I’ve been blogging here for a year, and nearly a hundred posts.

There have been two Kate-lyric exceptions (both for MBT fangirling) and this will make my 97th published post. In this time, I have:
-Used lyrics from “Caught in the Crowd,” “Dreams,” and “The Truth” six times each (fun fact: I don’t like “The Truth”!)
-Used lyrics from “Blah Blah Blah,” “Day After Christmas,” “Our Song,” and “Out and In” five times each
-These seven songs account for 39% of my post titles
-I’ve used 34 songs, 32 of which are part of the official discography (including Elsewhere, Kate’s previous band). Including Elsewhere there are officially 54 songs (not including multiple releases or versions of a song), and I have an additional 32 or so demos. I think I’m going to have to make an effort to use all of the released songs for a title in the coming year. No promises.

In less compulsive, more personal news, I’ve had a bunch of interviews for jobs. The one I like best is for a group home and assistance organization in Chapel Hill who work with kids and adults with intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, and some neurological disorders. In practice this means a lot of people on the autism spectrum, some with Down Syndrome, some with CP, many with more rare disorders and disabilities, and a huge variation in levels of assistance needed. I knew it would be a good fit when the interviewer went off on a long tangent about how their clients are people and have every human right we do (I guess I passed for NT yesterday), even if they also need some help with ADLs or holding down a job. He used some language I only hear in the disability rights movement and stressed that you have to respect everyone as an individual or it would never work. I have a follow up interview tomorrow (after the first yesterday), so hopefully it works out! I’ve also interviewed for an in-home counselling position, and didn’t get a job at a local bookstore–but I did get an interview at a sister store later this week.

AT NO POINT DID I BREAK DOWN INTO SOBS OF FRUSTRATION OVER THE AMOUNT OF MONEY I NEED TO SAVE TO SUCCESSFULLY MOVE TO MELBOURNE.

I credit the cat and his soft, soft tummy for this. Little known fact: sticking your face in a cat’s side and breathing deeply is incredibly good for destressing.

I’m looking for something that will keep my brain occupied. I love anagramming and the last phrase was very successful. I want a two or three word phrase (maybe four, if one is an article) that is easy to remember and has 20-25 letters. The last one was “the very hungry caterpillar” and it worked really well. Suggestions?

Things I have said to my cat today:

“No, Prosper! Prosper! Lettuce is not for cats–oh, you want to try it? Put the whole leaf down. Down. Stop that. Ugh. Prosper! Here. Oh, you like lettuce? You’re a weird fucking cat.”

“Prosper! Stop that! Green beans aren’t for kittens! They are for mamas! Prosper, no, stop it. You don’t like green beans–oh, fuck, you’re weird, cat.”

Damn. I missed Autistic Pride Day, due to the fact that I was driving back from a visit to Staunton and Stina and Dylan, and then there was family and small children here.

So, thanks to stark. raving. mad. mommy‘s post about it, I’ve been inspired to do my own top ten list.

The top ten advantages and disadvantages to my being on the spectrum:

Disadvantage 10 – I’m not always good at communicating clearly and with words other people understand in face-to-face or other spoken conversations, and often miss details because of it.
Advantage 10 – I’m very good at being precise in writing.

Disadvantage 9 – Tiny incongruencies stand out to me, which can be very distracting when reading books with little plot holes or talking with friends.
Advantage 9 – I make a really awesome fact checker and editor.

Disadvantage 8 – My palate is limited by both tastes and textures that I like and dislike, so I end up eating a lot of the same foods over and over.
Advantage 8 – Those foods are often green vegetables, and it makes cooking and grocery shopping low-stress when they could be overwhelming.

Disadvantage 7 – I have trouble picking up on body language that isn’t exaggerated.
Advantage 7 – I can read cats’ body language fluently.

Disadvantage 6 – Large groups of people are overwhelming and likely to make me be very quiet.
Advantage 6 – I make a good listener (when I can hear!).

Disadvantage 5 – When things don’t go exactly how I envisioned them or follow the rules, I quickly progress from annoyed to downright upset.
Advantage 5 – I can plan out how things should go and even plan when I need to be flexible and when I don’t.

Disadvantage 4 – I become obsessed with topics, sometimes quite briefly, to the exclusion of all else.
Advantage 4 – I know a lot about a lot of things.

Disadvantage 3 – My memory can be tricky–I remember things I don’t need to save, and forget why I walked into a room.
Advantage 3 – The semi-photographic quality makes it easy to remember visual information like puzzles, maps, and book layouts.

Disadvantage 2 – I do things the same way over and over, even when it’s not necessarily the best way.
Advantage 2 – I learned to draw by redrawing a picture from a book hundreds of times.

Disadvantage 1 – I have trouble making friends because I’m never quite sure when the right time is to say things or volunteer information.
Advantage 1 – The friends I do make are very close and like me anyway.

In conclusion, here is a slightly blurry picture of my cat wearing a bow tie.

Catching up on the last bit of Melbourne, the trip home, what I’m doing OMGRIGHTNAO and plans.

We went to Kate’s hens night, which involved thai and karaoke and a lot of overstimulation, and the wedding, which was beautiful.

We also went to a place trying to bill itself as molecular gastronomy coffee. It wasn’t, so much, but they did have test tube coffee:

Then I took some more pictures of flowers:

I flew back to the US and it took forever, 10 hours of which I spent chilling in the SFO airport, which may be the most boring place on earth. I’ll make a point to go through LAX next time.

I did come back to my kitten, which is some consolation.

I got rid of GoDaddy hosting and signed up with ANhosting.com, largely because Hank Green told me to do it. It’s been a breeze and I’d reccomend them.

Currently, I am unemployed and living in Greensboro. Well, that’s a lie, right now I’m in Staunton visiting Stina and Dylan, but on the whole I am in Greensboro and loathing it, but it’s free and hopefully there will be jobs. There’s been a lot of drama about my car insurance and liscencing, but it’s over and I don’t want to rehash it.

ON JULY 1 I HAVE AN INTAKE APPOINTMENT WITH TEACHH, THE AUTISM PEOPLE IN NC. IT WILL BE FREE.

I’m super excited but also anxious for 2 reasons: 1. I worry it’ll be like Dr. Gaddis again, and 2. it might negatively impact my immigration. We’re waiting to hear from a lawyer, but this isn’t a full-on diagnostic appointment and nothing stays written, so I’m keeping this one and hopefully making the follow-up diagnostic appointment and then making decisions after Kitty has her surgery and can see again to visit lawyers. If I have to wait to get my papers before I can get my other papers, that’s fine. Australia has plenty of very good doctors in this regard and I’d be happy to see them. BUT THIS ONE IS FREE.

So…that’s all. Etsy sale on right now. I took lots of pictures that I hope will become my moo cards.

Prosper is sick of travelling. However, he came home with a lovely consolation prize.

At the start of February, I escaped the second of back-to-back snowstorms with a meandering trip down to Atlanta to see Dad and Ron. The cat came along and stayed with Mik, which Prosper was less than enthused about.

This is what I was escaping:

So the cat went to Greensboro to trial run being away from his Mama for a while (he’ll be staying with Mik and/or Mom while I’m in Australia), and I went down to Atlanta.

It promptly snowed, because I am the Bringer of Ragnarok.

Then I came back to Mom’s and rescued my kitten. He was very pleased.

Then we came home, and I got new shoes. The box has been his favourite toy (of course) for a couple of days. Well, besides the Beloved Mousie.

There’s more at my photo stream on flickr.

I’ll update later today (it’s after midnight, it’s today!) with hair and cat photos, if I don’t completely forget. As you do. It’s snowy snow snowing outside again. Another 4″ on top of the 8″ we had (that, to be fair, had melted down by half at least) over the weekend, with possibly a couple of feet due over the coming weekend. Cannot. Escape. Fast. Enough. I like snow, but I am so sick of the whining and the not having good vegetables and the slush in my house because my door opens in a weird way and there’s no place to keep a doormat.

Have you, O Reader, ever felt like you can’t catch a break? Every time you turn around, something is happening that prevents you from advancing? Yeah. The last few months have felt like that, and I was bitterly convinced that 2010 would be better because it couldn’t be worse. I stand corrected. It can be at least the same level of suck.

Things that have happened in January since my last substantive post:

1. I fell down the stairs outside my apartment, bruised myself up.

2. I told the neuro the gabapentin wasn’t working and got very little help from him (I’m trying a hefty dose of magnesium and will be adding riboflavin shortly, as reccomended in the best book about migraines I have ever read even if she does think accupuncture isn’t a total sham).

3. The glasses I found and wanted were sold out (I ended up buying the ones with the real! wood! sides!, we’ll see if they’re as badass as they seem)

4. I negotiated/weeped my way to a resolution on my MRI bill (short version: Them: “You don’t qualify for the fee reduction because in the past 3 months you made X with would mean your yearly salary is Y, about $8,000 over the limit.” Me: “Can you not see the part where I did, in fact, make a salary under the limit? This is stupid math.” Then some weeping, and an agreement to resubmit my claim in April with all new paystubs).

5. I had to pay over $400 in taxes because my job sucks at doing their job witholding. Seriously, how could I, at around 200% of the poverty level, owe the feds money? WTF?

6. Prosper sprained his little kitteh wrist and was all limpy until the vet gave him (an expensive) shot that made him a little loopy.

7. Dollhouse ended and the finale sucked.

8. I DID NOT HAVE INTERNET AND IT WAS HORRIBLE DEATH. The internet has now been restored. You can tell, because I am alive.

9. At this point I should make a 10 point list, don’t you think? Uh, I had a serious lack of therapy. Further, my asshole insurance decided I probably only need 6 more sessions. This won’t be a catastrophe because of the moving and all that, but if I wasn’t? Jerks. Therapy is waaaaay better than drugs, even if it is more expensive. We’re working on my awareness of my tendency to be rigid and how to think my way through that. We had a really good one this past Monday about thought planning in new social situations that was super helpful. Fuck you, insurance!

10. My job continues to suck.

I am so looking forward to going down to Dad’s next week. Here’s hoping I don’t get snowed in.

First, SAD. My glasses were sold out when I went to order them. It’s been a long and crappy couple of weeks–the internet was cancelled, my debit card was cancelled (both without warning), so I have only just got it together to purchase them. NOT PLEASED. SHOUTING.

I’ve had a lot of thoughts and ideas and pictures of the cat in the mean time, but for now I am at a loss for what to write; the bad thing about blogging is the longer one doesn’t do it, the harder it is to start again.

Edit: Ebay comes through! Quickly!

1. What appear to be very similar (the auction is for the first colour shown) to the ones sold out.

2. Real wood.

3. Possibly cute but too big?

Today we mourn the passing of Edward Cullenmouse the First (he sparkles in the sunlight!). Last night he appeared to be in poor but stable health:

But sometime during the night, he moved on (warning, these pictures not suitable for children or kittens):

Edward Cullenmouse the First appears to have died of a stuffing aneurysm. He will be deeply missed by his owner, Prosper.