My blog is soon to be following my unexpected, yet totally lovely, move to Durango, CO, to be with the man of my dreams, Ben. In the meantime, I will slowly put to an end my time in Athens, GA, and make every effort possible at keeping up with on "Birds of a Feather" the prepping for the move and memories I will make up until the end of July.

I would also really like to start displaying some of my photos, creations, and decorating and fashion ideas because, wouldn't you know, that's my actual passion. Now that Ben has told me that he'd like me to write my dissertation and ride horses after I move, I have become filled with energy. Almost like I have a new lease on life. I plan to wholeheartedly embrace this (and the fact that he could not have given me a better gift, EVER!) and take time to start a garden, do home projects, ride horses (a lot), cook, sew, take photographs, make jewelry, ride my bike, do yoga, and go to the gym. Most importantly, I plan to be a good mom to Lily, Philia, and Blue, and an excellent girlfriend to the man who deserves nothing less. Oh, and I might get that blasted dissertation done.

Wait until you see this place. My heart is going to melt there. I love it.

the curious incident of the dog in the night-time

I have started reading "the curious incident of the dog in the night-time" and cannot put it down. This first-person account of a 15 year-old boy with Autism is so cleverly written that I cannot even put words to how I feel about this masterpiece. Having worked with children and adolescents with Autism, I am slightly familiar with how they think and some of their behaviors. The author, Mark Haddon, is so spot-on with his descriptions and narratives that it becomes undeniably and uncontrollably easy to imagine that you are living inside the head of this 15 year-old boy, Christopher. His random and sporadic - yet intense - thoughts are highlighted superbly, and I love how the story follows a line of thinking that is so common in Autistic children and adolescents.

July 9th addendum...

For the love of God I lost this book on an airplane and had to wait two weeks to receive my new one from half.com. Now that I have it in my possession again, I am praying to the airplane Gods that they do not develop sticky fingers EVER AGAIN.

A conversation with my dad in Jamaica - in which he admitted to me that he thinks I'm ADD and always have been - coupled with a recent experience at the health club has made me realize that I might identify a tad with Christopher. Christopher details his experience of "going somewhere new" and the unfortunate fact that he "sees everything," is easily overwhelmed, and often finds himself unable to concentrate. Yesterday I decided to exercise during peak health club hours - something I stopped doing several years ago because I could not handle the overwhelming sense I felt from so much movement, so many new and utterly annoying people, loud music, bright lights, and so on. I was essentially unable to function yesterday and was reminded within five minutes why I ceased attending the health club during these times. Not only do I pay attention to every little movement and sound, but I cannot hold my attention to one particular thing when my mind is that overly stimulated by my environment. When I don't have much to do - say like sitting in an airport waiting for a departure - I enjoy the stimulation. However, when I am intent on getting from point A to point B in whatever it is I am doing, I become overbearingly uncomfortable by the over-stimulation of my senses. I practically forget what it is I am doing, begin to feel useless and immobile, and then almost send myself into an undesired state of panic...

I don't know though. I may be full of shit. I often feel this way in large crowds, but mostly because I feel claustrophobic. Maybe it's because I don't typically like the kind of people who go to health clubs.

I do know this though. I don't like a lot of people so maybe I just don't want to be around a lot of people. I can be socially awkward and I practically embrace it. I like quiet at times and I'm okay with that. I like solitude at times and I'm okay with that too. I enjoy having very few close friends, while engaging my two cats in conversation almost more than any two humans. I'm okay with that.

So, Christopher, I feel your pain. I think a lot of people feel your pain (on an obvious smaller and less detrimental scale) and worry that there is something "wrong with them". I think we should embrace this individuality, and just be hopeful that more people will become like us so we don't have to deal with their nonsense anymore.