The Family Goes South

Our train pulled into New Mexico passing by many adobe houses until finally it arrived outside Santa Fe and my mom, Dave, and I boarded a shuttle along with several other passengers. The only thing is my mom and Dave forgot to call meaning I didn’t have a seat so I had to sit on the floor. Fortunately, when one passenger got out, I got to sit in the front seat. We passed adobe houses, restaurants, and shops until we got into Santa Fe. We made it to our apartment then we decided to explore the town a little bit before going to eat. My mom and I stopped by at a store called Dinosaurs and More which had many dazzling crystal and dinosaur fossils as well as many inexpensive but still genuine oyster, shark’s tooth, seashell, petrified wood, and other types of fossils. I bought an oyster fossil, deciding not to buy too much else for now in case I saw other things I wanted to buy and then my mom and I met up with Dave at a restaurant where we sat out on the balcony and I enjoyed a burger with bacon and fried egg along with a generous glass of Chipotle beer. Afterwards we bought postcards for my mom to send to her family members and for me to send to Tyler. 

The next day, my mom, Dave, and I explored another fossil shop and a beautiful adobe Catholic cathedral before eating lunch where I made two tacos, one beef and one green Italian sausage. Afterwards we went into a bookstore where I, always with my creative side, perused books on Islamic calligraphy and Indian and Tibetan Buddhist religious art, while Mom purchased an old DVD called Five Easy Pieces with Jack Nicholson. I stayed at the apartment while my mom and Dave got massages then we ate at a high end restaurant where I found a new bottle cap for my collection in one of the buckets of bottles and enjoyed a delicious butter roasted chicken. After dinner we stopped by a Whole Foods where we got Imported Harp’s Beer and Strawberry Izzy Esques. We tried to watch Five Easy Pieces that night but couldn’t get our DVD player to work. 

The next day we went to Los Alamos and stopped first in Bandelier National Park where we saw ruins of a Native American village and Anasazi mud huts, cliff dwellings, petroglyphs, and ceremonial pits in the mountains. I learned about how the Anasazi might have moved up into the mountains to escape floods as the river nearby often rises in water level as it’s stream gets narrower, something I learned in Geology, and realized that many cultures probably remained more “primitive” because they had to adapt to new environments that they moved to due to wildebeest migrations, hunting, volcanoes, and warfare. While there, I also thought that the UCM Autism Spectrum Support Groups website also needs to have a place where members can share their experiences before and after, inside the group and out. We made it to a café in Los Alamos afterwards where I enjoyed a hot dog wrapped in a bagel. Then we went to the Bradbury Science Museum where much of what I learned in my History class about the atomic bomb was mentioned here.

We ordered some Indian take-out that night, allowing me to feast on chicken satay, tandoori chicken, naan, and rice. That night Mom and I also watched Five Easy Pieces, Jack Nicholson playing a jerk in relationship with an empty-headed blonde using my mom’s laptop and I wrote Tyler’s postcard. Then the next day when we were scheduled to leave my mom and I mailed our postcards and I bought a piece of petrified wood at a local store, before seeing the Georgia O’Keffe Exhibit. Afterwards, I went back to Dinosaurs and More and bought a shark’s tooth, shell, and a few other fossils. Right before leaving Santa Fe, my mom bought me a t-shirt at a Santa Fe store where I bought a prehistoric shark’s tooth and two other fossils, then we took a taxi that brought us to the train. We slept in a sleeping coach that night eating dinner on the train, my enjoying a steak due to the fact that it was paid for through the train fare. The train was scheduled to arrive in Kansas City at 7:15 in the morning and though I had to sleep on the top bunk of the coach, I never-the-less had a fruitful trip to Santa Fe.

Kansas City, Kansas, March 15-16, 2013

Tyler and I got to my house and ate dinner at Mission Hills Country Club with my mom and Dave. Then we went home and Tyler and I watched the Disney Channel until Tyler’s parents came to pick him up at around eleven. The next day Cam left for the Dominican Republic with Nora and I found my pebbles from my trip to Washington that I went on the summer before I came to UCM in Cam’s room which used to be my room, and a Mike Margarita Mix bottle cap lying around for my collection, and I did some bird-watching, identifying many different calls, realizing how diverse the calls, shapes, and sizes of the diverse bird species of Africa must be, and realizing how much I’m surrounded by the natural world. I also fed the cats and packed my suitcase. Then after dinner I emptied and reloaded the dishwasher before my mom, Dave, and I boarded the train at Union Station.

Warrensburg, Missouri, March 10-15, 2013

        On Monday I worked on my Excel 4 Capstone project in my Essential Managing Information class and found four more pebbles four my collection outside Ellis. I studied and worked on my notes for my Geology class and sent them to the other students in my class. I also finished my essay questions for my Transition Planning II class and made another toilet paper roll of Samye monastery in Tibet. On Wednesday morning before I went to sleep I realized that even if I don’t have a film degree, I still have credentials coming to UCM because it shows I can adapt to different environments. I got my clothes and my clothes for the THRIVE formal in the mail and I took my Geology Lab exam which I thought went pretty well. My instructor said it would be easier than we thought. I also did my homework for my Transition Planning II class and I realized my background in General Studies also shows I can adapt to different environments.

                The next day I went down to ProCuts and got my hair cut for the formal. I also got the latest Smithsonian issue for my magazine collection, though when I talked to my Granddad after that he said that I need not buy anymore issues because he gets Smithsonian and can just give me them when he’s done with them. Later I went to the formal at Bodies on Pine Street and danced with many sorority girls. The next day, I turned those pebbles I found into mani stones and I saw Mary see her grandfather come to pick her up and she screamed, “Grandpa!” and ran into him and fling her arms around his waist. I also took my Transition Planning II exam which I know went well and after that, Tyler and I rode home with my mom.

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.

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.