasting’s where I bought an issue of Total Film and Sci-Fi magazine which had front page articles about The Hobbit movie.

On Thursday of next week I got a call from Jessica and found out what my internship would be: starting the UCM Autism Spectrum Support Group. She told me to make an appointment with Dr. Mayfield to talk about planning it and I did for Friday at 2:30. I also got a call from Jessica that day about my Person Centered Planning time as my original one at 4:30 conflicted with my Geology class. I told Teresa that and she said she could meet me at 12:30 on Wednesday and I told Jessica that I could make it there that week because I didn’t have my lab until the next week. The next day I went to my Person Centered Planning and Teresa gave me a schedule of people’s times so I could find someone to trade times with.

                Later that day I went to Hasting’s and bought a Rolling Stone Collector’s Edition The Hobbit The Ultimate Guide and an issue of Ancient American, a magazine which believes Christopher Colombus was one of the last people to discover America, which featured on the cover an article about King Arthur’s colonies in Pre-Colombian America. I read a quote in there by Peter Jackson saying, “When you realize your film gets better with every day you work on it, it becomes hard to take a day off.” This really encouraged me as I often never get around to working on my screenplays.

                I read the Rolling Stone magazine later and felt inspired by how Peter Jackson could make a huge film career without having to move to a place like Hollywood, since I hoped to make my career and stay in my home state of Kansas. The next day I took one of my ripped socks and used it to insulate my coffee mug. On Friday I went to my appointment with Dr. Mayfield and I told her my plans for the group. She also told me of a meeting for student organizations at four next Wednesday. That night I went to Crazy Dog’s and bought some soap in town. Tyler left that day to work at his job at AMC over the weekend and on Saturday I texted him the homework assignment for Transition Planning II.  I wrote thank you notes to my grandmom and my Uncle John and Aunt Nini for their Christmas presents. The next day I went to Hasting’s and bought the current issues of Smithsonian and Shambhala Sun magazine.

                The next Monday I completed my Windows 7 tutorial at my Essential Managing Information class. On Wednesday I found out to my dismay at my first Geology Lab that I didn’t have the required textbook. After class I e-mailed Mrs. Fahrmeier, who was substituting for Mr. B in Transition Planning II and said I wouldn’t be able to make it because of the meeting. I did my assignment for that class and e-mailed it to Mr. B. Then I went to the student organization meeting someone I knew.  Mckinsey was there and she seemed glad to see me. We said hello and asked how we were doing before we sat down and heard the presentation. That night I helped Tyler with his Transition Planning II homework and the next day I switched my PCP time with Jennifer in THRIVE for Monday at 1:30 and helped Tyler with our assignment for Transition Planning II again that evening.

Warrensburg, Missouri, November 1-16, 2012

On the first day of November as I was getting checked in at the cafeteria at breakfast, I heard that Esther’s, the check-in lady in Ellis, brother-in-law died recently and I was asked to sign a card for her.  I did and during my Screenwriting class I did an in-class exercise.  After class I found the name of a class that I thought looked interesting called Alaskan History and Myth.  I thought this stuff seemed interesting because of a Buddhist scholar Tom Lowenstein who I read since I was twenty who also had an academic interest in the Alaskan Inuit myth and ritual.  I know myths of various peoples of can provide a good source for a film.

                I saw Esther at lunch and told her I was sorry for her loss and after lunch I went down to the library and checked out a Lonely Planet book on New Zealand which I thought looked like a good place to travel because of the Lord of the Rings being filmed there and after Cassie hearing Cassie tell me about her study-abroad semester there.  The next day I went into town with Hillary, Philip, Kayla, and Sheldon and Philip showed us a wonderful looking Italian restaurant his uncle owned.  That night Mom called me saying she had my ballot sent to her and asked me to tell her what to put for me.  I did and she said she would send it tomorrow.  I watched King of the Hill on the treadmill that night and I saw the Spanish spoken in there and realized the maker of the show must know it as he’s from Ecuador.  It’s true what they say: you should write what you know.

                The next Monday morning I had a dream that Cassie’s father died and I went to his funeral, just as I had done with Jack for his mom and Elizabeth with her father.  For a while I resisted recycling the card Jack’s father sent Mom and I thanking us for supporting them, which simply stood on my desk, as it had some much meaning.  But then I remembered what the Buddha taught about letting things go so reluctantly I recycled it.  I know the card was only a symbol of the appreciation Jack and his father had for my mom and I, not the feeling itself.  The next day an idea suddenly came to me that the dream I had about Cassie’s father might have been saying that I comfort her, especially now with her school and work load being stressful.  That same feeling that I had when I sat with her and Mckinsey was there again.

                I saw Cassie in the cafeteria that day and learned she took a day off work to get caught up on her homework.  The next day I made an appointment with Krisana West who I met with last year about my courses for next semester on Friday at 10 and I saw Cassie in the cafeteria the next day as I went there to fill up my coffee and we said hello.  I realized she might have another class to take before she does her practicum as I remembered last semester she had to talk to the head of the Social Work department to get into a class she didn’t have the prerequisite for.  But if she did I knew she could use that semester to take courses towards a Master’s or graduate degree in Social Work and finish earning it at the University of Kansas City Missouri or Columbia University.  I also decided that whatever it was I wanted with Cassie could wait, if it came at all, until she was settled into the social work world.  I really just wanted her to be happy.

                The next day when I saw her at Einstein’s I noticed her hair was losing some of the black dye she had put into it a few months ago but I didn’t say anything.  I practiced for my speech and I bought a blank CD from the vending machine to put my powerpoint for my speech on.  I remembered how in my last speech I lost points because I didn’t have a drive for my powerpoint.  I saved my powerpoint onto it and I gave my speech the next day.  After that I went to my appointment with Krisana and I signed up for a University Library and Resource Skills class and a Geology class and lab.  After that I went down to the Union where I bought some poster board to use to make a bottle cap sign with all the bottle caps I had collected since I started collecting them a few months ago and I saw Cassie from a distance in the bank.  I went down there to say hello and told her I noticed something was different with her hair and that I liked it as I always do.  She said, “Thank you, I appreciate that.”  I also noticed her hair was wavy and not in a ponytail the way it was when I first met her and always liked.

                That night, Tyler went down to the Rec Center with me along with his trainer Cody.  He had been trying to lose weight for quite some time and I told him it was all a matter of continuing to exercise.  By the end of our time there he lost one and a half pounds.  Tyler and I got back to our dorm and we watched Family Guy Blue Harvest which he had brought with him to school.  The next day after reading about the mud-brick mosques, fortified villages, painted facades, and palaces and forts in West Africa from my Lonely Planet book, I made plans in my travel journal to go visit them.  The next day Tyler joined me while I meditated and I found out he meditates by watching his thoughts just like my dad does.  I also worked on two friendship bracelets.

                The next day I went to the bank and found out I had no money in my account at school because two dollars had been withdrawn for my statement fee but the woman at the bank told me I could sign up to get it on-line free of charge so I did that.  I also started using my bottle caps to make a sign that says “Om mani padme hum” on the poster board I got with the sticky stuff I use on my dorm walls.  The next day when I saw Cassie down at Einstein’s I told her if she had another semester to go she could use it to get credits towards a master’s degree in social work and she said she didn’t know what she was going to do and she was just trying to get through her classes.  I decided to make my bottle cap sign say the variation of “Om mani padme hum”: “Om mani peme hum,” because that’s the only version that would fit on my poster board and I rearranged my mani stones in a way I thought looked better.  The next day I practiced my flute for half an hour and called Hen House and asked for Phil and they said he’d be in the next day.  I also read about the ancient Nigerian city of Calabar in my Lonely Planet book and I made plans to go visit it.

                The next day I worked on my self-evaluation paper for my last speech in my Public Speaking class and I practiced my flute for half an hour.  I had some ribs with spices for Native America Heritage month, the first time I had tried ribs, even though I had eaten plenty of barbeque over my life and I called Phil and told him I would be available to work from the 17^th to the 24^th and he said he would try to put me on the schedule.  That night Tyler showed me how to make a root beer float in the cafeteria by getting some root beer and getting vanilla ice cream from the soft-served machine.  Then the next day Granddad came and took me home to my mom’s for Thanksgiving break.

Kansas City, Kansas, October 26-28, 2012

I got home with my mom that night and she, me, Dave, Cam, and Graham ate at Elsa’s Ethiopian restaurant. I spent the night building some of my Lego sets, looking for pieces to them in the bucket of Legos and putting megablocks pieces I find with the other megablocks pieces. The next day, my mom and I went into the Plaza and I got some new shoes which adjust better to the heel of my foot and I looked in Barnes and Noble at the Lonely Planet books in the travel section. That night I went with my dad, Cam, Sherry, Grandmom, and Granddad to eat dinner at a steakhouse in Overland Park. I came back that night to my mom’s and we watched the movie, Memento, one of the films mentioned in my book Cinema Nirvana: Enlightenment Lessons from the Movies, as I want to write Buddhist themed films and think it’s important for me to learn from those kinds of films. The next day I took Wally and Lulu for a walk while some people came to buy one of our puppies. Then later on I went back with my mom to school.

First Months Back at First Home

On the first day of summer, I called Hen House and found out I work on Sunday from 4-8, Monday from 3-8, and Friday from 1:30-10. That day I also e-mailed Cassie Burghoff, whom I became a quick friend of, asking for us to stay in touch over the summer and get together some next year. My work schedule got changed so I don’t work Sunday, but I did go to work on Monday and Friday. On Sunday I had a parmesan chicken dinner my mom cooked, the first home-cooked meal I’d had in a while.

On Wednesday, my granddad picked me up at my house, and we went to Winstead’s and Barnes and Noble before going to the Pathless Land like we used to do before I went to UCM. On Saturday when I was with my dad for the weekend, I went to a local bead store and bought three blank pendant pieces on which I would hammer a design with a nail to make a necklace for my mom, grandmom, and Sherry for Mother’s Day. On Sunday I went with my mom, Dave, and Cam to a local Prairie Village restaurant called La Provence for Mother’s Day and at work I filled out a W4 form. That day I saw my old friend Alex Habib’s mother at work, and she gave me his cellphone number.

The next day I started doing something I did before I went to UCM. I dug through the Lego bucket at home and put the pieces to the Harry Potter sets, which got scattered a long time ago, into bags according to which set they went to, put the ones I didn’t know which set they went to in a separate tub, put the pieces to a lego ninja fortress into a separate bag, and put all the megablocks, bionicle, playmobile, and connex pieces I found in their own boxes. I also hammered a flower on the pendant for my mom and gave it to her. She loved it. I hammered a Chinese symbol for harmony on a necklace for my grandmom, who loves Asian art, and I hammered a cross inside a Star of David for my stepmom. When I went to the Pathless Land with Granddad the next night, I gave him my grandmom’s pendant, which he said she would love. When I got to my dad’s house, I gave him Sherry’s pendant to give to her and Dad said she would love it. The next day I went to my art class with Jack and worked more on some watercolor drawings and on Friday I worked from 1:30 to 10.

On Saturday I had a day off so I rode my bike to the Corinth library and checked out two books: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Screenwriting and The Lonely Planet Guide to Travel Writing.  The next day when I went to work, I found out I work on Monday from 6-10, Friday from 1:30-10, and Saturday from 7-3:30.

On Monday the next day I went to work from 6-10, and on Wednesday I went to Winstead’s with Granddad and Barnes and Noble before going to the Pathless Land. On Friday I went to work from 1:30 to 10. Dad picked me up and told me that I my History class I got a C, and in my Creative Writing class I got an A. My dad told me the THRIVE staff sent a very good report about me along with it too.

The next morning, I went to work from 7 to 3:30. I found out that day that my work hours for the week are Sunday from 4 to 8, Monday from 6 to 10, Friday from 1:30 to 10, and Saturday from 7 to 3:30. When I got home, I read the report from the THRIVE staff and it was very nice. I went to work on Sunday and Monday and went to Winstead’s, then Barnes and Noble, then to the Pathless Land with Granddad, and on Thursday I went to my art class with Jack.              

On the second day of June, there were hot dogs and burgers provided to employees during their breaks. After I got off work, I walked home and looked in the store in the Prairie Village shopping center Bag and Baggage, where I saw Lonely Planet Phrasebook India and Lonely Planet Phrasebook Africa which are two places I have long wanted to visit. I got home and ordered a book called Cinema Nirvana: Enlightenment Lessons from the Movies. I also placed two books on hold from the Corinth Library by Robert D. Kaplan author of Ends of the Earth: Imperial Grunts and Eastwards Towards Tartary: Travels in the Middle East. The day after that I went to my art class and work, and the next day I ordered a book online called Upside-down Zen: Discovering the Marvelous in the Ordinary. 

            My granddad on my mom’s side of the family was coming into town to visit us so I asked if I could get someone to cover me at work on Friday. I went to the Pathless Land with my other granddad as I do most nights, and the next day I went to work and found out my shift was covered. My pop-pop, as we like to call him, and his girlfriend Sandra came in on Friday and we had dinner along with Cam’s girlfriend Nora. Then the next day I went to work from 7 to 3:30. The next day I went to work and the day after that I went to my art class then later to work.

            The day after Monday I watched some birds in my backyard for an hour. I also rode my bike for half an hour and swam in our backyard pool, which I figured I’d better do before time runs out to do it. My granddad was away in Canada, so my dad and I went to Pei Wei for dinner, and I got a bottle cap for my collection that I started to do from my Kirin Beer. Then we went to Half Price Books, and I looked at a book on Harry Potter collectibles. My brother Jamie, who recently studied abroad in China, came home from Evergreen College in Olympia, Washington. 

            The next day I found out my neighbor, Mrs. Han offered to pay me to pull weeds from her backyard on my way to work. The next day I went to work and after that I pulled Mrs. Han’s weeds. I went to work the next day and the day after that I had a day off and went to my family lake house at Lake Lotawana and Jamie gave Dad and I souvenirs of his trip to China. I got a wooden Hotei head (Hotei is the fat, laughing Buddha), a Chinese dream catcher, and a pencil from the Chengdu Tibetan hotel. There I watched the birds, and my grandparents came and Jamie showed us photos of his trip to China before we went to dinner. I also talked to my friend Erin.

            The next day I went to work and asked off for the fourth of July and the day after that I had a day off during which I found some photos from my middle school and high school years and put them in the photo albums I got in Warrensburg. On Wednesday, instead of going to the Pathless Land with my granddad, I worked from 4 to 8 because of I was covering for another courtesy clerk.

            On Friday I went to work and found out my work schedule for the next week was Monday from 3:30 to 8; Wednesday from 12 to 5; Thursday from 3:30 to 10; and Saturday from 1:30 to 10. The next day, after work, Jamie, my stepsiblings Kate and Graham, who were in from town, my mom, my stepdad and I went to eat at Elsa’s Ethiopian Restaurant where we quickly filled up on Beef Tibbs, Doro Watt, injera, and other food of Ethiopian cuisine. The day after that Jamie and I ate lunch with and stayed over at our dad’s and ate dinner with our grandparents before Jamie left for Evergreen the next day.

            The next day I went to work and the day after the next day I went to work and went to the Pathless Land with my granddad and on the way, he gave me some coins he brought back from his trip to Canada. I went to work the next day, and I got hired by Mrs. Han to water here plants and feed her cats on Sunday and Monday. I went over to her house so she could tell me what to do and I helped her moved her geranium plants from her upstairs balcony to her backyard.

 

Displaying the Sacred

I started playing a game on my phone called Tetris to try and ease my mind over things that have stressed me out. My highest score is 126,092, Level 13, 129 lines cleared. I wanted so much to beat that high score. However, the further you get into this game the faster it goes. After beating my Tetris score from last night, I found I was a much better Tetris player when I put my Buddhist beliefs to practice: just taking things as they come.  

As I ate lunch another thought occurred to me as I remembered Julia Garcia showing how the word "impossible" contains the words "I'm possible." When you look at the word "unable" and you read the u, then the n, the able part, you notice it says, "You enable." While I still had not found a girlfriend at UCM, as I have so long hoped to, I also realized that the best way to flirt with a girl would be to try talking about herself.

When I was walking down to my Creative Writing class, I ran into Cassie whose wavy strawberry blonde hair had been straightened and partially braided. We said hello and I told her, "Wow Cassie, your hair looks beautiful. Of course, it already looked beautiful."

"Thank you," Cassie said and I couldn't help but notice she seemed to blush a little. 

"And I love the braid," I said.

"I appreciate that," she said, still seeming to blush.

I went down to my Creative Writing class where my poem was work shopped. The class as is their custom told me what was right with the poem and gave me some suggestions about how to improve it. After class I got some more note-taking paper to take notes in class.

The next day I looked up UCM student organizations and found the UCM Fencing Club which meets Mondays and Fridays in the Lovinger Gym at 7pm. Everyone is welcome, it said, and all equipment would be provided. The next day Learning Strategies class got out early because Mrs. Carter got a call saying her husband was in the hospital because of an emergency. That night I went down to the Lovinger Gym but found it deserted. The next day I went to the library to work on some Plato Math, and I got finished with my weekly planner when I got back. 

The next day I finished my study guide for the chapter we read in Learning Strategies. Then I read more of Relax, You're Already Home and read a chapter called Accept, Accept, Accept. After reading that chapter it occurred to me that I had to accept the fact that I could not do anything about Jack's mom's cancer and thinking about it would not help. 

That night I also realized that my Creative Writing class could also help me with my screenwriting. At first, I honestly thought this class was not about the kind of writing I am mostly interested in, being about poetry and short story writing, while I'm mostly into screenwriting. But I thought Once we get into story writing it will be really interesting because many films are based off short stories. The movie The Adjustment Bureau was based off a short story called The Adjustment Team. I never saw that movie was another one of those movies where, I think Peter Griffin in Family Guy best described him as "a Boston-educated street crud." But never-the-less short stories can inspire films. They also are the basic units for novellas, stories that are made up of connected short stories.  That is basically what the show Avatar the Last Airbender was even though it was never made into a successful film. 

I also read a chapter called Displaying the Sacred in which it advised we keep an altar in our living space. That night I got out from under my bed a red velvet stool on which I placed a chime on the back. In front of it was a miniature bronze stupa my family got me one Christmas when I was in High School. Leaning against the stupa was a picture of the Dalai Lama, for all the virtues he represents, propped up by a green stone. Next to it was a Buddhist bowl that my grandparents had gotten me one Christmas when I was in Junior College. And in the front of the altar was a Celtic poem called Song of Amergin.