Update

So - this hasn't turned out to be the communication tool I thought it might. Mainly because I feel weird about it. But here's a general update for those of you who have requested it. We are in the middle of week 5 - ALREADY! I think this has been so much fun, so much work (and yet not even close to what is ahead for us), and just so different every single day.

So far I have learned that I need to just accept that I do not know what I am doing exactly, but I will figure it out to a degree and very likely it will be just in time to change clients. There have already been good days and bad days, and the bad have yielded the most useful information I have to say.

I feel really fortunate to be surrounded by people who want to succeed and who want to see others succeed. I love having such a positive environment to walk into every day. I am trying to maintain some sanity - Megan and I found that Mon/Wed night kickboxing is really helpful in that department! Now wish me luck with the rest of the quarter, as the real work begins next week!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

I very recently learned of this series of books and so far from what I can tell, they are really great. There are four books in the series; the fourth just came out on the 12th of October. The idea for these books actually started out as an online comic, written by Jeff Kinney. The comic eventually became so loved and the demand became so high that Kinney pursued publication of his ideas. The first book came as a result of nine years of brainstorming, writing, and illustrating. Kinney said in an interview that he "wanted to write a story about all of the funny parts about growing up, and none of the serious parts." I think this is exactly why kids love these books - they are able to relate to the main character. I imagine they see a bit of themselves in Greg's awkwardness; I know I did when I was reading through the first book.

Greg Heffley is the main character and owner of the diary, which he attempts to convince readers is actually a journal. The stories follow him through the quirkiness of his life. Some of the events we as readers get to experience with Greg in this first book include trick or treating on Halloween, Christmas morning and not getting many presents that he likes at all, and being a part of the school production of Wizard of Oz.

Check 'em out, they're kind of fun!

Temple Grandin

I find Temple's perspectives to be so interesting. The concept of people having more of a photographic brain/library is not new to me, but I think for the first time I actually sat and tried to imagine what pictures my brain would retrieve in response to hearing certain words. My responses to my own inquiries were not instant, I had to really think and do word association. I wonder if that is sort of what it is like for her to try and think in words.

She does amazing work by making the corrals as peaceful and non-threatening to animals as possible and she makes it sound so matter of fact. When Temple said that "doing practical things can make the world a better place", I thought to myself - if only it were that easy. But why is it not that easy? It is impossible to know what a person really thinks based on one essay but when Temple says she wouldn't give up her way of thinking to be "normal", I just thought - why would she. She has made an amazing impact on the world and who knows what she had to endure in getting to the point she is at today when her whole life she's been placed in this category of "abnormal" because she's on the spectrum.