Ok... so I feel like I should comment about the study that correlated autism to rain. I've already voted (a week ago, by mail; as I just described to somebody else, I'm not the type to be self-important about that, because at best I fill the role of a self-righteous statistic), and it'll be a good way to ignore the whole election deal (which is distracting regardless of my feelings about voting).
I'll be frank. For me, this is about the pinnacle of "connect-the-dots" madness in autism studies. It's even worse than that whole autism/TV bit, which was fairly up there in terms of sheer ridiculousness. The progession might as well lead to linking autism to higher-priced furniture. And, yes, I'd bet you'd be able to pull that correlation off.
My criticism is, then, apparent; for whatever this study claims to say something, I don't see it claiming much of anything at all. The number of factors out that could determine this are just huge; this doesn't effectively truncate much of anything. Now, I'm actually kind of glad it doesn't (though having rain be the cause of autism without an interruptable trigger is a fun idea; we're not going to be aborting every child in Seattle).
But it does bring a different question, to be brought up briefly; who funded this stuff (expletive replaced)? Unless I'm missing something (and I will be all in the open that I very much could be), this was doomed to either way be a terribly useless piece of information. It's bound to be more damaging for all the P.R. confusion that advocates of any stripe will be dealing with than a generally helpful source of published information. And, of course, it's the one that gets the most attention, from what it seems.
But I want to ask another, simple question to myself for poking around, just for the sake of doing so; what does it like having a defining charactaristic of your person being correlated to rain? I suppose it's not unheard of for defining personality traits to have a tie to the weather as a person; I'll get back when I have the exact quote in relation to double conciousness in DuBois. And there are such things as "sunny dispositions". But what in autism, is rain?
Now, the question is always interseting for me for one clear obvious reason; I live in Reno, Nevada. It happens to rain, oh, once a year. Rain was a relative unquantifiable when I came over to Great Barrington for school (where it rains occasionally). So rain has always been a bit of a mystery to me as a human being. If there was such a simple causation, whatever tie there was happened to cross over to those "not raining" moments, either, or it was a very definitive rainy day.
But what would be about the rain that would be autistic? Are the rains themselves autistic; the enforces of a kind of focus and insularity? Objects of creativy and frustratingly rigid in some ways, and yet not easily quanitified as simply "rigid"? The preferred times to be wait around to be vaccinated? I bring up the last one because I imagine it might end up in someone's writing tomorrow. Just watch.
But yes... what of the rain, the feelings toward it? It is an odd object of love and hate, but I suppose mostly of hate, which at least gives a similarity to autism. Perhaps, in the spirit of the subject study, I should define them as thus ultimately tied etiological conditions because of that relationship. Or not. But the rain is so misunderstood, just like autism. And yet respected in a "I-understand-you-have-a-right-to-existence-but-why-me/today" respect, or perhaps a lack thereof.
I end by noting that, today, it is not raining in Great Barringon. Less chance of autistics today, it seems (though, of course, the overall period is what matters). Too bad. But should I hold hope that it will? I guess I will. So... let the rain come; let autism come.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
A Local Tragedy to My Heart
I guess I have to qualify "local", now, since it isn't true in a strictly physical sense. My heart, of course, will continue to reside in Reno, even if I live in Great Barrington. That's just how I work. I don't think that will change unless I move to, say, San Fransisco, and then they can have joint custody of my reminiscent feelings.
Anyway... onto topic. A lawsuit against the district and related school personnel states that they failed to protect an autistic child after he reported being sexually assaulted, twice. The second assault, which was investigated, with the physical evidence showed signs of rape, is alleged to have occurred after he reported the first incident, which he says was related to sexual harassment, but was ignored by a counselor and a teacher. After he reported the second incident, the counselor did actually go through procedure and launch the investigation that found physical signs of rape.
Admittedly, I know I'm a sympathetic figure by nature. But the allegations, having been part and parcel of the same school system (albeit not at the middle school level; my first year of middle school was at a charter school), seem fairly plausible in my mind. To me, the nature of the beast is in its inconsistency.
A teacher did once respond to something on my behalf (something that was convoluted and not actually that one would have responded to, had there been clear communication between parties. One of those cringe worthy moments in retrospect), but other times you could safely walk into classrooms with notable injuries (even a black eye) and there wouldn't be much of an honest response. It was just very flaky.
Further, it does seem to me that the level of established understandings of communication that are typically developed between a verbal autistic individual and the school district is not enough to keep one honestly safe from these kind of things. That's a fairly consistent problem, I think; the modes of communication aren't usually particularly noted and the structure changed. That "x wouldn't do something like that" is something I honestly could hear as a possibility. The development of just a stereotyped means of communication, and not taking the autistic person seriously, applies pretty universally. Things can be that flaky.
In any event... I'm hoping this gets resolved, as fast as possible. To note what Superintendent Dugan says, I think we have a clear and obvious moral imperative to protect people from being affected by such behavior. I have clear doubts, though, on whether it's happening.
Anyway... onto topic. A lawsuit against the district and related school personnel states that they failed to protect an autistic child after he reported being sexually assaulted, twice. The second assault, which was investigated, with the physical evidence showed signs of rape, is alleged to have occurred after he reported the first incident, which he says was related to sexual harassment, but was ignored by a counselor and a teacher. After he reported the second incident, the counselor did actually go through procedure and launch the investigation that found physical signs of rape.
Admittedly, I know I'm a sympathetic figure by nature. But the allegations, having been part and parcel of the same school system (albeit not at the middle school level; my first year of middle school was at a charter school), seem fairly plausible in my mind. To me, the nature of the beast is in its inconsistency.
A teacher did once respond to something on my behalf (something that was convoluted and not actually that one would have responded to, had there been clear communication between parties. One of those cringe worthy moments in retrospect), but other times you could safely walk into classrooms with notable injuries (even a black eye) and there wouldn't be much of an honest response. It was just very flaky.
Further, it does seem to me that the level of established understandings of communication that are typically developed between a verbal autistic individual and the school district is not enough to keep one honestly safe from these kind of things. That's a fairly consistent problem, I think; the modes of communication aren't usually particularly noted and the structure changed. That "x wouldn't do something like that" is something I honestly could hear as a possibility. The development of just a stereotyped means of communication, and not taking the autistic person seriously, applies pretty universally. Things can be that flaky.
In any event... I'm hoping this gets resolved, as fast as possible. To note what Superintendent Dugan says, I think we have a clear and obvious moral imperative to protect people from being affected by such behavior. I have clear doubts, though, on whether it's happening.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
The Importance of Overview of Restraint
So... turns out I'm back in the library, because my computer has been having a slew of complicated troubles. I'm not a tech person, and aside from saying that it involves my graphics driver I'm not even going to get into it. But it is an extreme thorn. I'm beginning to think about trying to send it to a repair shop.
Anyway, that's not what I intended to talk about!
I was more thinking about this Las Vegas Sun article that appeared late last week. Apparently, Clark County has decided that the legal requirement for reporting has become too stringent, and that we should find "other methods", rather than reporting when physical restraint had to be used.
Here's the relevant law on that.
While I am willing to accept that we might wish to revise that process, I'm not happy with this, to say the least. The coding may be that it's an inefficient process that needs to be altered so that it is effective in general, but realistically the measure is asking to not have to pay as much attention to individuals with disabilities. Let's break down what's being asked here.
The first thing mentioned is the extension to a three-day period. I don't think it is practical or wise, really, because we have to contextualize that this is in a classroom setting. I seriously doubt there are going to be remote incidents when you couldn't talk to people who were in the classroom during that period. If so, it'd be extremely isolated. I could theorize you would want to talk to an assistant or aide of some kind who was gone the next day and couldn't be reached through other means, but that's rare.
Plus, the room for influence and coercion, something that simply can't be ignored in these incidents, increases significantly when you add on a few days. Given an authority figure insinuating certain things about that individual or some form of justification, and just given the fact of three days, the chances for reporting error go way up, as noted in the article. It's on the whole more practical and effective to get it done as fast as possible, given the limited circumstances.
The next thing, and more troubling, is the broadening of the terms of "restraint".
The term needs to be broad exactly because it covers all bases. It needs to be clear to everyone involved exactly what kind of procedures have been taken, even if its really a matter of procedure and for mutual informational purposes only. It is not, to contrast, only a report that should be filed when something particularly extraordinary comes about in the classroom. The stakes here are too high. Lives may be extremely damaged, and educational possibilities for people can be thrown to the side if these are ignored; it's a paper burden for the school district if they are not. Keeping simple perspective, which is more important?
The attention necessary for protecting individuals, who at this time who are quite vulnerable to any kind of institutional marginalization, especially for their age and comparative lack of self-advocacy ability, is a lot for a variety of reasons. Parents have a right to know if restraints are being regularly used, and under what circumstances, with the further right to try and talk about the circumstances and ask that things be handled differently, especially for that lack of easy communication. It cannot be taken for granted, even, that some skill in communicating in the classroom will translate to easily talking about harrasment from teachers, so the issue applies quite openly to individuals across a spectrum of conditions. Especially earlier on, I know this was not the case with myself. As it stands, the long-term instincts associated are broad; I developed and maintained the habit of simply working harder, uphill against all forms of institutional discrimination or difficulty where I should have been given accommodation under reasonable circumstances. I'd rather not see that be the case with all individuals with disabilities, because it sets a unlivable standard.
(To be totally fair, "autism" was largely seen as a past tense deal for me until I was thirteen, and was invisible to the school district, so it wasn't really any wrongdoing on their part. But the effect was the same)
Thus, these kinds of measures are kept broad because parents need to know what is going on in the classroom, and it needs to be clear through the institution itself. The school needs to be held to a consistent and rigourous standard to protect the basic rights of those with disabilities, to the same degree that they are held to the rest of the population. That the school district wishes to slip away from that is alarming, and needs to be stopped.
Easily said, I'll be opposing the measure, back as much as I can from Massachusets. It's important that the law is not modified to allow a form of under-the-radar abuse. And, being from Nevada, it's important to maintain what standards we have on this issue, which (as the governor cuts from any number of thing) could become far worse if efforts aren't taken.
Anyway, that's not what I intended to talk about!
I was more thinking about this Las Vegas Sun article that appeared late last week. Apparently, Clark County has decided that the legal requirement for reporting has become too stringent, and that we should find "other methods", rather than reporting when physical restraint had to be used.
Here's the relevant law on that.
While I am willing to accept that we might wish to revise that process, I'm not happy with this, to say the least. The coding may be that it's an inefficient process that needs to be altered so that it is effective in general, but realistically the measure is asking to not have to pay as much attention to individuals with disabilities. Let's break down what's being asked here.
The first thing mentioned is the extension to a three-day period. I don't think it is practical or wise, really, because we have to contextualize that this is in a classroom setting. I seriously doubt there are going to be remote incidents when you couldn't talk to people who were in the classroom during that period. If so, it'd be extremely isolated. I could theorize you would want to talk to an assistant or aide of some kind who was gone the next day and couldn't be reached through other means, but that's rare.
Plus, the room for influence and coercion, something that simply can't be ignored in these incidents, increases significantly when you add on a few days. Given an authority figure insinuating certain things about that individual or some form of justification, and just given the fact of three days, the chances for reporting error go way up, as noted in the article. It's on the whole more practical and effective to get it done as fast as possible, given the limited circumstances.
The next thing, and more troubling, is the broadening of the terms of "restraint".
The term needs to be broad exactly because it covers all bases. It needs to be clear to everyone involved exactly what kind of procedures have been taken, even if its really a matter of procedure and for mutual informational purposes only. It is not, to contrast, only a report that should be filed when something particularly extraordinary comes about in the classroom. The stakes here are too high. Lives may be extremely damaged, and educational possibilities for people can be thrown to the side if these are ignored; it's a paper burden for the school district if they are not. Keeping simple perspective, which is more important?
The attention necessary for protecting individuals, who at this time who are quite vulnerable to any kind of institutional marginalization, especially for their age and comparative lack of self-advocacy ability, is a lot for a variety of reasons. Parents have a right to know if restraints are being regularly used, and under what circumstances, with the further right to try and talk about the circumstances and ask that things be handled differently, especially for that lack of easy communication. It cannot be taken for granted, even, that some skill in communicating in the classroom will translate to easily talking about harrasment from teachers, so the issue applies quite openly to individuals across a spectrum of conditions. Especially earlier on, I know this was not the case with myself. As it stands, the long-term instincts associated are broad; I developed and maintained the habit of simply working harder, uphill against all forms of institutional discrimination or difficulty where I should have been given accommodation under reasonable circumstances. I'd rather not see that be the case with all individuals with disabilities, because it sets a unlivable standard.
(To be totally fair, "autism" was largely seen as a past tense deal for me until I was thirteen, and was invisible to the school district, so it wasn't really any wrongdoing on their part. But the effect was the same)
Thus, these kinds of measures are kept broad because parents need to know what is going on in the classroom, and it needs to be clear through the institution itself. The school needs to be held to a consistent and rigourous standard to protect the basic rights of those with disabilities, to the same degree that they are held to the rest of the population. That the school district wishes to slip away from that is alarming, and needs to be stopped.
Easily said, I'll be opposing the measure, back as much as I can from Massachusets. It's important that the law is not modified to allow a form of under-the-radar abuse. And, being from Nevada, it's important to maintain what standards we have on this issue, which (as the governor cuts from any number of thing) could become far worse if efforts aren't taken.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Where I've Come
So... I was out and back. I am in Mass. again on Monday, and I can't admit to looking forward to it. Not really saying that I'm not ready and the like, but I'm just not enthused about it, personally speaking. A lot going on in Reno, and my life seems to be a little consistently better at home in some qualitative ways (such as: can I eat decently without having to walk a half mile? Can I stretch in my own living space? The little things in life).
But at least I got to go out with a bang. I spent most of last week in Las Vegas, which was fun. Very fun. I went to several events with Mom, which were both difficult and interesting. I mentioned here briefly that my Mom is now one of two candidates in the state-wide race for the Supreme Court, and that is an interesting journey, to be sure. So I got introduced to those people, and that's always fascinating, because you kind of get introduced out of hand to people with a lot of influence, in a way that had traditionally been quite foreign to me. Puts things in a very weird perspective.
Anyway, Vegas. So... my Mom spent most of the time working, as is her mandate. Back to back meetings, spare for later hours. In retrospect, I kind of feel bad about that, because I mostly had casual fun. Went to the pool, walked around on the Strip (weather, of course, is in the 100's!), and played at various arcades, among other things.
What I think really interested me most about that all, though, is simply how many more skills I've gained over the years.
It has to be clear that I have quite some history with arcades and casinos. I live in Reno, and while the casinos are not nearly as interesting as in Vegas, they still are very present, and that was the entertainment hub. So, throughout my life, I've found myself in those places quite a bit. Lights, noises, everything aside.
I kind of have a love/hate relationship with the whole lot, really. They were always places where I would get challenged a lot sensorally, in a major way, but I had fun there, and the scattered friends I had enjoyed them as well, so I'd end up there a lot. They became places to practice a good level of sensory control and social situations, with obvious rewards(I have historically been a big game player, though not a gambler (and I never will be, if I have a say in that)). Not a Zen Garden exactly, but have what you will.
So I was surprised at how easy it was for me. There were exceptions (one machine was particularly loud, my hearing was "drowned" by various voices at the AFL-CIO dinner and I lost the conversations I was trying to hear, among other things I don't remember currently), but they really were minor by comparison. Really minor. And so it mostly was just having fun.
I have to admit to that being pretty bittersweet, as I don't see it getting any better in terms of management. But it was nice to have such a definitive marker for me. Granted, a lot of that change probably happened naturally, but I also know that much of it didn't.
So I took much of the flight back to think of all of the things I've worked on, personally. No, I don't mean in the sense of "I was non-verbal, and look where I am now", because I find that to be abhorrently elitist and frankly on the whole ridiculous. I certainly don't consider myself better for being verbal. But the other things, such as stress management, figuring out motives, and learning flexibility, where I spent some personal effort and active thought improving such things, the more concrete details.
So that was nice. I might write more specifically about those thoughts later, but it's almost sufficient to say that I was able to identify them and think about them. It's important not to lose sight of the little things, as opposed to the big picture, which always is quite daunting in its scope.
But at least I got to go out with a bang. I spent most of last week in Las Vegas, which was fun. Very fun. I went to several events with Mom, which were both difficult and interesting. I mentioned here briefly that my Mom is now one of two candidates in the state-wide race for the Supreme Court, and that is an interesting journey, to be sure. So I got introduced to those people, and that's always fascinating, because you kind of get introduced out of hand to people with a lot of influence, in a way that had traditionally been quite foreign to me. Puts things in a very weird perspective.
Anyway, Vegas. So... my Mom spent most of the time working, as is her mandate. Back to back meetings, spare for later hours. In retrospect, I kind of feel bad about that, because I mostly had casual fun. Went to the pool, walked around on the Strip (weather, of course, is in the 100's!), and played at various arcades, among other things.
What I think really interested me most about that all, though, is simply how many more skills I've gained over the years.
It has to be clear that I have quite some history with arcades and casinos. I live in Reno, and while the casinos are not nearly as interesting as in Vegas, they still are very present, and that was the entertainment hub. So, throughout my life, I've found myself in those places quite a bit. Lights, noises, everything aside.
I kind of have a love/hate relationship with the whole lot, really. They were always places where I would get challenged a lot sensorally, in a major way, but I had fun there, and the scattered friends I had enjoyed them as well, so I'd end up there a lot. They became places to practice a good level of sensory control and social situations, with obvious rewards(I have historically been a big game player, though not a gambler (and I never will be, if I have a say in that)). Not a Zen Garden exactly, but have what you will.
So I was surprised at how easy it was for me. There were exceptions (one machine was particularly loud, my hearing was "drowned" by various voices at the AFL-CIO dinner and I lost the conversations I was trying to hear, among other things I don't remember currently), but they really were minor by comparison. Really minor. And so it mostly was just having fun.
I have to admit to that being pretty bittersweet, as I don't see it getting any better in terms of management. But it was nice to have such a definitive marker for me. Granted, a lot of that change probably happened naturally, but I also know that much of it didn't.
So I took much of the flight back to think of all of the things I've worked on, personally. No, I don't mean in the sense of "I was non-verbal, and look where I am now", because I find that to be abhorrently elitist and frankly on the whole ridiculous. I certainly don't consider myself better for being verbal. But the other things, such as stress management, figuring out motives, and learning flexibility, where I spent some personal effort and active thought improving such things, the more concrete details.
So that was nice. I might write more specifically about those thoughts later, but it's almost sufficient to say that I was able to identify them and think about them. It's important not to lose sight of the little things, as opposed to the big picture, which always is quite daunting in its scope.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
A Lighter Moment
Ok, so I've been absent from life online for a bit, and I'm not in school. When I'm in school, I imagine I'll be online, stealthing and maybe commenting here and there. But, for now, I've largely been off in entirety.
But I still came onto today to basically explain why, simply, and to share that I'm doing very well.
I think I briefly alluded to the fact that my mother was a candidate in the state Supreme Court race. For various reasons, that's been energy-eating, from the discussions to the related activities to everything else, and it had been interesting for any number of reasons, though in equal measures fascinating...
But I was kind of ready to take an emotional fall. This was and is a very tight race, with four candidates. The three others are Las Vegas lawyers, none of whom are (and I know I'm biased, but I say this having studied the matter fairly impartially) as qualified as my mother for the position on the court, but, as you can tell in the article, a lot of money was going around and it's hard to say who would have won, come Tuesday's primary. The oracle business was not the place to be.
So... primary is over and, yes, we are now two Las Vegas lawyers down. I am thrilled about that, you would have no idea. Further, the Las Vegas lawyer who did get through was, in my opinion (and take it no further than that!), the most qualified in the race. Quite the show, and I'm very happy that Mom's through. It will mean, like now, she's going to be gone a lot of the time convincing the good people of Nevada to vote for her, but I'm glad she's doing that and support her every step of the way, and wish nothing but the very best for her.
I also hope this race stays positive, and I think it will be if Mom can control that, but I also think that, well, she can't. So it'll be kinda intense here on out, as well. But at least that particular part, with the four lawyers and no clear winner, is over.
In the meantime, I'll probably slowly return here, after continuing to work in Nevada for ASAN, for myself, and for Mom. Then I'm back at school, and I'll be making myself busy, but this will come into play more, I believe.
So... just a little update from this little corner of the state of Nevada, one I'm suddenly very proud of.
But I still came onto today to basically explain why, simply, and to share that I'm doing very well.
I think I briefly alluded to the fact that my mother was a candidate in the state Supreme Court race. For various reasons, that's been energy-eating, from the discussions to the related activities to everything else, and it had been interesting for any number of reasons, though in equal measures fascinating...
But I was kind of ready to take an emotional fall. This was and is a very tight race, with four candidates. The three others are Las Vegas lawyers, none of whom are (and I know I'm biased, but I say this having studied the matter fairly impartially) as qualified as my mother for the position on the court, but, as you can tell in the article, a lot of money was going around and it's hard to say who would have won, come Tuesday's primary. The oracle business was not the place to be.
So... primary is over and, yes, we are now two Las Vegas lawyers down. I am thrilled about that, you would have no idea. Further, the Las Vegas lawyer who did get through was, in my opinion (and take it no further than that!), the most qualified in the race. Quite the show, and I'm very happy that Mom's through. It will mean, like now, she's going to be gone a lot of the time convincing the good people of Nevada to vote for her, but I'm glad she's doing that and support her every step of the way, and wish nothing but the very best for her.
I also hope this race stays positive, and I think it will be if Mom can control that, but I also think that, well, she can't. So it'll be kinda intense here on out, as well. But at least that particular part, with the four lawyers and no clear winner, is over.
In the meantime, I'll probably slowly return here, after continuing to work in Nevada for ASAN, for myself, and for Mom. Then I'm back at school, and I'll be making myself busy, but this will come into play more, I believe.
So... just a little update from this little corner of the state of Nevada, one I'm suddenly very proud of.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
I'm Back!
Well, title says it all. I'm actually back online, blogging again.
Why have I been gone? Good question. I've been working, for the most part, and doing a number of random things, things that are so cosmically weird it's almost hard to explain. But a small list for interest: heading out to Santa Barbara, playing with washed-up fish at midnight on the beach of Santa Barbara, heading to Elko for the 4th in the middle of Nevada (which means it's kinda in the middle of nowhere), throwing candy out of the back of a truck at small children in a parade on the 5th, going to birthday parties, having meeting with various people and groups for disabilities in the state, and securing my lung cancer. Yeah, on that last point; every time California has a smoke, and in this case an extremely large one, we actually get all of the smoke, meaning that for some time we were kind of near the "toxic waste" levels of air quality, and I've been flagrantly ignoring that. It wasn't like I wasn't going to get lung cancer in all probability anyway, but it's pretty much secure now.
Anyway, out of some interest I was surprised by, I'm actually going to post pictures out of my hats and talk about them quickly.
This is the first hat I bought. It also happens to be my least favorite, but it's still cool, if simple. Just the characters and and "San Fransisco" on the brim.
Actually, there are two hats like this. This is one, but the other is near identical, but instead make the character, dragons, and text white and you have the same thing. Each one goes with different clothing, but I couldn't chose and bought both, because the more hats the better. And, believe me, they get their use, because I really only do any kind of excess shopping in San Fransisco. Otherwise, it's hard to get me to do any at all. The character says "dragon" on this one, and on the next hat...
This was my favorite by far. My favorite color, if you hadn't guessed this point, is red, and my favorite compliment to it is black, and this really was the best in that regard, with the dragons being more elegant on this one.
Actually, that leads to a very funny point; my clothing interests in general can be totally guessed from my hats. Pretty much everything I wear is red, complimented by a shade of grey. I mean, that's basically all I buy, with the other standard being that my pants tend to be of the long, athletic pants. I don't know why I'm exactly different, but I guess I have a clear favorite and I don't seem to get bored of it. It works, in its own way; people think I pay far more attention to my clothes than I do, which is amusing, and it makes me notoriously easy to buy for.
Anyway, expect to hear from me again soon, since I should be back here more, assuming not as much arises soon!
Why have I been gone? Good question. I've been working, for the most part, and doing a number of random things, things that are so cosmically weird it's almost hard to explain. But a small list for interest: heading out to Santa Barbara, playing with washed-up fish at midnight on the beach of Santa Barbara, heading to Elko for the 4th in the middle of Nevada (which means it's kinda in the middle of nowhere), throwing candy out of the back of a truck at small children in a parade on the 5th, going to birthday parties, having meeting with various people and groups for disabilities in the state, and securing my lung cancer. Yeah, on that last point; every time California has a smoke, and in this case an extremely large one, we actually get all of the smoke, meaning that for some time we were kind of near the "toxic waste" levels of air quality, and I've been flagrantly ignoring that. It wasn't like I wasn't going to get lung cancer in all probability anyway, but it's pretty much secure now.
Anyway, out of some interest I was surprised by, I'm actually going to post pictures out of my hats and talk about them quickly.
This is the first hat I bought. It also happens to be my least favorite, but it's still cool, if simple. Just the characters and and "San Fransisco" on the brim.
Actually, there are two hats like this. This is one, but the other is near identical, but instead make the character, dragons, and text white and you have the same thing. Each one goes with different clothing, but I couldn't chose and bought both, because the more hats the better. And, believe me, they get their use, because I really only do any kind of excess shopping in San Fransisco. Otherwise, it's hard to get me to do any at all. The character says "dragon" on this one, and on the next hat...
This was my favorite by far. My favorite color, if you hadn't guessed this point, is red, and my favorite compliment to it is black, and this really was the best in that regard, with the dragons being more elegant on this one.Actually, that leads to a very funny point; my clothing interests in general can be totally guessed from my hats. Pretty much everything I wear is red, complimented by a shade of grey. I mean, that's basically all I buy, with the other standard being that my pants tend to be of the long, athletic pants. I don't know why I'm exactly different, but I guess I have a clear favorite and I don't seem to get bored of it. It works, in its own way; people think I pay far more attention to my clothes than I do, which is amusing, and it makes me notoriously easy to buy for.
Anyway, expect to hear from me again soon, since I should be back here more, assuming not as much arises soon!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Cliff's Mecca...
So, it's been a bit different in a very good way for me. Enough to warrant a general personal post, as opposed to something more general.
As of Saturday, Dad, my brother, a family friend, and myself took off on a little road trip (yes, laptop included!. We're in San Fransico, and we'll end up in Santa Barbara.
Of course, then, for me this starts off with a bang, because San Fransisco is quite possibly the coolest place ever for me. Better yet, I had today pretty much all to myself. It's been something I've been looking forward for weeks, and today really didn't disappoint.
It actually started with a few little misfire; I woke up around nine, having missed my alarm (I need to reconfigure it so that my iPod rings on its external speakers, not in the noise-cancelling headphones!), and after that I went to the Embarcadero Towers, only to find there wasn't something available for breakfast (hey, I forget the day of the week regularly enough!). I did manage to stop at a store on the way, though, and buy some comic books, so I was appeased without breakfast.
So I decided to do my every-trip Chinatown run, the one in which I go on my only serious shopping trip pretty much ever. To be honest, I pretty much buy clothes in red and shades of grey, but other than that my other major preference would be that the clothes have some form of Asian insignias. Not only that, but I design my room and accessories pretty similarly, and I even collect martial arts type materials and weapons. In other words, quite a number of the products you'll find in Chinatown, turning a usually highly-discriminating shopper into a maniacal spender.
Mind you, I knew this pretty well, having been here so many times in my life. So I even told myself that I would restrain myself until the way back, and pick up what I really, really liked. By that point, I should have forgotten some things, and I wouldn't be carrying anything until I would deposit my bags in my room.
Well, so much for that. I had hardly gone two blocks and I had a number of bags. By the end of Grant Street (which I had planned to get off of...), a shop clerk offered to give me a larger bag so I could fit the tons of bags I was carrying into one space, amazed by the number I already had. At that point, accepting the larger bag, I decided not to get anything else until I got back and deposited things in the hotel room. That almost worked.
During my shopping extravaganza, I also managed to slip into a resturant for dim sum. As I may have mentioned here, dim sum, along with pad thai, is pretty much my favorite group category ever, and so that was immensely enjoyable. Indeed, I left very happy and full, having consumed some fifteen or so dumplings of different varieties. Very full, indeed, for someone who otherwise doesn't eat excessively at all, to the surprise of others (indeed, teenagers aren't supposed to eat lightly, apparently, and sometimes I can. Occasionally, not so much).
In other words, I was having my little mecca, and in the process the time of my life.
After that, though, I did actually return to the room, to some surprise. Dad was there, already tired from doing, well, I don't know. After that, I was out again, back towards the touristy areas (the Wharf, Cannery Row), to and around Nob Hill, to North Beach, and back to Chinatown for a different trip, with the exception of a hat and sweatshirt. I went to a local temple (Golden Mountain Sagely Monetary, I think), saw a ceremony there, looked at a martial arts class that was conducted well enough to make me envious I didn't live in San Fransisco, and watched a volleyball game, amongst other things. It's always something I've done out of interest, and since no one seems to mind (in fact, some people seem flattered. It might have been more uncomfortable for me if I thought people honestly thought me a nuisance; however, my experience is that martial artists are flattered when people are interested in what they do, and the people at the temple are always friendly to visitors), it was good fun just to walk around and just be in that environment. I was having again a lot of fun throughout.
After that, I was at Union Square, just looking around, mostly in a confused yet bemused state. Not being one who is familiar at all with department stores, it was interesting just to see the kind of behavior there and at the prices, almost as a way of seeing a bit into a social life I otherwise never really saw much, for reasons of my choice. It was also fun looking at the prices, which to me were just astounding.
At that point, it was time for a scheduled dinner, so I returned to the room and changed. Dad had wanted to get us dressed up and go to some well-regarded resturant he had me pick, and so we went. The food was good, the acoustics too loud for me (typical enough, I suppose, but more of an issue here than most places I head to), service fine. I won't mention the price, but let's say I was, ahem, amused that my Dad didn't mind as much as I did. I'm one of those people who likes food that's just as good that exists outside that environment, but since it was very much Dad's thing and not mine, it was fine for his tastes, I believe.
And here I am, back at my laptop, having gone through all that. I think what's interesting is that it's not all that different from my normal San Fransisco trips. They always have very consistent elements to them, and I think it's very ingrained in my mind, a pocket routine in an exceptional situation that I derive a ton of pleasure from, and one that lasts a lot longer that any simple high I normally have, actually, though it's complicated. Complicated, but very good.
And, anyways, I have some very awesome new hats. I'm extremely happy about that.
As of Saturday, Dad, my brother, a family friend, and myself took off on a little road trip (yes, laptop included!. We're in San Fransico, and we'll end up in Santa Barbara.
Of course, then, for me this starts off with a bang, because San Fransisco is quite possibly the coolest place ever for me. Better yet, I had today pretty much all to myself. It's been something I've been looking forward for weeks, and today really didn't disappoint.
It actually started with a few little misfire; I woke up around nine, having missed my alarm (I need to reconfigure it so that my iPod rings on its external speakers, not in the noise-cancelling headphones!), and after that I went to the Embarcadero Towers, only to find there wasn't something available for breakfast (hey, I forget the day of the week regularly enough!). I did manage to stop at a store on the way, though, and buy some comic books, so I was appeased without breakfast.
So I decided to do my every-trip Chinatown run, the one in which I go on my only serious shopping trip pretty much ever. To be honest, I pretty much buy clothes in red and shades of grey, but other than that my other major preference would be that the clothes have some form of Asian insignias. Not only that, but I design my room and accessories pretty similarly, and I even collect martial arts type materials and weapons. In other words, quite a number of the products you'll find in Chinatown, turning a usually highly-discriminating shopper into a maniacal spender.
Mind you, I knew this pretty well, having been here so many times in my life. So I even told myself that I would restrain myself until the way back, and pick up what I really, really liked. By that point, I should have forgotten some things, and I wouldn't be carrying anything until I would deposit my bags in my room.
Well, so much for that. I had hardly gone two blocks and I had a number of bags. By the end of Grant Street (which I had planned to get off of...), a shop clerk offered to give me a larger bag so I could fit the tons of bags I was carrying into one space, amazed by the number I already had. At that point, accepting the larger bag, I decided not to get anything else until I got back and deposited things in the hotel room. That almost worked.
During my shopping extravaganza, I also managed to slip into a resturant for dim sum. As I may have mentioned here, dim sum, along with pad thai, is pretty much my favorite group category ever, and so that was immensely enjoyable. Indeed, I left very happy and full, having consumed some fifteen or so dumplings of different varieties. Very full, indeed, for someone who otherwise doesn't eat excessively at all, to the surprise of others (indeed, teenagers aren't supposed to eat lightly, apparently, and sometimes I can. Occasionally, not so much).
In other words, I was having my little mecca, and in the process the time of my life.
After that, though, I did actually return to the room, to some surprise. Dad was there, already tired from doing, well, I don't know. After that, I was out again, back towards the touristy areas (the Wharf, Cannery Row), to and around Nob Hill, to North Beach, and back to Chinatown for a different trip, with the exception of a hat and sweatshirt. I went to a local temple (Golden Mountain Sagely Monetary, I think), saw a ceremony there, looked at a martial arts class that was conducted well enough to make me envious I didn't live in San Fransisco, and watched a volleyball game, amongst other things. It's always something I've done out of interest, and since no one seems to mind (in fact, some people seem flattered. It might have been more uncomfortable for me if I thought people honestly thought me a nuisance; however, my experience is that martial artists are flattered when people are interested in what they do, and the people at the temple are always friendly to visitors), it was good fun just to walk around and just be in that environment. I was having again a lot of fun throughout.
After that, I was at Union Square, just looking around, mostly in a confused yet bemused state. Not being one who is familiar at all with department stores, it was interesting just to see the kind of behavior there and at the prices, almost as a way of seeing a bit into a social life I otherwise never really saw much, for reasons of my choice. It was also fun looking at the prices, which to me were just astounding.
At that point, it was time for a scheduled dinner, so I returned to the room and changed. Dad had wanted to get us dressed up and go to some well-regarded resturant he had me pick, and so we went. The food was good, the acoustics too loud for me (typical enough, I suppose, but more of an issue here than most places I head to), service fine. I won't mention the price, but let's say I was, ahem, amused that my Dad didn't mind as much as I did. I'm one of those people who likes food that's just as good that exists outside that environment, but since it was very much Dad's thing and not mine, it was fine for his tastes, I believe.
And here I am, back at my laptop, having gone through all that. I think what's interesting is that it's not all that different from my normal San Fransisco trips. They always have very consistent elements to them, and I think it's very ingrained in my mind, a pocket routine in an exceptional situation that I derive a ton of pleasure from, and one that lasts a lot longer that any simple high I normally have, actually, though it's complicated. Complicated, but very good.
And, anyways, I have some very awesome new hats. I'm extremely happy about that.
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